Finally got to give it a try. 10 started in my group, but only about half were still in at the end. This may have made the beginning seem more fast paced and exciting. The Harbinger felt like more of a slog, but maybe that was because only half were still fighting. Didn't like trying to chase down the Exocets. Don't like missions where my flying hero needs transport to attack the bad guys. I'd rather have more of them, but with the speed toned down. Strange to be more effectual against the big scary monster than against its support vehicles!
Great setting. Like the look of the devastated and flooded MC. Liked defeating the clusters of Lemurians to save civilians. Would be nice to have some trapped under rubble, surrounded by flames, etc. I.e. its good to fight the Lemurians, but a few rescues that don't involve combat would be a nice touch.
Now, if You could just take Kigatilik, Qwyjibo, etc. and put them into these kind of missions! The only times I've ever been able to fight those Cosmics is on PTS.
Too many critters... those people that have. to. kill. everything. on the map. are gonna drive farmers insane. And vice-versa.
The one-hit insta-death when he goes invulnerable is bush, and I had 7500 hp so those toons without a defensive passive will be frustrated, badly. I'm not even sure how most ATs will think this is fun.
And fix his HP regenerating up to full suddenly, that's a poor design and should never, ever happen in this fight.
Overall pretty nifty though, remove some of the frustration factor and it should be quite fun. And thanks for the retro Dr. D. :biggrin:
Feedback: Very difficult without 1 or 2 good tanks but the mission is at its core a lot of fun. A big cue is needed for when the Harbringer is about to become invulnerable, as the coinciding attack is powerful. There are perhaps a few too many exocets and the map still favours ranged builds.
Primarily Silverspar's suggestion (seen in my signature below) still holds true and would be ideally needed to make this alert work better. Tanks who can pull & hold aggro will be needed I think when this hits live.
Epic seems to be the word everyone is using, and I agree. It felt epic indeed. Good work devs. :cool:
Sometimes it was difficult to track and fight the Exocets. Maybe it's my fault for trying to dogfight with a 50' range power. Go, go Jet Boots (3)! :biggrin:
Once the Biselle doppelganger cutscene hit there were no more waypoints, and it was easy to get lost and lose focus/objective. I didn't know where to go and just followed the crowd and attacked everything I tab-targeted. Later I had to fly above the buildings to find the UNTIL carrier and Harbinger.
Framerates definitely dropped as we poured on the AoEs when the Harbinger was vulnerable. My second run with a different toon had better survivability, and didn't get 1-shotted when he became invulneable again.
Unfortunately, I had some matters elsewhere to attend to which made me lose out on testing the newest build for tonight. However, like keiko, I was able to play/test the .15 build, and here are some thoughts I had:
(If I'm eligible for the AF, the Retro Dr. Destroyer and/or the Tumerboy one would be nice, @oyo32)
The Good:
Environment design
Overall atmosphere
"Classic" CO voice-acting
Harbinger is awesome looking
Gotta love the atmosphere this place establishes, it's cool to see MC in such a state of utter disarray for once. It feels like a lot of time and thought went into this environment and that's great. It's also nice to see this isn't just another tank-n'-spank boss.
The Bad:
Anti-Melee
I can't even start to think about how annoying this mission will be for a melee-only toon. I mean, seriously. The Exocets move too fast for a melee character to even get close to. The .16 build slows down these things, but I wonder if a melee character could still effectively deal with these things. Melee toons kinda have to sit back during this part of the fight. The best thing to do here would be to add some ground-based "Exocets" for melee characters to pick at. Also, fix Harbinger's wonky hitbox. It's just...wonky.
No emphasis on the hover disc
I didn't even know it was in this mission until some pointed out they ended up getting one, by accident. Considering this thing is important for dealing with the Harbinger later on, emphasize the point that it exists. If you don't have a flight TP or vehicle, you need this and (obviously) you need to know where it is. Also, the duration of the disc needs to be increased so it is able to last the entire fight.
OH LORD MY EYYYYEEEESSSS
Okay, the Harbinger looks pretty damn cool, there is no denying that and kudos to whoever modeled him.
But combine his gigantic size with stacking effects like Clinging Flames and Negative Ions and, oh boy, your eyes will be begging for mercy. It doesn't help that he constantly flails around either (though, this has been fixed in the .16 build) At one point, I had to literally look away from the screen because my eyes started to hurt from all the crazy FX going on. This could easily give someone a seizure.
OH LORD MY EEEEAAAARRRSSSS
Okay, I get it, the Harbinger is a big scary monster who goes "RAWR IMMA KILL U". But is it really necessary to have him screeching at the top of his lungs every two seconds? It's too loud and too frequent, and I ultimately ended up muting my speakers until it was over.
PowerPoint presentation FPS
Related to the issue mentioned above where stacking visual effects on the Harbinger produces some not-so-pleasant-to-look-at effects. Depending on your computer, you will also start to lag when visual effects start to stack up on him (and you will lag like it is 1989 or something up in here). This becomes a huge problem because this can easily get you killed. Example: I was doing okay, but the the FPS lag started. Within seconds, I watch (in freeze-frame FPS) as I quickly die, and I really couldn't do anything about it because of the lag.
Lack of direction
I don't know if the .16 build did anything to address this, but this mission is a little confusing at first. You are plopped down in the middle of a crisis and are kinda expected to know where the citizens are and where to go. This is a decent size area too, so I could see people getting lost here.
But then again, the lack of direction helps reinforce the chaotic and panicked atmosphere this mission is aiming for. After all, this is a surprise invasion. Making the player feel confused helps them connect with the confused atmosphere of this mission better so...
Abrupt Ending
This is more of a personal thing, but I felt like the ending cutscene cuts in abruptly (it seemed to trigger the exact moment the Harbinger died), and kinda wrapped things up in a somewhat anti-climatic way ("HARBINGER DED, LEMURIANS GO THE EFF HOME AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD AGAIN"). Or maybe I encountered some weird bug and missed out on another cutscene...? I don't know yet if the .16 build changed any of this.
Great fun and much improved. Minor issues, Lemurians still around after Kraken falls despite cut scene saying they retreated. Bit anti-climatic when he turns out to be made of rocks and seaweed, makes victory seem less rewarding and cut scene ends too soon. Would have preferred if Kraken went through a death animation and turned to stone, as transition is too abrupt.
Still a bit confusing due to map not zooming out enough, maybe use way-markers like missions do. Finally, rewards need boosting to make it worth repeating, unlike Sky Command
They won't bother, this is a one time event and will likely last as long as the previous mega destroid event, not to mention a trailer to try and bring people back would imply updates would be regular enough to suit the playerbase
*shrug* I can understand them not doing it, just throwing that out there. Seems like there should at least be a more dedicated press release for when it's released due to the effort in fixing it.
"Interesting builds are born from limitations not by letting players put everything into one build."
Even with the unfair ranges, health resetting and the continous cutscene repeating. It was indeed fun. Thanks for putting last night together. two thumbs up.
Thought of something that was a little confusing. Since I couldn't keep up with the Exocets I was roaming around looking for other trouble. I noticed a few groups of hovering Lemurians around the periphery of the Harbinger battle. I shot them, they shot back, but it didn't affect the aerial battle with the Exocets. Not sure if these hovering Lemurians have a real purpose, or if they are just a distraction (but maybe that is their purpose?). Maybe give them a real function (supporting the Exocets) or remove them?
Originally Posted by mijjestic: Ultimately, though, MMO players throwing stones at each other in this fashion is basically one nerd pointing and laughing at another nerd whose glasses are thicker.
Is there any chance of getting my AF? I waited patiently for over 3 hours, at least an hour of which I was standing directly in front of Iris Irregular.
Tishyen, Retro Dr. D or Chronomancer (if it exists) AF please.
Is there any chance of getting my AF? I waited patiently for over 3 hours, at least an hour of which I was standing directly in front of Iris Irregular.
Tishyen, Retro Dr. D or Chronomancer (if it exists) AF please.
Which would you prefer -- Tiyshen or RetroD? I'll make sure you get added to the list.
Well, I joined and got Raven Akurei Action Figure from Iris in PTS but not on live yet. I think we have to wait for while.
This is going to be the trial run of a new distribution method -- if it works, I won't have to take the devs' time for sending out items like this. Should be in the next few days.
Which would you prefer -- Tiyshen or RetroD? I'll make sure you get added to the list.
Tiyshen please, working on my collection of devs.
Sorry for any perceived impatience, I knew people hadn't had their AFs unlock on Live yet, but unlike them I hadn't received one on PTS (I'd checked there multiple times since the playtest).
Unfortunately, I'm still waiting on the engineering team to have time to send them out -- hopefully it won't be long now. It will happen eventually, though, I promise.
Comments
Great setting. Like the look of the devastated and flooded MC. Liked defeating the clusters of Lemurians to save civilians. Would be nice to have some trapped under rubble, surrounded by flames, etc. I.e. its good to fight the Lemurians, but a few rescues that don't involve combat would be a nice touch.
Now, if You could just take Kigatilik, Qwyjibo, etc. and put them into these kind of missions! The only times I've ever been able to fight those Cosmics is on PTS.
Too many critters... those people that have. to. kill. everything. on the map. are gonna drive farmers insane. And vice-versa.
The one-hit insta-death when he goes invulnerable is bush, and I had 7500 hp so those toons without a defensive passive will be frustrated, badly. I'm not even sure how most ATs will think this is fun.
And fix his HP regenerating up to full suddenly, that's a poor design and should never, ever happen in this fight.
Overall pretty nifty though, remove some of the frustration factor and it should be quite fun. And thanks for the retro Dr. D. :biggrin:
People are broken. - Lum the Mad
Feedback: Very difficult without 1 or 2 good tanks but the mission is at its core a lot of fun. A big cue is needed for when the Harbringer is about to become invulnerable, as the coinciding attack is powerful. There are perhaps a few too many exocets and the map still favours ranged builds.
AF: Ame please
Brick_McDuggins in game.
Primarily Silverspar's suggestion (seen in my signature below) still holds true and would be ideally needed to make this alert work better. Tanks who can pull & hold aggro will be needed I think when this hits live.
ooooh! Tough choice.
Can I have a TrailTurtle action figure? :biggrin: I requested that before if you recall.
If not, I guess a Tumerboy from that list. As I never did get to wish him goodbye the day he was heading out... alas
PS: I think you forgot about me but it's all good, I'm not worried.
Consolidate the currencies! (Please!)
Does your Champion have a theme song? (share it!)
Got a funny in-game screenshot? (share it!)
Please fix the Overdrive energy unlock! (Should help promote thematic build diversity!)
Sometimes it was difficult to track and fight the Exocets. Maybe it's my fault for trying to dogfight with a 50' range power. Go, go Jet Boots (3)! :biggrin:
Once the Biselle doppelganger cutscene hit there were no more waypoints, and it was easy to get lost and lose focus/objective. I didn't know where to go and just followed the crowd and attacked everything I tab-targeted. Later I had to fly above the buildings to find the UNTIL carrier and Harbinger.
Framerates definitely dropped as we poured on the AoEs when the Harbinger was vulnerable. My second run with a different toon had better survivability, and didn't get 1-shotted when he became invulneable again.
Dr. Destroyer Retro @Triskaideka please.
(If I'm eligible for the AF, the Retro Dr. Destroyer and/or the Tumerboy one would be nice, @oyo32)
The Good:
- Environment design
- Overall atmosphere
- "Classic" CO voice-acting
- Harbinger is awesome looking
Gotta love the atmosphere this place establishes, it's cool to see MC in such a state of utter disarray for once. It feels like a lot of time and thought went into this environment and that's great. It's also nice to see this isn't just another tank-n'-spank boss.The Bad:
- Anti-Melee
I can't even start to think about how annoying this mission will be for a melee-only toon. I mean, seriously. The Exocets move too fast for a melee character to even get close to. The .16 build slows down these things, but I wonder if a melee character could still effectively deal with these things. Melee toons kinda have to sit back during this part of the fight. The best thing to do here would be to add some ground-based "Exocets" for melee characters to pick at. Also, fix Harbinger's wonky hitbox. It's just...wonky.- No emphasis on the hover disc
I didn't even know it was in this mission until some pointed out they ended up getting one, by accident. Considering this thing is important for dealing with the Harbinger later on, emphasize the point that it exists. If you don't have a flight TP or vehicle, you need this and (obviously) you need to know where it is. Also, the duration of the disc needs to be increased so it is able to last the entire fight.- OH LORD MY EYYYYEEEESSSS
Okay, the Harbinger looks pretty damn cool, there is no denying that and kudos to whoever modeled him.But combine his gigantic size with stacking effects like Clinging Flames and Negative Ions and, oh boy, your eyes will be begging for mercy. It doesn't help that he constantly flails around either (though, this has been fixed in the .16 build) At one point, I had to literally look away from the screen because my eyes started to hurt from all the crazy FX going on. This could easily give someone a seizure.
- OH LORD MY EEEEAAAARRRSSSS
Okay, I get it, the Harbinger is a big scary monster who goes "RAWR IMMA KILL U". But is it really necessary to have him screeching at the top of his lungs every two seconds? It's too loud and too frequent, and I ultimately ended up muting my speakers until it was over.- PowerPoint presentation FPS
Related to the issue mentioned above where stacking visual effects on the Harbinger produces some not-so-pleasant-to-look-at effects. Depending on your computer, you will also start to lag when visual effects start to stack up on him (and you will lag like it is 1989 or something up in here). This becomes a huge problem because this can easily get you killed. Example: I was doing okay, but the the FPS lag started. Within seconds, I watch (in freeze-frame FPS) as I quickly die, and I really couldn't do anything about it because of the lag.- Lack of direction
I don't know if the .16 build did anything to address this, but this mission is a little confusing at first. You are plopped down in the middle of a crisis and are kinda expected to know where the citizens are and where to go. This is a decent size area too, so I could see people getting lost here.But then again, the lack of direction helps reinforce the chaotic and panicked atmosphere this mission is aiming for. After all, this is a surprise invasion. Making the player feel confused helps them connect with the confused atmosphere of this mission better so...
- Abrupt Ending
This is more of a personal thing, but I felt like the ending cutscene cuts in abruptly (it seemed to trigger the exact moment the Harbinger died), and kinda wrapped things up in a somewhat anti-climatic way ("HARBINGER DED, LEMURIANS GO THE EFF HOME AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD AGAIN"). Or maybe I encountered some weird bug and missed out on another cutscene...? I don't know yet if the .16 build changed any of this.Did TT even get to try the event, or was he caught up with dolling out AF's?
Deliciously nutritious!
Still a bit confusing due to map not zooming out enough, maybe use way-markers like missions do. Finally, rewards need boosting to make it worth repeating, unlike Sky Command
PS Can I have Iron Swan please
*shrug* I can understand them not doing it, just throwing that out there. Seems like there should at least be a more dedicated press release for when it's released due to the effort in fixing it.
-Sterga
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.
Even with the unfair ranges, health resetting and the continous cutscene repeating. It was indeed fun. Thanks for putting last night together. two thumbs up.
I do that all the time, I call it "multitasking"...
Oh, wait, you did mean at the same time, right?
Seriously, I'm sorry for your misfortune. However TT said there would be more PTS tests, which means more AF opportunities!
M-O-O-N, that spells @Rhyatt
Originally Posted by mijjestic: Ultimately, though, MMO players throwing stones at each other in this fashion is basically one nerd pointing and laughing at another nerd whose glasses are thicker.
Laws yes!
Tishyen, Retro Dr. D or Chronomancer (if it exists) AF please.
Which would you prefer -- Tiyshen or RetroD? I'll make sure you get added to the list.
This is going to be the trial run of a new distribution method -- if it works, I won't have to take the devs' time for sending out items like this. Should be in the next few days.
EDIT: saw reply above.
A real one.
Pew-pew-pew!
The technology is out there. No joke.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/video/action-figure-17904564
No word if these come with Kung Fu Grip.
Tiyshen please, working on my collection of devs.
Sorry for any perceived impatience, I knew people hadn't had their AFs unlock on Live yet, but unlike them I hadn't received one on PTS (I'd checked there multiple times since the playtest).
Must get mah Tumerboy.