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FC.31.20140828.1 PTS Update
lordgar
Posts: 267 Arc User
This build is scheduled to hit PTS at 5:15pm Pacific Time, 8/29/2014
Release Notes for FC.31.20140828.1:
Preview
Steel Crusade
Reawakened Automaton
Bug Fixes
Known issues
Please format any bugs you find in the following format:
Bug
Where it happens
What happens
Please stay on topic in this PTS thread. We use bug reports from this thread to decide whether a PTS build is ready to go live, and so we need to make sure we're seeing everything in it. Please do discuss the changes, but if you find yourself writing about something that isn't specific to what's on PTS, then that should probably go elsewhere.
In particular, do not report bugs from the live game in this thread, unless they are impacted by changes in the PTS build.
Release Notes for FC.31.20140828.1:
Preview
- Added glittery Anniversary Jacket (Closed), Anniversary Mask 2, and Anniversary Bell Bottoms to the debugger.
Steel Crusade
- In this PTS update, we introduce the final missions for Steel Crusade, in which Heroes travel to UNTIL's GATEWAY space station to launch an attack on Mechanon--in space!
- Brain Freeze: Added a mini boss fight at the end of the second brain.
- Brain Freeze: Nanobot spiders will now (occasionally) self-replicate.
Reawakened Automaton
- The Reawakened Automaton returns to PTS! As ever, please use this thread for your feedback.
- Aspect of the Machine: lowered maximum Frenzy stacks to 5, made each stack of the buff correspondingly stronger.
- Binding Shot is a new, more thematic clone of Bolas/Tanglecoil Launcher for Power Armor. This is also unlockable for Freeforms, like Aspect of the Machine and Rocket Punch.
Bug Fixes
- Heat Wave: NPCs with "Sudden Human Combustion Syndrome" can no longer be prevented from dying. Really.
- Brain Freeze: Fixed a bug where the final enemies could be defeated before the mission was ready for it, leading to a map that couldn't be completed.
- Anniversary: Water Bomber and Gift Hoarder perks now show the correct floating HUD message.
- UNTIL Shuttle: The upgraded to mark 2 version now has the correct art.
Known issues
- The Pressure Suit doesn't modify all costumes correctly.
- Steel Crusade perks are not part of this update.
- Mechanon Coalition recognition rewards are not part of this update, although the vendor is present on GATEWAY.
- Steel Crusade: Repeatable missions are available again immediately for ease of testing. They will be set to 20 hour cooldown before this content goes to the live servers.
Please format any bugs you find in the following format:
Bug
Where it happens
What happens
Please stay on topic in this PTS thread. We use bug reports from this thread to decide whether a PTS build is ready to go live, and so we need to make sure we're seeing everything in it. Please do discuss the changes, but if you find yourself writing about something that isn't specific to what's on PTS, then that should probably go elsewhere.
In particular, do not report bugs from the live game in this thread, unless they are impacted by changes in the PTS build.
Post edited by lordgar on
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Comments
The Space Suit isn't going to work unless you finally remove all costume restrictions in the tailor. Also, its about time you guys let us switch to other builds and costume slots by fixing the unlocks we have on Live so we can properly test to see what costume pieces don't work.
Make the Space Suit a toggle.
Bug: Using the Gateway teleporter to travel back to Millennium City makes everyone on the Gateway station teleport back.
Some players cannot use the teleporter in special circumstances? Still trying to figure out how broken this is. I think a lot of it has to do with applying a pointless cut scene to the transfer. Cut scenes apply to everyone in the zone forcing them to move.
Bug: If anyone completes a mission, everyone in the area gets credit.
It is obvious this new place is not a proper new zone.
Bug: Sargeant Major Parl Naran need an indicator so people know where to find her.
This is a real red letter bug and needs to be fixed before you folks head out out for the weekend, since it's going to be very hard to do the mission right now.
If anyone in the Gateway station chooses to teleport back to MC, everyone on the station goes with them. Doesn't appear to affect Alpha station. I hope.
If you need a workaround, make sure you have "Always let me pick which instance I go to" checked in the map select dialog. (Click the title on top of the mini-map.) You'll still get yanked into the cutscene, but when it ends, you get the map select dialog that you can cancel out of.
(Only problem with that is there aren't any second instances of any maps on PTS, so clicking the title just throws a "nopossiblemaps" error. You may have to set "Always let me pick..." on Live, then transfer to PTS again.)
If you have a penthouse hideout, you can do everybody a favor when leaving Gateway Station by going to your hideout and using the off-the-balcony trick to return to Millennium City.
BUG: The hologram on the table next to Major Caleb Hill makes the most annoying humming sound I've ever heard in a video game. And I sat through tape screech on my old ZX Spectrum.
BUG: I haven't found Sergeant-Major Naran, but teleporting to Gateway and back gives you credit for "Speak to Sergeant-Major Pari Naran" in the mission tracker.
Bug?: Mechranium holds nullify any zero-G momentum. (I don't know if that's intentional or not.)
BUG: The Robot Arm around (100, 1, -117) of Cislunar Mechanon has line-of-sight problems.
BUG: Lured Mechanon Mark XLI out into the corridor, and he got knocked through the ceiling and got stuck outside the geometry.
Complaint: If you're going to knockback spam us to death, at least do us a favor and get rid of all the conduit along the ceiling. Zero-G movement is bad enough without also having to deal with camera issues on top.
BUG: Players never drop to out-of-combat state in Cislunar Mechanon. I think it's the zero-g effect that's doing it.
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
BUG: No arrow to UNTIL HQ when you get the mission.
BUG: No arrow to Pari Naran when you enter UNTIL HQ. (She's on the left hand side of the main part of the station near the consoles.)
BUG: No ! or ? over Pari Naran's head.
BUG: Teleporter will teleport anyone in UNTIL, Gateway Station, or Alpha station to wherever anyone else is going on the teleporter. Almost impossible to get anywhere if you have more than 1 person on the station.
BUG: Can get to teleporter at UNTIL by going straight through the wall instead of through left tunnel, although it's possible someone was teleporting me at first and I didn't recognize it.
BUG: Pressure suit does not work with jackets and helmets: only worked on legs.
BUG: Caleb Hill bio is <<project clockwork bio>>
BUG: Teleporting from alpha module gives option to go to beta module instead of proper name of Gateway.
Content issues:
No perk for defeating Mechanon.
"Is it safe" option for teleporter crewman really misses an opportunity to be funny. "There's a cat missing from the base, but we're pretty sure we didn't teleport it anywhere." "Your atoms will be almost identical to those you started out with."
Can't hear mechanon dialogue over fight noises in corridor when you begin to break into the security section. Ambient echoes need to come down.
The hologram states that they have a preliminary designation of Mark XXXVIII or whatever for the new Mechanon. You fight Mark XLI. Caleb Hill should acknowledge this and say something snarky like they'll get right on this.
Play issues:
Brain Freeze part II still was very repetitive. The mini boss fight was ok, but you're still asking people to repeat essentially the same mission twice.
The anti-gravity travel lockdown in Mechanon's lair ranged between annoying to a real problem. Replacing it with Flight 1 really slows things down on a much longer mission than Hi Pan, but where it becomes an issue is that -everyone- gets to fight melee in that mission because you can never get range on a target. That's not quite as bad for the Super Villains, but for the boss fight it's a real issue. You take out a ton of strategy and ability to snipe him, even if you lure him out into the corridor. Doesn't seem fair to ranged types, even if it's a 3 man mission and one could be a melee/tank type.
Overall, I'd give it about a 5 or 6 out of 10. Sorry Lordgar and Radioscience, I know you guys have put what little time the bosses have allowed you on CO into this over a period of months. It really just felt like a beefed up Fatal Error II with some addons from Dr. D's factory/Andrith. I wasn't hoping for the 'epic' content that a lot of people expected. It's ok as a generic mission, but just not anything special.
....juggle emote please? :biggrin:
Join Date: Aug 2009 | Title: Devslayer
Bug: On Gateway, In the Module B Lounge, there is an interact area by the couches which does nothing
Suggestion: Add flashy or other glow indicators on items which should be destroyed (doors, bulkheads, terminals, columns etc)
Overall enjoyed gateway, some nice design going on there. Feels like we need some more perks though and perhaps add some sort of vendor in station to let people stock up on health items etc.
@Liath | My PRIMUS Page | Altaholics | New Vehicle Models | New Emblems | Flag Tights
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I wish the transition of the story would be done a bit more detailed, but I think with some polish this can be a great thing. The puzzle made no sense to me at all since my greek letters didn't match, so I had to go by trial and error. Not sure if that's intended or not, but then I am not much of a puzzle fan I guess.
Difficulty could be toned down a bit I guess. I liked it, but considering you will propably have to grind this mission less HP on Mechanon and the Reactor Core would make this more enjoyable in the long run. For vets its fun, but it isn't very casual friendly.
All in all this is a nicely done Mini Arc, and I hope it does not simply disappear and is built upon. The setting is nice and the space station could make an excellent hub for future content.
The puzzle is actually cleverly done. (I say this as someone who isn't a puzzle fan, by the way.) There's a very simple solution to it if you know where to look and what to write down, but I won't spoil things. :P
I agree. The addition of puzzles in missions is a nice extra that let's us stretch our brains as well as our trigger finger.
I wish they would go a bit further with these like they have in STO where there are sliding puzzle type "locks" to open etc so it is not just an observation/memory test.
Also lots of comic stories (and movies, tv shows) involve collecting parts of the mcguffin in order to accomplish a goal. I know part of the vb chains has something similar but it is more "the guy shouts i need this" and you go collect it and use it or biotechnical difficulties where you collect your ingredients, but the next part is automatic creation of your antidote - you dont need to use clues given to combine them yourself.
I would love to see this more in missions where you have to collect something - relating it to mechanon missions say computer parts - and then use them in a specific order/following specific rules to accomplish a later mission goal.
Probably too late for this mission chain but hopefully something the devs can consider for later additions.
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How exactly am I supposed to use Focused Shot in this place since moving at all interrupts it rather than rooting me like it should in the first place? It should work like Sniper Rifle.
Its just a minor example of all the problems that should have been fixed years ago that become a prime issue when something new comes out. Please look into EVERY power and how it reacts to new environments and content, instead of just negating the ones that are being used as designed (Skarn's Bane against Gravitar).
I don't know if anyone has told you guys but Bolas and Tanglecoil are NOT the same. Bolas you can tap and it will do the same strength hold as the charge, holding it down only affects damage. Tanglecoil forces you to hold it down until full charge, it's kinda one of the "worse" powers on the CO power list as it doesn't have anything on any other powers and is pretty much a really pointless version of Bolas.
So I'm curious on which one you used the code for, if it's Bolas then it may be interesting theme wise on a FF. If it's Tanglecoil then not only is the AT even worse because of having such a pointless power but also it's just another non used power for FF's.
Sorry, maybe I should of posted that in the other thread, just wanted to make sure you guys know the difference between Bolas and Tanglecoil. <_<
Edit: Okay so just went on to see which one you used and it was bolas which is a good thing I suppose.
However there is one thing:
Damage on ranking Binding Shot doesn't increase.
On the tooltip.
Ranking Binding Shot doesn't do anything right now when it should increase the damage it deals like on Bolas.
A Playlist of my CO PvP video's (starting from post nerf PTS team duels)
First off, the Space Suits work by reading in what costume parts the player has, and matching new replacements to them. It doesn't have anything to do with tailor options being legal or not, since a lot of NPC models easily show really strange parts being used in conjunction. (For one very simple example, there are helicopter pilots in the Desert who wear jumpsuit pants with harnesses.)
All these other bugs are valid.
Just a little more feedback:
The first missions, involving the brain and sewer, are solid. Some areas in them need some control for wacky super reverb, but they work.
Final space mission needs some tweaking. This'll mainly be echoing what's already been said:
On top of interrupting many powers that rely on you staying still, ZeroG also strangely slows down and speeds up at random intervals, which makes moving around a bit of a pain after a while.
I didn't even notice that there's no regeneration in this area. Could've sworn there was, but if there isn't, there really should be. We don't want to make the gap between AT and FF even bigger, 'cause as it is stuff in that area poses enough of a threat.
The last space mission also needs some sound-checking, especially because under normal sound settings Mechanon's announcements are going to be drowned out by extremely loud ingame sounds.
I can definitely see how people could get stuck in the geometry of this place, due to how drifty/how much inertia space flying maintains. It's not made better by how knockback-centric Mechanon is. The knockback also makes him comparatively too easy to beat given the circumstances: He's initially located in a room with four turrets, but can easily be baited out of the room by backing up and watching him repeatedly lunge at you. At least on one occasion of doing that, Mechanon temporarily teleported into the ceiling. And upon bringing him to his final phase, he instantly teleported back to the boss room, where he just stood there and blew up his reactor core (is he supposed to fight us while we're trying to destroy the core? If not it really should be irradiating you much faster).
My suggestion on that fight? Make his turrets a little weaker, and have him focus on using knock-to abilities. This will draw players away from walls (where they might get stuck) and force them to focus more chiefly on the fight at hand instead of trailing him out of his boss room. Having the fight instantiate an interactable teleport-through door to his room would also be preferable.
More meta, if you're going to continue extending the Mechanon storyline, save the Zero-G gimmick for later. I strongly recommend doing this for several reasons:
Zero G sounds like a Nightmare (hur dur) for Melee. Passive Healing as well, though personally I'd think it makes this a team mission like Aftershock back in the day (-.- I hate you Despair Incarnate) unless you're one of the ATs with a nice heal spam. Then it becomes as trivial as a lair as long as you're competent to know when to heal (Necrull's Lair as an On-Level Grimoire? Piece of cake.). Large Mobs of enemies? Eh.. does seem excessive. And if they're anything like in Destroyer's Lab I can totally see a LOT of rage.
The whole of this just sounds like a brand new lair >_> And I'm kinda okay with that.
The melee thing isn't as bad as it sounds - pretty much 99% of the Mechanon enemies focus on melee attacks. The other 1% use comparatively really bad beam attacks, and are either completely stationary or just stay still in one place. Granted, I haven't tried it out with a melee character, but from my experience Zero-G is less likely to cause you to wildly slam into walls than it is to just kind of slow you down for a few seconds as you try to get up to speed. Lunges will probably work wonders.
VVV The bad thing about lemuria though is that usually you're fighting stuff there in the big open sea. Unless you're a crazy tech person who has like 3D vision or whatever, usually you're going to have no clue how close or far an enemy is to you. To contrast, because you're always really close to the floor in this mission, positioning for melee is much easier in this case.
It's mainly why my suggestion for a vertically-based Zero-G level involves plateaus: Because Mechanon dudes don't actually float around in Zero-G, and because said platforms will provide a good perspective reference to keep people from going too far beyond enemies.
Really? Here I was picturing something that made Lemuria seem fun. Not so bad now.
The space suit is a wonderful touch. The fact that its optional is even better, that means the costumes it doesn't play nice with you can just not use it with, or make your own better suit for. Real nice execution
For the Mechanon fight I lured it into the hallway and crammed myself in a corner to negate the absurd levels of knockback The pylons gave me a distinct Metroid classic mother brain boss fight feel, which I liked.
Now for the ugly: The zero-g sections, as noted before, lock you into combat and therefore negate your ability to recuperate between fights unless you have some self-healing powers. I beat this using a regen character and a character with BCR. Archetypes are going to be so SOL
Also, vine swinging + Zero-G makes for odd behavior. I had to flick it off and do the first run through without travel powers
If not resolved, it's gonna be barely playable or straight unplayable even in actual team of 3 ATs if none of them happends to have healing power. Which means... A lot of them have no heals.
It might be an issue.
I was hoping to find the answer on the forms.
Outside of that there were some good with the bad, the good being that the clockwork and regular officers looked good and I hope that the faceplate up is an option for the costume. The space suit was a nice touch but I feel doesn't have much of a point.
The bad came with the Zero-G. It made it damn impossible to fight on a melee with no flight travel power, as well as having any shots that need you to stay still to activate. (Snipershot, forms included.) The fact that passive heals were disabled also will make it impossible for AT's or people without self heals, I think it's not the right way to go.
I got as far as Project Clockwork: Speak To Major Pearl Naran
Problem is I can't find her.
I was attempting to progress through to the final mission to test out the final fight, but so far it's a no go.
I'm sure I'm missing the obvious.. but can't seem to figure it out.
She is in Until HQ away to the left by the windows (if looking from elevator/tp pad)
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@Chimerafreek
The final boss was pain in the **** hard (Elite Solo Quarry Ranged Role 11k hp). In a well designed way...though kiting the boss into the hallway is laughable. I'm surprised there is no lockout door, but the agro range on the cranes would lock you out before you got in so that's understandable. Why do I feel that the final boss room for Whiteout was just oodles more epic?
I'm glad mobs knock you around mercilessly especially the final boss. The final room feels like Vikorin merciless. This is supposed to be end game content! Its supposed to kick your butt if you are soloing.
Zero G is definitely interesting. The more you tap in a direction the faster you go, except for up and down which is violently faster in comparison. Powers that root stop you pretty fast, like summoning pets.
The puzzle I got on the first try. Was that because the only buttons pushable were the only commands the other console had? I say make the hint console and the correct sequence different for each run.
The "coalition costume pieces" that the Clockwork agents are wearing are awesome! Can't wait to farm them. Can't wait to see what the vendor looks like.
Suggestions:
Give rewards for running on Elite. Maybe boss drops a token?
Zero G needs some work. I've encountered a situation where I was unable to ascend. Its the same problem when you start moving with a flight power and get stuck to the floor, even downhill ramps, and cannot go up until you first stop moving. Zero G makes it impossible to detach yourself from the floor because of the constant movement.
I like the idea of the Space Suit how its a thematic cosmetic that replaces certain costume pieces to form a situational suit. But it needs a toggle and/or go into the aura slot. Regardless, I'd like more of these in game!
Are you wearing long glove or bracer?
My bracer characters shoot their regular hand with it.
Some will feel this factor, but some won't even notice it.
I have FFs with self heals, the Savage AT and the Inventor AT. I don't really expect difficulties with running this mission by myself. Heck, I have unranked Regen on my Defiance tank only because I had one power pick free and it shortens downtime between encounters.
But I think it needs to be corrected because otherwise the mission is going to be unpopular with the game population.
Lack of out of combat regen gonna end as a very artificial added difficulty.
On the other hand, if it can't be changed due to technical difficulties (I don't know how different physics on entire maps operates, what can be switched on or off, this lack of regen might not be intentional), a workaround might be to add resting spots on this map much like Neverwinter campfires are working.
I remember when CO kept putting you in combat with random objects, it was so hard to get yourself healed after fights.
Bug: Mechanon can apparently get stuck in the geometry. I sniped him out of his room and away from the regenerating 'bot arms. He flew really high and became stuck in the wall. He then completely vanished into a hole in the geomerty. I couldn't target or find him after that. He completely vanished :eek:
Subjective Feedback: Players should be warned the arc ends with a Legendary level foe. I'm not worried about regular forumites. Most of us have builds that can handle this sort of villain. But there's no way the average player is going to be able to solo Mechanon. Especially if they are on a AT.
One option might be the addition of a helpful NPC pet (like the final Unity/Until missions have). The player should have the option to accept or decline assistance.
Overall, this was fun and well-written. Kudos to the new Development Team.
Challenge accepted. Let's see Nightmare vs Mechanon. Behemoth vs Legendary. HEAD TO HEAD! Tickets on sale Thursday.
On the mission contact window, it's marked "Recommended team: 3". Also, it's motherfreakin' Mechanon.
That said, he can be soloed if you kite him to the corridor (and that "push through the ceiling" bug doesn't happen. I almost had him last night.)
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
Ohhh.. if only I could show you all my perks
And you know who Mechanon is. I know who Mechanon is. But to anyone unfamiliar with the PnP game, "Mechanon" is this offscreen figure that corrupts ATMs and sends strange messages through digital watches. Oh, and sponsored a few Mechanon Preachers in Snake Gulch. They're not prepared for the "reality" of Mechanon.
- David Brin, "Those Eyes"
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I see a lot of kavitching about the gravity on the station, but for me that perfectly encapsulates what Cryptic has been missing from their new content recently. Serpent Lantern, Vibora Bay, Resistance, Demon Flame; these contents brought with them new environments, new challenges we hadn't seen before. That was awesome, and I loved it. Honestly, the game never touched that level again. Gravity, or rather a lack thereof is a thematic and appropriate addition to gameplay, and one my melee focused main found challenging, but not impossible to deal with.
Sidebar: I did not have any problems activating forms with this mission, though I did brace myself against walls to do it sometimes.
I feel the gravity feature should be maintained, if at all possible. To help those of us who don't like it, I'd suggest giving players access to 'gravity boots' as part of the spacesuit. Those who want the traditional playstyle can have it then, but those who do not, can have fun with it
Speaking of spacesuits, wow you guys did awesome with that. I'd like to see a bit more streamlined of a spacesuit (Maybe the scifi suit?) but the overall look wasn't half bad. I definitely liked being able to use a bubble helmet.
I also really love the new armor designs, and I'm hopeful some of the Mechanon and Minion bits will be distributed as well. That minion chest piece would be perfect for a droid
Oh, and ya! Another bar, that isn't Caprice
Bugs
Mechanon's attacks don't appear to apply blast resistance.
Mechanon doesn't summon the gas until he has like a sliver of health left. It should probably come on halfway through. *shrugs*
The pylons don't heal themselves. Don't know if thats intentional.
My status bar had the flight symbol on my character, even though he's an acro/tele. I suspect that was actually the status for weightlessness. Needs to be fixed prior to launch.
Requests:
-Refine the spacesuit design a bit, add gravity boots.
-Give the Automaton a flamethrower. Loving the grappling weapon though.
-Make a "Thrown of the Technocracy' Mechanon Chariot vehicle
-Add some lights and sounds to the 10 forward lounge. It'll be the new hip social spot
None are prepared for the glory of Mechanon!
That Dork In The Suspenders, signing out.
WARNING: Not An Actual Internet Reviewer
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Oh, you and your practicality. Prime calls it a Batman-like level of preparation.
Bug?: About Mechanon's announcements... Is it the soft bigotry of organic privilege, or can Mechanon truly not comprehend the idea of synthetic life taking humanity's side over his? :biggrin:
They're not there in the beginning, but when your story ends / Gonna last with you longer than your friends
Unsurprising. Given the 'kavitching' is from people who have tried different types of toons, you might want to try a ranged toon and AT in a group and then review it again.
I'll try soloing it with my inferno tomorrow
*runs off to punch the Levianthon in the stomach*
Whoever you are, be that person one hundred percent. Don't compromise on your identity.