Visual Tweak for some weapons

[Nefastor]

Hi,

I'm the proud owner of a pair of Sleekmaster Classic (I've already bought five pairs from lvl 30 to lvl 79) and have been extremely pleased with the damage output so far. However, I do have on gripe with them : muzzle flash

It's too damn bright !

In low-light situations, when using the night-vision goggles and in fisrt-person view, it's actually blinding me, and gave me headaches on some occasions.

My fix for this has been to start a fight and go to third-person view, then zoom out as much as possible so the flashes cover only a small area of my display. This isn't very satisfying.

Note : my CRT display is set to 50% brightness (factory default)

Changes I recommend would be :
- Reduce the brightness of the flash
- "Smoothe" the flash (make it last longer, with a smooth brightness increase and decrease)
- Reduce the size of the flash so it doesn't look like my hand-guns fire 350 millimeter shells !

I guess many energy-based weapons have the same muzzle flash size / intensity problem. I even think people with epilepsy could get a seizure from watching these flashes. They are way too extreeeeem

On a separate note, I also have witnessed a large drop in my firing rate since patch 14.6. I base my measurements on how many times I shoot a mob versus how many times that mob shoots me. With my dual-wield Sleekmaster Classics this gives :
- pre-14.6 : I shoot 2 to 3 times, the mob shoots me once
- 14.6 : I shoot once, the mob shoots me once or even twice !
I'm talking of actual shots (eg. with damage / miss message) and not animations. This results in most fights getting much harder or even downright impossible. Something is truly amiss here.

Another proof of this is how much times I can use first-aid in a one-on-one fight against an NPC. From just once, this raised to three times ! The fights are definitely getting much longer, and I still get the same XP

Again another note : I believe wen-wens should fire automatically when in combat. Since it locks the Energy Weapon ability but doesn't prevent you from using energy weapons (like the Sleekmasters) there is no reason the wen-wens should not auto-fire. It's really annoying to keep in mind to shoot the wen-wen every 15 seconds, and given how little damage they do, wen-wens without auto-fire are pretty much useless.

Final note : Get rid of the damn NPC pets ! They give no XP and with the slower firing rates they make solo missions totally impossible.

Anyway, thanks to the developers for their efforts, and to all the AO community. This is my first MMORPG and so far it's been a great experience.

(edited a few spelling errors)

Malevol, lvl 58 soldier.

[_________Kalashnakof]

turn off others effects in options and that turns off night vision and turn off muzzle flash too that turns off the beam

this is a problem with nova too

[Railgunz]

While they're at it...Funcom, could you PLEASE scale down the weapon size of the Sleek Cannons and make them fit in the characters hands? When running and while holding them standing still they look ridiculous. The model goes right through most characters.

[Nefastor]

Thanks for your suggestion, Kalashnakof, but I don't want to play without any lighting effects : where would be the fun if you didn't see the weapons fire ? The brightness is just a minor tweak that's required to make the visuals more "comfortable". Like I said, right now the flashes are quite extreme.

And I'm gonna repeat it in every post until I'm satisfied : FUNCOM GET RID OF NPC PETS ! Fighting against 6 monsters at once when playing solo is not my idea of fun. It's clear everyone is with me on this issue.

OR : give players more artillery. Area-of-effect weapons like combat gaz, EMP grenades or whatever, so it would be viable to engage half a dozen NPC at once. NPC pets is a nice concept, but it's hell for players, and guess who pay the bills ?

On a side note, could anyone tell me how to get my avatar's photo next to my posts ? Thanks

[secondkenlon]

No, everyone is *not* with you.

So don't put words in my mouth.

[Nullifax]

Originally posted by Malevol

And I'm gonna repeat it in every post until I'm satisfied : FUNCOM GET RID OF NPC PETS ! Fighting against 6 monsters at once when playing solo is not my idea of fun. It's clear everyone is with me on this issue.

No, not everyone is with you.

Personally I don't like that some engineer mobs seem to be spawning red pets in 50% missions, but the pets themselves are turning out to not be so bad. The point is, the pets themselves are not what is causing me problems, it's the mismatched difficulty level. That's just my opinion. I have a few friends who agree, but those are just their opinions.

Also, about the turning off effects, "other effects" only turns off the "low light" green-tint effect, blinds, and zone borders. It has no effect on lighting.

[Nefastor]

Does that mean that you like fighting 6 NPC's at once, alone, in a solo mission ? Do you like to run for shelter (zone out), or are you just happy to die over and over again ?

Tell me why it would be logical to leave NPC Pets in solo missions ? I'm open to all arguments

[Nefastor]

Of course, NPC pets wouldn't be a problem if they where grey, or even borderline green, except for two things :
- A vaincre sans péril on triomphe sans gloire (where's the fun in killing baby monsters ?)
- Waste of ammo, for those of us that use guns

Other than that, I wouldn't mind even orange pets in 50% missions, as long as there's only one, and its caster, in any given room. Missions with the starting room full of pet-casting NPC's are downright impossible to accomplish

Moreover, since 14.6, attack rates have become very slow, and that certainly doesn't help

It's all so illogical : we are supposed to take on half a dozen people at once, and don't get the artillery to successfully do so (I'm a soldier). Give use some goddam VX gaz or any area-of-effect weapons !

As it has been said, NPC pets seems to be here just to stop players from soloing. Very uncool, I hope you will agree.

[Nullifax]

Originally posted by Malevol
Does that mean that you like fighting 6 NPC's at once, alone, in a solo mission ? Do you like to run for shelter (zone out), or are you just happy to die over and over again ?

Tell me why it would be logical to leave NPC Pets in solo missions ? I'm open to all arguments

If you do not attack the pet, it will stop attacking after the master dies. Basically treat the pet as simply an added attack the pet-user has.

As for having to fight 6 at once, try to pull 1 mob at a time, then you'll only be beaten on by 1 mob and its pet instead of 3 mobs and 3 pets. If you pull more than 1 try using crowd control tactics like rooting or mezzing. If you have no roots or mezzes, then you have to be very careful when you pull each mob.

As for damage shields causing the pet to maintain aggro after the master dies, that isn't intended. Hopefully they will fix it so that damage from damage shields don't add to the hatelist. Even better if they make pets completely disappear when a mob dies.

The point I'm trying to make is that you shouldn't be treating the pets as additional enemies since they can only be disabled by killing the source (the pet-caster). A trick I like to use is rooting the pet and pulling the mob into another room. The point is, it isn't as simple as saying you are fighting 6 mobs instead of 3 or even 2 mobs instead of 1, since you never have to so much as lay a finger on the pet. What it does do is change your tactics, since pets function so differently from the mobs.

[Nefastor]

PipBoy, you amuse me !

Do you really believe I usually rush into a dungeon and attack everyone at once ? Didn't you notice that its really hard to isolate a single mob in a room ? And how often they all attack as soon as anyone gets damaged ?

As a soldier, if we except sheer luck, I have ZERO chance of fighting mobs once at a time when they are gathered in the starting room of a dungeon. I'm not the first to write about this, by the way.

You say "consider the pet like another attack from the mob". Does it changes anything to the fact that you get attacked more often, and hence die faster ? No, not a chance.

You add "Hopefully they will fix it" : so far "they" have done a bang-up job of fixing things : the NPC with their pets attack faster, and players attack slower. Does it mean I'll have to wait for the next patch before I can solo again ? Assuming the next patch fixes ANY of these problems.

The ultimate fact in this matter is that ANY player shoots slower, and NPC's with pets attack much faster. In the end, soloing become nigh impossible and that's what I'm most angry about. Now considering things where quite okay before patch 14.6, I'm asking : what interest is there (player-wise) in keeping the NPC pets ?

[Nullifax]

Originally posted by Malevol
PipBoy, you amuse me !

Do you really believe I usually rush into a dungeon and attack everyone at once ? Didn't you notice that its really hard to isolate a single mob in a room ? And how often they all attack as soon as anyone gets damaged ?

As a soldier, if we except sheer luck, I have ZERO chance of fighting mobs once at a time when they are gathered in the starting room of a dungeon. I'm not the first to write about this, by the way.

You say "consider the pet like another attack from the mob". Does it changes anything to the fact that you get attacked more often, and hence die faster ? No, not a chance.

You add "Hopefully they will fix it" : so far "they" have done a bang-up job of fixing things : the NPC with their pets attack faster, and players attack slower. Does it mean I'll have to wait for the next patch before I can solo again ? Assuming the next patch fixes ANY of these problems.

The ultimate fact in this matter is that ANY player shoots slower, and NPC's with pets attack much faster. In the end, soloing become nigh impossible and that's what I'm most angry about. Now considering things where quite okay before patch 14.6, I'm asking : what interest is there (player-wise) in keeping the NPC pets ?

Don't you see that your arguments are based not on the pets themselves but bugs associated with pets and players? First off mobs should summon pets lower to their level or equal. Mob pets should be equal to other mobs of that level in terms of initiatives and damage. Players have been screwed by being slowed down for some reason. These are all either bugs or things which require tweaking. Just like the fact that mobpets to continue after the master dies if they have a hatelist. All of these don't account for a reason to completely remove mobpets as opposed to merely tweaking them and fixing the bugs associated with them.

[Nefastor]

PipBoy, I inherently have nothing against mob pets : if you think of it, an NPC should have every attribute of a player, and that includes pets for NPC's who can, by their profession, summon them.

But then again, no little ammount of tweaking and fixing from FUNCOM will be necessary if the solo missions are to be fair again, and so far we have had no solid indication that this would be the case.

You mentionned all the problems that 14.6 generated : quote : "First off mobs should summon pets lower to their level or equal. Mob pets should be equal to other mobs of that level in terms of initiatives and damage. Players have been screwed by being slowed down for some reason. These are all either bugs or things which require tweaking. Just like the fact that mobpets to continue after the master dies if they have a hatelist"

But all these bugs add up to make AO completely un-playable for solo players. Given the extent of the problems, the simple solution is to remove the NPC pets, don't you think ?

Of course, if the missions stay at their past difficulty level, then I don't mind the pets, they would add up to the atmosphere, make AO more consistent. But nearly dying and wasting time, ammo and health kits for no XP or items is NOT MY IDEA OF A GOOD TIME. Is it yours ?

If solo missions become more challenging, then the reward has got to go up as well. It's only fair.

And plase, FUNCOM, next time you want to add such a major feature in a game, ASK the customers first for their opinion. Can't you do a f...ing POLL ?

Some people should reeeeeeelly be glad I don't know where they live

[Nullifax]

Originally posted by Malevol
PipBoy, I inherently have nothing against mob pets : if you think of it, an NPC should have every attribute of a player, and that includes pets for NPC's who can, by their profession, summon them.

But then again, no little ammount of tweaking and fixing from FUNCOM will be necessary if the solo missions are to be fair again, and so far we have had no solid indication that this would be the case.

You mentionned all the problems that 14.6 generated : quote : "First off mobs should summon pets lower to their level or equal. Mob pets should be equal to other mobs of that level in terms of initiatives and damage. Players have been screwed by being slowed down for some reason. These are all either bugs or things which require tweaking. Just like the fact that mobpets to continue after the master dies if they have a hatelist"

But all these bugs add up to make AO completely un-playable for solo players. Given the extent of the problems, the simple solution is to remove the NPC pets, don't you think ?

Of course, if the missions stay at their past difficulty level, then I don't mind the pets, they would add up to the atmosphere, make AO more consistent. But nearly dying and wasting time, ammo and health kits for no XP or items is NOT MY IDEA OF A GOOD TIME. Is it yours ?

If solo missions become more challenging, then the reward has got to go up as well. It's only fair.

And plase, FUNCOM, next time you want to add such a major feature in a game, ASK the customers first for their opinion. Can't you do a f...ing POLL ?

Some people should reeeeeeelly be glad I don't know where they live

They've already stated that the pets are here to stay. Given that fact, the only way to make the game viable again for soloers is to fix the bugs we just mentioned. Namely, tweaking mob pets' level and damage, as well as fixing the problem with player initiatives. When they fix recharge for players, that will also help a great deal.

[boovan]

nova with burst in 1st person = 2 sec lag generator

anyways
to continue the off topic discussion

I just made a new fixer toon yesterday.. around lvl 26 I pulled a ql30ish mission and went on.
no problems fighting 3 at once in first room (soldiers)
I then went on with the mission.. got hit for constant 20-30 dmg nothing my HoT/FAid kits couldnt handle.

But then.. when I've kept on beating down dark orange mobs.. I get a QL28 engie with a QL29 pet.
so it goes something like...

You hit engie for 200 burst
You hit engie for 54 dmg
Engie hit you for 20 dmg
Pet hit you for 54 dmg
Pet hit you for 54 dmg
You hit engie for 86 dmg
Pet hit you for 62 dmg
Pet hit you for 48 dmg
You hit engie for 33 dmg
Engie hit you for 20 dmg

and so on..
So what am I supposed to do?
if I root the **** pet, it'll come after me afterwards and I have to run out and zone, if I dont root it, chances are that I'll die.
and this is in a mission where I had no problems handling 2 lvl 31 soldiers while I kept rooting the third.

And this is only a semi-gimped char with all QL30 imps, full set of QL31 carbs, QL43 Kerans.
I cant begin to think how newbies without imps, armor and a decent gun will be able to handle it.

Definately not something to attract new players to stay with.

Oh.. and also.. the freakin' Boss' that spawn pets... In a team mission yesterday we had an engie boss spawning a dark red bot for us..(okay.. so he was fairly easy before patch but come on)

Boss cant be calmed
Boss keeps giving freaking orders to pet that breaks calms
Pets runs around making 3 ppl die and the rest with <30 hp (at lvl 20ish team in a ql28 mission) in 30-40 secs
Now.. where's the fun in that?

And just a side note.. we had NO problems whatsoever with the other mobs in mission, they all fell in like 5-10 secs max
So how are we gonna pull a mission that we will actually be guaranteed to complete?
fight greys until boss room?

[_____Real Kinky Ityn]

Originally posted by Malevol


And I'm gonna repeat it in every post until I'm satisfied : FUNCOM GET RID OF NPC PETS ! Fighting against 6 monsters at once when playing solo is not my idea of fun. It's clear everyone is with me on this issue.

I'm against you

If you want me to demonstrate to you how to pull a single mob out of a main room on a SOLO mission I will show you how. It's really not that hard. The key is to be sure they are seperated, get the attention of one of them, and don't attack it, even if it is attacking you, till you have it in your little entry room and the door is closed or he is out of LOS of the other mobs.

[boovan]

but before that mob comes into entry room he spawns a bot that runs back and forth between main room and entry room like forever (kinda like MA mobs like to)

[Nullifax]

Big mob pet changes just made:

Mobs will no longer make pets higher than their level.
Mobs will never make a pet higher than level 150
Mobs will only make pets when fighting more than one player


This means that solo players will not encounter pets. It also means that all those "red bot" encounters at the team mission boss won't happen. If a team of level 180 people can't handle a level 150 pet, then that's their problem.

[speardancer2]

BACK to the origninal point of this thread (as if anyone cares)

Another weapon to look at is the BBI's on an optiflex...

Looks like I borrowed a pistol sized for an Atrox, hugely oversized