14th September Dev Stream Round-Up

(Faraleth) #1

Remember, as always, unless specifically stated as confirmed, please take everything with a grain of salt.

Got a burning question that’s missing? Was I blinded and missed something that you’re turtley dying to ask? Check out the FAQ here: http://forums.dirtybomb.nexon.net/discussion/17544/dev-nexon-stream-faq

News:

  • The next update is still on track for this week (ie. 15th – 17th September) – remember as always, this can change if there are any major issues.
  • Confirmed: Grenade jumping is being fixed. Shoe said, “I hope it’s in the next update, although we don’t have complete confirmation of this.”
  • Possible: Judging by the way they talked about Dome and Execution in stream, it sounds like Dome will be released before Execution. (No ETA on any release though)
  • Shoe took down a note for adding melee weapon skins to the game. It’s not being worked on currently, but it may very well happen in the future.
  • “Lots of people talking about Arty in the office at the moment.” – Possible hint towards further buffs? – “There have been lots of talks about giving his ability indoor viability.”
  • They understand the Secondary Objectives mission is a little too hard to complete right now. Things are being looked into in order to improve this mission type.
  • Shoe took note of the concern that the Expert and Elite Cases feel far too much RNG dependant for some people to invest real money in. (This may lead to changes in the future – after all, the reason the Expert Cases were introduced was due to user feedback.)
  • Question: Will we be able to rent public servers any time soon? – “We have some fun plans for the servers in the future.”

Possible changes/updates:

  • Grandeur SR should be getting some changes in the near future. No exact details on this though.
  • The invisible doors on Underground is a known issue since the last update. It is being looked into and should be fixed in an update soon.
  • Question: Can we expect any balance changes with the SMG’s any time soon? (ie. Kek-10 and Blishlok) – “We are always examining the data, so if we feel buffs or nerfs need to be made, we will do so.”
  • Shoe agreed the removal of Phantom’s shield, and making him less visible would be a “step in the right direction”. So, maybe. Maybe…
  • Although, they play-tested Phantom today (at the time of writing) internally and the player doing so played him very well. So they said, chances are we won’t see any major changes any time soon.
  • No current plans to add predictable recoil to other weapons which don’t currently have it.
  • Question: Will we ever see the longer version of Bridge return? – Never say never. There’s a large unused part of the map which seems a shame to go to waste. They certainly will NOT make Bridge longer again, although it may come back as a separate map/game-mode. (Note: Nothing about this is confirmed, merely speculation from discussion on stream.)
  • Question: Are there any plans to limit ping tolerances on public matches? – “It’s a known issue now and will be discussed internally.”
  • Question: Will you ever make Kira’s laser marker blue for allies? – “Not currently being worked on, but the suggestion has been taken and noted down. It would definitely be handy!”
  • Shoe took note of the point to lower the private server minimum to 5 so that a competitive team can enter a private lobby without forcing a 6th to idle.

Extra info:

  • Guest: Masse – Level Designer
  • “Masse says he will learn to do Fragger’s voice.” – Shoe. (Note: Masse resembles Fragger in appearance)
  • Toomic was supposed to be the guest today, sadly he was ill though.
  • Shoe would ship Vassili and Sparks (totally agree with this), and Masse would ship Fragger and Rhino.

If you asked a question on my question request thread this Sunday and don’t see it here, fear not! These are only the points covered tonight; there are more streams this week.

Enjoy… Until next time! #roundup

  • Faraleth
#2

Thanks Faraleth.
Really excited about the upcoming stuff.

(JesseKomm) #3

Thank you for another amazing round-up, Faraleth! Very insightful questions and answers this time around, will be looking forward to seeing what is looked at in greater detail! <3

(Jan S.) #4

The next update is still on track for this week (ie. 15th – 17th September) – remember as always, this can change if there are any major issues.

THAT would make me really, really happy.

Possible: Judging by the way they talked about Dome and Execution in stream, it sounds like Dome will be released before Execution. (No ETA on any release though)

Makes sense. Execution requires more work since it is not only a new map(s), but also a new mode. If everything will be released as planned, it will be very good end of the year for Dirty Bomb content wise.

They understand the Secondary Objectives mission is a little too hard to complete right now. Things are being looked into in order to improve this mission type.

The mission itself doesn’t need any improvements, there are just not enough secondary objectives. I don’t know if it was answered before, but why can’t we construct MGs like in ET?

Question: Will we ever see the longer version of Bridge return? – Never say never. There’s a large unused part of the map which seems a shame to go to waste. They certainly will NOT make Bridge longer again, although it may come back as a separate map/game-mode. (Note: Nothing about this is confirmed, merely speculation from discussion on stream.)

When I was replaying some old videos of DB on Youtube, it really made me sad how many amazing things were removed. I wish I had money to pledge back then :frowning:

Great roundup as always! :slight_smile:

(Canucck) #5

Grandeur SR should be getting some changes in the near future. No exact details on this though.

Hope more details come soon. The grandeur seems like a gun that can be made either completely OP or complete crap with the most minor changes.

(Amerika) #6

[quote=“overwhelmingSquare;81527”]

Grandeur SR should be getting some changes in the near future. No exact details on this though.

Hope more details come soon. The grandeur seems like a gun that can be made either completely OP or complete crap with the most minor changes.[/quote]

Yeee-up. I think they just need to change the sights on it a bit and maybe increase it’s ability to hipfire. It’s not awful…it’s just underwhelming right now as it’s the in-between to the Dreiss and PDP while not being good enough to use over either of those weapons in a lot of situations.

(Eox) #7

Question: Can we expect any balance changes with the SMG’s any time soon? (ie. Kek-10 and Blishlok) – “We are always examining the data, so if we feel buffs or nerfs need to be made, we will do so.”

That’s a no, then ? :confused:

However, very glad they are seriously thinking about getting rid of Phantom’s shield (and buffing invisibility back). This would be a very good start. Some more tweaks and we may expect to make Phantom a skill indexed and efficient merc. :slight_smile:

(Ardez1) #8

@Eox dat profile pic

@Faraleth Excellent roundup as always for us casuals who can’t tune in.

(Eox) #9

You’ve just noticed it ? :stuck_out_tongue:

Herd u liek Fletcherz ?

(Canucck) #10

[quote=“Amerika;81537”][quote=“overwhelmingSquare;81527”]

Grandeur SR should be getting some changes in the near future. No exact details on this though.

Hope more details come soon. The grandeur seems like a gun that can be made either completely OP or complete crap with the most minor changes.[/quote]

Yeee-up. I think they just need to change the sights on it a bit and maybe increase it’s ability to hipfire. It’s not awful…it’s just underwhelming right now as it’s the in-between to the Dreiss and PDP while not being good enough to use over either of those weapons in a lot of situations.[/quote]

I think it’s hands down better than either pdp or dreiss in pubs. 5v5 I’m not sure yet, I haven’t really seen anyone experiment with it much.

If you’re using proper sens with it (>10"/360) you just shouldn’t be using ADS at all atm though imo. When your reticule resets completely (takes under 1s) it is 100% accurate while strafing, and at close ranges you can play it like you’re using a shotgun. As good as the KEK or Crotzni is I’d still rather a grandeur at close range vs a Proxy or Aura, and I’m afraid that’ll change with a rebalance

(watsyurdeal) #11

(misspo) #12

[quote=“Faraleth;17670”]

  • Grandeur SR should be getting some changes in the near future. No exact details on this though.
  • No current plans to add predictable recoil to other weapons which don’t currently have it.
  • Question: Are there any plans to limit ping tolerances on public matches? – “It’s a known issue now and will be discussed internally.”
  • Shoe took note of the point to lower the private server minimum to 5 so that a competitive team can enter a private lobby without forcing a 6th to idle.
  • Question: Will we be able to rent public servers any time soon? – “We have some fun plans for the servers in the future.”
  • Faraleth[/quote]

-Grandeur is very hard to balance! It need a little boost regarding the recoil…
-It’s sad :frowning: Recoil is really cheap actualy.
-That’s nice :slight_smile: A skill based decision.
-Well, i don’t know who had this bad idea at the first place… 6 guys really?
-Ahaha, i really feel the troll lol. It’s like “Aha, they still are believing :slight_smile: it’s cute”.

(MarsRover) #13

I don’t know who’s feedback they did listen to, because Expert Cases are just all-around TERRIBLE. Terrible if you want bling - 30% chance for 2.49 vs 100% chance for 4.99. They are also terrible for Bronze - for 1.00 more you can choose exact loadout you want.

While splitting Elite cases is a teeny-weeny step in the right direction, Expert cases are… I don’t event know what they are.

(I’m grumpy today)

(SteelMailbox) #14

[quote=“Faraleth;17670”][/quote]

News:

[list]
[*] Shoe took down a note for adding melee weapon skins to the game. It’s not being worked on currently, but it may very well happen in the future.[/list]

YES!

[list]
[*] They understand the Secondary Objectives mission is a little too hard to complete right now. Things are being looked into in order to improve this mission type.[/list]

YES!

[list]
[*] Shoe agreed the removal of Phantom’s shield, and making him less visible would be a “step in the right direction”. So, maybe. Maybe…[/list]

I really don’t know what to think of this.

[list]
[*] Question: Will we ever see the longer version of Bridge return? – Never say never. There’s a large unused part of the map which seems a shame to go to waste. They certainly will NOT make Bridge longer again, although it may come back as a separate map/game-mode. (Note: Nothing about this is confirmed, merely speculation from discussion on stream.)[/list]

That will be interesting to say the least.

[list]
[*] Question: Are there any plans to limit ping tolerances on public matches? – “It’s a known issue now and will be discussed internally.”[/list]

Welp, i’m fucked

  • Shoe took note of the point to lower the private server minimum to 5 so that a competitive team can enter a private lobby without forcing a 6th to idle.

Really don’t care that much about this prob.

I won’t give you an ‘Insightful’ cause i’m a rebel but nice stuff man.
EDIT: this post took way too much editing

(B_Montiel) #15

[quote=“Faraleth;17670”]Question: Are there any plans to limit ping tolerances on public matches? – “It’s a known issue now and will be discussed internally.”
[/quote]

Thank you for this round-up and the perseverance you put in for having answers to the questions we had.

Just to expand a bit on this quoted point :
High ping players are not an “issue” as the servers parameters are set now. Anti-lag cope very well with them overall. Anti-lag and everything surrounding it (even including some in-game mechanics like gib after revive) work quite nicely. All this allow us EU players to almost join a West NA server with slight warps solely.

But all this has a downside : this very intricate stuff might make the usual situation (where all the players on a server have below 120 ms ping) over-compensated and unreliable, mainly because it may be compensating too much. Thus recurrent complains about hitreg not being as reliable as it should be, high pingers being sometimes harder to hit than normal pingers, being clearly shot behind walls due to the anti-lag processed client side registration, etc. All those complains I’ve never noticed on any other UE3 based game, which generally also use client-side registration. UE3 has definitely a very good netcode, but it seems very misty here in dirty bomb.

So, the real question is, might this be the case ?

Just putting ping tolerances on servers has no use right now if nothing is brought in as a trade-off. Limiting ping is useless as it is compensating quite well almost up to 180/200ms.
But limiting ping and also re-set the anti-lag to cope with tighter ping allowed might improve this misty feeling we can encounter right now.

And all this can’t be fiddled with by the community as there are no servers rental as of now.

(ludicrousBlast) #16

Am I the only one that doesn’t want phantom’s shield removed? He is wearing armor first of all, more armor than most of the mercs in the game, why make him weaker? It also doesn’t fit his personality. I feel like you might as well add a new merc by doing that. I think phantom is fine as is now, just maybe a slight visibility buff. If you hide in corners invis can be pretty useful. But having no armor almost completely removes his combat effectiveness against more than one person.

(watsyurdeal) #17

Because they marketed him as a STEALTH class, and the fact even Radrado feels that the armor is the only thing keeping him viable means he FAILS as a stealth class.

He is not a tank like Fragger and Thunder, and he should not be built like one either.

He needs actual cloak, working cloak, if anything they could buff his hp back to 120 to compensate. It’s still technically Armor.

(Ardez1) #18

[quote=“Watsyurdeal;81613”]Because they marketed him as a STEALTH class, and the fact even Radrado feels that the armor is the only thing keeping him viable means he FAILS as a stealth class.

He is not a tank like Fragger and Thunder, and he should not be built like one either.

He needs actual cloak, working cloak, if anything they could buff his hp back to 120 to compensate. It’s still technically Armor.[/quote]

Radrodo is a GM, not a dev. He doesn’t contribute to balancing decisions or marketing. He is customer support. It’s like saying a forum mod decides what is balanced or viable in game. It just doesn’t work. While he definitely has somewhat of a point in this instance, do not consider it ‘Expert Opinion’ or as a statement from the Devs.

(ludicrousBlast) #19

[quote=“Watsyurdeal;81613”]Because they marketed him as a STEALTH class, and the fact even Radrado feels that the armor is the only thing keeping him viable means he FAILS as a stealth class.

He is not a tank like Fragger and Thunder, and he should not be built like one either.

He needs actual cloak, working cloak, if anything they could buff his hp back to 120 to compensate. It’s still technically Armor.[/quote]

If he was designed to be a stealth class, he would have not been designed as is. He has SMG’s, revolvers a loud attitude and a katana. Making him have no shield would make him almost exactly like the Spy from TF2, and we all know how that goes. Stay invisible in corners for a while, stab one person, maybe two, then die or run away. Invisibility does not mean stealth. It can be, but does not have to be.

(watsyurdeal) #20

[quote=“ludicrousBlast;81626”]

If he was designed to be a stealth class, he would have not been designed as is. He has SMG’s, revolvers a loud attitude and a katana. Making him have no shield would make him almost exactly like the Spy from TF2, and we all know how that goes. Stay invisible in corners for a while, stab one person, maybe two, then die or run away. Invisibility does not mean stealth. It can be, but does not have to be.[/quote]

Why design him this way? Simple, their logic was that if he has trouble getting within range, it must be because he’s too squishy. Ignoring the fact that if the enemy can see him at all, then he’s boned even before he gets in position. Even with the armor on all it does is delay the inevitable, and make classes that have 100 hp or less feel helpless when a Phantom charges at them for a lunge.

And if you’re comparing Spy in TF2, one, the Spy doesn’t have decent weapons, the Ambassador was the closest thing, and even that wasn’t enough most of the time in competitve. You had to really be nailing your headshots, cause missing a single one meant certain death.

Also, like the Spy, even now with the armor on him, Phantom WILL die to groups of people that are aware of him. That’s just the nature of the class, you’re getting behind enemy lines, alone, so you can fight 1v1 battles, then have to retreat, because even if your aim is God like you’ll at most, kill 2 people before you are outgunned.

That’s just how it works, no amount of buffs or reworks is going to change the fact that by it’s nature, a stealth class is always fighting alone. What really comes into play is timing, and hitting the enemy when they are getting hit from both sides. Crossfire helps, and it also creates distractions.

And, if he’s not a stealth class…then why have the armor at all? To help him get behind people? I’m sorry, is he an assault or a recon? Pretty sure he’s a recon, so I’m pretty sure he’s not a tank like Rhino. He’s a “spooky sneaky ghost”, so he should at least be able to reliably get behind people without being seen. Armor is just a band aid to a problem with execution, they couldn’t figure out how to make him balanced with full cloak and not have him feel cheap, when TF2, yes, did it right. The only other route is the Tribes Ascend Infiltrator, and this game isn’t near fast enough to warrant that.

[quote=“Ardez;81617”]

Radrodo is a GM, not a dev. He doesn’t contribute to balancing decisions or marketing. He is customer support. It’s like saying a forum mod decides what is balanced or viable in game. It just doesn’t work. While he definitely has somewhat of a point in this instance, do not consider it ‘Expert Opinion’ or as a statement from the Devs.[/quote]

I know he’s not a dev and his opinion is just as valid as anyone else here, but I think there’s plenty more who feel the same. The fact that Ludicrous feels the armor shouldn’t go means that people are depending on it too much, because the stealth aspect of the ability itself does not work well enough.