jrichards

Ran across this site, from the [url="http://damageinc.cryptic.com/"]Damages Inc[/url] guild site from Live, the other day: Has a lot of info but a few things I found cool were the [url="http://damageinc.cryptic.com/HuntingSpots.html"]Hunting Grounds[/url], the Missions and [url="http://damageinc.cryptic.com/cgi-bin/Missions.cgi"]Walk-Throughs[/url],and the [url="http://damageinc.cryptic.com/GuildHunts.html"]Notes on Guild Hunts[/url] which gives mob behavior/skills for Ardus and Antares mobs. Some very good info there, if the devs don't already have it.

Example of command line functions: /HideLogin (toggle 1 or 0 to display/not display the toon's login/logoff information in) /HideLoginGuild (toggle 1 or 0 to display/not display the toon's login/logoff information to member's in the player's guild) /WhoS *sectorname* (shows all online players in sector that are not set to hidden login) /WhoG *guildname* (shows all online players in sector that are not set to hidden login) /WhoP *playername* (shows online players that have a name similar to the one entered that are not set to hidden login) /WhoA (shows all online players that are not set to hidden login) and the most important: /HideFromRyle which would return "YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM ME!!!!!"

Maybe add a /command for it such as '/messagefieldclear 1' to enable and '/messagefieldclear 0' to disable? I know I don't want to see this info but I can understand those that do. This might be cool to enable more types of messaging to be enabled/disabled per player......if the Devs want to code it .

There are actually several non Jen reactors that have better recharge but that, due to the recharge buff on the draco and gallina are not worth it for the JD and JS. The JE's ability to use the fornax and scutums makes the gallina and draco actually not the best choice to make at lower levels....but most players tend to go with whats easiest/the consensus...even if its wrong. At Level 7 I found the Cygnus to be an awful reactor when compared to the Veil.....but many people still think the cygnus is better due to cap. I live by recharge; if it never runs out it doesn't matter what the cap is....but I know I am in the minority. So whats the real reason players use these reactors? The reactor recharge buff. Now since the JS gets a reactor skill they could likely get away with not using these reactors.....but the JD is really stuck. Unfortunately I really would prefer that players, that do not group with other players that can buff their reactor's, have to deal with reactor issues and need to find/equip the proper devices/weapons to nullify the issue they have. Regardless of what gear is added/modified there will always be a 'best' set of gear to use. There is no way around min/maxing in an MMO. At the moment all the best gear, that is PM, can and is made at F7 by a few players so their isn't much of a challenge. It would be interesting to see a type of 'set' gear be implemented. IE: when you equip two pieces of a set you get a certain bonus, add another piece and you gain another bonus. When only having a single item it may not be worth it but upon gaining a second item it becomes better than the standard gear. Or having printable AA and proto gear....maybe based on missions/faction so not all players can use it/equip it. At this point in the EMU though I wouldn't want the devs spending time on this as it can/will likely further prevent balance from being achieved. I do think that a lot of people are way over-geared with items that are overpowered for their level and for the mobs that are currently in the EMU. I would remind everyone that there are still a large number of items that are not working in the game including item buffs. Once these are fixed it may open up more 'alternate' gear use.

or even make the weaker stuff tradable......hey wait a second. Is the current system, which works very similarly to Live, even broken? In Live you had several of the 'lower' level Fury items (3-6+) and only a few (1-3) of the Master items. Generally first time raiders/alts would get the lower level Fury item, as there were a lot more of them, until they could upgrade to a Master item. Once a player had a master item they generally spaced the fury item. This is gear progression. I don't see any issue with the current system and really don't think there is any reason to adjust the stats on any sets of weapons just so those people that do raids can use more raid items. If there are un-looted items, and Raiders feel bad about spacing it, then always announce it in market. Occasionally this does happen. Unlike Live any player can enter a FB even after the Master is dead and pickup loot. Are there a lot of 'useless' items in the game. Yes and no. Some items have a very very specific uses, others are really just an additional item to print, and others simply cannot be used.......yet Before altering or removing all this 'so called' useless gear do we really want the devs to have to wade through all of that gear now and make the decision? What happens if that useless gear becomes useful if/when content is added? Will devs have to go back and re-add it? It would seem to me, if we are hitting beta, to fix any items that are not working but not to change them. If and when the Devs say we are ready to go Live, and if they are willing, would be the time to look at modifying existing items. However, and this is a big however, I love that there are tons of items in the game. Personally I am more annoyed with the 'way overpowered' items that were not in Live (examples: proto gear, Made to Live, Caster items, etc). I love that people argue about what is best to use and that they actually have compelling reasons behind it.....even if those reasons cannot yet be proven due to game functionality not yet working. If the devs start to remove or alter items, that were present in Live, just because some people believe its useless, who does this really help?

Can we get something like this added to the game? [img]http://mommyhoodtohollywood.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ChildLeashWoman.jpg[/img]

Ooohhhh!!!! Hopefully this doesn't violate the EMU Devs non-disclosure of damn cool stuff to a player-base that hates everything.

I looooove poprocks. It actually makes mining a challenge/skill based. "What, skill based?" Although poprocks used to be stupidly obvious, just from looking at them, they appear to blend in a bit more nowadays (not always mind you). So a miner really has to check the rock they are mining, check the color/texture, and see if the ore inside corresponds to said texture. Mining in EnB is not a boring sport, it requires players to actually think about what they are doing.....well unless yer a PS (nerf those 190k shields) On all of the poprocks I run into one, if not more, of these checks cause me to to think, "this roid is gonna pop, can I withstand it?" Now here is the next skill check......can you survive this rock blowing up? If you are mining way above your level then you may want to avoid that rock.....or take a chance of getting 'blowed up' all over the roid field yer in. Now if there is zero distinguishing texture or ore in a poprock then I think we have what I like to classify as A BUG! The EMU devs are not about randomly killing players with no warning. So if you run into this happening, write up a bug. As we are entering Beta its all about balance. Does the game provide enough info to the player, is the damage output properly corresponding to the risk the player is taking. NOTE: If I am not paying attention my 150 JE can get her ass kicked by pop rocks......just like if I was doing combat. I have no clue about poprocks in jobs....as I avoid jobs like they are.....well......jobs.

You could actually set this up without purchasing a certificate too. Its pretty easy to do. Windows server: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/298805 Linux (Apache): http://www.thegeekstuff.com/2011/03/install-apache2-ssl/ Linux (Fedora): http://www.howtoforge.com/secure_websites_using_openssl_and_apache

I actually was able to repro the insta-cloak bug and the 'zero damage once cloaked' bug very easily with my JE on CL 53 voltoi bosses. Even with two second cloak activation Jen need to be taking damage....which they just currently are not....unless they mis-time these exploits. Has anyone bugged these two issues, which are not JD specific but Jen specific, in the Bug tracker?

[quote name='Terminal' timestamp='1341036650' post='59858'] Well, I'm back again. So like, rejoice and stuff. [/quote] Woot! [quote name='heyuu' timestamp='1341081305' post='59913'] Some of my friends left due to the rude and crude remarks made in chat and if you say anything about it seem like alot more would jump in with thier own remark. So they quit playing and I do not blame them. [/quote] [img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kkS8u5gMpg4/T0fv07M4S1I/AAAAAAAADXQ/KeJoLV0IOCM/s1600/snl_really.jpg[/img] MMO's require a little thicker skin. Also note that all channels can be disabled very easily.

net-7.org is down.......and some people are getting stuck at the login screen with the same error as yesterday. Others are able to get in fine though.

He's just resting. [img]http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2331/2159336211_4d1b3a740d_z.jpg?zz=1[/img]

[quote name='wootage' timestamp='1341024493' post='59845'] Or, and this is what I observe from everyone but Progens at this point, Terrams will simply kite easy mobs for xps and loot until they're 150 and can go raiding. The fact that there are some things that are a challenge doesn't mean Terranss are balanced. I agree there's a lot of changes to be made, and I expect Jenq and Progens to get some nerfs too. [/quote] I don't think Jen or Terrans are balanced. There are several threads running about insta cloak jen soloing raid mobs and PWs that cant handle more than two mobs. But the fact is that mobs are definitely not balanced at all. I would rather the Devs start by ensuring the mobs are all working correctly rather than looking at changing class mechanics. One big part, that was present in Live, but I don't see in the EMU, is the reactor issues terrans had. With all the jen alts, buffs, and power leveling I don't think we really see terrans fighting with reactors that run dry like I experienced in Live while leveling. Those 10 levels increments, after getting an ML upgrade until my reactor would catch up, were tough going. Add all the items that reduce weapon energy cost (pride devices, L5 onyx ogun) or that give instant shunts (Nero and Warrior reactor lines, shield energy transfer, marty'rs heart) and they take the 'weakness' that the terrans had in Live and make it go 'bye, bye'. There are a few ways, I think, to balance out Terran kiting but I don't think any of them are that good on their own. In Live terrans could solo kite and kill mobs a lot higher than their level. Some could argue that the Terrans are the 'easy mode' class but as such don't perform as well in combat (and now mining) but to counter that they could kite mobs much easier than the other two races. The devs could slightly increase ML energy cost or give mobs, that are being attacked by significantly lower players, a long range reactor debuff. "You want to fight mobs 10+ levels over your CL then you better bring a Jen along to give you more energy." Unfortunately I think even that idea is pretty easy to get around since there are so many ways around reactor recharge problems.....at least for players that have some experience. It may be quite different for players that have never played the EMU before and use a terran class.....I just don't know. Realistically I think the best way to really stop terrans from kiting mobs way over their CL is to give mobs a bonus defense vs MLs, if the difference in CL is more than a certain amount or, and I think this was how Westwood balanced it in live....to a certain degree; really increase the miss chance of ML weapons so that the miss rate goes up by (these are just examples as I have no clue how Westwood balanced this) 25% when the mob was 5 CL higher, 50% miss rate at 8 CLs higher, and anything 10+ levels higher terrans couldn't do enough damage to counter the mobs shield recharge. I know in Live I would kite mobs 5-8 CLs over my level but my reactor took a pounding and my xp per minute numbers were awful. I do think the answer is in balancing and not re-designing the class or nerfing the weapons/skills/play style though.

No login = sad panda: [img]http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0vkyhoQWN1qd834x.jpg[/img]

Terrans were designed by Westwood to be ranged. Not in close (Jen) or mid-range (Progen) but the guys that could kite almost anything in the game given enough skill and room. With top level gear this range was huge.....and for some mobs it made them very very easy. But there were a whole host of mobs that if a terran got too close they got dead. I think people are seeing the result of mobs not being ramped up and assuming that terrans are too powerful.....but so are progen and jen in my experience. Even being surrounded by Ten-gu there really isnt much of a challenge if you have a trader and a few warriors. Until the devs get into fixing/balancing mobs, for all levels, this will remain a "OMG, ***class**** is overpowered!" but this is due to the EMU not being done yet.....not bad game or class design. Trust me, you do not want to be a TE capped at 5k range and try to solo the CL 60 Terran ship in Luna that, in Live, dropped the Type A ML and Supernova reactor. It had huge range, was deadly fast, and got assistance from the gate turret if you got in range of it. This was an epic battle even if your TE was crazy geared. There are a ton of mobs that have a lot of skills that make kiting difficult for a terran. Just wait until they start balancing the mobs......and watch out when they add mobs that can scan blind (gazers), grav link (voltoi, ten-gu), and warp (gazers, riders, high level bogeril, etc)........then yer gonna equip a supernova and Eagle Wing and every other speed device you can get yer hands on.

[quote name='Klyde' timestamp='1340998220' post='59835'] I didn't see it posted anywhere, will the Beta be closed or open? [/quote] The EMU is already open to anyone that wants to create an account and download the client. Previously it was Open Alpha (though the Devs just didn't tell anyone) and now they have declared BETAAAAA!!!!!!. [img]http://www.ibridgeplayer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/thumbs-up2.jpg[/img]

[quote name='Logane' timestamp='1340449986' post='59589'] There was an implementation to stop Jenquai from firing too far away. I suppose it was a problem because it actually got done. Now, how come beamers are the only ones affected by the range of their attacks? If distance really does matter, and beams of light energy are affected, then why isn't something that actually has sizable mass, guided or not, subject to basic laws of physics? [/quote] I am not currently seeing the 50% reduced damage from beams at max range the way it was in Live. You can be at max range and still do 100% damage. However what you are talking about are Westwood's game design choices based on balance and not 'real physics.' Real world laser beams do not stay at full strength for unlimited range.....add a plasma shield into the mix and you could argue that the only way to ensure the beam does max damage, it it hits at all due to the plasma shield changing frequencies, is to be in the 'sweet' spot where there is zero degradation from particulates, gravity, wave theory, and strong force effects. In Live I seem to recall MLs having a longer range ( at max level maybe 10K?) then they do now. PLs seem about right though.

Actually I think the RD Station was the very first raid introduced in Live. As such the DPS of these weapons when factored in with their debuffs, at the time, was not too bad. However with all the additional raid gear added in Live, and now the EMU dev added gear, the RD station raid in AP's gear is really showing its age when comparing the items that drop from it (look at the devices/reactors too......they are all way behind the curve). However the three weapons from the RD Base raid all had very......very cool debuffs. I would hate to see these weapons....or their great debuffs.....disappear or be moved onto different/better gear. The debuffs alone made them fun to use even with their very very low dps....however as Live continued the lack of dps caused these weapons to go into vaults and never be used.....which is sad.[list] [*]Singularity Mortar (PL): increased grav link skill and really anchored any mob hit with it so it could not move. [*]Tractor Repulsor (beam): reduced shield recharge basically burned down the mobs shield......slowly....and added a 40% damage increase (basically) when attacking the mobs hull. [/list] I would definitely like to see the debuffs remain and the damage to be upped.....slightly......but in two different ways.......and through missions and possible raids. As an example maybe have a mission to learn how to make the ammo for the ML and PL. To get the mission you have to have the weapon equipped and talk to a specific NPC.....but not an RD. Maybe something along the lines of 'We got ahold of these weapons and our engineers were able to make improvements on the ammo. However the RDs recently stole this new technology from us so we cannot use it......yet. Go 'liberate' the technology from their advanced weapons facility located in ***** and we may have a reward for you. The amount of the ammo damage increase is something that can be tweaked without changing the weapons (see the threaded archo round) and provides an additional reason to do the original RD base raid in AP even at the point when there will be 7+ raids like in Live. It could even open up another raid, if the devs were interested in creating it, where the players attack an RD weapons facility. I would love to see more RD stuff that isn't confined to BBW/Paramis and that had an ongoing storyline that was a critical part of it. If the devs even wanted to take it up another notch they could have the tech being stolen by the Chavez.......which could lead to Chavez HB, SM, and TR's with increased DPS and a Cavez raid where these items drop. The biggest problem I always see in MMO's is keeping old raids/gear relevant when adding more powerful items. There are several ways to do this, whether its mission based, raid based, or trade based....upgrading the weapons/gear or having them be used to get better versions of the same gear, the way that Westwood did with the Solar sail......is, in my opinion, just great game design. NOTE: If you have to uninstall a weapon during a fight there is a problem with the design......I mean seriously that's just a player trying to correct a problem with an item. You should want to use these weapons not uninstall them after 1 shot......there is no, "I want to using a boring generic ten-gu PL cause its so cool".....it's "I have to use it because the cool weapons do so little damage." I think most EMU players prefer cool weapons even if the dps is a little lower......but not if its 3 levels of magnitude lower.

[quote name='quzbuk' timestamp='1340289170' post='59333'] I like the sound of the decoy probe ability. The Scout could scoot in, launch a distracting probe, mine an asteroid and then zoom away. [/quote] [quote name='quzbuk' timestamp='1340289170' post='59333'] That seems very Terran from what I have seen so far. [/quote] Sounds like a lot of potential probe action going on. Decoy Probe: Level 1) Send out Probe! Level 2) Send out Bigger, Stronger, More Wow Probe! Level 3) Allows Probe to generate lubrication field for Added Goodness (effects may vary!) Level 4) Allows Probe to cloak and and use lube field (there is no avoiding it now!) Level 5) "OMG, THAT IS TOO MUCH PROBE!"

The EMU was started by the devs to play a game that they loved.....not to make money and not to be run by the playerbase.....it was a pet project.......for the devs. They havea done a ton of work over the last, what 6+ years now? At some point people, that knew the devs were working on an emu and visited the site, starting asking when there would be a public server available for anyone to test the code. This took a while but eventually the devs felt it would be worth the huge amount of time to setup a public server. I am sure they felt it would assist them with testing the code, helping get bugs fixed, and reward players that loved the game. Unfortunately a large amuount of the player base seems to act like they deserve 'x' and 'y' with a side of 'z' since they invest time and occasionally donate $. I hate that attitude.....with a passion Keep in mind at [b]any[/b] point the dev team can decide to [b]kill[/b] the public server and move the development back to only the dev server. So rather than the 'players' having to be made happy by the devs or 'the emu will die' I would argue the player base should make the devs happy or the devs might just kill the player base. I mean what happens if the devs said, "screw these punks, let them deal with not playing this EMU and they can pay for their own server and generate their own code." They could just turn off the sunrise server. Would the EMU be dead? Nope, because the EMU is the people that are coding it. The player base would have been tossed out the door by a dev team that felt they could get the game they wanted to play done with a whole lot less hassle. Be nice to the devs......they frickin' rock. All this talk of player wipes is a bunch of hogwash that some players have been ranting about for YEARS! Yes, at some point, the devs have said that they will perform a wipe.....after they get everything working and want a final test before the game is close to 'release'. We are no where close to that so please stop bringing that up. If anyone has friends that are not playing due to an 'imminent player wipe' smack them upside the head and ask them if they want to buy a bridge......cause I have a huge one to sell them......cheap™. [img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7snEihuZDxQ/T8-bz4QfA1I/AAAAAAAACnM/CiBjo_i-u8U/s1600/Bridge-to-nowhere.jpg[/img]

The majority of gear you will be using, as a scout, will benefit more from MLs than beams (ML damage and range buffs, added thrust, warp, and maneuverability). No explorer class (Jen Explorer, Progen Sentinel, or Terran Scout) can make weapons/ammo but you can mine the ore for ammo (which can become beneficial at L9). Something else to consider, once you max out all the skills you want to max, is that you may find it useful to use beams while mining. I knew a few PS that would swap PLs for beams to save cargo space for ore......but with high ML ammo stack size and a larger hold this may not be nearly as much of a benefit for a TS as for a PS.

I don't recall lower levels of high levels skills being on a shorter timer and doing the same damage. My PW;s shield sap in live was never spam-able nor was my JE or JD shield/energy leach. I think the functionality is working correctly and its simply a matter of balance at this point. Does the skill, per level, drain enough and can be used in an effective rotation. Those are the points I would argue about, give feedback and examples on. Spamming these skills, as you could do months ago, just isn't going to happen unless the Devs get hit by a herd of moose.....it could happen [img]http://www.gifs.net/Animation11/Animals/Deer_and_Moose/moose_runs.gif[/img]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orh5IePXv_4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orh5IePXv_4[/url]

Please write this up in the Bug Tracker. thanks,