Ready for testing: Missions Phase 1

Does that include the bug where in an aircraft it wasn't pointing int the right direction?

Do remember this system is more aimed towards newer players and I think its a great new addition

I've seen that reported but haven't experienced it. Do you have repro steps that can consistently produce it?

A little "Bugreport" about the mission system UI:

Let's say you are on Indar and get a specific target on the map, now you open your map and take a look on Esamir, you will see the marker on Esamir at the position, the base on indar is at. I hope you can understand what I mean.

I agree It's great for new players.
But I'm not a new player. So why not give the option to turn it off. I don't need an annoying little waypoint in my face all the time telling me where to go.

It's not just a system for new players, that's just the tangible benefit of this phase of the release. It will be expanding to more value, so turning it off is a bit counter-productive.

We are also working on making the waypoint less annoying, feedback received.

Step 1: Spawn at warpgate or anywhere
Step 2: Pull any ESF
Step 3: Marker does not update when in aircraft but whatever will update when you exit the ESF/Aircraft

Heres a Gif

OH you're talking about the arrow above the minimap, correct?

Keep in mind that I'm not talking about turning off the mission itself. Just the waypoint. If a mission pops up and tells me to go somewhere I can still go there. I'm just wondering if a permanent floating icon is necessary. Something to toggle it on and off with could prevent some annoyances.

yup

It's passing right over your head. Some people like to be told what to do because they are completly lost without them. That's fine with me.

but...

I know how to play. I know what I want to do. I make my own decision base experience and my interest at the moment. If I wanted to be given order and execute them, I would be joining another outfit.

Right now, you are clutering my FP and map UI with useless information (unneeded waypoint and whatever that you are going to add). I want to remove them.

Totally agree ... Would rather have the waypoint on the mini-map only, as a semi transparent arrow than a huge icon on the main screen itself ...

Clutter for the sake of clutter isn't a good thing so the option to be able to turn it off all together would be good .. If I choose not to partake in a mission I don't want anything obtrusive cluttering up the main screen.

It's not passing over my head; I have a crystal clear understanding of what you want.

I think you guys are great at listening to and communicating with the community but you really need to stop catering to the whiners and complainers. Some people will never be happy and will always cry about something,I'm afraid you guys will take a popular opinion too far in some cases and mess up something that really works fine for the sake of someone for whom it is just an inconveinence. This goes for EVERYTHING,if there is some kind of bug yeah thats different but most of the time it's just people asking for nerfs or buffs depending on how they play. The mission system works well but it should attempt to create more balanced fights rather than just sending them to the nearest base. The big icons are a good thing for new players and they are a good guide for when I get distracted.

The mission idea is great but a mission should happen like every 45 minutes not every time you complete a mission

There has to be abutom to close this annoying sistem when you don't need it !

Perhaps some sort of transperancy option needs to be implemented. Missions are always running, but you can set the icons to 0%transperency if you don't want to be bothered by them, or 5 percent transparency if you want a general idea of where they are if you check, but want them to blend into the background otherwise. This would also work for basically any other kind of icon: if you intend to fly an ESF, you may not want capture points showing up. If you're playing as an infiltrator, you man not care for vehicle icons.

I checked it out and i had a couple of thoughts on it:

The compass pointer: It was a bit confusing at first because the default mini-map mode is "fixed" but for the compass pointer "North" is towards the mission objective. It's not confusing until you are trying to navigate using your map and the pointer at the same time. Unchecking the "fixed" flag for the mini-map synced the two elements and made it easier to navigate by map. I wonder if setting the compass pointer to be "tied" to the true direction as related to the mini-map based on the mini-map mode would be helpful.

The Mission Marker: Making it smaller would definitely be better. Also consider making it more opaque when it gets out of the center of the screen (or vice versa - so that it is not distracting in fire fights / only solid when stared directly at). Also, when you are moving to an objective, it "just disappears" at around 200 meters. This confused me a bit at first because i didn't know what had happened to it. Only after walking away and seeing it pop back on to screen, and then walking back did I realize that it was telling me I was in the right place. Three suggestions on this: 1) Tie the "HUD objective hide" function distance to the current scale of the mini-map so that when the HUD objective marker disappears, it is visible at the edge of the mini-map. 2) When the HUD Objective Marker is removed, give it a "minimize" animation that shrinks it and slides it to the mini-map ( or under the mission title replacing the compass) while also playing the mission notification sound 3) Replace the "Range to target" (300m) with "Current Location" or "Objective Reached" so that there is still some feedback to the players as to where the objective is in relation to them.

Dynamic Mission Assignment: I love the fact that the game was monitoring where i was and updating my mission accordingly. However, there were a couple of times where I needed to move away from my current objective and it switched my objective when I was still working on the first one. A cool feature to have would be a little padlock icon next to the mission name that is generally unlocked, but that players could click on it to lock their current mission no matter where they roamed to. Once the mission was completed or no longer available, the lock would automatically open.

Mission Selection is Location Based Only: I couldn't be sure but it seemed the only cue for my mission assignments was my current location. I think an additional criteria should be the need for reinforcements. You wouldn't want the mission system sending people to a fight where they already had a 66%/33% advantage. I assume this has already been discussed, but I figured I should mention it.

Overall, i really like it. I think it will be a great addition to the game.

We're looking at the compass pointer issues (also doesn't seem to work when in a vehicle).

Mission marker will be made smaller and have the opaque treatment you are talking about (like what nearby facility markers do). I'm looking all three of your suggestions here, really good feedback!

I like the idea of a lock mechanism, the trick is getting it smooth and intuitive for players. A type of lock mechanism is planned for squad leaders to set the mission objective, which would lock it to the current objective. We should be able to do the same thing with solo players. Perhaps something as simple as the personal or squad waypoint could choose & lock the mission to that region, so long as there is a mission at that location, with the lock expiring when the mission is no longer valid (facility captured, or defense repelled).

Selection logic uses link distance, then action scoring (same underlying system as instant action & reinforcement points), and then real distance to determine which mission to choose. So it will pick a better/underpopulated fight if you have a fork in the lane. Hard to see that on Test though.

Will we see countdown timers returning to the HUD? The mission system seems to have replaced them.