Air exploiting the gimbal lock

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Vaphell, Sep 27, 2014.

  1. Vaphell

    Do we consider it a feature or a bug?

    I just spawned in a pop balanced but losing battle where one lib was completely stationary, at a rather high altidude, exactly over the spawn locking everybody inside. For 2 minutes I was there it didn't move an inch. I have a feeling that that 1 lib singlehandedly won the otherwise pop balanced battle locking everybody inside and giving 50 other people free reign over the base. He was 100% uncounterable from the ground because it was not possible to aim that high, lockons and bursters were unable to do anything despite having the open shield roof that is supposed (supposedly) to help against hover bombing. I checked, you'd have to be well outside of the spawn like to even stand a chance crosshair on his ***. ESFs are limited by gimbal lock too so it's a wash, but libs are not, at least not in a way that matters.

    Thoughts? Personally i it smells a bit like an exploit taking advantage of technical limitations of the engine against people in an unintended manner, not unlike making spawn shields disappear at distance. Infantry based AA is off the table right off the bat.
    • Up x 2
  2. a-koo-chee-moya

    The problem is the players in base, not the lib.
    He could have been easily driven off/ destroyed for hovering like an idiot.
    Also, how did he see everyone and was unhittable at the same time? Infantry render at 400m, which isn't that high, and he would have to be lower to see all the infantry. You could also have just ambushed him with air, or pulled a sunderer up from where he was hittable.
    Bursters should have been able to hit him anyways, as they can look straight up.
  3. FateJH

    To clarify, Liberators belly guns are calibrated (and limited) so that do not encounter gimbal lock and therefore do not have any safeties that stop them from aiming perfectly downwards. Partially, this is due to how their orientation is also based on the orientation of the Vehicle to whicht they are mounted. Infantry and Vehicles are limited by the said lock avoidance measures, partially because they rotate on their own.
  4. maudibe


    I agree....... They should make it so the guns onboard the lib have to fire at least 3 degrees forward or backward and cannot be fired directly below exactly so they cannot sit right over a tank or other object and be impervious to fire OR...make it so infantry and other vehicles can fire straight vertically above them.
  5. radrussian2

    redeploy and spawn esf/lib. whats the point of even focusing on lock on? if its out of range its out of range.
    • Up x 1
  6. Shadowomega

    No one tried to fall back and pull Anti Air or Anti Armor? Sounds more like the defending factions fault to me.
    • Up x 7
  7. Outake

    max bursters cant look 100% up and you prob cant get air to kill him cuz all the other ppl that are not spawn camping your spawn cuz the lib is, are going to be defing it, cuz they have nothing els to do. also same gos for pulling a sundy or anti air tank from a dif base, all the other people are going to be doing nothing so there going to be looking for things to shoot as in air or tanks or sundys coming into the base to help
  8. SeanFree

    You could have pulled a certed tankbuster lib and one-clipped him, can't be that hard if he's hovering. Just hop out as drifter LA after they die and be on your merry way.
    • Up x 1
  9. Vaphell

    so if he hanged at 200-300m which is a lot he could easily see everything but was 99% safe. You are saying that every time that happens the base should given to the enemy for god know how much time, because organizing reinforcements from the outside is not instant. That time is stolen and used by the enemy to fortify in your own godddamned base. I am asking why exploiting this "feature" should nullify half the viable counters that are on the table.

    really? why wouldn't they be limited by the gimbal lock?
  10. Hatesphere

    or trial then pull a skygaurd from any base and drive like 1 minute to get a good angle on a hovering non moving lib.
    • Up x 1
  11. a-koo-chee-moya

    1. 200-300m is really, really, really low, and if he was hovering, he should've been able to easily be dumbfired or flaked. 99% safe he is not.

    2. All you need to sacrifice is one guy. He/she pulls a skyguard and bye bye Lib. It will at least give you plenty of time to at least push out and gain some cover outside your spawn to shoot at the lib.
  12. Vaphell

    people, was your reaction to the shield unrendering exploit "no problem, just pull AP tank in some other base and attack the dude from behind" or rather "it BS, SOE do something and ban the douches!" ? Somehow i feel it's #2, but how is that so much different?
  13. Hatesphere

    because he isn't shooting through the shield into a safe zone, you are letting him shoot you in the open play field while not pulling an single AA or air unit to deal with it, it would seem.
  14. Vaphell

    How should i know how high exactly he was? I assume he was near the rendering threshold, just enough to see **** on the ground (the spawn was bombarded left and right). He was not there for funzies but to farm with impunity.

    don't you understand that i tried and there was no place where i could aim the HA tube that high? I'd have to step out like 5m into the enemy fire to even try. BTW drop on dumbfires would make it even worse because you need to aim even higher, wouldn't it. 10m then?
  15. Vaphell

    AA MAXes and HAs are not AA? News to me.
    He uses limitations of the engine to create safe zone for himself against his immediate targets which is kind of the opposite. Is it intended for air to be in plain view yet immune to dumbfires, lockons and bursters?
    Convince me it's not a less severe exploit because the deadzone is relatively small, but what if the deadzone was larger? When it would start being perceived as a problem? at 60 deg? 45?
  16. Hatesphere

    except he isn't immune to that, for some reason you think you have to spawn at that one base to deal with him no mater what. If the infantry there also had you locked in so you couldn't use the surrounding buildings to get a better angle, its likely not the lib thats the only problem. hell you could have even pulled an uncerted ESF and got him to wiggle a little to give your troops some breathing room again.
    • Up x 2
  17. Benwah


    My thoughts exactly. That, and they probably couldn't handle 2 or 3 people leaving at the same time in different directions. Honestly, it sounds like more of a problem with your team's communication and teamwork than an unfair exploit.
    • Up x 2
  18. Shadowomega

    If he was killing you in the spawn room then report him for bug exploitation; if he is killing you the moment you step out then its your own problem, for not sending people back to pull air in to deal with it. 350 meters above a spawn room and can't aim high enough to hit him isn't an exploit. That is like jumping on a tanks turret to avoid getting shot by it.
  19. Vaphell

    That logic can be used in case of exploiters killing people in safe spaces too. You are asking for a gameplay based solution to a problem that exists outside of game mechanics in the engine itself.
    "Just pull a counter from some other place and kill the problem - if you can't do that easily, surely it's not your only problem that's causing you to lose the base".... No **** sherlock, that other problem would be that the exploit synergizes with other people who have an order of magnitude easier job thanks to ill gotten tactical advantage. Different degree but exact same principle.
  20. Hatesphere

    sorry but you dont seem to be willing to have a constructive conversation, I dont see this as an engine exploit, since the angle of fire on infantry was set that way most likely for a reason, just like the angle of fire on a tank. its it an exploit when infantry fire up on tanks that cant fire back down from some angles?