Test Server Update - Jan. 28, 2021 (Outfit Wars Revamp)

Discussion in 'Test Server: Announcements' started by RPG_Wrel, Jan 28, 2021.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. RPG_Wrel Lead Designer

    LEARN HOW TO GET ON THE PUBLIC TEST SERVER HERE:
    https://forums.daybreakgames.com/ps...st-test-server-policies-download-link.114038/


    Outfit Wars Revamp
    We've been diligently working on an overhaul to the Outfit Wars tournament layer that was introduced last year, and are pleased to announce the newest version of it.

    Unlike previous cycles, all outfits now compete against one another on the Desolation asteroid belt during the qualifiers, instead of gathering resources in the sandbox. Where you rank compared to the rest of your faction changes based on your victories and losses during the qualifiers and the playoffs thereafter. Outfits of similar rank are pitted against one another, creating more movement up and down the ladder.

    A detailed breakdown on phases and scoring can be found in this article: http://www.planetside2.com/news/ps2-outfit-wars-alpha-3-pts-january-2021

    Rewards
    This revamp also introduces a new delivery mechanism for rewards, and new rewards based on your outfit's rank during the season. When your final outfit rank is determined for the season, rewards are doled out based on your placement.

    Some of these rewards are for the outfit itself, like War Assets or Outfit Resources, and others are personal, given to the participants. During the championship match, the outfit taking home the gold, silver, or bronze medals receive an additional reward atop their standard rank reward. Lastly, each player participating in a Desolation match is given 500 ISO-4 upon completion, similar to a standard alert. This happens in every match.

    PTS TESTING INFORMATION BELOW
    • The PTS testing schedule is as follows below. All outfits with 12 or more players will be able to join in, though that number will become outfits of 48 or more when the update is released on Live.
    • Characters must also be Loyalty Rank 3 or greater in order to go to Desolation for a match.
    • You can receive free Outfit Loyalty and other currencies from the holographic Flash located on Sanctuary, next to Representative Ayla in the Atrium.
    -PTS SCHEDULE-
    This first run on PTS will be an extremely compressed schedule, consisting of only 3 matches total, taking place a single day. The goal of this test is to ensure each match can move through the steps without interruption, and that rewards get doled out correctly.

    All of the times below are in PST.
    Enlistment Phase
    • Starting Immediately
    • Ending Jan. 30 - 12:00am
    Qualifiers (First Match)
    • Jan. 30 - 12:15pm OR Jan. 30 - 12:30pm
    Playoffs (Second Match)
    • Jan. 30 - 2:00pm OR Jan. 30 - 2:15pm
    Championship (Final Match)
    • Jan. 30 - 3:45pm
    EXECUTION ON LIVE
    When Outfit Wars heads to Live for the first time, we'll be running the final "Alpha Cycle" that will use a total of 6 rounds taking place over 6 weeks. We consider this a somewhat compressed schedule, compared to its "go-time" counterpart which is intended to take place over 10 rounds. From there, the plan will be to periodically run new Outfit Wars throughout the year using the same format. Ultimately though, the length of the Outfit War seasons will be something we get a feel for based on the interest from Live. Each new season of Outfit Wars will come with new rewards for the participants, on top of your standard bragging rights.


    Continent Changes
    • Indar's Seabed Listening Post's control point can no longer be contested through a wall.
    • The continued barrage of Orbital Strikes to TI Alloys on Indar seems to have damaged the hardline beneath it. The base has become inoperable, and will require maintenance before coming back online.
    War Assets
    Made some minor adjustments to weights, crafting times, and costs to encourage use of some of the smaller assets, and bumped the cost of Orbital Strikes. We'll likely be taking another look at expeditions in the future.

    Heavy A.N.V.I.L.
    • Weight from 25 to 10
    Medium A.N.V.I.L.
    • Weight from 15 to 5
    • Crafting time reduced from 5 minutes to 2 minutes.
    Light A.N.V.I.L.
    • Weight from 5 to 1
    • Reduced the number created per crafting attempt from 3 to 1
    • Crafting time reduced from 5 minutes to 1 second.
    Orbital Strike
    • Polystellarite cost from 0 to 15
    Tactical Deployables
    Cortium Bomb
    • Can now be placed indoors.
    • Is no longer disarmed from taking damage.
    • Disarming is now done by interacting with the Cortium Bomb, requiring a 3.5 second channel.
    • Allies can also disarm this device.
    Dev Note: Cortium Bomb is definitely seeing some meme use on Live, but being able to disarm it easily from any distance didn't create the tension it was originally intended to. Having this tool in the toolbox now means that players can intentionally create space, even in indoor fights, forcing a commitment from enemies while creating a mini-defense objective for allies. Allowing allies to disarm the device also reduces the possibility for trolling, and helps ensure that the device only gets placed when everyone is on the same page about its use.


    Infantry
    Burning Resistance
    • We've added a new "Burning" resistance (type 64) that is used for... well... things that set you on fire.
    • This includes Pillager's damage over time, Incendiary Underbarrels, Thumper Incendiary rounds, and the Hunter crossbow's Incendiary bolts.
    • At the moment, Flak Armor will not mitigate this damage, though effects that grant you overall resistances (Resist Shield, as an example) or armor buffs, will do so.
    Dev Note: The way our engine works currently, is that resistances tend to dictate what audio you hear when damage is inflicted on you. Much of the damage over time dealt from incendiary weapons was using the common explosives resistance, which was meant for... well, explosives. So you'd periodically hear the "thoom, thoom, thoom," instead of a sizzle that'd be more indicative of your burning state. It does also present us with opportunities to use the burning damage type as a way to bypass some of the other resistances in the game, which helps further define a niche. Currently, incendiary's damage mirrors that of the common explosive, so no changes to the actual damage output of any of these effects, with the exception of protection provided by Flak Armor, which does not mitigate this damage type.

    Fortify (Implant)
    • Standing still for 1/0.75/0.5/0.1 seconds now activates a 20% small arms resistance until you move again, down from 4/3.5/2.75/2 seconds.
    • Rank 5 of this implant continues to provide 50% resistance to common explosives.
    • Modified shield visuals, and made them personal to the player.
    Dev Note: This implant was previously modified without making it into the patch notes several updates ago. In this update it receives adjustments that make it easier to use.

    New Conglomerate MAX Weaponry
    The changes below nudge the NC MAX's shotgun weaponry closer to VS and TR MAX in terms of overall viability. These shotguns continue to sacrifice damage per magazine and effective range for better burst damage in close quarters, but the penalties for doing so should be less severe now, and versatility should be improved slightly.

    NCM1 Scattercannon - Hard-hitting, default shotguns.
    • Is now an automatic weapon.
    • Rate of fire from 120 rounds per minute to 130 rounds per minute.
    • Max damage per pellet from 125 to 130.
    • Min damage per pellet from 35 to 50.
    • Mag size from 9 to 10.
    • Reserve ammo from 81 to 90.
    AF-34 Mattock - Extended range shotguns.
    • Is now an automatic weapon.
    • Number of pellets from 3 to 4.
    • Mag size from 12 to 14.
    • Reserve ammo from 96 to 112.
    AF-41 Hacksaw - High rate of fire shotguns.
    • Rate of fire from 209 rounds per minute to 218 rounds per minute.
    • Min damage from 25 to 50.
    • Mag size from 9 to 12
    • Reserve ammo from 81 to 108.
    AF-23 Grinder - High-capacity shotguns.
    • Rate of fire from 120 rounds per minute to 130 rounds per minute.
    • Min damage from 20 to 35.
    • Mag size from 18 to 22.
    • Reserve ammo from 126 to 154.
    Vehicles
    Colossus Heavy Tank
    • Tank Mine resistance (type 9) from -100 to -50.
    Dev Note: This moves the total number of mines to kill a full-health Colossus from 4 to 6.


    Visual Updates
    The visuals on the following items have been improved. The details have been modeled in and improved upon, and the meshes cleaned up. In addition, we were able to move them off of older, less-used or unique texture sheets, which gives us savings in memory overhead, and the texture sheet they were transferred to allows us to give them a more modern look and feel.
    • Spawn Beacon has received updated visuals.
    • VS Proximity Mine has received updated visuals.
    • NC Bouncing Betty has received updated visuals.
    • TR Claymore has received updated visuals.
    • NSO's F.U.S.E. mine has received entirely new visuals.
    • The Engineer's Ammunition Pouch has received updated visuals.
    • Tank Mines have received updated visuals.
    • Medical Applicator has received updated visuals.
    • C-4 Detonator has received a slight update.
    • C-4 bricks have received updated visuals.
    • Engineer's ACE Tool has received updated visuals.
    Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions
    • Made additional fixes to the strafing animation that should resolve the remaining "teleportation" occurring when firing semi-auto weapons.
    • Fixed an issue where using quick melee after firing a weapon wouldn't show the animation for onlookers.
    • Glaive IPC should no longer be missing a turret in some cases.
    • Removed the large Bounty notification in the center of the screen.
    • Updated the ANT minimap icons to follow the style of other vehicles in the game.
    • Nomad Armor (NC armor set) should no longer have clipping around the bracer area.
    • Headlights should now work on NSO vehicles.
    • Optimized particles on the Prowler's deploy animation, which was causing noticeable frame drops.
    • The Flash XS-1 (Tactical Deployable) has its own unique model now, a more lightweight version of the standard Flash, with a single seat.
    • Cerberus' (VS Sidearm) optics should no longer be floating.
    • The Ammunition Belt suit slot now functions with the SR-200 (NSO Sniper Rifle).
    • Thumper's reticle has been updated for better target visibility.
    • A new "Basic Banner Frame" can be purchased with certs or DBC from the Profile Screen, or the Depot.
    • Up x 3
  2. ican'taim

    1. FINALLY! Hopefully people will fight on other places now!
    2. Not an NC main, but this hopefully will make the NC max competitive
    3. Models look much better, 10/10
    4. Bug fixes are always great

    Will we ever see anything about the L20 Python, or is that for Chapter 3?
  3. ican'taim

  4. Liewec123

    fantastic to see NC max getting some help!
    now that NC are getting their max back, can we have free air and max alerts back?
    those were so much fun :)
    • Up x 2
  5. Orcusian

    The assault will become more dangerous. For defenders, there is always a problem with explosive damage spam. For those who are storming, the same problem. But what about the bomb that needs to be disarmed? Storm right now and set someone to her? Wait for the explosion, but won't there be another one after? It seems to me 3.5 seconds is very long.
  6. Nighda Venesis

    Looks to me like the Medical Kits and Restoration Kits have new models too.
    Does the Engineer's ACE Tool refer to the Nano Repair Tool, or is it something else?
  7. ican'taim

    It refers to the circular device that you hold when you want to place a turret, deployable, construction object, etc
    • Up x 1
  8. Demigan

    Outfit wars:

    Its a start, it'll help with casual players not being overrun by outfits that completely destroy any chance of having fun, excepting the few masogists. This gives you some time to start overhauling the gameplay mechanics so players arent encouraged to avoid fights and only select fights with an almost guaranteed chance to win through zerging, ghostcaps and making playing against them so unfun that players just leave.

    TI Alloys:

    I dont understand this apparent hate towards large-scale combat. Players want to be there, and for some reason you want to push them into gameplay that they are obviously avoiding and not engaging in. I can understand the want to get people fighting all over the place, but do you really need to force them into it? When Escalation dropped everyone and their dog tried it, they wanted it to work but the game's main goals of capturing the continent are achieved by avoiding the main attraction of large-scale fights.
    Stop trying to force people into gameplay they are avoiding by removing the very things they choose to play instead. Start making the things you want them to do fun. Make sure that trying to capture the continent encourages players to make balanced, fair fights.

    War assets:

    A greater focus on teamplay assets? Great! Continue that with assets that focus on the entire faction rather than outfit-oriented murder-boosts.

    Cortium bomb:

    Yes! Player-made objectives are a great way to enhance the game. Add more changes and items like this!

    Burning resistance:

    Smart decision. You could easily expand this into some weapons and tactical options. A short area denial grenade, infantry flame-throwers, DOT effects like plasma or chemical weapons.

    NC MAX weapons:

    Great! I hope it works. I would love some more versatility as well such as the ability to switch to solid-slugs but with lower ranged potential than the VS and TR. The VS and TR are still powerful up close, but the NC turns to a tickler at range due to the accuracy and still high damage dropoff.
  9. ican'taim

    TI alloys sucks a good chunk of faction pop into a zone that is largely irrelevant, especially during alerts. This causes zergs to be hard to stop because at least a quarter is doing pointless fighting at that base. I'd rather have that pop balancing zergs and taking territory to win the alert.
  10. Demigan

    Ask yourself: Why are they there in a "largely irrelevant" base?
    In the past it was The Crown that was the focal point. The developers then too started to change how The Crown worked so it wouldn't provide 24/7 fights. When they did the fight shifted to TI Alloys. We see the same happening all over in other places. Biolabs are the best example, where people flock to a place where the fight will last.

    During Escalation we saw players leave the Biolabs, TI Alloys and other places to engage in that larger-scale battle that you love so much. Unfortunately this didn't stop Zergs, in fact it created them. The Outfits were encouraged to avoid extended fights, so they dropped en-masse onto a base, shut it down using every trick in the book, then moved on once it captured. Others would try to ghost-cap bases, the key factor being "make sure you bring more and finish the fight before it starts".
    The point: People want to leave Biolabs and TI Alloys, but they cannot as long as the game rewards avoiding good fights. Every time you leave TI Alloys or another 24/7 fight you run the risk of seeing all your efforts turned futile as an Outfit will either cap it in minutes making your work meaningless or will beat the hell out of you and undo all the work you did. You can't plan for it, you can't prevent it. It's not good.

    Removing TI Alloys will not mean Zergs will suddenly be stopped. Why would these players who stuck to TI Alloys suddenly start enjoying the gameplay they've been deliberately avoiding all this time? The only result you'll see is that people leave or find a new TI Alloys, just like they just shifted their 24/7 fight when the Crown became increasingly unavailable for a 24/7 fight.

    The real solution:

    Make it fun.

    If players can have fun fighting outside of TI Alloys, if they can have fun playing the actual goal of the game without the risk of getting zerged, griefed and all their hard work made pointless, they will come out of those fights no problem. We've already seen it happen during the Escalation update when players thought that the problems had been fixed and they could enjoy a fight outside of a Biolab.
    They found out they couldn't and went back to Biolabs.



    It's mind-numbing to see people advocate "gee tons of people seem to like this, let's remove it so they'll magically like something they've been avoiding". Start advocating things like "how can we make the main game more appealing to those stuck in TI Alloys so they join us instead".
    • Up x 4
  11. JibbaJabba

    How many updates until this is fixed?

    It's been months and months. Are the people that PAY FOR THE GAME not important or something because this exclusively affects them.

    [BUG] Friendly NSO defending Howling Pass Checkpoint cannot use the jump pads.
    • Up x 4
  12. Thalestr

    Oof. Very little actual balance tweaks which are desperately needed for several things.

    Not that I expect any, really, but still... oof.
  13. Foxassassin

    Still nothing on the Masamune bugs either...
  14. OneShadowWarrior

    Outfits Wars revamp - don’t care. I stopped running with squads or outfits when they started all that. People became obsessed about winning at all cost and crying about their kill death ratios way to much. Went back to solo and just leave when the zergfits show.


    You guys should have not touched the NC Max suits in the first place and started with just removing the slugs. It’s good to see they will be back on track. We’ll see the final pan out in the fights.

    Fixes are always welcomed.

    Generally an unexciting test server update for me, don’t see anything that pertains to anything I like doing in the game.
  15. RabidIBM

    If I have misread something than please correct me, but it looks like construction players are the punching bags...AGAIN! The cortium bomb needing to be disarmed turns us into exactly that. Once one of those cheese bombs is beeping, I either waste time looking for the guy who is certainly camping it, and in that time it explodes, or I attempt to disarm it, get ganked and tea-bagged, then hear it explode and watch my spawn tube disappear off the map.

    Cortium bombs are already laughable. A builder has had to buy their way through a pay wall for each and every building, put immense time into learning builds that are actually good, put 20-30 minutes into making it, only to have some memester dismantle it in 2 effortless minutes. The existence of cortium bombs means I'm basically chained to my bases already. The moment the alarm pings I need to hit redeploy immediately. Then there is a 10 second delay IF nothing bumps me, then 15 seconds to spawn on my spawn tube. This means I have a 25 second delay to my reaction to a 20 second bomb, and again, that's if I immediately drop what I'm doing and redeploy successfully. Even with shooting them, I have no chance if the cheese bomber doesn't screw up. Now on top of that, I have to figure out not only where the bomb is, but every place that might make sense to camp it, scout them all without any time to think about it, win a 1v1 with a guy who's waiting for me, who knows where my spawn is, and therefore my most likely path, and still have 3.5 seconds left to disarm the damn thing. On top of all this, it doesn't even cost the memester anything because cortium bombs are free. "They aren't free, they cost merit!" *Batman Slap!* by the time you have loyalty rank 6 you have already purchased everything you really want which costs merit, therefore merit cost = free.

    If this update makes construction unplayable that's the end of my subscription money. If you want an idea of how much time and effort I've put into the construction game, search "Rabid Construction" on this forum to see my efforts to share ideas with others. To be clear, I wasn't entirely happy with all those builds, but there were what I could do with the current continents, and I have continued to improve many of them since I posted them. There is a reason I put this effort in, building is the thing that has kept me with this game this long because the existing bases are tired, and construction offers a chance to play in a new arena. That said, there is no way I will volunteer to be a punching bag like this.
    • Up x 1
  16. TR5L4Y3R

    i´m still of the opinion that mattocks and grinders should get the option for slugammo back
  17. MaxAwesome

    I don't understand why devs weren't monitoring the OW event from the start. It took over 30 minutes for someone to step in and ask if anyone was unable to join the matches (no one could).

    Please attend your own test events. It's really put me off doing the next test event, if you guys can't be bothered to get involved with your own testing, why should I?
  18. OneShadowWarrior

    You guys shutdown TI Alloys, because you can't figure out the ultimate riddle, of how to get people out of dug in bases?

    The answer is actually right in front of you instead of kicking yourself with countless base redesigns.

    It comes from the first Planetside called, Silos in the bases, yes my dear Rogue P. Bases had silos that could be drained by enemy ANTS and also filled, bases in big fights ran out of power if not tended to and then the base went to neutral, also enemies could drain bases behind enemy lines and get it to neutral, fill it and take it over.

    You really don't have to kick yourself trying to re-invent the wheel there are tons of ideas in the old version from maps and more.
    • Up x 1
  19. Demigan

    Hamstringing the defenders is not the answer.
  20. iller

    What's going on with the actual Desolation TESTING? Y'know, the whole reason this was put on Test?
    Last time a whole buncha people couldn't even connect. No update about it here though?
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.