Messages

16

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Making new players stay

« on: May 12, 2018, 03:59:47 pm »

[...]not knowing how to ready up is enough to bar the match from starting at all

[...]forward-facing[...]

Sometimes I choose a word when it appears to be a much more wise idea to expound with a sentence.


There's a HUGE lack of clear messaging in this game and I think a whole lot more effort needs to be applied towards making sure core aspects of the game are prominently displayed and easily understood. This means less passive UI (stationary "ready/not ready" button) and more dynamic UI ("3 out of 4 pilots ready," moving ships from an "unready" bench to a "ready" pedestal like casting a card, etc.) that expresses more deliberate design allowances that beckon attention and spark engagement.

17

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Making new players stay

« on: May 12, 2018, 03:36:46 pm »

[...]play with a person who have a good understanding of the game (such as a ca)

This would be nice if the majority of CA players weren't the ones stacking. It's become a laughable assumption that a CA ship would split their talent across four instead of botching an entire lobby. The problem with having a CA system in a game this dependent on performing roles is that most experienced players would rather hole up than risk facing uncertainty. It's the kind of behavior that signals to me that being a CA is a mark of popularity and not much more.


As far as I've directly witnessed, the best group of people when it comes to treating new players is ALTO. They hold events that push new players onto the helm and get them engaged with the game mechanics in a way that doesn't guarantee tragedy when they fail. Lobbies larger than 2v2 greatly, greatly assist in this.

I am not a CA, but I am trying to think about positive things to say to a group of new players after such a thing

My salty go-to is "Hey at least THEY'RE having fun" with a dose of "but clearly they're low-stim if this is all it takes." A more earnest explanation revolves around the theory that veterans become more and more scared of uncertainty the longer they play. Funny.

18

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Making new players stay

« on: May 12, 2018, 10:00:27 am »

I think a more selective matchmaking or tier system would be unsustainable with the current playerbase. This is not a minor issue - the snake may eat itself but there's a high chance that you won't have a snake anymore.

I think if anything lobby inbalance should be much more forward-facing with a more obvious announcement that the lobby is stacked, flag the specific offending ship algorithimically, and bar the match from starting unless every single pilot readies. Because of the populace, the level disparity would have to be huge; luckily for us, it typically is.

Regarding smurfing - half of these guys (I can point fingers but you know who you are) aren't even trying to hide it with their username. It doesn't affect the ability to join games, so it's exclusively a hiding tactic. Slimy as hell.

19

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Remove coin limits.

« on: May 11, 2018, 05:05:25 pm »

I agree completely with Hamster. The world map is dull and doesn't affect gameplay in any meaningful aspect. The most I can gather is that we want to turn blobs into other colored blobs. There's no explorable territory to alter or gain any sense of sentimentality for, no agency, and no stimuli.

I remember a fireside or q/a where the team was asked how they intended to enliven the conquest minigame, and I feel like they skipped three chapters and just started talking about "oh wood" and "oh oil" without touching on what any of this has to do with any sort of rewarding experience. It's like they started with the assumption that it is exciting and framed the question around how to tune what was already there.

20

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Change Buff Hammer to Buff Spray

« on: April 18, 2018, 03:12:42 pm »

hammer buff = moderate and long-lasting
spray buff = higher intensity and short-lasting / trickle-damages component

Ebbs the toolset closer to how fireproofing tools work.

21

Gameplay / Re: What have you done?

« on: February 23, 2018, 09:19:00 am »

I can't control range and shoot at the same time,

Fixed that for you. You already made your point when you said you have no idea what to do with it.

22

Gameplay / Re: What have you done?

« on: February 17, 2018, 10:18:55 am »

I stick to the 2 year old meta and am doing fine. Novices just have more options for stupid builds.

*Looks at Shrike*
*Looks at Stormbreaker*

Whatever you say old man.

23

Gameplay / Re: Mines

« on: February 06, 2018, 01:26:02 am »

Mines are a tough beast to conquer.

Daft Loon is right - the ultimate goal is to shoot mines aggressively as opposed to defensively. The more you shoot the more you get a sense for how the enemy is moving and where you can pop a mine and give them the hardest time possible.

There are two main tricks to shooting mines accurately: arc and arming time.

Just about the best thing you can do for yourself is hop into practice mode and toggle F4 on the gun to view the arc. It's so much easier to focus on how the thing works when you're not being shot at.

Arming time is how long the mine will travel through the air before deploying. Ammunition like Lesmok will increase the speed of the projectile and make it deploy straighter and farther away. On the complete opposite end of the scale, Lochnagar decreases arming time by over half, so it'll deploy RIGHT next to you. Try out a bunch of ammunition from the same spot and see what happens.

Really the last thing is a matter of saturation - shoot as much mines as you possibly can. They're not all too common and it really depends on a strong pilot/gunner synergy, but in due time I hope you'll be hucking choice mines in our faces and showing us what's what.

24

The Gallery / Drunks of Icarus

« on: February 04, 2018, 02:02:35 am »

https://vimeo.com/254165360


This is what I get for driving the drunk shuttle.

25

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: MKII Mercury

« on: January 29, 2018, 01:53:44 am »

You fooled me until "no zoom function." Very funny.

So many sticks up so many asses. Sheesh.

26

The Gallery / Re: GOIA memes

« on: November 26, 2017, 07:45:21 pm »

When they laugh at your laser pyra but it actually works

27

Dev App Testing / Re: Dev-App Testing change-log: 10 November, 2017

« on: November 14, 2017, 01:20:19 pm »

Accelerated Fires: 100 (new)

What does this mean?

28

Gameplay / Re: What have you done?

« on: November 10, 2017, 08:56:06 am »

Lasers and guided missiles are now dieselpunk.

29

The Gallery / Re: The GoIO Catwalk - Your Favourite Outfit

« on: November 10, 2017, 07:16:05 am »

I'm happy with where my outfit is at the moment. I require that each outfit cover the head and face completely, and that I am a bright yet thematically appropriate color. I imagine that the crew of a sky vessel will regularly experience shrapnel, smoke, and low-oxygen environments, and thus it'd be foolish to brave that without the proper protection. My clothing has minimal embellishments, but is highly visible to other crew mates.


I also fear I'm the only one using the Pilot's service cap; it covers the sides of my head so it fits into my theme tremendously well.

30

Feedback and Suggestions / Re: Mount light gun in heavy gun slot.

« on: November 09, 2017, 07:17:36 am »

This would definitely affect balance.

Heavy gun slots define a ship. It's a commitment to take one because it requires attention and responsibility from the entire crew to keep it up and running to full effect. They are higher maintenance in that they typically require the attention of a gunner to operate, as well as an additional crew member to service its health. All of this for the reward of greater firepower, range, and functionality.

It's important to balance that you risk losing your power. A Galleon's core concept revolves around its overwhelming firepower and the potential to have it all ripped away. Gat/mortar or dual artemis instead of heavies would reap the benefits of being a tank while also being able to rebuild significantly quicker. The Goldfish also relies on keeping it's bow gun operational for its effectiveness, because of the gun arcs' limitation and the time commitment to repair/rebuild it. Circumventing these risks is game-breaking.

However, it is fun to think about.

It'd be more worth to start a discussion thread on this separately, but it reinforces my daydreaming of MKII versions of each ship. You may get your expanded or re-specified ship roles this way.