Points Reloaded 1.3 improvement thread.

Please remove tank rush challenge from Swamp Fever Map 1.

 

no, the tank rush is available as a challenge(new to 1.3), you have to find the semi-hidden pilot and request it from him.

 

my first impression/experience with the new pr1.3

KILLSTREAKS


UAV is nice you can easily detect si and kill 'm fast

Care package pickup time is very slow, many times the package is kicked away by other players or
even stolen, if you're not attacked by hordes of si and ci. it thought stealing was only for infected
on other vs team not on coop
Imagine this on vs there is simply no time for this, when you're slapped, charged or whatever.
also the whole package thing is a bit too big for the reward, waiting for planes and huge packages for
rewards (and those can only be delivered in open spaces)

chopper gunner looks nice and its fun, but i wasn't able to kill si with this perhaps only some ci,
and certainly no tanks.
Also a "time left" indicator would be handy when you're up in the sky before you fall to your death.
Another thing is the fact that it sometimes is impossible to follow your team because you cant fly
over certain buildings and are limited to a small space.

Decontamination streak doesn't seem to work i'm sure i killed more than 25 si without getting hit.


BUILDING

Also building time is slow and often you cant build because you're kicked by ci, other players get too
close etc. in a hectic vs game, as they are played these days, this also could be a problem.
without proper binding there's not much time to build certain special items if you're fiddling around
in the build menu.


MAGIC

activating spells could be a bit faster
fire fist spell is not very powerfull you can only kill a couple of ci

distort spell is a pinkiesh cloud, perhaps you can trick some noobs on vs but i think its pretty
useless (so far)

frost forge doesnt seem to do much, its a nice blue glow and it might have a psychological advantage
on the player when you're attacking tanks

dark fog has almost no effect


CLASSES

the differences in speed,strenght or damage resistance dont have much effect on fully equiped
lvl 200+ players

THIEF

tried to pickpocket a player bit failed and i really dont want to anyway.
stealing cars looks nice but you can only drive a couple of meters, always blocked by obstacles.
and you're stuck in the car when the time is up.

MEDIC

healing other players who got the virus, works fast compared to other waiting times.
a medic with the antivirus skill can heal the whole team quickly.


TANK HORDES

perhaps the new fire and acid tanks could have their own glow like the shaman has.
with 4 normal tanks on fire its sometimes hard to detect them.


So i think it's best to keep at least one normal vs and a coop server, and two servers with trueskill
and pr 1.3 of course this could be changed in the future.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. I understand there is no PR 1.3 Versus server yet-- there will be one in due time. Magic does not affect your own team, which is why you may not have seen its effects in coop.

The HUD system in PR 1.3 is unique in that it's the first time we managed to load a HUD off the server. Speedy water does not do anything to the HUD; the adrenaline effect is actually toggled by the game.

The tanks are still iffy, so we are still fixing them. The Tank Horde challenge seems to be inspiring farming on several maps, so I will disable the challenge on maps where waiting is involved (e.g. c1m1, c3m1, no mercy elevator map, etc).

TrueSkill is a global rating between 1 through 50, with 1 being a beginner and 50 being a skilled player. Contrary to popular belief, the skill does not change every single round. After several games, the system is able to more and more accurately discern your skill level based on complicated statistics. In other words, you will notice your skill change rapidly the first few games, but it will settle at a particular skill level the more you play. The TS algorithm is many times more complicated than the leveling system.

For example, the algorithm for leveling up if you are over level 200 but below level 210:

Code:

PlayerEXP > [BaseEXP * level * ExpMultiplier * 357324.5341 * (level - 201) * 1.1452)]

In comparison, here is the first 1/5 of the TS algorithm.

Code:

If Game is a Draw, calculate individually:
		c_ij = 1.0 * SquareRoot(2.0 * Pow(beta, 2.0) + Pow(A_sigma, 2.0) + Pow(B_sigma, 2.0));
		t = 1.0 * ((A_mu - B_mu) / c_ij);
		alpha = 1.0 * (epsilon / c_ij);
		d = (alpha - t) * 1.0;
		s = (alpha + t) * 1.0;
		N_d = 1.0 / (SquareRoot(2.0 * 3.1415926535898)) * Exponential(-1.0 * Pow(d, 2.0) / 2.0);
		Psi_d = cdf(d) * 1.0;
		N_s = 1.0 / (SquareRoot(2.0 * 3.1415926535898)) * Exponential(-1.0 * Pow(s, 2.0) / 2.0);
		Psi_s = cdf(-1.0 * s);

		...

		deltaTrueSkill[0] = A_delta_mu;
		deltaTrueSkill[1] = A_delta_sigma;
		deltaTrueSkill[2] = B_delta_mu;

		...

		// Store draw data - loop
		...
		// Save player data - loop
		...
		// Update changes in mu and sigma - loop
		...

Also, another update, I will remove Pickpocket ability for thief and replace that with pocket viewing only. The reason for that is to prevent conflict.

 

you should be able to make keybinds with this tutorial:
http://mgftw.com/showthread.php/5770-fast-buy-Binding-tutorial?highlight=bind+keys

 

yeah i already have more than twenty bindings just for pr

 

hmm, how about a radial menu then?

 

Rofl

 

o yeah luke can you remove or change the "commander" skill, i heared it looks like an air fan not a cool hat.
i dont want to look like an idiot

 

LoL, propeller head...

Luke, can you attach it to the back of the player instead, like a backpack?

The air drop could be an actual crate, like a footlocker or something smaller?

Also, the new tanks need specific glows like the Shaman has yellow and Knight has blue. Perhaps God tank could be black and bile tank green? Paranoia needs a red glow added, which would show new players that it's different from a normal tank if they can't see it's skin.

 

Agree on the color as far as the God and Acid tanks are concerned, but para's should stay the same IMO. If you can't differentiate between a para and whatever else, you got no business playing this game.

I'd like to see the Acid tank glow the UAV color.

 

maybe im stupid for not seeing it but could you add an option to not change class every time right mouse button is used

 

Could you maybe put something so we could trade our enchancement stones for exp, cash, or gems. Some may agree with me, some may not, but some people has 30+ enchancement stones and we don't know what to do with them and maybe we could trade it for some exp, cash, or gems.

 

Class changing is whatever your "zoom" key is. Maybe check your binds and change your "zoom" to something different? Default is middle mouse.

 

This was originally going to be a reply to Erik's PM, but I figure I might as well post it here... (get ready for a wall of text lol)...

My review of PR 1.3 (VS only since I don't play COOP)

The Good:

• It's only on US server (for now)

The Bad:

• Still no guild wars (after nearly 11 months since guilds were created)
• Not sure if I'm playing L4D2 or some crazy mixture of L4D2, WoW, COD, Skyrim, and MS Paint
• Magic
• Majority of players seem to hate this new version
• EPIC Lag thanks to Magic (is that part of the magic trick or is that just a case of too many freakin mods in one game?)
• Constant crashing that I never experienced before 1.3
• The way TS is determined/measured is very confusing and nobody seems to like/understand it EDIT: I understand that TS algorithm was not made by you, Luke. But I also understand that it wasn't made for L4D2 either.. so why is it here?
• There are many times when you will literally have your entire screen black and have no sound coming through... damn, as if constant boomer bile wasn't enough
• It's pretty bad when MAGIC does more harm to the survivors than the infected do.
• Magic
• I really see no need for two different mutations (just my own opinion.. not really a big deal though)
• Not only are none of the previous bugs fixed, but we even have NEW bugs..
• Magic

I could go on, but I decided to cover the main issues... Seriously though, after almost a year since the last major PR update (guilds and level cap), this is what we get. Personally, I'm very disappointed. I, like many others, stuck around hoping that we'd get guild wars. It's quite obvious that's not going to ever come. Instead we get a worser PR than before. No offense, Luke, I applaud your effort. And of course there will be some that like it, but I think the biggest way to keep MG members at this point is to keep PR 1.3 on US server only. There's no way I would ever join this server as a newcomer. It's too crazy and confusing. Imagine, this is your first time playing a modded server (hell even transitioning from VI to PR 1.3 would be crazy) and you're being attacked by infected using magic that f*cks up your whole screen and mutations that make your eyes hurt. Why would any newcomer join and stay in our PR 1.3 servers?? Meanwhile, the rest of the "vets" are all disappointed because all of our doubts proved to be true. I'm going to say what a lot of people think: PR 1.3 sucks (and as I said before, I'm speaking only for VS). If you ask me this is what you should have done/should do for PR 1.3:

Improvements:

• FIX THE OLD BUGS BEFORE ADDING NEW BUGS! For example: Fix all the guild buffs that dont work correctly (anti-gloo, detect, mega-laser, etc.) Fix the incap health glitch. Fix the horrible scrambles. (there are others, but Luke, if you are not aware of these few bugs, you really shouldn't have even been modding PR. Changes should be made by someone who's aware of what the problems are)
• Can we have guild wars already????
• If you can't remove TS completely, then at least remove this damn Magic stuff.. It's ridiculously pointless and annoying.
• Make the servers more newcomer friendly.. these new changes wont attract newcomers if even the regular players are being pushed away by them

I'm sorry if I came across as harsh, but I, like many others, expected much more. Thanks for the disappointment...

 

very unhappy with this new PR. Before launching a thing as this, should fix as TJ mentioned too many bugs, causing dissatisfaction in us, who after all are the ones who give life to the server host, I think that in this way they are digging their own graves and burying one of the best L4D servers, or at least the only one who made ??us feel at ease. The scramble and other things were a point by caul often wanted to make this shit eh (sorry for the above) but I have given him one more chance, again and again. but I think this will be the last.
I want to improve things expuetas throughout the year and then if I could get to retake the server ... Of course all I believe we will keep you updated by steam ... Lucky people!

 

In 1.3 versus theres a problem that happens to me and also other players, i get in black and white so fast, i dont remember how many times you need to get inccaped but for sure is less than before (of course the upgrade that give you more lifes is maxed).
Regarding improvements, will be usefull if you put a command to use spells and change class so we can bind to whatever key instead of use knife accidentally or change class while lift a guy with pills.

 

After playing coop 1.3 for quite a while i started on vs and as i expected its so hectic
that for now some features are hard to use.

KILLSTREAK/MAGIC

The killstreaks are more limited and you'll get uav once in a while, when the server is full.

The dark fog spell now unveils its power and blinds/deafens the players.
The frost forge is handy to freeze an annoying hunter or jockey and a boomer who's about to
slap yer ass.
Many times you won't even have time to use the magic at the right times though, so mastering this
may take some time.

BUILDER

for now there isn't much time to build stuff with the builder.

KAMIKAZE BOOMER/WAR SPITTER

The new kamikaze boomer is funny, a bit hard to master at start maybe and i'm not sure
if it can drop acid.
Also the new war spitter has some nice skills like fire goo or viral goo, wich infects all
players with the new contagious virus. This will cost you 120 bounty though.

CHARGER STEER

This is just a little strafe to left or right, not like the steer that currently runs on VI.

HUNTER DOUBLE JUMP

I think it's great a new challenge for players who like the big pounces.
I made a 165 pounce yesterday

WITCH CRAFT/WITCH CONTROL

i used it a couple of times, i think the witch doesn't have extra powers like the expert witches who
can kill you with one or two blows on coop. You have to find the right time to use it, mostly the
players will just buy a couple of witches on top of the survivor.

MORPHOGENIC/NEW SPECIAL TANKS

i almost changed into the new demon tank, the sky turned black, i threw a rock and died not sure what
happened or if it was a bug.

MUTATION/MEDIC

Players have to learn to switch to medic and heal other players when they are infected with mutation
or contagious mutation. I think you can even cure the players from the normal mutation.
the medic won't lose the kit and can quickly heal the players.

I kinda disagree with some comments from other, maybe not so active, vs players.
You don't have to use all the magic and skills at once, i think it will just take some more time
to get used to all the new features and after a couple of weeks everyone is used to the changes.
Just keep playing and after some days your trueskill will go up and a good player can buy the
antivirus so you don't have to worry about that anymore.

We have a normal vs server and a new one with more skills and even magic, so everyone can use the
server that suits him/her.

 

I hope that "not so active" comment was not directed at me, unless by active you mean "actively farming on coop"... Anyway, the only thing I agree with was your last sentence. As I said, that's the only good thing I found about PR 1.3. Once it goes on all the servers, I'm out.

 

Redirect your concerns to HonorCode, Kitties, and Legend. As for Magic, what exactly about Magic is concerning to you? On coop, you shouldn't notice any difference, and on versus, Magic only affects a small radius of the map where the cloud is.

I don't think PR 1.3 will go on all servers for quite a while. There are too many bugs that need to be fixed, and who knows when Guild Wars is coming out (I simply finished the parts I had to finish, the rest is left to the other devs). College starts today, which also means my time as a dev is done.

I appreciate the constructive criticism, please keep them coming