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Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 2 post(s) |
Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2006.10.28 22:11:00 -
[1]
Curious how no Dev comment on this yet. One of the few stickies not to. Makes me nervous. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2006.10.30 20:52:00 -
[2]
This is getting dangerously close to 4 pages- and if a thread reaches 4 pages without a Dev comment, you know its not likely to.
Probably means they're still thinking about it. If they'd made their mind up either way, they'd have let us know...............probably. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2006.10.30 21:57:00 -
[3]
Originally by: Mothmar Friedsquid Odd that noone really complains about drone signatures being so bloody huge except me. How is it that you can stuff a full capsule, all the life support systems it needs, a warp drive, and 160M^3 of cargo in a frigate and it doesn't give off as much of a heat signature as a blaster with an AI in it?
I don't want to go into the mechanics balancing thing (because I don't feel like number crunching). But, if you want a fluff reason:
Drones are remote controlled by computers and / or crew men aboard the control ship. The drone and it's conroller must be in continuous radio contact the whole time it's in space. The communications signal emmanating from the drone gives it a large sensor footprint. In other words, it's constant radio chatter with the control ship lights it up like a light bulb- thus, big sig-rad. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2006.10.31 00:33:00 -
[4]
Originally by: Scylla V
Originally by: Patch86
Originally by: Mothmar Friedsquid Odd that noone really complains about drone signatures being so bloody huge except me. How is it that you can stuff a full capsule, all the life support systems it needs, a warp drive, and 160M^3 of cargo in a frigate and it doesn't give off as much of a heat signature as a blaster with an AI in it?
I don't want to go into the mechanics balancing thing (because I don't feel like number crunching). But, if you want a fluff reason:
Drones are remote controlled by computers and / or crew men aboard the control ship. The drone and it's conroller must be in continuous radio contact the whole time it's in space. The communications signal emmanating from the drone gives it a large sensor footprint. In other words, it's constant radio chatter with the control ship lights it up like a light bulb- thus, big sig-rad.
What constant radio chatter ? They really don't listen very well at all.
Fair point.......maybe theres a lot of static, and a whole lot of "Attack the thorax!" "Huh?" "The Thorax! Attack the thorax!" "What? Something abouth Thought Tax?" "THE CRUISER! SHOOT THE CRUISER!" "Hey, Hammerhead #4, do we get FM radio on this thing?". -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.05 00:34:00 -
[5]
Originally by: Oveur Tux has been considering it, I wouldn't be surprised if he improves drones a bit, but we're still looking at playtesting feedback from Singularity in general before doing any major updates.
Aw, you had to go and prove me wrong by replying, didn't you!
Good to know its being looked into. Judging by what I'm hearing from people on the test server, drones are gonna need said boost. Myrmidon is a nightmare to fly, with its drones getting popped, and Vexor isn't fairing much better either. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.06 15:30:00 -
[6]
Originally by: Bartholomeus Crane The problem isn't with Caldari I-Win buttons, it is, instead, with the broken implementation of drones and with their coming extra vulnerability in Kali. I hope we can keep Caldari bashing out of this thread.
Drones are the only weapon system that can be permanently disabled in a fight. No turret or missile has this disadvantage.
This is made worse by the fact that the main advantage of drones, the ability to retreat them from the fight, is buggily implemented, making taking advantage of this a dangerous proposal.
Furthermore, a buggy implementation of the way T2 BPOs are distributed means that the cost of the T2 drones is exorbitatantly high when compared to other weapon system (a T2 Hammerhead costing more then some frigates!), so if a drone is lost, this is quite a financial blow to the user, similar to losing a T2 turret or missile launcher.
With the longer fights in Kali, targeting and popping drones will become a viable strategy. Just check what happened in the long engagement in the last tournament. This wasn't so much the case before because of the short engagement times.
I suggest the following remedies to be implemented before Kali release/HP increase:
- Up the HP of drones proportional to the HP of ships, preferably by the same amount and preferably the shield HP as well (at least some increase);
- Change the signature radius of drones to the ones I specified in an earlier post in this thread (heavy drones with the signature radius of cruisers is ridiculous);
- Have the drones return to cargo-bay using their MWD and revise the flocking algorithm of drones in such a way that they do no longer 'cling' to each-other (having observed this behaviour too many times, I am certain it is a borked flocking algorithm that produces this);
- Reduce the time needed to lock onto your own drones, preferably to zero (this allows a drone user to support its own drones);
- Allow support drones to target the parent vehicle (the idea that a shield support drone can help someone else but not the parent is just plain silly), related: allow me to support gang-members with support drones without getting shot by Concord would also by nice;
- Revise the drone targeting algorithm so that they will all attack the same target, will no long forget targets, and will take into account their own tracking ranges modified by the user's skills (all these a bugs and nothing less, also decreasing DPS by increasing skill does not make any sense); and
- Revise the drone part of the overview in such a way that:
- It shows at least the armour left of drones in dronebay;
- It shows the actual attributes of the drones as affected by skills; and
- It is easier to use or allows for more flexibility (can you say hotkeys?).
Most of these remedies are simply bugs that haven't been addressed (for years!) and bork drone specialists and to a certain extend the Gallente race. The drone fix some months ago was a good start but not nearly enough.
Some love for the drones is long overdue.
Pretty much sums it up. /signed -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.07 16:10:00 -
[7]
Originally by: Kirive Incidentally, can you guys please fix the Hammerhead I and Hobgoblin II models? They've had the wrong model ever since i reactivated my account months ago - should be a simple thing to fix.
Extremely seconded. This one little thing probably ****es me off more than any of the other 100's of bugs. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.11 20:34:00 -
[8]
Originally by: Nihilion Saro Edited by: Nihilion Saro on 11/11/2006 17:46:06 Choosing damage type with drones isn't that easy. Check out the damage multipliers. Unless some ship has a stupidly low EM resistance, thermals will always do more damage than EM type drones. And since drones only respond to commands half the time, its not like we can just change damage types in battle anyway.
And if you've been reading this post at all, there should be no doubt in your mind that sig radius ARE NOT a drone's only weakness. BS!
*They are comparitively weak.
*Pathetic AI and frequently don't respond to commands.
*No insta-hitting.
*Are easily lost.
*Are expensive.
*Are not able to do damage until 10-30 seconds into the engagment, depending on range.
*Have limited range.
Drone users do not have their cake, and eat it to. And besides, just about any battleship can carry a squad of 5 mediums t2 drones, in addition to their main armament. So its not like one race is getting a huge benefit over another. The problem is that exclusive drone ships are nerfed.
I say:
1) fix the bugs (first order of business) 2) drop sig radius and/or increase HP 3) Fix the friggin' bugs!!! 4) decrease the size of drone bays on non-gallente ships (unless something is designed as drone carrier, like a Pilgrim/curse/Arb). 5) allow us to target ourselves with drones 6) be able to insta-lock our own drones
And for the love of everything holy, at least FIX THE FRIGGIN' BUGS!
Raises another interesting point- why exactly do the 5 types of drones have different damage modifiers? It seems non sensical to have 4 identical drones who do different damage types, but with one type simply BETTER, full stop. Its not even like the other ones have any redeeming qualities...........slightly different speed ftw, w00t! -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.14 12:30:00 -
[9]
Originally by: Matori Kar Apart from Oveur posting in this thread in order to give it a gold bar (it was beginning to look like the bastard stepchild) has there been any official recognition/response to drone issues in kali at all?
No. I was vaguely hoping Fan Fest might have yielded something but alas, it appears not...... -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.20 19:20:00 -
[10]
Originally by: Bartholomeus Crane I tried yesterday evening to use drones while testing the Myrmidon and they wouldn't attack. This has been reported on this forum as well and is apparently being looked at.
Thinking positively: this might mean that some work is being done on the drone/fighter code, who knows.
Note that the Myrmidon's drone bay is still way to small for a drone boat.
I do hope you're right. It'd make my wee EVE Dreams come true, if we could have new drone AI in Revelations. That'd be the best gift of all -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.23 11:11:00 -
[11]
Edited by: Patch86 on 23/11/2006 11:11:07
Originally by: Aphotic Raven It has been argued that sig radius is to do with the communication signals being sent to the mothership... should we not then get a sig boost for gangs (yes.. nerf fat gank packs.. nerf them i say...)
Heh, that one was me, and I was mostly being whimsical. I was only suggesting a possible fluff as to why Drones are the size of a drive way with the sensor foot print of a football pitch....
In all reality, I think that Drones should have their sig rad reduced, with their total HP left the same. Their HP count should be rebalanced to have more HP in armour than in shields, so that said sig-rad boost doesn't make scooper 'n drop tactics a must (like most drone users, I don't want to have to MWD to blaster range just so I can use my drones- 60 km drone range anyone?).
Probably.
To be completely honest, I think my brain has been scrambled by all this number crunching............. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.25 01:40:00 -
[12]
Originally by: Patch Notes Ship, module, weapon, ammunition and drone balancing for improved Player versus Player and Player versus Environment experiences.
Anyone have any idea what this might actually be? Have Drone stats changed at all? (say, HP or Sig Rad?).
If not, it would appear Drones missed the Kali 1 boat, seeing as this is the last few days running up to deployment. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.25 19:22:00 -
[13]
You know, sometimes I really wish I hadn't drone specc'd (and boy am I drone specc'd). Not because I think somethings way better, or I want to play with another type of weapon, or anything typically whiny like that.
Its just that being a drone user depresses me so much. I love using them, but there are bugs still in them that have been here since beta. And every new patch, new bugs crop up for them, which wont get fixed. Half of the options available to other weapons (damage mods and the like) are completely missing from them. And now as the landscape of EVE combat is changed (with increased battle time, smaller ammo, smaller cap charges, bigger capacitors, new tanking ships........) drones are left behind, less able to compete than they ever have.
And do you know what bums me out more than anything else in the game? That ****ed Hammerhead I model. How is it that after about 4 years of EVE, theres still that simple, obvious and in-your-face bug, so easily fixed, just because no-ones ever been bothered to get to it. It was half the reason I trained for T2s as quickly as I did.............. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.25 22:26:00 -
[14]
Originally by: Drutort so are you telling me that they did not fix the minmatar carrier bonus at all? and all the carriers still have the same half implemented bonuses without much consideration or thought since they came out?
how hard could it be to have tested it throughout all of this time since they came out? and with soooo much user input about what options to put for the minmatar carrier bonus and others
this is quite pathetic if they couldnĘt change the bonuses yetą very sad
Yah, the carrier thing bugs me too. But atleast Tux has now said this. I'd kill for that kind of recognition for the drone problems -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.27 15:39:00 -
[15]
Originally by: Celestos Marxii People that think the recal/redeploy with full shields tactic is viable are drone-noobs and need to be shot.
*drones return slowly with a 0 transversal and the sig of a barn w/ mwd.
*Only their shields are repaired, which are as thin as my hair.
*Recalling them takes them out of battle... so we aren't doing damage to our enemy for as long as it takes to recall/redeploy. Have you ever recalled heavy drones 30km you flippin' noob? Oh yeah, like not doing damage for over a minute isn't a disadvantage.
Get a clue.
Hell, if people really think its that big a problem, then just stop shields insta-recharging in drone bay. Its not like anyone actually uses that tactic, so if its really a huge balancing problem, just stop it happening. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.30 01:10:00 -
[16]
What bugs me is that not only were there no drone fixes in this patch, and drones have still been left behind on HP counts BUT they've even recieved a minor nerf. Now Drones can't rep each other, or be used to attack your own cans / property.
Just what we needed, no boosts, more nerf................ -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.30 01:18:00 -
[17]
Edited by: Patch86 on 30/11/2006 01:18:16 By the by, this thread has also cropped up with a new drone bug. -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.11.30 18:30:00 -
[18]
Originally by: Pinpisa Jormao Keep drones as they are (So smartbombs still do the "trick").
But Please make drone armor repair themselves (atleast slowly if not anything else) when inside your ship.
Its even worse now- you can't even order repair drones to target other drones, now. So the days of being able to reapir your drones between battles have come to an abrupt end.......... -----------------------------------------------
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Patch86
Di-Tron Heavy Industries Freelancer Alliance
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Posted - 2006.12.02 13:24:00 -
[19]
What really depresses me about all this, more than all the bugs, more than the stealth nerfs, more than the lack of functionality, is this:
We STILL havn't got a decent dev aknowledgement.
All I'd like to keep me happy would be "Hi! I work in [insert department here] and I'd like to assure you all we are aware of the problems with drones, and we are working on it! So hang in there!". If I had that, I could stop stalking this thread every other day in the hopes that something interesting has happened.............. -----------------------------------------------
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