0.5.0 - ASF Journal (first impressions, experiences)

[LordHack]

To record initial gameplay impressions...  Will be dribs and drabs of comments as we go!

First:  Not expecting major changes to ASF, other than tweaks, pre-announced play changes, and some asset/loadout adjustments. So, this is just to make notes of gameplay and impact, etc. as playing.  I reserve the right to revise and extend my remarks... lol

LANDING/REARMING:
With the requirement to land and come to full stop to rearm, the timer after rearm to weapons live seems redundant and more penalizing on top of rearm downtime.  Minor issue, I guess, but this is no longer needed.

PAYOUTS:
Much improved, better cashflow so far, imo

FLIGHT MECHANICS:
Some people claimed huge difference.  I didn't see an appreciable change (but I am playing old, lower dpi mouse tonight).  At any rate, didn't bother me.

NEW ASSET BRACKETS / LOADOUTS:
Seemed mostly fine to me, easy to graduate.  Sulla A should be at or under 75k, though.  Shiva D looks promising, but still too expensive (as is the Prime)versus their natural and more flexibly usable counter [that which cannot be named].

SPARROWHAWK:
Still "flies" poorly.  Still takes too long to do -anything- offensively.  I had a SH chase my Sulla B for a good portion of DV and I was barely yellow.  Maybe I am missing something, but don't see what to use them for yet.

COUNTERS/DAMAGE:
- Turret lasers are way, way too powerful vs air.  Kago flying turns you red in a couple passes if you are focused by CP (not starting base) defense.

- Just about every ground asset counter seemed significantly improved vs air (anyone crying now gets da bitchslap).   

- Hit location damage appears to actually impact flight, etc. now
 
- Hit detection seems improved so far.... even on overloaded server (I'm lookin at you TLL TX)


Off to play mechs a bit...

[Come and See]

My thoughts so far.

Sulla handles much poorer now. It feels like its being weighed down by a rock compared to how it was in 0.4. Survivability is reduced by about 25-40% because it takes longer to avoid damage.

Sparrowhawk handles much smoother. New variants are okay, but the new C3 + Narc catches my eye.

Not being able to buy the Sulla B at the start of matches leads to having to bum cash off people (like in 0.3) because of being limited to buy only fighters.  Also, the Sulla B has only enough ammo to buy 1 T-bolt at 55k rank -- should be reduced imho to be able to buy 2.

Overall nothing changed except the handling and some variants. Armor is the same, damage multipliers are the same, and imho it's just a bunch of nerfs to Aerospace.

[~SJ~ Lobo]

2x tbolt 15s cost more than the chassis..........

[CHHš Aurailius]

2x tbolt 15s cost more than the chassis..........

As is pretty standard with...everything...

[KingLeerUK]

Sulla handles much poorer now. It feels like its being weighed down by a rock compared to how it was in 0.4. Survivability is reduced by about 25-40% because it takes longer to avoid damage.

Seeing as how we didn't change the handling parameters on the Sulla from 0.4.9 this is certainly a surprising development...

Not being able to buy the Sulla B at the start of matches leads to having to bum cash off people (like in 0.3) because of being limited to buy only fighters.  Also, the Sulla B has only enough ammo to buy 1 T-bolt at 55k rank -- should be reduced imho to be able to buy 2.

I disagree.  It is priced appropriately and requires either a good solid first hit to earn more cash, or cooperating with teammates.  The upcoming changes for c-bill transfers and banking will still allow for sufficient currency transfer to keep a decent pilot properly armed.

Overall nothing changed except the handling and some variants. Armor is the same, damage multipliers are the same, and imho it's just a bunch of nerfs to Aerospace.

The only things that really changed with regard to aerospace were improved Sparrowhawk handling (and corrected variants for it) and any pricing changes that were incurred by weapon cost adjustments which would have been global.  T-Bolt and F-Bomb prices haven't changed.

[DFDelta]

Tried the RAC/UAC20 Shiva. Anyone else having the problem that firing the RACs makes the Shiva spin around?
Same bug feature was present on the Hawkmoth before, but there it is apparently fixed. (Could fly and shoot without problems)

We still have 3 Sulla variants with dual UAC2s. Thats a bit much. I propose changing the UAC2/ATM6 Sulla to a UAC5/ATM3 variant if possible.

New SH handling is much better, I can actually hit things now 

Aside from that, great job with the air units so far.

[Come and See]

Seeing as how we didn't change the handling parameters on the Sulla from 0.4.9 this is certainly a surprising development...

I don't think I'm going crazy on this -- am I? lol

I just played 0.4 yesterday and today the Sulla feels so much heavy weighted. It's comparable to the Shiva almost for me.

Is anyone else having the same problem?

[Come and See]

Repairing on runway is back.

Edit: How the Sparrowhawk handles now is how the 0.4 Sulla handled.

[CHHš Aurailius]

I did design the sparrowhawk to be more similar to the Sulla (and thus, more controllable), but the Sulla's flight parameters still haven't changed in a LONG time.

Edit: I still may tweak the sparrowhawk's flight parameters, we'll see

[LordHack]

I think it might be other client or server changes that makes it just feel that way (handling).  Like I said, on my system I could tell small performance changes, but nothing I could attribute to Sulla flight changes.

So, yes, it is possible you are crazy... ha ha


The AC10 hit detection, and PPC detection (and sound feedback) lagged hard on TLL TX on Marshes -- unrelated to flying, but just thought I would toss that out there.

I'm going to clear everything and reload, just to check.


EDIT:  The Shiva-D is one scary weapon system in right situation and no active AA or crafty player.....  Maybe too scary? We'll see....

[[CW]Aresye]

Noticed one issue with the Sparrowhawk.  It handles better on the player end, but on the server's end, it still jumps and warps as much, if not worse than before.  During large battles, the Sparrowhawk is king, because even in an AA Sulla, it's near impossible to get an accurate hit on them, and they can easily out turn you and bring you down.

[Virt]

Edited after playing in an MRM Hawkmoth...

Thanks for a Hawkmoth variant that packs a bit more punch.   I'd still like to see a more 'mid game' VTOL variant (higher price, higher damage dealt) as well, if possible.

For balance purposes, a heavier-hitting VTOL should of course only be able to fire while in range of ground assets weapons, as is the case with the MRM Hawkmoth.

[ELH_Vivicector]

It looks like AC2/5 got better damage, while having still very high modifiers against air (as it was). Result: Aero dies way too fast. I see, that aero was nerfed badly, but this is too much!

[~SJ~ Lobo]

2x tbolt 15s cost more than the chassis..........

As is pretty standard with...everything...

I will make a post in a few days discussing this, I don't want to derail this thread.

[[CW]Parallax]

I had an interesting experience with a SH pilot the other day. I don't know if this was possible in 4.9 due to it's handling characteristics, but it caught my attention regardless.

I was running scout in a Raven when the SH pilot caught sight of me. He immediately went for the roof and proceeded to dive at me repeatedly. What was interesting about this was the fact that he was able to remain nearly vertical the entire time~ there was no way I could target him. I was so caught off guard by this that I decided to verify that this *was* what was happening by standing still and watching the radar closely (it wasn't like he was actually hurting me even even though I was in a Raven). Sure enough, his position was changing only by a few meters even though his altitude fluctuated rapidly. It was impressive, if a little useless because of the SH's air to ground capability.

Anyone else notice this? Is this new to 5.0, or am I just late on the bandwagon?