Gameplay Direction Post 1.4.3

Gameplay Direction Post 1.4.3​

Hi Guys, I am Hexodious - In the last few weeks I've taken over as Gameplay Lead for Moviebattles II and its occured to me that we've never actually told you where we are headed or why we make specific changes in regards to gameplay. I'd like to use this as an opportunity to change that for us as a team to be more transparent moving forwards as we look to improve the game throughout future patches. This will also allow you to know what we are looking to change, and what kind of feedback we are looking for.

In 1.4.4 we are looking to freeze a solid core for Jedi/Sith in place so we won't have to touch these mechanics for at least a few major patches - This includes: Saber vs Saber, Saber vs Gun and Force Regeneration. I've been looking at a lot of the feedback we've received for 1.4.3 as well as playing a lot of Jedi/Sith in this build and given everyone's experience with 1.4.3, we want to improve on the mechanics that were introduced to make them smoother and a lot more engaging. The goal for Jedi/Sith is to improve their staying power while reducing their ability to retreat while under pressure. 1.4.3's regeneration mechanic did allow this to some extent but was too punishing for players who were trying to support their team.

Below I will break down the core changes we are exploring for 1.4.4.
Please note all of the below is subject to change before release.

FP Regeneration and Drains
Based on 1.4.3's feedback we will be tweaking the FP Regeneration mechanics so that you don't have to worry about holding block, in fact we encourage it.

We will still have 3 states of FP Drain:

• Defenseless (Saber Down/Melee/Idle/Meditate): Base FP Drains for weapons.
• Autoblock (Running): Increased FP Drains for weapons.
• Block: Greatly Decreased FP Drains for weapons.

And there will still be 4 states of FP Regeneration, but we have modified them slightly:

• Meditate:
  • FP Regeneration: Highest, Transition: Ramps up over time, Restrictions: Stationary.
• Defenseless (Saber Down/Melee/Idle):
  • FP Regeneration: Base, Transition: Ramps up over time, Restrictions: Can't Block.
• Defending (Autoblock/Holding Block):
  • FP Regeneration: Slightly lower than base, Transition: Instant.,Restrictions: None.
• Deflecting (Actively Being Shot):
  • FP Regeneration: Greatly lower than base, Transition: Instant Debuff, Duration: 3 seconds (duration can be refreshed each shot, and FP Bar's hue is darkened to indicate debuff is present), Restrictions: Only applies while holding Block.

This combination of drains and states allow us to still have the benefits of really low FP Drains while blocking but doesn't needlessly punish you for holding block while you are not being shot at, whether you are dueling the enemy saberists or supporting your back line. We haven't got the numbers quite in place yet, but after initial testing this feels much smoother and allows the Jedi to have much more freedom while still pushing towards a more active responsibility to manage their FP.



Sense
Sense is a highly debated force power, many would like the power removed completely while others see it as a staple ability that should not be touched. Based on the feedback we've seen we have decided to keep the ability largely similar to how it is, but adjusting how its activated and the durations. In 1.4.4 Sense will tie more into the FP management direction we want to see Jedi's moving towards by using a similar mechanic to Force Speed, another toggled ability but where the duration is solely based on your remaining FP pool.

• Rank 1: Activation Cost: 15FP, Tick Cost: 5FP, 20FP grants you 2s of Sense (equal to the current implementation, but you can have it on for longer if you wish to spend more FP).
• Rank 2: Activation Cost: 10FP, Tick Cost: 5FP, 20FP grants you 3s of Sense (an increase over the current implementation, and you can still choose to have it on longer if you wish to spend more FP).
• Rank 3: Activation Cost: 5FP, Tick Cost: 5FP, 20FP grants you 4s of Sense (a large decrease over the current implementation, but you can still choose to have it on longer if you wish to spend more FP).

These changes allow sense to still be used as an information gathering tool, but encourages smart use of the ability only having it on for as long as you need. Having sense on for a long time while setting up that ambush will leave you starved for FP, greatly increasing the enemy's chance to counter you.


Wall-grab
This ability is a real life-saver while moving around a map and dropping to lower levels, especially on maps like Deathstar. But there are certain players who like to use its ability to hang onto walls forever, often in unreachable locations that cause it to be used in ways we do not intend or to setup lengthy ambushes. As such, the new wall-grab mechanics will actively drain FP slowly while holding onto a wall, automatically drops you upon reaching 0 FP. Also, wall-grab can no longer be used to regenerate FP after bunny hopping.

These changes will still allow the ability to be used as a safe-fall but should prevent poorly planned ambushes. Players will need to better manage their FP pools by choosing the right moment to setup an ambush.


Saber Perks
We've been here before. While Saber vs Saber perks offer a nice diversity between the styles the Saber vs Gun perks adversely change the gameplay dynamics we'd like to see during Saber vs Gun fights. For this reason Saber vs Gun perks won't be included in future builds. Expect refinements to the Saber System and updated Saber vs Saber perks in 1.4.4.


Deflect
This is another ability that greatly benefits from the reduced Block drains and as such we've made some tweaks while updating the mechanics to be less ping dependent. In 1.4.3 Cyan had the ability to deflect by simply holding attack while blocking, this allowed the player to focus entirely on aiming but was too powerful with continuous FP regeneration (even at slow speeds). We liked the quality of life this provided and have applied it to all ranks of deflect (with the Cyan deflect perk being removed). Deflect is in all cases activated by holding attack while blocking and pauses FP regeneration.

• Rank 1: Rapidly Drains FP while held, Cannot be used inside IDR.
• Rank 2: Slowly Drains FP while held, Can be used inside IDR, Cannot be used inside Flinch range.
• Rank 3: Does not Drain FP while held, Can be used inside IDR, Cannot be used inside Flinch range.

Deflecting fits the Jedi fantasy perfectly and gives them a great way to support allies at range beyond push and sense. Now the Jedi must make an active choice to pause their FP regeneration completely in order to reflect shots at the enemy. This still makes Jedi want to wisely time their Deflects as holding it down during a full barrage will quickly deplete your FP pool, but is much more friendly for players of higher ping. We didn't like how in previous builds deflect could be used to facehug someone to death, and while this issue still remains in the form of random deflects, we are able to minimize it greatly.


What about Gunners?

We are mostly happy with the way a lot of the gun classes work. While there are a few things we'd like to look at *cough* SBD *cough* the following are being changed in 1.4.4:

Projectile Rifle
The initial reason behind the Projectile Rifle FP change was to allow Jedi to survive a pop snipe from around a corner, but pop sniping was very fun to do. In reflection of this we've decided to bring back the protection for running Jedi outside of IDR and allow shot-gun snipes to exist vs running Jedi only. A blocking Jedi will be able to protect against a sniper rifle at any range.

• FP Drain Inside IDR while running: Uncapped.
• FP Drain Outside IDR while running: 40.
• FP Drain Inside IDR while blocking <40.

ARC Westar M5
The ammo on this thing has been too low for too long, we heard you. We are increasing the max ammo capacity of the Westar M5 to be inline with other weapons of its type.

• Ammo 1: From 240 > 360.
• Ammo 2: From 360 > 480.
• Ammo 3: From 480 > 600.

This change is very self-explanatory, we feel that ARCs are in a good place at the moment and are very versatile. But the extremely low ammo count was causing too many issues - especially on higher population servers, where the ARC felt like he couldn't provide supporting cover.

Dodge
While the new dodge mechanic does what we want it to, it feels a bit too cumbersome by forcing you into a movement state based on rank and having to hold a button at the same time. We want Dodge to be used to get through chokepoints and suppressed areas, but not to let you tank huge amounts of shots for free. We also thought it was too hard to glance at your Dodge Points while they were being drawn as small numbers and have re-introduced the Dodge Bar.

In all cases, dodge is activated by holding it and has no movement restrictions.It also cannot be used while scoped.

• Rank 1: Cost: A full bar drains over 1 second. Cannot be used up close.
• Rank 2: Cost: A full bar drains over 2 second. Cannot be used up close.
• Rank 3: Cost: A full bar drains over 3 second. Can be used fairly close.

These changes still allow Dodge to be use as a cover breaker while requiring a manual activation to complete. We wanted to keep the current Disruptors(Stationary/Hitscan) vs Projectile(Mobile/Pop-snipe) balance in Sniper vs Sniper engagements but wanted to still provide an alternative option to fight back. Dodge will allow you break the usual corner-play and press the offensive or fallback into cover while you are being shot at. We are still exploring the Hold mechanic over a form of Toggle, similar to what we've introduced for Sense.

Dash
Bringing dodge into a more manual ability was causing conflicts with Dash and Dodge Points. We want players to be able to Dash freely and not to worry about their remaining Dodge Points, at the same time we didn't like the gameplay double dashing in a row would cause skewing balance in the favour of the Hero. Dash has been changed as follows:

• Rank 1:
  • Dashes a short distance in the current movement direction.
  • 2.5s cool-down.
  • Doesn't share a cool-down with Melee moves.
  • Same activation.
  • Unlimited uses.
• Rank 2:
  • Dodges any incoming blasters for the duration of the dash animation.

The cool-down still allows Dash to be used as an intended quick escape or combat positioning tool but prevents double Dashing to escape instances where you may poorly used the ability. At the same time we didn't want to interrupt fun combos such as Dash into Flying Kick, similar to how Blob and Flying Kick function as independent cool-downs.



Final Thoughts

We are excited to get these changes out to you as soon as possible and are committed to continuing progress of the game. The above items are unlikely to change bar number tweaks, but now that we've been able to give you an insight into the direction we are taking we would love to hear back from you on new features, weapons, abilities and mechanics you'd love to see included into Movie Battles II in future builds following 1.4.4.

 

[CC-1119 'Appo']

ARC Westar M5
The ammo on this thing has been too low for too long, we heard you. We are increasing the max ammo capacity of the Westar M5 to be inline with other weapons of its type.

• Ammo 1: From 240 > 360.
• Ammo 2: From 360 > 480.
• Ammo 3: From 480 > 600.

This change is very self-explanatory, we feel that ARCs are in a good place at the moment and are very versatile. But the extremely low ammo count was causing too many issues - especially on higher population servers, where the ARC felt like he couldn't provide supporting cover.

 

[TinyNinja]

RIP Clone Wars Adventures.

 

[Blazer]

I like a lot of these changes, thanks HEX. I'm also curious, I've said over multiple posts about the idea of sense slowly draining FP, any credit to me or did you think about that by yourself? Haha just curious!

 

[Tempest]

That ammo change has been sitting around for a while but it's slipped through the cracks somehow..no more!

@Nova; This is stuff we've had in the works for a while .

Also for those wondering about how Sense will interact with meditation:
Sense will stop FP from regenerating while meditating (so you'll still be doing -5 FP per tick while it's active) but the bonus to FP regen based on how long you've been meditating will remain intact (will kick in once Sense is deactivated).

 

[RG4]

You seriously nerfed sense because comp people cried.
The power wasn't anywhere in realms of being off setting or unbalanced because both sides benefited from it. Why the hell even consider changing the power despite the dozens of complaints lobbied towards stuff like Push,Pull, and lightning.

 

[Onysfx]

Pistol 3 ammo still hasn't been fixed:

Ammo 1: 80
Ammo 2: 160
Ammo 3: 400

WTF!?!?

 

[takuta pls]

Pistol 3 ammo still hasn't been fixed:

Ammo 1: 80
Ammo 2: 160
Ammo 3: 400

WTF!?!?

what about it? 160 x 2.5 = 400/ 80 x 5 = 400, seems fine to me

 

[Onysfx]

what about it? 160 x 2.5 = 400/ 80 x 5 = 400, seems fine to me

Pistol level 1 and 2 have more ammo for ammo levels 1 and 2 than pistol 3 does.

I'm suggesting the stats are changed to this:

Pistol 3 ammo levels:
level 1: 160
level 2: 240
level 3: 400

 

[Liniyka_xddd]

I'd say these are good changes. Nobody would bother picking dash 2 though, imo.

Also, when you guys gonna introduce something new and fun? Last few patches have been just nerfs and neverending saber system adjustments.

 

[{Δ} Achilles]

Wall grab is demonstrably fine as it currently is. Infact the most play I see out of it, is from force whores trying to escape certain death, and if you make it so that they lose FP and drop at 0, then it literally defeats the purpose of having it.

Sense change is whatever, I'll have to see.

Proj rifle change, feh, CS:Go players need their quick-scopes.

Dash is now just a Wesker dodge that will allow you to run through a lowly soldier's blaster shots to kick him in the face for an even easier kill.

Dodge 3 would be interesting if there wasn't only one class in the entire god damned game that has it.
- Arc should have a dodge tied to the sprint meter, Jedi/Sith should have the ability to dodge tied to their force meter, commanders/ETs should be allowed to purchase dodge 3.

And when the fuck is Clone getting balanced so they're not completely and utterly broken? Yesterday I killed a hallway of solds/coms just charging with CR3 minigun and holding mouse 1, then later I punched an SBD to death because he couldn't fire for FIVE SECONDS due to ion blobs.

 

[Lessen]

Also, when you guys gonna introduce something new and fun? Last few patches have been just nerfs and neverending saber system adjustments.

Erm.

we would love to hear back from you on new features, weapons, abilities and mechanics you'd love to see included into Movie Battles II in future builds following 1.4.4.

It's an interesting topic, what COULD be added? There's already so much in the game, and it's all balanced really well, for the most part. If you add a new mechanic/weapon, do you add it to an existing class, creating a bunch of new combination options? Or do you create a whole new class? As far as tactical roles, are there really any important potential classes missing?

thinking of TF2 for some examples of classes, we already have Heavies (Wook/SBD, Deka, CR3 Clone lol), crowd-control Demomen (Grenadiers...), duel-winning/roaming Scouts (Jedi), general-purpose Soldiers...... Jedi also fits the Pyro's defense/deflect specialist role. TF2 also has builders, healers, and stealth classes, all of which have been suggested for MB2 and rejected for the reason that they make the gameplay more tedious and less... risky.

over in Overwatch, Sombra and Ana have both been big "game changers", possessing abilities that make them essential for a serious team. (Ana can basically turn a teammate into a raged Wookiee, and shut down enemy raged wookiees with sleep darts, and can heal her team really quickly, while Sombra can... uh... insta-EMP the other team almost instantly from stealth.)

so on one hand, you could add a nearly-redundant class that can't throw off the balance because it's just so redundant. Or you could add a total game changer, something that's not overpowered on its own (as in: can't be spammed) but so massively benefits a team that it becomes an essential pick.

My current favorite idea honestly leans more towards "redundant:"

Gungans for Red and Magna Guards for Blue. Both would be agile like Jedi with Jump 3. Both would get access to some kind of blaster. Gungans would get spears and energy shields. Magna Guards would get their electro-sticks. Gungans would be able to block shots (because of their shields), but not lightsabers. Magna Guards would be able to block lightsabers (of course), but not blaster shots. I would like if the blaster they had access to was essentially like an A280 with just the primary mode. Slow-ish rate of fire but high projectile speed for light sniping and support fire.

The wookieepedia article on Gungan personal shields says that they can repel force lightning, which gives me the idea that the purpose of both classes could be to specifically counter lone-wolf saberists, without being that cost-efficient vs most other gunners. Gungans would die in Melee against a Sith, but if they could use their shield and gun at the same time, they would stop Lightning Hoppers. Magna Guards would be for people who mostly want to play gunner and support Sith, but also want to be able to protect themselves, and are fine with being kind of an overpriced/underpowered gunner.

Gungan would be a tiny bit redundant since Wookiee already counters lightning, but Gungan would also add a little bit of the Deka-style shield to red team, which would be interesting.

... in retrospect, this isn't a perfect thread for posting that idea, but it was kind of a throwaway idea i was making up on the fly

 

[Hydra.Rising]

Swords for ET and Commanders. That is all <3

 

[Preston]

oh joy more nerfs to jedi. again, but atleast you fixed shotgun snipe +1 to you

 

[SK5]

On the dueling side, as many have stated this patch is pretty much spam to win. Giving combo breaking back on PB or some other rewards for doing it would be nice.

Also, fix the perks on saber vs saber pls, some are useless and some op (cyan)

 

[Preston]

On the dueling side, as many have stated this patch is pretty much spam to win. Giving combo breaking back on PB or some other rewards for doing it would be nice.

Also, fix the perks on saber vs saber pls, some are useless and some op (cyan)

nuuuu combo break suxx

 

[{Δ} Achilles]

No combo break on PB. Just do what was originally planned for 1.5, before 1.4.3 was prematurely released for some dumb reason.

 

[AgentGibbs]

Most of these changes look good to me although I have a few reserves on some.

Maybe with fp regen make the auto-blocking / blocking two separate categories. Where auto-blocking is what is stated above, and holding block without any loss of fp (so using force or getting hit by a blaster resets this), has a much slower ramp up. My theory behind this is if I'm holding block to defend my teammates from other jedi / sith, and I'm not taking fp damage or using fp then it should increase starting at a slow rate, but over maybe 4-5 seconds it reaches a regen rate slightly slower than the defenseless rate. This makes it where a jedi / sith tha thas successfully defeated the enemy gunners with the aid of their team isn't immediately killed by gunners that show up 5 seconds after that fight, but still gives the jedi / sith team that won a chance to support his team against the surviving jedi / sith from the other team.

For sense level 3 it costs 14 points to me if someone is going to give up 14/80 (or 17.5%) of their available points they should not have to worry about the force power management scheme other than it costs 20 fp for ~10-15s. This change to 10 or 15 seconds allows a sense 3 user to do anything they would need to in regards to support or for the sneaky force users set up a decent ambush, without sitting in one spot forever to set it up or at least not sit in one spot forever without making any form of noise (regarding sense activation). If they have to activate the sense every 10 seconds then you will still get the timing you are looking for in the setting up ambushes without hurting the support aspect of sense 3 for a front line jedi / sith. As for sense levels 1 and 2 I believe these changes actually make them what they need to be, where you get either the radar or hazy aura of the enemy over time but also allows for prolonged looks if wanted instead of the quick 2 second peek sense 1 gives now.

As for wall grab I do not think that this change is needed. You could just make it where there is no way to regen force while wall grabbing thus leaving the jedi / sith to risk fp to set up their ambush. With the set up for force regen that you guys are looking at it creates a huge risk for a jedi / sith to enter battle with medium - low fp (which is great) so they would have to execute their ambush flawlessly this way in order to actual be a danger to the other team.

These are just some of the things I was thinking about but most of the changes particularly the arc ammo are good changes for the game.

 

[{Δ} Achilles]

Just going to leave this here...


- - - Clone - - -

- Weapons
* * Pistol
Description: Same as current.

* * DC-15s
Levels: 1, 2, 3
Cost: 6-7-8
Description: Reskin of E-11

* * DC-15a
Levels: 1, 2, 3
Cost: 8-18-24
Description: The long clone rifle, high damage, extremely slow fire-rate, for accurate long-ranged engagements
Stats:
- Level 1
Damage: 30
Accuracy: Only when standing still, crouched, or walking
- Level 2
Damage: 35
Accuracy: Always accurate
Adds Scope
- Level 3
Primary Damage: 35
Secondary: Charge shot, starting at 35, reaching maximum 100
Accuracy: Always accurate, charge shot only accurate while walking


* * Minigun
Levels: 1, 2
Cost: 30-45
Description: The current minigun, with some tweaks
Stats:
- Level 1
Primary Damage: 20
Accuracy: Always inaccurate, more inaccurate the longer it fires.
Rate of Fire: Current CR2
- Level 2
Primary Damage: 20
Accuracy: Always inaccurate, more inaccurate the longer it fires.
Rate of Fire: CR3
_________
- Abilities

* * Sprint
Levels: 1, 2, 3
Cost: 0-6-12
Description: Allows the Clone to sprint *forward* only until his stamina runs out, while sprinting the clone fires inaccurately.
Stats:
- Level 1
The Clone can sprint for short distances at a time
- Level 2
The Clone can sprint for long distances at a time
- Level 3
The Clone can sprint forever, and can use crouch to cancel out of sprint with a roll in any direction.

* * Bash
Levels: 1, 2, 3
Cost: 0-8-16
Description: Allows the Clone to bash a target with his rifle-stock
Stats:
- Level 1
Damage: 6
Cooldown: 4 Seconds
Flinches targets hit
- Level 2
Damage: 14
Cooldown: 3 Seconds
Flinches Jedi/Sith that are blocking, knocks down Jedi/Sith that aren't crouched/blocking, knocks down gunners that aren't crouched
- Level 3
Damage: 20
Cooldown: 2 Seconds
Knocks down all targets that aren't crouched

* * Reinforcements
Description: Same as current

_________
- Items

* * Pulse Grenades
Levels: 1, 2
Cost: 6-6
Description: Grants the Clone up to 2 Pulse Grenades

* * Armor
Description: Same as current

* * Ammo
Description: Same as current

 

[RG4]

would love to hear back from you on new features, weapons, abilities and mechanics you'd love to see included into Movie Battles II in future builds following 1.4.4.

So FEATURES,WEAPONS,ABILITIES, AND MECHANICS!?
Well lets look at MB2 right now, come on now lets get a brief glimpse to what we have that could be implemented.

Swords,disguises,supplies,medics,equipment,shotguns,grappling hook,flamethrower 2,force blind.

Shit right now we got whole lot more things that are currently up in the realms of FA that could honestly change the flow of the game and entice new play styles on how each and everything reacts and works. But avast they're all locked behind FA, a game mode that doesn't see a lot of actual play time outside of occasionally organized by clans or a bunch of people deciding to hope on to FA servers. The problem is the most played FA map just happens to be the DOTF of FA, that being Jedi Temple.

So we all heard the arguments and honestly have waited for years to see some this content ever coming to open, hell cyan and purple were both FA exclusive til recently. Right now people have been asking for swords/batons,grappling hook,medics,and supplies for years and we haven't ever decided to put them into open. THe main reason is that it'll force the rounds to be longer, which honestly it'd be a whole lot more fun when we get to see different classes getting to muck about with a variety of weapons that aren't P3,Proj, or E11.