Update Discussion thread (14FEB18)

[Sulaboy]

The marine nerfs need to stop.

I don't think the marines have been that nerfed. A lot of these updates are taken by the player base as nerfs. These updates are just changing the flow of the game. Medical changes have marines 5u tricord and 5u tramadol which are refillable at nano meds. They also were given a maximum medic count of 16 medics on the ground. General coms is just bad to listen in on. Sure you may find something important every once in a while, but you will have to sift through an hour of random stuff that does not pertain to you in any way. The coms change makes it more important to follow lines of information. It does not allow PFCs to bypass their SLs. It helps make squads more self reliant, and it should make SOs communicate and coordinate more. SLs may see more personal messages which they can tell their squad. The main reason I hate the General coms channel is because it drowns out text. When you are on the ground and you need to say something without the radio it could be lost or missed because of all the other text that had to be sifted through.

[misto]

almayer defense efforts are badly splintered without general comms. used to be you had to have xenos break the comms apc so see that level of disorganization

[Urytion]

I absolutely hate this general comms removal. If playing a marine on the ground with the medical changes wasn't already a slog, now we have no inter-squad coordination. Wew. And the RP element is completely gone. Sure you don't have tards/trolls spamming comms with inane bullshit, but you also can't have pilots announcing take off times, you can't call the RO to desk, you can't call the MPs, you can't announce on the general comms that you're coming up with a boatload of wounded if there's no pilot, and ALL THE ROLEPLAY IS GONE. No more pre-deployment banter, no more shuttle shit-talking, no more smack talk between squads. It's just boring now.

[WinterClould]

ALL THE ROLEPLAY IS GONE.

Exactly this. With the exception of face to face talking and a little bit of squad comms RP is at an all time rock bottom.

Pre-deployment is a drag of limited squad communication.
FOB duty is boring as fuck since there ain't shit to listen to now.
Scouting is a death sentence because good luck getting any support from the other squads when you get hit by an overwhelming force of xenos because they're balanced to be able to take on 2-3 squads at once and can wipe the floor with your one squad.
Fuck your forward outpost at hydro/canteen/ice bar/red bar because you had no idea the scouting squads are dead and your about to get hit with a massive two ton punch of xenos.

Even if we do get a radio man or something like that, it might fix things like squads having no idea the other squads are fucked, but it won't bring back all the RP we've just lost. All the things Urytion listed and such.

Guess this is one more step to just being a TDM server with no RP for the little man.

[Rio]

Exactly this. With the exception of face to face talking and a little bit of squad comms RP is at an all time rock bottom.

Pre-deployment is a drag of limited squad communication.
FOB duty is boring as fuck since there ain't shit to listen to now.
Scouting is a death sentence because good luck getting any support from the other squads when you get hit by an overwhelming force of xenos because they're balanced to be able to take on 2-3 squads at once and can wipe the floor with your one squad.
Fuck your forward outpost at hydro/canteen/ice bar/red bar because you had no idea the scouting squads are dead and your about to get hit with a massive two ton punch of xenos.

Even if we do get a radio man or something like that, it might fix things like squads having no idea the other squads are fucked, but it won't bring back all the RP we've just lost. All the things Urytion listed and such.

Guess this is one more step to just being a TDM server with no RP for the little man.

► Show Spoiler

So much "this", it hurts the soul.

[Mann handle]

Even if we do get a radio man or something like that, it might fix things like squads having no idea the other squads are fucked, but it won't bring back all the RP we've just lost. All the things Urytion listed and such.

Can't wait to see xenos target the radioman and drag them across the map just for shits and giggles. Much like most roles that xenos love targeting.

[kooarbiter]

And it dont stop coming... I used to love the server but the past. Couple of months have ruined it for me

[Kesserline]

A little parenthesis from the changelogs :

► Show Spoiler

Non-PMC gas masks now restrict vision. Gas masks made more reliable against Boiler gas, no longer need activated internals.

MY GASMASK IS TACTICOOL AND EFFECTIVE NOW ! BWAHAHAHHA

________________________________________________

Being overwhelmed ? Asking for support ? If your SO or SL is not garbage, he can talk to Command channel.

This comm update removes PFC freedom to force PFC to work with their squad, or die trying. If they don't want or can't stay with the squad, they get punished for it. If it's their fault, or not.

On the other hand, it puts more pressure on the SL/OW (SO,XO,CO) in general. If one of those, or both are garbage, squad is considered KIA before deployment. But, if you get a decent SL and a decent OW, you'll have more chance to get stronger squads, as lone-wolves will be fucked and strictly isolated more harshly.

Also, it may be a step forward for radiomen to arrive. If not provided in a short-term basis by another update, nothing prevents you to find a radio groundside to use it and act as a radioman for your squad and for the battalion in general.

[MChosen]

I like the common comms removal update. If actually removes useless spam and you have to rely on your squad more. It also makes SOs more useful. Like right now i can't go somewhere alone, because i know, i will get fucked which makes me want to stay near my squad and follow orders.

[BadApple]

It means as a PFC you rely on 4 people for all your coordination. When things work that's great, but with SSD, deaths and drama command deals with you end up being in the dark completely as to whats happening on the ground, and your SL is dead half the time, if they even exist.

Maybe it's better on highpop.

[WinterClould]

Boiler Gas is neato. I got hit by it and 100 to 0'd instantly. Might be something a little weird about it. No time for putting on a gas mask. But eh man I think it's a marine nerf we can work with not upset about it.

Odd though that boilers got another buff when they we're already mandatory for the hive. Feel like Prae's are the weakest right now and should get some lovin next.

Still upset about my complete lack of communication. I tried to play a round of SO where I did all the squad coordination between all the squads and got nothin out of it. It was stressful and just a pain in the ass. All the other SO's are hardly focused on their own squads that they can't possibly be asked to do anything more at all.

[Omicega]

Going straight from 2 to 4 medics per squad at peak times seems a little much. It was already a minority of rounds (maybe significant, but less than 50% for sure) where I ever wound up feeling busy as a squad medic. For rounds where I felt like I was struggling and couldn't cope with the number of wounded, the percentage is even smaller, even with player counts at and above 200. Legitimately the only times I've ever wished we had more medics in total would be HvH rounds, but that's mainly because they push the pop to ridiculous levels and cause lots of lag which is awful to deal with.

Add on the fact that more medics doesn't even begin to help treat serious wounds (broken bones, IB, organ damage) and, in fact, actually delays their treatment by means of overstressing CASEVAC, and I'm struggling to see any rhyme or reason to the change beyond being a huge indirect nerf for boilers and praes. Eight was fine for any pop level - it already scaled down naturally in lowpop with less slots filled, and you didn't see anyone whinging about medic availability there. Maybe three per squad would have worked better, but outright doubling it makes me unhappy right off the bat, and leaves me very, very worried about potential followup changes to compensate for this colossal upswing in the sheer amount of med supplies that make it planetside.

[spheretech]

Going straight from 2 to 4 medics per squad at peak times seems a little much. It was already a minority of rounds (maybe significant, but less than 50% for sure) where I ever wound up feeling busy as a squad medic. For rounds where I felt like I was struggling and couldn't cope with the number of wounded, the percentage is even smaller, even with player counts at and above 200. Legitimately the only times I've ever wished we had more medics in total would be HvH rounds, but that's mainly because they push the pop to ridiculous levels and cause lots of lag which is awful to deal with.

Add on the fact that more medics doesn't even begin to help treat serious wounds (broken bones, IB, organ damage) and, in fact, actually delays their treatment by means of overstressing CASEVAC, and I'm struggling to see any rhyme or reason to the change beyond being a huge indirect nerf for boilers and praes. Eight was fine for any pop level - it already scaled down naturally in lowpop with less slots filled, and you didn't see anyone whinging about medic availability there. Maybe three per squad would have worked better, but outright doubling it makes me unhappy right off the bat, and leaves me very, very worried about potential followup changes to compensate for this colossal upswing in the sheer amount of med supplies that make it planetside.

I don't know where you play medic but every single round it's rare to NOT have someone waiting on me for treatment. ESPECIALLY on the front line.

[Omicega]

Maybe if you get left solo or with only one helper, sure, but it only takes three or four medics in one place to chew through wounded patients like nobody's business. Seriously, it doesn't take that long to shove pills down people's throats anymore, and about the only thing that can slow you down is too many flat-out dead people being brought in and needing to pop off a difficult defib or two.

If all eight existing medics (pre-change) positioned themselves well there would never have been as much of a glut. Hell, half the people who end up getting left at the average carnage point just behind the front line these days are just being queued up for CASEVAC, which continues to be by far the biggest bottleneck to actually getting anything beyond a prae burn treated in a reasonable amount of time.

[Sulaboy]

If all eight existing medics (pre-change) positioned themselves well there would never have been as much of a glut.

It would be great if medics used the medical channel to organize theirselves. Being a medic is tough with what you are supposed to do. If your squad is moving, you can be left behind while treating a marine. Medics also cannot just walk to the front, that's danerous for anyone, they need a small escort to get to their squad. If the medics communicated where they need help then that could be good. It's a difficult role in reguards to following orders.

[Heckenshutze]

Are we ever going to tweak point-blank buckshot to deliver all the shells instead of just one? I don't know if it's a bug or it's intended but I don't like it.

[HKO20006]

^ It is a bug.
[Bug] Pointblank Shots With Buckshot Weapons Spawns Only One Buckshot Projectile https://gitlab.com/cmdevs/ColonialMarines/issues/1446
[Bug] If you pointblank with burstfire on, you should fire the whole burst instead of a single shot https://gitlab.com/cmdevs/ColonialMarines/issues/2038

[Kesserline]

Heavy Pew changelogs :

► Show Spoiler

Added the M402 Mortar. This 80mm crew weapon needs basic engineering skill and a forward spotter, but will rain explosive and inciendary goodness at any point on the map. To use, simply set it down on the planet, aim it, then put shells in to fire away.
The M402 Mortar can be purchased for 120 points at RO, with an ammo crate costing 40 points. Expect to crunch your budget to get one of those bad boys, probably forget extra sentries or flamers.

WHUUUT ?! HEAVY PEW PEW ?

Has anyone tested it yet ?

[HKO20006]

It works very well!

► Show Spoiler

Joke a side, more on the mortar, the ammo crate contains
wiki/Marine_Equipment#Restricted_Defens ... _Equipment


Cry of Wolves (Furry Trash) - Today at 10:50 AM
Mortar kits can be set up by anyone with field engineering level skill, so Squad Engineers, Squad Leaders, Specialists, XO, Commander, MTs, CE
Once set down, you need to aim it by entering the coordinates of your target as x, y
Tactical binoculars will now give you the x and y of the location you're tagging
You can also dial the mortar up to 10 tiles offset. The difference between aiming and dialing is that dialing is MUCH faster and intended for mid-fire adjustments
To fire, grab a shell and slap it on the mortar
The mortar shells have a pretty long travel time, and targets on the receiving end will get an advance warning
Mortars have infinite range but suffer serious innacuracy over long tile ranges, so just setting it at LZ1 might not always be the best solution
Mortar has the same firing restrictions as CAS and OB, aka won't fire underground

[Kesserline]

Bwahahahaha

[misto]

hmm i always hoped that maybe the grenade launcher spec would be becoming a long range explosive launcher, because the whole point of a grenade launcher is to launch them a lot farther than you can throw them, but i guess that job has now been claimed

[Surrealistik]

The mortar is really cool, but a devastating FF machine and probably overpriced. Likely better for HvH.

I don't see it being terribly useful given how cumbersome it is save for prolonged sieges against an entrenched hive in a place that a mortar can strike, and flare rounds to light up large areas remotely.

I'm willing to be surprised though if people somehow learn to use it quickly and efficiently (and without having it do more harm than good).

[spookydonut]

point blank is technically a melee attack that doesn't properly use the projectile code that deals with things like burst and additional buckshot

[Heckenshutze]

point blank is technically a melee attack that doesn't properly use the projectile code that deals with things like burst and additional buckshot

Shit..

[Surrealistik]

Slugs are better, but still seem to be lacking per speccing and discussions with others.

Seems their stun range has been increased out to 5 tiles; it helps, but the buffs need to go further to achieve buckshot parity.