State of the Game - Launch Day Special!

Chronomancer · 09-01-2009, 03:44 AM

Hello, Champions!

It’s been an amazing early start weekend, and we’ve been burning the midnight neutronium responding to issues you’ve found and following your suggestions to make the game feel and play better. It’s never too early to start that communication between players and developers, so we’ve carried that essential interaction from beta right into the game launching. We’re reading and listening, and addressing things as quickly as we can.

Based on your play experiences and feedback, we’re making some adjustments in anticipation of the rest of the gaming universe joining us! Here’s the skinny on what we’re up to.

BRING IT ON!
A good number of players have noted that the game isn’t challenging enough, especially at higher levels. We’re usually going to initially err on the side of it being too easy, and then trial and dial in on just the right balance as best we can. We’ve made a couple of broader course corrections over the past weeks, and we’re very close to the experience we all want. To further that direction, we’re doing some fine tuning in the following areas:

We reduced the effectiveness of Slotted Passive Defense powers, Active Defense powers, and Defense from upgrades. The total bonus of all combined defenses was reduced from a 75% net defense bonus to a 66% net bonus. The biggest change was made within the Passive Defense powers which our players noted were far too effective and trivialized the threat form Henchmen level enemies.

We increased “non-shtick” enemy damage to compensate for AI / animation delays. This particularly affects Henchmen who did not attack at the expected rate on which other areas of combat effectiveness are balanced. The change represents a 25% increase in this type of damage.

We also increased “shtick-based” damage for Super Villain class enemies and above. They were incorrectly using the Master Villain class damage tables, making our most difficult enemies much weaker than intended.

Finally, we have removed the consumable items that were giving a straight 33% increase to Health and Energy from vendors. These were artifacts of the beta test that were accidently not removed from the live version of the game.

ADDRESSING THE ZOOM EFFECT
We’ve fixing a data bug where players incorrectly received 75% of an enemy’s experience amount no matter the disparity in level. More than a difference of 4 levels now gains the player no experience.

We’ve added a timer to the Scared Straight mission so that while it remains repeatable, it will not be exploitable. We have also reduced the amount of experience for repeated versions of the mission.

The top speed of travel power speeds has been reduced by 15% as part of how we’re addressing reported frame-rate issues because heroes are simply traveling faster than the server can update their position.

WE WANT MORE UPGRADES, AND WE WANT THEM NOW!
We found and fixed an error in the overall drop-rate tables that drastically reduced the number of upgrades coming from defeated enemies. This change increases the number of upgrades that drop from enemies in the approximately four-fold.

CHANGING YOUR MIND IS EASIER
Retcon cost has been lowered across the board, making alterations in your character's powers and advantages much simpler to accomplish.

THE STORE IS OPEN!
We’ve activated all of the special edition action figures in the C Store. So if you got Cryptic Points to spend as part of a promotional purchase of the game, you start your collection now! Cryptic Points will go on sale soon.

THE MAGIC IS BACK IN SORCERY
Sorcery powers are now being properly counted towards unlocking other powers in their power set.

SNAKE BUCKS AND UNITY MERITS
We’re aware of a data bug that causes Snake Bucks and Unity Merits to not display in your character sheet. They *are* there, you just can’t see them until we get the fix checked in.

WHAT’S TO COME
Today we’re announcing our plans for Blood Moon – our first FREE update to the game. We’re diving right in to making more content for you, but I don’t want to spoil the awesome job the crew did on the announcement page, so keep your eyes on the website!

See you online, heroes!

GamingCthulhu · 09-01-2009, 03:48 AM

Great job keep it up! Really looking forward to whats to come for Blood Moon and the C-Store action Figures are just amazing. The wife and I will be getting most if not all of them right away and Already I'm glad I got the Lifetime sub as seeing all the work the Cryptic team has done for the players makes me glad to be a part of the community.

Stealthrider · 09-01-2009, 03:49 AM

So now that Scare Straight is being nerfed, what are your plans to address the serious content issues at the post-28 level?

Ive had to do Scare Straight to get almost all of my 28th level, and now I cant even do that.

Are there plans to increase PvP exp? As it stands now, PvP exp is virtually nonexistant compared to missioning exp. I can complete 5 missions on average in the time it takes to complete one pvp match. PvP right now, is not a viable way to get exp, even for PvPers like myself who would rather do as little pve as possible.

blueRleet · 09-01-2009, 03:51 AM

Fix The Lag Please.

Cicerone · 09-01-2009, 03:53 AM

Thank you so much for this update. There have been many complaints about the Early Start Event, PvP power disparities, logging and lagging issues, and thousands of other things. I think the community will benefit from realizing that, though not all of their concerns have been addressed, the Cryptic team has been very busy taking care of the problems that most needed attention before launch. Here's looking for a great opening day!

Silverspar · 09-01-2009, 03:53 AM

I tend to agree that a freespec is in order for the ehad start people, due to teh pricing issues, but if blood moon issue update is what I think it is and give sa Halloween themed zone, I will jsut say I WILL LIVE THERE!

Drac · 09-01-2009, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealthrider

Ive had to do Scare Straight to get almost all of my 28th level, and now I cant even do that.

If you're really stuck, open your quest log and click Crime Computer then Search for Emergencies.

It's an instance quest finder for level relevent quests available to you across all zones!

Seriously, in MC, Canada and the Desert there are over 100 missions between level 25 and 30, and you can start the Monster Island crisis at level 27. Go for a fly/run around the road that loops through Canada and you'll flag about 4/5 respawn points and 10 or so contacts with missions in that exact level range, then there's MC and the Desert to explore too.

Narial · 09-01-2009, 03:54 AM

did you nerf all defense passive? because defiance already sucked

Silverspar · 09-01-2009, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealthrider

So now that Scare Straight is being nerfed, what are your plans to address the serious content issues at the post-28 level?

Ive had to do Scare Straight to get almost all of my 28th level, and now I cant even do that.

Are there plans to increase PvP exp? As it stands now, PvP exp is virtually nonexistant compared to missioning exp. I can complete 5 missions on average in the time it takes to complete one pvp match. PvP right now, is not a viable way to get exp, even for PvPers like myself who would rather do as little pve as possible.

There isn;t any content disparity. I've yet to repeat a single mission, I've gone from 1 to 32, on nothing but the provided content, and I got a choice of 3 zones currently. Check your crime computer to find hot spots for yourself.

Kraks · 09-01-2009, 03:56 AM

I've leveled almost solely on doing quests, so I would like to add some feedback on that.

There are HUGE quest gaps from 16 - 20 and 30 - 35. Quite often you find yourself dying to find something more to do, but instead have to mindless kill monsters over and over and over again. This is the only thing that Scared Straight helped prevent, and you're nerfing that. I'm glad you are, as I saw it as an exploit.

HOWEVER, please address those level ranges. In furtherance of that, you could just fix most of the PQs, which seem to be 90% broken and useless at this time. Public Quests are the best innovation for MMOs in a decade, and unfortunately aren't working most of the time in CO.

That being said, the game is tons of fun. Please keep it up.

P.S. Fix the absolutely horrible crafting interface. There is no excuse for that nearly useless window and the complete lack of intuitive features.

09-01-2009, 03:44 AM	#1
Chronomancer Cryptic Studios Team Join Date: Nov 2008	State of the Game - Launch Day Special! Hello, Champions! It’s been an amazing early start weekend, and we’ve been burning the midnight neutronium responding to issues you’ve found and following your suggestions to make the game feel and play better. It’s never too early to start that communication between players and developers, so we’ve carried that essential interaction from beta right into the game launching. We’re reading and listening, and addressing things as quickly as we can. Based on your play experiences and feedback, we’re making some adjustments in anticipation of the rest of the gaming universe joining us! Here’s the skinny on what we’re up to. BRING IT ON! A good number of players have noted that the game isn’t challenging enough, especially at higher levels. We’re usually going to initially err on the side of it being too easy, and then trial and dial in on just the right balance as best we can. We’ve made a couple of broader course corrections over the past weeks, and we’re very close to the experience we all want. To further that direction, we’re doing some fine tuning in the following areas: We reduced the effectiveness of Slotted Passive Defense powers, Active Defense powers, and Defense from upgrades. The total bonus of all combined defenses was reduced from a 75% net defense bonus to a 66% net bonus. The biggest change was made within the Passive Defense powers which our players noted were far too effective and trivialized the threat form Henchmen level enemies. We increased “non-shtick” enemy damage to compensate for AI / animation delays. This particularly affects Henchmen who did not attack at the expected rate on which other areas of combat effectiveness are balanced. The change represents a 25% increase in this type of damage. We also increased “shtick-based” damage for Super Villain class enemies and above. They were incorrectly using the Master Villain class damage tables, making our most difficult enemies much weaker than intended. Finally, we have removed the consumable items that were giving a straight 33% increase to Health and Energy from vendors. These were artifacts of the beta test that were accidently not removed from the live version of the game. ADDRESSING THE ZOOM EFFECT We’ve fixing a data bug where players incorrectly received 75% of an enemy’s experience amount no matter the disparity in level. More than a difference of 4 levels now gains the player no experience. We’ve added a timer to the Scared Straight mission so that while it remains repeatable, it will not be exploitable. We have also reduced the amount of experience for repeated versions of the mission. The top speed of travel power speeds has been reduced by 15% as part of how we’re addressing reported frame-rate issues because heroes are simply traveling faster than the server can update their position. WE WANT MORE UPGRADES, AND WE WANT THEM NOW! We found and fixed an error in the overall drop-rate tables that drastically reduced the number of upgrades coming from defeated enemies. This change increases the number of upgrades that drop from enemies in the approximately four-fold. CHANGING YOUR MIND IS EASIER Retcon cost has been lowered across the board, making alterations in your character's powers and advantages much simpler to accomplish. THE STORE IS OPEN! We’ve activated all of the special edition action figures in the C Store. So if you got Cryptic Points to spend as part of a promotional purchase of the game, you start your collection now! Cryptic Points will go on sale soon. THE MAGIC IS BACK IN SORCERY Sorcery powers are now being properly counted towards unlocking other powers in their power set. SNAKE BUCKS AND UNITY MERITS We’re aware of a data bug that causes Snake Bucks and Unity Merits to not display in your character sheet. They are there, you just can’t see them until we get the fix checked in. WHAT’S TO COME Today we’re announcing our plans for Blood Moon – our first FREE update to the game. We’re diving right in to making more content for you, but I don’t want to spoil the awesome job the crew did on the announcement page, so keep your eyes on the website! See you online, heroes!

09-01-2009, 03:48 AM	#2
GamingCthulhu Hero Join Date: Oct 2008	Great job keep it up! Really looking forward to whats to come for Blood Moon and the C-Store action Figures are just amazing. The wife and I will be getting most if not all of them right away and Already I'm glad I got the Lifetime sub as seeing all the work the Cryptic team has done for the players makes me glad to be a part of the community. __________________ Follow my adventures on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/GamingCthulhu

09-01-2009, 03:53 AM	#5
Cicerone Hero Join Date: Mar 2009	Excellent Work Cryptic Thank you so much for this update. There have been many complaints about the Early Start Event, PvP power disparities, logging and lagging issues, and thousands of other things. I think the community will benefit from realizing that, though not all of their concerns have been addressed, the Cryptic team has been very busy taking care of the problems that most needed attention before launch. Here's looking for a great opening day! __________________ "Not that I condone fascism, or any -ism for that matter. -Ism's in my opinion are not good. A person should not believe in an -ism, he should believe in himself. I quote John Lennon, "I don't believe in Beatles, I just believe in me." Good point there. After all, he was the walrus. I could be the walrus, I'd still have to bum rides off people. " --Ferris Bueller Last edited by Cicerone : 09-01-2009 at 03:54 AM. Reason: I'm an idiot and can't type.

09-01-2009, 03:53 AM	#6
Silverspar Champion Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Vibora Bay, Fl.	I tend to agree that a freespec is in order for the ehad start people, due to teh pricing issues, but if blood moon issue update is what I think it is and give sa Halloween themed zone, I will jsut say I WILL LIVE THERE! __________________ Please add the Bite! powers to supernatural Cryptic! My Twitter: ChampionSheWolf -- My Blog Silverspar's Stream -- RMC

09-01-2009, 03:49 AM	#3
Stealthrider Champion Join Date: Jan 2009	So now that Scare Straight is being nerfed, what are your plans to address the serious content issues at the post-28 level? Ive had to do Scare Straight to get almost all of my 28th level, and now I cant even do that. Are there plans to increase PvP exp? As it stands now, PvP exp is virtually nonexistant compared to missioning exp. I can complete 5 missions on average in the time it takes to complete one pvp match. PvP right now, is not a viable way to get exp, even for PvPers like myself who would rather do as little pve as possible.

09-01-2009, 03:51 AM	#4
blueRleet Champion Join Date: Nov 2008	Fix The Lag Please.

09-01-2009, 03:54 AM	#8
Narial Champion Join Date: May 2009	did you nerf all defense passive? because defiance already sucked

09-01-2009, 03:56 AM	#10
Kraks Citizen Join Date: Aug 2009	I've leveled almost solely on doing quests, so I would like to add some feedback on that. There are HUGE quest gaps from 16 - 20 and 30 - 35. Quite often you find yourself dying to find something more to do, but instead have to mindless kill monsters over and over and over again. This is the only thing that Scared Straight helped prevent, and you're nerfing that. I'm glad you are, as I saw it as an exploit. HOWEVER, please address those level ranges. In furtherance of that, you could just fix most of the PQs, which seem to be 90% broken and useless at this time. Public Quests are the best innovation for MMOs in a decade, and unfortunately aren't working most of the time in CO. That being said, the game is tons of fun. Please keep it up. P.S. Fix the absolutely horrible crafting interface. There is no excuse for that nearly useless window and the complete lack of intuitive features.