Hey yawl!
Hope your weekend treated you well and you got some playtime with the game despite the issues that were preventing people from logging in. Just like the last couple major patches, I'll be going over the Chosen Warfront patch notes in more detail and explaining the thought processes behind our changes and a little bit of what we're looking at doing going forward.
Before that, I'd like to thank all of you for testing and playing Firefall and hanging in there when unable to play. We greatly appreciate it and without you and your feedback, there's no way we could make a good game. We dropped one hell of a patch that changed nearly everything in the game in some way, and it'll take a good chunk of time for previous Firefall players to adjust and likewise, new players to get into it as there are quite a few WIP features. It's a lot to experience in one patch, but it needed to happen, and we wouldn't have done it if we didn't think you guys could handle it. You guys are among the better game communities out there, and we're lucky to have you play Firefall. So again, thank you thank you thank you!
And now, let's begin! Warning, this is a long post! *prepares fingers for a marathon typing session!
General
• Chosen no longer attack watchtowers from random locations on the map.
• Attacks now come in more organized groups in much more noticeable ‘warfront’ patterns.
• Chosen attack from outposts they control and directly from the melding
• New Chosen AI has been integrated into all warfront encounters
Like I mentioned in the last dev insights post, we observed some play patterns that could be improved upon in terms of how the Chosen attack New Eden based on your guys' feedback and what we saw internally as well. Previously, Chosen sent attack squads from drop pods that could spawn anywhere at almost anytime. While it created some interesting unpredictability across the zone, it also created an undesirable ping-pongy nature to flow and gameplay. Just as you captured one watchtower, another on the other side of the map immediately became under attack. That pattern would repeat itself frequently. The drop pods would also create havoc for new players getting their feet wet around Copa and surrounding area doing encounters and thumping, upping the difficulty in an unpredictable fashion. The solo player could also be victim of this unexpected and abrupt change in difficulty. So while the anywhere / anytime nature of the drop pods was intriguing, there were too many cons.
To solve these problems, we wanted a solution that addressed both the ping-pongy nature of the warfront as well as one that gave some breathing room around Copa so new and solo players that aren't maxed out on frames or not quite as skilled yet can play the game. This solution was to give Chosen a bit more logic to their attack patterns, push together in more organized fronts from the melding and Chosen controlled outposts, and use scouts to call down drop pods on the edge of Accord controlled outposts adjacent to Chosen outposts (more on this later). The resulting gameplay became much more of a push-pull or containment gameplay to keep Chosen at bay on a more identifiable warfront instead of bouncing back and forth constantly. There are still times when one or two areas not adjacent to each other might get attacked by Chosen, but those situations have been greatly reduced overall.
What does this mean? It means that overall, the group player benefits from this as the average Chosen attack / encounter is or can be much stronger than before when they do a push, and the solo and new players benefits from this by not having the difficulty spike up as much as before in unpredictable ways. This warfront presentation also allows us to start associating going toward the melding and into Chosen territory as more dangerous, encouraging squad favored experiences, while areas away from the melding and Chosen controlled areas are safer, allowing for a safer experience. Accord controlled areas = solo and new player friendly, Chosen controlled areas and near the melding = squad friendly areas. We still have work to do to better communicate which encounters are squad balanced vs solo balanced, but getting that association in the game world reinforces what the UI would convey so it's that much more coherent in the long run.
The other big change to the entire warfront experience was the introduction of the new Chosen AI types. AI was far and away the most common point of feedback from you guys as well as internally. The moment-to-moment gameplay had room for improvement on this front, so we definitely wanted to improve on our AI. Before, we only had two Chosen AI types we worked with in the majority of the encounters (Assault and Juggernaut), which were essentially two variants on similar AI (projectiles). All it really boiled down to to fight them was utilize jump jets, keep moving, and keep shooting. That's fun for a while (or fun for the player who doesn't mind that gameplay as a staple), but variance is definitely wanted and needed.
To create that variance, we reworked and reintroduced the melee Chosen (Grunts) and snipers, introduced Tortured Souls, and introduced Chosen engineers. Snipers change how and when you engage a squad of Chosen by encouraging more tactical approaches, utilizing cover where can be found and prioritizing snipers as targets (unless there are engineers or drones nearby using shields to protect the snipers). Engineers and their drones create interesting scenarios that encourage taking risks, diving into the shields to clear out the Chosen inside at the risk of taking more damage from being up close and personal. Grunts and Tortured Souls keep the pressure on you to keep moving, Shock Troopers lay down the standard ranged fire against you, and Juggernauts continue to encourage you to utilize your jumpjets. Putting all these in combination with each other, you get a much more compelling experience than before. Are we done with Chosen AI? Nope! But we're definitely moving up in our overall moment-to-moment gameplay experience fighting Chosen.
There does seem to be a couple issues regarding responsiveness (at least for the initial confrontation) where they don't notice the player until you poke them with a stick, so we're looking into that, but that aside we've made quite a bit of progress with out AI.
Invasions
• They’re back, and have been redesigned
• The Chosen are focused on invading Thump Dump and Sunken Harbor
• The Chosen use siege tactics to bombard the SIN towers as well as invade with ground forces to destroy the shield generators, requiring players to both defend and attack to deal with the threats.
• Invasions are designed to be multi-squad encounters
Invasions are definitely something that we wanted to get back into the game, and it was a highly requested feature from you guys as well. However, the invasion that we used to have had some significant problems in both gameplay and performance that we deemed to be unfit for the game. The Copa invasion we had with the Darkslip encouraged all the players to bunch up in the middle of Copa, spam fire on the Darkslip, and shoot Chosen as the drop pods immediately landed. It was a design that sounded decent on paper, but in practice was a zerg fest. On top of that, because everything was happening within a small area, performance tanked.
So we did what we should do with content that could be better: cut that invasion from the game and redesigned it. Step one in the design was to encourage players to come together as a group, but spread out across the POI and be proactive in the experience. Rather than everyone sitting idle in the middle of the POI, we want players to split up and take out key objectives (Warbringers and artillery cannons) while still defending the POI from invading ground forces. Turtling shouldn't be the optimal strategy as it's much too passive, so if players do nothing but defend the POI from with the town, the Chosen artillery cannons will bring down the SIN Tower and the players will lose the invasion. However, if players do nothing but try to take out the artillery cannons, they will likely not have enough defending players within the POI to prevent the Chosen ground forces from destroying shield generators and making the SIN tower vulnerable to infantry attacks. As a result, the gameplay now encourages several groups of players working together in coordinated efforts to defend the POI in different ways: taking it to the Chosen and fending off the Chosen.
Losing the invasion currently means the melding engulfs the POI for 3 hours, causing players to lose access to that area as well as the associated POI buff. We wanted to make the melding a bigger part of the game, so this is one way we're doing it. Taking back the POI is currently in its most basic form: wait till the melding recedes and then call down the SIN tower. Can this be expanded upon? Absolutely, such as using melding repulsion, and we will expand on it in the future. That's a bit down the road, but it is something we're keeping in mind for the warfront.
The resulting gameplay not only encourages group gameplay and spreading out, but it also improves performance on the whole from the previous implementation, so it's a win-win there. We'll need to polish up some things as we move forward, like getting better communication of when and where the invasion will occur as well as relabeling the 'Chosen Invaders' since that's causing confusion between regular Chosen attacks and the special invasion events. That said, the invasions are in and fully playable!
Chosen Scouts & Drop Pods
• Drop pods have been redesigned
• They no longer spawn everywhere / anywhere in the world. Instead, they are called down by Chosen Scouts.
• Chosen Scouts and their drop pods are designed as solo-player content.
Chosen Scouts are the new ways that drop pods come into the world. As I mentioned earlier, we wanted to reduce the amount of undesirable chaos the drop pods had and give them more logic rather than just spawning anywhere / anytime. Chosen Scouts spawn from Chosen controlled outposts and from the melding and make their way to Accord controlled POIs that are adjacent to Chosen controlled areas. Once there, they call down drop pods that spawn three Chosen per pod. These drop pods act as standing troops for the Chosen that signify threats on the border areas. It provides content near edge of 'safe' areas that also functions as a warning that going beyond that point means going into Chosen territory and therefore more dangerous / unknown things can occur.
While soloable, an unexpected scout that comes into content you're doing near Chosen areas can ramp up the difficulty a bit by calling down a drop pod near you. Careful when you see a scout and engage it in combat. Be sure to look up, or you might have a drop pod on your head ;D (I've probably been hit by more pods than anyone in the office now... trollpods!)
Incursions
• Incursions have been redesigned
• The number of Chosen defending the Incursion has been increased and the number of defending structures has been decreased in order to make the encounter more mobile
• Players need to clear out the area around the Incursion in order to spawn a Shield Disruptor
• When players use the Shield Disruptor, it begins the defend state. During this time, players defend the Shield Disruptor against waves of Chosen while it brings down a shield protecting a generator.
• When a generator is vulnerable, players can quickly blow it up to start the next defend wave, which is harder than the previous wave
• After all the generators are destroyed, the Warbringer is vulnerable and can be destroyed
• Incursions are designed to be squad content
While incursions were fully playable before, they had the undesirable aspect of being very bullet spongy to the point of being tedious when shooting generators and the warbringer itself. We wanted to fix that part of it and make the overall experience more compelling for groups. To do this, we wanted players to focus more on shooting Chosen and less on shooting inanimate objects that don't fight back. We liked the wave idea the original incursion had, so we incorporated the new Chosen AI into the waves and ramped up their difficulty significantly as you progress through the encounter.
For pacing purposes, we allow players to catch a breath after each wave. Waves start when the shield disruptor is activated or when a shield generator is destroyed. Players can clear out the Chosen, catch their breath, deploy their calldowns and abilities, then begin the next wave when they're ready.
We'll take a look at the overall health of the warbringer object itself as there's been some feedback indicating giving it a bit more health could be good so long as it's not too spongy. There's also an issue going on where a Chosen can spawn under terrain and therefore preventing the shied disruptor from spawning, so we'll be looking into that as well.
Overall, the incursions demand more squad coordination than before, feel less bullet spongy on the whole, and are more difficult than before which is what we set out to accomplish for them.
Watchtowers
• When occupied by Chosen, the spawn room contains a device that governs the Chosen’s ability to spawn in that room. Players can interact with that device to blow it up to prevent the Chosen from spawning in the watchtower until a new device is arcported in.
• Watchtowers updated with new VO
• Watchtowers now display the amount of Chosen in the vicinity (if any) when Accord controls the tower
• Watchtowers are no longer revealed by default on the map. They are now associated with certain points of interest (POI). When players uplink to a POI’s SIN tower, the associated watchtowers are then fully revealed.
• Watchtowers are designed to be group content
• Placement of some glider pads on watch towers have been adjusted so they no longer propel the user into terrain
Watchtowers are more-or-less the same as they were minus the addition of the reconstruction device in the top floor interior. This device gives a reason why Chosen can actually spawn up in the top of the tower, and it gives players the option to fight to the top and disable their spawning capabilities before hacking the towers. This does mean that on the whole, watchtowers are easier since the threat from above is mitigated, but overall it's a better experience (and less frustrating since players will likely not get spawned on top of and obliterated in the spawn room as frequently as before). If we need to ramp up the difficulty, we have some ways to do that, but for now we want to see how this plays out!
The other noticeable change is watchtowers are no longer revealed on the map by default. Instead, they're tied to nearby POIs. When a player uplinks to a POI's SIN tower for the first time, they reveal that part of the map, associated watchtowers, and SIN radius. This gives POIs a bit more meaning and encourages exploration. It does come at the cost of not seeing the state of different POIs and watchtowers when you first start the game, but the benefit to giving more meaning to exploration outweighs the cost. That said, we'll be improving POIs and maps overall as we go on to future milestones.
POI Buffs
• POIs under Accord control now give players buffs
• Major POIs (Thump Dump, Copacabana, Sunken Harbor, and TransHub) each give a unique buff to all players in the zone while the Accord maintains control of the POI
o Copacabana: Increased health regen
o Thump Dump: Increased resource gain
o TransHub: Reduced cooldowns
o Sunken Harbor: Increased XP gain
• Minor POIs (Sigu’s Sanctuary, Northern Shores, Cerrado Plains, etc) give a small stacking damage buff that increases in strength the more minor POIs that are controlled by the Accord
• When the Accord loses control of these POIs, they also lose the associated buffs
• Note: UI is not yet in the game to communicate that these buffs are active, but they are working behind the scenes. We decided to keep the bonuses in-game while we continue to work on the UI for it.
To goal of POI buffs is to give a reason for players to take and maintain control of a POI. Different POIs having different buffs further encourages the idea as well as makes POIs different from each other in a both gameplay and context. The system is in its simplest, initial implementation: as long as you control the POI you get the buff and if you don't, you lose it. This system will be expanded upon as we go to make it more compelling (for example, investing into a POI makes the buff stronger and losing the POI can result in Chosen being buffed), but there's no reason we can't start with the basic functionality first so we can begin seeing how players react to it the resulting play patterns.
POI buffs apply to everyone in the zone, regardless of where players are located. The rational for this is we want players to go anywhere in the zone they want to play in and not pigeon hole them into certain parts of the zone just for a specific buff. While that's a valid play pattern, we'd rather see players go where they want to go, play the game they want to play, and if they want to keep the buffs they'll fight the Chosen to make sure the Chosen don't take over POIs. Everyone wins when players fight the Chosen, and we like that!
Being that the system is new, we still need UI for it. We've got some pretty awesome ways to display the buffs and indicate which POI has what buff that we're currently working on. Since the buffs actually do work and provide players with bonuses, we opted to put the system into the game without the UI. Sure, it's not communicated well right now, but there's no detriment to the players by introducing it without the UI. Gameplay wise, players benefit from the buffs and the game becomes more fun with them, so there really wasn't a good reason to not put them in at this stage. You'll see POI buff communication improve as we make our way into the next milestone!
Known Issues
• After retaking a POI from the Chosen, mapmarkers will often not be visible on the map. The content is definitely there, it's just not showing up on the map.
• SIN cards will sometimes vanish for a relevant encounter you're working on (ex: Warbringer SIN cards showing Chosen in vicinity or respawn time of Shield Disruptor). /rui will make them appear again.
• AI can sometimes appear to 'warp' around during an invasion by a few meters every so often. This issue is likely independent of AI performance and more about delivery of information to the client from the server. We'll be investigating how to better handle larger densities of NPCs in an area.
• VO plays for other events during an invasion, which is distracting and feels weird to hear less important tasks during that time.
• General communication improvements are in the works for the invasion, such as more clearly communicating the time before the invasion actually begins after the pre-invasion message plays for the first time.
These should be pretty self explanatory. There were a few bugs that cropped up near when we wrapped up the patch build, and there are fixes we're working to address these as you're reading this! Woo!
So what's on deck for the near future other than polishing the above? The best way to say it is looking at different ways to present the warfront content to players in the game as well as giving more context to the warfront. Unfortunately, I cannot go too much into detail about it at this time, but imagine the warfront experience getting more personal to you as a player and discovering more about the Chosen, their motives, and your role in the grand scheme of the war.
The other thing in the future we'll be looking at is incentives and rewards for participating in warfront activities and keeping the Chosen at bay. POI buffs were the first step in this direction, but going forward we'll be making that more compelling as well as finding ways to integrate Chosen Warfront into our new crafting and progression system so they synergize in cool ways.
Whew! I think that about covers it! No doubt there will be more questions, but hopefully this gives you guys a bit of insight about the "why" behind the changes you see in the warfront experience. Once again, thank you so much for playing and giving feedback! We really appreciate it and we cannot make a good product without it! These changes we made were based entirely on your feedback from the previous milestones, so expect that pattern to continue as we move forward with the warfront! Now, time to give my fingers a break... they're tired from typing all this
Thanks for reading and I'll see you out there!
-AmnDragon
26/03/2013, 02h28
