Twitchy Questioning 12: A Twitch of the Horsequestions

Questions for this week.

BUG REPORTS go in a separate thread that I will notify Bioware about. We should just be asking questions.

INTRO



Thanks for being here to answer questions! For this week BSN used ‘dot voting’ to arrive at consensus around question categories.



Announcing the Twitchy Questioning 'dot vote' for question categories.

SurveyMonkey link --> www.surveymonkey.com/r/RLL2NBQ

bsn.boards.net/post/799059/thread







Question Category

Total Dot Votes

Pleas for Mercy: questions / proposals for ways to alleviate the massive uphill 1.09 grind (reduced prices, special packs with only neo-items, increased drop rates, etc.)

28

Weapons: why no good semi-auto AR (all such ARs are inferior to pistols)? why are ultra-rare sniper rifles outclassed by rares?

14

User Interface: better sorting of weapons & boosters, removal of exclamation points everywhere

13

Enemy Behavior: dodging/evasion, enemy awareness of players, Sharpshooters, enemy speed, spawns behind the player

13

Game Mechanics: how does matchmaking work? is ammo priming Working As Intended (tm)? dimishing returns on accuracy?

7

Lobby: Game In Progress indicator, Host Ping indicator, points shown in lobby not matching points scored in game, visibility of kick votes

5

Critical Bugs: respec bug still exists (respec < Rank X or Level 20 may not refund all skill points), extremely bright shot particles that could induce epilepsy, screen coloration with neo-weapons

5

Challenges: 35,000 points too much for some Daily challenges, frustration of Daily challenges expiring while player is on a mission, why not Melee challenges?

3

Packs and Rank 11+ Drop Rates: intended drop mechanics and whether observed results match those intentions

2

Platinum Difficulty: what telemetry Bioware examines, feedback they've seen, mix of enemy types (heavily Armor now), Plat-specific objective questions, player survivability

1

Supply Buffs: questions / proposals to buff First Aid, Ammo, and Revive packs to their ME3 equivalents

1







Pleas for Mercy



By far the #1 category: ‘pleas for mercy’ regarding the new loot. Can you explain your decision to expand the manifest to such an extent? Particularly regarding the ability for players to obtain specific cards they want (vs. everything else), much less complete their manifests (which is important to some players)?



Have you considered any ways to alleviate some of the perceived ‘grind’? -- such as increased payouts (even beyond Apex / Plat), pack discounts or sales, higher double-card drop rates, packs that contain *only* characters or only weapons, etc.



Given that UR characters now have twice as many cards to unlock, would you be willing to reduce the MF price for the Random UR Character? (currently 960 MF)



Because of so many new cards, the chance to rank up a char. / wpn. you like is dwarfed by the chance to rank up one you don’t care about. Would you consider giving players more control over this, somehow?



(thread about impact of new guns, note comment that user is disappointed rather than excited to open packs)

bsn.boards.net/post/800041/thread



For Mod Variants, would you add stronger explanations in-game/in-app that these can only be purchased with MF and won’t drop in packs? We’ve seen bug reports about it on BSN and reddit.



(illustrative thread on reddit)

www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/6n7v8m/bug_not_getting_new_common_weapons_mods/



Some quick math shows it will take 6-12 mos at near max MF accumulation to have enough to purchase all the Mod Variants.

-- I think this includes Credit pack drop-able mods too, need to recheck…

-- also not sure what the question is, here



(MFunds math)

www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/6n8vgd/the_math_behind_why_it_is_going_to_take_you_more/



For the record: with 1.09, were there any changes to drop rates in Premium, Arsenal, or Reserves packs?



With so many more cards, the chance to get ammo as a booster is proportionally reduced. Can we please have a way to buy an 'ammo only' pack?



* question about unlocking first rank of new character / weapon vs. ranks 11-20 of already unlocked… assuming I can ever get data for this







Weapons



From 1.06 to 1.09, Assault Rifles received significant improvements, but semi-auto rifles are essentially all inferior to semi-auto pistols. For example: Why would you ever take a Mattock, Sandstorm, or Halberd over a Sidewinder?



Currently Valiant and Black Widow (URs) do not outpace the Shadow or Vanquisher (Rares) until much higher ranks… which are much harder to get on URs, now. Would you look at the UR SRs again, please?

-- is this question still true after Shadow nerf, BW buff??



Why do most SRs have a hipfire penalty? Shouldn’t SRs do the same damage regardless of whether you ADS or not?







User Interface

-- only two questions in this category; anything else anyone wanted to ask?

Note: Lobby-specific questions were a separate category that didn’t get a lot of ‘dot votes’



Would you consider stronger / better sorting of weapons & boosters, now that there are so many different types? Perhaps allow the user to ‘group by’ base weapon / booster in addition to sort by rarity.



The ‘new stuff!’ exclamation points re-appear even after you clear them. For OCD’s sake, can you please look at this? Also can we have a *global* ‘mark all read’ button?

(similar to existing ‘mark all read’ button - where is it, Challenges…?)?



Because we have so many weapons in the list now, would you consider a way to group the weapons in the selection list? Would make choosing one faster when in a lobby.



Below are vaguely U.I.-related...



Can you please notify us when balance changes are made? (esp. to character skills) -- on the blog, in-game, and in Apex HQ. Otherwise we have to process-of-elimination what changed.



(Ex: several weeks ago, Turbocharge had its cooldown and evolutions changed; and last week, Angara Exemplar’s cooldown bonus was reduced. But we only figured this out by process of elimination.)



Would it be possible to have separate settings for MP vs. SP? Some players like different graphics settings or keybindings when playing MP vs. SP.



Could you add better + louder audio cues and controller rumble when enemies approach?

(Ex: Wraiths, Fiends, Destroyers, Ascendants are nearly silent / non-rumbly even when right behind you.)



Kishock has a charging indicator bar, something we can see on other weapons like Venom?







Enemy Behavior



Enemies continue to spawn behind players; this is not our imagination nor being flanked. This feels unfair and makes smart map control impossible. Will you please revisit?



Enemy evasion behavior is unnaturally precise and fast, with apparently no cooldown on their dodges. “Infuriating” in one BSN-er’s words. Will you please revisit?





Enemies seem supernaturally aware of player approach (even under cloak) and also react instantly to acquire players rounding corners or peeking out of cover. Will you please revisit?



Sharpshooters are still annoying to fight due to their run speed, which is faster than players’ sprint even on-host, so not due to latency. Will you please revisit to make Sharpshooters less obnoxious?



(video showing annoying enemy behavior)

bsn.boards.net/thread/10481/yo-bw-funny



Observers (kinda on the list, but this is a new question!!11), their laz0rs of never-endiness, kinda... never end. A single observer can cut you through within seconds in higher difficulties, and has enough "juice" to switch to a different target and cut a bit more. Jesus fuck, can they be tuned down a notch?

They did remove some of their cheese in 1.08 when they added the tell-tale red light when they "charge" their laz0rs, but that's only a portion of the problem.







Just for Fun



What is the Angara Avenger saying when her shields drop? We think we’re hearing something risque, but may be misunderstanding.





[end of Twitchy Questioning #12 top priority questions]





Game Mechanics



Powers (even at max evolution + boosters) do considerably less damage than weapons. We were wondering why? Because the ‘space magic’ is what differentiates MEA from other shooters.



(this post shows max damage of Incinerate is ~6300 impact + ~5900 DOT = ~12,200 total)

bsn.boards.net/post/799972/thread

(scroll up, compare to 20,000+ damage for charged Kishok X shot)



The damage done by barrels was reduced massively (in 1.09). Why? This was one of the most fun parts of the game!



How does matchmaking work? Does it take into account geographical distance? (like Europe to U.S.A. or vice versa)



Two questions on ammo priming.

Ammo Priming 1 of 2: The Dhan uses the same formula as other pellet-based shotguns even though it does not fire pellets -- is this intended?

Ammo Priming 2 of 2: Why does Cryo Ammo have penalties to the number of bullets it takes to prime certain enemies, but Incendiary and Disruptor Ammo don’t have such penalties?



(link to relevant thread)

www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/6dhrvx/correlation_between_rof_and_ammo_priming_rate/



(link to 1.09 ammo priming thread)

bsn.boards.net/thread/12067/patch-priming-weapon-variant-matrix



(Bioware working on ammo priming for variant weapons)

www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/6n2dpf/new_map_imminent_new_map_challenge_added_for/dk6o0cb/



Is there a cap or point of diminishing returns with weapon accuracy?

Ex: stacking a weapon scope, the Turian Soldier passive tree, Turbocharge, and Fortify accuracy.



On XB1, consistently, about 30 seconds after you join a game, the game stutters and then recovers. What is happening at that time?







Lobby



Game In Progress indicator, Host Ping indicator, points shown in lobby not matching points scored in game, visibility of kick votes



Any update on a Game In Progress (GIP) indicator and/or a way to tell what Wave a game is on from the Lobby?



The Host Ping Indicator is a great addition, but it raises a few questions.

Host Ping 1 of 2: What does the indicator mean for the Host? (ex. you receive < 4 bars to yourself)

Host Ping 2 of 2: For non-Hosts, could you explain what the bars mean in terms of latency, packet loss, etc?



compare XBL Detailed Network Statistics which shows: DL/UL speed, DL/UL packet loss (percentage, > 5% is problematic), MTU (1384 needed by XBL), latency, wireless strength (percentage)

support.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/networking/network-settings



We noticed that the points shown in the lobby no longer counts points from medals. Does this have any effect on XP/Cr earned for a game?



Why can you not see kick votes on yourself? Sometimes players use that as a way to communicate ‘please hurry up’ or ‘you’re too low level’ or so forth.







Critical Bugs



respec bug still exists (respec < Rank X or Level 20 may not refund all skill points),

extremely bright shot particles that could induce epilepsy,

screen coloration with neo-weapons



Some weapons (ex. Avenger, Ghost) have extremely bright shot particles that are borderline epilepsy inducing. Can you please reduce the strobe effects?

i.imgur.com/uGmrxJL.gif

i.imgur.com/9pvtIlK.gif

i.imgur.com/uhqHUx9.gif

i.imgur.com/kH0sooa.gif



See also my thread on BSN listing 21 bugs introduced with patch 1.09

bsn.boards.net/thread/11975/1-09-bugs-introduced-patch







Challenges

35,000 points too much for some Daily challenges,

frustration of Daily challenges expiring while player is on a mission,

why not Melee challenges?



Daily Challenges for Combat / Biotic / Tech are 35,000 pts, which is hard to get within 2-3 games (your stated goal for Dailies) because Combat / Biotic / Tech pts only count base dmg (not combo dmg). Would you please reduce the number of points required for these Daily Challenges?



Would you consider a mercy period for in-progress Daily Challenges? It’s frustrating when you start a game with ~20 minutes to go, the game takes unexpectedly long, and you get no credit for what-is-now-yesterday’s challenge.



Would you consider adjusting the Map Challenges so they don’t require playing on specific difficulty levels?



Why are there no Melee Challenges? There are Challenges that track almost everything else.







Packs and Rank 11+ Drop Rates

intended drop mechanics and whether observed results match those intentions



How do the new cards for ranks 11 to 20 of characters and weapons interact with various states of someone’s manifest? Example 1: everything other than new cards at rank 10 for Uncommon rarity; Example 2: some old cards below rank 10 for Rare rarity.







Platinum Difficulty

what telemetry Bioware examines, feedback they've seen, mix of enemy types (heavily Armor now), Plat-specific objective questions, player survivability



For curiosity’s sake, have they collected any data on Platinum missions and if so, what are their thoughts (what's working well, what do they think that can improve)?



Do they have data on how the changes to hacks and devices has impacted the player base? It's only been a few weeks, so we still might be in the adjustment period, but the overall sentiment was that hacks were changed for the worse, and that the timer on devices is a little too short.



Given the Platinum enemy composition is mostly Armor, this reduces considerably the effectiveness of some characters and especially crowd control. Would they be willing to revisit enemy composition on Platinum to improve diversity?

Biotics vs. armor not as effective as Tech. Unintended consequence of Plat emphasis on armor?



Is player character survivability where you want it to be, esp. with Platinum here?

Needs to be rephrased - what is the actual question here?



Would you consider shortening the time it takes to complete a Hack on Gold/Plat? Even with perfect coordination the current time is too long and the objective is more tedious than fun.







Supply Buffs

questions / proposals to buff First Aid, Ammo, and Revive packs to their ME3 equivalents



First Aid Packs: could these please refresh player shield- and healthgate and/or grant damage + stagger immunity (i-frames)? This would make First Aid packs more useful for skilled play and encourage players to use them more frequently.



Ammo Packs: could these please grant bonus weapon damage? This would make Ammo Packs more useful for skilled play and encourage players to use them more frequently.



Is there an upper limit on the number of Consumables a player can own?

In ME3 the limit was 255, which made it easier to obtain Boosters once we had a large supply of all four Consumables.



A Cobra RPG will often *not* kill even basic enemies, let alone bosses, due to enemies’ high health and/or shieldgates. In April you were looking at Cobras. Any updates? This is particularly relevant for Plat enemies with even more health/shields!



(in 1.09 Cobras had damage reduced but radius increased)

cf. my post about Cobra damage - “Cobras are useless”

bsn.boards.net/post/788452/thread







New Equipment in the Store (for reference)

www.reddit.com/r/MECoOp/comments/6n2s1r/2_new_equipment_in_the_store/







LONG-FORM QUESTIONS

(for future ‘talking heads’ episode)



What areas of the game do YOU consider important to address?

(as the developers / designers / producers)



What is Bioware's philosophy in introducing balance changes to a running game? What do you want to achieve for the game, long-term?



Which criteria do you apply when deciding on a balance change?



Which rationale/justification do you take for their balance changes?

Do you review game data from your servers analyzing game statistics?

Do you consider criticism/praise from the player base? If so, how do you know if someone’s feedback is truly representative of a larger portion of the player base?





DEPRECATED QUESTIONS

(no longer interesting, or feature requests extremely unlikely to get done, etc.)



Is there any inclination to unhide the "hidden" stats on weapons? For example, reload time (in seconds), headshot multiplier, modifiers against defense types, etc. Previously you stated this might fit into a U.I. update.



Would you consider adding an optional, more detailed killfeed with damage information and timings? This would make testing much easier for both you and the dedicated fan community.



Would you consider adding a ‘shooting range’ to MP where we can more easily test out weapons and powers?



On Apex missions, ‘Combotastic’ awards less XP/Credits than normal. Is this intentional? If so, shouldn’t the XP/Cr penalty be listed in the Mission Modifiers?



Could you add a more noticeable cue when a teammate is about to get synch-killed? Louder, more rumble, more visible, something!

(irrelevant (?) now that most enemies don’t permanently kill you)



Fortify’s movement speed penalty seems too high compared to the amount of DR it offers. Being slower means you take more damage, which vitiates the DR. Could you look at Fortify again?

(Fortify was just adjusted in 1.09 - do we still need to ask this?)



When 1.09 came out, there were conflicting reports on the items available in the store. It seems that some items were only available for a few minutes. Was this intended or what happened?

(a glitch of some sort, doesn’t really matter)







OUTRO



Thank you very much for answering our questions!

Obviously the big one on everyone's minds right now:

The response to having a full ten ranks for each of the Siphon, Bulwark, and Concussive variants has been overwhelmingly negative, especially given that Siphon weapons appear bugged and have the same effect from Ranks I-X. The addition appears to have had the opposite of the intended effect by intimidating players into dropping the game because, due to the size of the loot pool, players are finding it too burdensome to unlock the first rank of weapons/characters (which do not seem to be weighted as heavily as Billy suggested on Reddit), rather than incentivizing players to play more and purchase packs in pursuit of new content.

Would you consider changing the Siphon/Bulwark/Concussive weapons to a single rank to be unlocked once, or alternatively a unique mod slot to be ranked up once from I-X, instead of ranking up each variant for each weapon ten times in a manner that nearly quadruples the loot pool? Are either of those alternatives possible after launching them as you did in 1.09? We think a lot of players are looking for an answer to this before deciding whether to pick the game back up or continue playing.

How am I supposed to use Concussive weapons if off host headshots are still unreliable?

Hosting is a crutch.

This is what I wanted to ask too.

I feel like there is important information here but I can't make head nor tails out of what you are trying to say.

It's unlikely they would ever change a weapon's rarity. So, what are you asking again?

Well, these two are on the list... but I hope they start looking into enemy accuracy and the ultra-mega-fast-unnatural-robotic target acquisition they have. It's like fighting genetically modified Delta Force-Marines-Spetsnaz dudes.
And jihad drones... I have nightmares already. When are they gonna start paying my psychiatrist bills?
With that out of the way:

*Observers (kinda on the list, but this is a new question!!11), their laz0rs of never-endiness, kinda... never end. A single observer can cut you through within seconds in higher difficulties, and has enough "juice" to switch to a different target and cut a bit more. Jesus fuck, can they be tuned down a notch?
They did remove some of their cheese in 1.08 when they added the tell-tale red light when they "charge" their laz0rs, but that's only a portion of the problem.
*Can we ask what's the logic behind having guns that have a damage penalty when shooting from the hip i.e. Sniper rifles? The game has a lot of CQB encounters, and having a gamey penalty like that is counter productive with single shot long reload time guns.
*AI spawns. Can it be adjusted a little bit, so enemy AI don't spawn literally at our backs? It's not like we can nuke-spawn cheese anymore in MEA anyways like in ME3.

Headshots are fixed though, right?

Someone posted an idea to exclusively sell all the new stuff in seperate packs. I can't find the post right now, but this would be a good idea to keep all the "new" weapons out of the standard loot pool.

Given the Platinum enemy composition is mostly Armor, this reduce considerably the effectiveness of some characters and especially crowd control. Would they be willing to revisit enemy composition on Platinum to improve diversity?

Most of Shield/Health enemies are Observers which cannot be crowd control for more than 1 second.


Given the high amount of new cards and the players expectations to have close to complete manifest, would you be willing to revisit the drop rates for all the packs to improve on the "double cards" chances?

Ex: an Advanced pack sometimes have 2 Uncommons. This would reduce the grind greatly.


Given the UR characters now have twice the amount of cards to unlock, would they be willing to reduce the price (mission funds required) for the Random UR Character pack?

It's frustrating to have all your characters at XX but all UR characters at I or II... It limits our possibilities tremendously, especially on Platinum...

I think that would be a mistake.

The Bulwark, Concussive and Siphon weapons have the rank X stats so it could be argued any rank of them is always better than a normal weapon.

Once you get the best stats version of a weapon, why would you want a lower stats version? Why are they leaving the normal version drop in the packs now that they're all utterly obsolete anyway?

Would they consider removing normal weapons entirely from the game and replace them with Bulwark version?

Bulwark weapon would help improve the survivability of players on lower levels and encourage them to move to higher levels. Then, when they're comfortable they could transition to Concussive and Siphon weapon to improve their offense even if it reduce their defense. Some kind of smoothing out the challenge spike between difficulties.

It would also alleviate the concerns of having so many new cards to max...

The Siphon, Bulwark and Concussive variant reskins are eye soars and ruin the established aesthetics of the franchise and it's iconic weapons. Would they consider allowing us to choose which skin we want for our weapons?