11 replies to this topic

[ShadowWarg]

karnak dug up this video and I cant stop watching it, trying

Spoiler

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off between then and now. It wasn't the cockpit or the effects. Then it hit me, the feeling of "Power" in the mech's actions seems to have been lost over time. The reticle doesn't move with the cockpit like it used to (and it did used to; in CB there was a slight sway in the reticle when you move, and I don't know how many of you are still here, but there was also something called the "accurate reticle" months back). The Health and fuel bar, though are easier to see, gives a disconnected feeling because it just sits there, and because of that, when you are hit and the cockpit shake you don't really feel the impact, nor can you feel the strength behind your own weapons when the are fired. In addition the all together sway and shake of the cockpit has been reduced considerably. Added with the above about the reticle, this has hurt the feeling of being in a powerful machine, which I know was one of the most important things ADH wanted to achieve.

With this new HUD, the concept was that the elements like the reticle, health radar, etc. are directly on your "helmet visor", but this only really works well for people how have some sort of VR like the Ocules Rift, so maybe it would better if it was directly on the "cockpit screen" and moved even just slightly along with the cockpit. (maybe even curve them ever so slightly so it looks like these parts are bending around the screen) The cockpit movement and the elements that moved together with it, not the actual cockpit itself, was one of the things I really enjoyed about the earlier build as it really gave a sense of power.

[oo_olio_oo]

When Hawken had post apocalyptic feel and soul in game. You piloted a mech multi ton machine that had awesome firepower attached into boost thrusters frame that didn't care hitting bus or lamp post's. Now Hawken is much more slick, clean and soul less shooter, that is still fun and challenging for me. Still missing those old build days. I love the old "dirty" look of game

[MexichanMan]

This is just me speculating, but I do beleive that the reason that their are less effects such as the ones you are describing is to make the game run better overall. IIRC, one of the main performance sinks in the game pre-ascension was the way that the cockpit and HUD were rendered.

Personally, I don't mind this reduction in immersion, because I generally try to reduce the number of distractions I have while in game. Settings such as cockpit lag/shake I have completely turned down. However, you can try to bring back this feeling of "power" that you are describing, by turning those setting up,but I do believe you will be at a disadvantage to those who have turned them down.

[Beefsweat]

I miss the accurate reticle very much. Little touches like that can really bring some character. I can't say I agree with you about the way the cockpits wiggle around, I've got it dialed all the way up and my mechs sure shake and bounce around a whole lot during gameplay, sometimes very distractingly but I like the sense of immersion it gives me. Elements like the shaking, distorting HUD readout are pretty neat and immersive but were ultimately removed due to players complaining of overall visual clutter and experiencing motion sickness. I'd be interested to see HWK implement some other 'immersive' features like extra smoke/sparks/visual effects inside the cockpit, shaking/bouncing HUD ala the 'accurate reticle', maybe some other things that I won't talk about here along with their big HUD improvement update they talked about awhile ago. (for those that aren't aware of said update, fear not - the coveted in-cockpit display systems will return)

Edited by Beefsweat, January 01 2014 - 12:25 PM.

[-Tj-]

I thought maybe the "Camera Shake Level" setting would restore some of that feeling, but all it did was make the animations of the cockpit sway more exaggerated, and it was actually making me really motion sick. It didn't shake the crosshairs or HP/Fuel bars, either, so far as I could tell.

I remember the accurate reticle... that also made me really ill. I really miss the old cockpit and HUD, though. There is absolutely nothing about the current ones that I would miss if they brought back the old one.

[FakeName]

Before, you had the feeling that your weapons are dangerous, now I have the feeling the enemy has to go to the paint shop after I gave them a scratch.

[phed]

the accurate recticle was awesome - personally, i had my best performance in that build.  

both in my personal accuracy, and my computers ran the game the best in this period.  so i don't necessarilly believe that the hud changes have helped optimization as much as they intended them to (or at all).

my laptop can no longer keep up (idles around 30, dips into a 5fps slideshow in combat) and my desktop is sitting at lower settings than before just keep it from dropping below 50 (where it used to sit med/high and never dip under 60).

i had the very best performance on my laptop in closed beta (when i could comfortably play at 60frames all day) and performance has been dropping since - even w/ a fresh install recently.

so yeah, old hud looked better, felt better, and played better.

i hate to be that guy, but i really hate the new hud...

[nepacaka]

agree with all of this, i want old and "real" hawken, ascention is broken, and mech seems like a toys

[ropefish]

oh god dat reticule E.E i miss you so much

[Xacius]

The old feel definitely came from the HUD.  I've recently increased cockpit lag and camera shake by a little bit, and it definitely helps the "feel" of being in a mech, but it's not the same.  An option to enable the Alpha/CB HUD, even if it's just the reticle, would be great.  



Hell, you could even make them microtransaction options.

[ShadowWarg]

Xacius, on January 01 2014 - 08:18 PM, said:

The old feel definitely came from the HUD.  I've recently increased cockpit lag and camera shake by a little bit, and it definitely helps the "feel" of being in a mech, but it's not the same.  An option to enable the Alpha/CB HUD, even if it's just the reticle, would be great.  



Hell, you could even make them microtransaction options.

Maybe it was just my wishful thinking, but didn't they say that they want to add in custom HUD option along with a custom reticle option_ Custom reticles are all on the individual's side, even if they used something offensive its not like anyone would be effected by it, so why not give the option to make your own HUD elements like a new reticle......besides the fact that coding something like that would be a real pain.

[Fstroke]

The mech animations look ridiculous. Like att walkers from star wars (I mean that in a bad way). The sway of the cockpit is very exaggerated. The current options I feel bring it more in line with what is reasonable.

Other than that the screen is absolute chaos during battle. Gimmicks like the screen changing to black and white under fire is distracting and unnecessary.

There needs to be a balance of immersion and gameplay. Some could argue that the game went a littke extreme in one direction but this video shows what was just a little too much.