288 replies to this topic

[phed]

Gumby789, on January 09 2014 - 11:53 AM, said:

The majority of changes from Ascension are being roll-backed, is this an early Aprils fools joke_

more like a late christmas present ^____-

[palad1ne]

What really bugs me is the Crosshair. I am tired to use 3rd party software to see this little white point. Can we have one word about this _ Will it be customized or something else _

good day

[dEd101]

Interesting. I'll miss tuning points but I'm excited about balance fixes

[DeathWaffle]

Wait is it April already_ Nope, guess this is for real then

[SmartDummy]

DFTR, on January 08 2014 - 08:53 PM, said:

Will wait and see; I'd rather they kept the tuning system but gave everyone 30 points at start...
For example, my Grenadier doesn't max out Cooling units but maxes suspensions to get back in cover.

Couldn't agree with DFTR more, I am currently lvl 14 and achieving more tuning options is what drives me to play more Hawken. That tells you how much I enjoy the player-side customization. People have different playstyle and it's half the fun to figure out how to distribute the tuning points according to his/her playstyle.

I agree with the idea to gave new play a more or less fighting chance against lvl 30 pilot, but taking out the tuning system maybe too much. Just gave new pilot all 30 points or make it easy to unlock all 30 tuning points, (say 6 points for each level so that player unlock 30 points by reaching level 6).

Removel of mech unlock_

I haven't unlocked any mech yet by maxing out a existing mech, but I have already spent lots of HC on buying the mech ranks. When mech rank become free, I doubt I will get back these HC. Accoding to this announcement, the mech rank purchases were meant to be part of the cost of getting the next mech. Doesn't this mean when I eventually buy the next mech down the line (after the change of this system), I have payed more HC than what it should cost_ Please address this issure. Thanks!

[Superkamikazee]

The points system is weird because I feel it can easily lead people down the path (I've seen a few posts here in my brief tenure) to ask the question "what's the best build for "blank"_ I'm guilty of said thought lol.

[ShyShade]

I have numerous mixed feelings about this development. I don't wish to pontificate, but rescinding hard earned features from older players, such as rank upgrades and tuning points, without so much as a refund or recompense, is inequitable to say the least. What of the time and Hawken Credits spent in the pursuit of ranking up mechs and their associative ability tweaks_ How can you expect to throw that out without anyone in the current player base getting so much as miffed_

Your floor must be made of eggshells by now.



Make a comment about my use of an egg cliché, I dare you!

[DFTR]

@SmartDummy, that is another good option to consider_  

@Superkamikazee, you're right that there's a lot of discussion about "best build" but discussion is good/interesting.  
I also think for the most part, there were several options...  For example, some people really liked maxing Fuel generation on Infiltrators.  I've changed around my tuning several times.  It's kind of fun.

[Sylhiri]

The only reason I really have Fuel Gen on my Infil, is because of the extra bonus of fuel drain the devs gave us for our ability. Love the fact that locking on during stealth is a feature and not a bug as well.

A lot of the options used by people from what I saw was to reduce a negative base stat (Scout-Armor) or to make a positive base stat way better (Scout-Radar, Tech-Cooling Units).

[Astrolis]

Removing tuning_ um..... why_ Got no problems with tuning. Its cool. Lets me tune a mech to my own play style. Why take it away_

edit: still mad

Edited by Astrolis, January 09 2014 - 02:14 PM.

[Astrolis]

Sylhiri, on January 09 2014 - 02:08 PM, said:

Love the fact that locking on during stealth is a feature and not a bug as well.

lol no. Its stupid and makes no sense what so ever. Lock on is optical based so yea lets make it so they can lock an invisible mech   

*unless trolling ofc then good show

[[HWK]ZamboniChaos]

SmartDummy, on January 09 2014 - 01:06 PM, said:

I haven't unlocked any mech yet by maxing out a existing mech, but I have already spent lots of HC on buying the mech ranks. When mech rank become free, I doubt I will get back these HC. Accoding to this announcement, the mech rank purchases were meant to be part of the cost of getting the next mech. Doesn't this mean when I eventually buy the next mech down the line (after the change of this system), I have payed more HC than what it should cost_ Please address this issure. Thanks!

We're definitely looking into the ways these changes may affect certain players and will be prepared to take action if necessary.

[ShadowWarg]

Astrolis, on January 09 2014 - 02:11 PM, said:

Sylhiri, on January 09 2014 - 02:08 PM, said:

Love the fact that locking on during stealth is a feature and not a bug as well.

lol no. Its stupid and makes no sense what so ever. Lock on is optical based so yea lets make it so they can lock an invisible mech   

*unless trolling ofc then good show

Unfortunately that is wrong according to vana lol

"Hell fire missiles lock on to heat signatures, mechs generate heat, so yes cloaked mech can be locked onto while invisible. This is by design" or something like that he said.

so in other words

[Hijinks_The_Turtle]

I do hope that the Pred's horrible heat gen on weapons and heatsinks gets changed when this update some around.  It sucks when you ambush someone and make them panic and then you overheat.

[ThirdEyE]

ShadowWarg, on January 09 2014 - 02:26 PM, said:

Astrolis, on January 09 2014 - 02:11 PM, said:

Sylhiri, on January 09 2014 - 02:08 PM, said:

Love the fact that locking on during stealth is a feature and not a bug as well.

lol no. Its stupid and makes no sense what so ever. Lock on is optical based so yea lets make it so they can lock an invisible mech   

*unless trolling ofc then good show

Unfortunately that is wrong according to vana lol

"Hell fire missiles lock on to heat signatures, mechs generate heat, so yes cloaked mech can be locked onto while invisible. This is by design" or something like that he said.

so in other words

That's one thing that really bugged me about last night's episode.  Holograms don't generate heat, but Hellfires lock onto them (unless they changed that_).  Heat signatures show up through walls in Stalker vision, so why wouldn't Hellfires lock on through walls as well_  Deployable items like turrets don't have a heat signature, yet can be locked onto by Hellfires.

Whether or not you agree that Hellfires should lock onto cloaked mechs, this reasoning makes no sense.

[ShadowWarg]

ThirdEyE, on January 09 2014 - 02:30 PM, said:

ShadowWarg, on January 09 2014 - 02:26 PM, said:

Astrolis, on January 09 2014 - 02:11 PM, said:

Sylhiri, on January 09 2014 - 02:08 PM, said:

Love the fact that locking on during stealth is a feature and not a bug as well.

lol no. Its stupid and makes no sense what so ever. Lock on is optical based so yea lets make it so they can lock an invisible mech   

*unless trolling ofc then good show

Unfortunately that is wrong according to vana lol

"Hell fire missiles lock on to heat signatures, mechs generate heat, so yes cloaked mech can be locked onto while invisible. This is by design" or something like that he said.

so in other words

That's one thing that really bugged me about last night's episode.  Holograms don't generate heat, but Hellfires lock onto them (unless they changed that_).  Heat signatures show up through walls in Stalker vision, so why wouldn't Hellfires lock on through walls as well_  Deployable items like turrets don't have a heat signature, yet can be locked onto by Hellfires.

Whether or not you agree that Hellfires should lock onto cloaked mechs, this reasoning makes no sense.

ThirdEyE

lol thats a good point. I didn't think about that.

Edited by ShadowWarg, January 09 2014 - 02:39 PM.

[Astrolis]

ThirdEyE, on January 09 2014 - 02:30 PM, said:

ShadowWarg, on January 09 2014 - 02:26 PM, said:

Astrolis, on January 09 2014 - 02:11 PM, said:

Sylhiri, on January 09 2014 - 02:08 PM, said:

Love the fact that locking on during stealth is a feature and not a bug as well.

lol no. Its stupid and makes no sense what so ever. Lock on is optical based so yea lets make it so they can lock an invisible mech   

*unless trolling ofc then good show

Unfortunately that is wrong according to vana lol

"Hell fire missiles lock on to heat signatures, mechs generate heat, so yes cloaked mech can be locked onto while invisible. This is by design" or something like that he said.

so in other words

That's one thing that really bugged me about last night's episode.  Holograms don't generate heat, but Hellfires lock onto them (unless they changed that_).  Heat signatures show up through walls in Stalker vision, so why wouldn't Hellfires lock on through walls as well_  Deployable items like turrets don't have a heat signature, yet can be locked onto by Hellfires.

Whether or not you agree that Hellfires should lock onto cloaked mechs, this reasoning makes no sense.

Exactly my point ThirdEye

So Shadow.... Show me the

in that

Edited by Astrolis, January 09 2014 - 02:39 PM.

[Hijinks_The_Turtle]

Here is my reaction to this update ZomboniChaos. (My posts will be underlined)

[HWK]ZamboniChaos, on January 08 2014 - 08:23 PM, said:

Find out what plans we have for adjusting and improving player progression!
Greetings pilots!

For the past few months, we've been placing a major focus on improving the accessibility and balance of HAWKEN. In order to achieve these improvements, we are making some significant changes. In this article, we'll take a look at the adjustments we've made to our progression system. You should know that community feedback was a major factor in these changes and helped us a great deal.

Please note that these changes are still in development and our goal is to include them in our next major update. This is not all that is coming to the game, more details will be rolled out over the coming weeks but this is a high level view of some changes that has a big impact on the rest of what's coming.

Pilot Progression and Matchmaking

Our matchmaking system is undergoing some revisions and we hope to roll out the changes to you soon. Part of this change will include putting a primary emphasis on Pilot Skill instead of Pilot Progression when finding quality matches for players. Pilot Progression is more of a system for unlocking new item, internal and cosmetic options. It will still effect matchmaking to a certain degree, but not to the extent it does currently. More information on our changes to matchmaking will be coming in the near future.

Yay!  That's great news! I hope this brings about more balance!

Reworking Mech Ranks

Mech ranks are another feature that received some adjustment. Instead of acting as a monetized gating system, mech ranks will simply act as a representation of your play time with a mech and an avenue for unlocking cool customizations and weapon options. The ability to purchase ability upgrades has also been removed.

That's good that the cost is being removed, but the ability upgrades made the mechs better and easier to play as mechs like Pred sorta need it.

Removal of Tuning Points

Another major change is our decision to remove Tuning Points from being used by players. Now, each mech's strength will be determined ahead of time and will not change as a pilot progresses.  Instead of being required to advance through pilot progression to acquire tuning points, players will have access to a fully balanced experience right out of the gate. The system still exists and we're able to use it in the background to really balance out each mech but it will no longer be something that players add points to over time.

I got mixed feelings about this one..  If this is the case, then I hope mechs who seem lackluster like Reaper and Pred' get's their stats and weapons tweaked.  I just hope it won't make the game ultra boring like it did for games who did similar things.  Overall, I can't really say much more until this further develops.

Removal of Mech Unlocks

Since we've removed the ability to purchase mech ranks, we're also removing the free mech unlock that players would receive after reaching max rank. The reasoning behind this is simply based on monetization and economy. Previously, the cost of mech ranks contributed to the total cost of a single mech. This enabled us to provide mech unlocks to those that reached max mech rank. Now that mech ranks no longer have a cost associated with them, mech unlocks have been removed and the cost of each mech has been adjusted accordingly.

Neat!  I really like this!  I just hope that this would make mechs a little more cheaper as the HC rewards are gone now.

Return of Mech Test Drives

With the removal of mech unlocks, we needed a way to enable access to a variety of mechs. The solution is the return of mech test drives. When a new player experiences HAWKEN, we want them to immediately be able to obtain an understanding of what HAWKEN is as well as help them find the mechs that will suit them best. For these reasons we will have a rotation of several mechs available to play for free each week. This way, new players will have a number of different mechs to choose from right away. This is an improved system over what we had previously in the game and will give us greater test drive options for the player in moving forward.

Awesome!  Now I can try out mechs like Raider without worrying if I wasted money!

Summary

We learned a lot from our current progression system. It gave us a wealth of data that we studied alongside community opinion in order to help us decide what would benefit the game the most. Ultimately, we decided that major adjustments were needed in order to achieve our goals. We appreciate the feedback that was given regarding progression and found it immensely helpful to our design process. More information on our next major update will be coming soon. In the meantime, we'll see you on the battlefield!

Click here to view the article

Overall, I cannot wait to see what happens for this update!  I hope we shall receive more news on this subject!

-Hijinks The Turtle

[neo0031]

"No tuning points."

Am I even reading this right_ WHAT_ How is that an improvement, other than newer players won't rage that it's "unfair"_

I must be misreading something. No more customized personal performing mech_ Everyone pilots the same thing more or less_ No more "making the mech truly mine aside from looks"_

Edited by neo0031, January 09 2014 - 03:13 PM.

[ShadowGTR]

ThirdEyE, on January 09 2014 - 02:30 PM, said:

That's one thing that really bugged me about last night's episode.  Holograms don't generate heat, but Hellfires lock onto them (unless they changed that_).  Heat signatures show up through walls in Stalker vision, so why wouldn't Hellfires lock on through walls as well_  Deployable items like turrets don't have a heat signature, yet can be locked onto by Hellfires.

Whether or not you agree that Hellfires should lock onto cloaked mechs, this reasoning makes no sense.

If we are using Stalker vision as our baseline for what generates heat, then there may be an explanation for why only mechs show up thermally but other things that are trackable via Hellfires do not. Stalker vision might be programmed to only highlight thermal objects of a certain size/shape (and I'm referring to the in-game world programming logic, not the real-life programming that makes up the game). The holographic generator itself generates heat, but since it is so small, the Stalker vision disregards it as an enemy and doesn't highlight it. Turrets also generate heat, but since they are again so small, and generally not a very significant threat, again Stalker vision ignores it. It only shows the most viable threats/objects, which are other mechs.

Now why do Hellfires not lock through walls_ One explanation could be that hellfires use a more rudimentary version of thermal tracking. Once an enemy goes into cover, it can't detect the enemy through the wall. Just like how a thermal camera can't pick up heat signatures when someone goes behind sufficient cover. The Predator appears to be using a much more highly advanced version of thermal tracking, which allows it to track through walls. It might possibly be also using sonar and x-ray in addition to help it see past obstacles (but since this wasn't ever mentioned that I recall, this is unlikely).

Course, this is just a theory. I personally don't use the Predator too often, so there may be some situations that discredit these theories.