QUOTE(Exarius @ Mar 14 2007, 06:51 PM) 390917
I bugged this ages ago, but nothing seems to have been done about it, and now the effect has suddenly expanded in scope, so I'm very curious what the intended effect is here.
Targeting creatures at a distance seems to be a 50/50 proposition. Sometimes it's possible. Sometimes the game claims the creatures simply aren't there.
I gets weirder because sometimes a given creature will be in range for one gunner and not another. It's the gunner, not the gun, because the ability to target remains the same even if those gunners switch guns; and it's not because of skill level, because Rhosyn's one of the best gunners out there, and I've seen her helpless to touch beasties a novice gunner would sit there blasting away steadily at.
The gunners would get so frustrated with this, that we'd stop hunting wherever this phenomenon occurred, and it seemed to be geography based. Eventually we discovered that the only things we could reliably target were dragons and scylluses, so we started to specialize in big game, and forgot everything else.
Then the other day, suddenly, we found ourselves facing a swarm of THOSE things that couldn't be targeted, for the first time ever.
So what gives? Bug or feature? Without distance targeting, one little swarm of three dragons grouped tightly together becomes nigh invincible. (Close in to target. Three sets of lightning-fast claws rend simultaneously. Game over.)
Targeting creatures at a distance seems to be a 50/50 proposition. Sometimes it's possible. Sometimes the game claims the creatures simply aren't there.
I gets weirder because sometimes a given creature will be in range for one gunner and not another. It's the gunner, not the gun, because the ability to target remains the same even if those gunners switch guns; and it's not because of skill level, because Rhosyn's one of the best gunners out there, and I've seen her helpless to touch beasties a novice gunner would sit there blasting away steadily at.
The gunners would get so frustrated with this, that we'd stop hunting wherever this phenomenon occurred, and it seemed to be geography based. Eventually we discovered that the only things we could reliably target were dragons and scylluses, so we started to specialize in big game, and forgot everything else.
Then the other day, suddenly, we found ourselves facing a swarm of THOSE things that couldn't be targeted, for the first time ever.
So what gives? Bug or feature? Without distance targeting, one little swarm of three dragons grouped tightly together becomes nigh invincible. (Close in to target. Three sets of lightning-fast claws rend simultaneously. Game over.)
I actually think the bug might be the distance targetting actually working heh. From my experience there are two ways to lock on to the target. The first is when the creature is in the room. This is pretty much foolproof. Always works. It is possible as we've slain thousands of aetherbeasts and this is our primary method of doing it. It does require some rather fancy, precision flying though. The second way is the quirky one where it seems if the creature you just killed was the same name as the one you're trying to target now, you can fire at it.
I really can't imagine distance targetting actually being something that's supposed to work? I mean..where is the challenge? I must be missing something. For the situation you spoke of with the three tightly clustered dragons. Well, obviously it's a bad idea to get three dragons on you
If you are a commander in that situation I would recommend you spiral, go in, let your gunners acquire the target and then resume your firing from a distance. This is assuming your ship is not fast enough to streak through the room the dragons are in without getting hit by all three. You can also try a leading approach, again, assuming your ship is fast enough.QUOTE(Catarin @ Mar 14 2007, 08:26 PM) 390920
I actually think the bug might be the distance targetting actually working heh. From my experience there are two ways to lock on to the target. The first is when the creature is in the room. This is pretty much foolproof. Always works. It is possible as we've slain thousands of aetherbeasts and this is our primary method of doing it. It does require some rather fancy, precision flying though. The second way is the quirky one where it seems if the creature you just killed was the same name as the one you're trying to target now, you can fire at it.
I really can't imagine distance targetting actually being something that's supposed to work? I mean..where is the challenge? I must be missing something. For the situation you spoke of with the three tightly clustered dragons. Well, obviously it's a bad idea to get three dragons on you If you are a commander in that situation I would recommend you spiral, go in, let your gunners acquire the target and then resume your firing from a distance. This is assuming your ship is not fast enough to streak through the room the dragons are in without getting hit by all three. You can also try a leading approach, again, assuming your ship is fast enough.
I really can't imagine distance targetting actually being something that's supposed to work? I mean..where is the challenge? I must be missing something. For the situation you spoke of with the three tightly clustered dragons. Well, obviously it's a bad idea to get three dragons on you
If you are a commander in that situation I would recommend you spiral, go in, let your gunners acquire the target and then resume your firing from a distance. This is assuming your ship is not fast enough to streak through the room the dragons are in without getting hit by all three. You can also try a leading approach, again, assuming your ship is fast enough.No, distance targeting is not, itself, a bug. I was there when it was first implemented, after having lived for some time with the point-blank-only version, which had been completely universal before.
They made a point of implementing when they did as part of the effort to offset creatures tearing apart modules (which they hadn't before).
After that, it seemed like the reliability of distance targeting began to fall apart little by little. For a while we could target everything that appeared on astral. Then some. Then less and less. All this time, we've been able to target dragons. But suddenly, no. Is it a grand design, or a gradual deterioration?
QUOTE(Exarius @ Mar 14 2007, 07:52 PM) 390924
No, distance targeting is not, itself, a bug. I was there when it was first implemented, after having lived for some time with the point-blank-only version, which had been completely universal before.
They made a point of implementing when they did as part of the effort to offset creatures tearing apart modules (which they hadn't before).
After that, it seemed like the reliability of distance targeting began to fall apart little by little. For a while we could target everything that appeared on astral. Then some. Then less and less. All this time, we've been able to target dragons. But suddenly, no. Is it a grand design, or a gradual deterioration?
They made a point of implementing when they did as part of the effort to offset creatures tearing apart modules (which they hadn't before).
After that, it seemed like the reliability of distance targeting began to fall apart little by little. For a while we could target everything that appeared on astral. Then some. Then less and less. All this time, we've been able to target dragons. But suddenly, no. Is it a grand design, or a gradual deterioration?
Hmm, is that announced somewhere? I see the announcement where it's said aetherbeast damage was reduced to offset the damage now doe to modules. Nothing about the distance targetting though. Honestly, I thought the modules being damaged were to keep the Empaths from going insane by giving them something more to do in the rare instances a ship actually gets hit
But if you're positive that it was stated that distance targetting would now work then it seems that it not working would be a bug. I'm not sure why it would be a gradual deterioration unless they were trying to wean people off of it and back to the primary target method? It's possible I guess but seems unlikely.