"""""live""""""blogging danger mission
Fr, 06/15/2012 - 21:44
~10:15
Made my character and chose my equipment. I'm ready to do an danger mission!
~10:18
Noticed that prestige missions aren't available so I fiddled around with the mission interface for a bit.
10:24
Decide to start this post. Reporting that if there is going to be an update to the test server before it's closed on monday, prestige missions should be unlocked from character creation time (if possible).
I think it's interesting that I have to do the old 1-1 through whatever missions instead of the revamped ones with Rhendon.
10:27
Finally starting The Abandoned Depot. I don't see Looking For Group (yet?!), otherwise I would have loved to play this with other knights.
10:35
Still in The Abandoned Depot. Minor nitpick about a major pet peeve with PC games. I believe that tutorials and hints relating to input should display the currently configured mappinag. I'm not sure if anything can be done in this case though; it's possible this hint text is fixed from the time the level is created - I did not remap my block button until I saw the hint.
10:41
The Abandoned Depot complete! Still no Looking For Group button. Starting Crossing the Chasm.
10:54
Chasm Crossed! That took longer than expected because I was trying to find and upload the screenshots for the previous update. I'm not good at multitasking.
10:56
Look For Group unlocked! Got a group for the danger mission!
11:01
Whoops! I'm not supposed to be uploading screenshots. Links removed and pictures deleted.
11:07
Explosive new combat options indeed. These new enemies really get the point across.
11:15
Final encounter in the first floor was deserving of the Danger moniker. First glimpse of the 2nd level does not disappoint.
11:26
Camoflaged spawn monster spawn panels really do a lot for the atmosphere. The recent zombie resurrection update makes so much sense now. I'm really glad I spent so much time playing Blast Network.
11:35
Just finished the mission. I will share my thoughts in a new post.
Fr, 06/15/2012 - 23:00
#2
""dead""""blogging
Here are my immediate thoughts after my first run.
Overall
I thought it was very fun. I recognized some common mechanics from the existing danger rooms in the danger encounters and I appreciated that a lot.
Aesthetics
I already mentioned how much I like the camoflaged monster spawn pads. The new monsters look really good! I can understand if the new Almire-branded guys will only appear in this mission, but I would love to see the others in the Clockworks soon :D I also liked the use of alternate camera angles. I guess I was too excited to turn on the music and put on my headphones so I will comment on the audio later.
Difficulty
At first I felt the difficulty was low but I recognized that it was only stratum 5. By the end of the first floor, however, I was pretty grateful for that fact. I didn't bring any shadow defense and neglected to change my loadout at the arsenal station (was there one? I wasn't paying attention). I would love to play a stratum 6 version if this is a scaling "prestige" mission (I still don't know because I haven't reached rank 3-1).
I would like to make a side note about difficulty that probably cannot be "fixed" during testing. It relates to the overuse of energy revives. Some of the most difficult moments didn't feel as dangerous as they could have been had my party members been playing under normal energy restrictions. I didn't count the total number of revives, but it probably exceeded the average Shadow Lair runs I've been in.
Bugs?!
I didn't notice any bugs with the mission on that run. I was not affected by the crash-on-completion bug.
I've messed around with the Look for Group button a bit and I've noticed that the window that opens up does not block mouse movement when clicking within it's borders. This is problematic when clickdragging the scroll bar.
I don't like the current behaviour when closing the search results. It seems to continue searching and will pop up when the results change. I expected the search to stop after the results were closed, implying that the user did not want to join the available groups.
Sa, 06/16/2012 - 00:45
#3
I agree.
I agree with Corsa. I also noticed if you used your shield over the zombie bombers grave spawn, it prevents them from appearing...giving other players some breathing room to work. The second to last room with the Slag that resurrect zombies was by far the hardest area on the map. The last area was not as bad at all. Died once in the last room, dies multiple times in the room with the slag and respawning bombers....but that could have been due to my fellow players and us running a 3-player crew.
So, 06/17/2012 - 00:22
#4
Look for Group interface bug
After accessing and completing the mission 2-1: Welcome to Haven in the Ready Room, the Look for Group button disappears. Going to Haven restores the Look for Group button. Accessing/completing the same mission after entering Haven does not remove the button.
edit: This bug also occurs with mission 3-1: A Prestigious Opportunity
So, 06/17/2012 - 02:26
#5
Possible bug in respawning kamikazombie encounter
I noticed kats and silkwings going past the gates that can be switched to trap the kamikazombies. This can extend the encounter unnecessarily (unless that is the intention?) and does not reflect the behaviour of similar traps already in the game (respawning green minis danger, respawning thwackers/jokers in OCH).
edit: Nevermind! I figured out the trick. It seems this is intended behaviour after all.
So, 06/17/2012 - 08:21
#6
I also fell victim to corsa's
I also fell victim to corsa's bug: the looking for groups button disappeared after doing a com link mission in my ready room, but reappeared once I went to Haven.
It's a good feature, but I'm not sure how I feel about the button remaining engaged after you dismiss the window. New results kept popping up, causing the window to reopen in front of whatever I was doing. In a very busy clockworks environment, this behavior would have the potential to drive me insane.
So, 06/17/2012 - 20:08
#7
You can stop the LFG search
You can stop the LFG search permanently by clicking on the "Looking for Group" button. I find that re-notification of a new party could be beneficial in some circumstances.
Let me know if you need a straight jump into a danger mission. We'll be advertising in Haven zone 1 chat.