' Wrote:I discovered this thread just now and was quite surprised.
I was wondering why none of the Admins had responded to this thread or to Envomni's NPC Balance thread.
Quote:Are the NPCs so outrageous now? Did never expect such thing, for changes since 4.83 were not that significant.
Maybe the changes were small, but they were enough that Discovery changed from 4.83 being playable by me, while 4.84 is unplayable by me. Keep in mind that I have limited manual dexterity, as explained in my initial post in this thread (and further explained in subsequent posts).
Quote:It surely needs fixing for next version.
I'm glad that you agree.
Quote:And I'll need info on what to fix, cause I won't have nearly enough time to test this myself.
The following is a summary of complaints by other players and myself, starting with the most frequent complaints:
Some NPCs are now nearly impossible to kill, even by skilled players (I'm not in that category) with well-equipped VHFs. The worst offenders are Freelancers (armor multipliers are too high) and Corsairs (so maneuverable that they may be violating the laws of physics), neither of which I've fought in 4.84 (so I'm relating complaints by other players);
NPCs are too maneuverable now, especially Corsairs (according to other players, as I haven't fought any Corsairs in 4.84) -- I'm having trouble fighting low-level and mid-level NPCs, so I'm more sensitive to this issue than other players;
NPCs are using too many bots and bats, so fights take longer (two or three times longer for me compared with 4.83) and players often salvage few or no bots and bats (unless the players are fighting much weaker NPCs) -- this discourages fighting NPCs with similar levels of equipment (I can't kill BHG Barracudas with a well-equipped X-Shuttle);
Player firepower has been significantly reduced (accounting for part of the reason why fights are taking longer), because missiles almost never work, some guns are less effective (e.g. chain guns) and actual damage per second is reduced due to the increased maneuverability by the NPCs;
Traveling anywhere takes much longer, because NPCs use cruise disruptors that are extremely effective (unless the player is using a ship which can't be stopped by CDs) -- (confession time...) Starting in 2004, I've played thousands of hours of Freelancer and I've never successfully used a cruise disruptor, but every NPC is now an expert CD user (this is absolutely ridiculous):angry:;
Maneuverability has been reduced on some ships -- I wonder if the X-Shuttle maneuverability was reduced, since NPCs can fly circles around me now, but could just be the increase in the NPC maneuverability mentioned above;
Finishing off NPCs is a lot harder now -- they'll have a sliver of hull left, then escape or you'll hit them multiple times, but do no damage;
Quote:It was already part of my Discovery survey, but I guess it's time to ask more specific questions.
I was busy with my RL job as a taxi driver during most of the 4.84 beta testing, so I didn't discover the problems until after the 4.84 final was released.:(
EDIT1: added the following:
' Wrote:I think he's staying. This is an old thread anyway:yes:
Check the last line of my signature (hint -- look for the orange text). I started this thread a month ago. I decided to give 4.84 another chance, but I've repeatedly run across the same problems. I've already deactivated 4.84 and started playing another mod (I won't say the name of the mod, but parts of the name are in my signature). I'll be back in-game once a month to keep my characters active. I won't really be active again until I can play the 4.85 betas. Meanwhile, I'll be hunting Goa'uld, Ori and Wraith.
EDIT2: I replaced item #7 on my list of 4.84 problems.
