26 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(7 replies, posted in Feature discussion and requests)

Arga wrote:

This is easy to say, but it's actually a lot of programming to cover all the possiblities.

+1, but i wouldn't expect it anytime soon.

I put this situation under the classification of "growing pains".  A smoothly functioning and predictable reload algorithm is an essential part of any combat based game that uses ammo.  To my way of thinking, if the reload algorithm is less than perfect, then it represents a fundamental game flaw that needs fixing, i.e. growing pains. 

Weapons need to remember what ammo you loaded, and try to reload that same type, then as the Op states, evenly distribute ammo if there is not enough to max out capacity of all weapons.  This is a reasonable expectation, and since the reload mechanics don't meet this expectation, it appears to players to be bizarre and poorly coded.

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27 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(3 replies, posted in Feature discussion and requests)

Arilou wrote:

Timed skill progression is actually a big part of what makes new players useful. Older players may still find it a lot of fun to use light bots and assaults. But over time, for important ops, it will always be best to put the more experienced players in heavier or more specialized bots, leaving lighter and/or less skill-intensive roles to newer players...

In fact what happens ... over time ... is that low level players become pointless and actually liabilities in hard PvP as they serve no role that has definitive impact. 

If you remember in EvE, entry into any good corp requires a huge focused skill point pool with lots of kill mails in your resume, or you are relegated to worthless newb corps, unless you know somebody who can get you in past the newb screenings.  ... Over time ... It won't be any different in Perpetuum.  Except for the fact that you can't effectively solo in Perp.  So now the newbs can't get into a good corp, and they can't solo effectively while building skills ... over time ...

If players had the ability to "reprogram" their bots, meaning remapping all their EP on the fly, coupled with realistic EP costs for the various skills trees, then a newb could focus on one task and in a relatively short time frame, do it well, and contribute meaningfully to important Ops.  The more advanced players would enjoy the fun of being able to tune up for a variety of roles, which would keep things fresh, compared to being forced into the same old specialized role that you MUST do based on the need to focus all EP on a single discipline.  That flexibility would be abundant fun.

I know I'm talking about a change to a very fundamental game philosophy.  But these kinds of things need to be considered now under the topic of learning from the mistakes of other developers.  It comes down to fun.  For me, the current situation is inflexible, takes forever, and creates a situation in which you pay and pay and pay and pay some more while waiting for enough skills development to make it fun.  If you tell me that, as a newb,  I can run around in wimpy bots and die quickly in any meaningful combat, then I'll tell you that is NOT my idea of fun.

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28 Topic by Mrs Pickerel

(1 replies, posted in Feature discussion and requests)

Some windows can be placed and the UI will remember where you put them.  Why not ALL windows?  Seems like a simple concept.  If I take the time to set up my screen the way I want it, the UI should be able to save and restore my custom layout. It gets frustrating to have to move windows where I want them EVERY TIME I log on.

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29 Topic by Mrs Pickerel

(3 replies, posted in Feature discussion and requests)

Simple calculations reveal that training times are in years to max out various skills trees.  On top of that, we cannot optimize our training because we cannot remap our training attributes - ever - unless we utilize our option to do an account reset with associated loses.  No thanks.

I suggest review of two factors:
1) extension point accumulation time in view of no attribute remaps
or
2) ability to regularly reassign attribute points so we can optimize for more than single tiny little specific area.
or
3) Both 1 & 2

I do not like paying for a very long time to simply unlock skills.  This directly means lengthy limitations to access of game features and capabilities. There is no way to accelerate this as extension points accrue at a fixed rate of 1/min.  New players will always feel at a disadvantage, even more so as time goes on.  The strategy of "groups count more than skills" inevitably leads to the undesirable blob warfare we saw in EvE. Thanks how GoonSwarm was formed.  If that is where this game is going, and I think it is, no thanks.

Some say that boredom will be rapidly be achieved if you gain skills too fast.  I say it is the opposite.  It is boring to pay for long periods of time and gain only minimal new content/features/capabilities.  Where is the fun in that?  Um, it is not fun at all.

For those who feel slowly acquired gains bring a sense of accomplishment and meaning, quit the game and try real life, in which building skills and beating the competition takes, literally, a life time.  The only thing I want from a game is fun recreation.  And paying and waiting, then paying more and waiting more, does not cut it.  Sure, there's ample player interaction along the training path.  But it is much more fun if we can try out new features and capabilities in a time frame that is faster than crystal formation.

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30 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(7 replies, posted in Feature discussion and requests)

+1 - I have said this from the very first time I noticed the reloading algorithm. Current reload algorithm = suckage.

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31 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(44 replies, posted in General discussion)

Everyone still seems to be arguing HOW to nerf, when I challenge the NEED to nerf at all.  In-game economic imbalance due to the Triangle is not an objectively identified problem.  As far as I can tell, the main arguments are:
1)  "My in-game choices limit my income, therefore Triangle runners need to be nerfed."
2)  "Macroers are abusing the Triangle leading to economic imbalance"
3) " The Triangle is being used in ways that were never intended."

You can certainly make a lot of cash quickly using the current Triangle system.  The result of the planned nerf is loss of the only efficient cash generation mode in the game, thus limiting in-game choice for all players.  There is no objective proof that this is a problem or that a nerf will fix it.

Some list macro abuse of the Triangle as a problem.  If true, the real fix is to stop the macroing.  A Triangle nerf will not fix this because the macroers will simply write for the next best scenario.  By current logic, the Devs will be nerfing forever rather than fixing any root causes.  There is no objective proof that this is a problem or that a nerf will fix it.

Not as intended?  Many players are utilizing a currently legal game mechanic to generate cash.  There is no objective proof that this is a problem or that a nerf will fix it.

Objective data allows the most effective use of precious development time.  Allowing subjectivity to drive design equations is simply poor engineering, potentially squandering resources.  I cannot believe the most optimal results will be achieved with such engineering practices, and I encourage the Dev Team to objectify their decision trees, and publish statements of their findings.  If the Devs show an causal relationship proving the Triangle is the root cause of in-game economic imbalance, then I'll gladly eat my words and STFU.

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32 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(44 replies, posted in General discussion)

Annihilator wrote:

havent read the whole topic very long.

all non-dangerous missions around the alpha terminals have been meant to provide a last income source to someone who has lost everything down to the arkhe with syn-crap equip.

it was not meant to have macro-multi-boxers to run them all day long to gain millions of NIC as their primary income.

-> if you have lost everything as a industrial/mining agent, you should be able to make enough NIC to get back into an argano with 3 standard mining lasers, whithout the need to kill anything. Due to the rather low ore prices on market, transporting something from A to B was the best thing to do.

As long as theres still a way to get back into money-making gear in a resonable time (1 day) they can nerf transport missions as much as they want.

I do understand that perspective.  I restate that use of the Triangle as an income source is automatically balanced because it is available to all players.  It is erroneous to argue that, because you CHOOSE not to utilize the Triangle, that it is bad for the game.  It is an erroneous argument that because some people are angry about easy profits from the Triangle that it is bad for the game.  It is an erroneous argument that since macroers abuse the Triangle, it must be nerfed, when really the problem is macroing.

All I ask for is objective data that shows the alleged negative effects of running the Triangle.  My primary point is that nobody can provide objective data on the topic; the decision to nerf was based upon the emotions of the issue, not objective data and facts.  My second point is that nerfing based upon emotional arguments is a dangerous precedent for any game.  It's engineering by mob vote accompanied by circular reasoning.  Issues of balance usually are.  The arguments typically go something like : "Hey, those guys are able to kick our *** so they need to be nerfed" or "Hey those guys make more cash than we do, so they need to be nerfed".

Like I said, it is too late to change the planned nerf of the Triangle.  So for the future, my vote is base changes to the game on objective data rather than whim and/or emotions.  If the Dev Team has objective data that shows the Triangle in it's current form is deleterious to the in-game economy, then let's see it, and I'll gladly eat my words.  My bet is that no such objective data set was developed to justify the decision to nerf.

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33 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(44 replies, posted in General discussion)

I'm sure it's too late to debate the changes to transportation missions as it is a done deal.  Remind me again why this needed fixing?  I think changing it is a mistake for the sake of perceived imbalance and is based upon emotional arguments of little substance. I have to ask, what is so wrong about having a mode of making NIC quickly?  Where is the hard data that shows real imbalances due to people making quick NIC from transport missions?  I'll bet nobody has hard, objective statistics to definitively define a real problem.

The way the Golden Triangle assignments are now, it allows people like me with limited recreational time to log on, make some quick NIC, and log off.  Furthermore, it is a seriously boring mode of play; I can't do more than two rounds worth, then I have to stop.  Some people will grind such boring stuff until their eyes drop out. So what?  So what if players choose to become filthy rich from crying tears of boredom.  If you don't like that mode of play, you are free to avoid it and choose whatever assignment types tickle your fancy.  Simultaneously, this is automatically balanced because everyone can choose to do make quick cash or not. 

Every game should have some way to make cash quickly, especially in a PvP based game.  Having to grind many hours to cover PvP loses is very difficult for working folks like me.  Not only that, but large time investments in resource grinding is NOT fun.  A method to make cash quickly minimizes the grind and maximizes the more fun elements of the game.  Kernel farming is a great example.  My corp needs thousands of kernels, and we have to grind to get them.  I don't consider this very fun, no more or less fun than transportation missions.  It's simply something that must be done to grow our in-game skills.  If I could grind NIC quickly and buy a bunch of kernels, I'd be happier.  That option is about to be taken away.

Lastly, balancing via nerfing is just a bad design decision and establishes an ugly precedent.  Nerfing is a cheap and easy way to accomplish balance.  In this particular case, the Devs are using a nerfing strategy to balance something that needs no balancing.  Good job.

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34 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(96 replies, posted in Resolved bugs and features)

Crashes are certainly better than they were, but I'm still crashing on different machines.  Not only that, but I start losing functions, then finally, kaboom.  For example, I lose ability to trade with another player in the terminal - it works but the last ACCEPT remains gray and says "no offers from nnn".  A few minutes later, I'll crash.  Most of the time there is no warning, it just crashes randomly with greater frequency during island jumps and terminal interactions (in or out).

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35 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(96 replies, posted in Resolved bugs and features)

The client should not crash because you have AA on - it may slow down badly, but it should not crash.   

I just crashed when uploading a tile scan while on highway at high speed.  Tell me THAT has something to do with AA when my AA is already set OFF ....

Devs - fix the crashing issue, please?!?!  This is basic game functionality and should work - there is no reason a stable client would keep crashing like this...

I'm not mad, but I do tell you that I have subbed for 3 months.  Whether or not I resub depends upon how well issues of basic functionality are addressed.  The EvE devs rarely fixed known bugs, and until recently, all windows suffered from failed object inheritance algorithms.  I will never again put up with garbage passed off as production code.  There are too many good games with flawless mechanics to choose from : I don't have to put up with problems because as a consumer, I have a plethora of choices.  Just think about people trying out your game only to experience the client crashing every 1/2 hour.  NOT A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION.  I'm here with many other EvE refugees, but I'll head out on my own rather than put up with continuous client crashes.  Like I said, I'm not mad, I just don't want to spend my valuable recreation time interrupted by reloading after client crashes...

It's nutz.  Please find and fix the problem and/or post workarounds.

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36 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(10 replies, posted in Resolved bugs and features)

I would love it if the problem seemed to be some bizarre sequence of keystrokes and mouse clicks between 0200 and 0400 on every other Tuesday if the moon is full, but I think it's much simpler than that.  Keying and mousing are not mechanically solid. I've played with issue extensively and key strokes and mouse clicks are simply not logged and acted upon - there is no weird set of circumstances that leads to key confusion.  It is infinitely repeatable with no special setup specifications, no weird hardware or graphics anomalies, and I type with all my fingers intact compared to one of those voice converters.

What strikes me as the most important customer focused issue is that two of the most generic and fundamental game functions, namely keying and mousing, don't work smoothly and cause customer frustration with the product.  Again, a customer focused point of view, is that this problem removes a certain amount of fun and replaces it with frustration.  This issue and the client crashes are adding up to a customer experience that makes me motivated to check out other venues for fun and entertainment.

I hope this problem gets some attention for the global issues I and others have mentioned, despite any personal complaints I may have.

Go to forum: Resolved bugs and features

37 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(10 replies, posted in Resolved bugs and features)

Crepitus wrote:

yes, this belongs in bugs, and is almost certainly related to the way the game causes the screen to refresh which is known to break a bunch of other things too (it happens when you click/press a button at the instant it's doing it) aka there is nothing you can do about it.

I have corp, general, and help.  I'm not sure why having chat chaneels would make keying flaky.  In fact, when I've severe server lag/overload, the chat channels are the last to be degraded due to minimal resources to support those text based functions.

And I thought about the situation of lag--> spam--> turns off button, so I experimented by simply hitting the button and waiting and/or spamming but with larger and larger delays between key strokes.  Bottom line, the problem is not spamming, it's the other way: spamming is necessary to invoke the keyed action.

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38 Topic by Mrs Pickerel

(10 replies, posted in Resolved bugs and features)

This may belong in the bug section, but I didn't see this problem listed anywhere in the forums, so I'm posting it here.

Keying and/or clicking simply does not actuate the commands with any consistency.  It requires that I spam 1 to 4 key strokes/mouse clicks to actuate the command.  This creates multiple mechanical problems for game play:
1) the time it takes to spam keys is time I'm not issuing commands - and it adds up fast against PvE targets, and makes PvP not possible.
2) Spamming keys/clicks forces me to focus on the action bar icons for visual feedback to make sure commands actuated, taking focus away from the theater of operations (I can key without looking at the keyboard).
3) It's frustrating to issue commands and not have them work - it feels like drones in EvE, in which "commands" are treated more as suggestions".

The one exception I see is the <tab> key (scroll through targets) - it works consistently with a single keystroke or a mouse click.  Since the tab key always works consistently, I don't really think this is a problem on my end, rather game mechanics.  Nor is it a cooldown issue - all my cooldowns are ready to go.

Any ideas?  This is a show stopper for me.  I'm not really going to continue playing a game that requires key spamming to actuate commands that should only require a single precise keystroke.  This problem renders any personal keyboard skills useless.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

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39 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(11 replies, posted in Resolved bugs and features)

Just checking to see if dev team is responding to this problem, and bumping thread.  This is basic instability that badly breaks up game play.  It is to the point now that I crash 90% of the time when entering/deploying and more still for no apparent reason when I'm in the theater of operations. 

Everyone in my corp, NEX, experiences the problem, and they just say, "Oh well.  This is a known memory leaker."  For some reason they are willing to put up with it.  I guess with all the garbage we endured in EvE, this seems like nothing.  But when you think about it, client crashes simply should not be happening.  Any potential subscribers would only form negative opinions when they discover they cannot stay logged in...  Perpetuum got most of us EvE boiz in a rebound relationship as we recently divorced EvE.  I'm not sure the rest of the world would be so accepting or accommodating of the client crashes.

Here's hoping the Dev Team will look into this issue and provide a definitive fix!

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40 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(11 replies, posted in Resolved bugs and features)

My client crsahes about once every hour.  50% of the time while I'm out in the wilds, and 50% of the time while either entering terminal and/or deploying to terrain.  Someone told me to turen down my graphics settings, but that does not quite make sense to me.

It just feels like good ole instability in the code.  Anyone know of any fixes and/or workarounds? I really don't want to be randomly disconnected...

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41 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(132 replies, posted in General discussion)

Hiya Lords and Ladies of EvE.  Don't know about you folks, but I'm leaving a huge fleet and piles of cash, but I'm so done with all the technical incompetence and outright lies and greed and arrogance.  If they had taken care of us by making a really smoothly running game, I would not have minded that they extract big profits.  As it is, I feel I've been pimped out.

I did sub up one account on Perp.  I may start another becasue 1) it's cheap enough, and 2) if I decide to stay I'll have my alt acct with oodles of Extension points.

Perpetuum has some technical problems and my client crashes about once per hour. I really wish it was more stable. Keyboard controls are non-responsive 33-50% of the time and I have to spam keys to get them to activate commands.  Other times, keying works as expected.  Travel is a pain, but I'm learning the best routes for the transport missions and utilizing the speedways whenever possible.  I was very impressed with the dev team actually fixing the lag monster, although, I foresee more growing pains in this area as subs increase.  Some mission balancing is needed too as combat missions seem to be really expensive in terms of ammo, so much so, that you can lose money if you take on bots that require ammo dump after dump to kill, i.e., you spend more in ammo than you make off drops.  I mean, what seems like a good fight will eat up your cash in ammo.

All in all, it's a good starting point after my divorce from EvE.  Look forward to seeing you all on the firing line.

Mrs P.

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42 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(377 replies, posted in News and information)

Okay - now I am experiencing severe lag in terms of clicking the "OK" button.  Many attempts to log in result in a greyed out "OK" button for 20 full secs.

Can you fix this degradation in performance please?  (j/k of course, but the problem does exist.  Just more fuel for the "build a queue" concept.) <has other things to do, but instead continues to sip barley wine and spam "OK">

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43 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(377 replies, posted in News and information)

DEV Gargaj wrote:
Mrs Pickerel wrote:

From what I've experienced, it feels like memory leak.  But the devs don't say that.

It isn't, it's a database-related bottleneck.

Noob Rules for SQL tuning: put the most restrictive filter query first, i.e., the query that results in the fewest returned records, then repeat with that strategy for all query parameters.  Sometimes doing that is difficult without creating problems based upon dependencies, meaning you have to get the selection criteria in order of hierarchically dependent relationships in the context of relational (and possibly compound) record keys. And doing this on gigabyte sized query results is tougher still.  And I read somewhere in these forums the term "SQL Server" <-- that would be the first problem ...

Glad I don't have to fix it...  Keep up the good work Devs!  As it is, I can sip barley wine, make random forum posts, and procrastinate on my school work ... while you guys do the real work of fixing the systems problem.  Life is such fun !

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44 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(377 replies, posted in News and information)

I have stated previously that I'm willing to give the Devs time to fix issues.  But I have two questions:
1) at some point in the future, when the devs are not confronted with critical issues, can they please build a queuing system so we don't have to endlessly spam the "okay" button for any future occurrences of population-induced problems ?
2) failing to build a queuing system, will we be compensated for carpal tunnel syndrome related medical expenses incurred from excessive spamming of "okay" button ??? (j/k)

lol - go in peace folks ! 

P.S. not to change the subject but hey, 4th of July is around the corner - who is going to what fireworks displays - and I hope delicious BBQ is involved !!!  For me, three nearby cities combine funds to put on a magnificent fireworks display, unfortunately, I'm scheduled to work the night ...

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45 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(377 replies, posted in News and information)

Etrias Jhozah wrote:
Spawnster wrote:
Jez DeLaney wrote:

Can everyone just remain calm?  It won't be long before this little episode will be a distant memory, and the long-term effect of it will be a much larger playerbase.  Isn't that worth a few days of server naughtiness?


How About they NEED more bandwidth, and JUST maybe there in a location where they CANT upgrade, they still took my 10 dollars knowing they could not handle the players. SO what does that tell you. ALSO a mmo that is only holding 350 players???? you got to be kidding me. 350, but there still taking peoples money. I want a refund NOW.

Respectfully, I'm going to ask you to chill. This isn't costing you anything as it's been said several times that this time is being given to all players gratis.

Also, you really shouldn't speak about tech things you have no knowledge about. A bandwidth problem is fixed in a phone call and as it has been posted numerous times already, this is a software problem.

Of course, if you're going to act like a child about this, then maybe it's best you find something else. I hear WoW has a infinite trial now. roll

From what I've experienced, it feels like memory leak.  But the devs don't say that. 

One EvE Vet to the other EvE vets: I do think we should all be patient.  The Perp Vets have faith in their devs, and that is good enough for me.  Compared to the EvE devs who are only adored by the fan boiz.  The devs here have to earn my enmity or my respect and only time will determine which.  I'm willing to give them time.

Besides, gaming is mere procrastination for me, until I feel pressured enough to grind through school work I don't really want to do ... lol  ... Three Huzzah's for procrastination !!!

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46 Reply by Mrs Pickerel

(377 replies, posted in News and information)

EvE Bitter Vet here - not yet a Nex member.

I am getting frustrating when I try to log on, I am thwarted by the population cap. 

The good news is that it appears there is a devoted dev team in this game.  This can only be good, so I have to keep telling myself to be patient, and let these guys figure out a solution <while I continue to spam the login button>.

Simultaneously, I ponder the affects of so many EvE players entering the Perpetuum populace.  It's akin to 100K American GI's being stationed at some little backwater town in a 3rd world country.  Our EvE-centric culture will definitely affect the big picture.  I for one want to be a respectful tourist in our new world.

I do have to comment that I don't see PvP here without better mouse/keyboard responsiveness.  I come from the Team Fortress II environment as well as EvE.  The mouse interaction is okay for PvE, but I'm thinking I need to figure out hotkeys (or something) cuz the existing mouse interface is gonna get me killed fast.  In fact, I would call it "completely bogus".  But, I am hoping it's my fault, and that I simply have to learn more about hotkeys and/or other techniques of UI acceleration.  For example: right-click to get context menu - forced to double left click multiple times to invoke action item IF BIG IF the mouse action actually works.  Like I said, I think I'm doing something wrong.

Case study - Firing on NPC - double left click opponent (if lucky, it will primary that target - if unlucky, keep clicking and/or invoke mouse until target primary'ed.  Hit space bar to fire all weapons and/or use mouse to left click individual weapons when space bar function for some reason will not result in all weapons firing.  Like I said, this is okay for PvE, but in PvP = rapid defeat/death/buy new mech.

So far, I do like the environment, but mechanics can be improved greatly IMHO.  Navigation is non-intuitive and really needs work, again, maybe I'm stupid about efficient game mechanics - I'll give this one some more learning curve.  Ability to multitask is good : example - primary a target, lock a secondary target, approach drop container and open while firing on primary - focus automatically goes to formerly secondary target (if secondary target is previously selected)  - one click to primary - space bar to fire - wash, rinse, repeat.  <if the keys/mouse clicks actually work>

kk thks buh-bye

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