balancing
Latest
Mortal Kombat gets a few balance tweaks
NetherRealm Studios delivered a hotfix to Mortal Kombat over the weekend, making some overall balance changes and tweaking a few characters. Some non-specific changes include damage reduction on a few special moves and some adjustment to juggle combo damage scaling. Certain basic combos also saw their damage reduced as they were "doing too much damage without using any meter." This is actually the second hotfix delivered for Mortal Kombat. NetherRealm revealed in April that it had the ability to adjust the game's balance without the need for patches. Check out the complete list of changes after the break. We're just going to enjoy this sweet infinite combo we just discovered while we still can.
The Mog Log: Auto-Refresh
I mentioned at the end of last week's column that there were plenty of things to like about patch 1.16, but the marquee feature (quests) was the topic of discussion and therefore was the relevant part. Having gotten more time in Final Fantasy XIV since then, I've been enjoying some of the other improvements brought about with the patch, most of which come down to quality-of-life improvements that are still welcome. (I will say that I'm still getting accustomed to switching targeting modes, but that's mostly a result of my having a too-heavy trigger finger on my Naga's buttons when my action bar isn't up.) There was another fairly major gameplay change that crept in with the patch, however, and while it wasn't exactly kept a secret, it was almost too easy to overlook it in light of other additions. Heck, I did overlook it except for a brief mention -- your MP recovers naturally out of combat right now. It seems like a small change, but its overall impact on fighting in Final Fantasy XIV is anything but negligible. MP has gone from being a limited resource to being eternally renewable, and that has a big impact on almost every class.
Self-balancing Domo-kun WobblyBot looks drunk, won't tip over (video)
He may look like he's had a few too many sake bombs, but this animated Japanese superstar is actually built to teeter about. The Domo-kun WobblyBot comes to us by way of Eastern Geek and uses a relatively simple pendulum, with the pivot situated at the axle, to keep the balancing bot from tipping over. As is the case with punching clowns, the bottom part of the WobblyBot is significantly heavier than the top, serving as a counterweight to maintain balance. It also sports DC Geared Motors and two D cells, and, as its creator points out, you can customize its shell to give your favorite cartoon character the tipsy treatment -- hyphy Hello Kitty anyone? Check out the source link to make a WobblyBot of your own, but only after having a laugh at the video just beneath the break.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Balancing vs. viable vs. fun
Thoughts of class-balancing, class-viability and triple-class combinations have been swimming in my head lately. In the wake of RIFT's open beta, Frogster announced that Runes of Magic will be moving to a triple-class system in early April. Along with a lot of speculation on how this will change RoM, there's talk of how badly three-class combos will upset class-balancing where some already feel classes are skewed. Viable and balanced are pretty subjective terms in the MMO genre that make it hard for any two players to be on the same page. I find it even more confusing when some make it sound like there's a mass exodus to RIFT because of -- in part -- the idea that RoM's classes are more out of tune than yours truly trying to sing Zombie. These ideas are highly speculative. I'd like to throw my own opinions in about what makes a class in RoM viable, what not to look for when trying to find balance, and why we may not want to squeeze every possible class combination into the holy trinity of healer, DPS and tank.
Lost Pages of Taborea: Is Runes of Magic too easy?
It seems things are never quiet in regard to Runes of Magic these days. If it isn't holiday events or new world bosses, it's large-scale balancing issues. Players may still be plugging away at title achievements this Halloween, but the event has been going long enough for people to settle into a daily routine and get back to everyday affairs. In other words: it's something to do, but the shiny is starting to wear off. I took advantage of this lull and decided to do a Q&A on the overall difficulty of RoM. It's not a huge issue; it's more like a constant issue that creeps into other discussions on class balance or the memento system. And after the attempted change to a percentage-based mana cost, it's definitely worth consideration. Is RoM too easy? The question seems like it'd be a quick one-line answer, but there are many ways to view it that would yield different outcomes. What are players' goals? How can a change to one system affect the whole game? How will future updates affect any changes made today? Is there an answer to whether RoM is too easy or not? Well. Let's find out.
MAG designed to be a 'platform,' balancing patches coming soon
We recently got a chance to speak with Zipper Interactive's Alan Van Slyke, who produced the company's recently released multi-multi-multiplayer FPS, MAG. When asked about ongoing support for the title, Van Slyke responded that the developer won't let the game go stale -- in fact, he explained that Zipper sees MAG as a platform on which new content can be added in the future. Van Slyke explained, "we made a big investment, we had a lot of learning, we built a lot of tech, and we have this awesome multiplayer platform that we can build upon and add new gametypes to." He later added, "the possibilities are endless for us, and in many ways, even though we just released the game, looking forward for us is super exciting, knowing what we can do with the engine we have today." The producer also addressed concerns many players have had with balancing issues -- particularly that the ragtag S.V.E.R. faction is far too overpowered. "It's something we're definitely aware of, and we've already got a number of fixes in the pipe. We're definitely committed to making sure all the maps, factions and gear is perfectly balanced." For more information on MAG's past, present and future, check out our full interview with Van Slyke when it goes live tomorrow afternoon.
Mirror's Edge for iPhone trailer
EA has released a trailer for the iPhone version of Mirror's Edge, and I have to say, it's looking good. As we surmised earlier, it's not the same first person gameplay as the console title, but instead it looks like the same running, jumping and sliding heroine has been translated onto the small screen with a nice amount of polish and flair. The Canabalt comparison continues as well (tell me you didn't see the birds flock up and think of that one), but you can see that there's also some enemies to take on, and I'd presume there's some accelerometer-based gameplay in the balancing act seen in there. Looks good to me -- no price or date yet for the release, but I'd imagine it's just around the corner.
Guild Wars' August update targets underpowered skills
While there wasn't a proper skills update last month in Guild Wars, the one prior to that did a lot to improve underpowered skills for the Ritualist and Paragon professions. For August's update, which is now live, the Arenanet dev team opted to continue their assault on weak abilities. Some of the more significant changes made were: Assassins have had their area-of-effect damage options increased Improvements were made to Rangers pets (for PvE only) Dervishes had their survivability improved somewhat The Elementalists Air Magic line was made more useful for PvE, and Earth Magic was given more offense options for PvP Check out the latest Guild Wars Developer Update to get all the details on August's PvE and PvP balances, or see the patch notes in their entirety here.
Ghostcrawler on the Jewelcrafting nerf and design philosophy
The Jewelcrafting nerf has been the subject of a lot of hot debate and flaming on the official forums, as might be expected. As people argue whether the nerf was justified, needed, too much, too little, or the wrong way to go about it, the blues have dipped their toes into the pool more than once, and have delivered some interesting insights into the design process in the process.If it was so overpowered, complain some, why did it take so long to nerf it? Ghostcrawler answers in this post.It's not that they don't notice that something is overpowered, he says, but it does take some time to find a proper fix. Sometimes, it just isn't overpowered until a certain gear level. Sometimes, there may be bug fixes or larger problems that need answering first.Sometimes, they may need to debate over the proper way to fix it. Finally, they may have a more ambitious long-term solution in mind, and may have finally decided they can't delay until that's done.
Major nerf of ECM ships coming to EVE Online
While this can hardly be considered flavor of the month (as it would've been a *really* long month), ECM (jamming) ships in EVE Online are considered to be overpowered by many players. Ships with bonuses to ECM modules are able to prevent target lock by other ships, drastically reducing the combat effectiveness of their opposition. After all, you generally can't shoot what you can't get a target lock on, and some of these ships can jam from extremely long ranges. With this in mind, CCP Games is taking a look at ECM ships and considering redefining their roles in the EVE Online. Game designer CCP Chronotis has written in the official site's Game Development Forum about what the devs would like to do to fix ships with bonuses to ECM. In a nutshell, CCP is considering altering the ships (and ECM use in general) in terms of range. Some ships might become 'short range brawlers' while others become 'long range snipers.' Chronotis proposes specific changes to ECM ships, detailing their reworked stats as they will appear on the Singularity test server in the coming days, and invites input from the playerbase on the matter. Despite the widespread perceived need for ECM changes to be made, some of the player response to the proposed changes is critical so far. Regardless, one thing is clear -- the days of Falcon alts are numbered. Have a look at what CCP is considering doing, and let us know if you agree or disagree with these changes. [Via A Misguided Adventurer]
Fallen Earth dev journal focuses on weapon balance
The upcoming post-apocalyptic MMO Fallen Earth has the potential to bring a very different kind of setting to the fantasy-dominated landscape in massively multiplayer titles. One of the interesting aspects of Fallen Earth is the variety of weaponry players can obtain. In true Mad Max fashion, the game's weaponry can can often be found and modified objects, bringing a 'use what works' approach to inflicting harm upon your fellow survivors in the wasteland. Then again, other weapon choices will be decidedly high tech. Could this create a disparity between the haves and have-nots in terms of improvised vs. manufactured weaponry? Fallen Earth's system designer Brandes Stoddard has written a developer journal for MMORPG.com that's focused on how the dev team is balancing the game's weapons. Hopefully, he relates, they're creating weapons that fill the right niches -- no one weapon should be the best for every task, but should really be the ideal choice for certain situations. Check out his dev journal over at MMORPG.com for images of some of the weapons players will be able to use in Fallen Earth, and read about why shotguns probably won't be an i-win button once the game's ready for release.
Scattered Shots: New Year's Resolutions for Hunters and for Blizzard
Welcome to Scattered Shots! This week, your author has managed to take a break from lamenting that the stores about to stop selling eggnog to make a few Hunter-specific resolutions.The New Year is considered by many people to be the time for a fresh start, a time to wipe the slate clean of past missteps, or just to make some changes to your life to make it even better. In that spirit, I'd like to propose some Hunter-related resolutions for both Blizzard and for Hunters in the spirit of promoting peace, harmony, and understanding in the new year for all Survivalists, Marksmen, and Beastmasters.
The perpetual balancing act of EVE Online
EVE Online is a game where a slight nerf on one game mechanic can have a large effect on many players. As such, and as with most MMOs, many EVE players react with indignation that their chosen ship, playstyle, or market specialization will be affected in the name of "balance." After all, no one likes getting nerfed. Still, sometimes having a wider perspective on an ever-changing game is a good thing. Winterblink of Warp Drive Active fame has been playing the game for just over five years, and shares his take on the hysteria and forum venom which follows a big nerf, and what the end result usually is. Winterblink cites some of the major nerfs and boosts over the years in EVE Online with the longer view that, so far, the balances have largely succeeded. Check out Winterblink's "The Endless Nerf" and see if you agree with his views on balance in the game.
Speed kills
EVE Online has evolved into a game where being fast and agile allows you to choose your fights, dictate range and thus control the course of the battle, disengage whenever you choose, and often move so quickly that you're largely unassailable. However, the era of the nano craze will soon be coming to a close, according to EVE Online developer CCP Nozh. His latest dev blog addresses the insane velocities achievable, even by previously lumbering battleships, with combinations of speed modules, rigs, pirate implants and performance-boosting drugs. (For those less familiar with EVE or its more deviant aspects, you can in fact use and sell drugs in the game.) CCP Nozh outlined the dev team's design goals in stemming the speed crisis:
Ear implant corrects balance problems, makes you part Borg
Scientists at the always-progressive Johns Hopkins have been working on an electronic, inner-ear "balancing" device that could help correct problems like unsteadiness, disequilibrium or wobbly vision (no, really). The device -- which couples a head-mounted, matchbook-size box, and up to eight surgically implanted electrodes -- corrects problems by measuring and transmitting 3D balance information to the brain via the vestibular nerve. Researchers say they're working on downsizing and hermetically sealing the implant so that it can fit inside the head and beneath the skin. Up until now, the devices have been tested on chinchillas, whom scientists cruelly dosed with an antibiotic that creates balancing problems (we suppose there were no wobbly people around), then attached implants to the animals and discovered that they "partially regained their vision-stabilizing reflex." While we don't condone testing on adorable rodents here at Engadget, we do love a Borg-esque head attachment from time to time.[Via The Raw Feed]
Puzzle Fighter HD gets balancing changes
Game designer, book author and all-around know-it-all David Sirlin has posted some details about the gameplay changes he's making to the upcoming XBLA/PSN version of Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo. Sirlin said he was tired of high-level matches in the original always coming down to two characters -- Ken and Donovan -- so he gently tweaked the drop patterns for some other characters' attacks to give them a fighting chance. Don't worry purists, Dan still sucks just as much as ever.Sirlin also said that the HD version will add quick drops (using the up button) and fix a glitch that significantly overpowered the color-clearing diamonds. That's all well and good, but it ignores the only question we really care about -- how will a super-deformed Chun Li's helicopter kick look in high definition?
Robot walks independently with dynamic balancing
We're still chuckling about Asimo's sad little tumble last year, but Anybots' breakthrough dynamically balancing biped robot, Dexter, is no laughing matter. While he's sans arms for now, the 135-pound, 5'10" robot is being celebrated for the sole fact that he isn't pre-programmed and can support his own strut -- and supposedly, he'll soon be able to run. Dexter's partner in crime is Monty, a two-wheeled, two-armed bot with one fully articulated, 18-motor gripper hand. Driven by compressed air and controlled remotely by a human operator, both of these humanoid robots were developed with the intent to be of assistance in various household and industrial tasks. [Via Slashdot]Read - Anybots' Dexter and Monty humanoid robotsRead - Video of Dexter taking shoves from Monty
