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[Alex Connolly]

Orion and the new update are live. Just had a round with the new bloke, and he's great to use in conjunction with frontline brawlers for mitigating pile-ons. Great stuff!

Plus, he sounds like James Earl Jones. Perfect.

 

[Miker]

Anybody know how to get this running in 4K? 3840x2160 shows up in "windowed" mode but it's still clearly 1080p, and it's windowed (not even borderless window!). I can change my desktop resolution to 4K and select the resolution in-game but it's still clearly rendering at 1080p.

 

[Alex Connolly]

There's been a change to respawning, and for the better in my view:

We’re changing Respawn! Let’s talk about why:

Very rarely, in the old Respawn system, a player would respawn into a combat area and surprise enemies and themselves. This issue could cause a single respawn to completely decide a game’s outcome.

To the player, the old respawn system felt “random”. While it technically would always choose the same respawn location given the same battlefield conditions, that fact did not prevent people from feeling like they won or lost games based on the flip of a coin.

In the old system, there is a distinct difference between Freelancers who can contribute the turn they come back, and Freelancers who cannot. This leads to some highly un-fun moments like receiving a Nix ult from outside of your team’s vision range because a Nix respawned close enough to shoot you through a wall. The important problem here is that the team on the receiving end is completely unable to react to this, a problem we felt needed to be solved.

Finally, we wanted to build a system that would also let us replace the turn 1 spawn. Right now, to many players, spawn location on turn 1 also feels random in a way that can decide games. With our new Respawn system, we will be experimenting with adapting it into a Deployment system as well, so that your Turn 1 positioning will be entirely within your hands.

So, how does it work?

You die during a Resolution phase, exactly as you do on Live right now.

Turn 1 of being dead: During Decision phase, you can pick any highlighted square on the board to respawn in.

Turn 1 of being dead: During Resolution phase, a marker appears in your selected location.

Turn 2 of being dead: During Decision phase, you choose where to move. Your Freelancer can move up to 8 squares from where you chose to respawn. Your respawn location can be seen by enemies IF your beacon is within vision range of an enemy.

Turn 2 of being dead: During Resolution phase, in the Movement portion of the phase, your Freelancer comes into existence and follows the path you assigned. While moving, you can pick up powerups and trigger traps. After this movement is completed, you resume play normally.

“So, wait, I’m dead for two turns?”

There’s no two ways about it: this system will feel like you’re out of the game for longer than you were before. However, the old respawn system was also supposed to create this behavior! In the old system, you were unable to spawn within 8 squares of an enemy Freelancer.

Given that most long range attacks are 7.5 range, this was intended to mean that your first turn alive was spent Sprinting into position. For most Freelancers, their interaction with respawning has changed very little from old to new. However, there were some Freelancers who could take meaningful actions while still being 8 squares away from enemies.

We recognize that the well-balanced state of the live game was in part due to each Freelancer’s strategies around respawning. Therefore, as part of this change, we have looked at the impact it will have on each character and re-tuned them accordingly. These changes went live in the previous balance patch, so please see those notes for details.

 

[Omega Kirby]

Changes to the spawning is good news. Now we won't have Asana ulting right away from ressurecting right into combat

 

[Alex Connolly]

Anybody know how to get this running in 4K? 3840x2160 shows up in "windowed" mode but it's still clearly 1080p, and it's windowed (not even borderless window!). I can change my desktop resolution to 4K and select the resolution in-game but it's still clearly rendering at 1080p.

I've passed this on to the team. Hope we can get an answer.

Changes to the spawning is good news. Now we won't have Asana ulting right away from ressurecting right into combat

Asana is just insane that way. Pretty much THE frontliner, as far as I'm concerned. Couple her with Orion or Quark and you've got an unstoppable melee character with really good range.

 

[Omega Kirby]

HUGE PATCH HYPE!


9/15/16
Gameplay
* Respawn beacons are no longer affected by camouflage.
* Oz can now select a move after using Made You Look
* Orion - Fate Transfer - Energy Leech mod now correctly increases the incoming energy through damage transferred by 25% to a total of 125%.

Advanced pings
* Advanced Pings - While holding down alt, click and hold the mouse button down. After 0.25 seconds, an advanced ping menu will appear! Choose your advanced ping type by hovering over the type you want and then releasing the mouse button (or stay over the X in the center to cancel).(edited)
Fill
* There is now a “Fill” option in Freelancer Select
* This will allow you to choose your Freelancer after getting paired with your team, so you can choose a role that best compliments your team comp
* As probably expected, you will not be able to select a Freelancer that one of your teammates already has
* Currently only one member in a group can choose the Fill option. We are looking into changing this.

Clash
* The Clash system has been implemented to resolve a very specific case where two opposing players are equidistant from a location and both choose to move to that same location
* Previously the player that locked in first would get to the square, with the other player getting bumped off of it, but this was “hidden” information and it was not clear to players how the winner was determined.
* Now, with Clash, both players are bumped off of the target location to an adjacent square
* If there is a powerup on the target square, neither player will get that powerup if they clash
* If players are equidistant from a square and they are both walking through it, they will also clash and neither will get the powerup
* If a player finishes on that location while another player walks through it, the player that finishes on that location will get the powerup
* This system allows players to plan around this known mechanic and not have to guess on who clicked first. It is part of our larger goal to not hide information from the player and provide a clear set of rules with which to make decisions
* The Clash system also applies to evades(edited)
UI
* There is now a simpler way to choose AI bot difficulty, with choices of Easy/Medium/Hard. You can toggle back to the old stars interface if desired
* Added more animations to the in-match HUD to make it clear when abilities are placed and canceled
* The cursor will now notify you of how many clicks are required to fully place an ability
* Heals over time will now display on the healthbars as dark green
* Movement lines no longer display during resolution mode

Orion skin
* Orion’s new Colossus skin is now in game!

Reconnect
* Reconnect should be much more reliable than before
* Existing ground effects will now show reliably
General
* Completing a tier in the faction system now results in a system broadcast letting everyone know it has been completed.
* The 3d model for the 5th character on your team is now visible (in 16:9 at least) when making custom games with 5 players on a team. Make sure you're all color coordinated! ;-)
* Players that have temporary full access are now notified that they are in this state
* Many Particle effects now have distortion effects on them
* Particle effects will not have a distortion effect when Graphics Quality is set to Low. This increases free memory and, in some circumstances, frame rate.
* Various minor bug fixes
Progression Changes
We have dramatically increased the experience (xp) rewards from mission and challenges, and made corresponding reductions from "bonus" xp sources. This was done to grant more satisfying rewards for completing content, and to wrangle the incredible high variance of the GG boost bonus. Additionally, we have slightly reduced the pace of early Season and Freelancer levels to smooth out the reward rate for new users. However, we have also reduced the time to level Freelancers at the top end.

Freelancer Levels
* The amount of xp required to gain levels after Freelancer Level 20 has been reduced from 50,000 to 30,000.
* Mod Tokens are now awarded at Freelancer levels 4/8/12 instead of 5/10/15. These are given in packs of 6. Up from 5.(edited)
Mission Rewards
* Daily Mission xp rewards have been doubled, increased from 500-1000 to 1000-2000.
* Chapter Missions now award 3000, 4000, or 5000 xp depending on difficulty.
* The Chapter 5 Challenge is repeatable. After earning the title, you can complete the Ultimate Challenge again for an xp reward.

Bonuses
* Playing with Friends bonus decreased from 50% to 25%.
* Bonuses from GG boosts have been reduced. The total xp bonus from GG boosts is now 100%.
* Using a GG boost grants a 30% xp bonus to yourself, and a 10% xp bonus to everyone else in the match.
* Don't despair -- we all love passive bonuses, but GG boosts are destined for greater things this coming Season!
* We will continue to play and adjust these bonuses as necessary.
Season Changes
* Chapter 5 has been created for Open Beta. You'll be able to experience the true chapter stories and the conclusion of the Trust War starting October 4!
* Chapters now contain 5 missions each.
* Only 4 out of the 5 missions must be completed to progress to the next chapter.

Season Levels
* We have removed some of the rewards from early Season Levels. These will reappear in a different location at launch.
AND
AND
there's a special note that will go live at 8:00am Pacific once we've verified everything is working

Open Beta has started!
* Atlas Reactor is now in Open Beta and will Launch on October 4!
* Everyone will have full access during the Open Beta period
* Purchase the game for full access when Headstart begins on 9/30!

 

[Soren01]

UE4?

 

[Alex Connolly]

Loved The Case! Conveys a lot of the combat nuance, but also nice to see Atlas Reactor get similar lore love to Overwatch. Asana looking good.

Nice to see clashing now in the mix!

 

[Lady Siara]

Started playing this yesterday, it's pretty fun! I'm trying to get other people interested in playing but it's kind of hard to describe.

Take the recent XCOM reboots, strip it down to 4v4 units (one of which you control), give them MOBA style abilities with cooldowns and speed up whatever you're picturing considerably.

The planning phase where you pick your movement and attack/abilities has a 20 second timer, which is quite short, and then all of those commands unfold in a consecutive phase order:

(buffs/heals/traps -> dashes to avoid attacks -> attacks -> plain movement on the map)

Because of the way this unfolds, some really interesting gameplay arises. Do you want to fire on the low HP character even though they could dash away? Do you choose to try and predict where they'll dash to or shoot someone else? It becomes very thought provoking, even more so when the 20 second timer buckles down on you every turn. Positioning and managing cooldowns is a huge deal in this game and can make or break a match.

Matches are fun to jump into (10-20 minutes) and end when one team gets 5 kills or whichever team has the most kills at 20 turns. There's an overtime system in place too and things can get nuts.

The units are fairly interesting as well, even if some...borrow heavily from other archetypes in MOBAs. They each have pretty different playstyles which can be customized further with mods. Some can make a pretty big impact on personalizing a character (piercing, grants invisibility if using another ability through it, etc.) whereas some are fairly standard boosts (+damage, +ult charge, etc.).

The model for the game is a bit strange but fair:

It's the first time I've seen a F2P game limit access to buying crates, but it's not really a bad thing. Just puzzling, really. Also puzzling is the lack of advertising/buzz, the first I had even heard of the game was yesterday.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Good run-down, Lady Siara.

It's strange how little traction the game has gotten on GAF. It's a quick and elegant multiplayer game, no mean feat for a turn-based strategy that isn't async and on mobile.

And has that free mode. But honestly, after nearly sixty hours of slotting it into a hectic schedule, the twenty I slapped down for the Atlas Edition has more than paid for itself.

 

[Lady Siara]

Played against some pretty seasoned people in PVP the other day who walked all over us. Lots of using invisibility which we had barely messed with, using the sparkly floor panels and abilities.

Match ended up being a lot of running in blind trying to find them and getting picked off. It sucked.

Was a humbling learning experience though. Thought we had tamed the learning curve but it seems there's still a lot to learn. I'll have to be a bit more perceptive in picking appropriate mods during setup.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Played against some pretty seasoned people in PVP the other day who walked all over us. Lots of using invisibility which we had barely messed with, using the sparkly floor panels and abilities.

Match ended up being a lot of running in blind trying to find them and getting picked off. It sucked.

Was a humbling learning experience though. Thought we had tamed the learning curve but it seems there's still a lot to learn. I'll have to be a bit more perceptive in picking appropriate mods during setup.

Support and ranged firepower make awesome use of the invisibility panels. Particularly when opponents can't tag them for visibility. Real hit and run stuff.

 

[Qvoth]

Been playing this for about a month, it's pretty fun, the community is definitely very kind coming from a dota fan
With the current limited time full access, I've been testing every heroes, trying to get level 5 on all of them, still got 2 or 3 heroes left

 

[Spiritreaver]

I've been looking for a turn based multiplayer game some time now. I like this game as it handles turns eloquently enough that no match feels like a chore. I'm a huge fan of the art style as well.

Are there plans for other game modes? I wouldn't mind one that's a tad slower with different objectives.

 

[Alex Connolly]

I've been looking for a turn based multiplayer game some time now. I like this game as it handles turns eloquently enough that no match feels like a chore. I'm a huge fan of the art style as well.

Are there plans for other game modes? I wouldn't mind one that's a tad slower with different objectives.

Good question. I'd like to think they'll try some new things with each new season. New maps to come as well.

 

[Omega Kirby]

I've been looking for a turn based multiplayer game some time now. I like this game as it handles turns eloquently enough that no match feels like a chore. I'm a huge fan of the art style as well.

Are there plans for other game modes? I wouldn't mind one that's a tad slower with different objectives.

There are new plans for new modes. Capture the flag is the new mode coming.


Also here's the teaser for the new hero coming soon

 

[CommandThrower]

There are new plans for new modes. Capture the flag is the new mode coming.


Also here's the teaser for the new hero coming soon

Capture the flag? I've never done CTF in a turn based strategy, let alone a turn based strategy like this game. Seems real interesting. I wonder how that could interact with dash abilities and the like.

Also, that new hero looks bulky. If it's a Frontliner, then I'll be happy. I love me some Frontliners.

 

[Alex Connolly]

They had a mysterious character on show at PAX recently, but I can't sift through the dev's tweets etc. right now. Could be the same character!

 

[Qvoth]

i think it's another firepower character, those things look more like rocket tubes rather than power arms

 

[CommandThrower]

i think it's another firepower character, those things look more like rocket tubes rather than power arms

You're right. There was a twitter video showing that character on the character select screen, and she is in the Firepower category.

Eh, that's fine. I would have preferred a Frontliner, but that's all right. Her design looks pretty neat!

 

[Alex Connolly]

How are you guys finding Orion? Interesting character.

 

[Omega Kirby]

Orion has an awesome design, awesome taunts and feels very unique to play. But I think he needs a buff.

1: He takes damage a lot from fate transfer which leads to #2
2: Has no dash so he can be focused down pretty easy if you mess up you positioning.
3: His abilities are terribly weak until he gets full energy and has to try to not use his ult for as long as possible
4: His ult is a bit selfish for a support character, heals only himself and the damage aint all that great. While say Aurora does less damage with her ult it has more range and heals of allies, and Finn has a crowd control ult

 

[Alex Connolly]

Orion has an awesome design, awesome taunts and feels very unique to play. But I think he needs a buff.

1: He takes damage a lot from fate transfer which leads to #2
2: Has no dash so he can be focused down pretty easy if you mess up you positioning.
3: His abilities are terribly weak until he gets full energy and has to try to not use his ult for as long as possible
4: His ult is a bit selfish for a support character, heals only himself and the damage aint all that great. While say Aurora does less damage with her ult it has more range and heals of allies, and Finn has a crowd control ult

Yeah, I sort of feel Orion needs to be used as part of a dedicated bruiser tag. Stick it out with someone who can mix it up and keep them standing for longer. Orion's positional game is super important, particularly -- as you said -- the guy doesn't have dash.

As far as his ult...I dunno. He's pretty much a sponge up until that point, so I can forgive the lack of a greater healing capacity once he's ready to drop his main attack.

The support stable is a pretty interesting bunch. I'm a Finn fan, with Aurora and Quark in there too. If anything, they all feel thankfully distinct.

 

[Omega Kirby]

New hero update

 

[Alex Connolly]

Didn't see this new freelancer in action, but are those flame throwers? Could be a nice mid-to-short range firepower character.

 

[CommandThrower]

How are you guys finding Orion? Interesting character.

I like the concept of a "power-up" character, which Orion kind of is. Issue is, is that he's kind of weak without his shards, and his ult sometimes doesn't seem worth using when you lose all your shards. I think he has a talent which grants him 20 energy after using his ult, but his ult should help his allies in some way and not just deal damage and heal only yourself. It's difficult to find the balance of a character whose gimmick is powering themselves up to be much stronger.

Didn't see this new freelancer in action, but are those flame throwers? Could be a nice mid-to-short range firepower character.

I'd like for this character to be a close-mid range combatant. PuP's the only Firepower character who isn't ranged or artillery. I suppose Elle is also mid-ranged, but she can also be long ranged. If this character is a bulky close range threat, then I'd like that.

 

[Alex Connolly]

I like the concept of a "power-up" character, which Orion kind of is. Issue is, is that he's kind of weak without his shards, and his ult sometimes doesn't seem worth using when you lose all your shards. I think he has a talent which grants him 20 energy after using his ult, but his ult should help his allies in some way and not just deal damage and heal only yourself.

I'd like for this character to be a close-mid range combatant. PuP's the only Firepower character who isn't ranged or artillery. I suppose Elle is also mid-ranged, but she can also be long ranged. If this character is a bulky close range threat, then I'd like that.

To the first, agreed. That said, I saw an incredible trio of Asana, Orion and Quark just melt an entire crew the other eve. Was awesome to see. Quark flipping between double support and leashing opponents, Asana doing her thing and Orion just keeping her at fighting capacity. I recall Nix being on the fringe and just doing what he does best.

To the second, it'd be good to see this new character being able to lock areas down like a Grey or Aurora, with DoT capacity or something. But getting ahead of myself; who knows what she'll be like.

Still probably count Elle as my pick.

 

[Omega Kirby]

 

[Alex Connolly]

Awesome. Wonder how she'll play?

 

[Lady Siara]

Neat design, though I was secretly hoping those metal arms were tentacles of darkness or something.

Ah well.

 

[CommandThrower]

That's a healthy gal~

If she's tanky DPS, that'd make me happy. We'll see what happens soon, hopefully.

 

[Omega Kirby]

https://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/v/90960107

Heres a vod showing her kit and stuff

Lorewise: She is the new head of Omni Security, supposesly is Asana's boss

She is a tanky ranged firepower. She has

140 hp

Has a 40 hp self shield with a mod that allows her to have it for two turns

Her normal attack can hit two people like celestes

Point and click trap that damages anybody that dashes ground wise ( Garrison dash, Grey dash aren't affected)

Knockback skill on both of her sides in a small cone infront

Her ult onlys costs 50 energy and can be continously used, every turn using it uses 20 energy but she is rooted in place

She has no dash

 

[Alex Connolly]

That actually sounds pretty good! I love that 50 eng ult, particularly the continual use element.

Will trade flamethrowers for lasers, sure.

 

[CommandThrower]

Juno sounds like the tanky DPS I was hoping she'd be, and she uses frickin' laser beams? Very cool!

I hope the concept of the 50 energy ultimate comes back for future heroes, because it's a nice concept to expand upon.

 

[Alex Connolly]

Regarding the launch and associated account wipes:

Hi Alpha/Beta Players,

As you now know, we'll be launching October 4th and we've got you to thank for that!

On September 27th the servers will be taken offline so that we can prepare properly for release. At this time we're resetting all accounts so everyone can start fresh.

However, there is a good amount of swag that you'll get to keep because you've earned it. Here is a list:

For Being An Awesome Playtester:
O.G. - Title
Alpha Reactor - Title

Earned Through Various Challenges:
Alpha Account Elo Emblems and Banners (4 of each)
Beta Character Elo Emblems (6 )
Beta Character Wins Emblems (3)
Beta Maxxed - Title
Penultimate - Title
Dev Killer - Title
Killed By Dev - Title
Dev Avenger - Title
Stressed Out - Title
The Informant - Title
Blood Sport Lockwood - Skin
Liberty Rampart - Skin
Recruit-A-Friend - Emblem, Emoticon, GG Boosts, Ash and Bone Asana - Skin, RAF RAF PuP - Skin
Special Rewards:
Curse Promotion - Emblem (1) & Skins (3)
Razer Promotion - Emblem (1) & Skins (3)
Creator Program Emblem and Banner
Grey's Citadel - Skin

Tournament Related:
Tournament Champion - Title
Tournament Player - Title
Tournament Caster - Title
Tournament Manager - Title
Commissioner - Title

Founder Pack Items:

Community Rewards - Plenty of goodies in here.

Any Loot Matrices purchased with real money (or credits), you'll get back with an additional 10% - rounded up!

Some of this long list of rewards were ONLY given out during the Alpha/Beta.
Some will be locked up for a long time and may be available in the future.
Some will be available regularly even after we launch.

Thank you all so much for being amazing Alpha and Beta players. Without you, this game would not be as fantastic as it is. We appreciate your dedication, patience, and top notch feedback with every ounce of our being. Know that every player that ever touches this game has you to thank as well.

Enjoy flaunting your Alpha/Beta swag!

 

[Alex Connolly]

Game is now officially launched!

 

[patchday]

Interesting downloading now. Always wanted to try but never got around to it

Hearthstone is consuming much of my free time...

 

[Qvoth]

been a while since i played, because of ffxiv new patch
is it true everything is wiped? i lost all my skins and taunts etc?

 

[Alex Connolly]

Interesting downloading now. Always wanted to try but never got around to it

Hearthstone is consuming much of my free time...

Well, let us know what you reckon. Matches share Hearthstone's quick and compact nature.

been a while since i played, because of ffxiv new patch
is it true everything is wiped? i lost all my skins and taunts etc?

Yeah, it's true, as they've rejigged the unlocks. You'd still retain things like titles from the old days, though.

Throwing it out there to add Glyph tags into the OP if you want to game on with Gaffers.

 

[rSpooky]

This game seriously needs some more love. I am not sure why it is not getting more attention. It offers something different than the usual fair, well balanced, easy enough to get into for newcomers and even a feee to try option.
Is it because the look ofnthe characters make people think it is an overwatch clone? Is it because it is a Trion game and there are people upset with their micro transaction models??

Game is very cool..really hit that " only one more match" button for me

 

[Alex Connolly]

New support character - Su-Ren!

New map - Reactor!

This game seriously needs some more love. I am not sure why it is not getting more attention. It offers something different than the usual fair, well balanced, easy enough to get into for newcomers and even a feee to try option.
Is it because the look ofnthe characters make people think it is an overwatch clone? Is it because it is a Trion game and there are people upset with their micro transaction models??

Game is very cool..really hit that " only one more match" button for me

Yep, needs more love, but there's a good community online.

 

[Omega Kirby]

I saw her kit in the dev video.

She can do some killer burst heals, and they're not done in prep phase. Her dash heals if it hits an ally and her other heal is a burst aoe heal in the blast phase

 

[Alex Connolly]

I saw her kit in the dev video.

She can do some killer burst heals, and they're not done in prep phase. Her dash heals if it hits an ally and her other heal is a burst aoe heal in the blast phase

Nice! Any close comparisons?

 

[Omega Kirby]

Nice! Any close comparisons?

Here's the VOD if you want to check it out yourself
https://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/v/93539408


Her dash is like quarks, dash to ally or enemy, healing or damaging them respectively, but heres the twist, she can use that dash again the next turn for free before the cooldown for it begins.

Her ultimate is very similar to Helio's, I don't understand it completely but it gives somebody a 100 point shield and it explodes next turn dealing 50, something like that.

Her heal is like Orions ult, but heals everybody around her not just herself . Also has pretty petal effects

Oh and she's melee, she can strike in a line or in an aoe around her

140hp

 

[Alex Connolly]

Here's the VOD if you want to check it out yourself
https://www.twitch.tv/trionworlds/v/93539408


Her dash is like quarks, dash to ally or enemy, healing or damaging them respectively, but heres the twist, she can use that dash again the next turn for free before the cooldown for it begins.

Her ultimate is very similar to Helio's, I don't understand it completely but it gives somebody a 100 point shield and it explodes next turn dealing 50, something like that.

Her heal is like Orions ult, but heals everybody around her not just herself . Also has pretty petal effects

Oh and she's melee, she can strike in a line or in an aoe around her

140hp

Sounds a touch like Finn's bubble shield, amped to the nines.

 

[Moobabe]

Fine I've downloaded it!

 

[Alex Connolly]

Fine I've downloaded it!

Good stuff, Moobs. As a Dota2 fiend, I await your views.

 

[Palmer_v1]

Downloaded this and played most of the day. It reminds me of Laser Squad Nemesis as well. Lot of fun so far. There's nothing close to this for turn-based strategy.

 

[Alex Connolly]

It's very much one of those games that you need to see for yourself. Explaining or describing it is one thing, but once it clicks with a hands-on, not much else compares in the multi strategy space.

 

[Palmer_v1]

Do we have a list of people playing? I'll add mine later if so.

Does pvp have any type of MMR or balancing to it? I played with a buddy and I think we've won every game so far, though a lot were very close in overtime.