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Gears of War Judgement |OT| Brothers from the beginning, Bros till the end

Lupin3

Lupin3

Targeting terrorists with a D-Pad
I can hardly believe how smooth Gears 3 is in comparison. It's like night and day if you play GowJ for a couple of hours and then switch back to 3.
 
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mernst23

Member
So any idea/timeframe on when DLC2 is supposed to come out? I only have 4 achievements left to get, (reup 3rd time, 30 events, 100 revives, and the locust kills on overrun) and my interest in playing the game is really starting to go out the door.
 
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yankeehater

Member
Monkeylord said:
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/live/free-live-weekend

Gold is free this weekend, and MS are touting a bunch of features for those already with Gold, including double XP on GOWJ.

Does this mean quadruple for those of us who wasted our money on VIP?
Click to expand...

How did you waste your money on VIP? They said it would contain 2 map packs with 3 maps in each, double xp, and some character/weapon skins along with early access to the maps. That is exactly what it has been so far.
 
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Monkeylord

Member
True, but I don't really feel I've gotten any real value from it. Others may have, and good for you if you have, but I'm in the UK and unless I try and play online from midnight onwards I'm lucky to get any real online playtime out of it.
 
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Skilotonn

xbot xbot xbot xbot xbot
Big list of the update that will be going live sometime today due to community feedback over the past few weeks, and anything not on this, they're testing on on their own test servers before making it live in the near future.

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/960442-Massive-update
Massive updates that should go live soon, possibly as early as of 9AM EST tomorrow. Some of the changes were in response to your feedback over the last couple weeks here on the forums, on twitter, facebook, etc.:

- Dual weapon loadout will be propegated to all playlists with the exception of FFA.
- Stim grenades will be removed from all playlists with the exception of FFA.
- Torquebow charge time reduced back to Gears 3 Active levels (from 2 seconds down to 1.5 seconds).
- Prize boxes updated in the next TU to deliver all content before doling out XP (instead of assigning randomly).

We also went through the community feedback list and looked at everything we could. Here's a rehash of our response from tonight's live stream event:


I. Maps / Content

A. Only 4 traditional multiplayer maps
Map counts increased significantly with current and future DLC. Everyone has had great feedback on what they'd like to see in the future, and we're still working on getting you guys new content. Not sure that we'd be able to pull over a massive content dump from Gears 3, but we’re definitely working on incremental changes that will get you guys what you want. More DLC is coming, stay tuned!

B. Maps are not symmetrical
DLC maps are either symmetrical or much more symmetrical than release maps. Think layouts that are “more Haven, less Gondola”.

C. Maps are too big
Future DLC map designs are smaller and/or flow better so that combat is less segregated. We’re also setting up hard swaps that focus the action along the midline for Execution.

D. Updates are only “Server side”
We have made an effort to get changes up and tested as early as possible so that we can include them in the required title updates. This will ensure that a good number of the changes are actually present in a LAN setting. We’re also posting change notes and trying to be proactive with communication before changes are implemented.

E. No Locusts in standard versus multiplayer
This cannot be changed at this point. We can, however, make some changes to improve sound and visual recognition between teams. More on that to follow.

 
II. Melee

A. Reverse 2 Piece possible
We’ve adjusted melee pretty significantly to address these issues. If melee is in the game, you will always be able to shoot someone, and then finish them with a hit. We’ve adjusted delays a bit to help prevent this tactic from being abused, and adjusting it too much further will create the unnatural delays and obstructions to gameplay that we have previously removed in response to your feedback on this very topic.

B. Speed
See above.

C. Range
We have not seen a range difference, and the code has not changed in that regard. There is a chance that latency is affecting this in some circumstances, and it will require more investigation.


III. Matchmaking / Ranked (Incentive)

A. Too many playlists
We’re still working on solutions to this problem, but it is a highly complicated beast (of our own making, to be sure).

B. Ranked vs. Quick match Experience earned
Ranked XP will be increased. We’re working on some other incentives to draw people into Ranked as well (more “competitive-style settings”, for example).

C. Little incentive to play ranked
Judgment does indeed use skill-based ranking as part of its matchmaking algorithm. In point of fact, it essentially IS the Halo matchmaking system as that was the standard put forth by Microsoft. The main difference is that we do it under the hood. This does mean that we don’t have a ranked league-style system, and adding that at this point would unfortunately be out of scope for Judgment. We’re working on other Ranked incentives, however, that don’t require a full redesign of our matchmaking, UI, and infrastructure.


IV. Weapon Balancing (Spawn / Power)

A. Gnasher
We’re working on a fix to allow players the option to toggle their on-screen reticule. The close range “inconsistency” people report is actually an intentional fix that favors the player to ensure they get a proper kill when the barrel of the gun is touching another player’s cylinder. An ammo count change is highly contentious in public forums, and we feel pretty strongly that the current ammo levels actually favor Judgment’s weapon balance. The best option at this point is to increase ammo to 16 and try it in the Test Server.

B. Lancer
A change to the Lancer may indeed favor competitive players who intend on using it in a support capacity. However, the larger majority of the community does not appear to agree that it needs updating. It is currently performing in its intended role across all gametypes, and changing it could create a cascading effect that requires a rebalance of all starting weapons.

Changing to a two-weapon loadout is unlikely to create a huge imbalance in the weapons. The reality of the game stats is that within a few seconds of spawning, you’re either dead, or you have a secondary weapon anyway, so pulling that back to spawn doesn’t significantly move the needle in terms of game balance.

That said, the best option is to make your suggested changes in the Test Server, along with the Gnasher changes, and see how it plays out. We’ll do that ASAP. We’ll start with the clip size reduction and make further updates if necessary.

C. Booshka
Agreed. Clip size and starting ammo being reduced.

D. Boomshot
Agreed. Starting ammo being reduced.



V. Grenade Balancing

A. Ink Grenade
Internal QA is looking into the reported issues. More info to follow.

B. Stim Grenade
Stim grenade being removed from loadout and moved to a pickup in some playlists.

C. Ammo boxes
We’ll try pulling grenades out of ammo boxes in the Test Server, and propagate globally if there is a good response.


VI. Audio (In-Game)

A. Sound isn’t accurately location based
We can’t realistically change our sound engine at this point, but we can (and will) significantly reduce your (and your team’s) footstep volume. If you hear someone, that’ll pretty much guarantee that they are an enemy. We could also reduce the radius of the footstep sound a bit to make it less apparent when they’re above/below you, but that would require a Title Update to implement, and another to change back if the change isn’t well received. Probably too risky at this point.



VII. Glitches

A. Movement
Not getting into cover is due to a series of complicated factors that are made more apparent by Judgment’s increase in game speed and player density. We’ll look into it, but it may not be fixable.

B. Characters
Kim’s hitbox already fixed in the upcoming TU.

Boomshield already adjusted on female characters in the upcoming TU.

I’m not 100% clear on the characters failing to show visual recognition on successive shots, but if I had to guess, I’d say that is by design to prevent them from spamming the same animation over and over while taking damage. As long as the other visual feedback is registering (blood, etc.) then I don’t see this as a major problem. Will need to investigate further.

C. In Game
If players can join a private game, then that is a bug – unless it is from a player following someone in the game who is NOT set to private (that’s a Microsoft rule). QA is investigating.


VIII. Final Suggestions

A. Domination Gametype
Changed time to break hills from 2 seconds to 1 second.

B. Upgrade spectator mode (mega wish)
Extremely out of scope for Judgment, but excellent feedback for the future.

C. Theater mode (mega wish)
Extremely out of scope for Judgment, but excellent feedback for the future.


___


Lastly, this weekend's event will be Torquebow Tag (back by popular demand!). With all the changes going through the game, we figured it would be best to let things stabilize and give everyone a chance to test thigns out and get a feel for everything. So TB Tag will stay up throughout the week, and we'll look at the return of the Test Server next week.

As always, let us know what you think, and what you'd like to see next. See you all online!
Click to expand...

Stim Gas grenades getting the boot everywhere except for FFA and the reverse 2-piece are the two only intended things I didn't like in the whole game so this makes the the game almost perfect for me - the sliding into cover glitch that can't be fixed right now is an annoyance to me every now and then though because I like to keep moving at all times, and the audio glitch, but I'm glad in the very least that Epic has known about and acknowledged them both for months now.

Just posting this for those who have been saying that they haven't lived up to their promise of updating the game and don't care even though they have since the first week.

Monkeylord said:
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/live/free-live-weekend

Gold is free this weekend, and MS are touting a bunch of features for those already with Gold, including double XP on GOWJ.

Does this mean quadruple for those of us who wasted our money on VIP?
Click to expand...

If you feel like you wasted money on VIP, then that's on you - you were told what it was going to give you.
 
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yankeehater

Member
I am worried they might be changing to much. I dont want Gears 3 2.0, I could just go play Gears 3 for that. I hope GoWJ still keeps its own identity after all the changes. It is great to see them supporting the game like this though.
 
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MjFrancis

Member
There's still no DBNO, so Judgement is still it's own game. Now it may feel a little more like further experimentation with the Gears franchise than something completely different that happens to have a Gears of War skin.
 
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Monkeylord

Member
Skilotonn said:
If you feel like you wasted money on VIP, then that's on you - you were told what it was going to give you.
Click to expand...

I already covered this above. I'm sure lots of people are getting value, but I feel I haven't. Not enough people are playing when I'm available, and from reading both here and on the Epic forums, that's not just because of my gaming availability.

nel e nel said:
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/live/free-live-weekend

The GB in the address means 'Great Britain'

Here is the US version of the same site:

http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live/free-live-weekend

and it's dated the middle of April.

I assume you're from the UK based on your 'cheeky' parlance? :)
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm from the UK, and I already know the "EN-GB" means it's the localised UK version of Xbox.com, but the thing is every time one of these pages comes up, UK or global, I get the "EN-GB" in the URL. Usually it says somewhere if it's location restrictive (usually in a tiny grey font at the bottom of the page).

Either way, I've read that the double XP may have been activated globally... but obviously I can't check.
 
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nel e nel

Member
Monkeylord said:
Yes, I'm from the UK, and I already know the "EN-GB" means it's the localised UK version of Xbox.com, but the thing is every time one of these pages comes up, UK or global, I get the "EN-GB" in the URL. Usually it says somewhere if it's location restrictive (usually in a tiny grey font at the bottom of the page).

Either way, I've read that the double XP may have been activated globally... but obviously I can't check.
Click to expand...


Yeah, I guess I'll find out tonight when I get home from work. I tried searching around but that April date was the only reference I could find to this for the US.
 
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Kabuto

Member
Skilotonn said:
Big list of the update that will be going live sometime today due to community feedback over the past few weeks, and anything not on this, they're testing on on their own test servers before making it live in the near future.

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/960442-Massive-update


Stim Gas grenades getting the boot everywhere except for FFA and the reverse 2-piece are the two only intended things I didn't like in the whole game so this makes the the game almost perfect for me - the sliding into cover glitch that can't be fixed right now is an annoyance to me every now and then though because I like to keep moving at all times, and the audio glitch, but I'm glad in the very least that Epic has known about and acknowledged them both for months now.

Just posting this for those who have been saying that they haven't lived up to their promise of updating the game and don't care even though they have since the first week.



If you feel like you wasted money on VIP, then that's on you - you were told what it was going to give you.
Click to expand...

iRQ7hYBCXf4ZZ.gif


wow that is a huge update. Good on Epic for fixing so much of the complaints we had about the game. The dual weapon layout and removal of the stim gas is gonna make me love the multiplayer way more. I hope they can fix the movement issue though because it's still really annoying
 
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mickcenary

Member
Cheers for the post, Skilotonn.

The point about the cover glitch potentially not being fixable is really, really, really disappointing to hear. Why create a flow and layout that gimps probably the most fundamental mechanic in the entire game? Sloppy.

The rest appears to be for the better, though.
 
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Kabuto

Member
B. Stim Grenade
Stim grenade being removed from loadout and moved to a pickup in SOME playlists.

I was playing FFA and one guy was still using it. :/ I don't know why they won't just take it out of multiplayer.

Edit: is there anyway to see how close you are to unlocking a prize box in the menus?
 
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mickcenary

Member
WOAH.

Super fucking ominous string arrangements in the middle of a TDM match... Was that the Reaper? That was actually terrifying and really awesome. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, though, so I'm just speculating.

EDIT: Ahhhhh, it's an Easter Egg.
 
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Grisby

Member
Picked this back up after Dragons Dogma DA and DL the new maps. Also, imagine my surprise when I started with two weapons. Definitely improved my overall enjoyment of the game. The maps are pretty fun although I hate having to go through Gondola and such just to taste the new.

Also, I liked Blood Drive as a design map but I always thought it was ass ugly. Even in Gears 3 it wasn't a complete looker. In Judgment though, man it looks damn good. Having the train go over and all of the lights flashing makes for some good atmosphere among the bullets.
 
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NullPointer

Member
Played some versus with a few buddies tonight for kicks.

I can't be the only one who thinks old school Horde (Gears 2 style) would work great on them, can I?
 
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many places

Member
I really like Judgment. I've played every Gears game extensively and yet I still really like it. My only massive complaint is lack of maps at release and even now there should be more.

If anyone wants to play sometime my gamertag is: Raian59
 
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Kabuto

Member
new Overrun map coming out 5/15

On May 15th, you’ll be able to download the second MAXIM Map, Dreadnought, available for OverRun players free of charge for a limited time.

In the months immediately following Emergence Day, the COG managed to capture some Locust Berserkers. Thinking that a ship at sea would be safe from an underground enemy, the COG decided to transport their prize to a secure research facility via the CNV Pomeroy. Little did they know that the Locust had waterborne beasts from the underground rivers of the Hollow, or that the Locust soldiers would use them so relentlessly to rescue the captured Berserkers. The Pomeroy was corralled into a narrow channel and forced ashore, where the Locust sent a mass of troops to assault and overwhelm the beached vessel.

Coming soon: You can also catch a fly-through video via the MAXIM app on Xbox LIVE!

dreadnought_action_shot.jpg
Click to expand...
 
mr stroke

mr stroke

Member
Finally got around to this game and really let down. Finished it in 2 sittings. Really short, boring and repetitive, and this is coming from a huge Gears fan. Everything felt the same. Wave after wave of bad guys, with zero pacing and poor set pieces.

Too bad :( gonna dive into multi and see if its better than 3.
 
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Skilotonn

xbot xbot xbot xbot xbot
malfcn said:
http://epicgames.com/community/2013/05/gears-of-war-judgment-dlc-lost-relics/

Check out is back. And a new single-objective team mode.
Click to expand...

Damn, you beat me to it - really, really can't wait to try this new mode out, this is something they've been trying to work on since between Gears 2 and 3. Glad they were able to do it, and if it works out great, I hope that whenever Gears 4 comes out and they return to COG vs Locust, they can bring this mode back but replace the flag with a Lightmass bomb to fit with the story.
 
Lupin3

Lupin3

Targeting terrorists with a D-Pad
mr stroke said:
Finally got around to this game and really let down. Finished it in 2 sittings. Really short, boring and repetitive, and this is coming from a huge Gears fan. Everything felt the same. Wave after wave of bad guys, with zero pacing and poor set pieces.

Too bad :( gonna dive into multi and see if its better than 3.
Click to expand...

If you disliked the campaign, multi will make you throw up!

3 is better in every single way possible!
 
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Goodacre0081

Member
yankeehater said:
Damn that is such great news. checkout is a really fun map, i just hope they make it more vertical.
Click to expand...

they said it is exactly the same. it doesn't have a new "coat of paint" like other maps in the series. this recorded livestream goes into more detail. looks like we'll be seeing this mid June. not sure if that's the early access VIP date though.

anyone else think this is going to be it for content? with low player turnout and the season pass ending I don't see Epic spending anymore time on DLC. 10 MP maps is a far cry from the 29 Gears2 had.
 
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ThePointyEnd

Banned
Can anyone explain just WHAT IN THE HELL has been going on with the Gears 3 servers this week?

I've never had noticeable lag before. I've never had host drops. And I've never been consistently matched with people out of Mexico. This has all started happening in the past 5 days.

People are complaining about it on EPIC forums but of course there's no answer there.

Anyone know WTF is going on?
 
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Goodacre0081

Member
ThePointyEnd said:
Can anyone explain just WHAT IN THE HELL has been going on with the Gears 3 servers this week?

I've never had noticeable lag before. I've never had host drops. And I've never been consistently matched with people out of Mexico. This has all started happening in the past 5 days.

People are complaining about it on EPIC forums but of course there's no answer there.

Anyone know WTF is going on?
Click to expand...

I bet MS has started to cull the servers. Halo doesn't even have them and that's their flagship game.

with this games ability to be played on servers or p2p and no real way for the players to tell in the menu, I was expecting MS to gradually remove them over the course of a year or two anyway. I'm really hoping that next generation Epic doesn't partner with MS and brings Gears to PC/PS4.
 
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ThePointyEnd

Banned
ThePointyEnd said:
Can anyone explain just WHAT IN THE HELL has been going on with the Gears 3 servers this week?

I've never had noticeable lag before. I've never had host drops. And I've never been consistently matched with people out of Mexico. This has all started happening in the past 5 days.

People are complaining about it on EPIC forums but of course there's no answer there.

Anyone know WTF is going on?
Click to expand...

Epic has responded in some threads on their forums. It apparently was an MS issue and should be fixed.
 
Z

Zumblakladla

Banned
Oh my GOD!

Is it possible that so many kids are playing this game and they are not bothered to write a message on a gamepad after every round?


I get 1-3 messages after every match, no matter if i own or my team lose. Its always noob, learn to play etc etc... Or they are crying or whatever...

Is it possible that there are so much kids in this game?
 
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malfcn

Member
Wow. Apparently Jim Brown estimated it cost $100,000 for Checkout to be added to Judgment. Really?

Getting a map from an old engine/game version up and running in Judgment is a bit of work. Gears 3 maps are the least amount of work (as they're closest in terms of versioning, gameplay, etc.)... but all of that is just to get it running in the editor. The full process is a much more significant effort.

Then the map has to be set up to actually load in game. Then it has to be converted to run on the new gametypes, and changed to support all the new systems, weapons, actor types, etc. Then it has to go through a full QA pass to validate everything, followed by several weeks of bug fixing and playtesting. Then it has to go thorugh the same thing on the MS side to validate our changes and prep for cert. Then it has to pass certification.

And that's not considering any contractual obligations, rules MS has in place about the online economy, governmental anti-trust regulations on MS and Live, marketing and PR costs, distribution, maintenance and setup on the back end, TU work on Epic's side to make all this work, etc.... And all of that not to mention how this time/effort pulls away from work being done on other maps, features, etc.

This process takes in its entirety takes several weeks, a staff of dozens, and can run well into 6 figures of cost. To port one Gears 3 map over. Anyway, I was trying to be glib in the live stream, but it is by no means a simple, short, or cheap process.
Click to expand...

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads...coming-in-June/page12?p=31455267#post31455267
 
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yankeehater

Member
That is nuts, I cant believe they are unable to streamline that process. XBLA games get maps added after the fact, no way are they spending $100k per map. That really makes me think they are being inefficient.
 
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Skilotonn

xbot xbot xbot xbot xbot
malfcn said:
Wow. Apparently Jim Brown estimated it cost $100,000 for Checkout to be added to Judgment. Really?



http://forums.epicgames.com/threads...coming-in-June/page12?p=31455267#post31455267
Click to expand...

It doesn't seem that crazy to me - the differences in the Unreal Engine just between Gears 3 and Judgment are large enough that it simply can't just be ported over with no effort.

No doubt he's including every single step along the way, salaries for each employee, fees, etc - I'm sure no one here would stop doing their regular job to do an assignment that takes a couple weeks out of their schedule for free.
 
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Neverfade

Member
I fired this up last night after a bit of a break from it.

Did they take out Stim-gas from TDM? When I selected it, I got spots instead.
 
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Goodacre0081

Member
Neverfade said:
I fired this up last night after a bit of a break from it.

Did they take out Stim-gas from TDM? When I selected it, I got spots instead.
Click to expand...

current in game changes
- Scorcher ammo has been reduced from 34 to 15.
- Dual weapon loadout will be propegated to all playlists with the exception of FFA.
- Stim grenades will be removed from all playlists with the exception of FFA.
- Torquebow charge time reduced back to Gears 3 Active levels
- Booshka ammo reduced
- Boomshot ammo reduced
- increased rank XP

after the TU
- Gnasher ammo up to 16
- grenades taken out of ammo boxes
- Prize boxes updated in the next TU to deliver all content before doling out XP
- headshots on Kims head is fixed
- audio footsteps are tweaked
- Maulers won't be able to flail through walls
- females heads don't stick out when holding Boomshield anymore
- all (private/ranked) achievements will be obtainable in private
- all server side changes will be updated to work in private
 
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Monkeylord

Member
maxcer0081 said:
current in game changes
- Scorcher ammo has been reduced from 34 to 15.
- Dual weapon loadout will be propegated to all playlists with the exception of FFA.
- Stim grenades will be removed from all playlists with the exception of FFA.
- Torquebow charge time reduced back to Gears 3 Active levels
- Booshka ammo reduced
- Boomshot ammo reduced
- increased rank XP

after the TU
- Gnasher ammo up to 16
- grenades taken out of ammo boxes
- Prize boxes updated in the next TU to deliver all content before doling out XP
- headshots on Kims head is fixed
- audio footsteps are tweaked
- Maulers won't be able to flail through walls
- females heads don't stick out when holding Boomshield anymore
- all (private/ranked) achievements will be obtainable in private
- all server side changes will be updated to work in private
Click to expand...

Someone finally gets it!!!

Every game needs to make this change! (especially the older ones with dead online).
 
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