=/ Losing fun..

[Lady Athena]

I've stopped playing for awhile came back and.. well... idk what happened to the game but it's just not fun anymore.

 

The suicidal AI that now wants to turn into me, cut me off, and ram my ship in nearly every battle is just ridiculous.

 

Had a few games where I just gave up in the fight got so annoyed at the stupid AI that seems to be 10x more dumb than they were during ST. Had the Cutter proceed to try to broad side me from a medium range, then turn towards me. Well of course he didn't have the distance to make that turn, slammed head long into me, and sunk himself..... well that's one way to win a battle..

 

Next fight.. well I'll let the screenshots speak for themselves shall I?

 

 

He hit me from behind, and climbed his nose onto my stern. He got stuck there.. As I tried to turn to get him off, he climbed higher until...

 

 

 

 

 

Yea.. he sunk himself too...

 

This just isn't fun.. Or the psychic AI... You know what I've found out? If an AI ship is about to Ram me, I start loading grape shot.. The moment I start loading Grape Shot the AI gets an instant Eureka moment, knows I'm loading grape shot and will turn in the opposite direction...  /facepalm

 

Either way, I've never had this crap happen in ST, or the first part of the OW. Sure the AI wasn't the smartest but... Right now the AI is just so much more insanely stupid it's sucked all the fun out of it. Not to mention Trader ships just turn in circles non stop as you herpa derp them to death, instead of actually trying to out run you, or get away like they did before.... That's better how?

 

I'm losing interest very fast. Yes I know it's very early Alpha but... really? 2 huge steps backwards with nothing new that's remotely useful, helpful, or interesting, besides maybe the basic minimal trading...

[Prater]

I do agree that the current AI is worse than what it was in like May and June when they weren't trying to turn after every broadside.

[SteelSandwich]

It was stated in the patchnotes when the improved boarding was introduced that the AI ramming/turning behavior would be back for some time, 5 minutes of searching would've shown that result.

The devs are currently working, i assume, on fixing that.

 

I can tell you, since you haven't played for some time, that the AI before the boarding patch was fairly good and fun to play against.

So give them time to figure it out, just hang in there.

Edited August 19, 2015 by SteelSandwich

[Prater]

It was stated in the patchnotes when the improved boarding was introduced that the AI ramming/turning behavior would be back for some time, 5 minutes of searching would've shown that result.

The devs are currently working, i assume, on fixing that.

 

I can tell you, since you haven't played for some time, that the AI before the boarding patch was fairly good and fun to play against.

So give them time to figure it out, just hang in there.

 

 

The AI became broken before the boarding, well, not broke, but not as good as it was.  It was near perfect around the time we could have player ai fleets.  They got worse sometime around then.  I don't exactly remember which patch did this.

[Young]

Yes there was a thread were we discussed this in length when the patch changed the AI. i cannot remember the exact date but Prater is right.

 

But as Steel also stated AI is constantly being worked on.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Young

[admin]

Development breaks things and creates things. You signed up for a bugged alpha and promised to support development. I don't see any support in your post .

Sea trials did not have AI they could just sail straight. Also players will ram you a lot more than bots.

Now this is a development forum, so I will just tell it as it is.
a) you should post bugs in individual topics with relevant proposals, otherwise it's a waste of time and cluttering of the forum
b ) if you can't handle bugs, judging by your post you cannot, you should uninstall and wait for release version.

 

Don't take this last phrase personally please: annoyances add up and if you continue playing you will just hate the game by the end of Early Access. Some bugs take time to fix due to other priorities and sometimes it it better to wait, instead of getting more annoyed.

[Lady Athena]

Development breaks things and creates things. You signed up for a bugged alpha and promised to support development. I don't see any support in your post .

Sea trials did not have AI they could just sail straight. Also players will ram you a lot more than bots.

Now this is a development forum, so I will just tell it as it is.

a) you should post bugs in individual topics with relevant proposals, otherwise it's a waste of time and cluttering of the forum

b ) if you can't handle bugs, judging by your post you cannot, you should uninstall and wait for release version.

 

Don't take this last phrase personally please: annoyances add up for and if you continue playing you will just hate the game by the end of Early Access. Some bugs take time to fix due to other priorities and sometimes it it better to wait, instead of getting more annoyed.

 

Been testing games for 12 years. Been part of no less than 18 Alpha's and closed testing.... I know things are going to break, I know things are going to go wrong. In-fact in most cases.. I'm the one defending the developers. Currently I wrote a "get over it" thread for Armored Warfare telling people to quit crying over closed testing phases.

 

This thread however, is a "support" thread. No I don't give any "this is what you can do to fix it" idea's. Because, well in a way I did.

 

The AI was nearly perfect around the ST time, and early OW. There you go. You did something perfectly right, and somehow screwed it up. Which is fine. There's Input #1 from me. Was much more fun by far earlier, than now. Find what the difference is.. That's your job as developers, as I explained why it isn't nearly as fun anymore. 1) The AI constantly ramming and 2) the AI doing circles like they think its NASCAR.

 

Secondly, I also stated.. It's just not fun at the moment, the AI being a big problem. Most people don't want to go run trades non stop. Especially in its current state. The OW atm is bare and empty, of course not your fault at all I totally understand why. The only thing players DO have to do.. is fight, and since the world is bare empty in terms of players as well (again not your fault, as its such an early stage of development trust me I understand). We can only really pick fights with AI. If the AI is broken to a point that its just straight up not fun anymore... There's more very helpful input in terms of focus, and what should be prioritized to be fixed first over other things. 

 

Being an Indie developer myself on a small team, I can tell you. Just because someone doesn't come out and give you straight examples and ways to fix things, doesn't mean they aren't giving support, and input to the developers with their post. I gave reasons why it's not fun, and what I did like about earlier stages. There you go. That's my input and support on the topic of AI.

 

Why don't I go further and give deeper "here's what you could do to fix it".. Simple answer? I don't know. I don't know what they could do, or how they could/should act to make it realistic for that time era. All I know is it's not fun or realistic for the AI to do nothing but turn in circles 24/7 when there's no point, and that constantly ramming and ignoring the collission bells (something they'd ALWAYS take heed too in earlier builds btw, but are now ignoring), is not fun, or realistic either.

 

On a side note, defending with "well players will ram you more so.. get over it" comment isn't helping your case. The topic isn't about players, or player behavior, it's strictly about the AI, and most importantly their constant ramming/suicide mentality.

Edited August 19, 2015 by Lady Athena

[LeeUK]

The way the post is written makes it come across as more of a whine/rage post than constructive criticism, regardless of what you meant it to be, I can see why admin responded the way he did. It's also been pointed out that they already said there would be new/more AI issues with some of the new changes until they can iron them out. Do you really believe they intend for the AI to remain like this? do you think they don't know the problems with it? for someone that has tested a few games over the years and apparently understands development processes, I am surprised by the way you've approached this.

[Lady Athena]

The way the post is written makes it come across as more of a whine/rage post than constructive criticism, regardless of what you meant it to be, I can see why admin responded the way he did. It's also been pointed out that they already said there would be new/more AI issues with some of the new changes until they can iron them out. Do you really believe they intend for the AI to remain like this? do you think they don't know the problems with it? for someone that has tested a few games over the years and apparently understands development processes, I am surprised by the way you've approached this.

 

Really? I'm more surprised honestly that people don't understand. If 1 person writes "yea this current iteration of the AI isn't fun" but nobody else  says a single thing about it, more than likely the devs will write it off as the AI is more or less fun for most people... If 90% of the people voice "this just isn't fun" the devs will get the hint.. its time to change something.

 

My post was to inform my personal feelings on the situation of the AI in the context I writ it. Again, stressing that the points I clearly spoke on was the ramming and Nascar circuit that's going on. That is feedback, which is what the developers need/want, and what the whole point of testing is for. I was hoping, others would point out either other things, or voice their opinions of it being good or bad, or whatever the case may be. Sorta how it works you know? Instead this topic got derailed with needlessly defending the developers from someone who wasn't even bashing them to begin with, about how it's an alpha and testing so "obviously things are going to break" well thank you captain obvious.

 

Ironically, defending the developers isn't doing a lick of good in helping them make the game better either. As none of you have put a single word of "support" as the admin said in any of your posts. In-fact my post is the only one on this thread that gives any feedback.. and it's just that.. Feedback to the developers from a player playing their current build, and my thoughts and feelings on the AI. 

 

I'm a player of Naval Action. I do understand development process, but you know, it's nice to lay back once in awhile. Write a simple post about my feelings while playing the game, and let it speak for itself. Do I always need to write a 5 page documentary on every tiny little thing? No, infact most times I do those time conusming posts I write in the past 9/10 times get de railed as well by people who just plain don't get it, flame, derail and troll the thread until it gets closed, and the devs ignore it anyway.. It's pretty much a lose/lose or how it certainly is feeling right now. 

 

I am sorry if it seemed like a whine thread, but I do feel it only felt that way because people are expecting only 1 of 2 extremes.. either you're whining, or your post is filled with "here's what you can do" feedback. There are other types of feedback. Feelings, view points, etc.

 

I've written enough, but I do believe you get what I'm saying.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Lady Athena

[LeeUK]

I am doing nothing but saying your post is written in a manner that makes it seem to be just rage and whine, rather than constructive criticism.

Just look at the end of your OP, especially these parts.

 

"Either way, I've never had this crap happen in ST, or the first part of the OW. Sure the AI wasn't the smartest but... Right now the AI is just so much more insanely stupid it's sucked all the fun out of it. Not to mention Trader ships just turn in circles non stop as you herpa derp them to death, instead of actually trying to out run you, or get away like they did before.... That's better how?

 

I'm losing interest very fast. Yes I know it's very early Alpha but... really? 2 huge steps backwards with nothing new that's remotely useful, helpful, or interesting, besides maybe the basic minimal trading..."

 

That's better how? that seems like you are accusing the devs of purposely making the AI this way and that this is their plan for the future, that's how it comes across whether you intended it to or not. The AI has taken these steps backs because of other changes they had to make, they are working on fixing these issues, this can happen in development, one change may cause a negative reaction in some places which has to be remedied.

 

The second bolded part just sounds insulting to the time and work of the devs, like you are saying they have not improved or added anything, but have only made things worse. There were a hundred ways to write this that it could have come across as constructive and questioning what is going on, but the way you chose to write it made it seem only negative and rage-like. So in a way I am defending the devs yes, not because I think the AI is good, we all know it isn't including the devs and they're working on it, but because your OP insults their work rather than criticizing and questioning it like you seem to think your OP was doing.

 

I am not attacking you or trying to be a dick, I am just trying to make you see that your OP does not come across well or in the manner that you seemed to think it does, which is why I am not surprised by the response you got.

Edited August 20, 2015 by LeeUK

[tarkin1980]

Not sure in which way arguing about the form or language used in posts is useful input, really. It should be clear to all but the blind that the OP contains input. Especially since the author specifically clarified just that in a second post. One wonders how many months of development testers could save the devs by laying off the brown nosing and just saying what needs to be said. The devs want testing and input, not praise and "omg i love this so much xD pls friend me on skype/whatever". I'm sure the devs and moderators are fully capable of locking what they deem to be non productive threads without the fanboy brigade coming to their rescue.

[Sir Madoc]

I agree with you that this game stopped being fun after sea trials and I think many people felt that way. Some will quote me and say they are enjoying the open world but this is usualy the same small minority that are veterans and very loyal. Unlike them I am not afraid to express myself and feel let down by this games slow development and lack of updates. i think their is a split in the community. Those who loved seatrials and hate the open world, and those very loyal veterans who love the game no matter what the devs decide to do.

 

Hopefully things improve in the future as I really do want this game to succeed.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Sir Madoc

[ParaBellum]

...and feel let down by this games slow development and lack of updates....

 

I have no problems with someone criticizing the Open World gameplay. But slow development and lack of updates?

 

You really must be playing a very different game than I do.

 

New ships, new damage model, trading, new boarding mechanics, soon a player crafting system etc...

[maturin]

 

Unlike them I am not afraid to express myself and feel let down by this games slow development and lack of updates. i think their is a split in the community.

There is a split between trolls and non-trolls then.

[Balsafer]

AI is far better now than it was in Sea Trials what are you smoking?  

[Prater]

I agree with you that this game stopped being fun after sea trials and I think many people felt that way. Some will quote me and say they are enjoying the open world but this is usualy the same small minority that are veterans and very loyal. Unlike them I am not afraid to express myself and feel let down by this games slow development and lack of updates. i think their is a split in the community. Those who loved seatrials and hate the open world, and those very loyal veterans who love the game no matter what the devs decide to do.

Hopefully things improve in the future as I really do want this game to succeed.

Minority? There are only a few people on the forums who DONT want open world. You sir, are in the minority. "Unlike them"? Since when am I afraid to express myself? You think we all think like you? And are afraid to express ourselves and prefer arena games? No way. TDA has over 100 members, and 90%+ would prefer open world over arena.

[tarkin1980]

Minority? There are only a few people on the forums who DONT want open world. You sir, are in the minority. "Unlike them"? Since when am I afraid to express myself? You think we all think like you? And are afraid to express ourselves and prefer arena games? No way. TDA has over 100 members, and 90%+ would prefer open world over arena.

 

Well, to be fair, the people who don't want the open world probably left the forums at about the same time they left the game.

[LeBoiteux]

Always hard to tell who is the minority when talking about a game...

GameLabs has developed an OW on testers' request.

I liked Sea Trials. But I love OW.

However, there may be a skirmish mode someday. Just be patient.

Right now, we test some mechanics of what will be a great game.

[admin]

Not sure in which way arguing about the form or language used in posts is useful input, really. It should be clear to all but the blind that the OP contains input. Especially since the author specifically clarified just that in a second post. One wonders how many months of development testers could save the devs by laying off the brown nosing and just saying what needs to be said. The devs want testing and input, not praise and "omg i love this so much xD pls friend me on skype/whatever". I'm sure the devs and moderators are fully capable of locking what they deem to be non productive threads without the fanboy brigade coming to their rescue.

This is a community forum - development forum. We have certain rules here.

negative feedback is always welcome (check the boarding topic or "your annoyances topic") but we are ignoring everything with language that is not appropriate to a well schooled gentleman of the age. We are too old to interact with immature people. And don't have time to look for feedback under a cover of "shit" and "crap" phrases.

[Balsafer]

I would also like to remind everyone that still complain about ships speeds the Devs have said that they wanted to make this game enjoyable for those that have kids and lives outside of a game, they are trying to make it as realistic as possible but still make it fun for everyone.  Seriously keep that in mind before complaining about ship speeds in the OW