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    Scouts and labs should not break tree groups

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Balance Discussion
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    • arma473A Offline
      arma473
      last edited by

      We should make LABs not kill engineers

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
      • veteranasheV Offline
        veteranashe
        last edited by

        I remember awhile back that broken trees were buffed or something so the reclaim value wasn't as big as a hit when broken to specifically combat this. Did this fix not work?

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        • T Offline
          Tagada Balance Team
          last edited by

          I wouldn't be opposed but I need to think about this a little more.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • C Offline
            Chisato
            last edited by

            That's something that only impacts sentons/selkie as those two are only a few of the maps where tree breaking can really be harmful because of how abundant the tree density is and it's really hard to prevent an aeon scout from getting through because of how large the water area is and how open the map is which opens a lot of paths and sometimes it can be very unpredictable from where they will be coming from, the mechanic isn't particularly op for 99% of the maps but the environment of the map makes it so, i don't really think that's an issue otherwise the same logic can be applied for dual gappers who constantly complain about stuff like t3arty/nuke op but most people here tend to ignore those because they use the argument that they're irrelevant for 99% of the other maps.

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            • T Offline
              Tagada Balance Team
              last edited by

              Yeah, but this wouldn't really change anything for all the other maps (the LABs giving free intel to the enemy by breaking tree groups is a bug, not a feature. I wouldn't mind seeing it gone) while making it arguably better for Setons. That's not the case with nerfing Arties because of DG.

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              • C Offline
                Chisato
                last edited by Chisato

                True, i gave random example though and there may be another more specific examples but yea ure right.

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                • FtXCommandoF Offline
                  FtXCommando
                  last edited by

                  By that logic wouldn't reclaim changing because of enemy bombs without you scouting the result of the bomb hitting the reclaim also be a bug?

                  JipJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • ZeldafanboyZ Offline
                    Zeldafanboy
                    last edited by

                    Honestly I would also like this change so that I don’t break my own tree groups and therefore don’t have to path scouts and labs around unbroken forests

                    put the xbox units in the game pls u_u

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 3
                    • JipJ Offline
                      Jip @FtXCommando
                      last edited by

                      @ftxcommando said in Scouts and labs should not break tree groups:

                      By that logic wouldn't reclaim changing because of enemy bombs without you scouting the result of the bomb hitting the reclaim also be a bug?

                      Technically - yes 🙂 .

                      But that is a bug that is very difficult, if not impossible, to fix with the engine limitations.

                      A work of art is never finished, merely abandoned

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                      • BlackYpsB Offline
                        BlackYps
                        last edited by

                        Is seeing a lab through the fog of war that big of a deal? From the gifs I would have to actively look at that area to be able to notice the visual differences. That means I don't do anything else in that time, which is a pretty high cost. It looks like the main visual difference comes from different LOD values, can't we align them, so the tree group looks basically the same when it got broken?

                        Regarding the breaking of tree groups on purpose: People complain about build orders being too OP all the time. We have a tool here to disrupt the enemy's build order, but this is now unwanted too? I would like to hear some more explanation why you want to get rid of this mechanic. Do you take issue with the fact that the unit doesn't need to shoot to do damage? I think it's a creative use of the game's mechanics to counter a greedy build order and it's one of the very few options when your own build order is inferior.

                        If we still want to lessen the impact of broken tree groups we could play with the mass adjustment for broken groups. That has already been done once and that way we don't have to introduce additional complexity, where some units arbitrarily break trees while others don't. Plus we can keep the nice visuals of a lab crushing trees while running through a forest.

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                        • S Offline
                          SiwaonaDaphnewen
                          last edited by

                          The way FAF uses tree groups is just a walkaround from how ugly the patrol or manual reclaim mechanics work:
                          -For patrol reclaim: engineer logic is fcked and for some reason they waste of lot of time to pack/unpack their claw between reclaiming multiple things.
                          -For manual reclaim: 1) You wouldn't click every tree manually which allows engineers to reclaim without claw unpack animation 2) FAF rejected all sorts of area reclaim and consideres it game-breaking mechanic despite such things exist in other RTS. (nobody misses stone clicking there, but i guess in FAF clicking stones is so much funnier than remaining SCFA gameplay)

                          Instead FAF abuses attack move from factory - and that is actually a bug abuse which AFAIK didn't exist in GPG.

                          May be fix factory attack move and introduce proper area reclaim so people wouldn't waste half of their life clicking every stone on the map?

                          Some time ago it was more efficient to just break tree groups because it gave more mass, these days it better not to break trees because it is soooooooo much faster and gives more E. You have one number of trees, why do they give different amount of resources if they groupped of separated? All tree groups should automaticly break once game starts.

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                          • JipJ Offline
                            Jip
                            last edited by Jip

                            May be fix factory attack move and introduce proper area reclaim so people wouldn't waste half of their life clicking every stone on the map?

                            As numerous people have stated in this other topic that is about area reclaim - the better players among us rarely use manual reclaim with the exception during the first few minutes of the game because there's literally nothing else to do.

                            At all other moments of the game it is better to use patrol or the regular attack move, as you need your apm to do your decision making on the battlefield.

                            Anyhow - I'm asking moderators to delete future posts that reference the area reclaim discussion in this topic. This topic is not about that, it is about scouts being visible through the fog and scouts being able to be used to seriously impact your opponents economy without firing a single shot.

                            You have one number of trees, why do they give different amount of resources if they groupped of separated? All tree groups should automaticly break once game starts.

                            See the original post, in particular:

                            The tree groups are a product to safe on performance. They are simply put more efficient to render

                            We'd destroy your fps if we'd break them all at the start 😉 .

                            A work of art is never finished, merely abandoned

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                            • JipJ Jip referenced this topic on
                            • FemtoZettaF Offline
                              FemtoZetta
                              last edited by

                              Is it possible to make this into a toggle for scouts (or maybe all T1?), so that they can intentionally break trees at reduced speed and otherwise they don't break them?
                              Makes it into an option to intentionally break trees, but makes them not break your own and because they get slowed down while doing it they become a bit less effective at it and can be more easily chased down.

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                              • JipJ Offline
                                Jip
                                last edited by

                                That would be possible - yes. But it feels like an interaction that doesn't fit this game. Toggling things on individual units is an apm / attention sink.

                                A work of art is never finished, merely abandoned

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                                • veteranasheV Offline
                                  veteranashe
                                  last edited by

                                  I like the toggle with default to not break trees.

                                  Scouts are supposed to be stealthy and not leave tracks

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                                  • TheWeakieT Offline
                                    TheWeakie Balance Team
                                    last edited by

                                    Slowed down by hitting the trees kappa

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                    • SpikeyNoobS Offline
                                      SpikeyNoob Global Moderator
                                      last edited by

                                      Imo a toggle would be too niche to be worth adding. I agree something should be done about being able to see trees through FoW but that should be in the form of some fix (not showing trees breaking through FoW) rather than a overly complex workaround that does not actually remove the issue.
                                      Also a toggle makes no sense from a perspective of realism (or consistency). Ik its just a game and there is plenty of unrealistic features, but it makes no logical sense for a mech marine to be able to with the push of the button go straight through trees. I think making labs/scouts not interact with trees and leaving tree interactions the same are both valid ideas, however i think both at once would be a mistake.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                      • CheeseBerryC Offline
                                        CheeseBerry
                                        last edited by

                                        How do we feel about T1 engies also not breaking tree groups?

                                        Feels to me like a noob trap you "just gotta know about" to avoid random e-stalls, that also doesn't really add anything to the game at higher levels.

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                                        • BlackheartB Offline
                                          Blackheart
                                          last edited by

                                          Tree breaking should just be fully removed from the game.

                                          Ban Anime

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 8
                                          • SkratS Offline
                                            Skrat
                                            last edited by

                                            I don't think that's needed. Using these units specifically to destroy groups of trees is relevant only on 1 map. In other cases, take into account that labs and scouts in factions are very different (aeon and seraphim for example). Player 1 (aeon) builds labs and does not break the forest on his half of the map. Player 2 (seraphim) builds tanks and breaks the forest on his side.

                                            Sorry for my English. I use translator

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