Have recently been thinking on this, right now introducing a friend to FAF also, I have been exclusive ladder player so far, and quit for a few years up until november 2020... some thoughts:

• Why did my eco suddenly crap out?!
  • Starcraft 1 Says "Not enough minerals." and displayed "Not enough minerals... mine more minerals."
    FAF should say (yes audio) "Power Stall" and display text "power down shields, radars and stop aircraft production"
  • The post-game score screen should flag power stall and mass stall events.
• Game introduction is rough, because the rating system completely ignores friendly games and games vs. AI.
  • Give AI players a fixed rating for teamgames.
  • Give checkbox for AI players to appear in ladder for low rated players
  • Allow practice games, uneven games etc should be rated at max 0 - and always as if a victory for the negative rated players (you are bound to have learned something).
• Team games... I still struggle today. Long ago, when I made my account, I got a 1200 rating for free. I am affraid to join team games, I just play ladder 1v1 - soon hopefully ladder 2v2.

Language barriers basically prevent teamwork, or restrict it to a few pings, while there is an easy solution available. Having a chat wheel or list with standard messages translated into all needed languages.

1. We would need to first list the required messages.
2. Get people fluent in the language to make a good translation
3. Mod it into a menu of sorts. In my opinion the menu should be prominent, immediately visible to new players (like 0 games played new).

This topic focuses primarily on the required messages, I would like to structure the discussion into two areas:

• #S Specifications
• #msg Messages

Please separate your post into these two parts, and use it as a title for your post or use the hashtag. If you comment on only one include only that title.

Gathered messages from all responses up to october 20th

• This is too vulnerable, get AA/TMD/SMD (x3)
• Assist me with this (x2)
• Attack here now (x2)
• Fall back, stop (x2)
• Reclaim here (x2)
• You idiot, unwise (x2)
• Attention (x1)
• Defend (water) (x1)
• Don't give up, we can do this (x1)
• Experimental under construction (friendly/hostile) (x1)
• Focus (anti air) (x1)
• Follow my instructions (x1)
• Give me an engineer (x1)
• Give up? Any way we can still win? (x1)
• Great idea (x1)
• I am going to do [strategy] (x1)
• I need AA cover (here) (x1)
• Low HP ACU (friendly warning/hostile warning) (x1)
• No, negative (x1)
• Please take the lead (x1)
• Point defense (friendly instruction/hostile warning) (x1)
• Prepare to attack soon (x1)
• SML here (friendly instruction/hostile warning) (x1)
• TML here (friendly instruction/hostile warning) (x1)
• What should I do with this (x1)
• Yes affirmative (x1)
• You are blocking me here (x1)

Why is everyone going nuts on the hidden global rating? For most of its existence Starcraft 2 has hidden it.

Sure, they show it now, but hiding it can only be considered sensible if they did it.

The mercy basically replaces the bomber of Aeon, it fits quite nicely, a mercy deals twice the damage of a normal T2 bomber in one run and is incapable of making a second or third. This fits Aeon theme of doing everything better.

Sadly however, because they are such good ACU snipers they are nerfed into the ground and still good because they can still snipe ACU. Lets remove the snipe and make it a fun bombing unit to snipe eco etc like normal T2 bombers except kamikaze.

Mercy:

• Hitpoints: 200 10
• Shield: 480 (because Aeon, manage your power grid)
• Fuel use time: 5 minutes, can refuel
• Damage: 2300 2400
  - Damage vs ACU: 600

It seems the balance team and leadership also suffers under community toxicity. I would suggest a strict code of conduct, that also protects volunteers from 'free speech' to some degree.

To the balance team:
I would like to repeat that your work made me come back lurking to the forums and if I do find myself playing FAF again it is entirely thanks to your work.

If those decals don't matter for gameplay, is it possible for one player to play without the decals while the other does?

In that case, make a normal and high res version of each map where the latter has no or small size decals.

Automatcher only ever downloads normal versions. With a button you can download all high res maps at once.

I thought you said merge them into support factories, would that not be a solution?

Allow Aeon and Seraphim engineers to "Garrison" into T2 and T3 (support) factories, just like with air transports. For example 16 T1 engineers into T2 factory and 32 T1 into T3 factory. (and offcourse T2 and T3 engineers to ratio)

All "Garrisoned" buildpower is made available to the Factory.

@BlackYps said in Why would you have left FAF?:

Well do you want it? Being toxic is already forbidden behaviour, but you need to actually report the people or nothing will happen.

I think nice people will generally feel it is inappropriate to report people for "not being nice".

If this actually needs to be reported then say so:

• Put a thin banner above the custom games list stating for example:
• "Please report players for verbal harassment and toxic behavior to help us keep the community a friendly place for everyone."

Absolutely, not just for engineers.

If you could assist to a military unit too then you sort of have a mobile army waypoint where a factory can just reinforce an army wherever it is

@archsimkat Being able to separately (multi-) queue for 5x5, 10x10 and 20x20 random maps would be great... (long term) - I like them all but for which ones I queue would depend on my time. 5x5 queue would be great for during work-breaks

The biggest problem with ladder for me was extremely variable game length, which doesn't work with my busy life.

@xiaomao TML has to have worst game flow of any element in the game. When T3 arty begins firing you hear it, aside from noticing the investment. A small building, no warning, silent missiles.

Introducing missiles at T1 is one way to create such a flow without changing the TML itself. If TML is changed then fiddling BP is not the point I think, introducing a global cruise missile noise would do more.

T1 MML then?

• Same range as current T2 MML
• Reminds players of tactical missiles as threat, TML not so easily forgotten
• DPS nerfed appropriately for T1 by reducing rate of fire, rendering it inefficiënt against TMD.

It seems the balance team and leadership also suffers under community toxicity. I would suggest a strict code of conduct, that also protects volunteers from 'free speech' to some degree.

To the balance team:
I would like to repeat that your work made me come back lurking to the forums and if I do find myself playing FAF again it is entirely thanks to your work.

@brutus5000 Thank you.

@Brutus5000 I left because I felt uncomfortable about this war. You have rightfully dismissed my considerations often enough, this one I even kept to myself while it was actual. Why do you care so much about this?

@valki said in Why would you have left FAF?:

Later this seemed resolved, but I didn't return over community toxicity.

I feel obliged to finish this discussion, but I feel community toxicity remains a good reason not to return.

@blackjaguar I just left without bringing this up, now it comes up and I clarified it was my problem.

@jip said in Why would you have left FAF?:

@valki said in Why would you have left FAF?:

I left FAF over a wishy-washy or at least vague response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Particularly I did not want to "provide comfort to the enemy" by playing a game with them.

Out of curiosity, why would you expect a response or a stand from a community such as FAForever?

Not in principle. I would expect them to make the best determination for their self-interest.
I personally could not play the game in the situation that arose which is my problem; if the FAF team determines that it was also their problem then they should consider what to do in a similar situation in the future.

I left FAF over a wishy-washy or at least vague response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Particularly I did not want to "provide comfort to the enemy" by playing a game with them.

Later this seemed resolved, but I didn't return over community toxicity.

I am back lurking on forums because of the new balance patch, I like changes in general and the patch does tempt me to return. Though forums do suggest I wait on some polishing if I really want to.

Move TML to T1, nerf cost & damage stats accordingly but leave range the same.
A fully loaded T1 TML should be able to destroy a T2 mex.

T1 TML will still threaten T2 mexes. By building multiple T1 TML you can still destroy a T2 mex in one volley.

Most importantly, with TML being a threat at T1 there is an awareness of TML and forgetting TMD isn't as much of a thing anymore.
When 1 T1 TML is working on a T2 mex, there is some opportunity to notice it and to spam up TMD or emergency repair.