The new Index map, and some much needed QoL suggestions

[Caripillar]

Okay so with the Gas City rework, the old indoor Index map was replaced with a new one, and lets just say... there are some issues with it. I've finally got some screenshots to illustrate the most common issues I have Instead of just going wah wah its bad.

The main issue is the lighting in it is horrendous. If there was one fix that it needed most, it's a lighting adjustment, and I'd be happy with just that. If you look through the screens below, its pretty obvious some of them are really dark to the point of difficulty seeing and then some areas are just blindingly bright, and they're just one corner away. I just would like to not feel like I'm looking at the surface of the sun when I turn a corner, that's all :')

There's an index point hiding in this picture, can you see it? No? neither can I. This is at the large window at either end, near the point turnins. Also where enemies love to spawn.

Spoiler

Now, lets have a look at the side rooms and just how unnecessarily bright they are, to the point of not being able to see enemies behind that giant beam in the middle. This dude isn't behind it directly, but it's hard enough to see him. Again, they love to spawn in here and there are stairs up, so you transition from dark to bright light and near invisible enemies.

Spoiler

This next one is more on possibly the bug side of things but it shows how dramatic the change in brightness is. This is on the stairs leading to the light pillar room, and that chip in red has fallen inside it, and its invisible unless you look directly down at it (might be a bug pls fix so they can't fall in the hole)

Spoiler

Now in straight up bugs, there are a couple things. Index points (again in that cursed side room) are able to fall out of bounds, so that only specters/enemies can pick them up. This is me, starting longingly at a point I'll never be able to reach. (also note how dark it is, and that light pillar is just left and back a little from this same spot)

Spoiler

They also sometimes phase into the floor and are invisible except for a faint glow. I don't have a screenshot of this unfortunately, as its rarer, but its happened a few times.

In addition to all of that, the Ivara specter is just bugged and she'll randomly get animation locked in places like this. She's not mid-jump here, she's just stuck hovering in that one spot. For variety, sometimes she gets stuck in the squat position and I wish she'd poop out the points she's carrying. Sometimes she fixes herself, other times you need to wait for her to die or something, which is crazy annoying if she's got points on her.

Spoiler

On the topic of specter AI, they could definitely use an update.

• They're extremely aggressive at collection points, I've seen them yeet themselves halfway across the map somehow directly onto my points. This includes points I'm already going for.
• In relation to the above, they have a vacuum aura that players do not have. I've had specters take points that I have my foot right on top of because of that vacuum. These two things make it incredibly frustrating especially because:
• They will sometimes ignore points, and do not prioritise banking bonus at all. I've killed enemies next to a specter carrying 4 points in an attempt to get them to grab one more to at least get the bonus from 5, but they decide that it'll give them cooties and just go turn in instead, suddenly ignoring point 1 about their point aggression.
• Less of an issue, but they're also just kind of bad. So many times I go about doing my own thing, and suddenly anyo has 10 points out of nowhere because all 3 of the specters decided to go die repeatedly right next to anyo's turnin. It doesn't make any difference, it's just annoying because those were MY points damnit, let me out of this place earlier.

 

So after all that moaning from me, here are some suggestions, mostly quality of life fixes for the new map and for the specter AI. I'm not going to mention map size or whatever of the new one because people already have, and it really doesn't make a difference time wise for me, I just would like to not be physically in pain when I load into one of the maps.

First of all, please, PLEASE make the indoor map less common. Previously it was more or less a 50% toss up which map you got, indoor or outdoor, and while outdoors was always better, it wasn't a huge deal. At the moment, I've been counting while I've been doing index this week ,and I get the indoor one AT LEAST 60-80% of the time. Maybe I'm just incredibly unlucky, but this has been over multiple different days, different times, multiple runs etc. So maybe its really an anomaly and I'm index georg, but less of this place can only be a good thing.

Next, (and maybe this will be fixed with the new lighting system DE is working on, IDK) the lighting needs to be adjusted. If the light levels in the really dim areas were upped slightly, and then the incredible brightness in the windows/side rooms was just turned down and possibly the innate bloom on that removed, that would make my eyes (and many others) bleed so much less.

For specters, hopefully an AI update to:

• Respect at least a 5 point banking bonus. This lets you at least get some kind of bonus, and also gives you more time to follow them around in the hopes they explode and you can steal their points.
• Tone down the point aggression, or give more of them AI like the Wukong specter, who ignored points completely. So if the player is already on top of the point, they ignore it and move on. This also saves having to adjust that vacuum aura they have going on.

And of course the bug fixes for the out of bounds and Ivara.

Thanks!