Grineer Traps: Civil And Reasoned Feedback (Please)

[DPV111]

Revised opinion below.

Edited April 1, 2014 by DPV111

[Guest]

Personally, I think they're almost OK as they are now. In fact, while I was hunting them for rares before the fix, I had the feeling their range was too short. I disagree with reducing their area of action, restricting the angle, nor giving them a "battery life". 

 

However, I do concur that they are not easier to see than the old lights: they're even smaller, so the best way to tell if one is near is by sound, which during a gunfight is not feasible. I would personally give them some kind of pulsing distorsion indicating their area of action, something that is not obvious but not hard to see either, like Vor's golden bubble but more transparent and pulsating once a second or so... maybe something like the pulsing "net" the shield leaders have.

 

I also agree their targeting has to be fixed to properly recognize their foes.

[DPV111]

like Vor's golden bubble but more transparent and pulsating once a second or so... 

Vor has a golden bubble? I always see him activate a black bubble shield between phases.

[HellEnforcer]

 1. The traps make a really loud noise and is easy to pinpoint. Sure, it is not constant, but about every 5 seconds or so, they do it. They also have some effects surrounding them, although you often times do not get to see it before getting shocked.

 2. The damage they do is minimal. Even if you did not manage to spot it before getting hit, if you shoot it in less than a second as you said, the damage is usually far below the 40. Truth be told, I did not test the high lvl maps, I was running a few mid lvl ones, but I would assume their damage would not be too different if any at all.

 3. As far as I could notice, they now only hit you if they have a clear line of sight. And if they can see you, you can see them.

 4. As you said, the broken lights would force you to look up. While I would get shocked much more often by the lights that were actually on the walls, the traps are almost always at 'head-level'. They are in odd locations, but always where you can see them without looking up or down. I have still to determine if those positions are actually not random and they are predefined like the cameras and we are just still not used to them.

 

 Right now they are limited by LoS, which is kind of a limitation on its field of attack. The range is fairly decent to me to be honest. I have no problems with it.

 

 I also see no point of making them having any sort of ammunition. You either get hit for a second and you are already far away, dead by enemy fire or you destroyed it. If none of that happens... what are you doing while that thing is shocking you?

 

 I have not yet encountered them during an invasion, and that does sound as a bug, and if not, it should be. I really see no reason for their traps to hit you when you are helping them. 

Edited March 20, 2014 by HellEnforcer

[DPV111]

Right now they are limited by LoS, which is kind of a limitation on its field of attack. The range is fairly decent to me to be honest. I have no problems with it.

LOS for an AI is not the same as LOS for a player. That is why I am getting zapped by Traps wedged begind Containers and from a lower level almost vertically through a railing while my bullets are hitting the railing as I try to kill it. I supose refining their placement will improve things.

As for ammo, if you are getting zapped by multiple while downed by an ancient or Shield Lancer or Bombard or... you get the point

As for the rest, I do not find them more dangerous than the broken lights (unless you are solo and getting zapped by like 7 at once). I find them far more annoying though.

Edited March 20, 2014 by DPV111

[HellEnforcer]

LOS for an AI is not the same as LOS for a player. That is why I am getting zapped by Traps wedged begind Containers and from a lower level almost vertically through a railing while my bullets are hitting teh railing as I try to kill it. I supose refining their placement will improve things.

 

As for the rest, I do not find them more dangerous than the broken lights (unless you are solo and getting zapped by like 7 at once). I find them far more annoying though.

 

 Ah, then that's a different problem that should be addressed. Enemy bullets and missiles, as well as yours will hit the container, but the lightning will not? In that case the trap should either no attack or have its attack blocked by the container. I have not found this personally, but in this case I do agree there is a problem. LoS should be the same though. I have gotten hit by one of those right behind a stair... It hit me between the steps. It was a hilarious surprise. I could shoot it right away once I found the direction of the lightning.

 

 As for the annoying part. Well, that's more of a personal opinion. I have fun hunting for those things and trying to scan them without getting zapped.

 

 Also:

 

Vor has a golden bubble? I always see him activate a black bubble shield between phases.

 

 I see it black as well. He might be using different settings. I have mine on minimum most of the time, so that could be the difference for me.

[Guest]

Vor has a golden bubble? I always see him activate a black bubble shield between phases.

 

 I see it black as well. He might be using different settings. I have mine on minimum most of the time, so that could be the difference for me.

 

Yes, Vor's bubble is affected heavily by the Local Reflections graphics setting. I have it off too, since it's one of the worst offenders in FPS drops... but believe me, it is golden when you turn that on.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Guest

[DPV111]

Yes, Vor's bubble is affected heavily by the Local Reflections graphics setting. I have it off too, since it's one of the worst offenders in FPS drops... but believe me, it is golden when you turn that on.

I see, thanks. I have LR off not just for the FPS but because it makes some matte textures stuff reflective/shiny for no good reason. If it stuck to water and polised surfaces/glass I would have it on.

Pesonally I find Nvidia particles and Particle System Quality to cause bigger framrate drops whem they are relevant.

[DPV111]

After some time, I have revised my opinion on the traps.

 

Visibility is no longer an issue to me. They are much easier to notice through the audio and visual cues.

I am also fine with the trap mechanics and no longer feel the way they work needs to be changed.

 

No, now I only have 3 related complaints regarding the traps: Damage, Placement and Alignment.

 

Alignemnt: Currently traps will spawn on any Grineer tileset, whether Grineer-controlled or not, and will spawn on Corpus tilesets during invasions. Traps will only ever attack Tenno and will do so whether you are with the Grineer or against them.

 

Suggestion: Traps should either be programmed with friend or foe AI or should not spawn on any mission that is not vs Grineer on a Grineer tileset.

 

(NOTE: Grineer disruptor fields on doors also spawn on Corpus-controlled Grineer tilesets but affect both Corpus and Infested.)

 

Placement: Currently traps spawn on any vertical surface including on or between/behind lockers and directly on doors (which looks completely ridiculous when the doors open and there is a stap floating in mid-air) and often spawn very close together. Sometimes overlapping. Also, they have a tendancy to spawn next to explosive barrels which makes the trap damage when destroyed really redundant.

 

Suggestion: Traps should only spawn on actual walls and should only spawn in spots where they have a clearance of at least a half metre of any objects to the sides and front. Traps should also spawn at a distance from each other greater than their maximum range so that it is impossible to be attacked by more than one simultaneously.

 

Damage: Currently traps are not vulnerable to AoE damage of any kind. This means that anything from blowing up that Explosive Barrel sitting right next to the trap to firing a rocket directly at a trap will have no effect at all.

 

Suggestion: Make traps vulnerable to AoE damage.

Edited April 1, 2014 by DPV111