Excavation Feedback Megathread

[mrhat.lf]

Is it possible to make the diagonal elevators in the caves more of a utility for transporting Power Cells? Like making them move a bit slower or have it start a bit slow then ramp up in speed, then slow down when it reaches the top.

[sirlogan155]

My clan and I have been running this event a lot, and for some reason every time we get around 8k points the next excavator won't drop. We waited up to 20 min for it to spawn, but it just won't. Please fix DE

[J-Reyno]

Chiming in here, I'm going to echo a suggestion I've seen another make somewhere (I think in this thread, not sure).

 

I think it would be great to have the extractors require the enemy to get close and activate a console rather than it having health that can be all too easily destroyed at later levels.

 

Right now, there are a small group of frames of which one or two are practically required because not every frame is equipped for defending.  If I go it alone there are only so many frames (about three or four, depending on how long a run I'm planning) that can properly handle this mechanic.  If the extractor could only be destroyed via a console activation then it would require that you keep enemies away OR kill them before they can activate.  Every frame is equipped to do one, the other, or both well enough. 

 

The reason I would like to remove the health-defense restriction is because, as a mode that is IMO far superior to the others (it's super fun) it kind of sucks that I feel like I'm gimping myself to bring certain frames who can't properly defend the extractors.

 

Change this and you have an incredibly well-balanced mode that lacks tedium and is friendly to all preferences!

Edited August 31, 2014 by LazarusDark

[mrhat.lf]

Some of the tiles in the Corpus Ice tileset seem to be underplayed. The ones that don't seem to spawn often is the crashed area, where the Scanner is located in a room with a Vault door for an entrance. The other tile that seems to not spawn a lot is the cliff side dead-end where only 1 Excavator spawns.

[GhostSwordsman]

Some of the tiles in the Corpus Ice tileset seem to be underplayed. The ones that don't seem to spawn often is the crashed area, where the Scanner is located in a room with a Vault door for an entrance. The other tile that seems to not spawn a lot is the cliff side dead-end where only 1 Excavator spawns.

Those aren't the only tiles that rarely spawn, quite a few of the outdoor tiles fail to spawn frequently (save for the tile the scanner typically spawns in) and I rarely see the cave tile with the large pool of water in it spawning as well(there are two, one with an elevator that is small and one that is really large. I'm talking about the large one). In fact, as beautiful as this new tileset is, it is extremely repetitive. One run, my squad and I basically had the same 3 or 4 tiles laid out in the same order and were placed right next to each other, and that was where all the extractors were spawning. I don't feel that I've truly seen this new tile set since about every 5 games I come across a tile I've either never seen before or have only seen once or twice.

Edited August 31, 2014 by GhostSwordsman

[Surfacecypre]

Wonderful update. I really liked the new corpus music and gamemode (I'd say its my new favourite). Just one suggestion though:

 

1. Maybe once the excavators have enough power to complete the excavation, the extra power (the extra power that just disappears when a cell is added when the excavator is close to 100% power perhaps?) from the power cells could go towards helping keep the shields charged or even temporarily "superboosting" the excavators' shields i.e. buffing the excavator's shields to beyond 500 (it doesn't have to be a huge amount per unit of power) and having it slowly drain down to its base level even when it isn't taking damage (seeing as the power cells already help the excavators recover their shields anyway). This would keep them from being so squishy when the high leveled enemies start coming out and actually give us something to do with those spare power cells we have laying about cluttering up the place.

 

2. You could also have the excavators start draining its own power supply in a last ditch attempt to protect themselves when they reach a critical condition (Like the quick thinking mod) since all that power is going to be lost when it gets destroyed anyway.

[Somedude1000]

After a mediocre run, with about 7.2k points, I can safely say the biggest problem is still the distance between spawns of extractors, perhaps this could be rectified by having extractors spawn periodically at the next closest destination; eg

 

- extractor one spawns nearest to the scanner, 

- extractor two spawns at the nearest point after extractor 1

- extractor 3 spawns at the nearest point after extractor 2, but does not reverse to extractor 1, even if 1 is nearer than 3. 

- once all points are cleared, the cycle repeats from 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1 and so on

 

 

Second to that, the only other issue I've had is spawning inconsistency, where I've been approached by enemies at level 69-81 simultaneously at one point, or no enemies spawning especially near scanners. This is usually an issue on the Europa tile, where enemies don't appear to have set spawn points and seem to spawn in areas near where players are. The sheer number of spawns, as well, causes massive load on even the best connections, athough, if the whole team dies and revives within a small timeframe, the load seems to reduce significantly

 

Note; Occasionally, when lagging, extractors do not deploy even when standing at the areas they are marked at. It would also be handy to have some mini waypoints for the cores that have dropped or something, although not until the waypoints on the minimap are made samaller, currently they are still too large to be of much use...

Edited August 31, 2014 by Somedude1000

[TurquoiseDiamonds]

I was stuck under the lift in the event mission.

[CannonFodder_]

Lotus, why the hell do you insist on covering up the extractor UI elements? I really need to see which one needs energy, and which one is about to die so I can prioritize defense efforts.

[AlienOvermind]

Played couple of Excavation mission on Europe right now and Carrier's spawnrates were abysmally low. Two day ago Carriers were literally everywhere, but today we needed to search the whole map (pretty big one btw) for every cell. And that was really slow and tiresome.

[Llyssa]

Chiming in here, I'm going to echo a suggestion I've seen another make somewhere (I think in this thread, not sure).

 

I think it would be great to have the extractors require the enemy to get close and activate a console rather than it having health that can be all too easily destroyed at later levels.

 

Right now, there are a small group of frames of which one or two are practically required because not every frame is equipped for defending.  If I go it alone there are only so many frames (about three or four, depending on how long a run I'm planning) that can properly handle this mechanic.  If the extractor could only be destroyed via a console activation then it would require that you keep enemies away OR kill them before they can activate.  Every frame is equipped to do one, the other, or both well enough. 

 

The reason I would like to remove the health-defense restriction is because, as a mode that is IMO far superior to the others (it's super fun) it kind of sucks that I feel like I'm gimping myself to bring certain frames who can't properly defend the extractors.

 

Change this and you have an incredibly well-balanced mode that lacks tedium and is friendly to all preferences!

Too easy. Hydroid puddle 4evah==win.

[(PSN)IIIDevoidIII]

Merged a couple more threads.

[LGear]

We need to be able to *drop* power cores now. It's pointless to carry a whole stack all the way back one at a time. It takes forever, and respawns mean it's pointlessly dangerous.

 

If we could drop them, it would be easier to relay them towards where they need to go, without having to cross the entire level every time we find one.

 

You can drop them by pressing your switch weapon key.

 

*****

 

As I've already said elsewhere, Excavation is right now my favorite game mode above Rescue, due to how well designed its mechanics are when it comes to the actual gameplay: it's not as chance-based nor time-based like Survival, not as static as Defense or Mobile Defense, more dynamic than Hive Sabotage and Hijack, and it's got more enemy spawns than all the other missions. It's a rather exciting game type whether playing solo or with a group, and best of all you can get as many rewards as you want based on how fast you can complete the mission, instead of having to wait 5 minutes or 5 waves to do so.

 

That said, since this is a feedback thread there's a couple of points that could be improved upon:

 

1) The maps are far too large. Update 14.5.0.1 was supposed to fix that, but many of the random map layouts still have 4-5 map tiles inbetween the scanner and the excavators spawns, which means running for minutes just to get anywhere without action. It makes the game mode exhausting if you're going to be staying long. We should be spending more time defending excavators, not running around.  

 

2) It's too easy to accidentally trip multiple Excavators at once if they're grouped together due to how unnecessarily large their activation circles are. They can stand to be cut down at least in half so that it'd be easier to isolate the Excavators we want to activate.

 

3) Excavators successfully finishing an extraction should be given a different animation or so, since it can be unnerving at times to hear or see an Excavator explode in the same fashion as them getting destroyed, when in fact they're successful.

 

4) Excavators should be allowed to regenerate health and shields. Currently they don't regenerate health by themselves, and they lose shield regeneration if they're depleted, which makes defending them more difficult than they should be, restricting the kind of Warframes most effective to defend them. Excavators should have delayed regeneration ability similar to all other defense-type objectives like cryopods, thus still rewarding good defense while not making the Excavators as fragile as tissue paper.

 

Apart from these gripes, this is one of the most exciting game modes I've had the pleasure of playing in a while, and kudos to DE for a job well done.

Edited August 31, 2014 by LGear

[-Echelon-]

The map is great but we need to walk back and forth in a very long distance, which is irritating . The distance is too huge ti begin with .

[chaotea]

Got a glitch on the corpus event level. When we went to extract, we found that we needed to get through a dead end room in order to get out. We looked on all the other routes but found it want just a map glitch. Had to abandon.

 

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=308332388

[Shaamaan]

First off I'd like to say I really really LIKE the new mode. It's awesome. A really nice combination of survival and endless defence with some extra twists. On this point, you've got both thumbs up!

 

That said, the whole thing could be a bit refined. Nothing major, I think, but some tweaking could be good. For one, I really disliked the location on Earth. It's mapping is already somewhat wonky and navigating the ruins is difficult without the need to guard extractors which are all over the place. ;) Oh, and when they are so close together, it's too easy to activate multiple excavators (extractors, excavators... whatever ;P ) at once. Perhaps require a manual activation, like with supply drops in Survival?

 

Secondly, the whole thing about energy... can we just cut the BS and have the extractors start out with 20% or so energy, and you need 100% for the process to complete without it counting down or something?

 

The UI also becomes quite cluttered. The map is especially troublesome to understand, and navigation sometimes fails me and I end up running to the scanner rather than the next extractor.

 

All of these seem like cosmetic changes to what is otherwise, as stated before, an excellent game mode! :)

Edited August 31, 2014 by Shaamaan

[Grimlar]

Kind of like the excavation missions, although there are a few problems as others have pointed out. Doesnt seem much point in duplicating what others have said better.

 

Did like the new tileset though, will be good to see it used in other mission types. Although I must admit, when I played the first mission in it, I was kind of wondering when I was going to walk round a corner and have a yeti lob a lump of ice at me... or perhaps polar kubrows...laired in little igloo's. :)

[(NSW)LilVanu]

So here we are.

I'm going to start a large text wall so brace yourselves. A TL;DR will be provided below.

It is currently 3:00am and later here right now. So don't be surprised if you encounter parts that don't make sense. I plan to keep this as formal as possible and at the same time. I'm not sugar coating anything like I have a habit of doing.

 

So. Good things about the update:

The new tile set looks absolutely gorgeous. The level designers have done a stellar job.

The ability to colour your Kubrow and release them have been much needed.

The Ninja update adding an additional trade slot. Once again much needed.

I have no issues with a new resource... that is until I get to the point

 

 

When I first started playing the update. 14.5 I had a good time with excavation missions. I played it on Earth.

Enemies scaled quickly and it was very challenging. Then I played it on Europa; the enemies didn't scale so well but it still got challenging if you went far enough.

 

Wasn't a fan of the distance traveled but regardless I had fun. The team on europa had assigned me the role of placing Energy into the scanner.

I liked this. I very much enjoyed it. I can see that there might be problems with the feature as it's almost like being a door hero except you kinda had to do it; but it made me feel like I had a responsibility to help keep the scanner going whilst the others guys had to focus on the extractors.

 

The ability to pick up more than 1 Power Cell felt more fun; allowed more freedom... but then the nerf happened.

Call me crazy but after the patch rolled out the whole thing just felt tedious; repetitive and dull. There was no fun; no enjoyment. I'm now just repeatedly running back and forth between the excavators and 1 power cell that thought it was great to drop far away because the AI got stuck on a ledge somewhere. (I'm not saying have unlimited power cell. I just want to be able to pick up at least 2-4.)

 

I played solo on Europa today. I quit after this first round. It's absolutely ludicrous; tedious and boring. Hardly any enemies spawn leaving you with little power. You can only pick up 1 Cell at a time. Meaning you better have bloody good CC or you're Ruk'd. I can't imagine what it's like to play it with a really slow warframe. I'm sticking to Volt. There is no way in hell I'm putting my fingers through the constant punishment. I've already got pretty damaged fingers as is. I don't want to add anymore pain on top of what I already have.

 

If you wanted a game mode where you just want fast frames; and if you wanted a game mode to be tedious. Mission accomplished.

 

In the end. I just can't look at excavation with the enthusiasm I once had. I tried so hard to make it fun. Didn't really work out. I got so far into it when I tried after the patch but in the end; it didn't even matter because now I just never want to play another excavation mission again. Too bad I'll have to; because the Glaxion now requires it. On top of other weapons that will come out.

 

 

TL;DR Before the hotfix I liked the excavation missions. Now I just think they're tedious. I like a lot about this update. Oberon was cool. The ice tile set is cool. (pardon the pun) but now the mission type is just dull and not something I ever want to play again. It sucks for solo play; it sucks for slow frames and it sucks for me.

[FrackingBiscuit]

I have played this mission several times now, and I really love it. however, I don't like that you can only dig for cryotic, which is used for only 3 weapons so far. maybe in the future, after the planetary survivals are replaced, there could be an option to chose the resource you are digging for? obvioulsy the more rare resources (plastids, rubedio, alloy plate, etc) would come in smaler amounts then say, ferite, and the ultra rare resources (gallium, neurodes, etc) would not be an option.

 

if nothing else, it would be extremely good way for new players to expand their arsenal early, something that is currently very, very difficult, and this drives away many new players.

 

just a suggestion that I think would be cool.

 

Agree on all counts.  I believe at the very least that Oxium and Plastids should be available from Excavation missions.  Just as examples, Earth Excavation missions could yield Oxium, Phobos Excavation missions yield Plastids.  Oxium is an obvious resource to add to this type since there its only available through very limited avenues, and Plastids are just as painful to farm and have been a problem for much longer.

 

Alternatively I think there's a lot of different ways to add bulk resources to Excavation missions.  Aside from whatever resource is being mined, even if every Excavation mission remains Cryotic, possible rewards for completed excavators could be 300-500 bundles of a given resource.  Standard Excavation missions could also have each extractor dig up a random resource rather than making each one dig up Cryotic or whatever they decide to go with.

 

Hopefully Excavation is used as a means to diversify farming in general; right now the best way to farm anything is long Survivals with Nakros Desecrate spam, with a few exceptions.  Adding a game mode where the overarching rewards is raw materials would go a long way to making the game more diverse.

[BayushiKoji]

The mode is fast and exciting. Just get one excavator finished and then you can choose whether to keep excavating, extract, or just farm enemies. Not liking all the running necessary to get from one excavator to another. The maps just feel way too big sometimes.

 

I found the ice planet map to be confusing but then I've only run it once so maybe it just needs getting used to. One big problem I had was when I fell into the water while underground. Instead of respawning me back on solid ground, I kept being placed directly above where I fell, essentially trapping me there for a while.

[DecapitatingJim]

I love that there's no pressure during the game mode. If the extractor dies it's no big deal, you can just bring in more, or leave.

 

I like not having that paranoia at the back of my mind that I need to be watching the life/oxygen 24/7 because if I forget about it or mess up game over, and the last 30 mins of my life are wasted. It's a really fun game mode that doesn't have the insta fails the other ones do. 

[SPECTR_Eternal]

One problem - the principle of operation of the scanner:
 

 

It can handle up to three positions of artifacts, ok, no comments. But why is it always either scatter them in different corners of the map, or much less, ESTABLISHES BEACONS ARE SO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER that ran for ONE, you activate ALL THREE.

 

Give as an ability to manually activate Extractors, like Life Support Capsules on Survival.

 

[basilioss]

I recently played a game and no power cells spawned. I don't know why.

[Noabettiet]

Its big, its fun, its confusing. Mostly fun.

I just wish we could still pick multiple power cores & the picking animation was improved to match the fast pasted gameplay. 

[SFkenny]

The Ice Planet tileset is massive. It really has a Phendrana Drifts to it, which is good. The new dynamic Corpus score is also fantastic.

 

The burrow locations can get very spread out though, taking minutes at a time just to get from the scanner to the dig site. Protecting more than one at once is a Herculean task and logistically challenging for all but the most well coordinated teams. Randoms aren't going to be able to protect all of the drills.

 

I do like what you're doing with this mode though. It's a great mash-up of mobile defense and interception, and on the whole is quite fun to play.