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Gemini's Kickback

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Mar 25, 2004 Arolte link
I'm talkin' about the kickback physics that was recently introduced into Vendetta. If it's possible, can the kickback of the Geminis be increased? Even if both hit it creates very little disruption in aiming. The effects with the Sunflares is much more amplified. And seeing how Geminis rarely hit their target anyway, at least an increase in kickback can give 'em some level of effectiveness as a weapon.
Mar 25, 2004 ctishman link
Yeah, it's time to make l-port missiles better than Flares for once.
Mar 25, 2004 Pirogoeth2 link
Gemi isn't lport...
Mar 25, 2004 Arolte link
Still, he has a good point.
Mar 25, 2004 Pirogoeth2 link
Yah, lport missles SHOULD be better on kickback, but this thread is about gemis.
Mar 25, 2004 Eldrad link
hmmm I know uncle dave would hate to see this happen... I've found geminis very effective at knocking hvy ships way off balance.
Mar 25, 2004 Arolte link
Just about anything can knock heavy ships off balance. I remember pissing a teammate off by ramming his Ragnarok in my bus, and man he went spinnin' for a good four seconds nonstop. Anyway, a single sunflare has just a little more kickback force than a pair of geminis hitting its target. IMO that's just a little out of whack. It may have to do with the proximity detonator exploding too early for the Geminis though.

For example I've managed to only get about 2%-5% hull damage from a Gemini that barely scrapes me during last-second boosting. Maybe if they get rid of the goofy spiraling motion and made the proxmity detonator more effective it might have a chance of hitting the broad side of a barn and do some damage. Fixing minor details like this might actually get people away from rocket ramming constantly.
Mar 25, 2004 Eldrad link
hmmm I think it'd make sense to reduce the flares kick a bit... but honestly I wouldn't complain about the homers getting boosts they need it... hvy ships just need some way to counter them.
Mar 26, 2004 UncleDave link
No, I agree with Arolte, lets nerf the heavy ships even more.
Mar 26, 2004 Arolte link
Uhhhh? I didn't say nerf the heavy ships. If anything it'll have the opposite effect.
Mar 26, 2004 UncleDave link
You haven't thought this through.

Geminis hit heavy ships more than light ships.

So light ships will take advantage of the uber'd geminis to beat on heavy pilots even more.

There is still no incentive to use geminis in fighter combat, because they just wont hit. So extra kickback hurts the heavies.
Mar 26, 2004 Pirogoeth2 link
I've seen gemis hit many a fighter.
Mar 26, 2004 Arolte link
I'm fully aware of fighters Gemini spamming on heavy ships, but I don't know of a solution to fix this. I do however know that it would be nice to have missiles that actually hit fighters once in a while. I don't know about you but when I'm in a heavy or medium ship I like to pack my S-ports with Gemini launchers to keep fighters at bay. When they hit their targets, they can be quite effective at their job. It's a necessary weapon for any low agility ship.

Bottom line though is that there needs to be effective missiles against fighters, while at the same time something to protect heavy ships against it. I think part of the solution is to provide heavy ships with better engines, as I have suggested before. In addition, maybe weapons should be more limited in the way you pick them for each ship class. I haven't played the pre-3.0 version of Vendetta, but from what I hear this is how it was before. I hope the devs consider revisiting some of those ideas.

That's not to say that each ship you buy will have an exact loadout that you can't customize. On the contrary there will still be plenty of weapons to choose from. However each ship will have its own unique selection to choose from. Does that make sense? The whole S-port and L-port technique is all good in theory, but realistically it's a nightmare when it comes to balancing gameplay. Clearly there needs to be more intervention in the way weapon loadouts are handled.
Mar 26, 2004 UncleDave link
Yes, but you originally just said to increase gemini kickback.

If you had said all this at the start, this thread would be a lot shorter :p
Mar 27, 2004 Arolte link
As posted by Blaster in the General Forum the kickback of rockets/missiles sends a heavy ship spinning forever. I tested this out on a Ragnarok controlled by Itani in sector 16 today. I just stood there in my Warthog firing gemini missiles until I was out and even with the lower kickback of the geminis the Ragnarok went spinning for a loooong time. I don't even want to imagine what a group of sunflares would've done!

I really like the idea of the kickback and I think it's cool the way it's implemented. However I think something needs to be done so it remains high for fighters but dampened for heavier ships. Maybe heavy ships could have an outer invisible barrier that causes rockets/missiles to detonate at a farther radius, while allowing energy weapons to pass through without trouble.

Another idea is to revamp the mass system of the game so it's more true to life. A heavier ship, while harder to stop from any kickback, would most certainly require more force than a fighter to cause the uncontrollable spin. I mean that's a no brainer. Unfortunately something with the current physics engine is causing the opposite effect.

I still have mixed feelings though. While escaping from a tri-flare Valk today in my Warthog I was tossed off course from the first group of rockets, that it allowed me to take minimal damage from the second and third wave. I got out alive because of the kickback. So I guess it can work to your advantage too.

In summary: Sunflare kickback lowered. Gemini's remains. Heavy ships have dampened kickback.
Apr 05, 2004 Defy link
well if you guys dont like the idea of heavys spinning so much then a solution would make the heavier the ship the less kick it recives.
Apr 06, 2004 Eldrad link
Defy what you just said is already true. The force applied to the ships is the same regaurdless of what ship, but since the hvier ships are more massive they accelerate less and are therefore not knocked as far. Ofcourse on the flip side they have much more trouble turning back as well.
Apr 06, 2004 ctishman link
Thus, the solution is something like a compromise: sacrifice a heavy weapon or outfit slot to gain an Impact Dampener.
Apr 06, 2004 Eldrad link
I think some form of an active defense system which allows them to detonate incoming explosives at safer distances...

Two possibilities:
Make missiles, rockets, etc targetable, and have a targetClosestHostileExplosive (which would be nice even for just mines) command, allowing hvies to shoot down the incoming explosives either with an advanced gat or some other energy weapon.
AND/OR
Implement a device that automatically shoots down incoming hostile explosives at a low energy cost. It could be limited to just targets "in front" of you. This device could be any of the following, Large port weapon, Small port weapon, 'toy', or something that comes free with certain ships.
Apr 06, 2004 silentsuicide link
pop corn gun would be a nice gun for killing missles.... give it some form of use
would fit quite nicely in my hog