Ability Delay -- Character Responsiveness (This will make or break SW:TOR)

[Zakumene]

Why should I consider myself lucky? How about Bioware realizes the gravity of this topic and considers itself lucky that so many people contributed so greatly to bring this to their attention?

 

Also, Bioware at no point said anything will be fixed. We have no idea what their stance is.

 

With as many assumptions as you've thrown around, assume it's getting fixed.

 

There - now you can move on with your life and stop moderating this thread 24/7

[Amdarius]

This is still a major issue. PVP feels like you're fighting the UI more than fighting the enemy. Really feels unresponsive at times.

 

Probably doesn't help that there's wayyyyy too much CC in this game.

[ThreeKingdoms]

With as many assumptions as you've thrown around, assume it's getting fixed.

 

There - now you can move on with your life and stop moderating this thread 24/7

 

How about they just come out with a statement of intent, rather than having us "assume" things. We can assume anything -- and until Bioware makes a statement other than "we are aware of the issue, the end", I will assume nothing more.

[freddiez]

ppl just submit a ticket in game for this. This discussion is becoming more like a yahoo news comments section and less a civilized debate. There will always be people who don't agree with the OP, despite the mountain of evidence. It's like stopping by a car wreck and telling the victim that instead of pressing on the brake pedal so hard maybe learn to brake more gently cuz that's how the mfg intended the car to stop. Yes everyone knows that bikes brake instantly but bikes are lol-ezmode and for kids. Learn to drive like an adult. or go back to riding bikes.

[DarthZos]

Wanted to reply to show support for this post, and to make sure BW has a chance to see the number of people that want this issue resolved/addressed as soon as possible. Great stuff!

[Xcore]

With as many assumptions as you've thrown around, assume it's getting fixed.

 

There - now you can move on with your life and stop moderating this thread 24/7

 

Why do you assume my life is at a standstill? How difficult is it for am official to throw us a couple of lines? It'd take about 30sec-5min and have great effect. No ETA is necessary.

 

I have no idea why you defend a company, game or flaws so strongly... you should perhaps move with your life?

[Ruuprect]

I have also noticed a slight problem with the gcd. Every once in a while it will jump back up and start over making the gcd actually a few tenths of a second longer. Has anyone else seen this?

 

I have not read all four threads but skimmed and didnt see anything about this.

 

Also, these problems need to be fixed, I heal and this is game breaking.

[asbalana]

wahh wahh wahh and yet 100s of thousands of us aren't having the issues.. we are raiding and PVPing just fine.. this isn't wow.. the abilities have RP like animations... how is that a bad thing?

 

 

but I do agree we need more colors for the Slave Girl outfit..

 

I guess I always take the bait. While on a work break, I saw this. I just can't believe that everyone is not seeing the issues although some don't have the sense to come in out of the rain or even know it is raining in the first place.

 

Got a laugh yesterday. I (trooper) partied with a Smuggler guild mate and we did some hard content yesterday. What fun playing with another player. I got a kick, between my disfunctional combat responses, watching him herk a jerk around. I could see him start to cast, stop in the middle, stand still for a few seconds, crouch down again, and then try to cast again. It was comedy combat.

 

If 100s of thousands of you are not having the problem, please be a peach and tell us what you are doing that we are not. Also tell the devs that there is no problem since they are looking into the problem(s) and admit that they exist.

 

Maybe, your animations are smooth during your cut scenes with slave girls and the combat does not matter much.

[CVSiN]

These issues don't prevent you from pvping or raiding. Now your definition of "just fine" is probably skewed. BTW Just because you aren't noticing these problems doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

Fraps a Warzone for us as proof.

 

I press a key and the ability fires... if it has an animation such as the OPs tiny HOT heal you have to wait for them to pull out the device.. that is from a roleplay point of view.. this isn't a POS fast paced insta death PVP game like WoW was.. its a slower paced I can counter you if I'm a better player type of combat..

 

Id much rather have the animations than the crapfest that is WoW or Rift insta death PVP.

 

Good players in SWTOR still perform amazingly.. bads still perform bad.. but the difference is teenage reaction times are less necessary because of the animations and cooldowns..

[fallenvirtues]

Why do you assume my life is at a standstill? How difficult is it for am official to throw us a couple of lines? It'd take about 30sec-5min and have great effect. No ETA is necessary.

 

I have no idea why you defend a company, game or flaws so strongly... you should perhaps move with your life?

 

X with all due respect...3 responses were given...2 from Stephen Reid in that interview and 1 from George...How many more times do you want them to say the same thing? They obviously do not know or arent ready to share what the problem is yet

 

I support this thread and you for getting this much exposure...But all your gonna do is get yourself angry or more angry then what you are now...

 

They obviously dont have anything else beyond what they have stated to give us right now...It may suck...but it is what it is

[Zakumene]

Why do you assume my life is at a standstill? How difficult is it for am official to throw us a couple of lines? It'd take about 30sec-5min and have great effect. No ETA is necessary.

 

I have no idea why you defend a company, game or flaws so strongly... you should perhaps move with your life?

 

Find me writing - anywhere - that states Bioware must keep you up to date and informed of any future changes to the game?

 

You think you're entitled because you bought the game? You are - you're entitled to the game. You're not entitled to the behind the scenes discussion, planning, and implementation of the fixes. Nothing requires Bioware to share this with you. They share it when they are ready and confident of their approach.

 

I can only imagine once you get any snippet of details about their plans for this issue - that you'll find some other angle on it to complain. You say no ETA necessary - but that will be the very next thing you complain about after a statement gets made.

 

Basically - aside from actually implementing the patch that fixes this issue to your satisfaction it is clear that YOU CAN NOT BE SATISFIED.

So deal with it for the time being or leave and come back when it's fixed to your liking.

[asbalana]

I press a key and the ability fires... if it has an animation such as the OPs tiny HOT heal you have to wait for them to pull out the device.. that is from a roleplay point of view.. this isn't a POS fast paced insta death PVP game like WoW was.. its a slower paced I can counter you if I'm a better player type of combat..

 

Id much rather have the animations than the crapfest that is WoW or Rift insta death PVP.

 

Good players in SWTOR still perform amazingly.. bads still perform bad.. but the difference is teenage reaction times are less necessary because of the animations and cooldowns..

 

I press a key and sometimes my abilities fire and sometimes they don't. Is there any way to remove the rng from my keys and have them fire all of the time?

 

I press an instant and sometimes it fires instantly and other times after a few second delay. Is there any way of removing the rng factor from my instants?

 

Glad you don't like WOW, neither do I, but I loved the combat in the game and I am not a teenager with fast reaction time. I would just like a reaction from my character to my reactions.

 

Anywho, back to work, let the debate go on.

[dcjoker]

I press a key and the ability fires... if it has an animation such as the OPs tiny HOT heal you have to wait for them to pull out the device.. that is from a roleplay point of view.. this isn't a POS fast paced insta death PVP game like WoW was.. its a slower paced I can counter you if I'm a better player type of combat..

 

Id much rather have the animations than the crapfest that is WoW or Rift insta death PVP.

 

Good players in SWTOR still perform amazingly.. bads still perform bad.. but the difference is teenage reaction times are less necessary because of the animations and cooldowns..

 

Wow you don't get it all. There's a difference between wanting a responsive functional game and wanting a insta death pvp game bro.

 

The game is not slower paced. It simply is not working as it should. How can you explain being able to interrupt instant casts and off gcd abilities not registering after 3+ globals?

 

Yeah sure you're a better player than me because your animination happened to not lock your abilities out and mine did okay.

 

Go look through the videos in these threads and tell me you have not experience a single one of those issues. And again fraps a Warzone for us because that's where it is most noticeable - at least for me.

[DeathHenk]

The thing with Bioware and EA is their preference of 'looks above functionality'.

There are two choices bioware made to make the game interesting which I really dislike:

 

1. No clipping

2. No auto-attack

 

1. This game Has no clipping. I can press all I want, but if the animation does not finish my character will do nothing. This causes any melee class to have moments where do will sit and wait and do nothing during combat. For melee classes an animation has 3 stages:

 

I. Starting position

II. Swing or the attack

III. Returning back to passive position

 

For instance I play an assassin(=shadow) when I use my basic attack 'Trash' or 'Voltaic slash' my character will start to take his stance, swing his saber AND return to the passive animation. Only after the passive animation has finished I can cast a new spell or ability.

 

Now I'm bringing up WoW simply because WoW gives you the feeling YOU have COMPLETE control of your character. Why does WoW succeed? Simply, the priority Blizzard put is:

A. Data registration on the server (or w/e its called)

B. Animations come second hand and are merely a fancy way of showing you're doing an ability

 

The difference with WoW is also, there is NO step I or III. There is only step II. This allows the lag between player vs. server to feel fluid. Because even tho you are casting on your screen, its already registered on Blizzard's server, meaning you can cast another spell while the previous spell animation is still going on the player screen. Also known as stacking.

 

2. In addition having no auto-attack adds more delay to combat than increasing pase and player input during combat. One might think the player input increased, but that is not the case. This extra key to press for an auto-attack to happen adds another delay in animation resulting in your character waiting for the animation to finish. In the end you will notice, as a melee class at least, periods in combat where your character will stand idle.

 

TL;DR: character animations getting ready to cast ability and character going back into passive/normal pose GET OUT, (immediate) attack animation STAY, Allow stacking for fluid gameplay.

Edited January 3, 2012 by DeathHenk

[AlexRose]

Find me writing - anywhere - that states Bioware must keep you up to date and informed of any future changes to the game?

 

You think you're entitled because you bought the game? You are - you're entitled to the game. You're not entitled to the behind the scenes discussion, planning, and implementation of the fixes. Nothing requires Bioware to share this with you. They share it when they are ready and confident of their approach.

 

I can only imagine once you get any snippet of details about their plans for this issue - that you'll find some other angle on it to complain. You say no ETA necessary - but that will be the very next thing you complain about after a statement gets made.

 

Basically - aside from actually implementing the patch that fixes this issue to your satisfaction it is clear that YOU CAN NOT BE SATISFIED.

So deal with it for the time being or leave and come back when it's fixed to your liking.

What are you babbling about entitlement? You are the worst troll in this thread. You contribute nothing and post only ad hominem attacks.

Why do you think are you entitled to comment on an issue that is no even bothering you? Who do you think you are to demand that someone stop posting, complaining or commenting on forum that is open to anyone?

Give your CV to BW and ask for a moderator job and then do your worst.

 

Edit:

I already regret even answering to you but you just dont stop attacking people.

Edited January 3, 2012 by AlexRose

[ThreeKingdoms]

I press a key and the ability fires... if it has an animation such as the OPs tiny HOT heal you have to wait for them to pull out the device.. that is from a roleplay point of view.. this isn't a POS fast paced insta death PVP game like WoW was.. its a slower paced I can counter you if I'm a better player type of combat..

 

Id much rather have the animations than the crapfest that is WoW or Rift insta death PVP.

 

Good players in SWTOR still perform amazingly.. bads still perform bad.. but the difference is teenage reaction times are less necessary because of the animations and cooldowns..

 

This is way off base. I press a key and nothing happens -- I am not watching my character animation, I am watching the animation of the GCD which should reflect when I am allowed to use my skills. And while you may not like the mechanics of competitive PVP, I guarantee when you say you'd "rather have the animations than the crapfest that is WoW or Rift insta death PVP," you are in the minority. Pacing of combat is one issue, having fluid gameplay is another.

Edited January 3, 2012 by ThreeKingdoms

[Zakumene]

This is way off base. I press a key and nothing happens

 

Are you sure the game is running? Did you try restarting your computer at least 5 times first?

[DarkCarnage]

The thing with Bioware and EA is their preference of 'looks above functionality'.

There are two choices bioware made to make the game interesting which I really dislike:

 

1. No clipping

2. No auto-attack

 

1. This game Has no clipping. I can press all I want, but if the animation does not finish my character will do nothing. This causes any melee class to have moments where do will sit and wait and do nothing during combat. For melee classes an animation has 3 stages:

 

I. Starting position

II. Swing or the attack

III. Returning back to passive position

 

For instance I play an assassin(=shadow) when I use my basic attack 'Trash' or 'Voltaic slash' my character will start to take his stance, swing his saber AND return to the passive animation. Only after the passive animation has finished I can cast a new spell or ability.

 

Now I'm bringing up WoW simply because WoW gives you the feeling YOU have COMPLETE control of your character. Why does WoW succeed? Simply, the priority Blizzard put is:

A. Data registration on the server (or w/e its called)

B. Animations come second hand and are merely a fancy way of showing you're doing an ability

 

The difference with WoW is also, there is NO step I or III. There is only step II. This allows the lag between player vs. server to feel fluid. Because even tho you are casting on your screen, its already registered on Blizzard's server, meaning you can cast another spell while the previous spell animation is still going on the player screen. Also known as stacking.

 

2. In addition having no auto-attack adds more delay to combat than increasing pase and player input during combat. One might think the player input increased, but that is not the case. This extra key to press for an auto-attack to happen adds another delay in animation resulting in your character waiting for the animation to finish. In the end you will notice, as a melee class at least, periods in combat where your character will stand idle.

 

TL;DR: character animations getting ready to cast ability and character going back into passive/normal pose GET OUT, (immediate) attack animation STAY, Allow stacking for fluid gameplay.

 

well i can get why they do not allow clipping, if i start to swing a sword and stop, my attack does not go through and cause damage, it never happend.

 

so maybe tehy trying for a real-ish, so clipping be a no go, same for blasters can nto start to shot, and jsut magicaly ahve blast bolt dissapper mid flight so you can start to do another move.

 

i persoanly also like no auto-attack, it helps poeple active while playing and not just atart to attack and walk off to do something and use no skills.

[fallenvirtues]

The thing with Bioware and EA is their preference of 'looks above functionality'.

There are two choices bioware made to make the game interesting which I really dislike:

 

1. No clipping

2. No auto-attack

 

1. This game Has no clipping. I can press all I want, but if the animation does not finish my character will do nothing. This causes any melee class to have moments where do will sit and wait and do nothing during combat. For melee classes an animation has 3 stages:

 

I. Starting position

II. Swing or the attack

III. Returning back to passive position

 

For instance I play an assassin(=shadow) when I use my basic attack 'Trash' or 'Voltaic slash' my character will start to take his stance, swing his saber AND return to the passive animation. Only after the passive animation has finished I can cast a new spell or ability.

 

Now I'm bringing up WoW simply because WoW gives you the feeling YOU have COMPLETE control of your character. Why does WoW succeed? Simply, the priority Blizzard put is:

A. Data registration on the server (or w/e its called)

B. Animations come second hand and are merely a fancy way of showing you're doing an ability

 

The difference with WoW is also, there is NO step I or III. There is only step II. This allows the lag between player vs. server to feel fluid. Because even tho you are casting on your screen, its already registered on Blizzard's server, meaning you can cast another spell while the previous spell animation is still going on the player screen. Also known as stacking.

 

2. In addition having no auto-attack adds more delay to combat than increasing pase and player input during combat. One might think the player input increased, but that is not the case. This extra key to press for an auto-attack to happen adds another delay in animation resulting in your character waiting for the animation to finish. In the end you will notice, as a melee class at least, periods in combat where your character will stand idle.

 

TL;DR: character animations getting ready to cast ability and character going back into passive/normal pose GET OUT, (immediate) attack animation STAY, Allow stacking for fluid gameplay.

 

Now this is where I bring up the situation were some off us dont have a problem..or at least to this degree...

 

My main is a lvl 44 (almost 45 ) Sith Marauder...I am always able to execute my next attack once the GCD is done and the animations dont impair this...The only time I stand there and not doing anything is because I am hitting keybinds like a mad man and didnt realize I was all out of rage (or hate or whatever they call it) OR my ability didnt fire off at all...

 

I have to comment everytime I post, that I do have a major problem with abilities not firing off at all sometimes, but my delay/lag/whatever, if I have any, doesnt stop me from firing off ability after ability once the GCD is up...

 

Now after watching more and more and really trying to see what abilities I have that might delay and so forth, the only one I ever experience a problem with is Pommel Strike, there is always a delay from when the damage happens because of the animation, but if there is an actual delay before the animation starts, its very minimal

 

I am not saying the combat system is perfect cause it is not in my eyes...Just some of us dont have problems as severe as others

 

EDIT: I LIKE THAT THERE IS AUTO-ATTACK...Just wanted to voice that

Edited January 3, 2012 by fallenvirtues

[Radagastimus]

I would recommend not telling people that dont have issues that they dont really notice it or that they are dumb or whatsoever that points out that if they dont have issue they still have it which is false by itself.

 

I myself have great issue with delays and then again on other day or time i dont. Sometimes game works just fine without any delays and responsiveness is great. Next i may change character and ability lag hits me to the face and gets horrible to play. Then again that lagging char may next day work just fine but another may have this issue. One day no char of mine has issues and some day they jave.

 

Since case is this on my case there must be people who have even worse issue with this but also people dont have this issue at all, never.

 

Then we come to point where we need to think why is this happening like this? Is it the 2 process system of SWTOR that just makes lag in some cases in some systems when these 2 processes communicate with eachother. This may mean that they cant easily fix this at all but some things on user end may make this happen. Like in my case disk containing operating system has bad sectors sometimes lags entire system and case like this may also affect SWTOR gameplay. Many other programs and their processes may also cause some probs on this matter but all and all im just speculating possible causes.

[Khoranth]

I press a key and the ability fires... if it has an animation such as the OPs tiny HOT heal you have to wait for them to pull out the device.. that is from a roleplay point of view.. this isn't a POS fast paced insta death PVP game like WoW was.. its a slower paced I can counter you if I'm a better player type of combat..

 

Id much rather have the animations than the crapfest that is WoW or Rift insta death PVP.

 

Good players in SWTOR still perform amazingly.. bads still perform bad.. but the difference is teenage reaction times are less necessary because of the animations and cooldowns..

 

Yeah, see this is an example of how bioware intended combat to work, nice and slow paced.

 

Bioware designed combat so you press a button once, then wait for animation to end ( or almost end) and then press your next action. Nice and slow paced.

 

If you press a button during animation too soon, or press a button more then once, bioware punishes you with lag and unresponsive controls, cause you are not playing the game as intended by bioware.

 

Bioware just needs to make an official statement that combat is turn based, and they need to remove the GCD and off GCd abilities and tell players to just watch the animations, and play off of animations.

 

If you want a fast paced action game, SWTOR is not for you, this should be clearl and obvious by now to anyone who has followed this thread.

[fallenvirtues]

Yeah, see this is an example of how bioware intended combat to work, nice and slow paced.

 

Bioware designed combat so you press a button once, then wait for animation to end ( or almost end) and then press your next action. Nice and slow paced.

 

If you press a button during animation too soon, or press a button more then once, bioware punishes you with lag and unresponsive controls, cause you are not playing the game as intended by bioware.

 

Bioware just needs to make an official statement that combat is turn based, and they need to remove the GCD and off GCd abilities and tell players to just watch the animations, and play off of animations.

 

If you want a fast paced action game, SWTOR is not for you, this should be clearl and obvious by now to anyone who has followed this thread.

 

Yea but that doesnt mean over all combat is slow..I mean it can still be hectic and intense, its just if thats the case, the ability execution is not fast paced...Doesnt mean everything has to slow down where we just sit and exchange blows

[Olzmo]

Find me writing - anywhere - that states Bioware must keep you up to date and informed of any future changes to the game?

 

You think you're entitled because you bought the game? You are - you're entitled to the game. You're not entitled to the behind the scenes discussion, planning, and implementation of the fixes. Nothing requires Bioware to share this with you. They share it when they are ready and confident of their approach.

 

I can only imagine once you get any snippet of details about their plans for this issue - that you'll find some other angle on it to complain. You say no ETA necessary - but that will be the very next thing you complain about after a statement gets made.

 

Basically - aside from actually implementing the patch that fixes this issue to your satisfaction it is clear that YOU CAN NOT BE SATISFIED.

So deal with it for the time being or leave and come back when it's fixed to your liking.

Of course players aren't entitled to the things you listed in a juridical sense. So? No one is suing them for not adequately informing the players on the aforementioned subjects as it'd be futile. This doesn't mean that the scarcity of information given to players weren't a valid reason to complain – or point out that it'll likely prove out to be a sub-eating matter.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Olzmo

[ZenoDnB]

Rated. I can definitely agree that this is an issue.

[Xanesst]

I really dont understand how some people dont have a problem with the responsiveness.

 

It was the first thing i noticed, my very first attack on the very first mob and i thought "****, why am i lagging like this".

 

I became frustrated after a few mobs, and complained about it in Teamspeak ( was there with 4 other friends starting at the same time), and everyone immediately agreed with me that they are having the same issue.

 

Its also not a WoW-player thing, i have only played it for 2 weeks, and have also played basically every other major MMO for atleast 2 weeks and i can honestly say that it was never nearly as bad as in SWTOR. In fact almost all MMO's have instant responsiveness, so i really dont know why WoW players constantly highlight this about WoW in this thread when its just the same as in almost every other MMO.

 

I really dont care if this is intentional or not, but i wont continue playing if it stays like that. Its just no fun, i dont feel like i can play the way i want to.