A quick update on Ability Delay

[Gvaz]

It really *********** sucks.

 

Having animations > GCD is fine on paper because it makes animations look smoother, but if something is instant cast, it means instant cast. I don't care if it breaks animation because I'm not about "looking cool" in pvp or hard modes or operations, I'm about being fast and competitive.

 

This is holding the player back for the sake of visuals instead of mechanics and is a big no-no in mmos.

[Dezgar]

Thanks Bioware! I had faith and knew you would address this! keep the fixes coming!

[Terko_Koslah]

I havent seen your video that debunks this

 

come back when you have it.

I can wait

 

I know where not here to discuss about wow, but I there are things in this video I would like to point out.

 

WoW part: Sometimes the cast bar is not finished and still the spell effect takes place. Also what is a bigger concern for me is the animation.

 

You should clearly see that the spell effect should be cancelled if the character moves during casting. Because of some kind of over tuning the character can cast the spell in another spot where he originally started casting it.

 

I would very much like to see a game where the animation is in sync with the cast bar and the effect.

 

Nothing more to report.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Terko_Koslah

[Terko_Koslah]

I would really much like to see Bioware implement animation inside the cast bar like in a channeled ability, so that at the same time the cast bar finishes the animation also finishes and the effect takes place.

[defiantlegacy]

During the development of Star Wars: The Old Republic, we’ve been paying a lot of attention to the game’s responsiveness. As pointed out by some people on the Forum, a very responsive experience is one of the factors that separate the best MMOs from the others. This is something we are fully aware of and take extremely seriously.

 

Several of the issues brought forth by the community have already been dealt with and you should see the fixes integrated in coming patches, including those coming this month. Every lead mentioned on the forum is being investigated and I cannot stress enough how useful your feedback is – especially when coupled with the level of details found in some of the posts.

 

So I’d really like to thank the community for this very constructive feedback.

 

Thanks again and best regards,

 

I have been very impressed so far with BWs attention with regards to the player community.

I hope to see this continue for many years to come

[Minifarfar]

I <3 u!

[blackcerberus]

I would very much like to see a game where the animation is in sync with the cast bar and the effect.

and I would very much like to see a game where the casting bar dictates the actual length of the skill, the split second its over you are free to do something else (if GCD allowsof course) and the animation is purely bling that can be cancelled in lieu of a better gameplay.

Edited January 9, 2012 by blackcerberus

[Fiachsidhe]

During the development of Star Wars: The Old Republic, we’ve been paying a lot of attention to the game’s responsiveness. As pointed out by some people on the Forum, a very responsive experience is one of the factors that separate the best MMOs from the others. This is something we are fully aware of and take extremely seriously.

 

Several of the issues brought forth by the community have already been dealt with and you should see the fixes integrated in coming patches, including those coming this month. Every lead mentioned on the forum is being investigated and I cannot stress enough how useful your feedback is – especially when coupled with the level of details found in some of the posts.

 

So I’d really like to thank the community for this very constructive feedback.

 

Thanks again and best regards,

 

Excellent news. I look forward to seeing what you guys can do about this problem.

[ChaosPhoenix]

Sad to say but there is definetily something wrong with your computers. I am using 2600 with 8 gigs ram and gtx 570 HD sc and i havent found single place on game that droos my fps below 60 with all settings max.

 

And to the hater saying that the ability delay affects everyone is so wrong...

 

I'm not sure. If every other game runs fine and even swtor does most of the time, I think it's due to not optimized areas in swtor. Alderaan for example runs a lot better than Nar Shaddaa for me, even if there are more open spaces and more objects in my field of view. I think it doesn't work well for some graphics card/ driver combinations.

 

Edit:

Doesn't look like it's only my problem. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-01-09-bioware-responds-to-SWTOR-performance-issues

Edited January 9, 2012 by ChaosPhoenix

[Chiramu]

YAY!

 

I can finally heal without spamming and mashing my heals (global cooldown)!

[michaelpages]

Wow Great news! i love companys who looks around the forums <3

[lllSike]

Thank You Kanye West

[Mashy]

Awesome stuff Bioware, never had a doubt.

[Asnine]

I will say this - I think many people may be confusing the fact that an ability's effect wont take place till the END of an animation (aka the GCD) with ability delay, when in fact that isn't delay at all. It's a conscious decision by BioWare to do it, which is fine. People will adapt. However, if you're going to implement something like that then don't have ANY animations for "instants" go longer than the GCD.

 

That being said, regardless of what supertouch says/trolls, ability delay FOR CERTAIN ABILITIES does exist. Not every ability has this problem, and yes, I can make a random video of me spamming (clicking, lol) a key and not having a problem.

[Siem]

Even, for the sake of argument, if there was no actual delay in abilities firing off (which, in most cases, is the truth), there is a distinct feeling while playing that you are separated from your character. It feels more like I'm directing my character to do something rather than performing the action myself.

 

I don't pretend to know the specifics of engine design or how it affects it the feel of the game, but I do know that while playing SW:TOR there is a palpable sense of disconnect between my character and I.

 

You can argue specifics all day, but those of us passionate about this issue know what I'm talking about and hope that Bioware can remedy it.

[oflow]

I've pretty much had my say in most of these threads but just a final note on my experience with the issue:

 

I personally think it not only has something to do with the sync of the server and the client (delay gets worse in pvp than in pve for me) but it also has something to do with the action bars.

 

Just experimenting with multiple classes I have found that the delay is worse when you actually click on buttons than when you use keybinds. I actually went and bought a Naga mouse to test this theory and the delay is definitely not as bad when you use the mouse keybinds compared to clicking the actual buttons. My theory is this is why some people dont experience the issue because they use keybinds or a Naga mouse.

 

There are actually multiple issues brought up in this thread that have all been lumped in together. The original post many threads ago was about ability & character responsiveness. Some people are confusing delay with non-response which is also why you have a bunch of people trolling this thread constantly because they are confusing the issues.

 

The main issue I was experiencing was ability misfires, not the delay so much, but I do get this as well, and they are definitely related.

 

What I mean by misfire is an issue which I was able to duplicate on multiple classes. Often, if you use an ability off the GCD, followed by an instant ability on the GCD, the later ability often does nothing. It will reset the GCD but it wont give any returns so its like you didnt click it. Example: using Overload Saber followed by Zealous Strike. Pop overload and hit ZS, the overload goes off but ZS does nothing but reset the GCD. Multiple classes have this issues and its really evident on melee classes.

 

The other issue that I have primarily is certain abilities 'double-clutching'. For example, on my Guardian when I use the ability Blade Storm in pvp my avatar will sometimes 'check swing' the animation before completing it (and I'm not spamming the button), which is bad responsiveness when BS is a directional attack. It also does this often on Force Sweep. I know I have seen many Juggs and maurauders complaining about the same type of issue.

 

I primarily only experienced the ability delay on my Smuggler in beta. The Take Cover ability works fine in pve, but in pvp, there is often a long delay before your character actually does the 'roll', to the point where you can be hit multiple times before you even take cover. I know there where many threads about this issue on the game testing forum. during beta.

 

Anyway, hopefully BW will resolve these issues. If so I will probably continue to play the game. If not, its just not responsive enough to actually play in the long term and I have a feeling there are many other people that feel this way which is why there have been so many threads on the topic.

[Jylian]

Awesome if this truly gets fixed.

[ltankhsd]

Looking forward to this. To people who think the problem doesn't exist I wish I could see your faces when it actually is fixed and you experience the game.

 

The other day in civil war I used guard on a guildmember. the animation involves me pointing at the guildmember. it took 5 seconds between pushing the button and the animation finally going off and guard actually being applied. Sorry but it doesn't take that long to point your finger alluding to it not being an animation problem.

[supertouch]

Looking forward to this. To people who think the problem doesn't exist I wish I could see your faces when it actually is fixed and you experience the game.

 

The other day in civil war I used guard on a guildmember. the animation involves me pointing at the guildmember. it took 5 seconds between pushing the button and the animation finally going off and guard actually being applied. Sorry but it doesn't take that long to point your finger alluding to it not being an animation problem.

 

post a video

[Putok]

I've been playing a Sith Sorc a little bit lately, and ability delay seems to be better on that class than some others. Still a minor issue, but I can generally chain straight from one ability into another. The animations often lag a bit, but the abilities generally don't. If I follow up a lightning strike with force lightning, the force lightning damage starts well before the animation, but instantly after lightning strike lands. Not sure if they tweaked something, or if this class has always been pretty good like that.

 

EDIT: One thing I have noticed is that Dark Heal takes longer to heal than the cast bar indicates. My character continues performing the animation for about half a second after the cast bar ends, and then the heal lands.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Putok

[supertouch]

I've been playing a Sith Sorc a little bit lately, and ability delay seems to be better on that class than some others. Still a minor issue, but I can generally chain straight from one ability into another. The animations often lag a bit, but the abilities generally don't. If I follow up a lightning strike with force lightning, the force lightning damage starts well before the animation, but instantly after lightning strike lands. Not sure if they tweaked something, or if this class has always been pretty good like that.

 

EDIT: One thing I have noticed is that Dark Heal takes longer to heal than the cast bar indicates. My character continues performing the animation for about half a second after the cast bar ends, and then the heal lands.

 

some abilities in the game have animations that briefly extend beyond the casting timer (a half-second or so). these animations are actually accelerated if you use the ability in rapid succession or under other conditions. the game actually does a good job of balancing animations and the quickslot bar recovery or "global cooldown." these things are intended and its's pretty sad if all this uproar is over something so negligible.

 

on the other hand, there are problems with skills like riposte that don't fire properly and are interrupted by repeated clicking. that's an entirely different issue.

[Master-Nala]

Keep up the good work devs!

[Putok]

some abilities in the game have animations that briefly extend beyond the casting timer (a half-second or so). these animations are actually accelerated if you use the ability in rapid succession or under other conditions. the game actually does a good job of balancing animations and the quickslot bar recovery or "global cooldown." these things are intended and its's pretty sad if all this uproar is over something so negligible.

 

on the other hand, there are problems with skills like riposte that don't fire properly and are interrupted by repeated clicking. that's an entirely different issue.

 

One of the more annoying issues is the game taking time to realize that you've stopped moving. I should not get "You cannot do this while moving" errors after I have stopped moving.

 

I don't have the same issues with ability delay that some do. Things can get a little odd sometimes on my assassin when I use too many abilities too close together, especially if I use two off-GCD abilities at one, and try to transition from thrash into shock or something along those lines (Assassinate seems to cause problems even more often), but nothing close to what many people have experienced. It's very rare for me to see more than a quarter (though even a quarter second is enough to cause a "clunky" feeling), but I definitely do occasionally have issues, especially with abilities not triggering the first time they are told to.

[monimoni]

During the development of Star Wars: The Old Republic, we’ve been paying a lot of attention to the game’s responsiveness. As pointed out by some people on the Forum, a very responsive experience is one of the factors that separate the best MMOs from the others. This is something we are fully aware of and take extremely seriously.

 

Several of the issues brought forth by the community have already been dealt with and you should see the fixes integrated in coming patches, including those coming this month. Every lead mentioned on the forum is being investigated and I cannot stress enough how useful your feedback is – especially when coupled with the level of details found in some of the posts.

 

So I’d really like to thank the community for this very constructive feedback.

 

Thanks again and best regards,

 

The client CAN NOT WAIT for a response from the server before executing an ability. Among other things. Thank you for looking into it, I will keep subscribing if these issues are fixed.

[Putok]

some abilities in the game have animations that briefly extend beyond the casting timer (a half-second or so). these animations are actually accelerated if you use the ability in rapid succession or under other conditions. the game actually does a good job of balancing animations and the quickslot bar recovery or "global cooldown." these things are intended and its's pretty sad if all this uproar is over something so negligible.

 

on the other hand, there are problems with skills like riposte that don't fire properly and are interrupted by repeated clicking. that's an entirely different issue.

 

Here's what I'm complaining about with the heals, just uploaded a video. The "Cannot do this while moving." bug is also demonstrated: