ElTorqiro Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) What is up with the new "Guard" graphics in the 1.1 update? 1> The pulsing chicken-wire grid beneath your feet is plain unnecessary. There is already a toggle-selector light on the skill quickslot to indicate if Guard is active or not. This is consistent with all other toggle skills, there is no need for a new way to show information that is already available on the screen. 2> Even if it was considered somehow to be important to have a secondary indicator for the Guard toggle, a bright white pulsing chicken-wire grid beneath your feet has got to be one of the worst choices. It may have seemed cool when a mockup was done for the dev team, but try running around 24/7 with this thing on and then come back and say how nice it is. Other secondary toggle indicators are quite subtle, such as the Vanguard blaster cell holograms, or the Smuggler temporary cover grid. The new Guard indicator is completely out of whack with those type of nice subtle choices. If we had to have something, perhaps a small blue holo-shield icon on the back of the character that matches the Guard target bubble graphic? Something more consistent with the design choices used elsewhere in the game, at least. 3> The pulsing blue light beneath your Guard target when you are out of range is also unnecessary. The Guard target already knows they are out of range because the enormous blue bubble around them disappears. You don't need an indicator to show a "lack of effect" (i.e. the off condition), since you already have an unavoidably prominent indicator showing "effect enabled" (i.e. the on condition). 4> As a tank spec in PvP, Guard is best used alongside taunts to dramatically reduce the damage on a healer or bait character. Being able to remain anonymous while doing that is a big part of what makes using the taunts worthwhile. The enemy can either choose to repeatedly do much less damage for 6 second intervals, or they can spend the time looking for you and trying to figure out which Vanguard/Guardian/Shadow is doing the Guarding + Taunting and focus them down. It's the second choice that makes remaining anonymous while Guarding of some benefit, and why having a big glowing white light singling you out removes a big part of why the Guard+Taunt tactic is of use. It makes the choice a lot easier for the opposing team since they do not have to put in any effort to identify you. Since we have heard several times recently from Bioware that they are disappointed in how quickly PvP encounters are finishing, and that they want fights to last longer before a kill, this removal of a key strategic element is completely contrary to their stated goal. 5> Similar bubble effects from other classes do not apply a caster-effect indicating who has applied the bubble. Force Armor, for example, doesn't leave the caster with a throbbing white light beneath their feet for everyone to see. If a non-tank class can apply defensive bubbles without needing this type of effect, why do dedicated tank classes have to put up with it permanently? Finally, is there some official rationale as to why this was seen as a feature that had to be added, and why it was so important that it was implemented as a brand new feature when there are so many bugs that are yet to be fixed for existing features? How on earth did this get to the top of the stack? EDIT: I had a rant here earlier, so I have cleaned this up to be in point form and be more coherent. Edited January 21, 2012 by ElTorqiro itemised in point form Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halfhourofpower Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 All of this crying for nothing. Love you Bioware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandisKan Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Perhaps the restricted weapons and armour didn't make it easy enough to identify easy targets in pvp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Domiinick Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Looks fine, love how it applies to different people, the glow isn't that annoying. Stop whining over nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElTorqiro Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) Amazing... thanks for adding your erudite commentary. You really added something to the discussion. I ranted, you trolled, forums ftw. Edited January 21, 2012 by ElTorqiro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kizah Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 I don't mind it and some people are kind of oblivious to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhunexxx Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 (edited) What is up with the new "Guard" graphics in the 1.1 update? 1> The pulsing chicken-wire grid beneath your feet is plain unnecessary. There is already a toggle-selector light on the skill quickslot to indicate if Guard is active or not. This is consistent with all other toggle skills, there is no need for a new way to show information that is already available on the screen. 2> Even if it was considered somehow to be important to have a secondary indicator for the Guard toggle, a bright white pulsing chicken-wire grid beneath your feet has got to be one of the worst choices. It may have seemed cool when a mockup was done for the dev team, but try running around 24/7 with this thing on and then come back and say how nice it is. Other secondary toggle indicators are quite subtle, such as the Vanguard blaster cell holograms, or the Smuggler temporary cover grid. The new Guard indicator is completely out of whack with those type of nice subtle choices. If we had to have something, perhaps a small blue holo-shield icon on the back of the character that matches the Guard target bubble graphic? Something more consistent with the design choices used elsewhere in the game, at least. 3> The pulsing blue light beneath your Guard target when you are out of range is also unnecessary. The Guard target already knows they are out of range because the enormous blue bubble around them disappears. You don't need an indicator to show a "lack of effect" (i.e. the off condition), since you already have an unavoidably prominent indicator showing "effect enabled" (i.e. the on condition). 4> As a tank spec in PvP, Guard is best used alongside taunts to dramatically reduce the damage on a healer or bait character. Being able to remain anonymous while doing that is a big part of what makes using the taunts worthwhile. The enemy can either choose to repeatedly do much less damage for 6 second intervals, or they can spend the time looking for you and trying to figure out which Vanguard/Guardian/Shadow is doing the Guarding + Taunting and focus them down. It's the second choice that makes remaining anonymous while Guarding of some benefit, and why having a big glowing white light singling you out removes a big part of why the Guard+Taunt tactic is of use. It makes the choice a lot easier for the opposing team since they do not have to put in any effort to identify you. Since we have heard several times recently from Bioware that they are disappointed in how quickly PvP encounters are finishing, and that they want fights to last longer before a kill, this removal of a key strategic element is completely contrary to their stated goal. 5> Similar bubble effects from other classes do not apply a caster-effect indicating who has applied the bubble. Force Armor, for example, doesn't leave the caster with a throbbing white light beneath their feet for everyone to see. If a non-tank class can apply defensive bubbles without needing this type of effect, why do dedicated tank classes have to put up with it permanently? Finally, is there some official rationale as to why this was seen as a feature that had to be added, and why it was so important that it was implemented as a brand new feature when there are so many bugs that are yet to be fixed for existing features? How on earth did this get to the top of the stack? EDIT: I had a rant here earlier, so I have cleaned this up to be in point form and be more coherent. ^ Agree's with all of this. I love Bioware. I love this game. Just wish I didn't feel like my toon was constantly living inside a glowing movable chicken-coop...>.< And if it's so unnoticable, why do I spend 5 minutes of every 30 having to explain to others why my feet seem to be glowing? Edited January 24, 2012 by Rhunexxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fafryd Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Now they just need to make a big obvious graphic for anyone who is in a healing spec so we can focus them down too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavadus Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Now they just need to make a big obvious graphic for anyone who is in a healing spec so we can focus them down too. That would be Kolto Cell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teldaril Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 While it is worse for PvP i like it. A lot of people wanted a symbol that shows them they are tanks. In other fantasy based mmos its a big shield. Here it is something else. It is still as good as before to protect a specific person like the healer. You attack the blue bubble and do half damage or you dont attack the bubble and do no damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irimi-Ai Posted February 3, 2012 Share Posted February 3, 2012 (edited) I don't play PvP, so I won't comment on game mechanics of the Guard glow in that area (though some of the original poster's ideas seem to have merit, some less so). My only complaint about the graphic indicator is that it breaks immersion for me. It is purely a "game experience" complaint on my part. I wouldn't mind if it was a noticeable and subdued glow, but specifically the hex-shaped "chicken wire" draws me out of the experience. The large area maps (the ones accessed by pressing "M") are also depicted in a hex-shaped grid, and many paper-and-pencil RP games utilize geometric-shaped grids for maps/dungeons/etc. So when I see it, I can't help but feel like I'm seeing the underlying map grid, and that obliterates the suspension of disbelief. In fact, when I noticed the hex-grid after the patch, my first thought was that a bug had been introduced that caused the Guard ability to make the texture beneath the player become transparent (and thereby exposing the actual map grid/wireframe of surfaces). Simply put, the hex-grid makes me feel like I'm simply running around on a geometric, mathematical map rather than a lush, vivid, dynamic planet. I believe this is exactly counter to what the developers intend. Granted, I know that in reality it actually IS a geometric, mathematical map, but I don't want to be reminded of that in the game...I want to be immersed in it. I hope a Dev sees this. I know this is a brief thread and not many others are complaining on the forums (though I have read complaints in in-game chat), so I'm sure it would be low on the list if it even got on a list. However, IF it would be a relatively quick change to keep the glow and get rid of the hex-grid, it would sure help the immersion factor for many. Thanks for reading. Edited February 3, 2012 by Irimi-Ai clarifications Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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