[BUG] GSF is Broken

[StrixHiraeth]

Bump... also, Hey DakhathKilrathi -- it might be a good idea to quote or link any official replies in the OP.

[Pietrastor]

Thanks for the information!

 

We will have someone look into this.

 

-Tait

 

Just like there will be someone to look into broken stronghold decoration system? Seriously, the team spends time creating these new amazing in-game components JUST to break them few months later in 3.0? How did this mess go through the amazing closed beta testing?

[btbarrett]

Just like there will be someone to look into broken stronghold decoration system? Seriously, the team spends time creating these new amazing in-game components JUST to break them few months later in 3.0? How did this mess go through the amazing closed beta testing?

 

So long as it is fixed soon, I am willing to let by-gones be by-gones, but I will tell BW that you shouldn't expect us to be TOO patient and the classic BW "soon" will likely not suffice. For the primary users of GSF, GSF is the primary reason they log into SWTOR at all. Once those players leave it will be very hard to attract them back, even when the bugs are remedied.

 

At the risk of being hyperbolic, if the community doesn't see action or at least more transparent communications you risk losing what remains of the GSF community: a community that you presumably spent considerable amounts of money to cultivate (I assume the GSF devs didn't work for free).

[Caernos]

Thanks for the information!

 

We will have someone look into this.

 

-Tait

 

Tait, it's great to hear that the community team is aware of the issues, but being aware of the issue and actually doing something about it are two completely different things. Please let the Devs know that this is an urgent matter (at least to me, I don't want to assume and put words in anyone else's mouth) and that it would be greatly appreciated if they could give some attention to resolving these. It is very frustrating that these bugs were added on top of pre-existing bugs in the GSF game play.

 

(My apologies to anyone if I was rude or offensive, that was not my intent with this post, I simply wanted to call further attention to the prevailing issues. Please note that I am not trying to speak for anyone, these words are my own and should not be taken as speaking for any group of people or persons. Thank you.)

[nyghtrunner]

I linked the thread in the OP, then copied in case they didn't go read it. But yeah, see that thread for a current list. Edited the OP with a quote/current list.

Cool. I think when I looked and wrote that last night, it was using a different list (although it has since been changed to the one I've got going, and it might have been when I first looked, rather than when I replied here, since I couldn't reply most of the day). I'll definitely try to keep that list up to date, but it's looking more and more like people aren't reporting other bugs.

 

Also, to get back on track for a possible relation to the bugs. I'm not positive, but it's starting to look like effectively, any T3/4/5 ability the gives temporary positive buffs to you or your team on top of the original component buffs aren't applying. The negative ones to enemies seem to be as near as I can tell, and also any passive, static buff is working. I certainly can't verify everything, but if I were to start looking for a "where" in terms of some kind of superclass not working to write a fix, it would be application of temporary, positive buffs from trees with divergent choices.

 

Honestly, if I were to hazard a guess, this is probably not a terribly difficult fix, although I certainly don't know the system at all, just speaking as a programmer noticing a trend in behavior.

 

That said, there are a number of other, smaller bugs/tool-tip muck ups that I think were broken before this, and if you've got a dev going under the hood, it would be an ideal time to try to fix those. Most of those would probably be pretty simple fixes as well to someone familiar with the system. I'm sure we could put together a list of items that currently have mismatches in tooltip descriptions v behavior.

Edited December 4, 2014 by nyghtrunner

[Pilgrim_Grey]

To really emphasize this again, many of these bugs have been live FOR MONTHS. They're not minor, either, they're like a Guardian's defense powers not working properly, an Operative's stealth not engaging, etc. They have a huge effect on gameplay, and it's sad that a whole expansion to the game came out without them being touched. Please, please allocate resources to all parts of your game that you are developing.

[vladunk]

Any word on a hotfix/patch yet?

 

I can only collect hippo meat so many times before losing interest...I need my gsf back!

Edited December 4, 2014 by vladunk

[DamascusAdontise]

Im approaching the final Revan mission and once that bugs out and locks up I won't have anything to do...... I would GSF but...... queues are pretty empty atm for some reason

 

(drums fingers impatiently....)

 

I would be less worried if I saw more communication about other hot / bug fixes, but it seems they are being pretty quiet. Trying to stay optimistic but looks like GSF most likely takes a back seat on this one behind class missions, lag, and player class problems, + Broken GSH Stuff (literally in that order)

 

<---- hoping this is an easy fix so they can get it done before never

[btbarrett]

Im approaching the final Revan mission and once that bugs out and locks up I won't have anything to do...... I would GSF but...... queues are pretty empty atm for some reason

 

(drums fingers impatiently....)

 

I would be less worried if I saw more communication about other hot / bug fixes, but it seems they are being pretty quiet. Trying to stay optimistic but looks like GSF most likely takes a back seat on this one behind class missions, lag, and player class problems, + Broken GSH Stuff (literally in that order)

 

<---- hoping this is an easy fix so they can get it done before never

 

If you look at Tait's post history, his last 15 posts or so are all saying "We will look into this." Doesn't instill me with confidence.

[Caernos]

Bumping this back to the first page.

 

It would be very nice to have more of a response than just "we're looking into this," please.

[btbarrett]

It hasn't been made mention of yet in this thread that I have seen, but it is also worth noting that the intro text on the load screen that describes mission objectives and such is bugged too. Just as in the ground PvP scenario, all text appears as yellow boxes and/or lines which do little to convey information about GSF.

[TaitWatson]

Bumping this back to the first page.

 

It would be very nice to have more of a response than just "we're looking into this," please.

 

Unfortunately, that's the only response I have for you currently. We are actively investigating the issue, but that's all I know right now. I will make sure to update this thread when I do find out anything else.

[Werehowie]

Unfortunately, that's the only response I have for you currently. We are actively investigating the issue, but that's all I know right now. I will make sure to update this thread when I do find out anything else.

 

Seeing as how the GSF community has done the investigating for you I'd like to think that that would speed up the process.

[DakhathKilrathi]

Unfortunately, that's the only response I have for you currently. We are actively investigating the issue, but that's all I know right now. I will make sure to update this thread when I do find out anything else.

 

While I appreciate the response, I agree with others in that it's not enough. I realize that it's not your fault; you really do have no information to share.

 

However, I think that when my subscription is up in a few weeks, I won't be buying more time. If this or a similar bug was affecting ground PVP, it would have been a much higher priority. I realize that there are others problems in the game right now, but GSF is the only thing I care to play with any frequency, and the response this week has demonstrated that Bioware doesn't care about it as much as I do.

 

My other hobby is RP, and, well, you don't need a subscription to do that. I won't miss the req gains in GSF, either. I subscribe because I want to support the things I enjoy doing. I don't feel I'm getting what I paid for right now.

 

I suspect I may not be the only subscriber at stake here.

Edited December 5, 2014 by DakhathKilrathi

[Caernos]

Unfortunately, that's the only response I have for you currently. We are actively investigating the issue, but that's all I know right now. I will make sure to update this thread when I do find out anything else.

 

Tait,

 

I understand that this is the only response that you can give at the moment and I realize that 3.0 just launched. Between the expansions and the new discipline system there are dozens of bugs and other small fires that the devs are trying to fix and put out. Anyone who reads the forums can see that the game staff are working hard to ensure that we have a fun and enjoyable experience. And I'm glad to hear that the devs are aware of the problem with Galactic Starfighter and are investigating them. For that much information alone, thank you.

 

However please understand that I am a frustrated player. I really enjoy Galactic Starfighter; through it I have met a great group of people who are wonderful and fun to play with. However, since the inception of Galactic Starfighter there have been several speed bumps that have hurt my enjoyment of it. First, the fifth ship type was indefinitely postponed, understandably for balance issues, but still disappointing. Then several components (sabotage probe, Ion missile, and EMP come to mind) all had changes or bugs appear without any explanation or response. Galactic Starfighter players have known about these bugs and have been dealing with them for months, and several players have even documented these problems and posted about them on the Galactic Starfighter forums but there has been no response from anyone. Then, when this update hit there were even more things that broke. If this was the first time bugs were added in after a patch, I would have simply said "well it's a new patch these things happen," however to have these bugs come in after we have been asking for fixes for months is, to reiterate, frustrating. It is the continual buildup of issues and inattentiveness that has led to my stance and current motivations for bumping this thread.

 

To that end, I intend to continue bumping this thread to the front of the bug forum pages until the issues are resolved, including those bugs that we have been asking for fixes previously. It is my hope that by continually doing so that the devs will remain aware of these issues and GSF will not just be forgotten and remain broken for months. I recognize that you may not have anything you can share or do about the these problems, but in fairness you've done your part; you've told the devs that GSF "is broken." Now it's up to them to respond. I am doing this so that they do respond; it is my way of protesting being forgotten.

 

Again, I truly appreciate everything you have done and are doing, it is great to see that people are aware of the problem. Please note, I am not trying to be offensive or rude or hostile with this post, and if anyone feels that I have been, please let me know so that I can edit accordingly. My goal with this was not to hurt people or harass them, only to explain why I am frustrated and why I am going to keep bumping this thread.

 

Thank you for your time, have a good weekend.

[Verain]

So, taking it from the top:

 

First, in late spring, the sabotage probe bug popped up. This was an issue where if you take the talent that snares an enemy ship, the sabotage probe has no effect (it no longer stops maneuvers). The workaround was eventually determined to not take that talent.

 

Second, in August, this happened:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=758554

 

These August changes, which had been determined via means that were certainly not patch note related, had shown up in the XML in late July on the PTR and went in broken in that August patch:

 

1- EMP field claims to be 4500m but is really 3000m. The value was nerfed, but not the tooltip. What?

2- All the dot tooltips are all garbage butt. I actually don't know if the dots themselves are too.

 

This includes:

> Sabotage probe (280 damage over 0 seconds)

> Plasma railgun ("an additional 900 damage over" (text terminates ) )

> EMP missile ("will disable mines and drones for" (text terminates ) )

(the "text terminates" appears to be the game engine not wanting to draw whatever character is in there- this means that "dealing 335 damage to hull" and "railgun fails to fire below 25% charge" is all truncated away)

 

3- Gutting of Ion missile. Ion missile tier five left now snares for 6 seconds, down from 12.

 

 

At some point between September and October, the Ion Railgun change went in- this seemed to revert an earlier patch of Ion Railgun. The original behavior of Ion Railgun T5 talents were "slow by 40% for 6 seconds" or "stop energy regen for 6 seconds". A deliberate patch, with notes, changed them to "slow by 65% for 12 seconds" or "slow energy regen by 65% for 6 seconds". The reversion, which was never noted in patch notes, XML, or tooltips, makes them apparently have the old functionality.

 

 

There are also reports about Interdiction Drive not snaring, but I can't vouch for that personally.

 

 

 

Then, what 3.0 did, was:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=779300

KNOWN ISSUES:

1. Distortion Field (Tier 3): Missile Break not working (Right Side)
   
2. Tensor Field (Tier 4): Added evasion not working (Right Side)
   
3. Tensor Field (Tier 5): Booster Regeneration not working (Right Side)
   
4. Interdiction Drone (Tier 5): Extra drone not deploying (Right Side)
   
5. Repair Probes (Tier 4): Not healing with bonus (Left Side)
   
6. Repair Probes (Tier 5): Ammo regen not working (Left Side)
   
7. Repair Probes (Tier 5): Shield Restoration not working (Right Side)
   
8. Repair Drone (Tier 3): Ammo regen not working (Right Side)
   
9. Targeting Telemetry (Tier 4) Evasion bonus not applied (Right Side)
   
10. Targeting Telemetry (Tier 5) Crit bonus not applied (Left Side)
    
11. Booster Recharge (Tier 4) Increased Engine Regen not working. (Left Side)
    
12. Booster Recharge (Tier 5) Quick boost does nothing. (Left Side)
    
13. Booster Recharge (Tier 5) Reactor boost does nothing. (Right Side)
    
14. Concussion Mine (Tier 4) Additional mine not deploying (Left Side)
    
15. Seeker Mine (Tier 5) Additional mine not deploying (Right Side)
    
16. EMP Field (Tier 4) Missile Immunity not breaking missiles (Right Side)
    
17. EMP Field (Tier 5) Engine Suppression not keeping you from using engine ability. (Left Side)
    

 

REPORTED, BUT UNCONFIRMED:

1. Ion Rail Slow (Tier 5) Ion rail slow not being applied (or for very short time) (Left Side)
   
2. Repair Probes (Tier 4): Emergency Shielding seemingly not working (Right Side)
   
3. Concussion Missile (Tier 5) Slow/Engine drain not working (Left Side)
   
4. Booster Recharge (Tier 4) Increased Engine Power not working. (Right Side)
   
5. Proton Torpedo (Tier 4) Missile speed increase does not increase missile speed. (Left Side)
   
6. Tensor Field (Tier 4): Added turning not working (Left Side)
   
7. Tensor Field (Tier 5): Added speed not working (Left Side)
   
8. Blaster Overcharge (Tier 4): Pretty sure neither option is working (Power Regen/Rate of Fire). (Both Sides)
   
9. Blaster Overcharge (Tier 5): Pretty sure neither option is working (Blaster Range/Weapon Damage). (Both Sides)
   

 

 

Much of the pre-3.0 stuff could have been intended. I was never sure if those were balance changes or bugs or whatever. Some, such as the sab probe one and the descriptive text on plasma railgun terminating, were obvious bugs, but was the Ion missile nerf intended? No one can say outside of Bioware, and no one at Bioware is saying anything about GSF at all.

 

 

 

These bugs are absolutely game breaking, and it shows that no testing of GSF was done on the test realm, or for that matter, ANY test realms, since July. We reported these bugs back before they went live, and have continued to report bugs as they happen, but this thread is the first time we have gotten a gold response at all.

 

 

ALSO! Clarions need a pink and purple paint job option, and a red bow option like Ms Pac-Man.

 

 

Thanks for your time.

Edited December 6, 2014 by Verain

[Verain]

And could we please get a sticky for the GSF build guide?

 

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=729222

 

 

(We did try try to get it up through I think the more typical channels, by posting it to the suggestion forum: )

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=776701

[Caernos]

So, taking it from the top:

 

First, in late spring, the sabotage probe bug popped up. This was an issue where if you take the talent that snares an enemy ship, the sabotage probe has no effect (it no longer stops maneuvers). The workaround was eventually determined to not take that talent.

 

Second, in August, this happened:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=758554

 

These August changes, which had been determined via means that were certainly not patch note related, had shown up in the XML in late July on the PTR and went in broken in that August patch:

 

 

 

 

At some point between September and October, the Ion Railgun change went in- this seemed to revert an earlier patch of Ion Railgun. The original behavior of Ion Railgun T5 talents were "slow by 40% for 6 seconds" or "stop energy regen for 6 seconds". A deliberate patch, with notes, changed them to "slow by 65% for 12 seconds" or "slow energy regen by 65% for 6 seconds". The reversion, which was never noted in patch notes, XML, or tooltips, makes them apparently have the old functionality.

 

 

There are also reports about Interdiction Drive not snaring, but I can't vouch for that personally.

 

 

 

Then, what 3.0 did, was:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=779300

 

 

 

Much of the pre-3.0 stuff could have been intended. I was never sure if those were balance changes or bugs or whatever. Some, such as the sab probe one and the descriptive text on plasma railgun terminating, were obvious bugs, but was the Ion missile nerf intended? No one can say outside of Bioware, and no one at Bioware is saying anything about GSF at all.

 

 

 

These bugs are absolutely game breaking, and it shows that no testing of GSF was done on the test realm, or for that matter, ANY test realms, since July. We reported these bugs back before they went live, and have continued to report bugs as they happen, but this thread is the first time we have gotten a gold response at all.

 

 

ALSO! Clarions need a pink and purple paint job option, and a red bow option like Ms Pac-Man.

 

 

Thanks for your time.

 

Thank you for posting this Verain.

[btbarrett]

I couldn't help but notice that there was no mention of GSF in your "Bugs to be fixed next week" post. We need information on when it WILL be fixed. Let me try to impress upon you what is at stake:

 

GSF has a relatively small community that is made up of a core group of users and then, to a lesser extent, folks looking for conquest points. Once even a small number of core users get fed up and leave (and there is a lot of that talk going around) they are extremely hard to replace. At that point, the other core users have fewer interesting matches and in turn THEY lose interest. It is a downward spiral that could be very real and happen very quickly.

 

Your game is already competing for attention with games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and the new WoW expansion, removing a central reason that many of us play gives us time to dabble into other games. That time spent dabbling quickly leads to decreased usership for SWTOR.

 

Let me be clear: we demand information. If this is a fix that is coming in three weeks, tell us. Because I can guarantee you that two weeks of silence will permanently decrease usership. We understand that GSF is the red-headed step-child of GSF and is probably unlikely to see developer attention in the near future, but that doesn't mean that we don't expect blatant bugs to be fixed in a timely manner.

[AmericanNate]

I couldn't help but notice that there was no mention of GSF in your "Bugs to be fixed next week" post. We need information on when it WILL be fixed. Let me try to impress upon you what is at stake:

 

GSF has a relatively small community that is made up of a core group of users and then, to a lesser extent, folks looking for conquest points. Once even a small number of core users get fed up and leave (and there is a lot of that talk going around) they are extremely hard to replace. At that point, the other core users have fewer interesting matches and in turn THEY lose interest. It is a downward spiral that could be very real and happen very quickly.

 

Your game is already competing for attention with games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and the new WoW expansion, removing a central reason that many of us play gives us time to dabble into other games. That time spent dabbling quickly leads to decreased usership for SWTOR.

 

Let me be clear: we demand information. If this is a fix that is coming in three weeks, tell us. Because I can guarantee you that two weeks of silence will permanently decrease usership. We understand that GSF is the red-headed step-child of GSF and is probably unlikely to see developer attention in the near future, but that doesn't mean that we don't expect blatant bugs to be fixed in a timely manner.

 

There's a bugs to be fixed next week post? Where's that at?

[btbarrett]

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=7848510#edit7848510

[AmericanNate]

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=7848510#edit7848510

 

Ah, thanks. Completely missed that.

[btbarrett]

Ah, thanks. Completely missed that.

 

No problem.

 

/bump

[OKonst]

Shamelessly bumping this back up.

 

Thanks to the Developing Team for at least confirming the insane amount of bugs currently plagueing GSF and hoping for a serious fix in the not so far future.

[Caernos]

Hope everyone has had a good weekend, another bump.