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

[Siem]

For those saying it is client side and not an issue in the engine, please explain the issue that Snipers face when using natural cover;

 

I roll to cover, an ability that triggers the global cooldown, once i reach cover and my GCD is over, I begin to cast a 2.5 sec cast ability, which will 100% fail midcast without reason.

 

However if I simply kneel and use mobile cover, the problem does not occur.

 

The difference between the 2 covers is one has me moving, the other doesn't. Ok so by that logic, whilst off of GCD i should be able to cast instants whilst rolling right, as technically I'm just moving? Nope I can't.

 

So what is preventing me from completing my cast when i am in natural cover if it isn't because im moving?

 

The animation.

 

The more I look at this situation the clearer it is that it is the animations delaying the abilities, more specifically, animations that are longer than the GCD. In this case; my character "kneeling" behind the natural cover after she has rolled to it.

 

The same occurs when casting a chain of abilities in which one has a lengthy animation, such as throwing a grenade then trying to instantly fire off an instant. The 1st attempt will fail as, despite being off of GCD, you are still "casting" your instant grenade.

 

Please don't write this off as "everyone has crap lag/fps/pc's" That really isn't the case.

 

Yep, it's like Mortar Volley with the Trooper. The animation is waaaaay longer than the cast time.

[Leilei]

For those saying it is client side and not an issue in the engine, please explain the issue that Snipers face when using natural cover;

 

I roll to cover, an ability that triggers the global cooldown, once i reach cover and my GCD is over, I begin to cast a 2.5 sec cast ability, which will 100% fail midcast without reason.

 

However if I simply kneel and use mobile cover, the problem does not occur.

 

The difference between the 2 covers is one has me moving, the other doesn't. Ok so by that logic, whilst off of GCD i should be able to cast instants whilst rolling right, as technically I'm just moving? Nope I can't.

 

So what is preventing me from completing my cast when i am in natural cover if it isn't because im moving?

 

The animation.

 

The more I look at this situation the clearer it is that it is the animations delaying the abilities, more specifically, animations that are longer than the GCD. In this case; my character "kneeling" behind the natural cover after she has rolled to it.

 

The same occurs when casting a chain of abilities in which one has a lengthy animation, such as throwing a grenade then trying to instantly fire off an instant. The 1st attempt will fail as, despite being off of GCD, you are still "casting" your instant grenade.

 

Please don't write this off as "everyone has crap lag/fps/pc's" That really isn't the case.

 

Im cybertech. Ill try the grenade thing. Sofar its working like WoW to me though. Blaster bolts in the air? SAfe to toss!

 

Anotehr thing is using your charge ability while rolling. Idk about you but my cast bar does NOT appear unless I am already in cover so it must be because you arent using the cover bar

[Xcore]

Is there any way to up vote this forum post or something?

 

Yes when you reply to a thread, scroll down after you finish typing out your response in the txt field, you will see a "Rate Thread" Drop Down...

 

 

Thank you for the support, Bioware has to communicate with us on this...

[RSphil]

not really had any real issues with response time in the ways shown. the only massive glitch iv seen like this is the fact you're player will do the motions of a move the timer will run ect then nothing. no cooldown popped, no dmg from the effect nothng. so you have to spam it to get anything, sometimes 2 or 3 attempts to execute a skill. not good when fighting 3 or 4 mobs, i have died a few times due to this bug. it is the main problem i have seen so far that is a massive game breaker for me.

 

still love the game and enjoy it but this problem is really getting on my nerves. it i snot lag or hardware. just seems to be a game bug as it happens now and then.

 

please find it and fix it

[Kazim]

This issue was constantly reported during beta. I'm afraid they just can't fix it. Must be an issue with the game engine itself.

 

Maybe if Bioware wrote their own engine instead of licensing a 3rd party one..

 

Hell, Blizzard wrote their own engine and even then there are bugs they can't fix (like Ignite), I don't have very high hopes for Bioware fixing this..

[Mandemalex]

Just had a theory, perhaps people who did not change the ability queue-time (default - 0.5 seconds) do not notice it simply because their ability starts casting as soon it's 'ready'

 

However the people WITHOUT the queue-time on abilities, notice it because they press the button when they think it's ready - when in fact the animation claims it's not 'ready' (even though the GCD and cast bar says otherwise)

 

Just a thought.

 

Either way, I would definitely prefer to have no 'ability-delay' even without the queue system.

[FreezePeach]

OP is right on.

 

Posting in a thread that will soon be deleted.

[mbernert]

I'm logged into wow right now trying to really figure out what exactly the difference is for me, as I think a few people are explaining their problem different from my own point.

 

I haven't really seen a problem with an ability start, and then fail to happen. Maybe that is there, I'm not sure sure. For me its more of the timing of things going off.

 

Right now I"m logged in as a mage on wow. I was just casting blizzard and then cast frost nova. The nova happened instantly. I can't help but think that with swtors' engine, my character would have had a delay in casting the frost nova. For me, this feeling is what is bothering me with swtor.

 

Another example. On my mage landing a (shatter combo), is where I cast a 2 second spell, but time an instant cast spell right after to land at the same time. Again thinking of swtor, I don't think it would be possible using swtors' combat.

 

This has bothered me since the first time I used an action in swtor, I was actually telling some friends on skype how the combat is going to drive me away from the game.

[Siem]

Just had a theory, perhaps people who did not change the ability queue-time (default - 0.5 seconds) do not notice it simply because their ability starts casting as soon it's 'ready'

 

However the people WITHOUT the queue-time on abilities, notice it because they press the button when they think it's ready - when in fact the animation claims it's not 'ready' (even though the GCD and cast bar says otherwise)

 

Just a thought.

 

Either way, I would definitely prefer to have no 'ability-delay' even without the queue system.

 

You probably didn't read the whole thread, but earlier it was stated that people who have eliminated queuing are actually experiencing less of an issue.

 

It's still there and unavoidable no matter what you do with the configs, however.

[Leilei]

I think setting the queue window to 0.0 will make it remove the queue. Im testing it now but Im having lots of problems recreating a LOT of the things people posted in the thread.

[Nague]

Another bad.

 

 

 

yeah lets call people bad that dont freak out about imaginary problems.

 

 

My interrupts and stun never failed to land in time even once. how can that be with your imaginary 1 minute ability delay which, i am sure, is the only reason you suck so much at pvp.

[Metajedi]

yeah lets call people bad that dont freak out about imaginary problems.

 

 

My interrupts and stun never failed to land in time even once. how can that be with your imaginary 1 minute ability delay which, i am sure, is the only reason you suck so much at pvp.

 

/agree

 

Anyone who disagrees logically, and even politely like I did gets posts like " why are you so bad " ?

 

Your the ones dieing in pvp because of your delay issues, I do fine in pvp lol sometimes I live sometimes I die.

 

Whats that old saying ? Its a poor mechanic who blames his tools ?

[Zironic]

Another example. On my mage landing a (shatter combo), is where I cast a 2 second spell, but time an instant cast spell right after to land at the same time. Again thinking of swtor, I don't think it would be possible using swtors' combat.

 

This has bothered me since the first time I used an action in swtor, I was actually telling some friends on skype how the combat is going to drive me away from the game.

 

Shatter combo is a perfect example of what SWTOR is missing. In WoW you get a real sense of Bom Bom POW!!! as you combine casted/instant abilities for a glorious synchronous destructive crescendo.

 

In SWTOR the feeling is more like Bom.... *twiddles thumbs* bom..... *twiddles thumbs* bom... *5 min later* oh, the mob died.

 

There's no sense of timing, action or punch.

[Rendekar]

yeah lets call people bad that dont freak out about imaginary problems.

 

 

My interrupts and stun never failed to land in time even once. how can that be with your imaginary 1 minute ability delay which, i am sure, is the only reason you suck so much at pvp.

 

Shhss...You have no clue about what all these people in this thread are talking about. Best be silent and play your bug-free superb mmo.

Edited December 26, 2011 by Rendekar

[Nephrahim]

Shatter combo is a perfect example of what SWTOR is missing. In WoW you get a real sense of Bom Bom POW!!! as you combine casted/instant abilities for a glorious synchronous destructive crescendo.

 

In SWTOR the feeling is more like Bom.... *twiddles thumbs* bom..... *twiddles thumbs* bom... *5 min later* oh, the mob died.

 

There's no sense of timing, action or punch.

 

Gotta get that boom, boom, pow.

[Skoll]

Yep, it's like Mortar Volley with the Trooper. The animation is waaaaay longer than the cast time.

 

Don't get me started on the Consular's Disturbance ability. Here's what usually happens when I use it:

 

First, there's a delay before it even starts to cast, then the activation timer will start over from the beginning once it reaches 1.5 seconds (after a very slight delay I might add) and stop at 1.2 seconds - for a total of 2.7 seconds. On top of this there's a further delay before the casting animation actually finishes. The ability has its activation time listed as 1.50 seconds but it actually takes more than twice as long to cast. That's just plain unacceptable.

 

Ideally the ability should start casting the moment I press the button and when the activation timer reaches 1.5 seconds, the animation should finish and the projectile should be launched from my consular's hand.

[Leilei]

I'm logged into wow right now trying to really figure out what exactly the difference is for me, as I think a few people are explaining their problem different from my own point.

 

I haven't really seen a problem with an ability start, and then fail to happen. Maybe that is there, I'm not sure sure. For me its more of the timing of things going off.

 

Right now I"m logged in as a mage on wow. I was just casting blizzard and then cast frost nova. The nova happened instantly. I can't help but think that with swtors' engine, my character would have had a delay in casting the frost nova. For me, this feeling is what is bothering me with swtor.

 

Another example. On my mage landing a (shatter combo), is where I cast a 2 second spell, but time an instant cast spell right after to land at the same time. Again thinking of swtor, I don't think it would be possible using swtors' combat.

 

This has bothered me since the first time I used an action in swtor, I was actually telling some friends on skype how the combat is going to drive me away from the game.

 

What youre talking about is SWTORS pace with the animations and such.

 

This I can experience and its not really the engine its just how they did the animations and how skills work. They can easilly change it to be front loaded like wow but it will need a complete redo of all the skills animations.

[Tebbo]

just call it input lag.

 

in the fighting game community we ***** over 3 frames of lag. i can tell swtor is somewhat lacking here but it doesn't bother me too much at this point since it's an mmo and not a fighting game or fps.

 

still it would be lovely to see i improved and i support that entirely.

[Metajedi]

also the speeder thing video is a pretty poor example of " ability delay"

thats happened to me but that doesnt mean there is a universal ability delay, because it doesn't happen with any other abilities.

 

Its less then a week after launch and the speeder could be bugged for all any of us know.

[Siem]

/agree

 

Anyone who disagrees logically, and even politely like I did gets posts like " why are you so bad " ?

 

Your the ones dieing in pvp because of your delay issues, I do fine in pvp lol sometimes I live sometimes I die.

 

Whats that old saying ? Its a poor mechanic who blames his tools ?

 

The majority of people disagreeing don't seem to understand the core issue, maybe due to lack of experience with other MMOs or a general satisfaction with how the combat works in SW:TOR.

 

...and more power to them. I wish I could look past such a glaring flaw and enjoy the game for what it is. The fact that I can't use every GCD to my liking kills the combat experience for me.

[mbernert]

Shatter combo is a perfect example of what SWTOR is missing. In WoW you get a real sense of Bom Bom POW!!! as you combine casted/instant abilities for a glorious synchronous destructive crescendo.

 

In SWTOR the feeling is more like Bom.... *twiddles thumbs* bom..... *twiddles thumbs* bom... *5 min later* oh, the mob died.

 

There's no sense of timing, action or punch.

 

On swtor, I just tried casting lightning stike (1.5sec casting time) followed by shock (instant cast). The definately was a delay in shock going off, even though I should be off the gcd by the time lightning stike casts. On screen, it looks as though my character waits until his hands drop from the animation of casting lightning strike, and then execute shock.

[Taboo]

Still beyond me how people are defending this or denying it completely. People are getting affected by this and it isn't to do with FPS, lag, or their hardware.

 

[TFerg]

yeah lets call people bad that dont freak out about imaginary problems.

 

 

My interrupts and stun never failed to land in time even once. how can that be with your imaginary 1 minute ability delay which, i am sure, is the only reason you suck so much at pvp.

 

 

Coming from someone who personally has 2300 exp at season 5, 2600 exp at season 8, on a discipline priest in WoW, one of the most clutch and reactive natured classes possible in that game, and also coming from someone who has 0 fps or latency lag,

 

You are simply dead. Wrong.

 

The game simply does not have flawless reactionary actions that correspond perfectly to my keystrokes. As another example, I've recently gotten a chance to play Guild Wars 2 in beta form, and that game feels absolutely perfect in terms of responsiveness. Literally the instant I hit an ability, it starts the animation.

 

I love SW: TOR, but this issue is a major one. I will still play the game, even if it isn't fixed, but it is absolutely unbearable and will keep me from taking pvp seriously.

 

Sure, I dominate Warzones almost every match. Doesn't mean I enjoy them. If you HONESTLY think that people are bad for having these poor responsiveness issues, or think its a hardware issue, you really need to wake up. Sorry.

[Contumelious]

/agree

 

Anyone who disagrees logically, and even politely like I did gets posts like " why are you so bad " ?

 

Your the ones dieing in pvp because of your delay issues, I do fine in pvp lol sometimes I live sometimes I die.

 

Whats that old saying ? Its a poor mechanic who blames his tools ?

 

/Agree

 

Let's ignore all well thought out replies to our post, and only reply to the one saying "Why are you so bad" so we can seem smart and act like misunderstood victims.

 

Are you for real, guy? Jesus Christ.

[Siem]

also the speeder thing video is a pretty poor example of " ability delay"

thats happened to me but that doesnt mean there is a universal ability delay, because it doesn't happen with any other abilities.

 

Its less then a week after launch and the speeder could be bugged for all any of us know.

 

It does happen with other abilities. I'll try to make a video today demonstrating something.