Siege Mechanics & Bug Fixes

[Ussiah 440]

Let me start by saying:

1. I got to limited sieges because of my play times, and some of these issues I have heard about but not seen.
2. DO NOT refer to other players in this thread. If you ACTUALLY want changes, refer to the issue, not a person/group. ( @Pann doesn't need more work)

Zone caps - Already been discussed in other threads, will hopefully see relief in 5.9

Alt Spies - I don't see this ever changing. Best change could argue for is to get rid of /who in zone. In person number/movement watching will stay as part of the game and any of the "fixes" for this will not be worth it IMO.

Siege Equipment Placement - When there are more people at sieges, and often ones that you cannot communicate with, this will become more and more difficult. Is it possible to remove the restrictions on placing if a player is present? Yes a player may get stuck, but usually a "fake logout" will get you out of those, or perhaps it will push a player and that won't even be needed.

Siege Equipment in use by incorrect players - There are some complaints of players getting into equipment and either purposely or unknowingly using it incorrectly. Would it be possible for siege equipment to be "owned" by a group instead of a faction? This would require more planning but also could help reduce this issue. Only concern would be a bad actor placing it himself(as a defender where spots are limited) and getting in it. Maybe the placer could "kick" or "ban" a player from using" as another option.

Siege Equipment Hitting into ToL room - It is possible to use siege equipment to fire into the ToL room. This seems unintended. The whole power of siege equipment against infantry seems off and is one of the reasons elementalist is so often used(besides the fact half the classes do elemental damage they can't change). Perhaps balistas could only fire outwardly or reassess friendly fire with siege equipment(i think this would be far more interesting if hit ALL players and require more planning, although once again could be griefers who abuse it).

Attackers Placing on Defenders Walls - As far as I know this hasn't been fixed, attackers can currently get right next to the wall and place siege equipment in defenders spots. I do not see this as a major issue(since defenders should be able to kill it pretty quickly), but it does seem like something that needs to be fixed.

 

Also, sorry to bother you @vkromas, but do you know if the devs are looking into any of these issues?

 

Are there any other issues with sieges currently? Any other fixes people can come up with? (Once again, talk about issues, not players/groups)

 

Edited March 15 by Ussiah

[Ble 729]

Great post Ussiah.  Hit all the points.

[veeshan 622]

For Spies allow for block interaction option this command wouuld block somone seeing you in /who, your chat messages aswell and block them from using equipment you place. (Love when spies jump on your seige equipments.

[miraluna 2,434]

17 hours ago, Ussiah said:

Siege Equipment in use by incorrect players - There are some complaints of players getting into equipment and either purposely or unknowingly using it incorrectly. Would it be possible for siege equipment to be "owned" by a group instead of a faction? This would require more planning but also could help reduce this issue. Only concern would be a bad actor placing it himself(as a defender where spots are limited) and getting in it. Maybe the placer could "kick" or "ban" a player from using" as another option.

GW2 WvW has some good mechanics for siege weapons:

1. Blueprints for siege weapons are placed first, then require supplies to build

2. Blueprint placement identifies the "owner" player - team members can build and use the siege, "owner" can bump anyone off of siege

3. Unbuilt blueprints decay after a few mins

[Kaffe 6]

9 hours ago, miraluna said:

2. Blueprint placement identifies the "owner" player - team members can build and use the siege, "owner" can bump anyone off of siege

Bumping people off is a really neat idea, since it doesn't restrict the use too much (everyone can try, even solo players)

It would probably need a message to alert the bumped player, something like: 

The commander has forcefully removed you from this machine

This mechanic can also be misused, but it is a good way to stop possible griefing from spies.

[Ussiah 440]

Yea I like idea of placer being able to bump people

[vkromas 696]

On 3/15/2019 at 7:44 AM, Ussiah said:

Let me start by saying:

1. I got to limited sieges because of my play times, and some of these issues I have heard about but not seen.
2. DO NOT refer to other players in this thread. If you ACTUALLY want changes, refer to the issue, not a person/group. ( @Pann doesn't need more work)

Zone caps - Already been discussed in other threads, will hopefully see relief in 5.9

Alt Spies - I don't see this ever changing. Best change could argue for is to get rid of /who in zone. In person number/movement watching will stay as part of the game and any of the "fixes" for this will not be worth it IMO.

Siege Equipment Placement - When there are more people at sieges, and often ones that you cannot communicate with, this will become more and more difficult. Is it possible to remove the restrictions on placing if a player is present? Yes a player may get stuck, but usually a "fake logout" will get you out of those, or perhaps it will push a player and that won't even be needed.

Siege Equipment in use by incorrect players - There are some complaints of players getting into equipment and either purposely or unknowingly using it incorrectly. Would it be possible for siege equipment to be "owned" by a group instead of a faction? This would require more planning but also could help reduce this issue. Only concern would be a bad actor placing it himself(as a defender where spots are limited) and getting in it. Maybe the placer could "kick" or "ban" a player from using" as another option.

Siege Equipment Hitting into ToL room - It is possible to use siege equipment to fire into the ToL room. This seems unintended. The whole power of siege equipment against infantry seems off and is one of the reasons elementalist is so often used(besides the fact half the classes do elemental damage they can't change). Perhaps balistas could only fire outwardly or reassess friendly fire with siege equipment(i think this would be far more interesting if hit ALL players and require more planning, although once again could be griefers who abuse it).

Attackers Placing on Defenders Walls - As far as I know this hasn't been fixed, attackers can currently get right next to the wall and place siege equipment in defenders spots. I do not see this as a major issue(since defenders should be able to kill it pretty quickly), but it does seem like something that needs to be fixed.

 

Also, sorry to bother you @vkromas, but do you know if the devs are looking into any of these issues?

 

Are there any other issues with sieges currently? Any other fixes people can come up with? (Once again, talk about issues, not players/groups)

 

This is a really great post! I'm passing it on to the team to chew on. As far as I know, the siege loop is constantly being looked at to better the game play aspect of it. 

[mandalore 2,649]

Siege Equipment in Shadowbane was tied to the guild (nation) defending and the guild (nation) attacking.  Just for a point of reference of what JTC’s previous siege game had.