Profile of ZombiFrancis

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Thread: Just some stats17 Sep 2014, 14:26 PM A 4v4 on a map like Faceoff at Rostov is very different from a 4v4 on Steppes or City 17. So much of Company of Heroes is dependent upon the map design the factions are fighting over. Almost all of the 4v4 maps have critical and glaring flaws that make them exceedingly problematic. But that's almost inevitable, because in map design for 1v1s and 2v2s, there is much more room for balancing. The constraints and limitations of what the players can feasibly do on the map is more manageable. Once you reach 3v3s and 4v4s the sheer amount of units each team is fielding makes things rather unwieldly. Faceoff at Rostov has two territory points cutting the entire team off from the map. With the new commander, and four players, just basic amounts of cooperation can result in incredible advantages. (Close air support stukas so Close the Pocket can be fired at the same time, etc). A lot of it has to do with how things scale. In 2v2s the crippling flaws of the allied factions are, as a whole, mitigated if the players coordinate in the slightest. At 3v3 and 4v4 it's hard for a team NOT to have a full variety of counters and abilities available at their disposal. Solutions? Well, there could be more 3v3 and 4v4 maps for one. Also, the way CPs and resources are scaled and spread out in 4v4s compared to 1v1s could also be balanced out. But so much has to do with the maps and map options. No one in their right mind can play a match on City 17 and then a match on Lanzerath Ambush and feel like they played on an equally balanced battlefield. The strategies and design can be absolutely and unequivocally altered by map variation. In: COH2 Balance
Thread: (2v2) Runway Eight.17 Sep 2014, 14:04 PM http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=314650230 Once a depot for delivering supplies and providing air support to the frontlines, this runway has been rendered useless from the struggle for control: a strip of ruin and rubble. Though robbed of strategic value, the enemy still occupies the area, and our mission is to drive the enemy out; wherever they may be. Version 0.3 Stuff to be done, I will update this map in a few versions, but I have reached a point where I need people other than myself to play and test this map out for balance. In the last update I was able to give the fields and roadways much more flavor and character, as well as give the runway and roads better edging and transitions. Building foundations and rubble were also improved. I also updated some of the center wreckage to properly block sight/shots as well as provide cover. (Some wrecks apparently had no hitboxes, and others provided no cover.) It seems that the strategic points that I was using for the road could not be decapped once capped. They're now normal resource points. OOB Aesthetics -Assorted buildings, build OOB railway running through and alongside border of map. Other than the train station, buildings will probably be OOB panels. Team bases -Need to determine if map is suitable for 3v3 -Need to add assorted defenses and cover to be set to prevent easy base rushing -Need to decorate and edge roads throughout Runway crash skidmarks -If necessary, need to add grooves in the runway from crashing aircraft skidding. Need to determine if they should be merely aesthetic, or deep enough grooves to be considered cover. Runway/roadway tracks -Plane tracks scattered in OOB, but wrecked vehicle tracks and roadtrack splines need to be tackled. Corner sectors -Dependent on optimization for degree and depth of decoration. -Need to clean up tiles and pathways Gameplay: -The roads have very large cap zones. Hold the road, hold the point. There are only two points that connect either base to the runway resources. This map was designed before Close the Pocket, which may place the map design as a whole in a compromising position. I may relook this design later, and perhaps add a third point in the middle of the road, but this will likely only be in the case of 3v3 accomodation. -Corner sectors are currently Fuel and Munitions points. These territories are somewhat isolated from combat and are kind of freebie points. As such, standard territory points in these corners would've equated to the same resource income for each side of the runway when capped. In addition, the fuel and munition points cannot be OPed, which is fitting for their relative isolation. -I designed this map to punish absent minded blobbing and blind attack moves. Positioning units in cover and tactical advances are incentivized for this map. The centre runway is rife with red cover, which will make infantry advances a more thoughtful task. -I sought to preserve the mantra from vCoH: Never cap under fire! As such, resource points on the runway are in a compromising position for attempting to capture territory in battle. The victory points have small cap zones and no territory attached to them, removing their potential as cut-off points. Feel free to check this map out and see what you think. I'm still in the process of making the map more sightly, but it is functionally all there. I have more or less reached a wall in development where I need to see how it functions in a multiplayer environment, and how well optimized for the task it is. I don't want to make the OOB or edges of the map full of objects that will slow down map performance if I am already reaching a limit. I appreciate your feedback! Thank you and enjoy! In: Map Sharing
Thread: Close the Pocket14 Sep 2014, 14:01 PM There are two glaring and obvious problems with Close the Pocket. First off, all frontline sectors get hit, and secondly the ability provides LOS for the player, requiring no spotting or any force to have to remain cutting off territory. Just the time it takes to recapture is enough to cause lethal damage to an entire team. Without one or both of those game breaking qualities of the ability, it would've been sane to release. But Relic is obviously aware of this. They have never ever released a commander that was balanced. In a few months the commander will have acquired it's intended goal, and it will become balanced/broken in time for the next release. In: COH2 Gameplay
Thread: Flattened buildings blocking sight? 13 Sep 2014, 16:45 PM Unfortunately, yes. An objects ability to shot block and block LOS is dependent on the object itself. Because buildings are never truly destroyed, just razed, their entity remains in the form of the rubble, etc. As such, the hitbox that blocks movement/LOS/shots remains. The models that you see in-game do not correlate with the invisible hitboxes that block movement/sight/shots. This is also what makes vehicles and such behave so counter intuitively. The models are just a visual representation of squares navigating a rigidly oriented grid. Depending on how well designed and optimized the map is, this is what can lead to things like invisible walls. For all purposes an object can appear to not be blocking anything, but it's actual hitbox will occupy a larger space. This is why often times infantry have to run PAST a corner of a building to see beyond it, because the corner of the building is not always oriented with the LOS blocking hitbox. In: COH2 Bugs
Thread: Conscripts post 9/9 patch13 Sep 2014, 15:33 PM I always thought that weapons crews and conscripts should've been largely identical. ATGs have specific bonuses crewing ATGs, mortars for mortars, mgs for mgs. I also thought that the soviets should've had the abandon weapon ability, or simply abandon weapons on retreat, allowing to have for mortar teams without mortars, etc, functioning exactly like conscripts. And for soviets, squads wouldn't get split when recrewing, but the whole squad would join the crew. Then the 6man squads of everything the soviets had would make more sense, and allow for conscripts to be a universal function of the soviet army: moving from weapon to weapon, with unit preservation being all the more important. In: COH2 Balance
Thread: Relic: is it possible to let players rejoin a dropped game?13 Sep 2014, 15:18 PM Well, DOTA2 has proven that such a mechanic is possible. However, DOTA2 also lacks the surrender option. And honestly, I have wanted to surrender more times in DOTA2 just to start a new game more than I've ever wanted to rejoin a match of CoH2 I was dropped from for whatever reason. Not to mention rejoining a game of CoH2 would be pretty wonky trying to pick up the pieces of what the AI had decided to do. I could only see this being worthwhile if CoH2 was possible to pause. That said, it'd be a great feature, but I get the feeling that getting players to play the game in the first place is the priority. In: COH2 Gameplay
Thread: Are you taking a break from the CoH2 title?13 Sep 2014, 15:10 PM Yes, sort of. I preordered and played religiously through beta and after launch, but after the how patches and commander releases were treated I abandoned the game altogether. The core design and balance issues that were prevalent in beta became central features of the game, let alone on the agenda to be fixed. When the Worldbuilder was revealed to be virtually identical to vCoHs (almost stripped down) and mod support was removed, it left a very terrible taste in my mouth. I started playing again shortly after US/OKW was released as my friends kept inviting me. I still don't have either of those factions, but as long as I have friends inviting me to matches, I'll hop on for a few rounds. I haven't played Allies more than a few times since I've come back because, well, my friends usually just want to play OKW. (The bastids liked the Brits in vCoH so what can I expect. ) Right now it's only the Worldbuilder keeping me in the CoH2 franchise, as it gives me a place to vent my frustrations with the perpetual flaws in map design and game mechanics. (Seriously, fix true sight. Sight blocking should not be shot blocking. Doing so defeats much of the purpose of using recons, scouts, and spotters. I mean really, the main call for truesight came from vCoH Angoville matches where you could see over the hedgerows and tall city walls. It never needed to be so complex.) In: COH2 Gameplay
Thread: Panther and tier 49 Sep 2014, 04:50 AM Two of three things need to happen: -Reduction in cost, presumably fuel. Manpower cost is one thing, but pop cap as it is in automatch maps, it's not so much an issue. -Increase in accuracy, at long range, while moving, or against stationary targets. Preferably across the board. -Increase of frontal armor (potentially with a decrease to rear armor). Mobile maneuvering exposing the rear would be panther's main gamble, but the panthers would prevail in a slug out match with another medium tank. Those are my thoughts on the matter of the Ostheer panther. In: COH2 Balance
Thread: Manual Reload for MG set-up teams6 Sep 2014, 01:01 AM At the very least if an MG team packs up, upon setting up they should have a fresh clip. In: COH2 Gameplay
Thread: Abandon vehicle occurring more often? 2 Sep 2014, 01:37 AM Wait, I don't have the American faction to see for myself, but what is it about them allows them to ignore criticals? In: COH2 Gameplay