Known Beta issues

[WILDFIRE]

Hi guys,

 

I think to give the devs a better overview about all the known issues in the Beta we should write a list to keep everything together in one thread. Write down what you noticed to help the devs(Bugs, problems, needed improvements). We can continue this list until release and beyond:

 

- Explosives do not knock over enemies

- Enemies do not notice mercs close by (line of sight does not work)

- Inventory needs sort function for weapons and ammo

- Enemies and mercs should react more if hit by bullets (body and voice feedback)

- Enemies need voices

- Mercs should peek around corners before shooting 

- Mercs should need sleep and not just rest in a bar

- Bleeding system needs a rework

- Enemy AI sometimes does not act clever (all enemies run into merc gun fire and do not flank)

- Militia AI needs a rework (the AI acts chaotic when enemies invade conquered sectors)

- Combat auto solve function is often easier than fighting by yourself

- Animated portraits, conversations, hire screen are needed

- Mercs should interact more with each other in and out of combat

- Bullet penetration needs new balancing (snipers are too strong)

Edited April 24, 2023 by WILDFIRE

[Acid]

Animated portraits, you won't give up on that one 😀.. but I agree with your list, lets hope they listen and fix them, otherwise mods will have to. 

[Hongweibing]

Great idea, it's a bit difficult to separate personal preferences from actual issues that can and should be addressed, but I'd suggest the following:

Actual issues (I think):

- There should be an option to enter turn-based mode whenever you wish, and (possibly) make it the default once you spot an enemy (yes, I probably sound like a broken record by now, but since I don't think the repositioning round is going away, that might be the next best thing).

 

Personal preferences:

- Think about changing the inventory management system, making it more realistic/weight based, and reconsider having a shared ammo inventory (it's okay for repair parts and similar resources to be there, but having ammo there seems odd)

- If we won't have animated portraits (quite likely), perhaps it would be enough to adjust the portrait angles and tone down the smiles a bit. Not critical, either way.

- Add an option for less information displayed upon aiming (I know CTH may be controversial, but certainly removing the critical chance, damage and factors affecting CTH shouldn't be too hard/significantly affect the balance in the game)

- Any additional customization of combat deemed viable by the developers (see some suggestions in this topic) is welcome.

- Add Hamous to the game Consider adding more mercs in the future (preferably from the previous games), even if there's no chance of getting to the 60+ mercs of JA2 (or the 70 of DG), but even 5-10 more would add quite a bit of replay value to the game.

[LoboNocturno]

@WILDFIRECheckout my recent comment in the "After beta streams reactions" topic.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by LoboNocturno

[LoboNocturno]

@WILDFIRE Agree with you once again as my opinion is pretty similar like yours.

Of course animated portraits would be way way better (if they also would do it correctly without bugs etc.) but am giving up slowly with my hopes for that sadly.

 

We all saw the raw game (Beta version) already so if they could balance and add up to this base like more death & wound animations, much better enemy sight and more tactical AI, to our mercs & enemies more agony, pain sounds (and not just saying "it hurts" like a hornet sting or @nal intercourse) , balancing the cover system a lil, our mercs getting hit too easy even when they are laying down almost every turn, it should be harder to get hit when we are laying down especially from distance.

 

To your final fact "snipers are too strong" yes sniper shots should make a serious impact which is not wrong, i liked it in Jagged Alliance RAGE once a enemy sniper hit you with a headshot you were directly nailed down so am expecting the enemies MUST HAVE BETTER SIGHT, it should be really hard for us to deal with a sniper, to eliminate a sniper we should do lots of crouching & hiding (taking cover) so we can try to come close as possible to hunt the sniper down from closer range. 

But if you mean sniping is a lil too easy, i do agree with you. It seems like with every decent long range weapon with a high skilled marksman we find the target almost each and every time. I mean if sniping is so easy then nearly nobody would be going for torso or groin shots you know so it must be more balanced.

[Lunokhod]

1 hour ago, LoboNocturno said:

Of course animated portraits would be way way better (if they also would do it correctly without bugs etc.) but am giving up slowly with my hopes for that sadly.

Why is everyone so worried about portraits? Its not a biggest problem of this game. Listen, man, i said already several times - nobody will animate faces. But! Its not impossible. Even right now when asrist f*cked up everything.

But! U need to understand one thing. This guys dont care about Jagged Alliance name. I love this game. U love this game. This guys -  not. They love money. And thats why they f*cked up. Only one chance to save this project - fire the project manager immediately.

[LoboNocturno]

OMG it looks very amazing how you animated Gus !!!❤️

They should be seriously hiring you.

Edited April 24, 2023 by LoboNocturno

[Grim]

10 hours ago, WILDFIRE said:

- Enemies do not notice mercs close by (line of sight does not work)

There might be some confusion here. From what I've seen in the streams, there is a tutorial in the first island about sneaking, and later you can see how it works while playing. There is no "line of sight", but a circular area of "awareness" for each enemy. If a mercs comes close, his sneaking stats mitigate more or less the time to discover. There is a circle at the base of each merc, going from white to full red if discovered. It's very very similar to sneaking in Wasteland 2? 3? game. For playability purpose, the awareness area of each ennemy has to be small, so you can move around, prepare ambushes and even sneak kill with a melee weapon given you have good sneak skills and agi. Sometimes, it can look dumb, like on this stream/picture.
 

Quote

- Enemies need voices

In the streams I watched, the ennemies sometimes talk and react to the mercs' presence. Not everything is dubbed yet though. This should be done in the final product.

 

Quote

- Mercs should peek around corners before shooting

 Hmm, I'm pretty sure when setting overwatch they peek out when the angle isn't clear enough. Not sure for regular shots but then it's up to you to make them stand, step out of the cover and hide again. I thought people wanted JA and all its picky details, and not XCOM around here, hmm? 😉

 

Quote

- Mercs should need sleep and not just rest in a bar

AFAIK, the bar is a special operation that speeds up the rest and gives a special status (+4AP?). Resting in JA3 seems less dictatorial than in JA2, when mercs are not assigned to operations, they simply rest. Their eyes don't close (portraits are not animated), but it's like working 3x8, during their rest time, they do what suits them and recover from fatigue (that is now a status and not a depleted stamina pool).
 

Quote

- Bleeding system needs a rework

This is a bit vague. Bleeding currently seems to be triggered in specific situations, depending on ammo type, perks, body part targeted. How should it be reworked? I guess it's possible but it would break many designs in place.
 

I agree with you an the other points. 👍
 

[Grim]

44 minutes ago, LoboNocturno said:

OMG it looks very amazing how you animated Gus !!!❤️

They should be seriously hiring you.

You can do the same in 1 minute with several online AI apps. I posted on another topic a quick test with D-ID as example.

[Lunokhod]

13 minutes ago, Grim said:

You can do the same in 1 minute with several online AI apps. I posted on another topic a quick test with D-ID as example.

Bro, the problem is that no one will do it. U all are wrong if you believe in these guys. "Jagged Alliance" name in very bad hands right now. Its disaster for this title. 😔

[Lunokhod]

Why u think they dont show these faces anymore? Where is Dev's streams? Nothing. Cos they know that what they doing now to Jagged Alliance - shame. And other ppl see it.

[LoboNocturno]

1 minute ago, Lunokhod said:

Why u think they dont show these faces anymore? Where is Dev's streams? Nothing. Cos they know that what they doing now to Jagged Alliance - shame. And other ppl see it.

There suppose to be the 2. Dev Stream for 20th April or not ?

[LoboNocturno]

@WILDFIRE

 

 

[WILDFIRE]

@Acid: I can not give up on the animated portraits, conversations and hire screen, because they were so special to me back in the days. Maybe some do not think that this is important but I think that was one aspect that no other game had. The bond between you and your mercs was something that no other title could replicate. And these lively conversations felt so alive like these people were really your buddies.

 

In my opinion that is one big unique selling point that is simply totally missing and thats so sad. Sure I know the budget is limited and the devs maybe had to made decisions what to keep and what not but still that is something I would never have cancelled. Look at Lunokhods result. That looks so good. You wont miss those lively faces?

 

@Lunokhod: This is a great looking animated portrait! This is what I want for the game also in the conversations and hire screen. Is that really so hard to do? Maybe AI could be the solution.

 

@Grim: I noticed the circle of awareness. What I have heard and saw is that the sneaking does not work properly. The enemies often ring the alarm when you try to ambush them. The devs need to find the perfect balance here so that sneaking is possible and makes fun but surely the AI should also act clever.

 

I have not heard enemies with voice acting or have I missed them? In JA2 the mercs needed sleep and also some streamers think that the bar is a simplified mechanic. I guess the stamina bar is also missing? And where is a weight system for the inventory? When a merc is leaning against a wall or rock they do not peek around the corner as far as I saw. Maybe I am wrong.

 

Add to the list:

- Sneaking sometimes does not work properly, ambushes dont work as intended (enemies sound the alarm very fast)

- Stamina bar for the mercs and weight system for the inventory/backpacks is missing

[LoboNocturno]

Even this screen "Personnel Manager" is missing where our merc stats are given how many enemies we killed, assisted, injured, hit % etc.... It was a screen i checked often back in JA2, after every few battles.

[Grim]

I saw two different places similar to that panel. One in squad management (sat view), and one in A.I.M. Evaluation (site). Not all streamers went there though.

However, they should have made a specific folder or site for that. It shouldn't be on A.I.M., as you can have RPCs out of AIM, and this info should be personnal.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Grim

[Lunokhod]

20 minutes ago, WILDFIRE said:

Is that really so hard to do?

No! Man! Its EZ. 😃 And thats what we talking about here. Its created with AI. Ask them why they don't want to do it. If they really love JA like we do. Ask them. They 100% won't talk to me. But maybe they will talk to one of you. Ask them questions. They are just a guys, like u, like me. This is a commercial project. You are a customers, u have rights. Dont be afraid of these guys. ^__^

[WILDFIRE]

I know the mercs and enemies can get tired while in battle but a full stamina bar system is missing or am I wrong? You can run with your mercs through the sectors (out of combat) but no UI element shows exactly (detailed) how tired they are. I know there is an icon in the portraits but not an indicator on the battlefield.(out of combat)

[Grim]

AFAIK, there is no stamina bar, only status effects represented by icons on the portraits.
Exhausted>Tired>Normal (no icon)>Rested
Each one has a specific bonus/malus associated.

[Claudius33]

What you have on the SAT View. Apparently there are more info if you click on the mouse central button, but the streamer didn't show it so far.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Claudius33
missing word

[Claudius33]

And a My Team tab on the laptop. Koinsky is the streamer's IMP.

[WILDFIRE]

As I saw the modification menu for the weapons and all the different scopes I immediately thought about different combat crosshairs for every scope so that you always know which type of scope every merc is using on the battlefield right now. What do you guys think?

[BossWeapons]

I wouldn't call this an issue really since I can't say how people generally feel about this, but to me personally the overwatch cones are way too flashy and distracting. Constantly pulsating and giving out fancy animated effects. It's not the worst I've seen in video games, but it is somewhat bothersome when there are multiple overwatches going on at the same time, especially when they overlap eachother. I generally dislike excessive visual noise when it comes to effects and such. Think about this the same way some people dislike the new damage numbers being too distracting, which is something that didn't bother me that much.

[Solaris_Wave]

1 hour ago, WILDFIRE said:

As I saw the modification menu for the weapons and all the different scopes I immediately thought about different combat crosshairs for every scope so that you always know which type of scope every merc is using on the battlefield right now. What do you guys think?

I think you mentioned that several months ago in another thread. The only problem is that there are a lot of different sights in terms of iron sights and optics, so there would have to be a generic template. You could have one for all pistol iron sights, AR-15 iron sights (which would also be suitable for other American made rifles), AK open iron sights, Heckler & Koch iron sights. Then, a standard red dot or red circle and dot for shorter range optics, an ACOG sight for mid-range and then a standard template telescopic sight with crosshairs for high power scopes.

It might require a bit too much extra work, however. It also might prove to be unsatisfactory as they would only be generic and not really accurate to the gun. FAMAS irons are different, the Steyr AUG's 1.5x standard optic is different and an L85's older SUSAT 4x optic is different again. Then, with higher power scopes, you would be thinking how the main crosshairs always line up with the enemy character, no matter the distance, even though realistically you might need to adjust for distance.

[Solaris_Wave]

1 hour ago, BossWeapons said:

I wouldn't call this an issue really since I can't say how people generally feel about this, but to me personally the overwatch cones are way too flashy and distracting. Constantly pulsating and giving out fancy animated effects. It's not the worst I've seen in video games, but it is somewhat bothersome when there are multiple overwatches going on at the same time, especially when they overlap eachother. I generally dislike excessive visual noise when it comes to effects and such. Think about this the same way some people dislike the new damage numbers being too distracting, which is something that didn't bother me that much.

JA2 has very little in terms of visual noise, which is a good thing. I think JA3 needs to remove some of that, even if it is only removing the shield cover icons, large damage numbers and unnecessary information text ("Explosive barrel explodes!"). The damage numbers could be smaller and slightly offset.