Fix broken PvE AI to make it an enjoyable challenge, and not CHEAP

[Old Duck]

Whoa really? Are we sure on this? I was tending to think they ALWAYS had FA off, as they can control, precisely, every movement they make.

You can usually determine who is using FA-off because their ships won't leave behind a constant vapor trail like FA-on does. I actually use FA-off when running a PvP blockade because it makes my stealth ship all the harder to detect (no visible smoke or fire accept to accelerate).

If I had a HOTAS, I believe I could pull the same maneuvers the NPCs do with FA-on. I can almost match them now, but I don't have fine control over my throttle.

 

[Morbad]

<<< I have rational bindings, but I also have tendinitis in my wrists, so my fine control isn’t nearly as good as I’d prefer.

Assuming you're already doing what you can to treat your underlying considiton, have you considered rudder pedals (moves three axes to your feet)? Forward only throttle? A higher-end sticks that you can mount on an extension (increasing travel distance/reducing sensitivity and also moving much of the work from your hands to your arms/shoulders?

 

[KarmaCop]

Welcome to the forums. There are just a handful of players with zero social skills...

& some who just know exactly what they are doing!

Btw OP, I'm new-ish too, you cannot possibly be experienced enough in the finer points of Elite to make the plethora of arrogant assertions littered throughout your contributions; listen to these guys - they may be dorks but they're knowledgeable dorks...take advantage of the goldmine of ASD-inspired info to be gleaned here.

 

[Darkfyre99]

Assuming you're already doing what you can to treat your underlying considiton, have you considered rudder pedals (moves three axes to your feet)? Forward only throttle? A higher-end sticks that you can mount on an extension (increasing travel distance/reducing sensitivity and also moving much of the work from your hands to your arms/shoulders?

Treatment:
Rudder Pedals:
Forward Throttle Only:
Extensions: I'll have to look into that.

 

[Slange Lands]

Treatment:
Rudder Pedals:
Forward Throttle Only:
Extensions: I'll have to look into that.

Darkfyre,
I had severe tendinitis and overuse syndrome in my twenties to the point of incapacitation. I had to play video games with my feet. God knows how many MDs and specialists I visited. Finally, after consulting an ex basketball coach/ physical trainer who prescribed careful and disciplined weight/resistance training and physical fitness, I was completely healed after a period of around five years... with no steroids, anti-inflammatories or drugs of any kind. Yes, it took years, but I have had no recurrence or limits to usage. And yes, you do have to work out for the rest of your life. But that's a good thing.

Good luck to you.
o7

 

[Darkfyre99]

Darkfyre,
I had severe tendinitis and overuse syndrome in my twenties to the point of incapacitation. I had to play video games with my feet. God knows how many MDs and specialists I visited. Finally, after consulting an ex basketball coach/ physical trainer who prescribed careful and disciplined weight/resistance training and physical fitness, I was completely healed after a period of around five years... with no steroids, anti-inflammatories or drugs of any kind. Yes, it took years, but I have had no recurrence or limits to usage. And yes, you do have to work out for the rest of your life. But that's a good thing.

Good luck to you.
o7

Was there any specific exercises he had you do? I bicycle to work during non-winter, and I have a fairly standard resistance regimen, but nothing specific for my tendinitis. For the most part I'm doing pretty good, but I play games with different control schemes to avoid aggravating it, and every so often I have have to take a break from gaming completely, usually for two weeks, and I definitely feel clumsier than I should.

Remember kids, posture matters. And for the love of all that is holy, don't turn a game into a second job, no matter how much fun you're having!

 

[Slange Lands]

Was there any specific exercises he had you do? I bicycle to work during non-winter, and I have a fairly standard resistance regimen, but nothing specific for my tendinitis. For the most part I'm doing pretty good, but I play games with different control schemes to avoid aggravating it, and every so often I have have to take a break from gaming completely, usually for two weeks, and I definitely feel clumsier than I should.

Remember kids, posture matters. And for the love of all that is holy, don't turn a game into a second job, no matter how much fun you're having!

First, if it is available to you and you can afford it, I strongly recommend finding a qualified physical trainer who specializes in tennis or rowing injuries. And find a highly recommended professional. Health care trainers and providers are not all equal and their are some who truly are much better than others. Such a trainer is going to be very aware that not only do you want to heal, but also that you intend to keep using your hand in more athletic situations and may stress it even further. If they are experienced, they will be more cognizant of how much stronger your musculature needs to be so that the act of gaming lies way below the threshold of possible injury. If you are at a loss as to find one, call a local tennis/rowing club manager. Another option is to email/contact the coach of a nearby tennis or rowing team. Non sports occupational therapists may not be as familiar with the subtleties of musculature.

Second, I am glad that you are already aware of the necessitiy of good form, i.e. posture. As always, it's the large muscles that need to do most of the support work and being aware of your core is a great way to build awareness of how you are using your body. When I first started effective rehab I did tennis elbow excercises with extremely light weights, in fact a can of soup or lighter. I also strengthened my finger muscles using rubber bands and balls of varying resistance goop. I firmly believe that you want to avoid any pain medication unless absolutely necessary. It's one of the only indicators we have of gauging progress. And that is where the art is. It is my opinion that healthier musculature recovers quicker than compromised ones. If you are in substantially more pain the day after performing an exercise, reduce the weight by half or more or even stop. You may need to completely stop using your wrist because it needs to heal more. After more recovery, experiment with lighter weight and resume the exercises.... until you have no pain at all the following day. Then do the same weight with more frequency and/or repetitions. Yes, this may take months. I was on a can of soup for a year. In addition, you do need to strengthen your entire upper body. This means bicep/tricep, deltoid and shoulder work. Your muscles work as an entirety, everything is connected. Once again, I stress that you should avoid all pain medication if possible. If you wish to reduce inflammation you might try ice. I also used wrist compression devices when I had to use my wrists or when I was at the gym doing upper/lower body training. Please remember this is only my experience and since I am not a health care professional my advice may not be for your situation or even appropriate!

Third, grease the bejesus out of your hotas if you are using a hotas. Nyogel 767a is a great dampening grease. Be sure to use disposable gloves when using it because it is hopelessly viscous and sticky. I use throttle and mouse. I have very small hands and most joysticks are built for larger hands. The mouse is very comfortable in comparison. In addition I can keep my entire forearm flat on my desk which reminds me to use my larger muscles for movement. If you do use a joystick you may wish to experiment with trying to have your entire forearm be parallel to your table. You may be able to elevate your forearm using books. This will force you, perhaps, to use more bicep/ tricep muscle.

Sorry for this wall of text, but tendinitis and overuse is so common and I very much empathize with those who are suffering from it.

Best wishes,


o7

 

[Amanojaku]

I think the AI is actually pretty tough if you look in the right places. I'm not saying the mechanics don't need a little tweaking, but I don't want to see them get any harder to kill.

I remember just a few months back I bought a Chieftain and engineered it to fit the "meta", except for rails. I like using PAs, but I hate rails because I just stink at hitting anything with them. It's the charge-up time. Anyway, I was super excited to try this badboy out.

Right after finishing my engineering I was on my way back to my home system and noticed Pirate Activity Detected (Threat Level was like 6 or 7, can't remember). I was like, hell with it... this is supposed to be the best combat ship in the game right? I dropped in and was fighting an Annie. Almost instantly I realized this Annie was no joke. My biweaves dropped again and again. I struggle to get the shields down. My hull was reaching critical levels. I can't remember a tougher fight against an NPC since I started playing. The Annie had other pirates helping him, so I booked it out of there. I was a bit disappointed, not only because I couldn't beat an Anaconda in this so-called "meta" ship, but also because I realized I wasn't as skilled as I thought I was.

A few weeks later, I started getting better with the Chieftain and realized how good it was at combat with a little more practice and getting used to the ship.

Still, I think about how hard that encounter would be for CMDRs who weren't using a good combat ship, or even if they were using a good combat ship... If they didn't have it engineered they would probably be toast. Making the NPCs harder to kill would probably not be good for the game, as it would dissuade even more CMDRs from trying to get gud. There are some CMDRs who really enjoy a challenge and are always thinking about the experience they'll get at the next level. That's a good thing too, but we all have to think about the first day we played when we couldn't even land a Sidewinder.

 

[metatheurgist]

Yeah, your mistake was thinking the Chieftain is the meta ship. The FDL is still the king. The Chief is a viable PvP ship (not the best, FDL again) but for PvE it's all shields all the time.

 

[Old Duck]

I have new evidence that NPCs can be destroyed by overheating. Today I was firing on an iCourier when we won the CZ and he boosted out and engaged FSD. I knew I wasn't going to disable or destroy him before he got away, so I broke off the attack and turned around. A few seconds later, I get the notification and credits for destroying that ship. I had been cooking him with my TS beam, and I feel confident it was the extra heat from him boosting and charging his FSD that destroyed him.

This is not the first time I've experienced something like this, though I think it's more likely to happen on smaller ships that tend to run hot.