Tribes: Ascend - Melee weapon Patch 1.866 has a bug

[Operatorr]

Hello friends i would like to tell you something as Tribes: Ascend has now got a new patch 1.866 which has Melee weapons in that I came across to a buy with grenades and also some times with smoke grenades as if you try to melee someone with spy and then suddenly throw a sticky grenade you will notice a swing after every throw. And not only that much I have also noticed that it won’t slow down the speed of the grenade thrown. It is not only with the grenade it also happens while using a smoke grenade and it totally make your smoke grenade useless because when you auto melee immediately after throwing the grenade it breaks your stealth. Also this works in the reverse as well. If you throw a grenade and then melee you will automatically throw another grenade.

[Maal-Gaadi]

This is what I was thinking before they have released the Melee pack. One of my major gripes with the older Tribes games was that the melee was awful. But how will they do melee in Ascend? Will it be lock-on based like execution moves with a full animation such as chainsaw in Gears, or extra rush of speed and auto-lock on like the knife in Bad Company 2? From what I have seen of GA it seems you swing the weapon and if it hits, well then that's a hit. No lock-on there. For a fast-paced game like Tribes I think I would prefer the old school swing and hope (if they can get the collision detection spot on!) because those auto-locks on melee attacks, while pretty and quite satisfying when you pull them off, are unreliable at best. But one of my friends had told me that you will be able to left click, and then your character will do a swing motion and the enemy player gets hurt. And you will be able to right click, and then your character will conjure an energy shield out of nothing, which will hurt the enemy player if he hits it.

[Mollyi7]

What if there were classes with improved melee weapons in primary slot? Ideal for 3rd person view, using large weapons that you fight in stance with, controlling your swings with directional keys.

W - Vertical downward
S - vertical upward
A - lateral left
D - lateral right

You could combine those keys for diagonal swings as well. So, for inspiration. Remember the gun blade from FFVIII? You could also have a hammer type weapon of similar design that makes shockwaves on impact, could be handy for a defense role. I could see a heavy class using that, light and medium with different blades that favor speed vs. power, respectively. But sacrificing ranged ability should have an increase in mobility or protection to balance it out, so what about the other item slots? I'll go out on a limb and borrow some concepts from Tribes: Ascend that many considered to be overpowered, but might work in a class-specific balance: Riot Gauntlet - secondary slot - Fist weapon that deploys an energy barrier in front that deflects most types of incoming fire. Similar to the buckler, it can be a returning thrown weapon, or alternately have a larger version that shields bashes instead. Speed Pack - Passive boost to run speed (let's say 200%). Active effect could be the same increase to attack speed, some kind of berserker mode that consumes energy pool or for maximum annoyance an effect that makes your hits slows your target. Grapplers - belt slot - Batman style with a decent range that can be used to change direction or grab onto something and pull you to it, like the top of a ship/base or players/vehicles (homing hooks maybe?). More versatile than blink pack but limited in use. Right now I'm thinking of melee cappers flying in with shield out, slashing their way through and hitching a tow on a shrike back to the base.

[Molly1]

i like the idea of extremely specialized classes as the game goes on a melee class is ok, it’s not like you have to use it, they may just be a dueling class for future mods/server mods like arena of duel mod. I would LOVE a HoF build that is pure melee, block capper thunder hammer next that would be fun as hell and hard to be effective with i support anything outside the box when it comes to load outs as its purely optional to use them, as long as they are not overpowered it’s all good. If you aren't familiar with blade symphony, go look it up it's basically academy saber dueling without all the really cheap force powers thrown in and exactly what you just described (with stances too). Maybe they should, it is a sci fi shooter in case you didn't notice. And likewise, you've made it clear through your postings inside of this thread that you clearly think your opinion matters more and thus it is not shocking that this failure of a reply comes from you. Adding things from halo only because they're both sci-fi makes sense to me. And yes, it would be copying halo since halo had stupid melee weapons first, even though halo is a knockoff of tribes. So that would be the knockoff of a knockoff that was a knockoff of t1/t2.

[Bubboy]

So I'm somewhat intrigued about the decision to include melee weapons in this game. And to be honest, I don't think they're inherently a bad idea. How melee weapons could be included in the game in a manner that:
a) does not overpower them (i.e. poking a HoF with a stick for a one hit kill)
b) does not render them totally irrelevant
and of course,
c) keeps them in line with the character of the individual tribes

Towards that last end, let me say that I recently spent a long afternoon reading through all the old Tribes lore documents by the dudes at Dynamix who wrote the backstory for the game. It's a pretty rich and well-developed fictional setting for the games, one that I hope is better utilized as Hi-Rez moves forwards (especially in the MMO). One of the interesting things in it though is a rather lengthy section detailing the role of melee weapons in the lives and battles of the tribal warriors.

[mbangali]

I was always a little annoyed that one of the 4 main clans, the Diamond Swords, never got to make use of their melee weapons. I mean come on; you got to respect a guy that whips out a sword in the middle of a nuclear Frisbee fight! Melee weapons don't have to be done as an over powered one hit kill attack. Hell, making it only as damaging as a single chain gun round would allow plenty of time for the victim to get away/fight back. If done like that then a player would actually need to think about when to pull their weapon instead of just flying about waving it around like it's a glow stick at a rave. Besides, let’s be honest, chances are it will glow like every other weapon effect we saw in the video i.e. it's likely to be real easy to spot someone coming at you with a sword.

[Ashley Parker]

Ranged weapons, packs and grenades always differ in each load out but why the sword is always the same in each one? I feel that for a heavy class it will be almost impossible to melee hit someone due to its slow movements, why not give it a huge hammer that deals more damage to balance the weapon? In this way new melee/short-range weapons can be added (including the shock lance) without occupying a weapon slot. This change would have the other benefit of giving a sort of 2.5 weapons per load out giving more options to the players. What do you think guys? It's a good way to add short range weapons like the shock lance without wasting a weapon slot; I think that's quite relevant. I understand it's a lore thing but did you ever see a sword in Tribes 1 or 2? I don't see the problem on giving a different melee weapon to some load outs.

[Irene-I]

Can't decide if it'd work better A) Charging it by holding down, then releasing. or B) You can always use it with one button press but it just drains ALL of the energy you have at that time. Part of the balance either way is the more energy you have/charge the more effective it is. HoF's would then have the advantage as they generally have all their energy, while and incoming HO will have used most of theirs - unless they have an awesome route and regain their energy before they hit the ground. They could then slam out of the HoF if they land right on the flag, with full energy and correct timing. I think that'd look pretty cool and add a new dynamic to flag clearance. Cool down time would be simulated by a minimum energy requirement (the cool down time is the time it takes to regain enough energy to use it again. Stops people spamming it. My only reservation is it might make HoF's OP? Maybe it takes some of your health (regardless of shield pack) and that's the trade off.

[MinkaM]

That's not necessarily definitely a bad idea. Like anything else it could be game breaking and stupid. Before I explain why I think so, allow me to ramble on the general subject of Tribes weapons for just a bit, both in terms of the ones that people like and disliked. So bear with me. The problem people have with lots of hitscan weapons in Tribes is that this is supposed to be a predictive game, one with flight paths and careful energy use. Dodging the spinfusor is fun because you can use the air as a defensive space, and use your jets at the last second to change your landing spot. I've beaten entire hordes of newbie’s just because they don't know where and when I'm going to land. And of course the spinfusor is incredibly fun to shoot for the same predictive reasons. Spinfusors and grenade launchers are weapons that hook into the fundamental mechanic of Tribes, which is flight tempered by the fact that you have to hit the ground eventually. The fact that a disc knocks you off course or up into the air is another good design decision. Just like the shocklance was a good design decision. It's all about people being on certain skiing paths and getting knocked off them. Even the chaingun, though accepted as necessary for balance (you've got to have some way to kill fleeing cappers), earned a lot of complaints because it punishes people for flying. So it goes. Giving a heavy some sort of lore-friendly shockhammer (with a long chargeup period and big downsides) falls into the general category of weapons that require the ability to predict when and where someone is going to land. It's clearly the sort of weapon newbs would love and probably spam to the detriment of their team. It's also the sort of weapon, like the grapper, that could be exploited by veterans to a gamebreaking extent if not implemented properly.

[GaganGang]

No, hitscan/bullet weapons shouldn't matter; it is only the knockback from explosives that would have any effect. Here is a simplified version of the principles behind it:
1. Consumes energy to charge up (full depletion will auto trigger)
2. Must be stationary to charge (movement will auto trigger)
3. Cannot be aborted (once charge begins it will trigger one way or another)
So it is kind of a 3 laws type of thing, everything is relative. Yes, it will be the most useful for HoF and teammate assist, but HO may also find uses in close quarters. Mainly though, it is a defense-oriented tool since the heavy loadouts seem to lean more toward defensive roles. As for griefing, I don't think that should be factor against it. Everyone has guns; they can grief with those too. There really isn't anything stopping someone from tossing impact nitrons around either. If someone is being a big douche, they'll usually get kicked or voted out anyway.

[Halle]

The idea of an HO flying in and clearing the flag upon landing would be visually awesome, but I don't think that is the best mechanic. It should be primarily a defensive ability, but that also includes a HO defending himself inside enemy territory. The ability should require that the heavy be completely stationary while charging, and is executed automatically when you run out of energy or break stasis. This prevents a HoF from sitting there with a full charge prepped; he is forced to time it properly. The charging process also should directly consume energy, so that if you move or get knocked by an explosion/collision, the shockwave is released and the energy is used no matter what. This eliminates the need for an arbitrary cool down timer, and also gives incoming cappers a chance to thwart the HoF with a well-timed projectile/grenade. Another potential application for this: since the shockwave is a zero-damage knockback, heavies can use it to launch teammates. On Crossfire, for example, a Pathfinder can stand on the edge of the base platform in front of a Juggernaut who uses a fully charged shockwave to launch him into his ski route. Conversely, a HO occupying the enemy flag area can boost his teammate right out the door.