[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

4 hours ago, Figurehead said:

This happened several times: a team of 8 (showing 8 people in zone) also showed the minotaur at +6.

Can confirm this was bugged; Fixed next build. No more off-by-one.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

1 hour ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Minotaur respawn ever 90 minutes - 2 minutes per person in zone, after a 5 minute delay.

I think that'd be doable... Let me brain out the full implications of that idea, but I like it so far in my head.

I'd have to write some new code to handle a dynamic timer, but that's trivial to do.

 

1 hour ago, Bionic_Flea said:

Give the Mino scaling rewards: full rewards for first time in last 18 hours, 1/2 for each subsequent defeat within 18 hours.  That reduces the incentive for a league to dominate and stay for longer than a kill or two.

Possible, but the context of that also depends on what the final rewards on the Minotaur end up looking like; I threw 10 Monstrous Aether in, but there's room for change there as well. In your suggestion I'd probably drop it to 2 Monstrous Aether (1/5th reward) per defeat when stale, as a League that has hit the momentum to down a Minotaur (which with a League should not prove too difficult once the shifts are coming in) + with your proposed timer changes, there's potential to chain defeats of the Minotaur together fairly easily when the raid is running.

I didn't want the goal of the zone to feel like people are only there for the Minotaur, that's why it's important the momentum shifts with the mob-to-mob battling works and them paying out fairly well is also on the balance review.

Per other feedback + due to the way the Elite Boss Level Shift counter scales now, I'm considering adjusting the mob density of the packs...
Potentially moving up to 6 Elite Bosses per pack, 4 Bosses, and 10 Lieutenants, (From 4 EBs/4 Bosses/12 LTs) and then removing the Level Shift benefit from Bosses so you can farm them easily too; Which should increase the payout a decent bit, but also increasing the fighting needed to receive it.

To counter people burning down the No-Shifts Bosses and Lieutenants and leaving Shifted Elite Bosses alive, may need some kind of Leadership-esque buff on EBs that significantly buff the survival of nearby Bosses/LTs until that EB goes down first.

Lots to consider and we'll likely see large swings in balance tuning (Minotaur, rewards, mob packs, powers, everything is getting reviewed) as we push towards a release candidate with this feature.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

6 minutes ago, golstat2003 said:

 

Why would the reward cooldown be longer than the timer for the Minotaur? Shouldn't the be set to the same? (Especially since it does not sound easy to defeat him).

Leftover from when the Minotaur's design intent was much different than what it became; It's also on the table for changes; Nothing about rewards is set in stone; We're only just now getting to number tuning now that the Labyrinth's mechanical issues and design are mostly ironed out.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

26 minutes ago, Figurehead said:

This happened several times: a team of 8 (showing 8 people in zone) also showed the minotaur at +6.

Hmm, maybe Faultline's adjustments to the script changed the offset; I'll verify; That was working at one point. 🤔

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

Here's a question I'd like to put forth for everyone:

What would be ideal respawn timer on the Minotaur?
 

Keeping in mind the following factors:

• Currently, the respawn timer is set at 1 hour.
• The Minotaur being dead is a reward itself due to the fact you can farm the zone without him harassing you constantly.
• The Minotaur defeat is the source of the badge that unlocks a couple deeper areas of the Labyrinth such as the Core and orange floors.
• Currently, the Minotaur rewards 10 Monstrous Aether on an 18 hour cool-down.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

15 hours ago, Figurehead said:

Bug: with 8 people in zone, minotaur is +6 (patch notes read "For every 8 players in the zone after the first, the Minotaur will gain another +1 Level Shift", so this is an off by one error). 

That is a bug with the patch notes, not with the zone; It is intended that the 9th player in the zone will trigger the +6 Level Shift.
This rounds out nicely and caps the Minotaur at +10 when there are >40 players in the zone.
 

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There's a fair bit of tuning and balancing to go into most elements of the zone; I'm confident by the time we release the rewards and pacing of the zone will be tuned to facilitate the concept it was designed for smoothly.

As I mentioned in last build's patch notes, everyone is play-testing a version of this feature that has not had any number tweaks yet to it's balance nor rewards.

We'll get there, and we'll make sure the zone is sufficiently rewarding and the gameplay experience smoothed and polished.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

15 hours ago, Figurehead said:

Ran into an issue clicking on doors in the labyrinth

These will all be fixed next build. 👍

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

On 5/17/2024 at 2:04 PM, lemming said:

I just came from a red cave, nothing noteworthy about the door, but I am now in a green tech, with no door

 [-3143.4 -673.5 -1104.1]

Checked on this; You went through a randomizer door from Red Cave, that point you posted is a randomizer arrival point.

Do note, that not all randomizer doors are super obvious that they're randomizer doors, some are more tricky/are fake door points. 👻

 

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

9 hours ago, Wavicle said:

 

I completely agree and by the same token Buttstroke is STILL a terrible name for an attack, and the devs who named it that, and insist on continuing to name it that despite it being pointed out it is a BAD IDEA, really need to come to grips with the FACT that it is a BAD IDEA, and just change it to Pummel.

Please stay on topic.

The Minotaur had it's goofy placeholder attack names changed many patches ago and this is the Labyrinth focused feedback thread, not feedback on last page's power team decisions.

[[CLOSED BETA] Patch Notes for May 17th, 2024]

1 hour ago, Globetrotter said:

We played the Labyrinth with a team of 8 today and managed to get 4 level shifts at some point, mainly from fighting Volatile Aethers.

We indeed got level shifts on every defeat, but so did the bosses and EBs. The minions and lieutenants did not shift.

That is working as intended.

The Bosses and Elite Bosses climb in Level Shifts alongside the players, that's pretty much required due to the way Level Shifts work because they do not impact rewards.
This would mean that players would climb in Level Shifts to the point all the enemies in the Labyrinth are conning-grey, but still giving 100% rewards.

We can't have lowbies be farming Bosses and Elite Bosses at +10 Level Shifts for full rewards, that would result in this zone becoming a farm that could even dethrone Architect Entertainment.

 

The Level Shifts in the zone are intended for the following things only:

• Helping players catch up to the Minotaur so they can defeat him.
• Making Lieutenant enemies trivial (but you still get the full rewards!) so the raid can focus on Bosses and Elite Bosses.
   

Otherwise, the stacking +DMG/ToHit/Recharge/Recovery from the zone-wide buffs should have more of an impact vs. solely the Level Shifts, that's why it also buffs those other stats.

[[CLOSED BETA] Patch Notes for May 17th, 2024]

45 minutes ago, JayboH said:

Is there any changes since the last Experimental patch

Here is the change list from what's currently on Breakout for the Labyrinth; Most of these notes will be found on the next Breakout patch, but for those who are interested in checking things out here:

 

Edit: Additionally, I believe Marine Affinity has IO support in this build, while Breakout does not.

Spoiler

---

The Labyrinth of Fog

Additions

• An ally helper 'Benefactor in the Fog' NPC now spawns in the Colosseum of Minos to help players during combat with the Minotaur In The Fog.
  • This NPC ignores combat mods and are thus effective against the Minotaur at all level spectrum; Try to keep them alive during the fight!
  • They also drop periodic buffs and heals for the raid.
• Seven color-coded cube motes hidden throughout the Labyrinth. Standing next to one will grant a specific  'Mote of Power' temporary power buff and each slightly increases (<10%) a different stat. These buffs last until you leave the zone and all seven can be obtained at once and their effects stack.
  • There is a distinct sound cue when you are nearby one of these motes.
  • An on-screen float and system message will indicate you've received a mote's buff power.
  • These buffs will appear in your buff bar.
• New secret area added: '???: The Endless Colonnade':
  • 10% chance when being randomized to be sent here instead.
  • Counts for the the zone's exploration badge.
• New lobby area added: 'The Core of the Labyrinth':
  • Features new original music track.
  • Alternative location from which veteran players can enter the Labyrinth.
  • Contains grey, purple, and orange portals.
  • First accessed via standing on the grey portal that opens in the Colosseum of Minos after the Minotaur is defeated or by being teleported there by another player who is already inside.
  • This new area counts as an entrance lobby, and the zone utility powers are not available here.
  • This new area contains all the zone's history badge plaques.
  • Will later be accessible instantly from the entrance lobby for those who have earned the zone's accolade badge + power.
• Four new orange floors added:
  • Can be reached either through the orange portal in the Core of the Labyrinth, or a low chance (10%) via randomizer doors after obtaining the 'Slayer of the Minotaur' badge.
  • Orange floor doors only connect to other orange floors or randomizers.
  • Enemies on these floors are completely randomized and each pack can contain critters from any enemy group present in the Labyrinth except for unique Elite Bosses (Blade Prince, Olympian Guard, etc).
  • No Volatile Aether spawn points on orange floors.
  • The Minotaur can hunt for and find players who are on orange floors.
• Some additional secrets added that players will have to find and discover on their own!

 

Adjustments

• Aether Fluctuations and their level shifts/buffs now last 15 minutes, up from 10 minutes.
• Minotaur In The Fog's visuals updated.
• Minotaur given unique auto power 'Third Eye' on a 45s cycle, 20s uptime, +75% To-Hit buff.
• Zone loading screen updated.
• Escape From Fog:
  • This power's interrupt/activation times have been significantly reduced.
  • Recharge time reduced to 1s from 60s.
  • Power's FX updated.
• Guide Through Fog:
  • Power's FX updated.
• Rooms that can house Giant Monsters now always spawn at full mob pack capacity.
• 'Forbidden Server Closet' area now named '???: Forbidden Server Closet' and grants the zone's exploration badge upon discovery.
  • Mapserver enemy found in this zone does not drop any rewards and is merely a place to challenge the monstrosity for fun during off-4/1 invasion season.
• All the server racks in the above secret now have flavor text referencing the game's legacy servers.
• Violet's secret changed. Former secret that was found in violet has been moved to green.

 

Fixes

• Fixed randomizer door in green undercity floor that could not be used.
• Randomizer tunnels now have low gravity, this should prevent hitting the bottom before you are randomized.

 

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Badges

Additions

Accolade

• 'Conqueror of the Labyrinth' - Earn the following badges to obtain this badge:
  • Aether Annihilator
  • Slayer of the Minotaur
  • Hidden In The Fog
  • Greek Philosopher

History

•  'Greek Philosopher' - Uncover the origin of the Labyrinth of Fog.

Adjustments

Defeats

• 'Slayer of the Minotaur' - Badge art updated.
• 'Aether Annihilator' - Volatile Aether defeats required reduced from 10 to 5.

 

[[CLOSED BETA] Patch Notes for May 17th, 2024]

2 minutes ago, lemming said:

Better wording needed since there are five other colors, but Orange is a different style too. 

Woopsie, good catch, orange floors didn't exist when that note was written;

Fixing!

Went with 'Violet floors have the most dangerous standard enemy groups compared to the other colored floors.'

['bots MM - newly saved costume giving "invalid parts" because of rifle]

We're aware of this and looking into it.

This one has been hard to pin down, there's a lot of costume pieces and weapons that do it, but it is not immediately apparent what the commonality is between them that's triggering the problem in the first place.

This will involve some reverse engineering on why the check passes committing a costume, but fails loading it.
 

[Focused Feedback: 20th Anniversary Event]

We're planning to increase the chance that the ambushes are Circle of Thorn or Rikti by 400%, expect this to be a little easier next patch.

[Nasty Bug in "Take Down Cockatrice" Mission from Praetor Sinclair]

Figured this one out and fixed it; Should be good in an upcoming patch.

Thanks! 💙

[Legacy Composite Bow missing]

This is a known issue on all existing Dual Pistols / Tactical Arrow Blaster characters.
Both weapon slots occupy Wep_L and overwrite the other in the editor, making it not possible to have both your left pistol and the bow selected at the same time, leaving one weapon missing.

Unfortunately this is not an easy fix, and is going to require non-trivial rewrites of the weapons costume handling system for the game, so we don't have any estimation on when this will be fixed, but we are at least aware of the issue.

[[EXPERIMENTAL] Patch Notes for March 29th, 2024]

Green warehouse had a beacon issue and should be fixed next build; With any luck that should be the last pathing beacon issue. 😞

The Minotaur when pathing to somebody's location is focused on getting to their target in 'find' mode and may zoom right past somebody if you're not their current target. As soon as they arrive at their destination they change into 'fight' mode, and anybody within their immediate vicinity will be targeted for moo introductions.

[[EXPERIMENTAL] Patch Notes for March 29th, 2024]

2 hours ago, KaizenSoze said:

DE in green portal are weirdly a bit easier now. As long as you can survive the foot stomp, a spawn has so many bosses than they aren't dropping many buff pets.

Nothing has been changed with Devouring Earth in any capacity since this feature was introduced, not sure how/what you're testing.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

5 hours ago, Carnildo said:

Inevitable report of a geometry issue: In the lobby

This will be fixed next build.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

43 minutes ago, Sakura Tenshi said:

So specific factions have unique AI that can be incompatible with certain maps? Today I learned.

I suspect it's something with their default team definition being Hero, and something going sideways with my trying to force set them to be hostile to everyone.
 Typical Longbow scum, always impeding the way forward! 

One of the other devs might take a deeper look, but if not, there are plenty of other places in this game where you can fight Longbow, it's not much of a loss to the content.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

3 minutes ago, Lines said:

I did notice that longbow did not fight back.

Those Longbow will be replaced with high-level Snakes in a future build; Despite exhaustive troubleshooting efforts, Longbow's AI doesn't seem to function correctly in the labyrinth.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

8 hours ago, Sakura Tenshi said:

Stumbled on one, I think, secret room but I didn't notice any badges. It looked a bit like a snowglobe interior given it was, well, a big dome with ice and snow.

Not a secret room, but close! Secret doors have a pop-up confirmation text to enter them, so you'll be sure you found one. Note that many of them are bugged right now and entering a secret door might kick you out of the zone; Fixed next build.

 

8 hours ago, Sakura Tenshi said:

I might also recommend NOT using Dream Doctor was the trainer in the Midnighter club as it's kind of a huge spoiler if you haven't done Dark Astoria stuff.

My take is that today the Dream Doctor's existence and identity is not really any more of a spoiler than Statesman's being dead.
I'd argue there's some degree of plot points that have been well established for over a decade now... Dream Doctor hasn't been that mysterious unseen actor in a long time, he's been around and used in-game for years.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

Pretty much all the number tuning for this content has had absolutely zero work yet, so if anything is off with balancing (and it's gonna be off), assume I'm already aware that basically everything needs passes.

Most of my time in pre-test development is spent on mechanical implementation, functionality, and consistency, it's the time spent on the test server environment is where the numbers will see tuning.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

19 minutes ago, KaizenSoze said:

Also, the insta spikes are very large potential grief problem. The others found you could fly over then and tele players onto the spikes.

I will probably turn it to a very deadly %-of-max-HP-per-tick based DoT; Either way, being thrown into them by the sand tornadoes will probably cost most your HP if not death.

The idea is that control ATs mez the sand tornadoes, but I think their natural mez protection is set a bit too high at the moment.

[Focused Feedback: The Labyrinth of Fog]

I've just confirmed about a third of the floors had broken NPC pathing beacon generation; Expect some odd things to be seen or some floors to be oddly empty; Should be fixed next build we take new beacons.