Focused Feedback: Travel Updates: Base Teleportation, Long Range Teleporter Accolade, Special TP Powers

[Glacier Peak]

2 hours ago, arthurh35353 said:

Some of these badges require knowing where they are and actively hunting them to find them. You aren't going to just randomly run into some of them unless you scour whole zones for them.

 

That is not 'finding them organically' while playing the game.

Every exploration badge required someone looking for it first without knowing where it was. Otherwise they wouldn't be called exploration badges 😄

[Heraclea]

25 minutes ago, Glacier Peak said:

Every exploration badge required someone looking for it first without knowing where it was. Otherwise they wouldn't be called exploration badges 😄

And now, if you're experienced enough in the game to know how to hack its files, you will have Vidiot Maps, which will guide you to them.  But again, not everyone has that level of experience, engagement, and confidence at modding game files.   Once again, the vet is favored over the newcomer. 

 

At least now there's a reason to bring back taxibots. 

[ABlueThingy]

5 minutes ago, Heraclea said:

And now, if you're experienced enough in the game to know how to hack its files, you will have Vidiot Maps, which will guide you to them.  But again, not everyone has that level of experience, engagement, and confidence at modding game files.   Once again, the vet is favored over the newcomer. 

 

At least now there's a reason to bring back taxibots. 

Badge for standing next to someone when they get the explore badge.  Taxi badge!   Twice as many explore badges instantly!

 

 

\powexec_abort Sarcasm

[CrudeVileTerror]

What if the Long Range Teleport toggle condition for a Zone was achieved by simply finding 4 of the 8 Exploration Badges for that Zone?  Does the code support this?

Leave the Merit bonus and Accolade as the bonus for finding all 8.

[tidge]

Sorry I am late to the thread:

 

Could we get the ability to teleoprt into both Sewers? If folks have to collect the badges to access them (via) a teleport beacon, could we get the portals put close to the centers of those (forgotten) Hazard Zones?

[Jimmy]

Build 2 - October 31st, 2020

 

Travel Updates: Base Teleportation, Long Range Teleporter Accolade, Special TP Powers

A strange energy spike in Galaxy City reached the old Supergroup Portal and caused a cascade overload in the entire Teleport network. Most of the damage has been repaired, but destinations in temporal flux have been lost to the past. DJ Zero was called in to establish the new portal in his Pocket Dimension, and as a courtesy he also set up portals in two other dimensions: Praetoria and The Shadow Shard. Vanguard has requested further restrictions of traffic near Paragon Heights while their investigation is in progress.

 

Fast Travel Menu

• By acquiring Long Range Teleporter or any of the powers in this menu you will unlock the Fast Travel macro accolade (similar to the Architect Commlink)
  • This lists the various unlockable zone teleportation powers so they don't take up space in your power trays
• Clicking the  Fast Travel icon will open up this menu
  • Powers that are are on cooldown or that you do not own (or have no charges of) will be greyed out
  • Portal powers (eg: Ouro) will be automatically summoned at your feet so you don't need to click again
  • Each option has a keyboard shortcut whilst the menu is open (the white letters)
• You can also use /popmenu FastTravel in a keybind, macro, etc to access this menu
  • eg: /bind t popmenu FastTravel will open this menu when you press T, so pressing "T, O" will quickly open an Ouro portal at your feet

 

Base Access

• The GM-only command /enterbasefrompasscode is no longer available for players to use unconditionally, and can now only be used:
  • Within 45 feet of a base portal (including the new summoned portals)
  • Anywhere inside a Supergroup base
  • After using Base Transporter, Base Teleporter, or Long Range Teleporter
    • The command remains available until you move 20 feet from the location you used the power, or if you activate another power
    • Long Range Teleporter now enables the command
• Two new powers which summon portable base portals have been added, and base teleporter powers have received some improvements (see below for details)

Base Beacons 

• All base beacons now drop you near the base portal in that zone instead of at a random location on the map
• The following zones have had base beacons added:
  • Praetoria
    • Imperial City
    • Neutropolis
    • Nova Praetoria
  • The Shadow Shard:
    • Cascade Archipelago
    • Firebase Zulu
    • The Chantry
    • The Storm Palace
• The following zones have had their beacons removed:
  • Echo: Dark Astoria
    • These beacons will now be directed to Dark Astoria
  • Echo: Galaxy City
    • These beacons have been destroyed by an energy spike of unknown origin
  • Note: Both of these zones can still be accessed through Ouroboros

Base Portals

• All zones with a base beacon now also have a base portal
• Base portals in the Rogue Isles are now red, and the new Praetorian base portals are gold
• Base portals no longer have collision (so you can't get stuck in them anymore)
• The following base portals have been moved to more convenient locations:
  • Kings Row
    • Moved down to ground level
  • Skyway City
    • Moved up to the small park with Synapse and Mynx, near the Monorail
  • Independence Port
    • Moved slightly to be right next to the Monorail, allowing easy access to both sides of the zone
  • Peregrine Island
    • Moved down to ground level
  • Nerva Archipelago
    • Moved slightly to be right next to the Black Helicopter line, allowing easy access to both sides of the zone
  • Grandville
    • Moved down from the top of the tower to the main square
• The following zones have had base portals added:
  • Hazard Zones:
    • Striga Isle
    • Perez Park
    • Boomtown
    • Crey's Folly
    • Eden
    • Terra Volta
    • The Hollows
  • The Shadow Shard
    • Cascade Archipelago
    • Firebase Zulu
    • The Chantry
    • The Storm Palace
  • Praetoria
    • Imperial City
    • Neutropolis
    • Nova Praetoria
    • First Ward
    • Night Ward
• The following zones have had their base portals removed:
  • Echo: Galaxy City
• Complete list of zones with base beacons & base portals:

Spoiler

• Paragon City
  • Atlas Park
  • Kings Row
  • The Hollows
  • Perez Park
  • Skyway City
  • Steel Canyon
  • Boomtown
  • Faultline
  • Talos Island
  • Striga Isle
  • Independence Port
  • Terra Volta
  • Croatoa
  • Brickstown
  • Crey's Folly
  • Founders' Falls
  • Eden
  • Rikti War Zone
  • Kallisti Wharf
  • Peregrine Island
  • Dark Astoria
• Extradimensional
  • Pocket D
  • Cascade Archipelago
  • Firebase Zulu
  • The Chantry
  • The Storm Palace
• The Rogue Isles
  • Mercy Island
  • Port Oakes
  • Cap au Diable
  • Sharkhead Isle
  • Nerva Archipelago
  • St. Martial
  • Grandville
• Praetoria
  • Imperial City
  • Neutropolis
  • Nova Praetoria
  • First Ward
  • Night Ward

New Accolade: Long Range Teleporter

•  Long Range Teleporter
  • Long Range Teleport has been removed from the Teleportation pool and is now an Accolade power
  • 2s activation time, 10 minute cooldown (activation time is longer in PvP)
    • Activation time reduced from 12s to 2s
  • Collecting any exploration badge in a zone will unlock it as a destination, but you still need at least one exploration accolade to unlock the power itself
  • Every zone with a base portal can be unlocked as a Long Range Teleporter destination (see the above list for reference)
  • Long Range Teleporter drops you at the base portal in the target zone
  • Long Range Teleporter can also take you to your base, and allows you to use /enterbasefrompasscode to enter any base
  • Known issue: Most of the text relating to this feature is outdated

TUNNEL Network

• The Hero and Villain TUNNEL networks have been merged together
  • Vigilantes and Rogues will now see both Hero and Villain zones in the list
  • Heroes, Villains, Vigilantes, Rogues and Praetorians can now all use the same portals in co-op zones
• TUNNEL can now be used by Praetorians
  • Praetorians will only be able to access zones in Praetoria

Free Fire Zone (PvP) Helicopter Line

• All helicopters to and from PvP zones are now connected (including a new helicopter at the Hero hospital in Siren's Call)
• You can also use it to travel between the connected PVE zones, but only those that match your current alignment

Special Teleportation Powers

•  Base Transporter (P2W Power)
  • Recharge time reduced from 30 minutes to 10 minutes
  • No longer affected by global recharge buffs
  • Activation time reduced from 17s to 2s in PvE (still longer in PvP)
    • This has been reduced further, down to 2s
    • This was previously listed erroneously as being reduced from 15s to 10s, it is in fact 17s on live (including the interrupt time and activation time), and was reduced to 12s in the last build, and has now been reduced to 2s
•  Monitor Duty Teleporter (Day Job Power)
  • This power no longer requires the Rapid Response Member Accolade to earn, and has replaced the Monitor Duty (prestige boost) day job power
  • This power has been renamed from Base Teleporter to Monitor Duty Teleporter (to match the badge it is connected to)
  • Recharge time reduced from 600s to 30s
    • This would be 0s, but we wanted to prevent accidental double usage as this power has limited charges
  • Activation time reduced from 17s to 2s in PvE (still longer in PvP)
    • This has been reduced further, down to 2s
    • This was previously listed erroneously as being reduced from 15s to 10s, it is in fact 17s on live (including the interrupt time and activation time), and was reduced to 12s in the last build, and has now been reduced to 2s
•  Supergroup Portal (New P2W Power)
  • Available from P2W for 10 million influence
  • Summons a base portal on the ground that lasts for 90 seconds (even after you leave the zone)
  • 10 minute cooldown, unaffected by global recharge buffs
    • Cooldown reduced from 30 minutes to 10 minutes
  • Cannot be used in Ouroboros, Tutorial or PvP Zones
  • Summoning a base portal will remove other summoned portals within a 15ft radius (to avoid blocking contacts, doors, etc)
•  Rapid Response Portal (New Day Job Power)
  • A new day job power which replaces the Base Teleporter Power
  • Summons a base portal on the ground that lasts for 90 seconds (even after you leave the zone)
  • 90 second cooldown
  • Cannot be used in Ouroboros, Tutorial or PvP Zones
  • Summoning a base portal will remove other summoned portals within a 15ft radius (to avoid blocking contacts, doors, etc)
•  Ouroboros Portal
  • Can now be summoned and entered from level 1, rather than level 14
  • Can now be summoned while flying (but must still target the ground)
  • Now lasts 90 seconds instead of 5 minutes, but will remain in place after you leave the zone
  • Can no longer be used inside mission maps while the "No Temporary Powers" flag is enabled (eg: on Master Of attempts)
•  Team Transporter (P2W Power)
  • Can now be summoned while flying (but must still target the ground)
  • This power has a new icon to match the other prestige teleportation powers
  • Reverted back to the previous 2 minute duration
•  Mission Transporter (P2W Power)
  • Activation time reduced from 15s to 10s
  • This power has a new icon to match the other prestige teleportation powers
•  Assemble the Team (P2W Power)
  • This power has a new icon to match the other prestige teleportation powers
•  Pocket D VIP Teleporter (P2W Power)
  • This power has been removed and can no longer be earned or purchased
  • If you previously owned this power, it will automatically unlock Long Range Teleporter with Pocket D as a destination
•  Auction House Teleporters
  • The purchasable Auction House teleporter powers have been removed from the Auction House
  • The Auction House Day Job teleporter powers will be replaced in an upcoming build

[Hew]

So this is great! 

 

To get an O-Port solo, without  help, from Atlas -> KR -> PD -> RV -> Portal!!!

 

The fast travel menu is pure win. I love that the SG P2W portals have dropped to a 10 min recharge. Realistically, this is about as long as a mission.  

[Mystic Fortune]

I don't like the removal of the Pocket D VIP pass. It's removal doesn't make sense to me. More options are always better, even if some of them seem redundant.

 

• The Pocket D VIP pass is one click and after the activation time you are teleported directly to Pocket D.
• Long Range Teleporter is one click and after the activation time you get a huge window with 30+ options. You then have to scroll through said massive list to find the Pocket D option. Hoping that you don't misclick and choose the wrong destination.

 

Quality of Life changes are suppose to make things more simple, not more complicated.

[Jimmy]

6 minutes ago, Mystic Fortune said:

I don't like the removal of the Pocket D VIP pass. It's removal doesn't make sense to me. More options are always better, even if some of them seem redundant.

 

• The Pocket D VIP pass is one click and after the activation time you are teleported directly to Pocket D.
• Long Range Teleporter is one click and after the activation time you get a huge window with 30+ options. You then have to scroll through said massive list to find the Pocket D option. Hoping that you don't misclick and choose the wrong destination.

 

Quality of Life changes are suppose to make things more simple, not more complicated.

Think of it this way: Pocket D has turned into Long Range Teleporter.

• The cooldown is 10 minutes instead of 30 minutes
• It can now take you to many different zones (Pocket D is right at the top, so it's not difficult to find if that's all you want to do)
• It activates in 2 seconds rather than 17 seconds

[Mystic Fortune]

With the addition of the Fast Travel accolade, what was the harm in leaving the Pocket D VIP pass in?

[Zhym]

Build 2 is a big improvement, thanks.  Being able to get access to LRT by accessing any one exploration badge in the zone makes that much more useful, IMO.  And the Fast Travel menu fixes the tray clutter issue.  But the fast travel menu is also kind of a hack that highlights what I think is still a problem: multiple travel powers are treated as a necessity.  As I said above, multiple travel powers are fine as long as a player only needs one of them.  I don't think you're quite there yet with 10-minute cooldowns for the non-day-job powers—that will be a problem for a majority of users (by your own data!) unless people get all the powers.

[Jimmy]

8 minutes ago, Mystic Fortune said:

With the addition of the Fast Travel accolade, what was the harm in leaving the Pocket D VIP pass in?

It's been replaced by LRT, so I'd need to counter that with another question - what is Long Range Teleporter missing (versus Pocket D VIP Pass)? Compared to live, it recharges faster and it gets you to Pocket D much faster - plus it can do a bunch of other stuff.

 

If it's the icon, you can use the old icon for your Fast Travel menu:

/macroimage Teleportation_Pocket_D "Fast Travel" "popmenu FastTravel"

 

The whole set of changes listed in the patch notes need to be looked at as whole package compared to the live version. This individual change may seem like a "nerf" compared to the last beta build, but we're consolidating different options together to make the whole system more accessible for everyone and to keep the cooldowns down.

[CrudeVileTerror]

I apologize if I've missed it, but is there a way (yet) to get the wonderful Countdown Timers to show up and keep on ticking in these Popmenus?

That seems to be the missing link in improving these things to also address the Tray Slot and Respec issues.

[Coyotedancer]

Nice! And much less annoying on the badge-hunting front for those of us who are going to be relying heavily on the LRT to get around. 👍

[Jimmy]

I should also mention something else: The back door that the Pocket D VIP Pass used actually caused the Tiki Band to despawn.

 

As LRT uses the base portal location instead, this is no longer an issue, so this change also has the side benefit of allowing the Tiki Band to be present far more often 🎵

 

[Jimmy]

By request, here's the text for fasttravel.mnu if you wish to make your own version:
 

// This menu shows all the Teleport/Portal powers that players can use to quickly go to zones or missions.
// Should be attached to an Accolade macro or called with /popmenu FastTravel

Menu "FastTravel"
{
	Title "Fast Travel"
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Long Range Teleporter"
		Command "powexecname Long Range Teleporter"
		Icon "Accolade_LongRangeTeleport"
		PowerReady "Temporary_Powers.Accolades.Long_Range_Teleport"
	}
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Ouroboros Portal"
		Command "powexeclocation forward:7 Ouroboros Portal"
		Icon "Teleportation_Ouroboros"
		PowerReady "Temporary_Powers.Temporary_Powers.OurPortalHero"
	}
	Divider
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Base Transporter"
		Command "powexecname Base Transporter"
		Icon "Veteran_TeleportBase"
		PowerReady "Prestige.Prestige_Travel.prestige_Base_Teleport"
	}
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Supergroup Portal"
		Command "powexeclocation forward:7 Supergroup Portal"
		Icon "Prestige_BasePortal"
		PowerReady "Prestige.Prestige_Travel.prestige_Base_Portal"
	}
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "Monitor &Duty Teleporter"
		Command "powexecname Monitor Duty Teleporter"
		Icon "DayJob_Teleport"
		PowerReady "Temporary_Powers.Day_Job_Powers.Rapid_Response_Member_Teleport"
	}
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Rapid Response Portal"
		Command "powexeclocation forward:7 Rapid Response Portal"
		Icon "DayJob_BasePortal"
		PowerReady "Temporary_Powers.Day_Job_Powers.Rapid_Response_Member_Portal"
	}
	Divider
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Mission Transporter"
		Command "powexecname Mission Transporter"
		Icon "MissionTeleporter"
		PowerReady "Prestige.Prestige_Travel.prestige_Mission_Teleport"
	}
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Team Transporter"
		Command "powexeclocation forward:7 Team Transporter"
		Icon "Veteran_TeamTransport"
		PowerReady "Prestige.Prestige_Travel.Team_Transporter"
	}
	LockedOption
	{
		DisplayName "&Assemble the Team"
		Command "powexeclocation forward:7 Assemble the Team"
		Icon "Veteran_TargetAoETeleportTeamToCaster"
		PowerReady "Prestige.Prestige_Travel.prestige_Team_Recall"
	}
}

 

[CrudeVileTerror]

Beautiful!   This will help immensely!

More testing to do after all my Hallowe'en tasks are done for the day in real life and for the in-game Hallowe'en Event.   In the meantime, folks should poke @Dacy to see when she'll be handing out goodies on Everlasting!

[ScarySai]

I think this should silence the majority of earlier complaints, heh.

 

I'm iffy on the Pd VIP change but ultimately for it. Especially with the expanded options lrtp offers relative to ouro/pocket shortcuts.

[Bionic_Flea]

It's not a super big deal, but I'd prefer to keep the Pocket D TP as well. 

Although you are giving us lots of new options to travel, you are also taking away the /basepasscode and that's leading to much gnashing of teeth.  Taking away another option is probably not a great idea.  I know folks (including me!) complained about having too many options taking up space on power bars.  I was joking about it, but others are very serious about it.  I feel that the popup menu can take the place of any or all zone transporters now and that cures the lack of bar space as much as anyone could want.  And the reduced recharges are icing on the cake, in my opinion,

Additionally, although this is a bootleg pirate game and Pocket D VIP is given out to everyone for free, I actually paid real money for it once upon a time.

[GadgetDon]

First, a general note. I've found myself enjoying parts of Homecoming I didn't like in the live version, because basically, it had me spending less time traveling than actually doing something. The purchasable Mission and Team teleports is part of it, but also a big part was the portal macros. It also encouraged some great work on bases, that might not have happened if we were still all just using our own bases. So I think these changes make the game less great, even if they are responding to something that "wasn't supposed" to be there.

 

That there, I've tried it out, and your solution isn't terrible, but the cost and recharge for the portable base portal are really off-putting. Cut both in half, and my objections to the change mostly go away.

 

Also, I get the "but all this is time travel rather than traveling in space", but in practice you're making the game less convenient. Worst offender is "no portable base portal in Ouroborus" - at least on Excelsior, it's where people gather for incarnate trials. They take time to build, and it's very useful to temporarily jump into the base to level/craft/exchange merit rewards, then jump back out when the league has formed. Adding a trainer, couple of workstations, and merit vender to Ouroborus would take care of most of the problem if you really feel the consistency is vital, but removing the restriction would be easier.

 

Lastly, it's great that you reduced the level for Ouroborus, but the back door to get the portal without someone giving it to you will result in a lot more "can someone drop an o-portal near Miss liberty" pleading. Concept: What if there was a permanent Ouroborus portal in Atlas Park (and Mercy Island). Out of the way. Silos is just keeping an eye on new heroes/villains to see who is worth recruiting.

[Mystic Fortune]

37 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

It's been replaced by LRT, so I'd need to counter that with another question - what is Long Range Teleporter missing (versus Pocket D VIP Pass)? Compared to live, it recharges faster and it gets you to Pocket D much faster - plus it can do a bunch of other stuff.

I've already outline in my first response what it's missing, or rather the unnecessary steps that its added to the process.

 

In the previous update both were able to coexist, and neither one was tied to the others cooldown, so it's not a code restriction. So what changed? Please provide a solid reason why Long Range Teleporter has to replace the Pocket D VIP pass.

 

This really shouldn't bother me as much as it does... but it just does... maybe it's because a long long time ago I actually paid real money for the Pocket D VIP pass with the purchase of the Good Versus Evil Edition box set. In fact, I'm pretty sure I still have that box stashed away in storage.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Mystic Fortune

[Blackbird71]

33 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

It's been replaced by LRT, so I'd need to counter that with another question - what is Long Range Teleporter missing (versus Pocket D VIP Pass)? Compared to live, it recharges faster and it gets you to Pocket D much faster - plus it can do a bunch of other stuff.

 

What it's missing is the means of acquisition.  The Pocket D VIP pass did not require badge hunting, only spending an hour in Pocket D, which many players do through their normal course of play without needing to specifically go after the power.

I will say that removing the Auction House day job badge travel powers is the same issue - these could previously be acquired passively and for no Inf, and would have been an inexpensive alternative to the new powers you added.

 

On the changes in general, the problem that remains is the limitation of power use - specifically the charges needed for each use, and the opportunity cost of recharging these in place of working towards other day jobs.

The solution to having too many powers needed for travel is NOT making a specific travel power menu, it's making it so that only a handful of powers at most would be needed for effective travel.  Give the players options, let them choose which powers they want to acquire and use, but make sure that at most only 2-3 powers are needed to do the job.

[GadgetDon]

4 minutes ago, GadgetDon said:

That there, I've tried it out, and your solution isn't terrible, but the cost and recharge for the portable base portal are really off-putting. Cut both in half, and my objections to the change mostly go away.

 

Just saw that you cut the recharge time. Thank you.

[Jimmy]

2 minutes ago, Mystic Fortune said:

In the previous update both were able to coexist, and neither one was tied to the others cooldown, so it's not a code restriction. So what changed?

There was no previous update, and the situation hasn't changed - this is still a beta. These are work-in-progress changes, nothing should be considered final until it hits the live servers (and even for a while after that happens).

 

Again:

38 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

The whole set of changes listed in the patch notes need to be looked at as whole package compared to the live version. This individual change may seem like a "nerf" compared to the last beta build, but we're consolidating different options together to make the whole system more accessible for everyone and to keep the cooldowns down.

 

[Jimmy]

7 minutes ago, Blackbird71 said:

What it's missing is the means of acquisition.  The Pocket D VIP pass did not require badge hunting, only spending an hour in Pocket D, which many players do through their normal course of play without needing to specifically go after the power.

That method also unlocks LRT with Pocket D as a destination. See the badges section of the full patch notes.