NPC Wake-Up Distance Issue

[Cinnder]

[I can't believe this thread doesn't already exist, so apologies for my bad search-fu if that's the case]

 

We've all been there -- proceeding through a mission and you hear a key NPC chatting with his companions.  You think, 'OK, he must be right around the corner; get ready...'   But no, he's not in the next room or the next, or the next.

 

The distance at which NPCs passively (non-aggro) detect the PC (through walls) has become way too great.  Not sure when this changed, because it wasn't this bad back on Live. 

 

It's especially egregious when the NPC in question is one that attempts to escape.  Just had a mish where the NPC in question woke up the moment I entered the map, even though he took about 5 minutes for him to reach me as I waited in place so as not to miss him.  I eventually found his bodyguard minions (mish would not end till both he and his minions were defeated) all the way at the other end of the map.

 

I'm hoping this is a simple global variable that can be reduced in magnitude to a reasonable value.

[srmalloy]

The version of this that always gripes me is the one where you have to capture the Family boss -- I think the name is usually Draco -- and the map is one that has two different paths to the back room where he spawns. No matter which one I pick, he always seems to run via the other, and when I manage to spook him before getting to the place on the map where the paths split and position myself upstream of it so that he'll have to run past me, I'll get a 'fail' without ever seeing him about half the time.

[Rudra]

Or the CoT cave one where the running boss can be down one of 3 or 4 paths and he triggers after you make your way down (inevitably) the wrong path?

[ZorkNemesis]

What's more about this is that when the NPC wakes, the group with them wakes too, and if they have buffs they're usually fully set up when you meet them.  Doing Levantra's first arc, Sefu and Deitrovic's groups are already 5x stacked with AM and bubbles and have full Portal reinforcements when I reach them.

[srmalloy]

9 hours ago, ZorkNemesis said:

Doing Levantra's first arc, Sefu and Deitrovic's groups are already 5x stacked with AM and bubbles and have full Portal reinforcements when I reach them.

I'm not sure that it would help any, but one thing I would like to see changed is that when you have a mission with combat hostages (i.e.,they fight alongside you after rescue), the hostages have all powers that aren't self-only suppressed until they're rescued.

[Rudra]

3 hours ago, srmalloy said:

I'm not sure that it would help any, but one thing I would like to see changed is that when you have a mission with combat hostages (i.e.,they fight alongside you after rescue), the hostages have all powers that aren't self-only suppressed until they're rescued.

Considering they are invariably outnumbered? I'd rather not. Nothing worse than your rescuee dying because (s)he fought impossible odds.

[srmalloy]

4 hours ago, Rudra said:

Considering they are invariably outnumbered? I'd rather not. Nothing worse than your rescuee dying because (s)he fought impossible odds.

They're not supposed to be targeted by the mobs around them until you defeat the guard spawn, at which point all their powers would unsuppress.

[Rudra]

I think I am misreading your post. So you want them attacking before rescue or you want some powers suppressed until after they are rescued? I'm reading your post as you want them attacking before rescue. Re-reading it, it looks like I misread it. Apologies. Just to be clear, which result are you asking for?

 

(I was under the impression they had no active powers until after rescued.)

[srmalloy]

That the hostages can't use any powers that affect others until they are rescued. The example from the OP is a good one -- LT Sefu Tendaji has his Dispersal Bubble on when you find him, and if you get close enough (i.e., a Melee character) when attacking his captors, you'll be affected by it, gaining defense.

[Rudra]

Ah. Thanks for clarifying. I had misread your post. My apologies.