More about targeting

[temnix]

Yesterday I wrote here about the difficulty of targeting, and especially how it is a problem for melee characters that they can't run up to the chosen enemy, perform the selected attack and let go. In combination with the hectic (hexed) camera I can't calmly and confidenly select enemies it would make the best sense to target at the moment, and the situation can change any second when surrounded by a mob. This, by the way, can happen even with best planning - Hellions were popping out of thin air in Atlas Park today in the same spot with an abnormal speed, all around my scrapper. A different situation is when ranged-attack characters hover or find themselves standing in some other strange position and can't see enemies below them while those shoot upwards at leisure. The variety of responses I got shows what an underdeveloped feature this really is: some suggested pushing F, others wrote that they have special macros written for approaching and attacking and more. Well, F isn't it, I don't want to stay glued to the enemy or unfollow him specially. And if you say that somehow or other people have managed to target their enemies for years all the same, I'll reply that they don't do it with ease, and getting by is not good enough.

 

I have three suggestions: 1) work on the camera already. I don't believe there is nothing that can be done about that crazy camera, and I don't see any news about improvements on camera behavior; one option: automatically zoom out to mid-range view when an enemy is in direct contact, because it's very confusing when they are pressing on you; another option to do the same after running into a wall; 2) there should be automated settings for targeting such as always selecting the most powerful enemy, the least powerful, melee attackers first, ranged attackers first and so on; plus an optional setting for all-around targeting, i. e. without having to turn the camera in the direction of enemies, so that they get selected even if directly behind the character; this should be useful in some clunky situations, though it could be too easy as a constant setting; 3) approaching within range of the current attack power and executing the attack should be a toggle. My scrapper is an extra foot away from a Hellion, and I can't approach and hit him without a ballerina dance with controls! She takes off, she runs forward, she gracefully decelerates...

 

Plus, work on giving some intimation of powers' range. If technically possible, make it so that when an enemy is selected, passing the mouse over the icon of a power for which that enemy is out of range changes the color - better, shape - of the targeting brackets. Unless I am hovering and looking at the scene in top-down view, I can't know if the extra 6 feet of range by which I enhanced my Dark Blast will be enough to shoot at that villain ahead from where I am standing. It takes false starts, "Out of Range," inching forward, gracefully decelerating... In real life there would be clues from the environment to gauge range, I would know which of my tools reach where, but here there is a lot less to go by. So yes, I still end up shooting somehow, but the room for improvement echoes. If this suggestion is impossible, then how about the white circle-red circle for a power, the same as for summoning pets, when the attack is clicked and an enemy is not selected?

 

[Luminara]

26 minutes ago, temnix said:

they can't run up to the chosen enemy, perform the selected attack and let go.

 

That would enable scripted AFK farming, so it's unlikely that it would be added to the game.

 

35 minutes ago, temnix said:

without having to turn the camera in the direction of enemies

 

If it's not visible, meaning within the camera's field of view, it can't be targeted.  That's not an oversight, it's part of the basic targeting system, and that targeting system is shared by NPCs.  It's what allows players to approach enemies without being attacked if those enemies are facing away, without a stealth power.  Changing it would permit entire spawns to target and attack characters from maximum visual distance, even if they weren't facing those characters.  That's why player characters have a zoom option, and why NPCs don't.

 

43 minutes ago, temnix said:

approaching within range of the current attack power and executing the attack should be a toggle.

 

That would enable scripted AFK farming, so it's unlikely that it would be added to the game.

 

45 minutes ago, temnix said:

work on giving some intimation of powers' range

 

/targetdistance 1 adds a numerical range output to the Target window.  Meaning, it tells you exactly how far away the target is.

[PeregrineFalcon]

1 hour ago, temnix said:

Yesterday I wrote here about the difficulty of targeting, and especially how it is a problem for melee characters that they can't run up to the chosen enemy, perform the selected attack and let go.

Pretty much nothing that you've written here is correct.

 

Targeting enemies is easy in this game. You may wish to rebind certain keys to your liking, but it's an option. You want the game to target the enemies for you, zoom your camera out for you, move up to the enemies for you, do you want the game to press the attack keys for you too? Your Scrapper is a foot too far away from an enemy and you can't hit them? Let me give you a pro tip; tap 'W'.

 

Reading your post it sounds to me like you want the ability to get this game to play itself. May I recommend Progress Quest?

[Shenanigunner]

It's not necessarily targeting a selected enemy, but the 'Grapple' bind has been essential to my melee alts since Live:

/bind G "follow$$target_enemy_near"

 

No targeting needed in a scrum; tap G and you're locked on to the nearest foe. Overcomes all issues of range, defeating a foe, getting knocked away from a target, etc.

 

While it may be somehow optimal to lock onto an LT or elevated foe, pounding ANYTHING in a battle without a break to have to chase or reacquire one is just as good in the end.