Disable SG base passcode access in PvP zones

[Moonshades]

Why lock the thread? If you feel that there isn't anything left to say and aren't interested in anything anyone else has to say, just exercise your right not to keep reading it. 🙂

[Megajoule]

14 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

No it doesn't hurt anything and it has been a wonderful tool for those of us in the base building community to readily and easily share our creations with others.    I guess that doesn't count for anything though ...

 

Oh well, it was fun sharing bases while it lasted.

They're not taking away base passcodes, just locking down the "port me directly into a base from wherever I'm standing" GM slash command.

[Megajoule]

11 minutes ago, Moonshades said:

Why lock the thread? If you feel that there isn't anything left to say and aren't interested in anything anyone else has to say, just exercise your right not to keep reading it. 🙂

Because we have an official answer that makes everything else moot.

[ShardWarrior]

Just now, Megajoule said:

They're not taking away base passcodes, just locking down the "port me directly into a base from wherever I'm standing" GM slash command.

Yes, I understand that.  I read the posts.  It was just nice to be able to save these as macros that could be used to port to various places to visit from time to time. 

[Teirusu]

7 minutes ago, ShardWarrior said:

Seems like this is of no importance, so I imagine we'll be stuck with the existing P2W version.

That's not what Leandro said.

 

He stated that they could have easily locked the command away already but, have not done so because it's nice to hop from one base to another and the existing base teleport power is kinda bad.  From the sounds of it, once the whole 64-bit business is mostly done, they'll re-visit this issue with the passcode command, the SG teleport power, and possibly add some way to make it easier to hop from one base to another directly.

 

As Number Six mentioned earlier, it depends on how it's implemented code-wise.

[GM Capocollo]

There isn't much else to be said since Leandro's laid out the decision, the reasoning for the decision, and what's going to happen from here.  The feedback's been taken into account and the devs have reached a consensus about what to do with it.

 

However, people still want to voice their agreement or displeasure with the situation, so I'm not going to close the thread; people can continue to comment about the feature, while keeping in mind the fact that the decision about disabling it has already been made.

Edited August 26, 2019 by GM Capocollo

[ShardWarrior]

1 minute ago, Teirusu said:

That's not what Leandro said.

 

He stated that they could have easily locked the command away already but, have not done so because it's nice to hop from one base to another and the existing base teleport power is kinda bad.  From the sounds of it, once the whole 64-bit business is mostly done, they'll re-visit this issue with the passcode command, the SG teleport power, and possibly add some way to make it easier to hop from one base to another directly.

 

As Number Six mentioned earlier, it depends on how it's implemented code-wise.

Yes, and until some other means are implemented, we will be left with the P2W version.

[GM Capocollo]

Just now, ShardWarrior said:

Yes, and until some other means are implemented, we will be left with the P2W version.

You can still just go to the base portal...

[Moonshades]

Just now, ShardWarrior said:

Yes, and until some other means are implemented, we will be left with the P2W version.

But honestly Shard, between now and that time, yes we would have to go back to using the P2W version, but really it wasn't that bad. I didn't know how nice the macros were until I had them. It's nice to know that they are taking the feedback under consideration.

[ShardWarrior]

Just now, GM Capocollo said:

You can still just go to the base portal...

Yes of course we can.  All I've said is that having the command and being able to save it to a macro was a nice-to-have as it prevented a lot of load screens.  That's all.

[ShardWarrior]

1 minute ago, Moonshades said:

But honestly Shard, between now and that time, yes we would have to go back to using the P2W version, but really it wasn't that bad. I didn't know how nice the macros were until I had them. It's nice to know that they are taking the feedback under consideration.

^ My thoughts exactly.  Really the only issue I have with the P2W version is the flaky interrupt and it only works for our own SG.  If it could be programmed to allow for us to enter what code we wanted to visit, then that would make it better to me, but if it stays as is, so be it.

Edited August 26, 2019 by ShardWarrior

[General Idiot]

If changes to the existing base teleporter powers are on the radar at all my biggest request would be not putting the power on cooldown until you've actually gone into a base with it. Which may be difficult, I know, but currently it's quite easy to accidentally close the menu it summons and waste the power for no effect. Or to mistype the password for the base you want, get denied entry and again, waste the power. That plus a lower cooldown and maybe a shorter or just non interruptible animation would make the slash command all but irrelevent to me. Again I'd argue for the same five minute cooldown Long Range Teleport has, personally. Some would say that'd make Long Range Teleport a wasted power pick but I would point out it still has the advantage of being enhanceable for lower cooldown plus being only one loading screen to get to another zone. And if we're worried about speed task forces, a five minute base teleporter is still slower than what's possible on a full team with team transporters given only one needs to be used at a time and they go direct from one mission to the next with zero travel time through a base or from the base teleport point to the mission door.

Edited August 26, 2019 by General Idiot
Missed a whole third page before posting, oops.

[refertilizer]

I am sorry to hear this, I use the macro and I love it!!! Please do not remove it, block it from PVP, disable during combat... just leave it for the rest of us to use.   Please listen to the voice of the community. 

In the end I will be here playing this game either way...

[MunkiLord]

If a GM command is going to be mistakenly opened to players, next time I'd really prefer it be the one to place an AV or GM. That would be fun to see.

[Steampunkette]

Better idea:

 

Sell a "Customized Base Teleporter".

 

So you buy a Base Teleporter. It uses the Base macro internally, but you make a macro that uses it with an argument.

 

/macro Invincibase powexec_name Customized Base Teleporter "Invincible-606"

 

Boom. Now I have a customized button for a macro on my toolbar that lets me go to the Invincible Base on Everlasting -but- it has a Cooldown. I could make 12 different Macros of that power, each with a different base code tied to it, but if I use any of them the Customized Base Teleporter goes on Cooldown and I can't use the others 'til it's off cooldown.

[Megajoule]

35 minutes ago, GM Capocollo said:

There isn't much else to be said since Leandro's laid out the decision, the reasoning for the decision, and what's going to happen from here.  The feedback's been taken into account and the devs have reached a consensus about what to do with it.

 

However, people still want to voice their agreement or displeasure with the situation, so I'm not going to close the thread; people can continue to comment about the feature, while keeping in mind the fact that the decision about disabling it has already been made.

If the decision has been made, then I submit that leaving the thread open is a mistake, as people will believe they still have a chance to change that decision if they beg and/or complain enough.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Megajoule

[MetaVileTerror]

I'd also like to say that this was definitely more of an unintentional quality of life feature than an exploit in my day-to-day enjoyment of the game.  Given that so many past design decisions for the game were made not with the enjoyment of the players or the longevity of the community as the primary concern, but rather with the for-profit business model implications as the primary objective, I think the dramatic shift in Homecoming's function as a not-for-profit social enterprise means that it's time to re-evaluate a lot of those old decisions.

Sure; the slash command for instant access to the bases is probably a bit much, and since I make extensive use of it presently, it will be a hard pill to swallow when its removed.  But given the impact it has already had on the entire community, I think it definitely demonstrates the merit in re-examining the cooldown and interrupt time on the Base Teleport Powers.  After all, we've seen changes such as the /AH feature as very welcome, by my estimate.

I know the express mission statement of Homecoming is to try and preserve the experience of the City of Heroes / City of Villains game(s), but with the fundamental shift in the back-end of production and development (particularly with financing), let's please acknowledge that preserving certain elements of the past game experience are not conducive to the overall present-day experience.  And with that acknowledgement, move toward a City development cycle which is prepared to buck industry trends which were never in the favour of developers or players to begin with.

[esotericist]

I hope the command stays around in some form simply because trying to type passcodes can get very trying for me.

 

But as long as my macros work in appropriate places (near base portals, perhaps while in a base, perhaps in genuinely non-combat areas like the D...?), that would be enough for me.

 

personally, i see the "don't need to laboriously type a potentially long code every time I want to go to a specific frequently-visited social spot" as an accessibility concern, and i hope the devs can accommodate that while still tending to the exploit problem.

[Moonshades]

4 minutes ago, Megajoule said:

If the decision has been made, then I submit that leaving the thread open is a mistake, as people will believe they still have a chance to change that decision if they beg and/or complain enough.

There's nothing wrong with people continuing to have a civil discussion about this topic. Again, there's no arm twisting going on here forcing people to read this thread.

[Baney]

16 hours ago, Zolgar said:

If you're going to fix the slash command, can we at least have the interrupt time of the base transporter reduced, or even removed and make it so we can't activate it if we've been in combat in x seconds? Possibly also it's recharge reduced.

 

The base transporter takes way too long to activate, is interrupted by the drop of a hat, and has a 15 minute recharge timer, making it nearly worthless.

 

The slash command, which I acknowledge should never have been made available to players, is much closer to what the base transporter should be. (Being able to evade death in MO runs and PVP, no recharge time, and no cost is a little too much, I agree)

I'v had it (and the mission TP power) interrupted by ORO portals.

So +1 this.

[justicebeliever]

44 minutes ago, Moonshades said:

There's nothing wrong with people continuing to have a civil discussion about this topic. Again, there's no arm twisting going on here forcing people to read this thread.

Besides, closing it will just cause another to rear it's head...I agree, let's keep the dialogue going...

1 hour ago, Leandro said:

Mind you, just locking away the command everywhere is easy and could have been done already. However, I recognize that using it to hop inbetween bases once you're in one doesn't hurt anything, and that the existing Base Teleporter powers have very long recharge and seem to be affected by an isssue that makes them interrupt easily. This requires time from the powers dev (who's busy finishing the Snipes/Assault changes) and the code dev (who's busy fixing problems with the 64-bit migration). It's not a priority. Enjoy it while it lasts.

This makes me think that while we lose the biggest convenience of the slash command (zero cast time/zero cooldown), that before the command is removed, we will have an improved teleporter experience from the P2W vendor...So, while whatever replaces the current macro won't be as good, it'll be better than the current base teleporter...Overall a win...

[Sidious]

I'm hoping that the devs realize that keeping the macro open until the base tp is looked at and modified would be the easiest way to avoid people complaining.

 

[WindDemon21]

There is no real reason to remove this huge very nice QoL uses in the game. It cuts down on zoning time, and especially since we can't access AH in the bases (which doesn't make sense even if this was live, as we can buy/sell stuff on ebay on a computer why not in  a base on a computer???) it's very needed when doing multiple IO crafting. Please just remove the option to use it in a PVP zone, problem solved.

[justicebeliever]

1 minute ago, Sidious said:

I'm hoping that the devs realize that keeping the macro open until the base tp is looked at and modified would be the easiest way to avoid people complaining.

 

I think that's 100% what @Leandrois saying...That the only reason they haven't removed it yet, is not because it's difficult to do so (it's easy), but because they want to improve the existing Base Teleporter first/simultaneously (which does require actual work)...

 

I don't think that was the plan originally (which would be that no one knew about the command), but I think they see that removing it after it's been around so long without any concession would really suck...

[Sidious]

1 minute ago, WindDemon21 said:

There is no real reason to remove this huge very nice QoL uses in the game. It cuts down on zoning time, and especially since we can't access AH in the bases (which doesn't make sense even if this was live, as we can buy/sell stuff on ebay on a computer why not in  a base on a computer???) it's very needed when doing multiple IO crafting. Please just remove the option to use it in a PVP zone, problem solved.

My understanding from reading the thread is that this is a GM command and was never intended for popular use.

 

That said it's sheer popularity does underscore a basic need to revamp the Base TP power as a QoL decision.