Author Topic: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers  (Read 3287 times)

hilf

  • Oculite
  • Faceless
  • **
  • Posts: 615
  • Karma: +94/-2
    • View Profile
Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« on: May 09, 2014, 02:10:25 pm »
It lasts only 1 turn while description says it should last 2.
I compared it with telekinetic barrier which is also said to last 2 turns and it indeed last one turn longer than EM.

Styg

  • Administrator
  • Godman
  • *****
  • Posts: 2413
  • Karma: +513/-31
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2014, 06:28:26 am »
It counts the turn you cast it in. By 'kinetic barrier' you mean force field right? We tested this and they seem to last the same. There's a feat that extends the duration of the force field, did you pick that up by any chance?

hilf

  • Oculite
  • Faceless
  • **
  • Posts: 615
  • Karma: +94/-2
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2014, 04:53:55 pm »
I didn't have Force User.

This is what i got:

Turn 1:
 player move: I use EM and cast Force Field, then i finish my turn
 enemy move: both EM and FF are active and my enemies have to deal with both
Turn 2:
 player move: both EM and FF are still active, I finish my turn
 enemy move: only FF is active, EM disappeared when i clicked next turn
Turn 3:
 player move: FF is no longer active

What I expected is having EM still active during enemy move in turn 2.

Styg

  • Administrator
  • Godman
  • *****
  • Posts: 2413
  • Karma: +513/-31
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2014, 10:53:25 pm »
I didn't have Force User.

This is what i got:

Turn 1:
 player move: I use EM and cast Force Field, then i finish my turn
 enemy move: both EM and FF are active and my enemies have to deal with both
Turn 2:
 player move: both EM and FF are still active, I finish my turn
 enemy move: only FF is active, EM disappeared when i clicked next turn
Turn 3:
 player move: FF is no longer active

What I expected is having EM still active during enemy move in turn 2.

Ok, the thing is - your buffs "tick" at the end of your turn. So if it says two turns, it will expire at the end of your next turn. FF expired slightly later because it's an environmental effect and it's "tick" is triggered last during the turn no matter when it was cast (after the player and all the NPCs have acted).

hilf

  • Oculite
  • Faceless
  • **
  • Posts: 615
  • Karma: +94/-2
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2014, 03:35:51 pm »
Thanks for clarifications, Styg! So it is by design, then.

Eliasfrost

  • Tchortist
  • ****
  • Posts: 343
  • Karma: +11/-0
  • If fate frowns, we all perish
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2014, 11:10:17 pm »
Wouldn't it be more intuitive to have it tick on the beginning of your turn instead? Because right now it seems that it's technically active for 2 turns but it's only 1 turn of practical use?

hilf

  • Oculite
  • Faceless
  • **
  • Posts: 615
  • Karma: +94/-2
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2014, 08:08:02 am »
Wouldn't it be more intuitive to have it tick on the beginning of your turn instead? Because right now it seems that it's technically active for 2 turns but it's only 1 turn of practical use?
Well, I was going to ask for this too, it would help in some cases (like EM and other buffs) but could also introduce subtle bugs. Consider:

You swing your hammer at your enemy, stunning him for one turn. You end your turn.
Your opponent's turn comes. Stun is removed at the beginning of his turn, allowing him to act like he was never stunned.

This could be fixed by making buffs tick at the beginning of a turn but debuffs tick at the end. But i'd rather (from designer's perspective at least) have things handled in a uniform way instead of making exceptions. It could also be more confusing for players.
OTOH it can be the best thing we could get right now, without some serious changes to mechanics.

Elhazzared

  • Tchortist
  • ****
  • Posts: 491
  • Karma: +7/-20
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2014, 03:32:57 pm »
Indeed I also belive that all effects should have a uniform way to tick duration. Either everything at beggining or ending of turns. It certainly would make things a lot easier to know when they are going to end.

Styg

  • Administrator
  • Godman
  • *****
  • Posts: 2413
  • Karma: +513/-31
    • View Profile
Re: Wrong duration of Evasive Maneuvers
« Reply #8 on: May 19, 2014, 06:38:15 am »
Wouldn't it be more intuitive to have it tick on the beginning of your turn instead? Because right now it seems that it's technically active for 2 turns but it's only 1 turn of practical use?
Well, I was going to ask for this too, it would help in some cases (like EM and other buffs) but could also introduce subtle bugs.

I think what Elias meant was to tick the environmental stuff at the beginning of the turn. Hmm, it might help but I have to think about it.

As for status effects on enemies, I think it works just fine as it is. If you stun someone for X turns, you are guaranteed he will miss X turns. Ticking it all at the beginnings/ends of turns (for which you don't know when it's gonna come) will just lead to more problems instead of solving any.