@PsubondThere's an argument to be made that his kit is boring and super binary vs. the more dynamic interactions from other specialists toolkits.
Think Sundance: They've (DICE I REMEMBER THEIR PRONOUNS EVEN IF YOU DON'T : P) got huge flexibility in mobility with the wingsuit, plus either some infantry area-denial or a bit of anti-vehicle with the grenade. Each has a ton of possible uses and outcomes based on how the player uses those skills. There's lots of aggressive plays that you can make as Sundance with either the wingsuit or grenades! Lots of safe plays you can make! Lots of options!
Now think to Rao: He's got the "spot players that shoot him" mechanic which is actually generally useful even if you're getting instantly killed. It's a free spot!
But his hacking is extremely binary and doesn't really have much nuance/variety. Hold hack button for a few seconds and you're done. Vehicle has temporary protection from further hacks for a bit. There's no real vehicle counterplay to the hack, no ability to get aggressive/riskier to repeatedly hack a single vehicle at great risk to yourself.
I think OP is more getting at that Rao simply isn't fun to play, even solo. Sure he fills the niche he's design to, but it's filled in an incredibly boring way for the Rao player and a frustrating way for the vehicle player. There's not really a depth of interactions with Rao that exists with other specialists, it's a binary.
@edgecrusherO0 wrote:But his hacking is extremely binary and doesn't really have much nuance/variety. Hold hack button for a few seconds and you're done. Vehicle has temporary protection from further hacks for a bit. There's no real vehicle counterplay to the hack, no ability to get aggressive/riskier to repeatedly hack a single vehicle at great risk to yourself.
Definitely this, and as another said, 3s hack for 10s disable - it's OP and stupid.
Why do hacks disable all weaponry??? Think of tanks loading shells and then firing. Hacking disrupts manual physical actions???
Even electronically operated HMG's operating on a closed loop like a lightswitch - Button on, electric current connects, HMG fires. How and why the hell is that getting hacked? It feels so stupid, and not enjoyable, competitive, or balanced. There's no two way communication involved, how do you "hack" an electric current?
A Balanced Solution:
Hacking air-vehicles should forcibly autopilot them. Enable all weaponry, but unresponsive controls. That's a sitting duck for an M5, and causes crashes when timed skillfully. Jet auto-pilots should attempt to fly 5 deg upwards low-velocity, as posted above. Tank weaponry should still work, but gunner visions should be blanked out, and tank lock-on weaponry also shouldn't work.
Rao should be risk v reward: Let the hack persist as long as Rao holds it, max 15s. (8s to tanks) The hack ceases when Rao does. Auto-spot reveal Rao to enemies during hack. Since heli's are autopilot-immobile, they're at huge risk. Since their guns work and Rao is spotted, he's at huge risk. Everyone sees the Heli, but it'll take a moment looking around to find Rao, so this balances as a risk-reward way to take down heli's and remove the stupid "oh, now i magically can't do anything for 10 seconds." Tank turret limitations may prevent shooting Rao, so less duration.
The skill & fight is then still fully in the hands of both players, unlike now.
@0_Katsui wrote:
@edgecrusherO0 wrote:But his hacking is extremely binary and doesn't really have much nuance/variety. Hold hack button for a few seconds and you're done. Vehicle has temporary protection from further hacks for a bit. There's no real vehicle counterplay to the hack, no ability to get aggressive/riskier to repeatedly hack a single vehicle at great risk to yourself.
Definitely this, and as another said, 3s hack for 10s disable - it's OP and stupid.
Why do hacks disable all weaponry??? Think of tanks loading shells and then firing. Hacking disrupts manual physical actions???
Even electronically operated HMG's operating on a closed loop like a lightswitch - Button on, electric current connects, HMG fires. How and why the hell is that getting hacked? It feels so stupid, and not enjoyable, competitive, or balanced. There's no two way communication involved, how do you "hack" an electric current?
A Balanced Solution:
Hacking air-vehicles should forcibly autopilot them. Enable all weaponry, but unresponsive controls. That's a sitting duck for an M5, and causes crashes when timed skillfully. Jet auto-pilots should attempt to fly 5 deg upwards low-velocity, as posted above. Tank weaponry should still work, but gunner visions should be blanked out, and tank lock-on weaponry also shouldn't work.
Rao should be risk v reward: Let the hack persist as long as Rao holds it, max 15s. (8s to tanks) The hack ceases when Rao does. Auto-spot reveal Rao to enemies during hack. Since heli's are autopilot-immobile, they're at huge risk. Since their guns work and Rao is spotted, he's at huge risk. Everyone sees the Heli, but it'll take a moment looking around to find Rao, so this balances as a risk-reward way to take down heli's and remove the stupid "oh, now i magically can't do anything for 10 seconds." Tank turret limitations may prevent shooting Rao, so less duration.
The skill & fight is then still fully in the hands of both players, unlike now.
Maneuvering is also a manual action. You move the joystick, which moves wires/cables, which moves ailerons, rudders, etc. Would hacking suddenly jam the cables somehow? Messing with maneuverability is something that should not ever happen unless you physically damage it.
Just completely rework his ability. They pretty much stole it from Revenant's tactical from Apex Legends anyway, like almost every base specialist is. Paik is Bloodhound, Casper is Crypto, Irish is Newcastle. Angel is Loba. Mackay is Pathfinder. Time to actually come up with something new.
@CPT_GASLIGHT wrote:Maneuvering is also a manual action. You move the joystick, which moves wires/cables, which moves ailerons, rudders, etc. Would hacking suddenly jam the cables somehow? Messing with maneuverability is something that should not ever happen unless you physically damage it.
Just completely rework his ability. They pretty much stole it from Revenant's tactical from Apex Legends anyway, like almost every base specialist is. Paik is Bloodhound, Casper is Crypto, Irish is Newcastle. Angel is Loba. Mackay is Pathfinder. Time to actually come up with something new.
that's not how flight controls work. some aircraft have cable backup systems but modern aircraft use what is called fly by wire which means when you move the stick a LVDT (linear variable differential transformer) detects the movement and a signal is sent to the flight control computer(s). the computers interpret the input and send the appropriate signals to hydraulic actuators which are moved (and there is feedback to verify that they have moved to where the computer commanded them). the pilots don't fly modern aircraft. pilots tell the computers what they want to do and the computers are the ones that actually fly the aircraft. most computers have software that limit what the aircraft can do so the pilot doesn't destroy the aircraft (g limiters and such...there are over rides but those are for emergencies). same with throttles. i know this because i worked on hornets and super hornets for 17 years (yes, A-D hornets had backup mech that used physical cables but that was only for the stabs and maneuverability was severely limited)
tl;dr it makes more sense to hack the computer because you can't hack a wire/cable
@Psubond wrote:
@CPT_GASLIGHT wrote:Maneuvering is also a manual action. You move the joystick, which moves wires/cables, which moves ailerons, rudders, etc. Would hacking suddenly jam the cables somehow? Messing with maneuverability is something that should not ever happen unless you physically damage it.
Just completely rework his ability. They pretty much stole it from Revenant's tactical from Apex Legends anyway, like almost every base specialist is. Paik is Bloodhound, Casper is Crypto, Irish is Newcastle. Angel is Loba. Mackay is Pathfinder. Time to actually come up with something new.
that's not how flight controls work. some aircraft have cable backup systems but modern aircraft use what is called fly by wire which means when you move the stick a LVDT (linear variable differential transformer) detects the movement and a signal is sent to the flight control computer(s). the computers interpret the input and send the appropriate signals to hydraulic actuators which are moved (and there is feedback to verify that they have moved to where the computer commanded them). the pilots don't fly modern aircraft. pilots tell the computers what they want to do and the computers are the ones that actually fly the aircraft. most computers have software that limit what the aircraft can do so the pilot doesn't destroy the aircraft (g limiters and such...there are over rides but those are for emergencies). same with throttles. i know this because i worked on hornets and super hornets for 17 years (yes, A-D hornets had backup mech that used physical cables but that was only for the stabs and maneuverability was severely limited)
tl;dr it makes more sense to hack the computer because you can't hack a wire/cable
Still don't think hacking should affect maneuverability. If you fly low and suddenly the sensitivity changes because of a hack and crash, that's just broken. I would rather keep it as it is right now than have it affect maneuverability.
