Timing powerups, reinvent?

[HideInLight]

Something I could never wrap my head around is the timing of powerups. I seriously lack the concentration to renember at what time interval every single pickup was grabbed then subtracting the average spawn time from the clock to get an idea when it'll spawn again...This is something that is supposedly crucial for competitive play, but it alienates newer and less experienced players dramatically. Basically renders them unable to put up any challenge at all.

Would it be possible to reinvent this aspect of the game to be more newb friendly and innovate it so that it still remains a big part of the game.
Make incoming spawns more obvious?

[i_hax]

Once upon a time, long long ago, people knew it took effort and skill to play a game. A time when people understood that being a noob was just that, being new. They understood that with time and practice they would not be a noob, but until they put that in they would not be able to compete. They understood instant gratification doesn't exist, and knew that some players would always be better than themselves regardless of practice.

[Fuzz2k7]

Pickup respawn timers in the HUD and on the pickups?

[Nammo]

Being easy is not what UT is about.

[HideInLight]

Once upon a time, long long ago, people knew it took effort and skill to play a game. A time when people understood that being a noob was just that, being new. They understood that with time and practice they would not be a noob, but until they put that in they would not be able to compete. They understood instant gratification doesn't exist, and knew that some players would always be better than themselves regardless of practice.

Some things are fun, some are not.
Blowing other players into pieces = fun
Looking at some clock the whole game long and memorising times = not fun.

Suggestions:
Put a respawn timer on the spawners themselves.
That way everyone can see if the powerup is close to spawning. Don't have the show the exact count, but just give a rough indication on when it's about to spawn.

[HideInLight]

Look at the bright side it'll automatically increase the overall skill level of players.
No need to artificially increase the difficulty of the game.

[HideInLight]

Pickup respawn timers in the HUD and on the pickups?

On the respawners themselves or above them in a hologram like fashion. There's lot of ways it could be implemented, it's would just be about how much easy you want to make it for the player to grab the powerup at the right moment.

1. Digital clock - Precise time
Very Easy

2. Hourglass - Doesn't show exact time, but you can see how the time runs out.Gives a good idea on when it'll respawn.
Easy

3. Traffic Light - Red, Orange, Green, Only get a rough idea when something is gonna respawn.
Harder

[jomi294]

Some things are fun, some are not.
Blowing other players into pieces = fun
Looking at some clock the whole game long and memorising times = not fun.

That's where you're lacking then.
What about:
Blowing other players into pieces while knowing all the pickup timings?
Just because you need to give up some things in order to track some others doesn't mean the rest of the players have. You can still play offensively while not giving any pickup out. You just need to practice some more I guess.

[Nightmare85]

I think you have to learn the timings.
So far, I know the timing for the Redeemer, Udamage, Berserk, Shaped Charge, Spider Mines, and maybe also some more.
(That are the most important in my opinion.)
I believe this is what you already have written, though.

Look:
If there would be a spawn timer (something like a small clock above the power-up), more players would camp.
This means it could be more difficult to pick it up.
Some power-ups like the Berserk or Udamage begin to blink around 20 seconds earlier.
Then you know they will spawn very soon.

Plenty of things could be changed, but after more than 2 years I doubt anything will be changed...

Cheers!

[hypno]

in duel the only thing you need to time mainly is the belt, you dont have to subtract, you can add +5 instead. for example you grab it at 14:05 next will be at 13:10, you grab it at 13:12, next will be 12:17. Quite easy, ofcourse you can still time weapons and armor but you dont need to be that detailed, its just about getting used and know the routes/how much time you take around the map for the armor to come up. timing is a skill and its part of the game.

[thelegacy]

If you ask any decent dueler about timing powerups, i'm sure all will tell you that they dont meticulously time powerups all game. You just get a sense for when the powerup spawn that you dont really need to constantly look at the clock, just a half second glance is what you'll mostly need, once you get on a roll with picking powerups throughout a map you can go the same path and pick em up if you time it correctly.

[Mysterial]

Most of the pickup bases have a material effect that plays on the mesh a couple seconds before they respawn. That's not a huge help but it does tell you if you're a little early that you can just wait a second and it'll show up.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that maps should have enough powerups that it's not realistic to control all of them, therefore making timing them about gaining the choice of which you want and not complete domination of everything valuable on the map.

[Crotale]

Personally, I'm of the opinion that maps should have enough powerups that it's not realistic to control all of them, therefore making timing them about gaining the choice of which you want and not complete domination of everything valuable on the map.

Timing is more critical on 1v1 situations, so most of the maps used should not have multiples of the same powerups.

[i_hax]

For those who couldn't understand my post - I'm basically pointing out that just because you and the majority of players are not willing or incapable of learning something doesn't mean it has to be changed.

The state of gaming today is absolutely disgusting. Everyone wants a free ride and an easy game... The death of high-skill arena shooters basically proves that. I'm not sure where the majority of the gaming world turned it's head and became the e-sport equivalent of an obese marathon runner, but it likely happened before I started playing UT (2007). I have played nearly a thousand hours of this game according to Xfire - I, and anyone else who put in that time, deserves to beat the **** out of someone who hasn't. It took over a year to be able to time power-ups without watching the clock... and if someone can learn it in 1/4 the time, they are (or will become) a better player than myself. I am glad there are players far better than me, otherwise it would be boring (like the game you would create).

...and before people tell me you don't have as much time as me to learn the game, I don't care. I had the opportunity to be a locally sponsored amateur bike (BMX/street/dirt jump) rider but I don't have the time or desire to do so. The person who does will (and deserves to) be better than me - just like in the game. Honestly, when I read threads like this I picture a person who would rally for all baseball to become T-Ball because they find it difficult to hit a moving ball from the air.

In short - Anyone who wants to make something easier because they aren't willing to learn is a failure. I will trample you in both the game and the real world.

[JohnDoe641]

Indeed, i_poop.

I never time things, I never look at the clock, I've learned timing over the years by feeling the timings and it's easy, just stop thinking about it and you naturally tend to feel exactly when something will spawn.