[Gameplay] - Rapier

[DaveyWolfe]

Bug Submission: <br /><br />Category: Gameplay<br />Platform: PC<br />Issue Title: Rapier<br />Issue Description: Rapier's description says that its cost is dependent on the alarm level. At Lv0 it costs 1 PWR to hack a firewall, Lv1 it costs 2 PWR, Lv3 it costs 3 PWR, etc.<br /><br />However the cost appears incorrect at certain points in the game.<br /><br />It does not appear as though Rapier's cost is directly calculating based on the physical alarm level displayed on your screen.<br />Steps to Reproduce: I have found two situations that this did not appear to be the case:<br /><br />(1) There is an occ. prompt at consoles that allow you to bribe the guard $250 to not report you for breaking into the console. One of the benefits in doing this if successful is that they will dial back your alarm level by (I believe) 3 blocks. If this effect were to push your alarm level back to a previous stage (such as Lv1 to Lv0) the cost of Rapier does not go back down to the newly reduced alarm level.<br /><br />(2) Your alarm level maxes out at 6 but if you were to raise it beyond the theoretical maximum, the cost of Rapier still increases and appears to do so indefinitely. For example I was stuck trying to avoid guards for a long time waiting for enough power to hack the cybernetic implant machines. Unfortunately it was like climbing an uphill battle as every 5 turns the cost of Rapier would continue to increase as though the alarm level would have climbed to 7, 8, 9 and 10 if not for the Lv6 maximum displayed on the screen.<br />

[DaveyWolfe]

Bug Submission: <br /><br />Category: Gameplay<br />Platform: PC<br />Issue Title: Rapier<br />Issue Description: Rapier's description says that its cost is dependent on the alarm level. At Lv0 it costs 1 PWR to hack a firewall, Lv1 it costs 2 PWR, Lv3 it costs 3 PWR, etc.<br /><br />However the cost appears incorrect at certain points in the game.<br /><br />It does not appear as though Rapier's cost is directly calculating based on the physical alarm level displayed on your screen.<br />Steps to Reproduce: I have found two situations that this did not appear to be the case:<br /><br />(1) There is an occ. prompt at consoles that allow you to bribe the guard $250 to not report you for breaking into the console. One of the benefits in doing this if successful is that they will dial back your alarm level by (I believe) 3 blocks. If this effect were to push your alarm level back to a previous stage (such as Lv1 to Lv0) the cost of Rapier does not go back down to the newly reduced alarm level.<br /><br />(2) Your alarm level maxes out at 6 but if you were to raise it beyond the theoretical maximum, the cost of Rapier still increases and appears to do so indefinitely. For example I was stuck trying to avoid guards for a long time waiting for enough power to hack the cybernetic implant machines. Unfortunately it was like climbing an uphill battle as every 5 turns the cost of Rapier would continue to increase as though the alarm level would have climbed to 7, 8, 9 and 10 if not for the Lv6 maximum displayed on the screen.<br />

 

Apologies - I posted this with my iPhone in Safari and it came out with all the html code. I don't see where I can edit it directly in the forums (maybe its because I'm logging in via Steam?). Anyway, here's the cleaned up version which I'm writing on my laptop:

Category: Gameplay

Platform: PC

Issue Title: Rapier [energy cost is incorrect at certain times]

Issue Description: Rapier's description says that its cost is dependent on the alarm level. At Lv0 it costs 1 PWR to hack a firewall, Lv1 it costs 2 PWR, Lv3 it costs 3 PWR, etc. However the cost appears incorrect at certain points in the game. It does not appear as though Rapier's cost is directly calculating based on the actual alarm level number displayed on your screen during gameplay.

Steps to Reproduce: I have found two situations that this did not appear to be the case:

(1) There is an occ. prompt at consoles that allow you to bribe the guard $250 to not report you for breaking into the console. One of the benefits in doing this if successful is that they will dial back your alarm level by (I believe) 3 blocks. If this effect were to push your alarm level back to a previous stage (such as Lv1 to Lv0) the cost of Rapier does not go back down to the newly reduced alarm level.

 

(2) Your alarm level maxes out at 6 but if you were to raise it beyond the theoretical maximum, the cost of Rapier still increases and appears to do so indefinitely. For example I was stuck trying to avoid guards for a long time waiting for enough power to hack the cybernetic implant machines. Unfortunately it was like climbing an uphill battle as every 5 turns the cost of Rapier would continue to increase as though the alarm level would have climbed to 7, 8, 9 and 10 if not for the Lv6 maximum displayed on the screen.

[InvisibleThunder]

0) The cost of Rapier can be influenced by Daemons. Unfortunately the Daemon penalties still do not always correctly show on screen, if at all.

 

1) You are correct, I also noticed this. If you go back 3 blocks before hitting lvl 1, it does not raise.

 

2) The Threat Level and Danger- and/or difficulty Level are two separate things. The first caps at six, the latter, however keeps increasing, meaning an Enforcer will spawn every level. I had Rapier go up as high as 10 PWR/ICE. The new tool of Archive Internationale also (luckily) keeps increasing, I got as high as 11 PWR from it.

[DaveyWolfe]

0) The cost of Rapier can be influenced by Daemons. Unfortunately the Daemon penalties still do not always correctly show on screen, if at all.

 

1) You are correct, I also noticed this. If you go back 3 blocks before hitting lvl 1, it does not raise.

 

2) The Threat Level and Danger- and/or difficulty Level are two separate things. The first caps at six, the latter, however keeps increasing, meaning an Enforcer will spawn every level. I had Rapier go up as high as 10 PWR/ICE. The new tool of Archive Internationale also (luckily) keeps increasing, I got as high as 11 PWR from it.

 

0) This behavior I'm describing has nothing to do with Daemon penalties. I'm aware of those and they were not present during the issues I'm describing.

 

1) I'm not sure what you mean by "it does not raise". The point is that the cost of Rapier should, according to its description, decrease when you go from Lv1 (cost: 2 PWR) back to Lv0 (cost: 1 PWR). However, the cost does not decrease at all, it just stays the same.

 

2) I did not mention difficulty level so I'm not sure what relevance that has exactly, but maybe you could explain it better. The description of Rapier says "Breaks 1 firewall. PWR cost increases by 1 each Alarm Level." So as I understand it, if the Alarm Level caps at 6 then the cost of Rapier should never go above 7 unless there is a Daemon cost penalty present.

 

If by somehow this is all actually by design then certainly the description should be changed at the least. I based my strategy on the understanding that the cost of this tool would never go above 7 under normal circumstances and that was part of the appeal. I really do love Rapier for late game as my team gets faster and it would be great if these changes or fixes could be made for the next build.

[InvisibleThunder]

0) This behavior I'm describing has nothing to do with Daemon penalties. I'm aware of those and they were not present during the issues I'm describing.

 

Just making sure. When I play the message only show for a split second, then nothing.

 

1) I'm not sure what you mean by "it does not raise". The point is that the cost of Rapier should, according to its description, decrease when you go from Lv1 (cost: 2 PWR) back to Lv0 (cost: 1 PWR). However, the cost does not decrease at all, it just stays the same.

 

The description says: "PWR cost increases by 1 each Alarm Level". Nothing is said about decreasing, that's an assumption. Eventhoug it is a valid one I do not believe it has been overlooked. I mean, should extra guards despawn due to this or all firewall levels be turned back by 1?

 

2) I did not mention difficulty level so I'm not sure what relevance that has exactly, but maybe you could explain it better. The description of Rapier says "Breaks 1 firewall. PWR cost increases by 1 each Alarm Level." So as I understand it, if the Alarm Level caps at 6 then the cost of Rapier should never go above 7 unless there is a Daemon cost penalty present.

 

Well, "difficulty" is actually the most relevant word for your question. The difficulty level will keep increasing with each "Treat Level" or "Alarm Level" or "Tracker" (the game uses different names for that same little number on the top right of your screen). That number basically represents what new Threat will be added, like an extra guard, or extra camera's, etc.

 

The Alarm level does not really "cap". It simply states Threat Number 6 (an Enforcer) will be added each (difficulty) level. I do however understand that it's confusing for new players, but that's Early Access there isn't a manual, yet.

The real level is shown on your assessment when you exit through the elevator.

 

So in effect, the power cost of Rapier will keep increasing as does the difficulty.

This was done one purpose to prevent players from running around and killing all the guard and have walk in the park or picknick afterwards.

 

If by somehow this is all actually by design then certainly the description should be changed at the least. I based my strategy on the understanding that the cost of this tool would never go above 7 under normal circumstances and that was part of the appeal. I really do love Rapier for late game as my team gets faster and it would be great if these changes or fixes could be made for the next build.

 

Rapier does exactly what the description says. It does not do what you assume. Again, I understand that it can be confusing at the beginning. Notheless, Rapier is still the best option, imo, for late game. However at Alarm Level 2 and up you should really switch to Lockpick and/or Parasite, available at your local GR@ND B@Z@@R.

 

[rooks]

Thanks, I've fixed this in our development build.  It should be out next major update.