Developer Q&A | Forums

[chemzero]

We have restarted taking in your questions/comment and forwarding them to the developers. They will periodically be taking in a few questions at a time from the stock which we see on the forums and elaborating on each point.

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FLOOR DIVING
Floor Diving does not promote fair gameplay. My opponent can easily prone when attacking without experiencing any drawback while it takes time for me to focus my aim at him. Will there be improvements on this?

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We have highly taken this into account and we have a working solution already. In our next CB phase, you should be able to see improvements that would give disadvantage to people who prone during direct encounters. On our next release, players will experience a “weapon ready” delay when they go to the Prone position.

Nickole Li: Floor diving or “dolphin diving” as noted on the forums does negatively impact gameplay. In the next Closed Beta phase, you can expect to see camera shake when diving to the ground and a weapon ready time delay. Dolphin divers will now take some time to bring their weapon to bear. Additionally, prone speed has been reduced especially when in iron sight, firing and reloading. This mitigates the annoying Ghost strafing and firing while prone.

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PASSIVE ABILITIES
I want to benefit from ammo regeneration ability starting from level 1. Unfortunately, it's not available until level 9. Can we have this at lower levels?

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You can already recover ammunition from dead bodies starting from level 1. We expect this to be a principle mechanic for maintaining your ammo supply.

Nickole Li: Players are already allowed to loot ammo off dead bodies, which should help mitigate running out of ammo till ammo regen is available. Ammo regen is a team device that is made available at the same time as all the other team devices, so it would be unfair to the other classes to have it earlier for the Specialists.

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REWARDS
Will we be able to get rewards for team accomplishments like capturing with allies, shared kill, or skill benefits like ammo regeneration? Currently, this feature is not available in GRO.

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In-game scoring is affected by individual actions such as kills, assists, headshots, captures, and capture assists. We will continue to add different scoring events that reflect team-oriented and tactical gameplay.

Jesse Knapp: One of the most exciting things about working on online games like GRO is the ability to constantly add to and improve the game. We have recently for example added Capture Assists to help reward players who are a key part of a point capture but aren’t on the point at the moment it is captured. This is currently the second most rewarding action in terms of score, second only to actually capturing the point. Situational kills(offensive and defensive) around capture points as well as assists are also currently rewarded. We’ve got a few more situational/teamplay score rewards coming soon(tm) but I won’t spoil the surprise just yet.

Joe McGinn: We do need to keep the classes balanced. For example, it's difficult to equivalently quantify the contribution of using Oracle vs. using Blitz. So some of these class-specific accomplishments are rewarded via achievements and daily missions instead, since these are custom to each class and not directly compared like your score at the end of a match.

[chemzero]

Here's Part 2 of our Developer Q&A:

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ADS DAMAGE DISTANCE
As an Assault, I have difficulty indentifying therange of my ADS ability whenever I'm targeting an enemy.Is there any way we could determine if our opponents are within the range of our ADS?

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As of the next CB build release, ADS will be able to affect opponents at a longer range and for a longer duration. We are still looking at ways to improve thedistance indicaton and damage. As an added tip, when you use this ability, zooming in on the target increases the damage dealt.

Nickole Li: The ADS will have increased range and duration in the next Closed Beta phase. We are working on improving the ADS feedback, so stay tuned for updates. On a side note, you can increase damage on targets affected by your ADS by zooming in on them (default: scrolling mouse wheel).

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RECON CLASS
Is it true that Recons are overpowered? I noticed that there are a lot of them in a match compared to other classes.

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Each class is designed to have advantages and disadvantages in the battlefield. A team with a mix of classes will outperform a team that is unbalanced, especially as players become more familiar with the game.Still, we are keeping a careful eye on class power and will make changes as necessary.

Nickole Li: The Recons have their own strengths and weaknesses. They are the true glass cannon of the battlefield, with high damage potential and comparatively low armor and health. This divergence in survivability only widens as the Ghosts advance, so their apparent advantages may not be as great when dealing with the better equipped veterans. For example, the Cloak device appears to be a massive advantage in the beginning, when players are new to the maps and have no experience in spotting the telltale visual distortion of a cloaked Recon. However, after playing a few rounds, players get a feel for where enemies usually come from when they’re flanking and start realizing that the slow Cloak recharge is taking its toll on the Recons: the Recons aren’t cloaking as often anymore and actually begin feeling rather squishy.

Admittedly, the “glam factor” of an invisible sniper class bearing the Recon name has a rather strong effect on player perception and expectations, making the class a comfortable first choice. However, we are also keeping an eye on player stats on the CB. So far, the K/D ratios are similar, with the Recons trailing slightly, Specialists having a slight edge and Assaults fairly even. While the numbers look fairly balanced for now, we are constantly monitoring the stats and making tweaks along the way to ensure that all classes provide the players with a satisfying experience.

Joe McGinn: We are continuing to tune Recon sniping, via features like weapon sway. But according to the data we've collected so far, no class is overpowered - statistically, all classes are very close in measurable success rates like kill/death ratio. (Believe it or not, Specialists are the most lethal class by this stat, though only by the tiniest of margins.) So we believe the excess number of recons is in part a matter of perception. Everyone understands the sniper role and how to play it, so it's a comfortable choice.

We do understand the importance of this issue (and in fact your observation is confirmed by our data: recon is indeed the most popular class, though that tends to even out the longer the beta runs). We have made some changes such as offering a choice of different weapon loadouts at character-selection time, in the hope of making the options available toother classes more apparent. We will keep watching this issue closely.

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MAPS: METRO STATION
Why are spawn points in metro station so far?

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The reason for this distance is for game balance. By enabling teams to spawn behind their own defending points should give each of them fair chances to gain advantage against each other.

Joe McGinn: The design principle is that if your team wins a firefight, your team has time to advance to the next combat zone (i.e., the next set of clear, safe cover big enough for your team to set up) while the other team respawns and meets you at the same combat site. The distance from each spawn point to capture zone is therefore standardized as much as possible on all Capture maps.

[chemzero]

Here's Part 3:

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MAPS: DESIGN
What are your basis for the changes you make in the maps?

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Map designs are greatly driven by balancing. Most of our basis for updates and changes come from theplaytests, feedbacks, and internal testing.

Joe McGinn: During core map development we make use of heatmaps of recorded player movement, to make sure the flows are working as intended. But once a map has reached a stable state it's best to only make one small change at a time, and then run a lot of playtests to measure the result. For example, if we measure that one side of a capture point is losing too often, we might open up a flanking path as a way to counteract enemy snipers, or add additional cover if there's no reasonable way to advance.

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GRENADES
We want more grenade types like smoke grenades or flashbangs. Will we see more variants in the future?

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GRO will continuously add new content along the way. We're definitely eager to release more grenade types in the future

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WEAPONS
We think that the power difference between high and low level characters is too big. Is this the way GRO was designed?

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Matches are based on the historical success of gamers and their overall performance in the game. Basically those with the same player "success" are matched against each other. If you find yourself matched up with higher level players, take it as a compliment that you are performing above your level.

As for the weapons, higher damage does not necessarily define advantage. Weapons are built around checks and balances. For example, a sniper rifle has high damage but it has horrible handling.

Nickole Li: High level characters with high level weapons will undoubtedly be more powerful than low level characters with low level weapons. However, the design goal in Ghost Recon Online is to avoid the scenario common to many MMOs where a high level character is literally unbeatable by any low levelled character. In short, an experienced player with poor equipment still has a good chance of beating a much better equipped newbie.

It must be noted that unlike many MMOs, Ghosts only gain access to higher level gear when they level up and are entirely reliant on gear for improved performance. Higher level weapons tend to require experienced players to use them well, as they may have quirks like high recoil or small magazine sizes. We are also constantly putting effort into ensuring that gear of the same tier remain balanced against one another.

Joe McGinn: Yes the DPS of higher level weapons is bigger. But - and this is a big BUT - armor and inserts are designed to scale just slightly faster than DPS. So while you'll definitely have a small advantage over a newbie, an appropriately armored high level Ghost should be slightly harder to kill, even with the latest weapon, compared to the early game experience.
he early game experience.

[chemzero]

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Voice Over IP (VOIP)
Will we have a mute option for the VOIP in the future?

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This is a great idea and that it should be added in the game. It is on our plans however, you will see this feature available after our Commercial release.

Jesse Knapp: You already do! Voice Comms(VOIP) are PTT(Push-to-Talk) by default but you can choose to configure it to be voice activated if you prefer. From the options menu you can also configure the volume for Voice Comms in general or adjust the volume for a specific squad mate (even muting them if you feel the need) as well as opting out of Voice Comms entirely. Finally, you can access some contextual options by right clicking on the name of a player in the end of round/match scoreboard

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Control Pad
Some of us are comfortable playing with gamepads. Will options that support this be available in the future.

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You may be able to play GRO with a game pad however, we currently don't have options for you to map out the keys in the game. This is one of the features we will be including in the future builds.

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Anti-Cheat
We are concerned about the security of our accounts and exploitation of the game. We currently can't see any programs that support this inside the game. Is Ghost Recon Online going to have an Anti-Cheat system?

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We in the Ghost Recon Online team take this matter seriously. We won't hesitate to ban and we're continuously monitoring activities in the game. Having an anti-cheat program in Ghost Recon Online is a high priority for us to have.

[chemzero]

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MONETIZATION
Where and how can I gain Ghost Coins?

Note: Ghost Coins (GC) are the currency you acquire by purchasing it with real money while Requisition Points (RPs) are the what you gain by playing matches. Ghost Coins were intended to be a reward given inside the game. The reason why it's available in this CB phase is for testing purposes.

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Jesse Knapp: There are two currencies in GRO: Ghost Coins which are generally purchased and RP which is earned through your ingame actions. We did have some missions available early in CB5 to help test Ghost Coins this was the exception, rather than the rule. One of the best ways to earn extra RP is to make sure you win at least one round before you log for the day. Doing so nets you an extra 300RP, which is not an amount to scoff at!

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Weapon Balance
Some weapons seem overpowered, like the shotgun for example. It has an advantage at long range although shotguns are supposed to be short range weapons. Will there be changes in weapon balancing to address this?

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We have already implemented the first phase of shotgun changes and there will be more in the succeeding patch. We recognize that this is a very important element in game play. We base modifications from the result of the different play tests we conducted and we also consider our Beta Community's feedback.

Joe McGinn: As well as listening to your feedback, I do want to point out that we take a scientific approach to weapon [and game] balancing. Your feedback or one of our designer's opinions is the basis for a thesis, a testable theory. We do listen and we use the data from gameplay to test all plausible theories. Data is the final arbiter; just as in science it's more reliable than subjective opinion. Balance is so important to this particular game, we can't afford to let any opinion have more weight than the data.

Nickole Li: I would like to share some background on how the shotgun came to be the weapon it is today. We’ve started off with a spread similar to what you see in most shooters. Unfortunately, doing so resulted in an unpredictable damage output even at close range (under 5 game meters, typical shotgun range in most games). It was basically impossible to reliably score a kill on someone, and that was not fun for the shooter; nobody used the shotgun back then. You could shotgun a guy at close range and he’d turn around to kill you before you get the second shot off. To fix that, we’ve tried increasing damage, but that meant even higher level armors would just crumble against a shotgun, which defeated the purpose of higher tier gear. Moreover, the shotgun became an all or nothing kamikaze weapon, which was now fun for both sides.

In order to make the shotguns worthy of the primary weapon position, they needed to have a greater effective range and reduced spread. Basically, the mission application of this shotgun is to be reasonably effective up to 10 game meters (often one-shot kills on "unarmored" foes) and able to be a serious deterrent beyond that (2-3 shot kills at 20 game meters). This allowed the shotgun to return to the frontlines as a viable primary weapon.

In the same balance pass, we significantly reduced shotgun damage. I understand there are a lot of comments on the shotgun right now, so we are investigating to ensure that shotguns hit that sweet spot between having a fun effective range while not being outright unfair. Rest assured that shotguns aren’t intended to and never will be a sniper weapon. Finally, for all you Pentanoob haters out there, we’re keeping an eye on the semi-auto shotguns to ensure that semi-auto shotguns can fire quickly without being the ultimate killing tool. While we certainly investigate based on community feedback (and we do welcome that feedback), we’re also checking the game data to make sure that the perceptions are backed up by fact. Just know that your cries will not fall upon deaf ears.

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Fireteam Creation
I want to be able to create fireteams with more than 3 of my friends. GRO currently does not allow this. Are there plans to enable us to make a full fireteam composed of 8 people we want to play with?

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We lowered the maximum fireteam size from 8 to 4 to prevent pre-made parties from steam rolling other teams. We want to encourage balanced participation however, we do hear how important it is for you to be able to setup a full squad, and are looking into how we can do this in a way that does not expose a game exploit.

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Graphics Settings
Some PCs run best on different settings. Will GRO have more graphic setting options someday?

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We are including advanced settings in our graphic options. We currently do not have specific dates on when this will be available in the game however, we're working on this feature it as we speak.

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Item Shop - Weapon Attachments
When we replace our weapon attachments, the one that is originally attached gets destroyed. In the future, do you have plans to allow us to be able to keep these attachments in case we want to use it on another gun

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We don’t allow attachments to be removed from a weapon because micro-managing attachments across weapons isn’t fun. We are looking into other mechanics for allaying the pain of replacing an attachment.

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Gameplay - Hit Detection
We're noticing hit detection issues in-game. We see delays in damage notifications, and we believe that players with high pings have an advantage because they'll appear to be on a certain spot when in fact, they're really moving. Once their connection catches up, they'll emerge on an unexpected spot then they can use their opponent's unguarded reaction to their advantage. What are your plans to resolve this problem?

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There are a lot of aspects we have to consider when it comes to "hit detection" problems. When the hits don’t show, chances are the shot missed or it’s something else. It's possible that some delays you're experiencing could be due to lag. We've also seen players experiencing movement gaps where characters pop-up from one point to another. We recognize the said problems however, we can't point out the specific causes as they may relate to different cases.
Help us investigate this problem more by continuing to submit your feedback regarding hit detection through our ticketing system <link>. We're persistently looking at resolutions to this issue.

[Bugattiboy91]

It's good to see that you guys are doing something about dolphin diving. Any news on prone glitching?

Also, if you are standing still when you go prone will you still get the weapon ready delay?

[suprhero]

you delay my Dolphin Dive? you better be delaying that amount of time a recon is able to shoot wen coming out of stealth. fair is fair.

[JohnoBurr]

you delay my Dolphin Dive? you better be delaying that amount of time a recon is able to shoot wen coming out of stealth. fair is fair.

Honestly, dolphin dive has no business being in this game. Let's leave that to the arcade shooters such as Call of Duty.

[Cross31707]

would we (the players/beta testers) get to keep any rewards we earned through the closed beta be usable when the game is released like the P250 GOLD edition be usable when after when open beta ends?

[golf1052]

you delay my Dolphin Dive? you better be delaying that amount of time a recon is able to shoot wen coming out of stealth. fair is fair.

Yep dolphin diving makes zero sense. Why would somebody keep perfect shooting when diving to the ground, there were zero drawbacks to dolphin diving. Also stealth is a much different topic, stealth isn't completely transparent so you can see people in cloak, it can be countered with oracle, the recon's passive sprint detect ability can see it, when they shoot or get shot they usually lose cloak, it doesn't last that long, takes a long time to recharge. It takes a good recon to use cloak effectively. Anybody can dolphin dive and beat a better player.