UF/A Update 0.7.5; Ani Are You Okay?


Update 0.7.5 focuses largely on the Anis License, henceforth referred to as the Ani. This slight name change is due to a long standing clerical issue; just one that I'd never been in a rush to fix. The name "Anis" is plural for the actual bird that the frame is based on/inspired by. Why did I wait to change it until now? Ani feels weird to say. Other than that, the changes are as follows:

  • Ani's Core Passive and Active tweaked to help incentivize spreading damage around as much as possible.
  • Bateleur Frame Trait altered for clarity. Core Passive simplified. 
  • All the weapons from the Ani License have been modified in some way. IRD Clown Car has been updated. Jet/Slipstream was given an Action Modal.
  • Drop Launch System and Emergency Fire Foam from the Ossifrage License given Action Modals. IRD Fool Circus has been updated.
  • Starchoke Course Plotter from the Peregrine License given a price change. 
  • Nimbus Talent Tier 1-2 Changed. T3 got a name change. 
  • ODR Talent Tier 2 Changed and simplified. 
  • Fixed a number of long standing clerical errors between item SP Cost, Name Inconsistencies.

The big reasoning behind the Ani changes in particular is a matter of Incentivization and Simplification. My personal philosophy when designing License Items, especially weapons, is to try an make them feel as close to how they might in universe. I think this can lead very evocative and distinct tools in players' arsenals. But it has a downside, especially when working in the confines of a pre-established system.  And that big issue is complexity creep.

Something that I observed in continued playtesting is a level of misunderstanding as to what the Ani License actually was focused around. And when the the functionality was understood, it was under utilized. This wasn't the fault of players, obviously, but indicated that the utility provided was too complex to easily understand and too difficult to access to be functional. This can be seen specifically with the "Quill" Drill. Functionally speaking, the weapon got "weaker" as you made use of it's utility.  It didn't literally get weaker, but to a player who didn't understand the weapons utility, that's how it reads upon immediate blush. And when a player did understand the weapon, there was little Incentivization to not just use the weapon as a 2 SP Near-Heavy Bonk Stick. The utility was too hard to accomplish over a reasonable span of time, required too much tracking, and didn't have enough value when, again, you could get nearly the same damage just by using it in its base form.

These problems might seem like they have immediate and easy solutions. Those assumed solutions might even looking very different from what the "Quill" Drill has been updated to. But the problem is that straying too far from what the weapon should feel like completelychanges the weapon. Part of what sells the Drake's Assault Cannon is the Spin Up Quick Action. It could be argued that the weapon could be simplified. You could remove the extra profile, make it Reliable 3, and add Ordinance to it. But it's not better. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I enjoy being able to provide insight as to what influenced my choices, but "Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance."

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