Based on player feedback, timers on standard missions will be removed. Timers will only apply to objective types such as Intercept Nodes and Bombs and special missions like Raids.
I feel like the time pressure in missions takes away from the tactical and stealth-focused gameplay. Especially towards the end, when there is suddenly a wave defense and all enemies immediately know your position, it feels very different from the slow and careful approach the game initially encourages.
In my opinion, stealth and infiltration mechanics don’t get enough room to shine because of this. The sudden shift into a fast-paced combat scenario can feel frustrating, particularly for players who prefer a more methodical playstyle.
I have been looking forward to this game for a long time and I really want to love it. Right now, I’m worried that these aspects might end up ruining the experience for me.
Would it be possible to make the mission timer optional, or provide a mode with less time pressure? Personally, I prefer playing alone in a more relaxed way, but at the moment the game doesn’t feel very well balanced for solo players who want to take their time.
Josh Hubi
Team•
Mar 6
Thank you so much for the feedback! It means a lot to us. I am happy to tell you that we’ve taken this into consideration and shall be removing standard mission timers. You can read more about this here.
As a solo player i try to play more passively and the 5 minute mission timer is not enough most of the time, forcing me to rush into fights where i would, most of the time, be overrun and lose
So the mission timer was extended because other players felt that it was too short to approach the level slowly and methodically. Beyond the fact that the demo levels don’t really reward taking it slow at the moment, I disagree with this change.
I think your original vision was something like this: When you start doing the objective, all enemies on the map rush you. So you would ideally clear out the map before starting the objective, but the mission timer will eventually force you to do the objective even if you’re not done yet.
I liked the idea of this design because time pressure makes the game feel significantly more intense, even if the actual gameplay isn’t that difficult. Playing safe often makes PvE games like this too easy, and time pressure was an incentive to play a little fast and loose instead. It gave the each mission a Counter Strike kind of flow: you attack spread out groups of enemies as fast as you can, eventually complete an objective at a certain point, and then the remaining enemies all attack you at once (like a retake in CS).
I think the reason people complained about the timer was because 5 minutes can feel like a very tight time limit when you’re completely new, still figuring out the basic mechanics and you’re scared to enter the building at all because you don’t know how enemies work. I think after playing for long enough to complete their first run in the demo and then trying again, most players would agree that 5min is plenty once you learn how to go a little faster, and 11min is extremely long (yes, even solo). However, it’s obviously true that the new player experience is important and you want to give people some breathing room on their very first mission, so maybe as a compromise the timer could be longer at the start of the run and get shorter each mission. Perhaps the timer could also be short, but only start once an enemy spots you to incentivize keeping stealth going for as long as possible.
Variable objective timers for different missions to allow for more varied gameplay
Currently, the timers for the various mission modes (intel gathering (computers), target elimination, hostage, and bomb defusal) seem to be all roughly the same time limit to complete the primary objective. This currently leads to a lack of mission flavor as well as tactical gameplay as certain playstyles (i.e. silent, slow, and steady) are rendered ineffective as players are faced with tight timelines and searching for enemies to replenish the timer. In the alpha public test it feels as though the only way to play is to rush in hard and grouped up as any meaningful tactics might take 1-2 minutes off the clock to set up which already puts you at a disadvantage compared to just group breaching and rushing the objectives.
People love playing slow when they play tactical shooters, so the current implementation of the mission timer is problematic. My friends and I would love to explore our options for what the game claims it offers, but we can’t do that if we’re bogged down by a timer that ends the mission. Not to mention, it can exacerbate player frustration if AI or difficulty changes make the gameplay slower. If it can’t be removed, then I’d like to offer some ideas I’ll spitball here.
Instead of ending the mission, the timer:
Could send reinforcements from MERX after X minutes or every X minute. It converts the hard punishment of the timer into a soft punishment.
Could be extended by X seconds for each intel you collect. While it’s meant to help us for the next mission, it could be a small reward for the current mission we’re playing and mitigate the pain point of the timer.
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Comments6
sagcool
Mar 6
•Merged request
•1 vote
Time Pressure and Stealth Balance in Solo Play
I feel like the time pressure in missions takes away from the tactical and stealth-focused gameplay. Especially towards the end, when there is suddenly a wave defense and all enemies immediately know your position, it feels very different from the slow and careful approach the game initially encourages.
In my opinion, stealth and infiltration mechanics don’t get enough room to shine because of this. The sudden shift into a fast-paced combat scenario can feel frustrating, particularly for players who prefer a more methodical playstyle.
I have been looking forward to this game for a long time and I really want to love it. Right now, I’m worried that these aspects might end up ruining the experience for me.
Would it be possible to make the mission timer optional, or provide a mode with less time pressure? Personally, I prefer playing alone in a more relaxed way, but at the moment the game doesn’t feel very well balanced for solo players who want to take their time.
Josh Hubi
Mar 6
Thank you so much for the feedback! It means a lot to us. I am happy to tell you that we’ve taken this into consideration and shall be removing standard mission timers. You can read more about this here.
https://feedback.playroguepoint.com/p/eliminating-standard-mission-timers
I’ll merge this thread as a result.
ketal_
Feb 20
•Merged request
•9 votes
Mission timer feels forced when playing solo
As a solo player i try to play more passively and the 5 minute mission timer is not enough most of the time, forcing me to rush into fights where i would, most of the time, be overrun and lose
Cromakoth
Feb 20
•Merged request
•2 votes
A chat about mission timers
So the mission timer was extended because other players felt that it was too short to approach the level slowly and methodically. Beyond the fact that the demo levels don’t really reward taking it slow at the moment, I disagree with this change.
I think your original vision was something like this: When you start doing the objective, all enemies on the map rush you. So you would ideally clear out the map before starting the objective, but the mission timer will eventually force you to do the objective even if you’re not done yet.
I liked the idea of this design because time pressure makes the game feel significantly more intense, even if the actual gameplay isn’t that difficult. Playing safe often makes PvE games like this too easy, and time pressure was an incentive to play a little fast and loose instead. It gave the each mission a Counter Strike kind of flow: you attack spread out groups of enemies as fast as you can, eventually complete an objective at a certain point, and then the remaining enemies all attack you at once (like a retake in CS).
I think the reason people complained about the timer was because 5 minutes can feel like a very tight time limit when you’re completely new, still figuring out the basic mechanics and you’re scared to enter the building at all because you don’t know how enemies work. I think after playing for long enough to complete their first run in the demo and then trying again, most players would agree that 5min is plenty once you learn how to go a little faster, and 11min is extremely long (yes, even solo). However, it’s obviously true that the new player experience is important and you want to give people some breathing room on their very first mission, so maybe as a compromise the timer could be longer at the start of the run and get shorter each mission. Perhaps the timer could also be short, but only start once an enemy spots you to incentivize keeping stealth going for as long as possible.
daedal3us
Feb 20
•Merged request
•2 votes
Variable objective timers for different missions to allow for more varied gameplay
Currently, the timers for the various mission modes (intel gathering (computers), target elimination, hostage, and bomb defusal) seem to be all roughly the same time limit to complete the primary objective. This currently leads to a lack of mission flavor as well as tactical gameplay as certain playstyles (i.e. silent, slow, and steady) are rendered ineffective as players are faced with tight timelines and searching for enemies to replenish the timer. In the alpha public test it feels as though the only way to play is to rush in hard and grouped up as any meaningful tactics might take 1-2 minutes off the clock to set up which already puts you at a disadvantage compared to just group breaching and rushing the objectives.
kokoacatt
Feb 20
•Merged request
•3 votes
Changes to the Mission Timer
People love playing slow when they play tactical shooters, so the current implementation of the mission timer is problematic. My friends and I would love to explore our options for what the game claims it offers, but we can’t do that if we’re bogged down by a timer that ends the mission. Not to mention, it can exacerbate player frustration if AI or difficulty changes make the gameplay slower. If it can’t be removed, then I’d like to offer some ideas I’ll spitball here.
Instead of ending the mission, the timer:
Could send reinforcements from MERX after X minutes or every X minute. It converts the hard punishment of the timer into a soft punishment.
Could be extended by X seconds for each intel you collect. While it’s meant to help us for the next mission, it could be a small reward for the current mission we’re playing and mitigate the pain point of the timer.