Epic talks post update roadie run

by Dustin Burg { Apr 15th 2007 at 2:15PM }

With the release of the latest Gears of War auto update we mentioned that the roadie run has changed and, in some people's eyes, for the worse. Rod Fergusson, Gears' producer, hopped on Epic's forums to clear up the roadie run rumors and explain how the new system works. According to Fergusson, the new roadie running looks at player's intent and whichever way the movement thumbstick is pointed is where the game will look for cover. Now, when running around an object to the right, it will pull you into cover at the right. He says "that they've tested this method extensively for weeks and really felt that it was a solid improvement" and that they've "received numerous emails and forum posts from people who really like the new system". Right ... Anyway, Rod acknowledged that everyone doesn't like the current roadie run system (really?) and that they will be creating a new version that is based on both the old and new.

But here's a thought. How about just not allow going into cover when roadie running? Then there will be no more unwanted sticking and to get into cover simply release the A button and tap A again ... genius! So, if you don't like the new roadie run system because you keep sticking to everything or even if you've fallen in love with it, change will be coming in the next update. Whenever that occurs ...

Tags: epic, epic games, EpicGames, gears, gears of war, GearsOfWar, gow, roadie run, RoadieRun

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

JamieBoi V2 @ Apr 15th 2007 2:39PM

Just keep the old system or just dont allow players to go into cover whilst roadie running.

Simple..... as..... pie.

Triforceowner @ Apr 15th 2007 2:47PM

I've put in a few good hours of play since the update, and I am disappointed with how sticky the walls have become. For instance, on Gridlock if you are Cog and you run to the right of the rail that splits the first passageway on you right, and then you take a left in between the two car sections, you will almost always get stuck on one of the cars. When you try to become unstuck you only swap your cover for the other car. Another example on Gridlock is if you run too close to the curved wall at the beginning you will get stuck on its edge. This didn't used to happen, and it really messes with the gameplay mechanics. Yay for complaining!

jason @ Apr 15th 2007 3:10PM

i agree with #2

mike @ Apr 15th 2007 3:25PM

great so there gonna change it to yet a 3rd way? Damn just put the systerm back to normal, or better yet, what the 360fanboy article mentioned in the second article; NO COVER POSSIBLE FROM ROADIE RUN.

The sad part is epic says they will patch it, but instead of fixing the problem within the week and releasing it, they will fix it, and other problems and release them all together in a big patch update in 3 months from now. Sigh. Why cant they just fix issues one at a time instead of us having to play so long to get them fixed all at once?

Chainsaw glitching and weaponslide are still in the game. This patch did almost nothing.

Michael @ Apr 15th 2007 3:32PM

This is a game where getting to cover quickly is pretty important. Untapping A and tapping it again sounds awkward, and not being able to stick while running is just a bad idea.

I haven't been able to try the update (360 is in for repair, ha!) but I think maybe they should make it so that you don't stick AT ALL so long as you're not touching the analog stick (you don't have to hold it forward to run, a lot of people don't seem to know that), or if you're holding it in the opposite direction of cover (so if you're holding right to avoid a car to your left, you go around the damn thing instead of sticking to it). Tweaking the angle at which you have to be facing something to stick while running would help a lot, too. Like if you're holding right to avoid that aforementioned car, you don't end up accidentally sticking to a wall you're running parallel to.

FiddilyDee @ Apr 15th 2007 3:35PM

If they wanted to make it perfect, they would change the cover button to X and keep A for everything else... but I guess they think it is more important to have 1 button do like 6 things...

derek @ Apr 15th 2007 3:38PM

There's no nice way to put it. Using A to run and stick against the wall is the shittiest system ever for a game. I love GOW but I don't like the mechanics of the game sometimes and w/the new roadie run it's gotten worse. I've practiced the new roadie running system and I've gotten way better at it but it still doesn't mean I have ot like it.

Here's a novel idea. Why not double-tap A to stick to a wall. Also, in multiplayer the Y button is almost useless(it's relatively useless in single player too). Why not have the option to utilize Y in the multiplayer portion of the game to stick to walls? Is adding the ability to customize the controller actions that difficult to put in the game?

Kevin Gass @ Apr 15th 2007 3:41PM

How bout an Option to either use the new one or the one where you don't go into Cover at all?

Kevin Gass @ Apr 15th 2007 3:41PM

Also I think the "Y" button should be used to switch the camera over to the left shoulder and back

Chris @ Apr 15th 2007 3:46PM

Here's an idea, get rid of host advantage.

SeNiLe @ Apr 15th 2007 4:07PM

This is good news and bad. The old system everyone was used to but was still sticky. This last update made it sticky in a worst way. It sounds like they will do a mix and I can smell trouble with that. They need to make it where if you are roadie running you stick to nothing unless you tap A. I use this all the time if I am in the open and want to stick to a wall. I hold the A down to roadie run and push forward on the left stick release and tap A and if you time it just right you slide to cover from a good distance. It might have been better to make the X button to take cover but if there not going to change that then I think taping A when ever you want to take cover is the best answer.

For #10, I agree, get rid of host advantage.

Hoffer @ Apr 15th 2007 5:00PM

I like the don't go into cover while roadie running. When you get close to something, just release and click again for cover.

Makes sense to me.

Chris @ Apr 15th 2007 5:04PM

Oh also, automatically going to cover gets annoying when you're trying to escape the 12 year old host shooting you with a shotgun at 30 feet away and taking half your health away with one shot.

DeadConcious @ Apr 15th 2007 5:44PM

To fix the host advantage they would have to switch to play on servers, not having the games hosted. As we all know, servers cost money to buy and run. They would either have to pay for this or charge to play GoW.
I don't think a patch could really do much to fix this problem. It would have to account for the many milliseconds of latency and the processing of the information through servers on its path to the host. To accurately modify the latency of everyone in the game without servers would cause a lot of problems.

jigsaw hc @ Apr 15th 2007 6:05PM

I like the not going into cover while running option. That would be a lot better.

Grant @ Apr 15th 2007 6:24PM

"To fix the host advantage they would have to switch to play on servers, not having the games hosted"

thats funny, they don't have that problem with halo, while some people claim their is(since theoretically no matter what, the host will have an advantage) but it's negligible, compared to gears where it's quite noticeable.
Unless they just wrote poor multiplayer code(such as many online fighters have had) it should be fixable to an unnoticable level.

And i agree with no cover in RR. I have never gone into cover on purpose from a rr, i always dive into it.

Morgon @ Apr 15th 2007 6:44PM

Personally, we pay for Xbox Live, we should always have dedicated servers.

That aside, okay, so there's simply no feasible way to have dedicated servers and can only do user-hosted games. Here's how to combat this:

Bittorrent.

"WTF?" you ask, squinting your eye in a quizzical and confused manner.

Bittorrent. Most games have a 'predictable path' technology that it already uses to figure out where people are, and what they're doing.

By utilizing this peer-to-peer system, all connected clients have an equal say as to what's happening, majority rules.

This way, modding, bridging, standby, and host advantage are all minimized. The other 7 clients said you were (or should be) doing this, so that's what you're doing.
It would take a very orchestrated effort to attempt to falsify the game data being sent back and forth.

This is something I'm seriously confused as to why it hasn't been implemented yet. It's not just for file downloads. I believe this would make for an excellent 'governor' for multiplayer -- if everyone else says you've got a pistol that shoots pistol-type bullets, hiding behind a Warthog, and you say you've got a pistol that shoots rocket rounds, spinning like a ballerina in the middle of the map -- well guess what, you best sit your ass back down behind the Warthog, because that's the metric the game's gonna use to figure out who is where, doing what.

Perhaps I'm oversimplifying, but I do believe peer systems, rather than 'host rule', is what is going to drive the best overall experience for everyone.

TheGrimFandango @ Apr 16th 2007 1:17AM

They should do what I've been saying all along...keep the A button for cover and map the roadie run to the button ability of the left thumb stick. Problem solved.

ill trooper @ Apr 16th 2007 2:15AM

The problem is as simple as this:

Cliffy and his team put the two options ("run" and "go into cover") on the same button. ANNOYING.

They should have put the commands on seperate buttons, as you almost never want to do one action while engaged in the other. There's no shortage of buttons on the controller, after all... And it's such a serious flaw in my eyes I can't excuse it. I finished the game on 'hardcore' but I never want to play it again - it was fun, there was cool stuff, etc... I DO understand why people love the game, but the control is so annoying compared to the 'left trigger puts you in cover' system that Rainbow 6:VEGAS uses - which is amazingly intuitive and there are no 'oops I was running away and then I slammed myself into the cover of a baracade - on the WRONG side of a baracade, that is" situations.

Oh well. I hope they get it worked out - that grenade system is cool, and the skill-enhanced reload is a great innovation.

DjDATZ @ Apr 16th 2007 2:30AM

I havent yet played GoW since the update...i updated it...but frankly...i didnt feel compelled to play it yet...in fact...my gf's brother who just got live days ago has played annex already whilst i havent...yet...oh well...i guess i will after next thursday when im done exams...

Brian @ Apr 16th 2007 5:23AM

There is an economical way to Bypass host advantage. Allow for people to set there box to host matches on their connection. They can do this when they are not playing or want to host a match for friends. There its a cheap solution.

CRASHLOCK @ Apr 16th 2007 6:30AM

The new STICKY roadie running is quite simply TOTAL CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You can't run away from danger or rush to a weapon without sticking to cover.

DO NOT ALLOW STICKING IN ROADIE RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

san @ Apr 16th 2007 10:13AM

"10. Here's an idea, get rid of host advantage."

GOW is very network intensive' balancing play dependent on network connection over the Internet to the host is going to be *extremely* difficult.

GOW is by far the most interesting online game I've seen in years. Unfortunately, it suffers from numerous issues that Epic either can't figure out how to fix, can't fix, or doesn't care to put in the extensive time to re-code to fix (e.g., merely changing button combinations for "glitches" instead of taking the "glitches" out of the game).

What Epic has moved forward in graphics, play mechanics and sheer excitement, they've set back a decade in social engineering of onlines games. The surest way to beat the host advantage -- and we are chiefly talking about the shotgun, but does affect most weapons -- is the lancer's chainsaw bayonet. Of course the shotgun knocks down the chainsaw and stuns the opponent -- if it's the host against you it just blows you apart in one shot. But he has to shoot you straight on. I've developed a system to get to the side of him; if I'm sharp enough, awake enough to pull it off, I flip and roll around the host, and I can chainsaw him to pieces almost every round. Then I get to hear everyone age 10 to 30 -- on the other team of course but not infrequently on my own team -- call me every name in the book, generally insult my manhood, use homophobic or racial slurs, etc. -- and, yes, it's much worse than in other online games. All because I effectively used a weapon that is *in the game* and *entirely legitimate* to put an end to a host's connection-based advantage over me. (GOW online play makes a good case for those who theorize that violent video games demonstrably increase aggressive behavior.)

I'm giving it a few more days, but it's very likely GOW, after months of play that I don't wish to end based on the merits of the game itself, is going on the shelf for a long time, if not forever.

Todd H. @ Apr 16th 2007 10:48AM

I play GoW for at least 5-12 hours a week online and I must say since the update my play has severely dropped (1-2 hours). I feel that since the update the game has changed for the worse, including the sticky issues as well as the controls just don't feel as tight.

Funny he mentions people that like the changes, I haven't heard one person that I've played with comment on how much the changes have helped the game. I'd be happy with just putting it back the way it was prior to the update. At least I have GHII now.

Todd
http://www.xbox360.com

LongshotX @ Apr 16th 2007 12:06PM

Well my dumb Xbox 360 broke (second one) and I can't even play Gears...shit...time to go swap shopping.

chris @ Apr 16th 2007 4:38PM

I really dont see the problem with the controls all being mapped to the A button. The game plays fine, but the walls are so sticky that it is making me dramatically play less and less as time goes on. The glitches are even worse than before too.

The updates take way to long to come out. Maybe if some of the developers hopped into random games and listen to what people are saying then things will get done properly in the first place. I cant play one night without listening to people complain about how shitty the gaming experience is due to the "patch" update.

Its hard for me to believe that a game that has gotten so many awards for being awesome has some of the worst support and bugs I have come across. Epic "broke" gears of war to the point that it doesn't play as well as it did when I bought it. And Epic, if you think I'm going to buy maps when a game is in the current condition that we find it now, then you are gravely mistaken.

Im also not participating in that GoW contest because of the glitching and sticking.

Dont get me wrong, I love Gears of War - its the only disc that goes into my xbox. I traded all my other games in because I simply do not play them anymore.

So, lets make a deal. Fix the game and Ill buy some maps. Then we will all be happy.

-BMS