Talk:Rollerbeetle Racing (arena)

Ooh. This sounds like great fun. It would be a quite fun pasttime if they keep it around outside the holiday. Just think - instead of repeating boring Challenge missions and getting the All Time High Score - oh wait, now it's only Quarterly - you can spend time racing as a Rollerbeetle! And we can have Racing Guilds. Hehe ^^ I hope there's a good title to accompany this event...Rollerbeetle champ! Entropy 20:22, 14 February 2007 (CST)

Winning rollerbeetle races will probably count towards the gamer title track. I find it unlikely they would get their own title, unless they plan to make it a permanent part of the game. -- Quizer 10:41, 16 February 2007 (CST)

Yeah it would be kinda fun to have something to do outside of the usual MMORPG (or as Anet would say CORPG) things.Glass 18:59, 15 February 2007 (CST)

I WANT THIS FOR AT LEAST A MONTH! Geez, this is so cool I don't want to stop playing - Abedeus 15:30, 16 February 2007 (CST)

Mariocart much? :p How do the shell patterns work? &mdash; Skuld 15:38, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * I dig this more as Crash Bandicoot Racing, they have almost the same power up boxes. [[Image:Tomoko's_Cookie.jpg|19px]] Tomoko Pink Angel 13:52, 12 January 2007 (CST)

...Wow. For each victory, you gain 7 points toward the Gamer Title and 100 fb. Strange, because 50 is for winning and 50 if for ,,flawless''... But beetles cannot die? ;p - Abedeus 15:47, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * I can equip skills, meaning they can die, (see below) as soon as my compy stops 007'ing. :P &mdash;[[Image:BlastThatT.jpg]]Blastedt 22:23, 16 February 2007 (CST)

Accually i suicided with shiros blades XDXDXD--Blade (talk|contribs) 15:48, 16 February 2007 (CST)

If you win and get 50+50 baltazar faction even if you max your current baltazar faction pool you will continue to increment your total earned. - Vezz 16:49, 16 February 2007 (EST)

It seems like you get just 50 faction for getting 4th place in some cases... maybe for staying alive? Anyone seeing this?

the idea of racing is nice, but its flawed with the technology of gw. all the idea behind it is to save bandwidth, and because of that the one with the best latency is the most likely to win because he sees exactly where he is and doesnt get a knockdown from some1 2 meters before him(yes it does happened to me). --Geon Arcan 04:16, 17 February 2007 (CST)
 * I symphatize with your frustration over the latency, however, Rollerbeetle Blast is a ranged knockdown. That could be it.--Ishmaeel 04:49, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Let me correct myself. A better example will be that i see that im body blocking the beetle after me, but she just passes through me. Or when im adjacent to a beetle and invoke Ram and nothing happens.--83.130.44.90 12:03, 17 February 2007 (CST) Grr forgot to login.--Geon Arcan 12:04, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Skill details and such
I have to jet in an hour after the event starts (if it starts on time), but I'll do my best to throw the raw information about the skills (and hopefully the icons) here, and I'll let someone more familiar with working with the skill template to sort them out. Hope that's okay. &mdash; kyrasantae   14:32, 16 February 2007 (CST)

Kyra's info dump
Skills None of the skills have any labelled energy costs or recharge.
 * 1) Rollerbeetle Dash - Skill. For 5 seconds, you move extremely fast.
 * 2) Harden Shell - Skill. For 4 seconds, you cannot be knocked down.
 * 3) Ram - Skill. For 2 seconds, all adjacent enemy rollerbeetles are knocked down.
 * 4) Distracting Lunge - Skill. All of target rollerbeetle's Skills are disabled for 5 seconds.
 * 5) Spit Rocks - Skill. You spit rocks at target rollerbeetle. If they hit, that target is knocked down.
 * 6) Rollerbeetle Echo - Skill. For 20 seconds, this Skill is replaced with the next Skill you use. Rollerbeetle Echo acts as this Skill for 30 seconds.
 * 7) Rollerbeetle Blast - Skill. Target rollerbeetle is knocked down.
 * 8) Super Rollerbeetle - Skill. For 10 seconds, you move extremely fast and cannot be knocked down.

And of course the 'disguise' effect: Rollerbeetle Racer - Disguise. You become a rollerbeetle racer.

Icons

Map I also have a map of the racecourse. I will upload it later this evening, as I have to go now. &mdash; kyrasantae   15:46, 16 February 2007 (CST)

I'm curious as to why the skill templates for the beetle skills categorize them under 'spells' and give them all an activation time. They're all skills and have no activation time, unless something changed since this afternoon when I collected the above data. I'd change the templates myself but since I have no access to GW this weekend I would prefer to have someone who is able to compare the data with the game changing it. &mdash; kyrasantae   01:13, 17 February 2007 (CST)

The stonekin gaunlets for additional knockdown do NOT work, shame :(


 * Someone just entered the data wrong, probably as a copy / paste error. -- Gordon Ecker 01:32, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Power-Ups and Race Entry Requirements

 * Anyone figured out the power-ups yet? Some seem to reset specific skills, while other seems to disable skills.  I also have not figured out if they are randomly placed or have more of a set placement.


 * I also have some characters that do not seem able to join. I talk to the Rollerbeetle Trainer and it says it is taking me to the races and then Shing Jea Monastery loads back up and I am next to the Trainer.  The characters in question are both low level without secondary professions that were created in Cantha.--Glamtre 16:23, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Apparently only level 20 characters can enter the rollerbettle races. Tried some 10 times with a level 14 Ritualist/Necro and I was always out, but I got in with my level 20 A/Me. Possibly a bug. KazDoran 16:45, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Sorry, that isn't true. I (and I know this is going to sound really odd) have actually played all of my races with a lvl 14 Ritualist/Necro, so there's some other problem, it was addressed in the recent update. Demonic Peaches
 * Maybe it's because all the PvP arena's have got lvl 20 restrictions now? Blaze 17:31, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Accorfing to the site, it's been fixed now. Blaze 03:10, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Scoring System
Does anyone have an idea of how the scoring system works yet? 68.209.230.87 19:06, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * I'm starting to think that the points start at 550,000 or something similar and you lose 1,000 per second. This would mean that the top 100 literally are the fastest racers and it seems like a very GW way to obfuscate a basic mechanic. 68.209.230.87 19:25, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Looking more likely that it is 500 points a second, I don't have an accurate way to measure it, but based on exceptionally rough calculations it looks like the score starts between 500,000 and 550,000 and shaves ~500 points a second after the timer starts. (Two tests done with a wall clock, nowhere near exact units.) 68.209.230.87 20:06, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * I seem to be retarded today, reworked my math because something didn't seem right. Turns out my first hunch was correct.  Points start off at 600,000 and decrease by 1,000 per second of the race.  Using these numbers I found the following calculations:


 * Race start at 6:55:31 and ends at 6:58:18, final score of 432,688.
 * 167 seconds * 1000 + 432,688 = 599,688


 * Race start at 7:00:02 and ends at 7:03:01, final score of 422,093.
 * 179 seconds * 1000 + 422,093 = 601,093


 * Well within the bounds of error. Adding to main article. 68.209.230.87 20:12, 16 February 2007 (CST)

I founds a bug,
I wanna have fun with it, (I keep 007'ing) But I'll post pics w/ me and several real skills on my bar. Searing flames, glyph of lesser enegry will be fun, no? &mdash;Blastedt 21:18, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Pic:[[Image:rollerbeetlebug.jpg|thumb|rollerbeetle Bug.]] &mdash;[[Image:BlastThatT.jpg]]Blastedt 21:34, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Bump&mdash;[[Image:BlastThatT.jpg]]Blastedt 21:49, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Babuump &mdash;[[Image:BlastThatT.jpg]]Blastedt 21:56, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Minor edit, &mdash;[[Image:BlastThatT.jpg]]Blastedt 22:08, 16 February 2007 (CST)
 * Comment please. &mdash;[[Image:BlastThatT.jpg]]Blastedt 22:22, 16 February 2007 (CST)

This bug is just a local thing. It won't change your skills in the match, in fact it resets them once you get in. There's also a bug where it locally recharges your beetle skills if you swap their position during the race. They aren't actually available though, it just messes you up.--142.161.108.61 22:54, 16 February 2007 (CST)

I would like to add that the skill Ram actually DOES give a short speed boost.

Starting point advantage
It seems that the side which starts all the way to the right has an advantage.--142.161.108.61 22:55, 16 February 2007 (CST)

I just won 8 in a row starting in all 3 different positions (left, middle, right) and noticed no distinct advantage to starting on the right-hand side. --Franzwald 12:45, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Cutest skill icons ever
^^ ^^ ^^ I hope Rollerbeetle is a new class or race selectable in the new campaign. :) Super Rollerbeetle to the rescue! Entropy 23:29, 16 February 2007 (CST)

Bug or secret weapon?
- The Ram skill actually gives a speed boost for about 1-1.5 seconds along with knocking any adjacent opponents down, useful for speeding up small hills. The speed boost is about the same as the Super sprint skill, it just doesn't last nearly as long.

There is a typo in description. ,,For 2 seconds...''. That means that like Double Dragon, you activate and people are knockdowned, and when it ends you knock them down again? Or anyone near your character is knocked down automaticly untill end of duration? - Abedeus 02:20, 17 February 2007 (CST)

The 2 seconds more than likely refers to the speed boost the skill grants. The knockdown only seems to take effect when the skill is activated, not after a delay. 68.209.230.87 02:24, 17 February 2007 (CST)

I've made the experience that the knockdown effect seems to work only on enemies beside/behind you, certainly not on enemies in front of you. I've never yet had success trying to use Ram to overtake someone. The extreme short-term speedboost is very useful when crossing water, though, where the 5-second boost doesn't show much effect. -- Quizer 11:55, 17 February 2007 (CST)

It should also be noted somewhere in the article that after Ram wears off your speed returns to what it was before it was activated. I've had it boost me to full RRPM from about 1/4 full and then bust me right back down to 1/4 when it ends. However, this still makes it useful for getting across things like humps where your RRPM would be busted down more.--Timeoffire45 22:56, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Possible background lore for the racing beetles
Found this while running around in Vabbi, Wilderness of Bahdza:



Records
I'm curious as to why the records guy has quarterly records if it's only a weekend event; perhaps it will stay a while? I'm also curious as to how people can get 460k points without getting just Super Beetle powerups - it's just insane. ArcaneApostle 05:16, 17 February 2007 (CST)
 * And just one super is not enough. Currently you need 3 or 4 in a row to get to top100...


 * I'm guessing they'll bring back Rollerbeetle Racing for the Dragon Festival and Shing Jea Boardwalk events. -- Gordon Ecker 05:34, 17 February 2007 (CST)


 * Remember that you can combine Echo with Super beetle.. Raelz 11:05, 18 February 2007 (CET)

Unbalanced
Is it just me, or is it kinda disappointing that ANet put this much effort into a game that doesn't offer everyone equal opportunity? As hilarious as this is, it's utterly impossible to play with a ping above 200 due to the speed of the racing.

I realise that you can't make something suit everyone, but quite a considerable part of the core Guild Wars players play on distant servers to play with their guilds, and are hugely disadvantaged in this game for that reason.

All respect to ANet for making a very fun minigame, but it really seems to go against the spirit of equality that this game is supposed to have. mikkel 06:44, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Yes, i never had green ping on gw, but it wasnt much of a problem. On the races it just makes rubberbanding so bad its impossible to be competitive

Works fine for me.

You are the problem, not the game. Same thing is with online sport games, person with better net is often better than the one with worse connection. You can do nothing about that. - 217.98.20.195 07:32, 17 February 2007 (CST)


 * If there's nothing I can do about it, then the problem is with the game. Not me. Saying that someone is likely to be better than someone else because his latency is lower is probably the most hilariously inane claim I've heard yet. mikkel 09:06, 17 February 2007 (CST)


 * A bad ping won't let you PVP with a lot of Monk or Mesmer builds either. Anyway, a ping of 200 shouldn't be a problem for rollerbeetle racing, I just came in second place with pings in the low to mid 300s. If you've got a low fram rate it's probably the RAM, the video card or the processor rather than lag. It also takes a while to get used to the controls. -- Gordon Ecker 07:52, 17 February 2007 (CST)
 * Of course some builds are going to be hard to play, but that's inevitable. It's not inevitable to choose to make minigames with less emphasis on latency. I've won multiple races with pings in the 400s, but the problem is that you can get knocked down with Ram by people who, on your screen, are outside of your aggro bubble, solely because the race is so fast. Another problem is that you can go out of your way to get a crate, only to see it taken by someone who on your screen is behind you.


 * Seconded. My skills usually re-activate about 2 - 3 beetlelengths after I pass a checkpoint. Likewise with powerups. I was on a nice lucky streak where I won a few in a row on pings in the mid 300s. Unless you've got massively bad latency though, this game is mostly skill and luck. The skill of knowing the track, and knowing when to use what skills, and the luck of either getting good items and powerups (two supers in one race certainly helps!), or getting put with competitors who happen to forget you're out in front and end up fighting amongst themselves ;) Infinity 09:14, 17 February 2007 (CST)


 * It doesn't really seem very well thought through to me. mikkel 09:02, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Remember the phrase LPB? Heh. Seriously though, it's hard to get the knock-down cause people aren't exactly where they appear on my comp. 132.203.83.38 09:08, 17 February 2007 (CST)


 * Heh, I remember it all too well. Being a HPB shouldn't really have as many negative effects as it does in Rollerbeetle racing. Especially when they give you the opportunity to switch between US and EU servers. This is still an RPG, not an FPS. mikkel 09:10, 17 February 2007 (CST)


 * Haha, I won a race with a ping of almost 5000 o.O Guess I got lucky that race.--[[Image:DualAttack.png]] Kirbman 13:47, 17 February 2007 (CST)
 * Even If it's "impossible" to play with a ping of 200, or more (which has been proved wrong) why should they change it it works fine for most people, and if it was slowed dwon it wouldn't be anywhere near as fun..--TimOfDoom 15:44, 17 February 2007 (CST)
 * Read the very first thing again. No one thinks they should change it. It's about whether or not it was wise to create a game where latency matters more than skill in a game touting equality for all. And yes, it *is* impossible to time your skills right with a latency above 200ms, as you don't know where your opponents really are. I don't know how you're proving that to be wrong. mikkel 16:11, 17 February 2007 (CST)


 * It's still more forgiving of lag than the Dragon Arena. -- Gordon Ecker 18:11, 17 February 2007 (CST)
 * I have pretty bad ping almost always gets last in every start althogh I usually end up winning about 60% of all races anyway due to skill and a little bit of luck. (tip: always stay in the pool within the mountain cave until you get echo and superbeetle) - Viktor

I wonder if you still remember that one of the main features of this game is being a so-called "Global game". Unfortunately, the game servers aren't strategically placed in order to make this global game viable in latency-terms of balance. They have servers on North America, Europe and Asia, but they forgot about South America and Australia, which are bound to play at 300+ pings. I myself play with 500-700 pings because I live in Brazil, and I still win a lot of races, but I have learned that my skills aren't supposed to work with adjacent foes in my screen, but with foes within earshot distance of my screen. Rubberbanding kills me though, 70% of the races I lost were lost because of a whole screen of rubberbanding. I'd be so happy if they placed their servers strateigically so the whole world could play fairly. Grr forgot to login. Ericdanie 14:36, 18 February 2007 (CST)

Box Bug?
I dunno if this is a bug or not, but sometimes I woudl go through a box, break it, and I would get no "Power-Up". I realise that when there are two people very close then the box will not recharge in time to give the second person anything, but I've had it where I go through, bam, broken box, no Power-Up message, no Power-Up... I've also heard a few people complaining that when they go through a box it doesn't even shatter, although this could be attributed to lag and I have yet to see this firsthand. Anyway, yeah, this is really annoying me so I thought I would post it here and see if it's jsut me or am I truly not insane. ADDED: I also noticed it seemd to happen more when words like "Checkpoint Cleared" are already in the middle of the screen. Also, although this isn't exactly a bug, it should probably be noted somewhere that boxes charge ONE RANDOM skill, even if that skill is already active. In other words, you may have a skill charged (say, Rollerbeetle Blast), and you hit a box, but it seems like nothing charges even though you see the words "Power-Up Aquired", but what really happened was that it re-charged a skill (in this case, Rollerbeetle Blast).--Timeoffire45 23:17, 17 February 2007 (CST)

Yup, I confirm this. Even worse thing - I was the leader, all players were behind me, like 2 aggro's. Suddenly, I teleported behind 4th player and I was last O_o. Instead of winning, I made it to 4th place... I guess that really winners are players without lags. I can win with 400ms, but being teleported from 1st to 5th place isn't cool. - Abedeus 03:50, 18 February 2007 (CST)

yeah i also get teleported a lot, and its so frustating to think your in lead but then suddenly you get teleported back. I also have that on my screen it looks like i am well lets say third but according to the score display i dont even am ranked. But beside this i think this is a great minigame. Thanx Anet