Can the barrel kick combo timer be changed or removed ?

[Vash(88)]

I know this is not a big deal, and I am not treating it as one, just pointing out that the current system is not designed well around the extremely punishing achievement attached to it.

As it is, the combo timer is way too short, and seems like it changes between goals. If I take, literally, half a second to aim between shots, I often lose the combo. The timer on its own could be okay, but the fact that the hoop speed is rng based is just nuts. I could be damn near perfect at hitting that hoop, but none of that matters if it is going to change speed after I kick the barrel, and I am forced to take shots before I am given a moment to evaluate the hoop speed. It turns into a game of luck, not skill.

If there wasn't an achievement attached to it, I wouldn't care, but I would like to 100% this game at some point and the combo timer paired with the hoop having no rhyme or rhythm is just turning it into a luck based frustration simulator

Update 25 looks amazing! Keep up the awesome work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-03o559dCo

[Noelle]

There is no timer, per se. Pay attention to the hoop. The combo increases/resets every time the hoop touches the left side of the rail, depending on if you sank a barrel during the cycle. The hoop also changes speed when it touches the left side; adjust for the speed without changing your aim and try to hit the hoop on the way back.

[Fractured]

I always tried to get hte barrel after it touches the right side. Cause I know the speed wont' change.

But it is also kind of a now or never moment that way. But it is by far the best way. I got the achievement with quite a few barrels left doing it that way.

[Syncourt]

The only RNG is that eventually you will get a shot that cant be scored due to the random speed changes and barrel drop delay eventually not leaving enough time to score a shot.

The trick to getting the acheivement is to realise when those shots are and not to waste your barrels on them. If you sacrifice the combo to save the barrel by waiting for the next pass it becomes a lot easier to get.

[Paul.]

This achievement is actually easy. I got it from maybe 3rd try. At the end I had over 3000 points while I missed maybe 10 barrels. If you get 5 in a row combo(4 regular and 1 brown) you get I think 200 points, do it slowly.

[[DSD]DukeNukem]

GIT GUD.

it's not that hard once you understood how the circle work. let it rebound on one side, and kick the barrel when it biggins to come back.

[NekousagiKorouYTttv]

How about fixing the garbage rng minigame and making the achievement harder?

[phittte]

Like other people have said, always kick the barrel when the ring is coming from the right side (on its way back). When it's super fast you may not have enough time to properly aim if the previous barrel bounced around a bit, in that case just let the combo go and wait one pass. A few points are better than no points.

If you follow that advice and aim well (you can still miss quite a lot of barrels!) it's super easy to get the achievement, I got it on my first try and did it a second time afterwards just to prove myself that I wasn't just lucky after reading that some people had problems with it.

EDIT: Just did it again with 80 kicks (only missed 2-3 barrels, but combo was reset at least ten times), once you know how it works it's laughably easy.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1848291544

[Ћ Abomination Jones]

My only complaint is that if the game framerate stutters at any point, the barrels will on their own volition decide to yeet themselves off of the platform once they drop down, which not only counts as a kick but ruins the combo. Lowering settings can help that, but even then it's completely unpredictable. What doesn't help is the game can be running fine but in the background with no warning the game decides your framerate needs to drop.

Honestly if you don't get greedy, it's really easy to get the 3000 in 100 kicks. It's RNG heavy yes, but if you don't get greedy and just wait, 10 points into a new combo is better than 0, the 100 kicks is surprisingly generous.

I do admit that the speed RNG is very ridiculous however because golly it took weeks for me.

[Paul.]

Originally posted by Ћ Abomination Jones:

My only complaint is that if the game framerate stutters at any point, the barrels will on their own volition decide to yeet themselves off of the platform once they drop down, which not only counts as a kick but ruins the combo. Lowering settings can help that, but even then it's completely unpredictable. What doesn't help is the game can be running fine but in the background with no warning the game decides your framerate needs to drop.

Honestly if you don't get greedy, it's really easy to get the 3000 in 100 kicks. It's RNG heavy yes, but if you don't get greedy and just wait, 10 points into a new combo is better than 0, the 100 kicks is surprisingly generous.

I do admit that the speed RNG is very ridiculous however because golly it took weeks for me.

Well yeh, If you did everything perfectly you would end up with 4000 points, so 3000 isn't that much. Plenty of space for mistakes.

[Terrortoma]

Give us the ability to do keepie-uppies with the barrels when?

[ArcaneGamer]

Originally posted by Jade Natalie:

There is no timer, per se. Pay attention to the hoop. The combo increases/resets every time the hoop touches the left side of the rail, depending on if you sank a barrel during the cycle. The hoop also changes speed when it touches the left side; adjust for the speed without changing your aim and try to hit the hoop on the way back.

My hoop only stays on the slowest speed for one or two passes, making more than two consecutive hits impossible. However, the behavior of the hoop changes when I connect to someone's lobby, which is likely lag. I am much more likely to hit combos because the hoop does not accelerate as often. It's impossible to earn the achievement if I play the barrel game in my own lobby.

[ArcaneGamer]

I have another theory, unrelated to lag. The changes in speed appear to be random, thus not based on any noticeable patterns. I can hit the hoop consistently on the slowest speed, but in my own lobby, the hoop consistently cycles to higher speeds after a couple passes, making the achievement impossible.

True randomness does not exist in computer science. Typically, programmers simulate randomness with a package that uses the client machine's internal clock as input. The architecture of machines can vary a lot, so machines will output diverse spreads of "random" numbers using these packages. Making some presumptions about DRG's underlying code, different ranges of numbers will determine if the hoop changes speed, and to what speed it changes too. It's like a control flow of conditional statements in a loop or function.

If my client outputs higher numbers than many other clients, then my hoop will change speeds more frequently. By claiming my client generates higher numbers that causes more frequent accelerations of the hoop, I am making some presumptions about my machine and DRG's code. It's the principle that is important, not some trivial details.

As the hoop speed is likely determined by the lobby host's client, I will observe a noticeable change in the behavior of the hoop on their lobby. This is perhaps why some players experience greater difficulty hitting the combos than others. To vet this claim, try the hoop game on someone else's lobby or a different computer and note if the hoop's behavior is different. Is it easier or harder to hit combos?

[King Fossil]

Originally posted by Knight Lazarus:

My hoop only stays on the slowest speed for one or two passes, making more than two consecutive hits impossible.

Maybe you need to practice so you can score when it's moving at higher speeds then.

[ArcaneGamer]

Originally posted by King Fossil:

Originally posted by Knight Lazarus:

My hoop only stays on the slowest speed for one or two passes, making more than two consecutive hits impossible.

Maybe you need to practice so you can score when it's moving at higher speeds then.

The next barrel takes too long to land on higher speeds, making combos impossible.

[0ptimistPrime (the Gray)]

It's definitely not impossible, unless maybe the player using an outdated PC which is resulting performance issues that interfere with gameplay in general.
But there are too many players who have already earned the achievement to be able to say that any aspect of the achievement is impossible.


That said, I honestly wouldn't mind seeing the timer removed. Imo, sinking barrels in the hoop without missing should grant the combo bonus; I don't see the need for the timer to be added on top of it. (even HORSE doesn't impose a time limit on taking each shot)

For me it only took a few attempts to earn the achievement, but I know it took my friend a heck of a lot longer than that; maybe it doesn't need to be as challenging is it currently is, if the timer is causing a number of players some hassle.

If a player wants to take their time and focus on accuracy, I think they should be allowed to do so. Opening up the achievement a little bit in order to be earned by a wider audience seems like a good move to me.