Time Restriction:
as for the time delay between planting stuff. that will stay. the time between planting stuff can be possibly adjusted. anyways, i will point out, outside of planks, you can plant then build, which takes longer than the time to wait for you to be able to plant another con prop.
Why would I want to place-place instead of place-build?
I am trying to build a second layer of sandbags. It is lopsided/misplaced. I move slightly to try again (all happening in less than 1 second). Likewise if a chevaux, fence, etc is not placed well and I do not have the time to destroy that misplaced prop. The team and I are under fire, we need that cover ASAP.
The time restriction b/w placing props we can agree to disagree on. But in terms of balancing/play-testing it, I believe it would take a disproportionate amt of dev time to get right. It should left to the servers to set as an option on their menu. That option should be granular to 2 decimal points (ex: 2.52s) because its such a short time-frame.
I would like context in the form of a countdown timer visible to sapper on the time-delay. It will at least let sappers time when to expose ourselves to fire and place a prop. If Build(fail), wait(dodge bullets), Build is here to stay, we need a heads up.
For the error message, there are 3 cases I'd like to see covered: BLUE - Time delay, RED - Unable to place prop, BLUE - Time delay AND RED - Unable to place prop
Different colours are appreciated, so an instanteous glance will let us know. We don't have the luxury of slowly reading (every second counts). Colours I chose were arbitrary, but just to indicate how they should be colour-coded.
Sapper Props:
The new sapper props cause bigger problems than the ones they fix.
The small build hitbox impedes teamwork; making it harder for 2+ sappers to build the same object. Under enemy fire, you can realistically only build from one side, halving the "space" you can stand in to build.
One could argue the smaller hitbox means it's harder to destroy, but that's also a hindrance. Sappers make mistakes, and if we can, we will destroy/harvest BP from misplaced props. The small hitbox makes it difficult to hit, more likely resulting in damaging the preexisting defences. The same goes for large chevaux, to stack 2-3 at a gate (standard siege practice).
I had mentioned previously that the small hitbox forces sappers into a certain area, which is great for the opposing team. The point about the lack of visual context regarding the constructed prop's width and whether I have placed it properly still remain. The new props blend in too well to the point that distinguishing where it is placed and to build is difficult.
Spoiler
Hard to reach if team is huddled behind for cover, let alone work with another sapper to rush-build.
Hard to distinguish the second prop is, harder to fix mistakes and easier to accidentally hit sandbag The new constructed sandbag prop is too tall. 2 stacked sandbags (standard fort construction) restricts line of sight. It is also uneven at the top, stacking on the two taller parts results in an even taller sandbag wall and a hole.
Spoiler
Line of Sight blocked (when built "properly") Spoiler
Hole in sandbags, even taller and no Line of Sight Therefore, it is difficult to layer sandbags. Unless placed just right, it is usually too tall, slanted badly, or has a hole in it. In battle, the team is huddled behind the sandbags, and most likely blocking that intended build spot in the centre. I'd go as far to say sandbags are as finicky to place as planks are.
Spoiler
Hard to place, not useful in a fort At the present state, the new sapper props are user-hostile (however unintentional it may be). These seem like nitpicks, but small issues (these new props especially) build up into big issues for what is the bread and butter of sapping. I feel like I don't have control, and that I'm fighting the game every step of the way.
I've been trying to think of how to fix these new props, but restoring the hitbox also means having a consistent visible model and physical presence. The current props are unfixable without significant dev time and iteration through user playtesting. If the time restriction and plank changes stay to prevent sapper spam, restore the pre-patch props.
I really appreciate all that your team has done in supporting an "old" game, and that you have to balance.
I don't want to ask for hotfix #2 because the props haven't been properly fixed. To sum up: let the servers balance time restriction, add ingame indicators for that restriction, keep the plank fixes, and restore the pre-patch props.
Small hitboxes:The reason for the small hitbox is that big hitboxes allowed players to build big stacks of props, creating ramps over walls in siege mode, which is the game mode in which sappers are the most useful. It seems that you don't play siege at all as you haven't noticed that this major problem was fixed. The fact that sappers have to hit a smaller area seems to be a very secondary problem in comparison. The rest is a matter of skill, it's really not hard to tell how the sandbags will be built.
I must also add that an unbuilt sandbag at 90% is now a viable defense, so it can server to add another layer of sandbags on top of others.
Having fixed the spamming and glitching issues, server owners can now safely increase the number of buildpoints.
Built timer:
If you have a problem with a 2 seconds timer then you were probably spamming build stuff. I don't see how this can be a problem in any way. Moreover, considering that most servers have a very low amount of buildpoints, you must have been stealing quite a lot of buildpoints.