Haha. The internet, when you have nothing else better to do.
<!--quoteo(post=1927500:date=Apr 19 2012, 10:04 PM:name=SentrySteve)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SentrySteve @ Apr 19 2012, 10:04 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927500"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->First, the commander will never limit the team. NS is an FPS/RTS, but with 7/8/9 players playing the FPS side and only 1 playing the RTS per team. Due to the inherent design of how an FPS/RTS works one side will be forced to make concessions and it <i>should be</i> the RTS side. If you argue otherwise I'd write your opinion off and say your passion/vision is clouding your better judgement. If the FPS side was limited by the RTS side UWE would have a lot more complaints on their hands.
So far you say what you can do as a comm is really limited, but I disagree. They've only added on to the commander's duties in NS2. The addition of micro'ing ARCS, MACS, Drifters are a nice way to differentiate skill levels between comms when things get intense and everyone is calling for meds/building drops/etc. Was watching a marine rambo off then yell for a ninja phase gate such a great mechanic that we want that in NS2?
Would you like to share any? You're basically talking in circles, saying at first DI/Power Nodes were only added to show off graphical effects. Upon learning their place in the game's design you agree their needed, then go into why they aren't, then say you want something like DI/Nodes but not quite DI/Nodes.
I'm so confused. And, this time, it's not because I'm a moron.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Haha, no I see what you're saying like I am talking in circles. I just want to have a game with the freedom of NS1 but the structure of NS2. They both have good values... though I prefer freedom more. That is personal preference. A lot of others will share that preference with me but I do agree that it's probably minority. People mostly enjoy games with set rules and limits.. especially in FPS games.
Theres no actual problems with the games mechanics... the game isn't even out or completed. The dev's are probably tearing out their hair right now thinking "Cmon dudes it's not done yet, give it a chance".
Now that you mention it... it's probably a good idea that the commander doesn't bottleneck the team... because 90% of the players in this game do not command. That's just my own comm ego speaking :)
Hahaha I just want the devs to make a game that is perfect for me. I know... I know... I am in la la land. I wish I was sitting in the office and UWE had to put all my ideas into the game that I wanted. I would love the game so much! :D
Everyone else would probably think it was derpin'. Just saying if I were head game designer this game would have an AWP and a deagle in it (or space equivalents). It would have leaning and prone position. It would have vip escort mode. It would have full gore... like left 4 dead 2 style gore. There would be NPC's. There would be 3-4 different commander controlled AI units. There would be giant outdoor levels. There would be marine vs marine mode with bomb defusal and capture the flag. Man this game would have everything :D. There would be fully destructable environments and not that pansy bf3 stuff. There would be minecraft mode where you can build up a base and make cool stuff that the kara has to break throough. yeahhh
and ONE LAST THING. I want the exosuit to be controlled by the commander and aimed by a player. That would be sooooooo soooooo stupidly awesome.
Honestly, we are still playing an unfinished game with new, unpolished features ....and its unfair to expect it to be as refined as NS1 ...which had years of tweaking to get it right. Lets not shy away from these features just because they are not perfect right away. I can only image what would have happened if charlie and cory had this same attitude when first creating a RTS/FPS hybrid mod. Give it more time, even if you feel like you given it enough time. Its true, the game isn't even feature complete. These guys made NS1, have faith in that. NS2 will probably still feel disjointed at launch (but probably not to the new players). It will probably also take months, hell years, of tweaking before it feels as right (to some people) as NS1 (and probably never to some NS1 faithful). I think NS1 nostalgia and fear of change is playing a large role here. I also think blame is focused on features when its really just polish. Going back to NS1 could fix all our problems...IF we wanted a NS1 copy.
Thats not to say Im giving infestation and power a free ride. I think both need work....but to insist in their complete removal is very counter productive at this point.
Power-grid and infestation add aesthetics and a laundry list of problems. Since the problem stems from the gameplay and not the aesthetics stem from visuals, you can cut one without cutting the other.
Let rooms have an indestructible power node; it displays the pulsing power-field effect when structures have been placed. When no structures are placed the lighting can be made a bit dimmer and warmer. When lots of alien structures are placed, maybe make the lighting even warmer more redish(but not monochrome red!).
About giving spatial structure to the game, like it was already said, infestation is sufficient; power nodes are actually redundant. Infestation already delimits two areas in the map, the area covered by infestation and by contrast the area that is not. It's like in this kind of pictures, you only need to draw the black part (one color is enough) :
Some of the problems of power nodes are also very fundamental, for example the problem of limits between areas. It's really in the basic design that a node powers a well defined area and then you cannot avoid to have problems and ambiguities on the boundaries of theses areas.
I really like the idea of turning powernodes into "security" panels that power turrets only. Disable the panel kills the sentries.
Or RTs being the powernodes.
Both really good ideas brought up by many people.
DI just needs hive sight removed. It would be nice to have a better cyst or easier ways of placing them so you could protect your very vulnerable line through the use of vents or chain the through walls insteas of LOS.
I love NS1 but if i hadnt played it NS2 would have been my messiah game. Getting closer to release i am afraid this game will turn out like a game called Global Agenda.
I just wish gameplay would come first instead of visuals.
Lastly thank you Steve for your mature posts. I dont agree with you but i understand your point and respect you. I think i could learn a lot lol.
Also great posts as well Grissi, i actually enjoy reading both of your posts no matter how long they are. Yuuki, Tweadle, and Fana when he gets on a tangeant =)
<!--QuoteBegin-RisingSun+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RisingSun)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I really like the idea of turning powernodes into "security" panels that power turrets only. Disable the panel kills the sentries.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That would be kind of like a turret factory, except you can't place it where you want it and it has an invisible boundary that you just have to suck it up and learn.
<!--quoteo(post=1927601:date=Apr 20 2012, 10:00 AM:name=Soylent_green)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Soylent_green @ Apr 20 2012, 10:00 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927601"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That would be kind of like a turret factory, except you can't place it where you want it and it has an invisible boundary that you just have to suck it up and learn.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Point taken. A poor bandaid =) better than the "win" button. =)
instead of indestructable, you could make them only onosable - ie. requires a door smash to be able to bring them down. this suggestion is really to try to address the tedious chew/bilebomb them, repair them cycle. in theory it would largely take them out of the game until late - would also make illumination loss more of a rare event. cleaning up map coverage so that everywhere is powerable would be good - improve power feedback to comm when dropping.
i also like the idea of revisiting what happens when they go out - don't like the current broad single point of failure. turrets only is an option, but i think i like the reduced capability idea - like adding an obs to that list of buildings that go out.
not a big fan of the idea about comm dropping lights.
<!--quoteo(post=1927730:date=Apr 20 2012, 03:01 PM:name=Yuuki)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Yuuki @ Apr 20 2012, 03:01 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927730"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Maybe the marine comm could liberalize the electricity market, receiving 50 res bribe and then the power would black out at random times ?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo(post=1927506:date=Apr 19 2012, 11:28 PM:name=.ADHd)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (.ADHd @ Apr 19 2012, 11:28 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927506"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->and ONE LAST THING. I want the exosuit to be controlled by the commander and aimed by a player. That would be sooooooo soooooo stupidly awesome.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That actually sounds pretty cool. That way a comm has a unit that will always obey him and the player choose that role. The comm could control a few to escort an ARC that he's also controlling while all the FPS players hit elsewhere.
Would be pretty baller but probably really hard to make.
<!--quoteo(post=1927589:date=Apr 20 2012, 05:10 AM:name=RisingSun)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RisingSun @ Apr 20 2012, 05:10 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927589"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Or RTs being the powernodes.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=79263&hl=" target="_blank">We both agree there</a>.
Had a thought watching SC2. What if Power Nodes, when taken by either team, add to the CC/Obs energy regen for Rines and Hive energy for aliens?
The more you have the more it helps the regen of energy. Aliens would spread Infestation over it to take it for themselves and marines the normal way. It would give a reason to get them and actually more territory without being game breaking.
Marines would have the added bonus of Nano Shields, Beacon, and scans. Alien would get more Mist, maybe Chamber "use ability", and other idea. What do you guys think?
(Watching SC2 i saw Gas and Minerals. Thought having two types of resources that are gather-able would increase the RTS angle without hurting the FPS)
as a long term ns1 player and someone that donated a lot of money to NS1 its very annoying to see "Flayra" has allowed his arrogance to ruin a game.
he only has to look at these forums once and he will realise that the only reason everyone actually plays this game is because we like the idea behind NS and how it is played the creativity behind each round and the fun involved.
The way Flayra is taking this game, i bet by the time it goes to actual release, a lot of people would of stopped playing it.
The fact the team finds it more important to fix pointless bugs each week rather then put all resources into solving the problem behind the performance of the game will be the death of it.
fanaticThis post has been edited.Join Date: 2003-07-23Member: 18377Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
As anyone who has seen me post on these forums can attest to, I'm all for pointing out issues with the current development path, but this is taking it too far. "NS revolution"? Come on. Posts like the one above this aren't exactly helping either...
<!--quoteo(post=1928273:date=Apr 21 2012, 01:11 PM:name=fanatic)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (fanatic @ Apr 21 2012, 01:11 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1928273"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->As anyone who has seen me post on these forums can attest to, I'm all for pointing out issues with the current development path, but this is taking it too far. "NS revolution"? Come on. Posts like the one above this aren't exactly helping either...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
1.) NS2 is a highly mod-friendly game, and we have UWE to thank for designing it that way. I'm sure everyone that won't be happy with anything but NS1:Spark will get what they want in mod form eventually, there's already work being done on it and the games not even out of beta.
2.) Performance has been addressed by UWE on multiple occasions, if you are such a talented game developer as to know at what phase of development it's appropriate to work on performance, balance, aesthetics, then why don't you open up some LUA files, report some inefficiencies and make yourself useful.
3.) I for one like a game with a cohesive ideas that tie aesthetics to mechanics. This makes for a fluid, immersive experience, and it's something I wish more games would pay attention to.
4.) I'm amazed at how much the dev's actually <i>do</i> pay attention to the forums. They have announced several different updates now (large ones like khamm 2.0 and drifter 2.0) accompanied by links to the specific forum post that inspired them. Personally, I like to retain a lot of control over my creative work, and I would be mortified to see someone calling something I poured tons of creativity, talent and time into "theirs" because they threw 35 paltry dollars at it one time. UWE clearly has more patience than I do for this kind of attitude. My attitude about purchasing a game is that I am paying to enjoy someone else's creative work. Not that I am paying someone to be my code monkey and make me have the most fun possible or I'll demand a refund and sling insults at them. I make suggestions too, but it's important to be tactful.
Serpico agree with your post. I think the main point I was trying to make is that there is a large audience of competitive players who want to see this game opened up for them. Right now its a game of "Who has played the longest". What I mean by that is this... skill doesn't seem to matter much in NS2 at the moment. What matters more is knowing and using the rules and limitations set in the game balancing. That simply comes with time.
In my opinion this lowers the time needed to master the game. People can try to call me out but at current I am faster than this game. I basically know the exact action to take in any situation in this game because of the limitations. I can predict what's going to happen very easily and it makes for boring matches on both sides. People first coming to the game are going to love it... and it will take them 100's of hours to get to this level, but once they do it will be hard for them to want to keep playing something that they can't keep getting better at.
If guitar only had 1 string... it wouldn't take very long to master it. You would get bored of it and leave it behind for something with more options. Now a 6 string guitar will take years upon years to master... even then you can still expand your abilities in small ways. It's because of the options you have at your disposal.
Right now NS feels like a 1 stringed guitar. I feel like I have mastered it and know basically everything about the game. This is kind of sad to me. If they simply changed a couple fundamental things about the game it would give the game many more strings... hence making it much more rewarding to people who devote to the most time to it.
I could write 10 more post's all related to this very topic. I could write a book on it right now to be honest.
The game is limited by clunky rules... I understand why they are there, but wish they weren't.
Here is a good example. Playing as alien commander you can basically be on top of your game very easily. It doesn't require much skill to know the timings of how to cyst to a resnode and cap it. You get your cysts in place and start microing your drifters to get there right as infestation covers the res node. You mist the nodes and move on to the next if you have res. Now you get to sit and watch as you wait for something to do. You are moving faster than the game allows. You wish there was more to do that would help but there isn't.
Now for a new player it would be slightly confusing to know how to do all that so fast and precise... but with a little time you will master it quickly. To me this is a boring gameplay element which could be expanded on. It goes the same way for marines. You are largely waiting for the next thing to do... everything is very linear and set in stone. It's not hard to master at all. I am speaking mostly from a commanders viewpoint of the game. I see how things play out and I see all the things that could be better. There needs to be more options. One way of making more options without having to add more content is to REMOVE things that limit the gameplay. Powernodes are simply one of those things. I think infestation can work once they get rid of drifters and other cumbersome elements.
Right now the commander doesn't really have a lot he can do in the way of strategies. If marines GL push you put up whips.... easy. If your hive is under attack you hit umbra. Other than that you place cysts that are broken and drop upgrades and hives when the res has finally arrived. I can understand the developers worries about raising the skill ceiling for commanders due to the fear that it will be too complicated... but players like me and many more good commanders are present in this game. I play this game for the RTS aspect moreso than the FPS aspect. They could really draw in a whole different audience if they opened their minds on this topic.
PC gamers want a competitively balanced game. We are tired of COD and BF. They are too casual and etc. Real gamers want a difficult game. They want a game that is hard to master where if you are a noob you get creamed. I see a huge potential for competitive play for this game if the developers open their minds a bit. Their ideas about DI and powernodes are clever and very original, but I think they could be done better than current. These two aspects are what hold this game back skillwise. All I would want is some small tweaks to both systems... not complete removal persay. I just think powernodes and infestation should play a less important role in the game.
In case it wasn't clear, only a small fraction of my post was responding to your original post specifically, most of it was either about other posts in the thread, or general attitudes I've seen in other threads, so hopefully you didn't take everything I said as an attack on you.
Like everyone, I have my own list of things I do and don't like with the current state of the game. I'm really looking forward to drifter 2.0 and I hope along with it they get rid of cysts granting hive sight. It seems to me this would improve balance as well as fit with their design and style goals.
I khamm a lot myself, and occasionally play as marine commander. In my opinion, if you're paying attention to the needs of your troops, there is actually plenty to do as marine comm. In addition to just building and researching, you can be dropping supplies as they need them, and constantly scanning when your obs is at full energy to give them line of sight. Even if there's nothing immediately pressing to do, just keeping track of troop movement and needs and being ready to warn and reinforce here and there can be pretty intensive.
Alien comm is less intensive, but did get a big boost in actions required when catalyze came out, and in the last patch we got rupture, so it's clear the dev's are aware that he needs more to do, and are working on it. Cyst spike and enzyme cloud are in the works as well. Also, now that foresight is in, the khamm can be (and should be) constantly feeling around the map to see what's up. If I understand right, pheremones will give him the ability to mark things for aliens to see.
As far as being bored, I think you may be coming at this too much like a regular RTS, thinking that you're going to build buildings and armies that will win your team the game, but it isn't just an RTS, there are a bunch of other people playing, and you shouldn't have enough power to trivialize their efforts. UWE is clear in their design docs that NS2 is a shooter first and an RTS second, which is only fair, considering most of the players are playing a shooter. IMO there's usually plenty to do just scanning the map and responding to situations as they arise, as well as keeping your team informed and coordinated.
As far as lacking choices, I do think there are more choices to make than some are implying. There are enough so that I still think "Hmmm, how am I going to play this" at the start of every game I comm, and I have fun doing so. I won't say that more choices wouldn't be welcome.
Also, let me tack on a brief argument for power nodes:
They add a choice, and they encourage teamwork. In areas with more than a few buildings, it's often sensible to go for the power first. But just taking it out won't usually do much good. You need reinforcements ready to run in and help you take advantage of the brief darkness to prevent it from going back up. That moment in the dark is also a crucial moment where you know you have to play effectively because if you don't the power will be back up in moments. It creates a high tension, teamwork intensive window.
If power nodes werent so easily repairable I would agree with your argument... but currently its more of just a nuisance than a strategy for taking down an area. The only time I can think that taking powernodes down is if the area has a nest of sentries in it... but its more viable to just bile bomb and kill the sentries... otherwise the marine comm can just recycle and relocate. The only way around this is to force the aliens to actually have to kill structures to take back an area... like in NS1. Marines rely on having entrenched positions... giving them all a giant achilles heel seems counter-productive.
Like if you take down a phase gate you pretty much get the area back.. same goes for removing sentry positions. Just taking out a powernode seems unfair.. and also time consuming for the aliens when there are much more important things to be worrying about.
When I first played the game... I pretty much just went around killing nodes because I thought it was useful... now I realize I wasn't contributing to the team really at all.
I'm confused what angle you're taking. On the one hand you say taking down power nodes isn't helpful, and on the other you say it's an unfair achilles heel for marines. It can't be both. Also, the fact that marines can put them back up right away is exactly what makes them fair and interesting. If you don't coordinate, your efforts will be wasted, but if you do, you should be able to kill most of the marines in a room while the power is off and their sentries/pg are down and prevent the room from being re-taken.
I am confused as well... because they have up's and down's but overall they really don't matter in the outcome of games. They can be stupid and unfair on both sides.... unfair to marines because it can easily take down an entire area... and unfair for aliens because they can just be rebuilt in two seconds. It's still more unfair to aliens because even if they do get them down the marines will just recycle and end up losing nothing but map control... which can easily be taken back.
So to me they are just redundant. They really don't suit and real purpose. Sure I mean they have a purpose... but one that doesn't actually matter. All they are is something for new players to bite on and think they are doing something special for the team.
Comments
Haha. The internet, when you have nothing else better to do.
<!--quoteo(post=1927500:date=Apr 19 2012, 10:04 PM:name=SentrySteve)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SentrySteve @ Apr 19 2012, 10:04 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927500"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->First, the commander will never limit the team. NS is an FPS/RTS, but with 7/8/9 players playing the FPS side and only 1 playing the RTS per team. Due to the inherent design of how an FPS/RTS works one side will be forced to make concessions and it <i>should be</i> the RTS side. If you argue otherwise I'd write your opinion off and say your passion/vision is clouding your better judgement. If the FPS side was limited by the RTS side UWE would have a lot more complaints on their hands.
So far you say what you can do as a comm is really limited, but I disagree. They've only added on to the commander's duties in NS2. The addition of micro'ing ARCS, MACS, Drifters are a nice way to differentiate skill levels between comms when things get intense and everyone is calling for meds/building drops/etc. Was watching a marine rambo off then yell for a ninja phase gate such a great mechanic that we want that in NS2?
Would you like to share any? You're basically talking in circles, saying at first DI/Power Nodes were only added to show off graphical effects. Upon learning their place in the game's design you agree their needed, then go into why they aren't, then say you want something like DI/Nodes but not quite DI/Nodes.
I'm so confused. And, this time, it's not because I'm a moron.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Haha, no I see what you're saying like I am talking in circles. I just want to have a game with the freedom of NS1 but the structure of NS2. They both have good values... though I prefer freedom more. That is personal preference. A lot of others will share that preference with me but I do agree that it's probably minority. People mostly enjoy games with set rules and limits.. especially in FPS games.
Theres no actual problems with the games mechanics... the game isn't even out or completed. The dev's are probably tearing out their hair right now thinking "Cmon dudes it's not done yet, give it a chance".
Now that you mention it... it's probably a good idea that the commander doesn't bottleneck the team... because 90% of the players in this game do not command. That's just my own comm ego speaking :)
Hahaha I just want the devs to make a game that is perfect for me. I know... I know... I am in la la land.
I wish I was sitting in the office and UWE had to put all my ideas into the game that I wanted. I would love the game so much! :D
Everyone else would probably think it was derpin'. Just saying if I were head game designer this game would have an AWP and a deagle in it (or space equivalents). It would have leaning and prone position. It would have vip escort mode. It would have full gore... like left 4 dead 2 style gore. There would be NPC's. There would be 3-4 different commander controlled AI units. There would be giant outdoor levels. There would be marine vs marine mode with bomb defusal and capture the flag. Man this game would have everything :D. There would be fully destructable environments and not that pansy bf3 stuff. There would be minecraft mode where you can build up a base and make cool stuff that the kara has to break throough. yeahhh
and ONE LAST THING. I want the exosuit to be controlled by the commander and aimed by a player. That would be sooooooo soooooo stupidly awesome.
Thats not to say Im giving infestation and power a free ride. I think both need work....but to insist in their complete removal is very counter productive at this point.
Let rooms have an indestructible power node; it displays the pulsing power-field effect when structures have been placed. When no structures are placed the lighting can be made a bit dimmer and warmer. When lots of alien structures are placed, maybe make the lighting even warmer more redish(but not monochrome red!).
Let alien structures grow DI.
<img src="http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumblarge_533/12827495831K6q37.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Some of the problems of power nodes are also very fundamental, for example the problem of limits between areas. It's really in the basic design that a node powers a well defined area and then you cannot avoid to have problems and ambiguities on the boundaries of theses areas.
Or RTs being the powernodes.
Both really good ideas brought up by many people.
DI just needs hive sight removed. It would be nice to have a better cyst or easier ways of placing them so you could protect your very vulnerable line through the use of vents or chain the through walls insteas of LOS.
I love NS1 but if i hadnt played it NS2 would have been my messiah game. Getting closer to release i am afraid this game will turn out like a game called Global Agenda.
I just wish gameplay would come first instead of visuals.
Lastly thank you Steve for your mature posts. I dont agree with you but i understand your point and respect you. I think i could learn a lot lol.
Also great posts as well Grissi, i actually enjoy reading both of your posts no matter how long they are. Yuuki, Tweadle, and Fana when he gets on a tangeant =)
That would be kind of like a turret factory, except you can't place it where you want it and it has an invisible boundary that you just have to suck it up and learn.
Point taken. A poor bandaid =) better than the "win" button. =)
i also like the idea of revisiting what happens when they go out - don't like the current broad single point of failure. turrets only is an option, but i think i like the reduced capability idea - like adding an obs to that list of buildings that go out.
not a big fan of the idea about comm dropping lights.
haha
That actually sounds pretty cool. That way a comm has a unit that will always obey him and the player choose that role. The comm could control a few to escort an ARC that he's also controlling while all the FPS players hit elsewhere.
Would be pretty baller but probably really hard to make.
<!--quoteo(post=1927589:date=Apr 20 2012, 05:10 AM:name=RisingSun)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RisingSun @ Apr 20 2012, 05:10 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1927589"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Or RTs being the powernodes.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=79263&hl=" target="_blank">We both agree there</a>.
I thought i remembered reading a ridiculously long but good article about RTs :)
The more you have the more it helps the regen of energy. Aliens would spread Infestation over it to take it for themselves and marines the normal way. It would give a reason to get them and actually more territory without being game breaking.
Marines would have the added bonus of Nano Shields, Beacon, and scans. Alien would get more Mist, maybe Chamber "use ability", and other idea. What do you guys think?
(Watching SC2 i saw Gas and Minerals. Thought having two types of resources that are gather-able would increase the RTS angle without hurting the FPS)
as a long term ns1 player and someone that donated a lot of money to NS1 its very annoying to see "Flayra" has allowed his arrogance to ruin a game.
he only has to look at these forums once and he will realise that the only reason everyone actually plays this game is because we like the idea behind NS and how it is played the creativity behind each round and the fun involved.
The way Flayra is taking this game, i bet by the time it goes to actual release, a lot of people would of stopped playing it.
The fact the team finds it more important to fix pointless bugs each week rather then put all resources into solving the problem behind the performance of the game will be the death of it.
<a href="https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS473US473&ix=aca&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=define+hyperbole" target="_blank">https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHFX_e...efine+hyperbole</a>
2.) Performance has been addressed by UWE on multiple occasions, if you are such a talented game developer as to know at what phase of development it's appropriate to work on performance, balance, aesthetics, then why don't you open up some LUA files, report some inefficiencies and make yourself useful.
3.) I for one like a game with a cohesive ideas that tie aesthetics to mechanics. This makes for a fluid, immersive experience, and it's something I wish more games would pay attention to.
4.) I'm amazed at how much the dev's actually <i>do</i> pay attention to the forums. They have announced several different updates now (large ones like khamm 2.0 and drifter 2.0) accompanied by links to the specific forum post that inspired them. Personally, I like to retain a lot of control over my creative work, and I would be mortified to see someone calling something I poured tons of creativity, talent and time into "theirs" because they threw 35 paltry dollars at it one time. UWE clearly has more patience than I do for this kind of attitude. My attitude about purchasing a game is that I am paying to enjoy someone else's creative work. Not that I am paying someone to be my code monkey and make me have the most fun possible or I'll demand a refund and sling insults at them. I make suggestions too, but it's important to be tactful.
In my opinion this lowers the time needed to master the game. People can try to call me out but at current I am faster than this game. I basically know the exact action to take in any situation in this game because of the limitations. I can predict what's going to happen very easily and it makes for boring matches on both sides. People first coming to the game are going to love it... and it will take them 100's of hours to get to this level, but once they do it will be hard for them to want to keep playing something that they can't keep getting better at.
If guitar only had 1 string... it wouldn't take very long to master it. You would get bored of it and leave it behind for something with more options. Now a 6 string guitar will take years upon years to master... even then you can still expand your abilities in small ways. It's because of the options you have at your disposal.
Right now NS feels like a 1 stringed guitar. I feel like I have mastered it and know basically everything about the game. This is kind of sad to me. If they simply changed a couple fundamental things about the game it would give the game many more strings... hence making it much more rewarding to people who devote to the most time to it.
I could write 10 more post's all related to this very topic. I could write a book on it right now to be honest.
The game is limited by clunky rules... I understand why they are there, but wish they weren't.
Here is a good example. Playing as alien commander you can basically be on top of your game very easily. It doesn't require much skill to know the timings of how to cyst to a resnode and cap it. You get your cysts in place and start microing your drifters to get there right as infestation covers the res node. You mist the nodes and move on to the next if you have res. Now you get to sit and watch as you wait for something to do. You are moving faster than the game allows. You wish there was more to do that would help but there isn't.
Now for a new player it would be slightly confusing to know how to do all that so fast and precise... but with a little time you will master it quickly. To me this is a boring gameplay element which could be expanded on. It goes the same way for marines. You are largely waiting for the next thing to do... everything is very linear and set in stone. It's not hard to master at all. I am speaking mostly from a commanders viewpoint of the game. I see how things play out and I see all the things that could be better. There needs to be more options. One way of making more options without having to add more content is to REMOVE things that limit the gameplay. Powernodes are simply one of those things. I think infestation can work once they get rid of drifters and other cumbersome elements.
Right now the commander doesn't really have a lot he can do in the way of strategies. If marines GL push you put up whips.... easy. If your hive is under attack you hit umbra. Other than that you place cysts that are broken and drop upgrades and hives when the res has finally arrived. I can understand the developers worries about raising the skill ceiling for commanders due to the fear that it will be too complicated... but players like me and many more good commanders are present in this game. I play this game for the RTS aspect moreso than the FPS aspect. They could really draw in a whole different audience if they opened their minds on this topic.
PC gamers want a competitively balanced game. We are tired of COD and BF. They are too casual and etc. Real gamers want a difficult game. They want a game that is hard to master where if you are a noob you get creamed. I see a huge potential for competitive play for this game if the developers open their minds a bit. Their ideas about DI and powernodes are clever and very original, but I think they could be done better than current. These two aspects are what hold this game back skillwise. All I would want is some small tweaks to both systems... not complete removal persay. I just think powernodes and infestation should play a less important role in the game.
In case it wasn't clear, only a small fraction of my post was responding to your original post specifically, most of it was either about other posts in the thread, or general attitudes I've seen in other threads, so hopefully you didn't take everything I said as an attack on you.
Like everyone, I have my own list of things I do and don't like with the current state of the game. I'm really looking forward to drifter 2.0 and I hope along with it they get rid of cysts granting hive sight. It seems to me this would improve balance as well as fit with their design and style goals.
I khamm a lot myself, and occasionally play as marine commander. In my opinion, if you're paying attention to the needs of your troops, there is actually plenty to do as marine comm. In addition to just building and researching, you can be dropping supplies as they need them, and constantly scanning when your obs is at full energy to give them line of sight. Even if there's nothing immediately pressing to do, just keeping track of troop movement and needs and being ready to warn and reinforce here and there can be pretty intensive.
Alien comm is less intensive, but did get a big boost in actions required when catalyze came out, and in the last patch we got rupture, so it's clear the dev's are aware that he needs more to do, and are working on it. Cyst spike and enzyme cloud are in the works as well. Also, now that foresight is in, the khamm can be (and should be) constantly feeling around the map to see what's up. If I understand right, pheremones will give him the ability to mark things for aliens to see.
As far as being bored, I think you may be coming at this too much like a regular RTS, thinking that you're going to build buildings and armies that will win your team the game, but it isn't just an RTS, there are a bunch of other people playing, and you shouldn't have enough power to trivialize their efforts. UWE is clear in their design docs that NS2 is a shooter first and an RTS second, which is only fair, considering most of the players are playing a shooter. IMO there's usually plenty to do just scanning the map and responding to situations as they arise, as well as keeping your team informed and coordinated.
As far as lacking choices, I do think there are more choices to make than some are implying. There are enough so that I still think "Hmmm, how am I going to play this" at the start of every game I comm, and I have fun doing so. I won't say that more choices wouldn't be welcome.
Also, let me tack on a brief argument for power nodes:
They add a choice, and they encourage teamwork. In areas with more than a few buildings, it's often sensible to go for the power first. But just taking it out won't usually do much good. You need reinforcements ready to run in and help you take advantage of the brief darkness to prevent it from going back up. That moment in the dark is also a crucial moment where you know you have to play effectively because if you don't the power will be back up in moments. It creates a high tension, teamwork intensive window.
Like if you take down a phase gate you pretty much get the area back.. same goes for removing sentry positions. Just taking out a powernode seems unfair.. and also time consuming for the aliens when there are much more important things to be worrying about.
When I first played the game... I pretty much just went around killing nodes because I thought it was useful... now I realize I wasn't contributing to the team really at all.
So to me they are just redundant. They really don't suit and real purpose. Sure I mean they have a purpose... but one that doesn't actually matter. All they are is something for new players to bite on and think they are doing something special for the team.