Unofficial NS2 Player Survey
CrushaK
Join Date: 2012-11-05 Member: 167195Members, NS2 Playtester
Join Date: 2012-11-05 Member: 167195Members, NS2 Playtester
Just out of curiosity and because I still had similar surveys lying around from my SMNC times, I made a survey for NS2 as well:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?usp=drive_web&formkey=dFV6bGNQYTgyTTJXd3J3ZGhwXzFfUEE6MA#gid=0
It should take about 15 minutes to complete. I don't have any expectations that this is going to be representative of the whole NS2 playerbase, since a big part of the community is probably not even frequenting these forums. But it's nice nonetheless to see how some things about the game are perceived by other people here.
The survey starts with some questions about you and your experience with the game. Then comes a section that goes over your gameplay habits and end with a section where you can state your opinion on individual balancing topics and some theses that I postulated (some of them intentionally worded in a negative way).
At the end of the survey will you get a link to a page that shows the summarized results, which I will also post here later after enough initial participation, so the results don't get flawed right away. (It also may say that 122 people already participated in the survey in the spreadsheet view, but that's just Google Docs being a bit buggy. Don't pay attention to it. It will probably skew the percentages, but the bars will still be correct.)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?usp=drive_web&formkey=dFV6bGNQYTgyTTJXd3J3ZGhwXzFfUEE6MA#gid=0
It should take about 15 minutes to complete. I don't have any expectations that this is going to be representative of the whole NS2 playerbase, since a big part of the community is probably not even frequenting these forums. But it's nice nonetheless to see how some things about the game are perceived by other people here.
The survey starts with some questions about you and your experience with the game. Then comes a section that goes over your gameplay habits and end with a section where you can state your opinion on individual balancing topics and some theses that I postulated (some of them intentionally worded in a negative way).
At the end of the survey will you get a link to a page that shows the summarized results, which I will also post here later after enough initial participation, so the results don't get flawed right away. (It also may say that 122 people already participated in the survey in the spreadsheet view, but that's just Google Docs being a bit buggy. Don't pay attention to it. It will probably skew the percentages, but the bars will still be correct.)
Comments
Crusha - is there a way to see the results without taking the entire survey again?
I think it's pretty comprehensive about including many of the various viewpoints about the game and can give a great generalization of what the players really want,
Yeah i also looked for the Checkbox "Depends" there
Other then that, there should should also a be a redesign option, like no necessarily a buff or nerf, but a different version of something (i.e. old vortex, though that was an option in a different part of the survery). And some of these things are very situational to judge.
Also regarding what @Ghosthree3 wrote, it would be nice to see a reason here and there as to why people think something needs a buff or nerf, and especially why it's balanced.
Also you didn't go into other aspects of the game, juding from your OP it seems intentional, but still, UI, Options, Server Browser, Grafics (like one of the specific questions - effects obfusicating screen), Sounds are also part of the game.
But anyway, decent survery overall.
Also lol @results. Taking some of these options together (that were close to even to balanced or higher), would result in like 80% alien win again. Nerf Marine Jump, Nerf JP, Nerf Nanoshield, Buff Fade, Buff Web/Babbler, Cheaper eggs, Nerf flamethrower [hardcounter question], alien darkrooms, more stuff to counter arcs (and on the alien nerf side, researchable google tunnels again)
Honestly, while the idea of a survey is great, there are just WAY too many situational results for it to ever be truly useful imo. Well, not in a yes/no a/b/c/d type of format anyway. Text answers maybe.
Fades are at a good stance currently, I'd like to see the old vortex however, teleporting back I have never been able to find strategic at all, stopping a beacon with the old vortex however is a game changer.
I kind of lost it at the question asking grenade launchers being more of a waste to the marine team then a gain, upgrade rush anyone?
Why was there no BALANCE option?
I voted for matchmaking, but then you tacked on all that other shit that doesn't affect pubs to the same option. I'm not really convinced matchmaking is an effective or viable solution though, and what I really want is BALANCE. New content sets balance back to ground zero so if I could vote AGAINST new lifeforms/maps/weapons etc I would. Performance has been acceptable if not really very good on my 3 year old machine so I am indifferent there.
Speaking of balance, I ended up answering the individual mechanics balance question based on how good each mechanic felt to use and play against. I find that a vast majority of alien abilities feel like they need buffs, while it is mostly marine options that feel like they need to be nerfed. However on the whole I understand that the alien team is generally stronger than the marine team, so obviously going through with those individual changes would lead to a massively unbalanced game.
you mean the players who stick with the game that they purchased from the start? The ones that care enough about the game to make these kind of threads, the ones who've put hundreds of hours into the game trying to help make it better? Yeah, a really bad group of people to sample from
I know, lets get some samples from jimmy the rookie over there; the one who got this game traded for some hat in team fortress, who's going to play for a day and then move onto call of duty.. boy his input will be invaluable!
Balance is always being worked on, doesn't need to be an option
edit: However, you won't see any 'massive' changes like 250 again AS FAR AS I KNOW
"What is your preferred playercount"
You should have made two separate questions, because 12v12 only really applies to competitive and I won't choose that option because that's a given, so I chose 16 players, because I generally find a 16-18 player game much more fun than a 12v12 which is atrocious
andd I don't like how there's so many options 'rather no/rather yes' I prefer the, Agree, undecided, Disagree
edit: I like how nanoshield got voted as balanced...... just kidding
I also stuck with just modifying my last survey to suit NS2 for now, which might have been a bad idea retrospectively instead of just starting from scratch.
I perferred beta fades with 200/50, reduced damage while fading, and high mobility. I felt like they had a much higher skill ceiling and more importantly a lower skill floor. Easy to take down if the fades are bad (which should be good for pubs), but also raping if in good hands.
Old vortex was more useful yeah.
- This is further evidenced by the fact that most people are holdovers from NS1... There's a lack of new players being brought in.
- Of all the people who filled out the poll, only 7 were introduced to the game through a broadcast of a competitive match, the smallest group. Maybe UWE should think what they stand to gain by throwing so much money at live tournaments.
- It would appear that interest in the game is declining among hardcore fans, with the majority of players playing 0-7 hours per week and confirming that they play the game less than they did when they first started.
- A lot of the hardcore fanbase doesn't play on competitive teams, something I feel is sometimes overlooked in discussing balance. Also, way more Div 1 comp players filled this out than the others, which is somewhat interesting... Logically you would assume there would be more from the other divisions.
- To be fair, most of the community enjoys watching comp matches, so maybe I'm being a little unfair complaining about UWE's careless spending on tournaments. I still think it's more important to bring in new players instead of catering to the established fanbase.
- Of the 136 people who filled out the poll so far, 5 play on a 32-bit operating system. Makes you wonder if all these patches directed at solving 32-bit problems are really a good use of UWE's time and energy.
- There is almost no interest in a Mac version of the game.
- Ping is a bit higher on average than it probably should be.
- "Balanced" received more votes than OP or UP for every single item except Gorge Webs and Babblers, which most people agree need more love. On the whole, it seems that the community thinks balance is in a pretty good place.
- Biggest requests for nerfs: nanoshield, jetpacks, mucous membrane.
- Biggest requests for buffs: gorge webs, babblers, fades (and all fade abilities), oni, cluster and pulse grenades, crag upgrades
- Summit is one hell of a good map. Look at that graph.
- Most popular ranking for each map: Summit (5), Tram, Veil, Descent, and Biodome (4), Mineshaft, Docking, and Refinery (3). In line with what we typically think of in terms of quality of maps.
- On average, people think marines are more powerful and enjoy the early game more than the late game.
- Almost everyone wants to see gorge webs come out sooner.
- In case we didn't already realize, team stacking is a problem.
- If UWE improves performance, adds matchmaking, and does nothing else, they've pleased 95% of the people who filled out this poll.