Feedback from a former NS2 player
nameless15
Join Date: 2014-06-28 Member: 197038Members
Join Date: 2014-06-28 Member: 197038Members
I pre-ordered NS2 before it was released (I was very fond in NS1), and had many happy hours playing it. However, it failed to entertain me in the long run, I've grown tired of the game and haven't touched it for a long time now. A friend of mine who were a NS1 hardcore player did also get tired of NS2 for the same reasons as me.
Instead of just leaving this game without a care (it did after all entertain me for a while, and I played NS1 a lot many years ago), I feel like giving some feedback on why I don't play NS2 anymore.
1.
The choice to give the Aliens a commander was a bad / boring decision, it made the game less unique. I really liked it in NS1 that the marines had a commander, and the aliens were more like a leaderless collective. On top of that, the Alien commander itself is boring to play because there are not very much to do really, especially late game (I don't need to go into detail here because I have seen this criticism in the forum before, so you know what it's all about).
A side effect to this was Gorge being way less fun to play as the alien commander pretty much stole his role.
2.
Marines can't build bases anywhere they want like in NS1. This made NS2 more monotonous and less strategic.
3.
There should have been an official Combat gamemode with the game release. It would also have (probably) increased the playerbase as it's a bit easier to get into for new players.
4.
The attempt to make Gorge more fun to play with additions like Babblers and Webs failed. Babblers are way too dumb and weak (yes, they can be useful in some situations like shields / distractions, but that is not a fun use of them), and Webs are being unlocked way too late into the game, meaning it's rare that you get to use them.
There may be some other stuff I have forgot to mention, but I've mentioned one of the biggest things that made me grow tired of the game.
Important to note is that I do not think NS2 failed, it was fun in the beginning (and worth the money), but it did not keep entertain me in the long run.
Instead of just leaving this game without a care (it did after all entertain me for a while, and I played NS1 a lot many years ago), I feel like giving some feedback on why I don't play NS2 anymore.
1.
The choice to give the Aliens a commander was a bad / boring decision, it made the game less unique. I really liked it in NS1 that the marines had a commander, and the aliens were more like a leaderless collective. On top of that, the Alien commander itself is boring to play because there are not very much to do really, especially late game (I don't need to go into detail here because I have seen this criticism in the forum before, so you know what it's all about).
A side effect to this was Gorge being way less fun to play as the alien commander pretty much stole his role.
2.
Marines can't build bases anywhere they want like in NS1. This made NS2 more monotonous and less strategic.
3.
There should have been an official Combat gamemode with the game release. It would also have (probably) increased the playerbase as it's a bit easier to get into for new players.
4.
The attempt to make Gorge more fun to play with additions like Babblers and Webs failed. Babblers are way too dumb and weak (yes, they can be useful in some situations like shields / distractions, but that is not a fun use of them), and Webs are being unlocked way too late into the game, meaning it's rare that you get to use them.
There may be some other stuff I have forgot to mention, but I've mentioned one of the biggest things that made me grow tired of the game.
Important to note is that I do not think NS2 failed, it was fun in the beginning (and worth the money), but it did not keep entertain me in the long run.
Comments
I'm gonna go back to my one of my ex-girlfriends house later and remind her of all the reasons I dumped her. It'd be about as useful as this thread...
I mean, a simple solution to the majority of your problems would be to just not play gorge or alien commander.
I agree the games tend to be very similar at times - hopefully compmod will help with that.
Anyway best of luck to you.
EDIT:
K, he's not the tick. Doesn't mean I don't disagree and aggressively so.
Remember though that the masses don't play this game, and this playerbase is very low for a reason.
NS1 was one of my "childhood" games (well I was a teenager, but still), and I really loved the gameplay. Played this game countless times on LAN with friends and on the Internet. This is a nostalgic game to me, as well as my old SNES and N64 games, even if I don't play them anymore.
Why would I not put the effort to create an account (that took like 30 seconds), and give some feedback on one of my most favorite multiplayer game-series ever made?
Unkown Worlds also listens to thier players (more than most other companies at least) and tries to improve thier games. So why would I not make my voice heard?
I would very much like to come back if this game gets improved, or if they make a new NS game.
Worst compare ever.
You are right. Actually I mostly played Marine, and Fade / Lerk as Alien when I was active in this game. :P
I can confirm that he is not the tick. Please stop flaming and derailing this thread with your negativity. Thanks.
Also, sorry for thinking you to be the tick, but it's just that most of these things you're saying have been brought up many times recently, was just beginning to sound like an echo.
There's a difference between "calling how you see it" and "making implicit accusations in a provocative tone", as far as I know.
Now b2t (Which is the OPs opinion.), please.
And of course most of the things I bring up have been brought up many times before... I am obviously not the only player in the world that is disappointed in what direction this game went.
Edit:
From my understanding, because NS1 was a success, Unknown Worlds wanted to do a stand alone game with an own engine and make something BIG of NS (this is why they should not have taken the risk and change the game too much). They also made it mod-friendly because if you get bored of the game (as you mentioned) there would be tons of mods to play.
Sadly because of the low player base there are hardly any good mods out there (and the few good mods don't have any servers running them). I'm quite sure that if they only had built NS2 on the successful gameplay of NS1, there would have been more players in this game, and also more mods that you can play if you get bored.
There are very few Alien Commander abilities that drop directly from the menu, almost everything requires you to have some structure or entity selected first.
Yet you cannot control your minions! Which brings a great retro feel to a modern arena/map style fps/strategy hybrid.
For two, I guess, maybe make a mod where you can place a cc per any room on the map, in any location the monstrosity can fit, see what happens, I dunno.
For three, I have to point out the number of game changing patches since release, yes combat should have been out day zero along with many other changes since but it looked a lot like a deadline for release had to be set. They stated no combat mode outside of community mods and stuck to that.
There would be less players now if they had released NS2 without the optimizations but combat mode instead.
[Sorry, I skipped from mentioning the patches after release to the beta optimizations just before release - it was features or optimizations, pretty sure most beta players ranted at least once about frame rates.]
Four, Babblers are scouts, *spit* at surfaces and they will go there.
#1 I do agree that the alien comm isn't quite as intense and fun to play as marine commander but it's not bad, there's still some micromanagement with drifters and late game contaminate. I do like the alternative tech paths you can do as alien comm in pubs, all 4 techs are viable (shade crag shift bio) to rush.
Explain to me why #2, is less strategic and more monotonous. Why is this the case? I see it as more strategic, gives each team something important to worry about and denying key locations on the map. What does unrestricted basebuilding (tech points) contribute to strategy? Enlighten me please.
Can't argue with #3 personally. I know a lot of vets would disagree and I much prefer the main game mode as well but combat is a nice, casual alternative to the main game that a lot of rookies and more casual players would appreciate. Even in it's absolutely abysmal state, I still hop on a combat server every now and then just to chill. Hard to say if it was possible as an official game mode when they were desperately trying to release the game and intent on focusing on optimizing the game after release.
#4 Gorge is actually in a decent spot right now, it's fun in the right situations, fun late game to use especially and can be tense early with entrenched positions. Babblers do need better stats and AI though, they serve as nothing but meatshields vs shotgunners. Webs are pointless, unlocked too late I agree. A tiered system would be better, 1 web unlocked per biomass and make them much thinner. Doesn't become OP early game but gets progressively stronger late.
Seeing as the game is quite a bit past the design stage, what exactly did you hope to accomplish with this post?
I personally consider the lack of severity in these issues - compared to the typical reasons given - to just be a sign of how much of a fan you really are.
This is important because this means you are willing to give feedback for us, the Community Development Team, to consider. You should see how much improvement is occurring and with a staggering frequency. Many things are items requested by the community for a team that comes from the community..
Hope to see you around to enjoy those improvements and provide further feedback ;-)
He's not trying to 'accomplish' anything, as he already stated, he's leaving the game. It is a courtesy to US, we can choose to use the feedback or not.
These kinds of posts (although I will admit not this particular one) are invaluable, and should be encouraged rather than attacked!
In fact, the forums would be dead, then.
UWE did a good job not purely aiming at the NS1 community. Back then the players were already very mature and 11 years later live gets in the way
The problem with low playerbase comes from the steep learning curve and performance issues.
I understand that my post solely will not have an effect (as these are my personal opinions), but if more people like me would leave feedback before leaving the game, it would be much easier for the developers to improve thier game as they could see the problem as a whole. This is what I want to contribute to.
The freedom to set up a base anywhere you like on the map makes some very interesting and unique matches. There were several matches in NS1 where we won as Marines because we built a base in a very unexpected area that the Aliens didn't expect, and / or a place that was strategic and hard for Aliens to get into.
I would not say that NS2's new base-building system really failed, but from my own expirence I did not find it as fun as in NS1. Guess it's mostly an opinion.
We pretty much share the same opinions here. I do not either find Gorge terrible, in fact he can be fun. But he has so much potential to be so much more fun.
Did I suggest that my list is the typical reason why a player stops playing? Where did I do that? :P
I honestly don't understand what exactly you mean, so I cannot comment on this. My apologize.
The only difference between setting up a base is the addition of the CC and IPs. You can still setup a strong PG position, set up a sneaky one, setup a proxy ARC factory, etc. What you said doesn't really define "strategy" but that its more of a personal preference for you to have that freedom, it doesn't necessarily mean its better.
The things he's talking about would be implemented through massive changes to the game and its core mechanics. This criticism would have been well received if this were an alpha or maybe even beta. Seeing as the game is ...2? years old I still don't really see the point.
What happened to NS classic mod? That sounds like it would have been right up his alley.
2. Not necessarily.
3. Bad idea since core game development was already tedious for them, and this would just worsen it.
4. False.
NS1 and NS2 have some major differences, which in some cases is good and in others it's bad. Just try not to look at NS2 like a sequel, more like a separate game.
(instead of performance, skill curve, stomping, complexity etc)
Freedom of base building was THE hallmark unique trait of this game. How fun was it to put a marine base inside of a vent system or rebuild your base quietly right outside of the alien hive and recycle everything at spawn to confuse the aliens? Real fun.
Alien commanders...make a game mode like the old style, way more fun...it worked for a reason. I LOVED gorging, now its mundane and boring. If NS was released as NS2 is today, it wouldn't have been nearly as successful as it was.
I agree with this statement - "A lot of people will disagree with me on this forum, because those "few" who are active here are still enjoying the game, or simply like the game as it is. Remember though that the masses don't play this game, and this playerbase is very low for a reason."|" This is my first time back to the forums, which is about once every 6 months to check in on the progress of the game, and based on my experience, and his, there are probably thousands of players who quit for similar reasons, and of course our voices are not heard, we stopped being an active part of the community.
I would have gladly dealt with the slow upgrading of the engine if the actual gameplay was fun. There just seemed to be so many more things that would keep even spectators laughing and interested in the outcome of some bizzare tactics. I loved playing with my friends and plopping 20 turrets down in alein spawn and rushing in to build...its interesting, fun, and i could care less if some disagree...i KNOW the majority of players enjoyed this.
Remember that those of you who are active here are still playing the game, but you are surely outnumbered by people like me, who started playing, and realized the game has changed in a way that removed the fun and excitement out of the game.
My two cents. I'm sure I can speak for me and my ~10 friends who used to play NS all the time but havent played NS2 more than a month or 2.