What are you most positive/negative about?
peregrinus
Join Date: 2010-07-16 Member: 72445Members
Join Date: 2010-07-16 Member: 72445Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Like some kind of survey or whatever</div>List the top 3 (or more) things about NS2 you're most happy/satisfied with, and top 3 things you feel most negative about at this point in the development stage. Try not to list minor things which will be resolved quickly like overpowered weapons etc.
<b>
Positive</b>
1. I enjoy the game overall.
2. The new structures are great.
3. The dev team are working really hard and releasing impressive updates often.
<b>Negative</b>
1. Right now I'm seeing less teamwork than there was in NS1 - and team work should be the best thing about NS.
2. The gorge, which was my favourite class, is pretty useless right now and has been replaced by alien comm, which is fun but I miss the NS1 gorge a lot.
3. I don't really enjoy playing marine because the weapons look plain and aren't fun to use.
<b>
Positive</b>
1. I enjoy the game overall.
2. The new structures are great.
3. The dev team are working really hard and releasing impressive updates often.
<b>Negative</b>
1. Right now I'm seeing less teamwork than there was in NS1 - and team work should be the best thing about NS.
2. The gorge, which was my favourite class, is pretty useless right now and has been replaced by alien comm, which is fun but I miss the NS1 gorge a lot.
3. I don't really enjoy playing marine because the weapons look plain and aren't fun to use.
Comments
I would add:
- Maps are too linear
- Massive balance issues (yay for being able to notice =) )
* GL radius and/or damage is excessive, especially vs lifeforms.
* Flamethrower is a bit OP, atm. Damage is high, perhaps too high but the blinding is almost the worst. Blinking is hard enough as it is, being blind makes it impossible.
I love where we are at, though.
<b>Positive</b>
1. Classes each have a role now, rather than one dominating class.
2. Alien chambers make things a lot more dynamic - whip especially.
3. Impressed with how dynamic and original the game is, especially lighting.
<b>Negative</b>
1. Communication between comm/players needs a LOT of work. A system that combines player list with location, alerts, status, communication and supply.
2. Sounds need a lot more work - as they can make a gun go from puny to jaw dropping.
3. We'll have to see what further developments bring.
1. Loving the Power Grid (hoping DI complements it well)
2. Like having spikes back as a Lerk
3. New Fade blink looks and feels awesome.
<b>Negative</b>
1. New Fade blink is really quite hard to use! (Needs some tweaking on the directional stuff, and not to be blocked by clip brushes).
2. Lack of Lua interface and spark engine documentation
(yeah I know it's not a priority, I hope they are keeping an internal wiki that they can port when they get time, not just keeping it in their brains).
3. My computer isn't good enough to run the game smoothy enough to make it truely playable
(I just go lerk and hide in the ceiling, fun, but limited).
I realise the last is a w.i.p. and is as much my problem as their's and I'm not suggesting UWE need to prioritise it any further than they currently have. Also NOT really worried about commander / minion interaction just yet, the games not complete enough to comment and I abhor theory-crafting ;).
<ol type='1'><li>Alien commander, really fun to play</li><li>The overall feel of the game</li><li>The artwork, really great</li></ol>
<b>Negative</b>
<ol type='1'><li>Currently bad performance, but that is supposed to get better</li><li>The yet not complete/buggy commander interface, looking forward to the improvments in next patch!</li><li>The current balance, and the mostly empty servers because of it, looking forward to next patch!</li></ol>
1) The dynamic of DI, the Power Grid, and the Flamethrower (even if not all implemented or done well, yet)
2) Fade/blink
3) Alien structures and their planned abilities, too freakin cool
Negatives
1) Game balance, forthcoming
2) Commander UI, forthcoming changes
Really don't have a lot of complaints, especially ones that will be changed/fixed.
<ol type='1'><li>Atmosphere with both art, sound and lighting is incredible.</li><li>Dynamically changing visual cues about territories on map (DI, PNodes) that works hand in hand with gameplay.</li><li>Varied styles of play in the same game, taken even further in NS2.</li><li>The editors are great and easy to use. The game promises a lot of fun mods.</li></ol>
<b>Negative</b>
<ol type='1'><li>Grenadelauncher-attachment brings only benefits but no penalty, old style more balanced and had more risk/reward.</li><li>Missing the Q/A with developers. Should be reintroduced at some point to openly discuss things regarding balance once performance becomes less of an issue.</li><li>Currently in this time of development the Commanders have less interaction with the team. Addition of the new Armory being one of the reasons.</li><li>Skulks need better wallwalking! You have a new engine yet it's pretty hard to climb things, holding shift should put you into "sticky mode", unable to fall off a wall at all.</li></ol>
1. See the potential in the game
2. Keep us updated on things they are working on
3. Each patch you notice how much work NS2 team put into it.
4. Its already fun to play!
Negative:
-Wish Unknown Worlds would do a QA every once in a while answer some good community questions about the game.
-Map size; really small
-Maps lack distinctiveness from each other and map landmark sort of things, distinct rooms and such
-Concern about round lengths, at this point seems too short, things don't cost much.
1. Looks great
2. area capture / lines of battle with power nodes (and infestation in the future)
3. the new commander concepts on both sides (i think tighter team play will come in future betas out of necessity)
4. skulk melee seems to be more effective & fun to me
negative:
1. Seems like the new concepts will be more confusing and difficult for new players. Not a major issue with the current beta, but perhaps matchmaking, achievements and filtering will allow public games with a higher experience level. I'm sure this will come eventually, but NS2 will need scenario servers like the NS1 whichbot servers, where new players can gain experience against bot AI (i.e., controlled difficutly level).
2. fixed build points - in ns1 we could use mines & build out posts in all sorts of crazy locations. portable power node & larger maps will help, but i don't think it will ever be as crazy (awesome) as NS1.
3. early strategy - due to above both sides pretty much will do the same thing in the early game on a given map. also players just run off and do it. be nice if there was a short period to plot some strategy at game start before players can run away. i'm sure balancing will add a penalty for ramboing
Positive:
1. UWE has gone the extra mile in facilitating modding of the game. Words cannot express how much I love you guys for giving us the tools to create new content, especially in this day and age of COD regurgitates and all the other ###### of that nature.
Ok, continue.
--Cory
<ul><li>Fade Blink is back!</li><li>NS2 seems like it is going back to it's RTS roots, while keeping the fast paces action in there as well</li><li>Love the Powergrid and the potential of Dynamic Infestation</li><li>Movement of the aliens feel how they should be (even the invisible Onos)</li></ul>
<b>Negative</b>
<ul><li>Lack of documentation in general. Like on the Cinematic editor, <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/wiki/index.php/Console_Commands" target="_blank"><strike>console command list</strike></a>, Lua...</li><li>The fact that Max looks better wearing a cap then me!!!</li></ul>
<b>Positives</b>:
1. Friendly and smart community (compared to other internet forums :P)
2. Friendly, smart and honest, likable dev team
3. The fact that NS2 is the successor to what imo. was the best multiplayer game i've ever played
4. "open" development
<b>Negatives</b>:
1. no Videocasts for several years :(
The actual game:
<b>Positives</b>
1. The game does feel like ns1
2. The fade (blink especially)
3. The looks
<b>Negatives</b>
1. Compared to NS1 the game lost something that distinguished it from all the other games: the asymmetry; (alien comm, resource system etc)
2. The gorge has not really an essential purpose now. He seems to be there just because there was a gorge in ns1.Everything he can do could be done by enhancing some abilities of the other classes(healing-> metabolize, building hydras->comm, etc). Actually he could be removed from the game at all, and his help wouldn't be missed much
3. tiny maps
Edit: i forgot to mention something:
Negative:
4. Marines buying weapons
1) it's natural selection
2) see 1
3) see 1
negatives:
1) feels like there's still a lot of gameplay issues even taking into account what isn't in the game yet.
2) engine performance + gui design
3) my social life is over once the game goes gold
- great game
- great artwork
- great atmosphere
- great graphics
Negative
- great performance problems
- great excitement, if the gorge will get his potential back
- great lack of the ###### full version, I wanna play it
1. Some ideas have great potential.
2. Fade blink is interesting if tweaked a bit.
3. Our part of the game developement and the possibility of effecting the outcome.
Negatives
1. All movements are inferior and boring compared to NS1 (excluding fade, including marine).
2. Some ideas have questionable uses and the design is too far from original working concept.
3. Slow game speed and sluggy siege type pushing style instead of more freedom.
1/ Graphics, themes and atmospheric's are good
2/ Really looking forward to to DI (or even just SI!), and the alien DI interplay
3/ Fade concept (even if he's hard to use at the moment!)
Dislike
1/ Com/player "connection". Hard to tell in this early beta.
2/ No 'stealthy' feel yet, unlike in ns1. Can't decide why. (EDIT: Think it has to do with map size)
3/ Trying to explain the game to people! (transponder tech rather than phase gates)
Positives:
1) the game/engine has so much modding potential. I'm very excited to see what people will come up with for new game modes, etc.
2) Playability has seriously increased over the last few patches. It's nice to see that the devs are working hard and getting results.
3) Open development - It's awesome that the community is so close to the developers...it's educational for the community, maintains awareness and interest in the product, and it provides valuable feedback, improving the end product
Negatives
1) lack of documentation for the tools (I know it's not a high priority right now, but it would be nice)
2) So far, I can't test any mods without overwriting the NS2 lua (have seen other people wondering about this as well)
1) powernode system
2) New techpoints
3) Artwork
4) UWE's openness to the community
Dislike:
1) Still hard to play with laggyness
2) Gorge seems useless (heal spray too weak, hydras don't justify going gorge when whips can be built too)
3) Major balance issues (GL, flamethrower)
4) Less teamwork required than NS1
1. It's NS!
2. It's finally starting to come together
3. Playing with friends
<b>Negatives</b>
1. People doing this to servers:
2. People doing this to servers:
3. People doing this to servers:
<img src="http://www.crysis.se/Disap.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
1: Dynamic environments, great idea executed well.
2: Alien commander. Gives the aliens better direction and allows for more strategy.
3: The new weapons and abilities complement the original ideas brought back from NS1. It is starting to feel like a true sequel.
Negatives:
1: MACs are a good idea in theory, but that's it. Relying on real players instead of NPCs is what this game used to be all about.
2: Alien Commander has negated the gorge's use a fair bit.
3: the marines starting rifle could do with some work, it doesn't feel as satisfying to use as the other weapons.
1. Commander on both sides, makes the game feel more like an RTS.
2. Sniper implemented in the form of Lerk.
3. Fade blink is the bestest ability.
Bad:
1. I still have my doubts about multi-commander especially in public games.
2. Gorge less important than ever.
3. As a Marine it's confusing what is happening etc. no res indicators, no minimap, dunno where the rest of your team is.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->achievements<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Speaking of which, did UWE ever say any official word on if there will be achievements or not?
-Defined roles for alien team
-Alien commander making Aliens a little less independent encouraging organized teamwork.
-Power Grid system and other features not yet added but in the making.
-Mobil structures, MASC and the Whip (Currently can't move or I just don't know how to make it move.)
-Game looks amazing and sucks you into it's atmosphere. Currently can run it at 20-45 FPS on a 2.6ghz dual core, 6gig, 8800GTS 512mb factory OC at 1600X900 resolution and medium detail.
-MACS and Drifters. (I opposed them at first. But now I am really starting to see them shine as the game gets further through development.)
-The ability for Marines and Gorges to still be able to build structures. Gotta get that CC up fast! (If I may add...have the structure appear before the MAC or Drifter gets there? Allowing the marines or gorges to begin the construction process?)
<b>Negative</b>
-Currently an endless number of Hydras and Turrets can be built, causing extreme server lag and crashes.
-Hydras and Turrets not limited by numbers depending on what area they are in. (I remember this was in NS1 you could only build so many in certain areas)
-Turret turning speed is VERY slow, also you can't designate it's direction until after it's built. (A two step build process could help with this. Place the turret then a circle appears around it, click on the circle and move your mouse either direction to rotate it. Click again to confirm build order).
-Fade blink needs a little work. Used more for escape and teleporting behind turrets then it is to get behind marines and kill them. (Then when I am actually TRYING to escape...I blink but end up facing the marines I am trying to get away from..........)
-Current damage of GL and Flame Thrower is to high. Gl has to wide of a splash damage effect.
-Marines get a level 2 command chair and Aliens might as well type RR. (I know its a balance issue being worked on and Onos isn't in the game yet but I am just stating it as a CURRENT Negative.)
-Maps seem smaller then in NS1, one of my favorite things about NS1 was just the SHEER size of the maps....they were very Vast it could take you 5 minutes just to get to the other side. (Ya it's still early BETA and there are only 3 maps...2 of which were really meant for testing. But Tram just seems....small...being the larger of the 3 current maps.)
-Multiple commanders. In an organized team match I can see it's benefit. In public games...it will destroy games.
- The level editing tool, simple and easy to use. A real-time 'WYSIWYG'.
- Steamworks integration
- An alien commander, I like the idea if not the execution =]
Cons:
- Involving and 'discussing' planned features too much with the community, seems very unplanned and lacking focus.
- Engine lighting system, fully dynamic is great but it sure as hell sucks that you have to emulate your own bounce and shadows for hours on end by hand.
- Gameplay focus, the 2-tier system where commander and player must rely on each other in order to make a working game will be death for casual and newcomer play.
* - Not really a 4th con but possibly, the dynamic environments so far really aren't that dynamic or cool. And planned DI seems a long way off as any sort of mesh/rocks are currently static prop based.
+I actually like the way they have revamped the gameplay and not make it a better looking NS1
+The sounds, designs, and art style have amazed me countless times
+The way that the devs have re-imagined Natural selection to not only hold up even with the AAA big budget titles, but to make the game so fresh, modable, and unique
<b>Negatives:</b>
-The mad dash system to quickly grab tech points at the beginning of the round.
-The aliens getting not getting as many cool new features, abilities, or units like the marines have.
-(This third negative is only for the time being and i'm sure will be addressed in a patch or two) Grenade launchers, flame throwers, server lag, smooth performance.
- Lighting is amazing.
- Love the power node setup. Really makes maps feel dynamic and territory feels claimed
- Commanding has been made easier and more accessable. Makes the long term prospects of the game far higher
- Some of the sounds are good
- Most of the models are good
Neutral
- Map size. They feel a bit small currently but doubtless that will change. If not, I'm not massively concerned, at least with things being the way they are currently. Once the seige cannon gets in, things could change radically; one reason why NS1 maps were bigger was because of the capacity for a lone seige cannon to lock down a large area.
- Balance. Of course things will change. I'm glad the flamethrower works at all. Yeah it's massively OP like the GL but at least they work.
Negatives
- Fade model is...underwhelming. He just seems too plain compared to the other aliens. The skulks, gorge and lerk all have very busy, interesting looking models, with lots of little growths to break up the monotony, whilst the Fade is quite flat in comparison.
- Some of the sounds. The biggest one for me currently is the armoury. That damn thing sounds too <i>organic</i>. I walk up to grab a new weapon or refill my ammo and as soon as I hear that sound I'm spinning around looking for the alien right behind me who of course isn't there. Marine sounds should be mechanical, alien sounds should be organic. Simple.
- Inability of Tier 1 marines to deal with structures. This may seem to fall into the same "balance" catagory as above, but that's dealing more with "Weapon X is OP, lifeform Y is UP". This isn't dealing with a specific weapon, or more precisely, it's dealing with the lack of a specific weapon. Regardless of the inevitable tweaks to GLs and Flamethrowers, Tier 1 Marine teams still lack a tool to deal with rooms full of Alien structures. One of the existing Tier 1 weapons (probably the Shotgun) either needs a major redesign or a new weapon needs to be added. You might say "Well what about seige cannons" but can we honestly expect to see that in Tier 1? I really doubt it.
- No new voices. This might be due to the game only being in beta, but I'm disapppointed to be hearing the same voice commands as I hear in NS1.
I'll add one more catagory here
Fears
- Whilst this build is playable, mostly, I still don't feel that UWE should have brought out this as a beta. Furthermore whilst on the first two days of 156 release I saw tons of players, now I see very few. Not exactly the kind of response you'd expect if everyone was gushing over the game. Mind you, this could be just a result of the current poor balance so we'll wait and see.
- UWE running out of resources before the game is in a release-ready state. UWE pushed the beta because they needed funds, that was by their own admission. Unfortuntely, even the most optimistic NS2 supporter would have to admit that the game is no-where near to release-ready. UWE are already one year past their projected original release date (which makes me wonder what on earth they had planned to release then given the state of the game, but I digress); how much longer is this going to take? It seems increasingly likely that UWE are going to run out of funds long before NS2 is ready to be sitting on shelves across the world. Personally I couldn't care less whether the game comes out next year or in 2043, but when you're out of cash you're out of cash.
The only things I dislike are all the stupid things people keep suggesting because they feel it is neccesary to keep the game 'true NS' or whatever.
- The editor seems amazing.
- The LUA and engine moddability seem like good things for the future of the whole indie gaming industry, especially now that the golden days of HL1 mods are past and new stepping stones are required.
- The recent progress has been promising, although it's still a while away from being playable for me.
- A lot of innovative and potentially interesting design. Onos is interesting, the alien res model adjustment is huge. The new things like activatable crags sound great.
- It's an ambitious project by any standards. Right now the mainstream gaming is extremely conservative and it seems that the change -whatever it ends up being- needs to happen on smaller developers.
- While some things weren't total bullseyes for me, the overall visual design is still great. It's not easy to meet the visual requirements of modern commercial game with such a small team, but I think UWE passed it quite comfortably on most parts.
<b>Negative</b>:
- From a competetive player's viewpoint the game has <b>a lot</b> of worrying things. For example lerk spikes and leapskulking were considered to be weaker parts of NS1 and now they are back without seemingly any bigger innovation. Changing things is fine of course, but at some point there has to be some proof that the design actually is good. It's difficult to stay positive and support a delayed project while the whole thing seems to be drifting far, far away from your ideals of what made NS original and interesting.
<!--quoteo(post=1812139:date=Dec 1 2010, 01:34 AM:name=Thaldarin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thaldarin @ Dec 1 2010, 01:34 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1812139"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->- Involving and 'discussing' planned features too much with the community, seems very unplanned and lacking focus.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I agree with this. The community involvement works to an extend, but once the project gets delayed, it becomes a nasty double-edged sword. At least I'd have easier time following a developer team working towards a clear vision of their NS2 and how it's all going to come together. Right now it occassionally feels more of a mix of potentially awesome ideas somehow ductaped together. Earlier there was a lot of talk about playtesting cutting away the idea that don't work, but right now it looks like there might be some financial limitations for it.
1. Top Notch End User Tools
2. Content
3. Visuals, Models fit well with the game engines dynamic lighting.
<b>Negative</b>
Only 1 at the moment.
1. <u>Steam ID bans</u> for server ops <i>(it will come)</i>
<ul><li>Level art and models are nice.</li><li>Map editor is functional with some annoying quirks but they don't prevent you from working.</li></ul>
<b>NEGATIVE</b>
<ul><li>Stability stability stability... It is impossible to evaluate game play balancing without it.</li><li>If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Personally I dislike many of the changes (multiple marine commanders/not being able to build etc)</li><li>Features being implimented before they are ready (I'm looking at you flame thrower). The only reason I mention this is I thought it's primary use was to combat dynamic infestation which is not in the game yet.</li></ul>
Probably my biggest gripe is it feels like there are too many things implemented before they are really ready to be evaluated properly. I think if NS2 had reduced current features/weapons it would make it easier to layer on features and balance them properly. I used the flamethrower and dynamic infestation as an example. If NS2 had resource towers with basic marine buildings / weapons without the flamethrower and overpowered grenade launcher it would make judging the balance of fewer things much simpler. Evaluate the basic weapons and structures first. Then mayber introduce the power node system and balance that with the rest of the game.
One of my responsibilities at work is to balance features one at a time as they come online so when a new feature is added I can properly evaluate how it is affecting the rest of the game. Another responsibility I have is determining what features come online in the correct order that makes the most sense. I'm not trying to tell UWE how to do their jobs as I am sure they are quite capable, I'm just sharing my philosophy in game design and practice since it has served me well and I really want NS2 to succeed.