So.... NS2:Combat
MuckyMcFly
Join Date: 2012-03-19 Member: 148982Members, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow
Join Date: 2012-03-19 Member: 148982Members, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow
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And looking at https://steamdb.info/app/310110/graphs/ your experience seems to be normal.
Here's to hoping that if the adequate infrastructure is ever put in place, combat might make its way back into the main NS2 client in some form or another.
Also is the Mod still being played by anyone?
We're still making content for the game but unfortunately within the Faultline team only one or two of us actually use social media or our own website to whip up interest in what we're doing. Our sales are also much lower than we had budgeted for so we don't have much of a marketing budget to work with.
It's something I'm trying to get people into (e.g. the mantra 'if you do something, tell people about it!') but it may be too little too late at this point.
We are working on new content and a new game mode for NS2: Combat, and we will drop the general price at some point soon. We would like to do things that will keep the community alive if we can...
Does anyone have any ideas or would like to help us in this regard?
Basically, it's an idea to include stable builds in NS2 to prevent mods from breaking with each update.
In order to survive, one must learn to adapt to changes. :P
Combat needs a draw card (gimmicks even) to attract new players who have not experienced NS2, or were intimidated by its steep learning curve. (I hope the new modes will!)
More effort to improve the enjoyment of both new and experienced players are required, by improving both accessibility as well as depth. That won't be a small task, and will take at least months of iterative testing and redesigns. I hope the constant shifts will revive the game with renewed energy and curious gamers.
It has been unfortunate for FLG to find out the hard way that the target (casual) audiences were not reached, and most of the current NS2 players do not appreciate the value currently delivered by Combat.
That's why I like 11v11 in NS2. I'm only a 10% handicap to my team.
I stopped playing because the balance of the game was terrible. Yea, it seemed roughly 50/50, but in order to get there, players are FORCED to go Exo/Onos as soon as they can, or their team loses. Seriously, being a crack shot with a JP/SG should be just as deadly as an exosuit, and being a good fade should be just as good as being a good onos. Instead, the winning team is more often than not the team with the most players who abandon their lower lifeforms the instant exos/onos are available. They're just not fun to play. It's especially frustrating when an extremely skilled player hops in an exo, and is able to single-handedly defend the base (we all know who I'm talking about
TLDR: Game should be called "tech-faster!!!!" not "combat".
For how much longer do you plan on flogging this dead horse? You guys are a talented bunch, surely your time & energy is better spent on a new project for FLG instead of developing content for a game that is only really played internally by your playtesters. Do you think that developing new content and then making the game F2P/dropping the price is going to revive this game? I'm telling you now in the nicest possible but realistic way that it won't. But sure go ahead and do this anyway and then look back on this thread weeks later. I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE!
tldr; Time to break away from UWE's IP and create something brand new to get excited about.
Am I sad about the situation? Yes, but that is how gaming works. NS2 is a niche game, and Combat is a niche part of NS2. I agree with @AussieKid ,FLG are a talented group, and should move on and create something else that isn't NS related. I will gladly check out your new work.
One tip, tell everyone you're going gorge. And drop a terrible tunnel.
Might aswell make it F2P and sell hats while we're at it haha
This.
The ability to interchange between game modes would of been a major bonus for NSC than having it as a separate entity.
Combat alone is not enough for the average gamer, it becomes just another mindless generic fps shooter. Only reason Call of Duty and Battlefield series work and continues to do so is because they established a major player base years ago with the original COD and BF1942 which were smash hits and have millions in their marketing budget to pull it off which targeted specifically alot of teenage players that had daddys credit cards to buy the game with.
Which is why you see alot of 13 year old trolls on these games.
NSC couldn't compete with that kind of opposition, not without major funding. Paint it however you want it but money is a real driving force behind how successful a game can be. There are very few notable exceptions.
You'd also have to drop the price though. I know I personally haven't picked it up because I consider 15 euros a bit too steep for what is essentially a well executed NS2 mod.
As a 5 - 10 euro standalone expansion for the base game, I reckon the game would receive a lot more exposure and have a lot more people willing to give it a try. Yes, that may sound like a low price considering the development costs, but the significant boost in sales would more than make up for it.
NS1 Combat was popular because it convenient... In a sense that it didn't require the user to do anything or spend money at the time, if you wanted combat you just simply joined a server that was running a combat map, if you wanted the normal NS experience you simply changed server that was running a NS map. Simple as that.
With ns2 combat I had to pay for it separately, load it separately, play a game for alittle while then when I decided enough was enough, exit the application, start up a new separate process of NS2 and repeat all over again.
They detracted the experience by having it as a separate entity instead of focusing on what should of been seamless integration. This was incovenient.
Not implying I am lazy or other people are but the decision to make NS1 combat interchangeable at any given time from just a couple of mouse clicks away was a move in the right direction.
Heres a scenario, speculate if NS1 Combat was released separately and commanded its own price. Would it receive the same praise now as it did then? I doubt it.
The argument that people give this "stop being lazy" or "it doesn't take that long to switch between games" is just pathetic. Conveniency is a massive influence. WoW is still one of the most popular MMOs after 10 years because much of the games mechanics are intuitive and convenient. You can switch easily between queuing for a dungeon and queuing for a PvP battleground anywhere at any time. Imagine having to load a completely different client if you wanted to join a raid. Pretty absurd.
As others have said, having it just as DLC in the main game (if that's possible) would be a much better choice.
* that most servers (or combat SA server stability) is as crap as NS2's was a gazilion patches ago.
Literally every server ever having players tanks and starts to stutter, warp and behave badly.
* It feels off. (And I know being so broad in this statement doesn't help them either). Im just not sure WHY it feels off. The ns2 mod felt a lot better, but I simply do not know why.
I mean, the game mode is there, the kills for res is there, its all the same.. yet it feels.. detached. I do not feel I am playing the 'same' marines or alien lifeforms and its not the change in certain skills.
Wish I could say what feels different.
This. You often hear that combat is good and less intimidating for new players compared to vanilla NS2. This is simply not true. Combat snowballs horrifically in favor of the winning team and in particular the top fraggers - much more so than vanilla.
For this reason alone, combat stand alone was a horrible idea to start with, even though there's plenty of other equally reasonable reasons not to build that game.
If they had at least introduced some more interesting game modes, that didn't snowball so bad, maybe it would've stood a chance.