Why can't you combine NS2:Combat into the game? Give some love to it
OpolE
Join Date: 2008-04-10 Member: 64057Members
Join Date: 2008-04-10 Member: 64057Members
NS2 combat patch for everyone would bring in regular play sessions
Forget the money $$$ and give those who paid some skins/voice packs or whatever.
But it feels a waste to keep charging for it and not have anyone play until Saturday evening.
What is going to happen? It might boost the overall numbers and playbase again
Forget the money $$$ and give those who paid some skins/voice packs or whatever.
But it feels a waste to keep charging for it and not have anyone play until Saturday evening.
What is going to happen? It might boost the overall numbers and playbase again
Comments
The developers of Combat made a publisher deal with UWE.
That deal specifies that NS2:Combat is handled independent from NS2 and is a standalone.
Even if that contract would not exist merging NS2:Combat back into NS2 would be a lot of work because combat is based on the code of almost 1.5 years ago. So someone would have to adjust and polish it to the today's NS2 code base and standards.
To add onto that the CDT is already busy enough with maintaining the NS2 code base, maintaining just another project would be over our heads.
As nice as it might be those two reasons make it legally and technically very unlikely that Combat ever gets merged into NS2.
For the CDT imho it would be easier and faster to create a similar mode to Combat than porting it.
1) Combat would need to be maintained alongside the vanilla game, taking up valuable development and testing time.
2) Combat would need to be brought up to the quality standards of the vanilla game: console errors would need to be cleaned up, some of the artwork would need some more polish, and some of the levels would require significant work.
Not sure what artwork would need "polish" though. Personally I think ns2 could use a few artwork "polishes" compared to combat. Just look at the comparison between all the UI menus in-game:
^NS2
Combat:
^NS2
Combat:
Hmm... I had actually forgotten about the UI stuff, but yea. I believe ns2 has a better looking interface than combat -- though admittedly there are some areas that could use some work, eg buttons. The color schemes in combat are just all over the place, and the style kind of just does whatever it wants rather than staying consistent. Just look at your screenshots there. Look at the marine buy menu vs the gui elements carried over from ns2. In ns2, you've got nice 45 degree angles used sparingly with long, straight lines, and the background is visible, but not too opaque so you can still see what's going on around you. Then there's combat where you've got these wild neon colors everywhere that don't match the palette of what came before it, the lines are broken up randomly at a high frequency without any rhyme or reason. It's like the designer loaded up a shotgun full of artistic themes and unleashed them all on the ui at once. You've got the aforementioned random lines, the circuit board kind of lines in the background, and the hexagon pattern. All these things are fine on their own, and as long as they match everything else. Right now... it's neither! If they want to change the aesthetic, fine... but they need to actually change it, not just make new stuff adhere to it.
The alien interface I have less qualms with, except some of the awful photoshop layer styles that were thrown in there.
What I was talking about was mostly some of the new 3d art in combat. Some of it is really stellar stuff! Revolver is freakin' sweet, and the viewmodel for the fade's acid-rocket is cool too! Others however... could use a bit of a spit shine. Cannon and weapons locker for example just look very flat and boring. Normal map isn't quite behaving right or something... just feels very... flat... not sure how else to describe it, really.
As far as levels go, really Core is the only stand-out level that just feels "right", like it has its own identity. Many of the others are very good too, they just feel too similar in art-style and don't end up feeling very unique. For example Kestrel, Legacy, and Pulse are all very heavily invested in the Descent assets, silver and black. Then some others need some serious attention to detail. P33 and Nest are just all over the place. You'll see rusty, grungy, old mining equipment sitting right next to super shiny, brand new high-tech gadgetry, and it just makes no sense.
Yes, some of this is me being super picky, but I believe that even if you don't necessarily see everything wrong here, there's still an unconscious sense of it being off that maybe you just can't quite put your finger on.
I have also thought about game merger. It is doable, it's just a matter of talking it out between both studios and doing it. NS2 Combat is basically dead, but vanilla NS2 lacks the quick action part. Waiting half an hour in ready room and another half an hour to get a comm isn't xactly the most fun part. NS2 Combat has none of that. It's all decided on the field and action always starts immediately. If you join them together, you improve BOTH games.
Perhaps not a complete copy of combat, but rather a new genre of instant action - One that doesn't perpetuate the dreaded snowball effect, through the: more kills->more XP->better gear->more kills cycle.
I'd say NS2:Combat would've fared better if it was indeed a paid content DLC. Not sure how that would work with Steam and different companies though... But the ball is in Faultline Games' court and afaik they abandoned the game, because it's no longer viable from a company's perspective...*
Still it would require a dedicated mod team (or Faultline Games if paid DLC) to support and keep patching. Even for a mod like Last Stand, for NS2:Combat that would be multiplied as that game is bigger...
The game is not 'abandoned' but obviously with not making money most of the people became disillusioned,/got involved with real world jobs. There are however still updates being published, and development goes on, albeit with a very small team part-time.
--Edit--
The ball is most definitely not in Faultlines court. They are a development studio with a publishing contract. the IP is owned by the publisher, so the ball is firmly in UWE's court.
Oki, I did not know that
I just wish there was a simple way for NS2:Combat to stay up to date with NS2 engine fixes and changes so that the game could get fixes out faster. There is so much that the CDT has done to improve NS2 from an engine standpoint that would be nice to have in combat as well.
I do think that if combat could get some of the fast loading abilities of the recent NS2 versions it would make it a much better experience for players trying to switch between ns2 and combat.
Another thing would be to see some bundle sales of NS2 and combat together so that new players can try them both and understand that they are like 2 sides of the same coin (as far as gaming goes)
we have not given up combat
Anyone who actively plays combat usually plays with the devs and knows they are active and working hard on the game.
We are starting the event at 9pm (CET).
With official player slots.... since they changed the .exe
Server: Wooza's Combat Meet-up
Aww... I actually really wanted to see what combat would be like as 20vs20.
Totally agree on this! I am thinking, having such an event every one or two weeks.
And those who want to join next time, join the Combat Gather Group on Steam so you won't miss the next Meet-up