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Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 1 post(s) |
Vespasian Andendare
Resheph Interstellar Strategy
Gallente Federation
13
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Posted - 2013.08.09 15:48:00 -
[1] - Quote
I am curious if there is a thread or Dev sticky that has an ongoing list of issues being discussed by the player base and perhaps internally about Dust's most glaring deficiencies, grindy activities, what is successful, what is fun, etc.?
I see a lot of posts complaining about this fotm weapon being op or that fotm weapon being op, but I haven't found a list where we say:
Ok, this is what we like about the game:
And this is what most desperately needs fixing:
Just to clarify: I don't mean a list of pie-in-the-sky what ifs. I mean a list that we can look to to say "if this gets fixed, the game would be more fun." An example would be "matchmaking ought to be implemented asap, since proto pubstomps aren't working and have a negative effect at player adoption." Another example may be "as sp increases, damage output + survivability increases as well, widening the gap between the new player and the veteran. This hurts the new player experience, so how do we solve this conundrum?" |
Vespasian Andendare
Resheph Interstellar Strategy
Gallente Federation
13
|
Posted - 2013.08.09 16:32:00 -
[2] - Quote
steadyhand amarr wrote:To me it's not an ABC thing. The core idea of the game and its current implementation needs to go under a full rewrite and this time stick to their vision You have me intrigued about this bolded part. What exactly are you referring to here?
The "core idea of the game," as I understand it, is for a first person shooter MMO, where the emphasis is on character skill customization and having a real impact on a virtual universe through the shooter mechanics.
How would you change the current implementation? Why does it need a rewrite? I don't know if a rewrite is required or not.
I think there are a few key issues that need to be addressed, and I think they could solve the core idea of the game/implementation problem if done right:
Since there is a widening gap between new players and vets--linked to sp/gear/isk/general skill--there needs, then, to be areas of gameplay that become accessible when certain metrics are achieved. Areas of gameplay that offer more risk/higher reward-style--say, these "front line" areas would have the most impact to the Eve Universe but be the most dangerous, cost the most to maintain, and really "require" proto gear. So anyone could join (high risk/high reward) but the environment is less forgiving because of the proto gear death squads that the reward isn't worth it. (Think of current pub matches from the new players prospective.) There also needs to be some implementation of PVE so that players can play and enjoy Dust without having to be subjected to public matches as the only outlet. Hark back to the early days of Eve, CCP. Give us some "mining" to do to preoccupy our time. Let Dust become real, too. A strong--or hell, just any--pve environment gets people familiar with the controls and lets them have some action in the game as well. It doesn't have to be "perfect" now, it just needs to be.
"But this is EVE! It's a sandbox! The smallest frig can have an impact on day 1 against the biggest battleship!!" And while I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment as it relates to Eve, that same logic cannot be applied here. "The smallest frig" in this case is a new player in militia gear and the "biggest battleship" is a proto gear vet. But the new player, outside actual fps skill differences, cannot have such a major impact when he's getting stomped repeatedly by what is essentially a player that's in better gear, stronger weapons with better optimals, rates of fire, tank amounts, etc. So, unlike Eve, as gear improves here, the Merc actually gets stronger. It's not a class vs. class thing. It's not a paper, rock, scissors thing. Everyone is using rock, but some people have bigger rocks that go farther and hit harder. David and Goliath doesn't work here, since proto vets don't have an Achilles heel. |
Vespasian Andendare
Resheph Interstellar Strategy
Gallente Federation
15
|
Posted - 2013.08.09 18:45:00 -
[3] - Quote
Driftward wrote:I agree that PvE would solve quite a few issues by providing a non-proto stomp outlet if it was tuned correctly. However, in lieu of PvE the fixes to FW that Foxfour has talked about recently (with potential release around end of year/begining of next) would also be a huge help in funneling some of the proto rage outside of the pub matches.
Priority number 1 has to be to improve the new bro experience. Without a larger playerbase we can't expect CCP to keep throwing development (I expect some cliche remarks to the tune of "what development?!?" from trolls here) and money at this game. Now that core mechanics have gotten some love (and hopefully even more with 1.4 and 1.5) maybe we can get some of this truly new content/game modes.
Here's Hoping. That part I bolded and underlined, "Priority number 1 has to be to improve the new bro experience," is the meat of it. I can't stress it enough.
If the game doesn't appeal--indeed, I could say that it could actually cater--to new players, the game will be a non-starter. The new player experience has to be the #1 priority. It has to be appealing for the new player to get into. Once he's in--and hooked--then he can explore the FW, skills, stats, training, weapons, modules, vehicles, etc. But if you lose him at the door, all that iteration on "what if" doesn't matter. The player will be lost, and he'll never climb the chain into proto gear, use the Forge gun for the first time or experience how much fun the game *could* be, given the proper expansions, balance changes, etc.
I'm excited that the state of balance is getting there, and I'm excited about the ~monthly update schedule. But as long as new players are subjected to the grinder early on, it simply won't be worth the effort. Maybe a good change would be to put a spawn point (a severely gimped one) in every militia starter fit, so at least everyone could create spawn points for their team. New players incoming may not understand how important this is. Hell, I'll admit that I never equipped one until I got the "free" one in the Collector's Edition. After that, I saw that I get points from the spawns, and I realized how important it is that I could tactically create spawn points for my team (over just spawning "wherever). Had I not gotten it, I may still have a nano-injector equipped only to see my teammates killing themselves during the saving period, and it never seeing any use.
Shortening the WPs needed to exit the Academy isn't the solution. The Academy--a place where someone learns to play--I don't think is suited to just provide "more of the same"-style pub matches but only with newbros. We need an actual battle academy simulator where you are walked through the game and its mechanics. I know Eve didn't have any for the longest time, but look how critically important they are, considering that there isn't the current-Eve level of organization and structure in the game. And there's not even a "scrimmage room" where a buddy and I can battle 1v1 to learn the ropes. Surely, no one expects a new mercenary to have no prior experience and yet he'd just join the fray? |
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