Vespasian Andendare
Subsonic Synthesis
Alpha Wolf Pack
109
   |
Posted - 2013.08.19 15:16:00 -
[1] - Quote
Mamertine Son wrote:Thx for the post. It wasn't doom and gloom but certainly wasn't giving dust any slack either.
I hope CCP has a bulletin board in their office of important things people have said about their game.
One thing I really liked was Merc profile (awol %, DC %). I would also like to see other player's kdr or WP. Why is their PSN ID considered more crucial information about a player than how good they are at the game? Actually, the "Show Info" on a player is so VERY underwhelming on the amount of information it shows that its laughable. Where is corp history, WP totals, K/D, etc.?? Why isn't there more info shown?
To the OP--I have to wholeheartedly agree that the rise to Proto gear doesn't make sense from a shooter standpoint. It needlessly penalizes new players who continually go up against players who, stat-for-stat, are flat-out better than they ever could hope to be. The difference doesn't stop with gear, though. Increased sp and stats, as a result of higher level skills just means that the complex plate the proto vet fits is going to be *that* much more stat-rich than a comparable militia-geared player with no skills to enhance armor plate numbers. Indeed, even if that proto-skilled vet put on some cheap militia gear, he'll still be higher stat-wise to a similarly equipped, but lesser skilled, new militia player.
I agree the game should reward longer play time or higher sp. It's a great model for an MMO. It's just that Dust is an FPS first, and the proto vet wall that newbros hit when starting the game creates a needlessly difficult new player experience. And for these newbros, who paid nothing for the game and are looking to see if its for them, will likely just pass.
I get that the game is balanced around "all fives." I can personally say that I feel more powerful and better able to perform, and I'm only using all Advanced gear. So I can see the "all fives" mentality. I don't think that that knowledge, though, makes the newbros harrowing experience any less traumatic. I don't think it engenders a fun playground that people outside of Eve's sandbox will stick around for. "Why get redlined here when I can go play CoD and have fun not being gang banged in a dark alley filled with proto death squads and murder taxis?"
I could agree with a "tiericide" movement on weapons/vehicles/dropsuits/etc. to make the gap more about player skill and less about skill+gear. But what, then, is the reward for higher skills? I don't think that the 25% difference in performance that comes from skills is game-breaking. I do think its gamebreaking when you factor in the 25% PLUS the additional performance granted by the gear.
Maybe it's just because Dust is balanced around "all fives" that we're even having these discussions now, and when everyone collectively and on average moves into higher sp totals on the whole (say, we're ALL using all advanced gear) then these issues won't be so bad. Maybe it's that matchmaking should be implemented that groups and matches people according to gear/sp/other metrics for combat.
I think there's enough push on these forums to at least wake CCP up to the fact that the NPE is extremely unforgiving in more ways than one. And if CCP hopes to capture new players--which is the bread and butter of a multiplayer shooter--then they've got to do something to recognize that the NPE is suffering.
|