KalOfTheRathi
Nec Tributis
977
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Posted - 2014.02.24 10:00:00 -
[1] - Quote
Funny, CCP/Shanghai wanted tanks to be simpler and have to play to a very specific play style. They accomplished that with 1.7, not that I agree with anything in their goals, solutions or methods but it has been accomplished: Tanks are easier to use. Simpler to operate and cheap enough to play early on.
This makes it better for a F2P game as New Berries can decide if they want to skill into vehicles without wasting the huge amount of SP required to do so.
The numbers balancing idea is just the clueless grasping at straws. It will make no difference in the short term nor the long term.
We have no information except the seat of our pants QQ-ing from so many Kittens. CCP keeps all the information secret as they don't want any other company to find out the monetary value of Dust514. At least one might suggest that regardless of the fact is we don't believe there are enough Mercs to matter all that much. The only value that matters is how much RWC (Real World Cash) is being spent at the PS store.
All the QQ in the world will make no difference if their income is enough or goes up.
And so it goes.
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KalOfTheRathi
Nec Tributis
1016
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Posted - 2014.03.17 11:24:00 -
[2] - Quote
I see that some are still interested in this thread. Fine.
The problem is the current situation is the best the Devs at CCP/Shanghai can achieve to date. This is it. They do not understand or this is the best they have understood balanced game play. Not that it is enough but at least the newer maps are all easily controlled by two snipers covering the null cannon consoles. A small improvement but at least they tried.
A map that is 80% controlled by vehicles emulates real life. And real life actually has it worse because a real tank could blow holes in the walls big enough to ... well, drive a tank through. But this is a video game and a non-destructible world one at that.
@The Black Jackal, all in all I can see your points but I also think there is no chance in Haiti that this can happen. In a modern, well run FPS with knowledgeable level designers and Devs maybe more could be happening. However, we don't have that. CCP/Shanghai is constantly dropping day 1 OP weapons. The obvious intent is to get players to burn down SP, ISK and hopefully AUR to get early access to the new OP of the day or more SP so gain the ISK version in its stead. It might well be that they really don't understand what harm they are doing but I tend to think that AUR will drive most of their decisions.
A modern FPS should design maps with infantry/vehicle balance as well as choke points for both. Air cover should be required as well as needing to be defended against adequately. None of that is true in Dust514 and I seriously doubt it ever will be. To balance a weapon by dropping a very significant Nerf Hammer of Doom on it should never have to be done. Yet, time and time again that is what happens here in Dust514. New OP weapons are dropped at the same time as the Nerf Hammer so the disparity is even greater than it would have been.
The rest of the game still does not exist. The racial medium suits will be here on 25 March but their slots, CPU and PG will be adjusted again at some future undefined date. Hard to put any trust in burning SP down on a moving ill defined target but hey, we are in New Eden. I thought we would be at the real game of Dust514 by now. I was wrong. But then I thought that Chromosome was a good game and Uprising was going to be an upgrade and not a disaster.
Give it another year or two and maybe CCP/Shanghai will be able to handle your ideas on a new map. Double or triple the player count and maybe we can have matchmaking. Don't count on it unless the secret numbers convince CCP/Shanghai that matchmaking won't reduce the requirement to burn AUR. Same goes for PvE for that matter.
Just remember some of the stories about Zynga and their free to play games and facebook games. Because our new Exec Producer came from there.
And so it goes.
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