Broxx Nexular
ShitHead Squadron
22
   |
Posted - 2014.05.03 23:20:00 -
[1] - Quote
WARNING WALL OF TEXT INCOMING!
I decided to make this post to breakdown things I feel need to be considered as development on Legion proceeds. There will be a few major subjects with bullet-pointed suggestions within those subjects and my thought process behind them. If anyone has anything to add feel free, but I have no intention of entertaining meaningless replies. If you agree please say so, if you do not, I ask that you give a well thought-out response (whether you do or not is, of course, up to you)
However, letGÇÖs get something out of the way firstGǪ
DUST514 was a failure. The entire point of DUST514 was to appeal to a new demographic of players by creating an FPS that would impact the capsuleer world. Now that there are less than 3,000 active players, itGÇÖs safe to say that it has failed in that purpose. Especially considering the limited number of players, there cannot be enough revenue from micro-transactions to sustain the game. While CCP promises to continue development on DUST514, I am hoping that they will simply phase it out as development on Legion continues. There is a silver lining, however, as DUST514 has hopefully taught CCP a very valuable lesson to use for Legion.
1.Itemization needs to be simplified.
a.Having a variety of dropsuits and weapons that were meant for various roles in combat was a great idea, as it parallels the ships in EVE online. However, the gap in power between Basic and Prototype was so drastic that new players, even with a system designed to separate GÇ£noobsGÇ¥ and GÇ£vetsGÇ¥ was too large to allow new players to remain competitive. SOLUTION: Consolidate tiers of items into a single tier, skillpoints earned should only give players access to new shiny tools, not an increase in power. This allows skilled players the ability to receive new play styles faster, without creating a gap that punishes new players for being new to the game.
b.Items should have a reasonable cost. This should be alleviated partly by consolidating the tiers of items as mentioned before, however, if you were not a player actively benefiting from Planetary Conquest, it was not long before advanced and prototype suits started getting expensive. Dying more than a few times in a single match using advanced suits or above could easily cause a player LOSE ISK simply playing the game. SOLUTION: This one is pretty self-explanatory, but items should be available only in bulk purchases as that is the nature in which the equipment is consumed. The prices should also be set at a level where the reward is more than enough to cover a significant number of deaths as not many players will be able to simply start the game and go on lengthy killstreaks.
c.Keep the movement characteristics of the dropsuits. Having light suits that were fast and agile, and heavy suits that were slow and cumbersome was great, even with legion going to PC, keeping the restrictions on turn speed is a good idea to balance out the differences in survivability for each suit.
2.Skills need simplification.
a.A complex skill system is not a good method of player retention, your combat should be enough fun to keep people logging in. Though I am apprehensive to use other games as a reference, Planetside 2GÇÖs simple certification system is complex enough to allow for good customization and separation between new players and veterans, but also avoids needless complexity. SOLUTION: Consolidate skills into simple categories (example: specializing into Amarr Medium should have only a single rank, and allow the player to use any dropsuit that fits into the Amarr Medium category)
b.Allow players to use their physical skill rather than a statistic. What I mean by this is that skills that improve weapon handling, damage, and range should not be available. Weapons should remain at a default value until the dropsuit itself modifies its behavior. Part of the skill curve in shooters is the ability compensate for the handling characteristics of the items you use like weapons and armor. SOLUTION: Use handling characteristics (recoil patterns, bullet drop, etc) on weapons in combination with the varying characteristics of armor to allow players of higher skill to succeed even when they are playing against GÇ£veteransGÇ¥ of a lower skill level.
3.Payment
a.I have no idea what plans, if any, are in the works for a market plan for Legion, however, I recommend the model a flat, up-front charge, with no subscription (something below the usual $60 price tag, maybe $30 or $40). To help supplement the costs over time, there could be a customization market available of skins for items. Merc fittings could have slots for a customized skin that would replace the texture of the dropsuit or weapon that require real-world money to obtain (but can be traded for ISK as well just like PLEX). However, the customizations would be limited to each race, so a player using Caldari suits would not be able make their suit appear Minmitar in construction. This would allow a level of customization for mercs that would also be a source of revenue for the company.
b.Charging an upfront amount would allow CCP to track accounts when an election for CPM is held. Though unlikely, I know that there were concerns during DUST514GÇÖs time of how hold an election for CPM members using a game that had no restrictions on how many accounts could be made for free.
4.Customization
a.Tying into the previous point, as mercenaries we should be able to customize ourselves in some way. I am told by a friend who plays EVE that ship customization is being considered, I think players both in EVE, DUST, and Legion, should be able to do some level of color customization on their ships/dropsuits to allow players to personalize their character.
b.Another possibility would be letting players decorate their armor with their corporation/alliance insignia. |
Broxx Nexular
ShitHead Squadron
22
|
Posted - 2014.05.03 23:20:00 -
[2] - Quote
5.Allow us to behave like mercenaries.
a.In my opinion, one of the biggest failures of DUST514 was the inability for players to influence sov battles in null sec. Fighting for faceless empires in DUST514 and being able to choose any side really didnGÇÖt give the impression that you were a mercenary going to the highest bidder and didnGÇÖt really give the player any sense of impact. Let the capsuleers in EVE higher the mercs to help them fight sov battles. The solution here is obvious, Faction War is just not as appealing as helping a player owned corp in EVE dominate an entire sector of space.
b.Let mercs involve themselves in the intrigue and betrayal thatGÇÖs made the headlines. A merc corp should be able to betray their employer for a bigger payday if the opportunity presents itself.
6.Bigger battles
a.Pretty simple here, battles on the whole should be much larger, especially if vehicles are meant to play a role in them. I personally would say that a 32v32 size battle would be the MINIMUM in my book. This would give players a larger sense of scope and fall more in line with the idea of conquering space.
There are many more things that could be suggested for Legion, but I feel these items have the biggest impact on how it will be received by FPS fans outside the EVE fanbase.
TL;DR
-Items and skills should be consolidated into single tiers so new players have a chance to compete with veterans. Veterans would simply have access to different styles of play
-Mercs shouldnGÇÖt be restricted to Faction War battles. Involving mercs in the null-sec sov battles that make the headlines will draw many peoples attention.
-We should be allow to do limited customization on our dropsuits to either set us apart, or show our association with a corp/alliance. |
Broxx Nexular
ShitHead Squadron
22
|
Posted - 2014.05.03 23:55:00 -
[4] - Quote
Skyline Lonewolf wrote:Very well thought out. I feel very much the same way about the fighting for corp things and being paid out by EVE corps as hired mercs. Our contracts should be based on that to capture a critical point in space that has X type of resources with Y type of game mode (i.e Capture the flag, Domination, Skirmish, Team Death match, Attack and Defend a warbarge/disttrict/planet, Salvage,etc.). Also, battles do need to be on a larger scale and allow hot dropping on uplinks from skyspawning. Player Markets need to be MMO UI esk for ease of browsing and transactions.
A lot of these are things that nagged at me and a friend while we played DUST514. I'm positive i'm forgetting some really good points. Hopefully the team is way ahead of me on them, but I felt like I needed to post this just in case I thought of a few things they missed. |