Joseph Ridgeson
WarRavens
Imperium Eden
4551
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Posted - 2017.05.19 14:29:00 -
[1] - Quote
Seeing this makes me happy as it might show that Nova isn't, how should I say this, Legionized?
So pros and cons.
Pros
* As Rattati said, a lot more straightforward. Not having to balance two separate things means it is easier for players and developers.
* It possibly removes a lot less natural imbalance. Shield mods were an absolute monster for CPU which was mostly offset by the fact that Caldari suits were big bags of CPU. However, it means that Shield mods become incredibly difficult to use for other types of racial suits.
* It removes frustration that occurs from having to totally downgrade specific modules and upgrade other ones just because of "I am missing one goddamn CPU but have 34 PG! So because of 1 CPU, I lose 70 HP?!"
Cons:
* While frustration is removed, the joy of gaming the system is missed. Whenever I managed to get a stable PG and CPU rating for my tanks and get the exact kind of power I wanted, I felt over the moon. I conquered the system and the brainpower I spent on figuring out the best load outs gave me results. (This is kind of like the 'ownership' that I think was central to DUST; this wasn't just a Caldari Assault suit or a Madrugar. It was MY Caldari Assault)
* It might be a slippery-slope of removing options. "Well, if no one is using the Caldari Assault and the only Logistics used is the Minmatar one, why not just make one class?"
* Equipping suits may very well become more of a 'problem' rather than a 'choice.' It becomes so much easier to say "this is simply better than that" rather than "well, the option is between a big apple or a small orange."
* Any suit that has more 'fitting' than the other will overshadow the others in that same role.
My thoughts:
EVE is a complex game and that level of complexity should in no way shape or form be in any game that is trying to be more casual. This is one of the reasons why I loved DUST's principals. CCP is only known for one game and that game is, for lack of a better term, a gigantic megabitch of complexity. DUST, being a far faster game and being more about moment to moment stuff, was better off not having megabitch problems. However, the complexity that existed did make for a unique game. I think that scaling things back to be more approachable is a good idea. However, I am wary to think of just going that streamlined.
The fitting system is probably the greatest success of DUST. Forget about the first of "we are a console game 'tied' to an MMO computer game!" that got all pomp. The notion of being able to greatly change suits was really cool. I remember making Sentinel suits with dampeners because I saw that I was able to reduce my profile to within medium for medium suits and close range for other sentinels. I was able to actually flank people and catch them off guard, even if the suit was impressively weaker. It was funny to have that. It needed the proper High and Low slots; just saying "okay, these are defensive and these offensive" removes that coolness.
Overall, I think it might be a better idea to stick this idea with vehicles rather than suits assuming they are in the game. Vehicles should have very specific roles that make them useful in their role. Dropsuits, being most of the game, should still allow for some of that greater complexity. But, oddly, I am in less favor of "Defensive and Offensive" module slots rather than combining fitting into a single simple number. The fitting system is THE thing that made DUST unique, the ability to truly make the suit you are walking around in YOUR suit. Limiting that, I feel, is a bad idea. I can see the reasoning behind making CPU/PG into "Power" but High and low Slots that have multiple functionalities and choices into "Defensive is dampening, HP, or run faster" and "Offensive is damage and precision/range mods for radar" seems like a very poor decision to me.
Still, it is an interesting thought. And if nothing else, I am truly happy that Nova is being looked at as "how can we make this more approachable?" rather than "so how do we get the megabitch in here?"
"This is B.S! This is B.S! I paid money! Cash money, dollars money, cash money!"
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