Papillon Leblanc
Mannar Focused Warfare
Gallente Federation
0
   |
Posted - 2013.05.12 03:54:00 -
[1] - Quote
Hello everyone.
Longtime EVE player, wanted to make a transition out of a traditional MMO environment into something that was more pick up and play but still had depth and structure.
I found out about DUST, did a little reading about planned features, invested in a PS3 and got into the meat of it. After playing for about a week now, I thought I'd share some thoughts:
1. Weapon diversity needs to change. Honestly, 90% of my deaths are from assault rifles, specifically the highest tiered "Duvolle" variant, because at least 90% of the players seem to use this weapon. I understand the desire to use what is best, most encompassing, but it's annoying that there's so much variety in this game that goes unused.
2. Vehicles, or lack thereof. There is a huge ceiling for a new player trying to use these, the skill and ISK investment is crazy and also makes your basic ground abilities lackluster compared to equally skilled opponents. HAVs, when I do see them, seem to do okay, but only because most players won't switch to an AT role to deal with them.
3. Dropships, similar to above. Crazy hard to fly, in every sense of the word. Expensive. Role needs to be expanded or better defined.
4. Tier systems in a F2P... Makes me a nervous man. I understand it's related to the way of doing things in EVE, but I think it's bad game design to have high skill investments rewarded with objectively superior weapons (DUVOLLE I AM LOOKING AT YOU). There needs to be side grades rather than Milita < Standard < Mid < Highest. Higher investment should be rewarded with more exotic possibilities, maybe even attachments? I find it annoying I can't put a decent optic on say, a laser rifle, but an SMG? Sure, have a nice Holo scope.
As for some strengths:
1. Time to kill. I think this is the single most important factor for a shooter, and I think DUST (generally) hits it pretty well. The game gives you enough time to retreat, recover, and continue to fight, while still punishing you for making mistakes. Except Duvolles, they **** out a trillion damage a minute. It shows that DUST isn't designed for the casual, because you have to think, as opposed to the classic example of COD that is designed to allow any player to win based on who shoots first without the other person seeing.
2. Aesthetic. Very pretty, well designed and unique per race, though I feel like all I see are gallente mediums (they are the coolest, I swear).
3. The EVE connection. I think the factional warfare systems and EVE involvement are the saving grace, and I also understand that I can't expect this game to be flawless so soon in its development cycle. I think the potential to evolve and grow along EVE is massive, if crossplatform play is properly rewarded.
4. Teamplay. I think the strongest teams seem to be that way because of hard working interaction between roles, I especially like the kind of "trench" warfare that goes on when you have a decent logistics player on your side, it sets up a good hub for the whole team to conduct warfare with.
Lastly, here are my major concerns:
I had to re-roll my every character for the first three days I played, because it is that easy to gimp yourself with bad skill choices. There needs to be a grace period or something where a new player can respec within their first month, or whatever, because It's not exactly going to be in every player's head that they need to go extensive research on a forum or wiki to skill for a playstyle which at least sounds like it's playable for them. I had the experience of trying several roles that sounded good only to find them not what I expected. I don't see how else to approach this besides respec.
Matchmaking tiers. It needs this bad. It is different in EVE when you don't have to go play with the big boys in nullsec until you're further along into your character. Day one of DUST you're fighting protos with the highest tier weapon in their class. It's frustrating, because the engagements are symmetrical. A 16 man team with 16 million SP among them is objectively better and well rounded than a 16 man team with only 8 million SP among them. More damage, more health, better weapons with better parameters. For this reason, its vital that the game try to average out SP between teams, or set limits per pool. Punishing players for being new (not for individual skill) is not a good way to retain a strong and loyal base. I would rather lose to an equal SP player 10 times rather than a multi-million SP player once, because at least I know which death was because of a deficit of skill on my part.
So, tl;dr:
The game is very promising, and has strong fundamentals that set it apart from your typical shooter fair. The game occupies a strange niche between accessible and super hardcore, and the symmetry of match ups punishes new players to a high degree. The game needs to undergo some balancing and diversification, or community retention will be a huge problem for the game and it's future.
I am curious to hear the thoughts of other new and also more experienced players. I ask both parties to consider what it's like to be on the other side of the fence, so to speak. |
Papillon Leblanc
Mannar Focused Warfare
Gallente Federation
39
|
Posted - 2013.05.15 18:24:00 -
[3] - Quote
I'd like to post the contents of my meta critic review here, and encourage you to rate it positively. I also would like to add the disclaimer that I really really really want to see DUST 514 and CCP as a whole continue to succeed.
DUST 514 is schizophrenic. It has awoken, nominally, on May 14th, not knowing who or what it is supposed to be, and as a result, is an unfortunately mediocre experience. Before I get into the meat of the discussion, let me give the following disclaimer:
I want to love this game, and I want to see it succeed.
The PS3 was, in my opinion, one of the worst decisions. Not because I dislike the console, or Sony, or because I prefer other platforms. It is at the end of its development cycle and lifespan, with the PS4 on the near horizon. More importantly, the core audience of people who would be receptive to a game like DUST don't own a PS3, or weren't willing to purchase one on the hope they would like one free to play game. I think it is fair to state that a hardcore, complexity-craving, long term audience is most likely to be found on the PC platform, a platform which is incidentally the most receptive to a FPS game.
The game on the PS3, with controller or KB and mouse just does not handle well. The movement is not visceral, the gunplay is stiff, and you feel as though you're struggling against the controls rather than the opponent you're fighting.
The game is set out to be a sort of a hybrid of MMO and FPS, and it excels at neither. Character progression in an FPS doesn't work in an MMO styled system, and it shows in DUST. Your starting mercenary will scantly be able to spec into a worthwhile build with the 500,000 SP that you are granted. You can specialize into a decent weapon or suit; not both simultaneously. This as been somewhat addressed with the introduction of the instant battle academy,a special match making queue for "new" players, but the problem runs deeper. Being objectively weak compared to older players is fine in say, EVE Online, because you don't contend with those players until you're ready, and EVE functions on an asymmetrical basis, where a dedicated swarm of new pilots could easily topple a more established player or players. That doesn't work in a 32 v 32 setting, simply put. If the other team has an SP advantage, they are objectively better suited to victory than you, something which does not sit well in the palate of an FPS player, where skill, tactics, and reflex should determine the winner.
Additionally, weapons have vertical progression. The militia variant is outclassed by standard, standard outclassed by advanced, and advanced outclassed by prototype. The seeming variety in the weapon and skill trees than is little more than flat upgrades with two possible "side" upgrades, usually an assault or tactical variant.
With the release of the game and the addition of Scrambler rifles, Flaylocks, and a few other toys, the weapon diversity has improved, but it is still the case that a the assault rifles rule supreme. They offer more versatility and damage than any other weapon class, and this imbalance stifles the unique and innovative weapon categories that CCP built, developed, deployed, and then decidedly handicapped.
Though the game doesn't have a class system, it does have specializations you as a player will move into, basically: Light, Medium, or Heavy, with sub groupings, such as Scout, Logistics, and Assault. Simply put, it's a long long road to end up into any reasonable specialization, which would be okay if you wouldn't be fighting players in these roles in the more meaningful factional warfare and planetary conquest game modes (which don't offer disparate gameplay from instant action, I might add).
Vehicles are present, though the ceiling to access them is quite high, except for a light scout vehicle which every player may employ for free. It is a testament to the poor fundamental gunplay that in public matches, it is often more effective to ram opponents to death with a free car than shoot them with the gun you've spent 500k SP to get to a playable level. Tanks have received a much needed buff, but along with the consistently nonperforming dropships, are basically only playable as luxury items a single HAV or Dropship loss can cost as much as 10 matches worth of rewards to replace.
I would continue, but am rapidly approaching the limit for this review. I will finish by stating the following:
DUST 514 tries to be an MMO with the depth and complexity of EVE, as well as a tactical "battlefield" shooter such as BF3 or Planetside, and in doing so excels at neither.
The gunplay will leave you wont to hop onto a more polished game, and MMO aspect is still shallow compared to EVE.
The reason I give this game a very very generous score of 7 is because of the promise. It is my hope that a lukewarm reception will for CCP to look long and hard at this game, and create a new niche that thrives on both the hardcore nature of their player base, buthas rewarding, enjoyable, and meaningful core gameplay.
Thanks for your time, and I hope this guides your decision before deciding to reward CCP with your hard-earned money.
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/dust-514/user-reviews |