So, about this alien commander...
Locane
Join Date: 2003-11-14 Member: 22882Members, Constellation
Join Date: 2003-11-14 Member: 22882Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">Trepidation about changes</div>Every NS fan I've talked to is sketchy about this alien commander role. I really liked the play styles between marine and aliens being totally different, it was one of the many things that made NS so unique.
I liked the fact that relationships were formed and games were won or lost based on the cohesiveness of your team. Leaders were born on a trial-by-fire basis. Everyone was united by the common goal to win, and losing was a bitter, bitter taste that no one wanted, but made winning so much sweeter.
I liked that there was a complete lack of game endorsed leader on an alien team because anyone could start giving orders and be given the same consideration as anyone else - your words were based on their own merit and your relationship with the person listening. The game didn't interfere with that.
I feel like this alien commander role is going to ruin that and at the same time make aliens more like marines with teeth instead of LMGs. I mean realistically, I'm probably just nervous about something I loved so much getting messed with, but at the same time I feel like my concerns are warranted.
Am I the only one?
For the record, I'm not suggesting it get nixed from the game, nor am I saying that NS2 should be NS1 on Graphic Crack, I'm simply saying how I feel about it and wondering if anyone else feels the same.
--Locane
I liked the fact that relationships were formed and games were won or lost based on the cohesiveness of your team. Leaders were born on a trial-by-fire basis. Everyone was united by the common goal to win, and losing was a bitter, bitter taste that no one wanted, but made winning so much sweeter.
I liked that there was a complete lack of game endorsed leader on an alien team because anyone could start giving orders and be given the same consideration as anyone else - your words were based on their own merit and your relationship with the person listening. The game didn't interfere with that.
I feel like this alien commander role is going to ruin that and at the same time make aliens more like marines with teeth instead of LMGs. I mean realistically, I'm probably just nervous about something I loved so much getting messed with, but at the same time I feel like my concerns are warranted.
Am I the only one?
For the record, I'm not suggesting it get nixed from the game, nor am I saying that NS2 should be NS1 on Graphic Crack, I'm simply saying how I feel about it and wondering if anyone else feels the same.
--Locane
Comments
I personally welcome our new bitey overlords.
(Also, a queen role fits in with the whole hive/scent sight feel that aliens have always had).
But given that I assume both sides can have multiple commanders who can drop in and out, it might somehow be an even stronger system which incorporates the cohesion of a proper command interface with the stability of a multiple-player role.
-the alpha is still a week away and there is little information about the current role of the alien commander.
-the wiki is just about pure stubs
-changes will come pretty fast until the game hits beta
Good commanders can either win or lose games in competitive matches. I think an alien commander will help aliens get the organization required in order to compete more effectively with highly organized marine teams.
I'm still sketchy on the idea of an alien commander, for reasons stated by others. As far as organization, I think not having a 'commander' actually led to a different kind of organization within alien teams, much more like a 'hive mind' - communal decisions and whatnot (such as which chamber to drop first), and I'd argue that it can be as effective as a single 'leader' guiding the team.
If it's actually a competitive match, then the alien team should be highly organized regardless of whether there is a game-specified 'leader' role or not.
Which is why I don't like them. They make the game very unstable.
Bing. I see the alien comm as a boost for public games. More often than not there is a lack of communication and real strategy among random alien players. The guy who saves up his res for onos, then promptly dies in 10 seconds will hopefully be alleviated by the comm giving direction to the team. If the 'commander' role is formalized for aliens, more people will probably listen to someone telling them what to do with their res.
Technically gorges in NS2 are aimed at being combat support units more than dedicated builders, so it won't cause much of an imbalance as long as their role as combat support is balanced to be just as situationally effective as a specifically offensive unit.
If a Gorge saves one unit that would have otherwise died, that accounts for his lack of firepower. Balances out overall assuming one alien commander and one marine commander.
The thought of multiple commanders though, worries me.
For example, in larger games in NS1, the marine resource model (commander only) would result in the marines being stronger while in smaller games the aliens were much stronger (individual pools for players).
<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_56uq77msz_g/SfbYVk2cPvI/AAAAAAAAATQ/i9iEXR9yWRo/s400/mars2-16-09.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
I'll be happy.
That's all it is.
In any case, the alien commander is here to stay.
I'm too a bit nervous about how the alien commander will play out, but beeing a frontline gorge myself i can see it working. The start of the game used to have 3-4 gorges untill a few got killed or all "alien side" res towers where dropped, after which there where usually just 2 gorges running around. One hunting res towers and saving for the hive and one dropping chambers near the front line (<- me). I've saved quite the onos and fades by dropping a few defence chambers, adrenaline upgrade and healthspraying like crazy just around the corner from the marine base we where attacking.
In NS2 it looks like the gorge saving up for the hive has been lifted up to commander perspective while the battlegorge still runs amok. Sounds good to me to be honest because saving up for a hive was a tedious job i've also done too often :p
"Easier", by the same token is OP's and everyone's fear here, along with its synonyms. The unique asymmetry of NS' RTS style was a hallmark to its gameplay, few others attempted or accomplished it ever. The experience between alien teamwork and marine teamwork was remarkably different and compelling it didn't just feel like a "red vs blue". With parallel commanding ad res models we see this feature eroded into symmetry. Granted, scaling of the res model was an issue that needed tweaking even in 3.0, but given time it could have been realized.
OP know that you are not the only one that feels this way (but those who do are increasingly being drowned out by fanboi-ism), and it's time to call a spade a spade: symmetrical res models and command structure is a cop-out, a compromise, from the challenge of balancing an asymmetric one. I'll see points that it may have been feasible or even necessary to stay on budget and release date (have we even one yet?), but I'm hard-pressed to entertain any arguments that claim it as desirable over an asymmetric model.
The "CC" will probably be some heavily armoured egg on or near hive 1 like some dude already said.
The only thing is the entering/exiting comm mode, like some marine comms do when theres a skulk snapping at the cc sometimes. Will "queens" be able to do the same so easily?
Let's see how it'll work out maybe even Renegade might like it in the end, who knows.
Anyway, yeah I think the alien commander has been introduced for balancing reasons only. Whilst I'd have liked the side to remain complete asymmetrical I understand that the game has to be reasonably balanced by v1 or else bad things will happen.