What Will Truely Kill Ns
MMZ_Torak
Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 3770Members
It's not people outside the mod customizing the game, it's not 5 min rushes, it's not over powered Fades. It is people that want CS with aliens and marines. Two teams differing only in model color, blowing eachother away on a flipped/mirrored map has been done to DEATH! NS is a refreshing change from the vanilla ctf/CS model and I hope more mods come out like it. NS's strenghts are the differences in the teams and the fact that the maps are not 2 sides of the same coin. Dev Team, I love you! Not since Q2 WF have I had so much fun in an online multiplayer game, probably more with NS!
Comments
To be honest, deep in my heart I'm still a hardcore RPG'er (not AC2, more like nethack).
I knew that your name seemed familiar.
Remember Khyron?
Yup. I played WF and WFA for 4 clans ({RD}, {MC}, G^D and MMZ>), I don't think I will ruin NS for myself by adding the stress of tournament play to my pleasure of playing NS!
I've been playing TFC for almost one year now and I still enjoy it. Even though there's no change, the level of intensity the game initiates in my mind is amazing. NS is the same with me and that's the only reason I can think of when it comes down to my massive addiction to the digital world.
Because Lieberman said so!
=D
because every thing has to die sometime...CS is well past its sell by date..hogging all the fame..die already!
...good point though...mmm...
Who?
There doesn't. As long as it is around, people who like it can put up a server and play with their friends. People are still playing 20 year old games, which is great.
because every thing has to die sometime...CS is well past its sell by date..hogging all the fame..die already!
...good point though...mmm...<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
CS shud have died the day it was released. long live TFC and long live NS! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
It has been done to death because it is the only way to achieve true balance. I predict that AvA and MvM will become very popular.
Symmetry is beautiful; in teams and in maps, in snow crystals and in geometry.
Oh, and marine vs marine and alien vs alien gameplay does not seem gimmicky or silly to me, I think when these modes come out, they will probably become the standard for serious competitive play, as they will most likely offer the best balance. I was more interested in playing Marine vs Marine games, before NS was even released, than the standard Marine vs Alien...
Flayra, every game has its Achilles heel.
Don't get people wrong. I don't think there are many people here who WANT to see NS fail. On the contrary most people (myself included) WANT to see it succeed. However, there are certain things that can kill a mod no matter how good it is.
Look at the Firearms (FA) mod for example. This is the same game that won "Best Mod of the Year" in 2000 by PC Gamer Magazine (US), beating out <b>CS</b> for the title! (Not a small feat don't you think?) It also won "Best Multi Player Game Of The Year Runner-up" in 2000 as well.
Considering such high praise, you would think FA would have 20,000 servers running it right?
FA is a GREAT award winning mod with loads of variety. Yet of the meagre 125 or so servers running FA right now only 25 servers are active, with a total of 320 people playing. (based on a check at 4:30pm EST) It didn't used to be this way.
So what 'killed' FA? One word. BALANCE.
You can have the best graphics, the most unique interface, the most engaging gameplay, but if the game isn't BALANCED, then it won't last. People won't continue play games that are lopsided.
Take TFC for example. The game has uninspiring graphics, unrealistic gameplay, (EG. Medics and Scouts flying across the map) mediocre maps and is really a game past its prime. With all this running against it, TFC still has 1000 servers, with 350 servers active and about 3000 people playing. When looking at HL mods, only CS has more people playing than TFC.
What keeps people playing TFC? Balance. You can get a couple teams of people and have a fun game where the outcome isn't known ahead of time. Balance can make or break a game.
In NS, balance issues can include:
-Marine rushes (no one likes a game that is over before it starts)
-Phase gates too easy to obtain and too easy to use to overwhelm the aliens
-Aliens take longer to respawn and can be 'out spawned' by Marines in a reinforcement scenario
-Siege cannons that can hit two hives from one location
-Exploits like those being addressed (drawview, commandmode, etc)
The above is only an example but I think the point is made. Balance can make or break a game.
It's up to the developers to decide how important this is to them.
Regards,
Savant
Oh, and I too are looking forward to the marine vs marine mode.
Ultimately, it wil become Commander vs Commander, with 14 real people on the ground...
Oh my god, I love that idea. I guess I'll stick with WC3 till then.
The aliens are cool, the marines are cool, the graphics are cool, the sounds are cool, and the levels are cool. Everything about this mod impresses me and makes me want to play. What doens't make me want to play is balance, idiot commanders, and LOTS AND LOTS of Fades. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
I will continue to play NS for some time. (I hope to get into some clan action soon.) I hope that the dev team, after some time off, will re-examine NS and have a plan for the future. Possible game modes, new aliens, new marine tech, new maps, etc would all add to the intrigue that this game already has. If the dev team is willing to look and plan for the future, this game will continue to dominate the future.
I will still keep playing, no matter how many times I die to a Fade! <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
Oh, and I too are looking forward to the marine vs marine mode.
Ultimately, it wil become Commander vs Commander, with 14 real people on the ground...
Oh my god, I love that idea. I guess I'll stick with WC3 till then.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'd think its harder for aliens to come back than marines with the siege, when aliens (i know its kharaa but im gonna refer to them as aliens) get 2 or 3 hives its easy for the marines to get up a siege but harder for the aliens to comeback because its skuls vs marines with HA and HMG and sieges killing any thing built or already built by gorges
IMO, I think changes, nerfing, patching, etc. will keep people playing, Diablo 2 had patches like every other month, then an expansion pack. Regular changes to a game will keep people playing it IMO.
Along with changes, there should be plenty of variety, like in NS: for aliens, defense chamber, movement chamber, sensory chamber; that chamber order....would be nice to see something different that would WIN. This would get some variety in tactics. Plus new traits, alien classes, guns for the marines, would also keep people playing. I'd suggest new buildings too.
Hozart
All thats happening is you're bieng offered more playing options. Don't be so afraid.
Many things have been proposed, I know I myself said something in a post about ability to BUY weaps at an armory if there was no comm or comm could feed a set amount of res into an armory and click on buying. but that is not creating CS, all the RTS elements are there.
Most posts are balance ideas or slams, but it isnt going to pull the RTS out of it. Just cause some people say something that you deem incorrect doesnt mean people are trying to turn this into CS.
"But unless the reed bends then it will snap"
CS bores the hell out of me now too, but 1.6 will be out then Coundition Zero, unless there is a good player base then the growth will taper out. I know say it "so go back to CS" no thanks I will add my 2 cents instead
hoping it helps in some meager way.
Alien vs. Alien I'm more skeptical about...I can't really see how 2 skulks would fight. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> It would make the other chambers more useful tho (cloaking for example).
I am eagerly looking forward to this feature.
My only question is: What would happen in a seige gun fight? because if you have 5 seiges targetting random structures, and an enemy seige targets their tf...well, you know who wins =P. Well, I'm sure some kind of "smart" targetting selection will be included if there is a marine v. marine lineup.
As for aliens... battling for that second hive would be intense. If this takes place on regular ns maps with 3 hive locations, then that means that fades would be the highest possible upgrade...and even then, how would a fade handle up against a skulk? (if fade acid rockets currently do 60 to marines, then against skulks = mass killing).
Another thing....how would marines-aliens differentiate from the enemy on a first-sight basis? (i.e. the model of the enemy, etc). Would marines be forced to wear...(oh god) tfc colors? Or would one marine side have a kind of "tannish" look, like the aliens have?