I belive NS is very balanced, exept for the siege, but that's another story. Marines got hmg, nades and siege. Those three do even kick the **obscenity** of an onos. The only thing they could do to balance the marines, is to make the commander interface a little more informational. Like showing alle the names of the players, player groups, instant shifting view to 1person mode to any marine. Then the commander would have complete control.
I actually find it quite hard to measure skill, however. How do you define it in NS, for one thing? Is skill the ability to bunnyhop while dead-eyeing flapping lerks? Or is it the ability to actually carry out orders? Should it be both? Everytime I've played a game on the marine team with a decent commander, we've won. Every time. And I wouldn't say that the aliens sucked in those cases, as they were actually my usual "team" of community regulars, and I know them to be organised and pretty damn deadly. I played on ns_nothing recently, and the marines playing were actually <i>intelligent</i>. They covered each other building, and within minutes we had taken and secured the outer res point, surviving three skulk rushes. But then again, ns_nothing has plenty of wide-open spaces- a skulk's nightmare. Quickly took powersilo and established phase gates, then it was just a case of getting HA/HMG and crushing all in our path- their Fade's just couldn't cope. Teamwork is deadly on either team, if you can get it to happen. I'd like to see how the "balance" concepts continue if NS ever get's a tutorial- I always felt alien's were harder to play, but if everyone's right, maybe things will seem fairer once half the community realises how to play.
I´ve spent the last week playing on bigger servers, 20 or 22 players...and it´s a whole new game. Victories are almost 50% each way and it seems perfectly balanced...team skill or occasional mistakes decides who wins. (Well, some maps are still very tough on one team.)
I still think aliens win 90% on 14/16-player servers but I´m about ready to chalk this up to the economics system...the weapons and class balancing seems just about right and even I welcome the nerf to the siege now.
...hmm I forgot mentioning that I´ve been playing with a very good commander also, something that was rare before I found the right server. Comm-competence makes all the difference...if he slips up, marine lose even on a 22-server...
Personally, I find the victories/defeats kinda unbalanced. I don't mean as in one team winning or losing all the time (i've played as marines and aliens and lost and won on both sides), it's just the 'feel' when you win or lose.
When marines win a long game, it feels really good. Because you generally need teamwork, and it is an extremely satisfying experience. Especially when this is after you get HA/HMG tech level (I prefer JP personally.) When aliens lose this same game against HA/HMG tech level, it's frustruating, aggrivating, and downright worse than losing a single round of another type of game. As in, no matter how hard you try, you just can't go against those HA/HMG guys that are defending the siege base. They're too cowardly to come take out your hive personally (plus when they do, you get spawnkilled) and it seems you just can't do anything to stop the tide of things. So it's very frusturating and aggrivating to lose the game as aliens.
Then, let's assume the game goes the other direction. It's a long, drawn out game, but aliens eventually get the upper hand, and then crush their bases with onoses and that. It still feels nice and good, but not nearly as fun as winning a long drawn out game as marines. Plus, unless the Aliens are just camping the marine's base or something and not coming in for the final blow, it's still somewhat frusturating for the marines, but not nearly as frusturating as aliens. (After all, aliens don't have cheap siege)
Basically, I'm saying that it's harder to take the loss as aliens than marines, and much more fun to win as marines than aliens. <b>*BUT*</b> these are personal opinions and I know there's nothing the dev team can do about it and I may be in the minority and most people like winning as aliens better than marines.
Anyways, onto a different tangent, sometimes when fades are doing the oh-so familiar fade attack on the marine base, a gorge builds webs at the exit to the base. This practically voids all LMG rush tactics, because that one marine is dead. The only defense against this is a 3 or more man rush, with the person in front welding the webs away while the other two shoot up the fade and gorge. But on public servers that isn't going to happen very often.
There, my pointless rant about nothing in particular.
Comments
Marines got hmg, nades and siege. Those three do even kick the **obscenity** of an onos.
The only thing they could do to balance the marines, is to make the commander interface a little more informational. Like showing alle the names of the players, player groups, instant shifting view to 1person mode to any marine. Then the commander would have complete control.
BUT...
<!--emo&::siege::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/siege.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='siege.gif'><!--endemo--> = <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/mad.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='mad.gif'><!--endemo-->
Everytime I've played a game on the marine team with a decent commander, we've won. Every time. And I wouldn't say that the aliens sucked in those cases, as they were actually my usual "team" of community regulars, and I know them to be organised and pretty damn deadly.
I played on ns_nothing recently, and the marines playing were actually <i>intelligent</i>. They covered each other building, and within minutes we had taken and secured the outer res point, surviving three skulk rushes. But then again, ns_nothing has plenty of wide-open spaces- a skulk's nightmare. Quickly took powersilo and established phase gates, then it was just a case of getting HA/HMG and crushing all in our path- their Fade's just couldn't cope. Teamwork is deadly on either team, if you can get it to happen.
I'd like to see how the "balance" concepts continue if NS ever get's a tutorial- I always felt alien's were harder to play, but if everyone's right, maybe things will seem fairer once half the community realises how to play.
I still think aliens win 90% on 14/16-player servers but I´m about ready to chalk this up to the economics system...the weapons and class balancing seems just about right and even I welcome the nerf to the siege now.
/NB
/NB
I don't mean as in one team winning or losing all the time (i've played as marines and aliens and lost and won on both sides), it's just the 'feel' when you win or lose.
When marines win a long game, it feels really good. Because you generally need teamwork, and it is an extremely satisfying experience. Especially when this is after you get HA/HMG tech level (I prefer JP personally.)
When aliens lose this same game against HA/HMG tech level, it's frustruating, aggrivating, and downright worse than losing a single round of another type of game. As in, no matter how hard you try, you just can't go against those HA/HMG guys that are defending the siege base. They're too cowardly to come take out your hive personally (plus when they do, you get spawnkilled) and it seems you just can't do anything to stop the tide of things. So it's very frusturating and aggrivating to lose the game as aliens.
Then, let's assume the game goes the other direction. It's a long, drawn out game, but aliens eventually get the upper hand, and then crush their bases with onoses and that. It still feels nice and good, but not nearly as fun as winning a long drawn out game as marines.
Plus, unless the Aliens are just camping the marine's base or something and not coming in for the final blow, it's still somewhat frusturating for the marines, but not nearly as frusturating as aliens. (After all, aliens don't have cheap siege)
Basically, I'm saying that it's harder to take the loss as aliens than marines, and much more fun to win as marines than aliens.
<b>*BUT*</b> these are personal opinions and I know there's nothing the dev team can do about it and I may be in the minority and most people like winning as aliens better than marines.
Anyways, onto a different tangent, sometimes when fades are doing the oh-so familiar fade attack on the marine base, a gorge builds webs at the exit to the base. This practically voids all LMG rush tactics, because that one marine is dead. The only defense against this is a 3 or more man rush, with the person in front welding the webs away while the other two shoot up the fade and gorge. But on public servers that isn't going to happen very often.
There, my pointless rant about nothing in particular.