The Problems Of Ns.
Rapier7
Join Date: 2004-02-05 Member: 26108Members
Join Date: 2004-02-05 Member: 26108Members
To start off this thread...I will say two things. (Read the bottom if you think you've heard this before)
Natural Selection has an extremely unique gameplay.
Natural Selection also has much room for improvement.
Just what are the problems?
Large servers: Waiting around for a good 12-16 player game is really frustrating for the regular Joe Pubby who just wants to play NS. Many people will flock to the larger servers, and while NS is not meant to be played in that capacity, people still do it. In short, they want to have fun. Instant gratification, kind of. For the veterans, I don't want to hear, "Go to a smaller server." I just filtered the NS servers, the ones that are full and booming are the 20+ player servers, not the 12 player servers. In fact, the majority of the NS servers that have at least one person playing are 16+ in capacity.
However, large servers are just the tip of the iceberg. With large servers...we have...
Lack of coordination because of large servers: NS was founded on teamwork. That sort of teamwork is hard to attain in servers larger than 16 people, especially public servers. While marines have it easier, the aliens will die easily because they lack a focal unit, the commander. For aliens to succeed, they have to know what each and every alien will do, and that is next to impossible on such servers. The success of a game is measured on how many people play the game, not the fervor in which they play it (If you're part of the Total Annihilation community, you'll know how true this statement is.).
Combat: I'm sure Flayra and co. developed combat to get empty servers quick to capacity much more quickly than botched and unbalanced games of NS. Combat just does not work with more than 12 people, and the games often last twice (or more) as long as regular NS. Moreover, the developers are also catering to combat, and that usually has negative effects on NS.
The ongoing battle of Clan vs Public Play: I don't consider myself a veteran, but I'm far from your average Joe Pubber as well. However, I will admit, it will be hard to form effective and dedicated clans with more than 6 people in them. It takes massive amounts of organization for those clans already in existence, it will take much more if the developers decide to cater more towards the public servers (20+ capacity). Therefore, there is an everlasting conflict with the developers, should they sacrifice clan play for the sake of gaining a larger player base?
Balancing, in general: Let's face it, with the possible exception of xenocide, hive three abilities are laughably pathetic, partly due to the balancing in combat. Not only does it make the losing marine team 10 times harder to kill as aliens (as opposed to the other way around), it sort of cheats the aliens out of their fun (it is hard enough GETTING 3 hives). The universal upgrades for marines correlate directly with larger servers, they are too cost-effective.
This is basically a compilation of everything I've read of from the pubber's point of view. If there are some points I may have missed, feel free to add on. What I'd like this thread to be is the general "what is wrong with NS and lets have people discuss which points are valid and the solutions to the actual problems" thread.
Natural Selection has an extremely unique gameplay.
Natural Selection also has much room for improvement.
Just what are the problems?
Large servers: Waiting around for a good 12-16 player game is really frustrating for the regular Joe Pubby who just wants to play NS. Many people will flock to the larger servers, and while NS is not meant to be played in that capacity, people still do it. In short, they want to have fun. Instant gratification, kind of. For the veterans, I don't want to hear, "Go to a smaller server." I just filtered the NS servers, the ones that are full and booming are the 20+ player servers, not the 12 player servers. In fact, the majority of the NS servers that have at least one person playing are 16+ in capacity.
However, large servers are just the tip of the iceberg. With large servers...we have...
Lack of coordination because of large servers: NS was founded on teamwork. That sort of teamwork is hard to attain in servers larger than 16 people, especially public servers. While marines have it easier, the aliens will die easily because they lack a focal unit, the commander. For aliens to succeed, they have to know what each and every alien will do, and that is next to impossible on such servers. The success of a game is measured on how many people play the game, not the fervor in which they play it (If you're part of the Total Annihilation community, you'll know how true this statement is.).
Combat: I'm sure Flayra and co. developed combat to get empty servers quick to capacity much more quickly than botched and unbalanced games of NS. Combat just does not work with more than 12 people, and the games often last twice (or more) as long as regular NS. Moreover, the developers are also catering to combat, and that usually has negative effects on NS.
The ongoing battle of Clan vs Public Play: I don't consider myself a veteran, but I'm far from your average Joe Pubber as well. However, I will admit, it will be hard to form effective and dedicated clans with more than 6 people in them. It takes massive amounts of organization for those clans already in existence, it will take much more if the developers decide to cater more towards the public servers (20+ capacity). Therefore, there is an everlasting conflict with the developers, should they sacrifice clan play for the sake of gaining a larger player base?
Balancing, in general: Let's face it, with the possible exception of xenocide, hive three abilities are laughably pathetic, partly due to the balancing in combat. Not only does it make the losing marine team 10 times harder to kill as aliens (as opposed to the other way around), it sort of cheats the aliens out of their fun (it is hard enough GETTING 3 hives). The universal upgrades for marines correlate directly with larger servers, they are too cost-effective.
This is basically a compilation of everything I've read of from the pubber's point of view. If there are some points I may have missed, feel free to add on. What I'd like this thread to be is the general "what is wrong with NS and lets have people discuss which points are valid and the solutions to the actual problems" thread.
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