A few Qs from a newcomer to the series
ZimbuTheMonkey
Join Date: 2010-07-14 Member: 72359Members
Join Date: 2010-07-14 Member: 72359Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Regarding map size, pre-order/release editions, etc.</div>Hey guys,
I was a huge fan of HL1 mods but unfortunately I got around to Natural Selection too late in its development to fully appreciate it (the community was experienced and the game was too overwhelming to pick up and play). But I always appreciated the concept of the mod and my only regret was that I didn't discover it when I was heavy into TFC or DoD.
Anyway, I'm about to pre-order and I had some questions:
1. What's the map size and scale like? One of the interviews I've read indicates that the game length will be about 20 mins on average, which to me seems a little short for this type of deep strategic/hybrid game. The same interview hints at NS1 games being hours long at times. One complaint I had with Team Fortress 2 is that, despite it's graphical improvements and charming style, it lost much of its depth in the transition. The maps were much smaller and it became a more "arcadey" shooter. I remember TFC matches lasting much longer as well. Will NS2 retain its depth and strategy?
2. Is the pre-order special edition the best option at the moment? Or will the game have some kind of uber Deluxe edition on Steam after release with more bonuses? I just wanna get the best stuff without worrying that a superior version will be released in the future.
3. The game will be using Steamworks, and I'm assuming the VAC security features as well. This move didn't pan out so well with Modern Warfare 2 (cheat servers, wall hackers and aim botters are commonplace), what makes NS2 any different?
4. I saw the video of the dynamic infestation feature years ago and I was highly impressed. The new media does not show any indication of this, will it still be featured in the release?
I think that's it for now, I'll post again if I think of another question. Thanks in advance.
I was a huge fan of HL1 mods but unfortunately I got around to Natural Selection too late in its development to fully appreciate it (the community was experienced and the game was too overwhelming to pick up and play). But I always appreciated the concept of the mod and my only regret was that I didn't discover it when I was heavy into TFC or DoD.
Anyway, I'm about to pre-order and I had some questions:
1. What's the map size and scale like? One of the interviews I've read indicates that the game length will be about 20 mins on average, which to me seems a little short for this type of deep strategic/hybrid game. The same interview hints at NS1 games being hours long at times. One complaint I had with Team Fortress 2 is that, despite it's graphical improvements and charming style, it lost much of its depth in the transition. The maps were much smaller and it became a more "arcadey" shooter. I remember TFC matches lasting much longer as well. Will NS2 retain its depth and strategy?
2. Is the pre-order special edition the best option at the moment? Or will the game have some kind of uber Deluxe edition on Steam after release with more bonuses? I just wanna get the best stuff without worrying that a superior version will be released in the future.
3. The game will be using Steamworks, and I'm assuming the VAC security features as well. This move didn't pan out so well with Modern Warfare 2 (cheat servers, wall hackers and aim botters are commonplace), what makes NS2 any different?
4. I saw the video of the dynamic infestation feature years ago and I was highly impressed. The new media does not show any indication of this, will it still be featured in the release?
I think that's it for now, I'll post again if I think of another question. Thanks in advance.
Comments
2. UWE seems fairly against DLC / gimmicky things in general so I doubt there's going to be an uber version with extra goodies. The reason they added black armour for the Special Edition was because they wanted to give something back / extra incentive for the support at this stage where the fans are funding the game.
3. Due to the game using dedicated servers (which usually have admins - the people paying for it) rather than match making lobby fests, cheating will probably be kept under control manually. Probably no worse than cs 1.4 + and NS1.
Oh and 4. They've stated DI is still planned for v1 but it's not in the alpha because they are still working on it and it's not ready for public consumption... mmm gooey.
The dedicated servers are a huge deal on this one. MW2 didn't have them, so the admin powers are extremely limited. With dedicated servers and VAC, NS2 should be equally good shape as CS, DoD and TF were, if not better due to the less known engine.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->4. I saw the video of the dynamic infestation feature years ago and I was highly impressed. The new media does not show any indication of this, will it still be featured in the release?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It should be in. It's not in alpha, but the last we've heard, it's going to be in the actual release.
this video was recorded in the source engine
now they have a own engine, and didn't see nothing about DI in that engine
but i bet it will be more badass, as it's their own engine and they can implement it as they want to..
:)
this video was recorded in the source engine
now they have a own engine, and didn't see nothing about DI in that engine
but i bet it will be more badass, as it's their own engine and they can implement it as they want to..
:)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Actually, the video was taken in an early version of the Spark engine. At that time, it could handle BSP levels so it could work in Source too.
Most of the time 95% the ones "cheating" are legit I havent played any game with a real cheat problem I doubt NS2 has one.
You ever play Modern Warfare 2?
Yes, I'm sure it's legit when you join a MW2 game and there is a perpetual AC130 up in the air shooting at the rate of a machine gun. Or when you get tracked through several houses and walls half way across a map when watching the killcam. Or when you are instantly leveled to 70 with Prestige 10 making your legit unlocks completely meaningless, etc. etc. etc.
But hey, maybe they are just really good players.
Only couple weeks, I think I was one of em.
The game length they are aiming for is around 20 minutes per round, but most of the community are in favor of games running much, much longer than that if the teams manage to pull off amazing.
I was a huge fan of HL1 mods but unfortunately I got around to Natural Selection too late in its development to fully appreciate it (the community was experienced and the game was too overwhelming to pick up and play). But I always appreciated the concept of the mod and my only regret was that I didn't discover it when I was heavy into TFC or DoD.
Anyway, I'm about to pre-order and I had some questions:
1. What's the map size and scale like? One of the interviews I've read indicates that the game length will be about 20 mins on average, which to me seems a little short for this type of deep strategic/hybrid game.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It all depends on how you play, and who you play with... I remember playing NS 1.2, and having a round lasting OVER 2 hours. This was due to Marines playing well, as well as Aliens playing well. It was an evenly balanced game. From Heavy rushes, to HMG rushes, to Jetpack rushes... Everything was taken into consideration. Can't forget to mention the Commander as well! Commander is the #1 reason to why we played that long. With out having a commander who knows what he's doing, it's impossible to get anything done.
"GET OFF THE FUC**** THING!" <-- Who remembers that? LOL
2. let's hope the SE is the best version because i'd think alot of people ordered that for just that reason :p If there was a pre-order for a special deluxe edition i would've gotten that one. so would many others and they do not want that kind of PR backlash.
3. cheaters are a problem in every game, but as long as we have dedicated servers with ingame server admin controls and a console on the server, it's pretty manageble. If you want evidence i cite CS 1.3. The server i was on was banning 5-6 cheaters a day, but in between them we still had pretty good, legit games. (FYI: i didn't buy nor will i ever buy MW2 because of the lack of dedicated server support and that it sold like hotcakes sickens me).
4. Dynamic infestation is still in, according to the last time the dev's said it. New media is alpha material and not everything is going to be in.
To awnser your main question, just buy the SE before it's too late :p Or else you'll be stuck listening to us in retail talk about how fun alpha was.
The good thing is there is a very good set of map creation tools, so if big maps are your thing, someone is likely going to create them (not to mention, NS1 maps will surely be remade for NS2).
BF2 to BF:BC2 was a good example of downsizing and linearizing maps for short-game casual players. It'll be stuck that way since they won't release BC2's map editor yet. At least with NS2, we don't run that risk if we want those super-long games on the weekend.
Aw crap, telefragged the Onos.
To that extent, it follows the game play of QWTF pretty faithfully and is an excellent sequel.
I prefer to pretend TFC never happened, personally.
You're confusing length and depth. You can have incredibly deep strategy in a short game, and incredibly basic strategy in a long game. NS2 is going for deep strategy and short games. A Dawn of War II 1v1 match takes 15-20 minutes tops, generally, and those have a fair amount of strategy. You could set a HL2CTF game server to last for 3 hours and give the win to whoever had the most caps at the end of the match but that wouldn't result in mega strategic thinking.
NS2 is aiming for short, fast matches, and it's aiming for deep, strategic gameplay. Nobody can know right now whether it will succeed (although I think it's safe to say matches will be short). All we can tell you is that UWE wants to have strategy and short matches. If you don't like the sound of that, there are other games to play.
<!--quoteo(post=1778682:date=Jul 14 2010, 09:13 AM:name=ZimbuTheMonkey)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ZimbuTheMonkey @ Jul 14 2010, 09:13 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1778682"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2. Is the pre-order special edition the best option at the moment? Or will the game have some kind of uber Deluxe edition on Steam after release with more bonuses? I just wanna get the best stuff without worrying that a superior version will be released in the future.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The special edition is pretty much just for fans who want to give UWE more money (like me) or people who have zero patience and need to play the alpha even though it will be a crappy, buggy, incomplete, stripped down, unfun version of the game. The version you buy will have zero effect on how much fun the actual game is, but if you have some sort of complex about buying the most amazing version, I'd wager that the special edition is your best bet. I highly doubt they're ever going to be selling the black armor again, for instance.
<!--quoteo(post=1778682:date=Jul 14 2010, 09:13 AM:name=ZimbuTheMonkey)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ZimbuTheMonkey @ Jul 14 2010, 09:13 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1778682"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->3. The game will be using Steamworks, and I'm assuming the VAC security features as well. This move didn't pan out so well with Modern Warfare 2 (cheat servers, wall hackers and aim botters are commonplace), what makes NS2 any different?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I haven't seen any hackers in TF2 or Dawn of War II or Aliens vs. Predator or Unreal Tournament 3, at least, and these are all Steamworks games. Hackers typically aren't a problem in NS because you find a few servers you like and always play there, and admins kick cheaters very quickly.
<!--quoteo(post=1778682:date=Jul 14 2010, 09:13 AM:name=ZimbuTheMonkey)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ZimbuTheMonkey @ Jul 14 2010, 09:13 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1778682"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->4. I saw the video of the dynamic infestation feature years ago and I was highly impressed. The new media does not show any indication of this, will it still be featured in the release?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yep.