Post by quicklite on Sept 3, 2014 20:04:37 GMT -5
Hi again! It's been a while since I've said anything here (didn't really have anything to say really, from what I saw the game was going great), but I felt like checking everything out again, and there's a few things I'd like to say about the new death penalty from Build 110.
Firstly, I should say that I like the concept. Though I have enjoyed (and participated in) suicide runs in the past, of which suicide corsairs come to mind, I have always found them a bit on the cheap side and have wondered if and how one could go about discouraging or outright stopping them. I also appreciate the effort to put a little more weight on death, to make people more wary about doing crazier stuff without bringing back a realm-like perma death scenario. Nonetheless, there's two things with the current method that I find a bit worrying (if that's the right word...)
For starters, I feel like the system either gets rid of rare tanks or a not-too-serious death penalty. If that was unclear, I'll digress. The system means that if you lose a tank, you have to re-buy it with unlocks before it's usable again. This means that if there was ever plans to make a series of rare, UT-esque tanks with powerful, albeit unconventional fighting styles for expert players to strive for as they would for, they would either have to be placed at a level where getting ahold of the tanks is more trivial and feels like less of an accomplishment to allow for the fact that they lose the tank if they die. If these sorts of tanks are kept, however, the game's death penalty becomes much more severe and less flexible, meaning that if you die with the really cool tank you spent ages to get, the tank is gone. Or, the idea of rare tanks can be scrapped altogether in favor of a 'base' concept where classes are un-important beginnings, similar to that of realm, but I feel like (and correct me if I'm wrong here) that doing this would take away a lot of potential from the system as a whole.
As well as this, I think the new system, to put it bluntly, really screws over newbies. Sure, the realm system is definitely harsher and that game had no problem rising to fame. But grid's different in that its gameplay, though still great, is not nearly as recognizable as realm, what with the auto-gameplay, strategy, shield systems, etc. At least in realm, you start in an area with people shooting slow, singular bullets, and you dodge, shoot back, repeat. In grid, you start in line with everyone else, and although this isn't a bad thing, it does mean that at the start of the game, you die. A lot. At least, I did, and so did a lot of the folks I played with when grid gained in popularity. It's only natural, and the constant dying was actually quite a fun learning experience, as I figured out how to play and kept myself alive for longer with the help of the other, more experienced players. But the thing is, if you're a newbie, you don't have many tanks, so even getting a level 1 and 2 unlock feels like some sort of accomplishment. And when you equip said tanks and inevitably die with them, they go. Meaning that in those first stages of the game, it seems that you'd be bound to losing progress faster than you make progress. Something which (might) stress a more casual player into quitting the game before they can get into it and get past the first hurdle, a bit like Dark Soul's similar problem (except not at all, but you get the drift >_>).
But, as I said, I like the idea, and hell, if somebody can rebut those two points, I'm fine with keeping it. As for what to do about it, my first thoughts would to be, perhaps swap it with a time penalty, or simply a 'repair' item or module that one could get easier than, say, most of the end-game tanks. Though this still might not address the problems with newbies...in which I'd suggest placing a temporary leeway on the penalty during a newbie's first hour or so of play. But then again, people might abuse this to make suicide alts of sorts...fucking hell, this is hard. Although I feel bad about poking loads of holes in this new system without adding any solid feedback, I'm honestly unsure about where one might go, as death penalties have been a touchy topic since the 30 builds when I joined. So what do you guys think?
Firstly, I should say that I like the concept. Though I have enjoyed (and participated in) suicide runs in the past, of which suicide corsairs come to mind, I have always found them a bit on the cheap side and have wondered if and how one could go about discouraging or outright stopping them. I also appreciate the effort to put a little more weight on death, to make people more wary about doing crazier stuff without bringing back a realm-like perma death scenario. Nonetheless, there's two things with the current method that I find a bit worrying (if that's the right word...)
For starters, I feel like the system either gets rid of rare tanks or a not-too-serious death penalty. If that was unclear, I'll digress. The system means that if you lose a tank, you have to re-buy it with unlocks before it's usable again. This means that if there was ever plans to make a series of rare, UT-esque tanks with powerful, albeit unconventional fighting styles for expert players to strive for as they would for, they would either have to be placed at a level where getting ahold of the tanks is more trivial and feels like less of an accomplishment to allow for the fact that they lose the tank if they die. If these sorts of tanks are kept, however, the game's death penalty becomes much more severe and less flexible, meaning that if you die with the really cool tank you spent ages to get, the tank is gone. Or, the idea of rare tanks can be scrapped altogether in favor of a 'base' concept where classes are un-important beginnings, similar to that of realm, but I feel like (and correct me if I'm wrong here) that doing this would take away a lot of potential from the system as a whole.
As well as this, I think the new system, to put it bluntly, really screws over newbies. Sure, the realm system is definitely harsher and that game had no problem rising to fame. But grid's different in that its gameplay, though still great, is not nearly as recognizable as realm, what with the auto-gameplay, strategy, shield systems, etc. At least in realm, you start in an area with people shooting slow, singular bullets, and you dodge, shoot back, repeat. In grid, you start in line with everyone else, and although this isn't a bad thing, it does mean that at the start of the game, you die. A lot. At least, I did, and so did a lot of the folks I played with when grid gained in popularity. It's only natural, and the constant dying was actually quite a fun learning experience, as I figured out how to play and kept myself alive for longer with the help of the other, more experienced players. But the thing is, if you're a newbie, you don't have many tanks, so even getting a level 1 and 2 unlock feels like some sort of accomplishment. And when you equip said tanks and inevitably die with them, they go. Meaning that in those first stages of the game, it seems that you'd be bound to losing progress faster than you make progress. Something which (might) stress a more casual player into quitting the game before they can get into it and get past the first hurdle, a bit like Dark Soul's similar problem (except not at all, but you get the drift >_>).
But, as I said, I like the idea, and hell, if somebody can rebut those two points, I'm fine with keeping it. As for what to do about it, my first thoughts would to be, perhaps swap it with a time penalty, or simply a 'repair' item or module that one could get easier than, say, most of the end-game tanks. Though this still might not address the problems with newbies...in which I'd suggest placing a temporary leeway on the penalty during a newbie's first hour or so of play. But then again, people might abuse this to make suicide alts of sorts...fucking hell, this is hard. Although I feel bad about poking loads of holes in this new system without adding any solid feedback, I'm honestly unsure about where one might go, as death penalties have been a touchy topic since the 30 builds when I joined. So what do you guys think?
♥.
