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Thread: Some Thoughts

  1. #1

    Some Thoughts

    I really enjoy this game. The graphics are incredible. It's exciting to go out hunting with friends, struggling to advance and gain items, and the PvP aspect.

    But, I have some fears. I play an NT and I see all the issues that NT's have with gameplay. I also see the issues other classes have with gameplay and I can be patient while balance and gameplay issues are resolved. But these issues aren't what concern me.

    My concern stems from *how* these issues are addressed. Problems do not seem to be resolved based on long term success of the game for both Funcom and the players. In the limited time I've been playing this game, the patches seem to be a long string of "emergency fixes" to stroke individuals or isolated groups of people -- and they seem to be done without much thought.

    As a developer, I know that maintaining a product such as AO is an incredibly difficult task. I don't expect issues to be resolved overnight, but I do expect them to be approached in a consistent manner with a well thought out priority system. And this *must* be communicated effectively to the customer base.

    Based on this, I have the following suggestions for Funcom:

    1. Most importantly, tell us what you're doing. After playing for a certain amount of time, we learn what techniques are effective and what techniques get us killed. When you change the rules on us (nerf or whatever), we need to know before it gets us killed. I don't mind dying or losing xp. I very much mind it being the result of planning an attack and having the attack fall apart on me because the way my character operates has changed without my knowledge.

    2. Fix bugs that inhibit playability before worrying about balance issues. This includes exploits and crashes (memory leaks). One example, that my friends and I have repeatedly petitioned about, is the health and nano bars not updating to reflect the status of other members of our team. This destroys our ability to operate effectively as a team, as our doctor can't tell who to heal (and as a result chain casts healing nanos) and I (as an NT) can't effectively do crowd control to assist team members in trouble. Another example is the nano blackholing (attempting to cast a nano over and over again and only getting the message telling me I'm doing it).

    3. Work from the bottom up in resolving balance issues. Start with fixing breed issues, then move to class issues. Fix them to operate as the vision of the characters are meant to operate. Atrox sacrifices nano points for health and nanomage sacrifices health for nano points. Right now the latter is broken. Then address the classes to operate as they were intended to operate. From the description of the game, we are supposed to be OmniTek versus Clan. Not individual versus individual. It is perfectly reasonable for one class to be able to consistently kill another class in a one on one conflict. This game isn't supposed to be about one on one conflicts. If a player is all about dueling with other players, he or she should select a class that is ideal for that.

    4. Don't be reactive. The AoE "issue" that arose with Snarf/Garzu/whoever on the planned event is an example. AoE was quickly and silently nerfed in what very much appears to have been a frustrated emotional response. If you decide that AoE needs to be nerfed as a result of such an event, treat it like any other balance issue. Put it in the "In Progress" section and let it be discussed.


    As for my NT, nerf or un-nerf as necessary to make the game fit into The Big Plan(tm). Fix what is broken (blackholing and chain-fumbling). And *please* communicate with us.

    Thanks,
    Aaron (Driske/NT)
    Last edited by aaronb; Mar 11th, 2002 at 02:41:24.

  2. #2
    yes i would hafta agree with what aaronb/driske just said

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