I just wanted to say that things are looking really svweet so far.
I hope all is going well with the mod.
Few things I'd like to mention...
1) I liked the original DA for a few reasons:
It was great just sitting there in a group chatting and shooting down baddies. I hope you guys will still release maps in which all you do is build up a major defense to protect some single objective (dreamy thoughts of DA-Village ......thats the one isnt it?)
I also loved the maps because they were simple and to the point.......in other words they got the job done AND ran well on my slow ass computer. Visuals are nice but I hope you all focus on function over looks first. I have played some VERY fun maps (mostly DA, CTF, and AS) in which the visuals weren't the best and in some cases were sh1tty.......however.....the gameplay was AMAZING! We would play the map over and over because of its mechanics....the map provided difficult challenges and opportunities to fight back......sometimes you'd fall back......but there were opportunities to push forward again.
In DA1 it was soo much fun to play DA - Canyon and get overrun. The map was large enough that we could regroup and find another choke point to use to our advantage. Once we got our footing we could push forward again. This map like others had alternating chokepoints/open "hard to defend" areas. This made pushing forward a risky idea.
You could easily implement it where the beginning spawn points are close together and hard to defend.......making it very difficult to hold......but as you fall back in the map the spawn points wouldnt be as close to each other giving the defense more time to handle defending etc.
Thinking like this makes the map fun because its hard but not hopeless..... you have a fallback point that is more manageable and allows for a feeling of accomplishment when you can hold that and then push again to the harder location.
We want the mod to be fun.......but we also want it hard. It's a delicate balance. I really hope you guys can pull it off.
2) Another thing I was thinking of...
Some of the best games are the simplest. I have very fond memories of my atari games. They were simple and quick. They also were controlled by a joystick with one, ONE button.
More features, more weapons, more vehicles does NOT equate to a better game. Early games were so fun because there was almost perfect balance. This was easy to do because they only had to balance 3 weapons and 5 different baddies.
Do you see what I am getting at? Make a core mod that is so solid and easy to learn that everyone will want in. Don't be afraid to shoot down community ideas. We don't need 47 different classes. I'd rather have 4 or 5 solid classes each with a very much needed role. We don't need 2 dozen weapons. Give us options but make those options each serve a specific purpose. The original assualt rifle in DA was great! But take away the scope and keep that to the sniper rifle, etc. People may want destructible terrain but a good map will still be fun with or without. People want vehicles. This could be good....but once again really changes gameplay. Start with regular combat....add later....well you said that already so nevermind (etc, etc, etc, etc)
I could go on for a while but I think you are getting my drift. I am not saying you aren't already doing this. I just really want others to see what I have seen in the past i.e. how fun DA was. I have such fond memories of trying to determine good stratgies for Village and winning I think......once. But it was the best feeling ever.
3) Also don't be afraid of small maps. You already know those are just as fun if not more because of their intensity (once again Village). I'm so tired of how huge all the UT04 maps are. They need some smaller ones. There are never enough people on a server to fully populate them! (Well sometimes there are) Smaller ones are much more exciting and intense!
4) Keep asking yourself...is this going to make the game fun? Is it fun? Why or why not? (Frickin A this sounds like an essay question or something lol)
Ok I'm done! Sorry
Just trying to help a great mod.
Kharny the mechy
[Edit: fixed some typos]
I hope all is going well with the mod.
Few things I'd like to mention...
1) I liked the original DA for a few reasons:
It was great just sitting there in a group chatting and shooting down baddies. I hope you guys will still release maps in which all you do is build up a major defense to protect some single objective (dreamy thoughts of DA-Village ......thats the one isnt it?)
I also loved the maps because they were simple and to the point.......in other words they got the job done AND ran well on my slow ass computer. Visuals are nice but I hope you all focus on function over looks first. I have played some VERY fun maps (mostly DA, CTF, and AS) in which the visuals weren't the best and in some cases were sh1tty.......however.....the gameplay was AMAZING! We would play the map over and over because of its mechanics....the map provided difficult challenges and opportunities to fight back......sometimes you'd fall back......but there were opportunities to push forward again.
In DA1 it was soo much fun to play DA - Canyon and get overrun. The map was large enough that we could regroup and find another choke point to use to our advantage. Once we got our footing we could push forward again. This map like others had alternating chokepoints/open "hard to defend" areas. This made pushing forward a risky idea.
You could easily implement it where the beginning spawn points are close together and hard to defend.......making it very difficult to hold......but as you fall back in the map the spawn points wouldnt be as close to each other giving the defense more time to handle defending etc.
Thinking like this makes the map fun because its hard but not hopeless..... you have a fallback point that is more manageable and allows for a feeling of accomplishment when you can hold that and then push again to the harder location.
We want the mod to be fun.......but we also want it hard. It's a delicate balance. I really hope you guys can pull it off.
2) Another thing I was thinking of...
Some of the best games are the simplest. I have very fond memories of my atari games. They were simple and quick. They also were controlled by a joystick with one, ONE button.
More features, more weapons, more vehicles does NOT equate to a better game. Early games were so fun because there was almost perfect balance. This was easy to do because they only had to balance 3 weapons and 5 different baddies.
Do you see what I am getting at? Make a core mod that is so solid and easy to learn that everyone will want in. Don't be afraid to shoot down community ideas. We don't need 47 different classes. I'd rather have 4 or 5 solid classes each with a very much needed role. We don't need 2 dozen weapons. Give us options but make those options each serve a specific purpose. The original assualt rifle in DA was great! But take away the scope and keep that to the sniper rifle, etc. People may want destructible terrain but a good map will still be fun with or without. People want vehicles. This could be good....but once again really changes gameplay. Start with regular combat....add later....well you said that already so nevermind (etc, etc, etc, etc)
I could go on for a while but I think you are getting my drift. I am not saying you aren't already doing this. I just really want others to see what I have seen in the past i.e. how fun DA was. I have such fond memories of trying to determine good stratgies for Village and winning I think......once. But it was the best feeling ever.
3) Also don't be afraid of small maps. You already know those are just as fun if not more because of their intensity (once again Village). I'm so tired of how huge all the UT04 maps are. They need some smaller ones. There are never enough people on a server to fully populate them! (Well sometimes there are
) Smaller ones are much more exciting and intense!4) Keep asking yourself...is this going to make the game fun? Is it fun? Why or why not? (Frickin A this sounds like an essay question or something lol)
Ok I'm done! Sorry
Just trying to help a great mod.
Kharny the mechy
[Edit: fixed some typos]
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