nickelpat
04-03-2012, 07:43 PM
I got the game fired up last night and put in a few hours playing. I must say, first off, I really enjoyed the game. It had the polish of a top-notch free-to-play title and I think it's going to see some success barring a few things. I'll split this into categories to make it easier for me to add onto later, once I get some playtime in.
Interface:
Launching the game, I found the launcher is clean and has a little utility with the new feed. I would suggest looking into adding a ****on to reach the configuration on the launcher though. It's always helpful to be able to adjust the resolution and video options before you get in to the game.
The pre-match interface works extremely well. The store and customization were both responsive and it was easy to read and understand what was needed to make a purchase. The icon for customizing items and selling items is a little confusing though, as the icon and position is very similar. I'm sure this is something that is not an issue after playing for a bit, but as a new player it was confusing. In the store, most of it worked just fine. I liked the ability to preview the gun on my character, as well as the armor. I found that I could not preview helmets though, which was odd, since they seem to be only for cosmetics. That might be something to added in, I would like to see what something looks like before I buy it when it is the game just for that reason. The match lobby was easy to navigate and start searching for a match. I really like the fact I can go back to the store or back to customizing while it searches for a match, that's a great addition.
In-game, the interface doesn't fail to live up to what other Ghost Recon games gave is. It's packed full of information, with some neat details that I wish other shooter offered us. Personally my favorite was the network of blue lines leading to the nearest teammates, it pushed me to work with a squad of guys a lot of the time, or as a recon, sometimes with just one buddy. Rarely did I find myself without a blue line connected to me. It's a simple thing that has helped me work better with the team. The stat bonuses being listed when you enter cover is nice too, it's better to see those than just have them hidden in the back with the virtual dice.
Post-match, nothing changes from before. Everything works like it should. The post-match scoreboard has plenty of information for what went where and who got what. My only complaint here is that it puts you back into the matchmaking queue without any warning or making it clear. The bar for the queue is out of the way at the top (like it should be), and it's pretty non-nondescript. It'd be nice to have a dialog box ask if I'd like to re-join the queue, maybe even add a checkbox at the bottom to choose the same option every time for people that like the auto-queuing.
Graphics:
I am running the game on a rig with a Radeon 7970, 16GB DDR3 memory, and an i7 2700k (all of it's overclocked to some extent), and it runs smooth with full settings at 1920x1080. While it looks plenty nice enough, polished well for a free-to-play title, the graphics aren't mind-blowing. The character models look great, but a lot of the environment textures look a little low res close up (which tends to be a common view point with the cover system). The special effects are especially eye catching, notably the Recon's 'Cloak' and Specialist's 'Aegis'.
There is also one map in particular with some wind blowing pretty hard through a sort of caution tape around some rebar that looks very nice. Although, on the same map, I saw a lot of light debris on the ground that was sitting still as a stone. It's a small detail that a lot of people will probably not catch or care about, but I found it a bit distracting (until I saw another guy to shoot at).
Gameplay:
The gamplay was on and off for me. At times, it was a blast, the action was steady and strategic at times and just an all out firefight at others. There were other games though where teams lacked any semblance of balance and it completely ruined the game. I remember one match (it last about 42 minutes) where the other team consisted of five snipers and three other guys that didn't do much. My team had two snipers and then the six others. We didn't stand much of a chance. We were able to make enough pushes every now and then to draw the game out longer, but the snipers promptly picked us down. At low levels, it seems there's not any good way to really combat a sniper. I'm not suggesting to drop the damage of the rifle, or change the class in anyway, I played one in a balanced game and it was a lot of fun. I think that's what needs to be focused on most to keep everything in check though is a balanced team. The matchmaking system shouldn't allow for a team of five snipers and three specialists. It also shouldn't allow for a team with one sniper and seven assaults. I think that an 'ideal' team composition should be identified and searched. If certain roles cannot be filled, pick the 'next best thing'. I think that would help to create balanced teams and keep each class in check.
Passed the balance of the game, the gunplay, cover system, and objective system all work well. The specialist's starting MK5 handles terribly in almost everywhere, but a few attachments (namely a grip) fixes that right away. I wasn't able to do well with the starting assault rifle (for the Assault, of course), but that may have just been a lack of skill. Reading through the skills, and seeing them in action, it seems the assault is on the lower end of this too. Maybe that changes later in the team with different teams and teamwork? The Recon's concept sounds a bit overpowered, a cloakable sniper class, especially with damage where it is, and it is reflected in game. I think that this may be an issue with any young game though. Strategies to get behind snipers and take them still need to be developed and I'm positive we'll start to see their effectiveness get reduced as people find out how to combat them.
Stability and Bugs:
I was lucky enough to not run into too many bugs, although the one that I caught was really nasty. The first time I launched my game, it froze. 'It' refers to my entire system. It was my very first launch, so I was greeted with the character selection screen, and the two flanking classes rendered, but the middle one did not and my entire system froze for about 5 minutes, at which point I restarted and didn't have any issues afterwards, even with a lot of alt+tabbing out.
Conclusion:
You guys have made and excellent free-to-play title. From what I saw last night, it will be a very successful title. It may not be exactly like previous Ghost Recon games, and some of the series-long fans may not enjoy it. I think there's an audience of people that have never touched a Ghost Recon title that will be attracted to this game as it's a quality, polished free-to-play shooter that, as of now, is fair. This is the last point I'd like to hit before I give my soapbox a break.
Last night, I spent a lot of time going through each page the store. I was worried any kind of pay-only armor or weaponry, or renting equipment. When I found none, I was very, very happy. This is an excellent decision and one I hope is not reversed come release, or any time later. Renting guns is possibly the stupidest thing ever, and has caused me to leave a large number of shooters where I would have otherwise stayed and spent a little money. I liked seeing each piece of equipment could be bought with both in-game points and cash points, and the prices seemed pretty fair on both fronts. I would recommend not even considering changing this. Please don't offer 'Cosmetic Change Only' guns for cash currency that you can't buy with in-game currency. Although it sounds harmless, this is how Battlefield Heroes began in the beta, you could buy alternate guns for each class that had the same stats and only looked different. If you look at the cash shop now, it's a complete horror. Anything that you would want to get to compete, you have no option but to pay for. Once started, it's a slippery slope to try to avoid.
On the same note, please don't offer any upgrades or pieces of equipment for cash-currency only. It removes the polished, quality feeling that the game has achieved this far. The only thing I would, personally, accept seeing for cash only are the boosts, camo patterns, and weapon skins. For the weapon skins I suggest creating a new slot on each gun called "Skin" or "Paint" and allowing an item to be attached that changed the appearance and nothing else. This allows the company to monetize more, and keeps the shop clean of cash-only guns for the players. For anythings like camo, or weapon skins that will be made pay-only, I would suggest one or two items for the slot be available in-game through tougher achievements. It makes players feel like they can really progress through every aspect of the game for free and they're less likely to feel like it's pay-to-win. I think what I mentioned in imperative to a successful free-to-play title. Looking at the few really successful titles out there, the one I think of quickest being League of Legends, they others nothing that boosts performance for cash only. I suggest the same for GRO, if you want a successful, quality, profitable title, leave the renting guns and cash-only equipment to the amateurs. You're better than that.
Thank You for Reading,
- Eric M.
Interface:
Launching the game, I found the launcher is clean and has a little utility with the new feed. I would suggest looking into adding a ****on to reach the configuration on the launcher though. It's always helpful to be able to adjust the resolution and video options before you get in to the game.
The pre-match interface works extremely well. The store and customization were both responsive and it was easy to read and understand what was needed to make a purchase. The icon for customizing items and selling items is a little confusing though, as the icon and position is very similar. I'm sure this is something that is not an issue after playing for a bit, but as a new player it was confusing. In the store, most of it worked just fine. I liked the ability to preview the gun on my character, as well as the armor. I found that I could not preview helmets though, which was odd, since they seem to be only for cosmetics. That might be something to added in, I would like to see what something looks like before I buy it when it is the game just for that reason. The match lobby was easy to navigate and start searching for a match. I really like the fact I can go back to the store or back to customizing while it searches for a match, that's a great addition.
In-game, the interface doesn't fail to live up to what other Ghost Recon games gave is. It's packed full of information, with some neat details that I wish other shooter offered us. Personally my favorite was the network of blue lines leading to the nearest teammates, it pushed me to work with a squad of guys a lot of the time, or as a recon, sometimes with just one buddy. Rarely did I find myself without a blue line connected to me. It's a simple thing that has helped me work better with the team. The stat bonuses being listed when you enter cover is nice too, it's better to see those than just have them hidden in the back with the virtual dice.
Post-match, nothing changes from before. Everything works like it should. The post-match scoreboard has plenty of information for what went where and who got what. My only complaint here is that it puts you back into the matchmaking queue without any warning or making it clear. The bar for the queue is out of the way at the top (like it should be), and it's pretty non-nondescript. It'd be nice to have a dialog box ask if I'd like to re-join the queue, maybe even add a checkbox at the bottom to choose the same option every time for people that like the auto-queuing.
Graphics:
I am running the game on a rig with a Radeon 7970, 16GB DDR3 memory, and an i7 2700k (all of it's overclocked to some extent), and it runs smooth with full settings at 1920x1080. While it looks plenty nice enough, polished well for a free-to-play title, the graphics aren't mind-blowing. The character models look great, but a lot of the environment textures look a little low res close up (which tends to be a common view point with the cover system). The special effects are especially eye catching, notably the Recon's 'Cloak' and Specialist's 'Aegis'.
There is also one map in particular with some wind blowing pretty hard through a sort of caution tape around some rebar that looks very nice. Although, on the same map, I saw a lot of light debris on the ground that was sitting still as a stone. It's a small detail that a lot of people will probably not catch or care about, but I found it a bit distracting (until I saw another guy to shoot at).
Gameplay:
The gamplay was on and off for me. At times, it was a blast, the action was steady and strategic at times and just an all out firefight at others. There were other games though where teams lacked any semblance of balance and it completely ruined the game. I remember one match (it last about 42 minutes) where the other team consisted of five snipers and three other guys that didn't do much. My team had two snipers and then the six others. We didn't stand much of a chance. We were able to make enough pushes every now and then to draw the game out longer, but the snipers promptly picked us down. At low levels, it seems there's not any good way to really combat a sniper. I'm not suggesting to drop the damage of the rifle, or change the class in anyway, I played one in a balanced game and it was a lot of fun. I think that's what needs to be focused on most to keep everything in check though is a balanced team. The matchmaking system shouldn't allow for a team of five snipers and three specialists. It also shouldn't allow for a team with one sniper and seven assaults. I think that an 'ideal' team composition should be identified and searched. If certain roles cannot be filled, pick the 'next best thing'. I think that would help to create balanced teams and keep each class in check.
Passed the balance of the game, the gunplay, cover system, and objective system all work well. The specialist's starting MK5 handles terribly in almost everywhere, but a few attachments (namely a grip) fixes that right away. I wasn't able to do well with the starting assault rifle (for the Assault, of course), but that may have just been a lack of skill. Reading through the skills, and seeing them in action, it seems the assault is on the lower end of this too. Maybe that changes later in the team with different teams and teamwork? The Recon's concept sounds a bit overpowered, a cloakable sniper class, especially with damage where it is, and it is reflected in game. I think that this may be an issue with any young game though. Strategies to get behind snipers and take them still need to be developed and I'm positive we'll start to see their effectiveness get reduced as people find out how to combat them.
Stability and Bugs:
I was lucky enough to not run into too many bugs, although the one that I caught was really nasty. The first time I launched my game, it froze. 'It' refers to my entire system. It was my very first launch, so I was greeted with the character selection screen, and the two flanking classes rendered, but the middle one did not and my entire system froze for about 5 minutes, at which point I restarted and didn't have any issues afterwards, even with a lot of alt+tabbing out.
Conclusion:
You guys have made and excellent free-to-play title. From what I saw last night, it will be a very successful title. It may not be exactly like previous Ghost Recon games, and some of the series-long fans may not enjoy it. I think there's an audience of people that have never touched a Ghost Recon title that will be attracted to this game as it's a quality, polished free-to-play shooter that, as of now, is fair. This is the last point I'd like to hit before I give my soapbox a break.
Last night, I spent a lot of time going through each page the store. I was worried any kind of pay-only armor or weaponry, or renting equipment. When I found none, I was very, very happy. This is an excellent decision and one I hope is not reversed come release, or any time later. Renting guns is possibly the stupidest thing ever, and has caused me to leave a large number of shooters where I would have otherwise stayed and spent a little money. I liked seeing each piece of equipment could be bought with both in-game points and cash points, and the prices seemed pretty fair on both fronts. I would recommend not even considering changing this. Please don't offer 'Cosmetic Change Only' guns for cash currency that you can't buy with in-game currency. Although it sounds harmless, this is how Battlefield Heroes began in the beta, you could buy alternate guns for each class that had the same stats and only looked different. If you look at the cash shop now, it's a complete horror. Anything that you would want to get to compete, you have no option but to pay for. Once started, it's a slippery slope to try to avoid.
On the same note, please don't offer any upgrades or pieces of equipment for cash-currency only. It removes the polished, quality feeling that the game has achieved this far. The only thing I would, personally, accept seeing for cash only are the boosts, camo patterns, and weapon skins. For the weapon skins I suggest creating a new slot on each gun called "Skin" or "Paint" and allowing an item to be attached that changed the appearance and nothing else. This allows the company to monetize more, and keeps the shop clean of cash-only guns for the players. For anythings like camo, or weapon skins that will be made pay-only, I would suggest one or two items for the slot be available in-game through tougher achievements. It makes players feel like they can really progress through every aspect of the game for free and they're less likely to feel like it's pay-to-win. I think what I mentioned in imperative to a successful free-to-play title. Looking at the few really successful titles out there, the one I think of quickest being League of Legends, they others nothing that boosts performance for cash only. I suggest the same for GRO, if you want a successful, quality, profitable title, leave the renting guns and cash-only equipment to the amateurs. You're better than that.
Thank You for Reading,
- Eric M.