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Table of contents.
1. Progression and skill tree.
2. Customization.
3. Mech classes.
4. Items.
5. Internals.
6. achievements.
7. conclusion.
1) Progression and skill tree.
So far from my experiences everything feels really small or slow, The level progression seems ok, I did have a 2x exp booster on so it might need optimization. The costs versus how much money you make however is a very large gap for my experiences though. Also rewards from leveling feel very lack luster. The only upgrade to affect my gameplay was the level 20 weapon upgrade. Everything else, if the game didn't tell you it increased your performance you wouldn't know that it did. This might be a case of steadily increasing the rewards until the seem just right or trying to keep the game in balance but right now it's just REALLY unnoticeable. If we see an increase in rewards next closed beta that will be great and one step closer to a more rewarding experience. If it's an attempt at keeping things balanced it's working because the rewards don't change much.
An easier way to have balance along with better rewards it pvp brackets. they could even start as 1-10 and 11-20 to see if it causes problems at first. Altho that doesn't quite fix the rewards because they are mostly percentages or numbers. I personally want more things like the assault classes weapon cooldown ability, or perhaps you could have extra H.E. charges or a better shield. How about an extra internal/item a lot_ The ability to dodge in mid air or a double jump that uses no fuel. An aoe attack that perhaps causes damage also to it's user or will turn off their weapons systems for a short duration. a shield that will protect you while you repair but will break upon taking a certain amount of damage (possibly with a cooldown_). Things like this add a lot of variety for players to choose from.
2) Customization.
So far it's understandable that there are not too many visual customizations to the game. The ones that are there are decent and does let a player stand out. However i should mention that it would be nice to the customizations would deter from letting different mech classes looking like each other. I wouldn't be too happy if i walk up on what appears to be a sniper to get hit by hellfire missiles.(a very big exaggeration but it gets the points across).
Also this game has amazing sound so it would be incredible if even sounds were customizable. Like possibly an electronic sounding mech or a steam sounding mech. Guns with louder barrels or silencers. I understand that it's nice to keep stats away from looks as well however so some of it might be hard to implement but there are ways.
3) Mech classes.
When I entered the game i sorta wanted to play a huge hulking mech, because why not_ However i was unable unless i bought one because a c class mech wasn't able to be "rented" for free. I think a player should be able to choose between 3 default mechs of each class, or there should always be 3 "free" mech one of each class. (I know having 3 free ones isn't a very good business model so possibly the choice of a,b,or c.) Also I think the classes need to be a bit different from each other. Having almost the same skill trees for the different classes doesn't feel like it offers much variety.
It doesn't have to be like comparing an apple to an orange but at least a green apple to a red one. It's again about feeling the difference not just knowing that it is.
4) Items.
I can't remeber the other because i didn't use them but here are my thoughts on what I did use.
Shield.
Great item, the only complaints I have are the visuals or the shield. It's kinda hard to see through and doesn't match the rest of the games look to me. Also I'm not sure what weapons can go through the shield but i've died inside one before, felt kinda robbed but I'm assuming it's not glitch and something can pierce the shield. also on a side not a personal short duration shield would be an awesome items as well.
H.E. charges
standard grenades, didn't use them all to much but they were always used against me. Pretty good. possibly a sticky version of it or a higher aoe version could be made_ Also would be cool if they were more visible put some red blinking on it_
Radar scrambler.
Again solid item. Not sure it meant to happen but sometimes red dots will be off the map, sells out the items pretty quickly.
Hologram
Pretty good, easy to fool people, sometimes even best to use as bait out in the open. only grip is even an allies hologram looks like an enemy if you're far enough away.
Turrets.
love these, use them for extra damage and a great warning system when in repairing!
EMP.
I feel like gravity need to be implemented into this item. if you land it you usually win. only on the few occasions do you hit yourself which isn't a big deal because your enemy won't have weapons either.
5) Internals.
Lets put it this way. I don't remember the name of these at all. The only one I noticed was the armour increase. They need to be worked on if they were supposed to be an integral customization/variation component for the game. There are a few threads around giving suggestions for these and one I really like was this. ( From Hipnox http://tinyurl.com/consucc )
Offensive internal
Experimental Feed mechanism
(For SubMachingun, Assault rifle or Vulcan only)
% Chance of firing 2 shots instead of 1
% Chance of not firing at all
As a player I love shooting bullets, weapon fire rate is awesome for me. Now I'm not an expert on game balance so I left out the actual percentages (also people seem to tweak when you include numbers) So yes drawbacks are always an excellent way of game balance.
6) Achievements.
These are not yet implemented but from my video game experiences visual customization and item unlocks are great rewards for these. Like an assault class that get however many kills with his assault rifle gets a new better looking and sounding gun which may (or may not) have the same stats. Someone who gets however many kills with H.E charges gets a cooler particle effect etc.
7) Conclusions.
This is so far shaping up to be a great game whether is be a Mech simulator or a Mech Fps. To me it doesn't matter is has mechs in it and as long as the game has ample amount of variety, progression, and noticeable rewards in the game it's a great game.
(and variety doesn't mean 30 different weights classes and 100 different this and that to choose from and fiddle with.)
Thanks for reading whatever parts of my thoughts you read, can't wait to share my thoughts on CB2!
-Necro.
(sorry about any errors)
Edited by Necro, October 31 2012 - 05:39 PM.
