EPTSo after the initial a custom game with each race to build everything and see the all of the units and their functionality and upgrades I jumped into ranked with the Human/Vanguard/Terran race.
Initial thought: Pretty underwhelming, but potential is there.
Whenever I approach a game I avoid any type out outside influence and like to figure things out on my own.
The only thing I have peeked at were the patch notes, and I think it's clear by the drastic number changes every build that there isn't really any point in commenting on balance since it's quite a mess, with 30-50% number adjustments being thrown around loosely.
(Memories of WoL beta, hell even post launch where Zerg actually had nothing to respond to the range of early reapers or hellions come to mind.)
So instead I'll just focus on overall design and feel.
The positives:
Units actually feel micro-able.
They successfully dodged sc2's meat grinder archetype. You can still lose a lot in mere seconds to something like Atlas(aka Siege Tanks) but it takes a lot of negligence to do so.
Early skirmishes and gambits can be enjoyable. Non mirror is a little too volatile.
The fact that it is interesting to ponder and consider the economic state of a strategy that will net you near full map control and/or force defense versus a more pure economy/"turtle-y" approach is neat, upon first glance.
I commend them trying to minimalize polarizing forfeitures of map control with certain early units and tech choices, but it's going to take quite some time to hit the balance correctly, and different maps will impact it drastically.
I've seen a lot of complaints from people that are frustrated that units feel 'clunky' or get stuck. I cannot stress enough that this an overwhelming positive for the game.
This allows players to showcase skill in both attacking and defending. The units all behave logically and attempt do do what you tell them to. I thoroughly disagree when people suggest that workers should have advanced 'smart-pathing' when trying to build or repair something.
Building grid feels intuitive. Command Posts have the similar false corner that CC's in StarCraft have always had but it's easy to make completely tight walls, despite people claiming otherwise (lol).
If they were to touch anything the edges and bottom of some ramps getting an extra hex of collision to avoid some unnatural looking clipping and pathing
As I touched on the creep system adds a refreshing element. The way it incentivizes early units but not in a mandatory fashion is really well done. (At least for now, but there is plenty of room for napkin math and number crunching for a given map.)
Applying pressure vs someone playing a defensive tech or economic opening until they stabilize then transferring your map control to take "their" creep camps is something I enjoy, and akin to how some war3 games play out.
All of this leads playstyle expression. It's a good indicator that even in the games infancy there seems to be multiple approaches that all seem to be viable. A meta is bound to form but as it stands now there doesn't seem to be many instances you can be grossly 'wrong' in the developing stages.
The negatives:
The UI layout. I would expect a lot more out of a game in [[current year]] "beta". Side thought: We really need more defining terms to describe whatever gets thrown into this umbrella.
Having worked on some games and projects I know that it's very difficult to justify and push for refined gui and interface elements when they are often scrapped and remade resulting in the dreaded pure time waste.
However, while you can ignore things like the fischer-price tier command card you can't do the same for things that actually convey information. Idle worker visibility and the limitations for hotkeys jump out at you immediately.
The latter being very perplexing as I know that it alone has turned off quite a lot of people from testing the game more than they would have. Not to mention key-binds failing to save, and a lot of tooltips being static (lol).
Single map for matchmaking. This just makes it more difficult to accurately assess the power of units and their interactions.
Unit progress and visibility. The global hotkey production keys idea is amazing and incredible in terms of a general Quality of Life step. However the information that is lost is significant compared to just traditionally hot-keying the structures. The latter gives you clear and concise information about how many structures and their production queue, where as the "QoL" version gives you a garbled mess of only units being produced with no other indicators.
Potential multiplayer/pvp pitfall. Traditional RTS gameplay will always be niche and unappealing to the majority. There is currently almost no indication and communication of how they are going about balancing accessibility, game modes, customs, and ways to encourage cross pollination.
If I get a chance for developer interviews and questions I know the one that I'm most curious about. What amount of consideration and testing is not only given, but considered adequate for unit interactions? For example, low level players that would just build units and send them idly attacking with little concern for micro. How deep are we diving into the math and numbers in relation to balance.
~~~
Could go quite a bit more in depth but those are my quick knee jerk takes. The last one gets me thinking about the sc2 marine and the ways they could have gone about balancing it. Ignoring things like game speed/dps&ttk(time to kill), how do you approach the fact that there exists a point in which the unit alone cannot be contested without some form of area of effect? Is it good design? Functional? Fun? Frustrating? So many issues without a clear objective response or solution.
How would you go about addressing or rationalizing this point?
Something I suggested in the original beta was to just simply increase the size of the unit. This increases the surface area which buffs and nerfs the unit. It decereases the DPS of the ball due to a reduced number of units that can attack at once, but provides a survivability buff against all aoe, since less units will be able to be hit by an attack or spell. Simultaneously there is more area to be attacked so melee and other single target units at least would be able to trade somewhat. I put it in the feedback survey as well as the forums. The amount of praise and support the idea had combined with no negativity made it hard to believe that it was simply never seen or at least commented on.
Stormgate fortunately doesn't have anything like this that stands out other than infest creeping, which I'm sure will get addressed either by making them duration based vs creeps or making it so most don't spawn them on death.
Overall I don't think the game is deserving of a lot of the excessive flack it seems to be getting, but it's definitely not worth some of the blind support and faith that some are giving it. Somewhere in between.
Hopefully April gives us a better picture.
