Funnily enough @Kaptin_Pokkets, the original design for EC didn't appeal to me (I saw it way back when they were begging for money or founders as they call it). Especially with the scope of the project they laid out was too good to be true (red flag right there). But I picked this up in the humble sale a few months ago after watching a friend play it some and enjoy it quite a bit. Yes it has a lot of rough edges that need polishing. Maybe a few that could be outright sheared off, but the scale of the previous game was unobtainable possibly even in the realm of triple A.
Actually it was POSSIBLY obtainable. The problem was with Pikoserver, which was essentially a new tech that created a way to emulate Planetside 2's trademarked (thanks a lot Sony!) technology that allows it to have hundreds of players per open match. When the Pikoserver project failed on them, all the cash they funneled into it was gone and they had to create this sad shell of the open-world large-scale battlefield game we were originally given as the premise. Ultimately the failure rests with the original project manager, who put all his eggs and funds into that one thing and cost us what could have amounted to an impressive 40k online game. Because if you think I would have coughed up cash for a somewhat-competitive, ill-balanced arena shooter with a dash of 40k flavoring you must be outta your mind.
Dayum.... well, they updated the world map, its bigger now. Fuck, the Pikko server guys should refund bE's money!
What makes 40k, 40k? And can it be found in EC? To me it's: Massive battles - semi-check Viable melee and ranged combat - check Tank battles - semi-check Unique Warmachines (Dreadnoughts, Defilers, War Walkers) - nope Monstrous Creatures (Avatars, Greater Daemons) - nope The influence of the Warp (Psychic powers, Daemons) - semi-check WMDs (Orbital bombardments, psychic storms) - nope A good narrative - nope (but for a multiplayer arena shooter, it's not the biggest priority) Notice it's the cool shit that isn't in the game? The stuff that would help EC stand out from the crowd is not here. Yes we have melee and ranged combat on a fairly large scale, but it cannot be marketed due to the fact that it isn't the smoothest in gameplay terms. But if we had Dreadnoughts, Defilers, Daemon Princes, orbital lasers, crazy psychic powers that, if used excessively, could see you explode, possessed, or turn into a Chaos spawn... THESE are things that are marketable. EC needed the cool parts of 40k to help it stand out. In a balanced multiplayer game, Space Marines with chainswords aren't going to cut it simply because they won't be all powerful gods of war, but relegated to ordinary soldier status. To make up for this, the truly awesome parts of the game needed to be employed. I understand that the current map designs and indestructible environments limit the usefulness and usage of the larger stars of the 41st Millennium, but even if they were NPC's on large open air maps, they would be something to brag about, to see and say "wow, I get to fight that?!". And the smaller things, like an expanded psychic powers system with perils of the warp, and lesser Daemon possessions/summonings, player commanded orbital strikes... all of these would have gone a long way to making the game more unique. EC will almost certainly never have any of these things. The fact there is no narrative elements in the game at all is clear proof that small details that make the game interesting are beyond the devs time and money compared to balance, performance, and cash shop items. We have to be realistic about how far the game will be developed, so sadly, I can safely say that the game will never truly exhibit the true feelings of awesomeness that the 40k universe can provide.
Do we all look like Imperial Fists to you? Eh? Not all of us are redshirts, and plenty of legions rely on maneuverability to win. We've got Night Lords, Ultramarines, Alpha Legion, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, etc who have more tactics then 'grind ourselves into extinction.'
is there actually any ORK player here that would love to play as a totally gimped character that dies to 1-2 bolter shots, can't hit shit on ranged and gets murdered as soon as a Marine looks in his general direction?
There are a lot of problems with balance and faction uniqueness. Can unique factions be done in a PVP shooter with good balance? Yes. Can BE do it without a massive funding from GW and recruitment of 300% more personnel? Nope. Honestly, as much fun as that would be, this game needs a more universal balance, not less, if it keeps up its sole PVP focus with only the barest bones of PVE. Even Space Marine did not dare try it, with a more experienced and bigger Dev team. Could assymetrical balance work theortically? Yes, but it is not practical. Could it be made to work? Well, if we had a lot more resources on the dev team... Imagine much more powerful marines, but with a lower player count and longer respawn. Imagine a new PVP/PVE game mode where NPCs would fight alongside players. Players would be SM, CSM, Aspect Warriors, Nobs. NPCs would be IG, Cultists, Guardians and regular boyz. SM would have the lowest player count and longest respawn, and Orks the largest nob base and fastest respawn, but SM would be most powerful individually. It would fit the lore, it would be fun. But I'm afraid there are no resources in to make it a reality. So Chaos should just get the Demon Eye bolter from Space Marine, Sm get an autocannon, Orks some sniper weapon, plasma being useful against tanks, and all healers havin a melee and a ranged heal option. It would not bring the lore immersion fun but at least it would be better balanced.
