Introduction
Hi guys, glad the game has finally released! Before I give my thoughts, I'd just like to respond to some of the unfair criticisms I've seen on the steam discussions and reviews:
1) "7 years for this! Very disappointed!" - Firstly, the dev team is quite small with fairly limited resources which is why the game is in early access. The project, Traction Wars, while appealing was far too large and ambitious. It was a smart move by the dev team to go for a much narrower focus. If this game is a success, there's nothing to say that they can't build up to what Traction Wars originally promised.
2) "Lame, just play RO2." - The game is in early access therefore the game is very much work-in-progress. I imagine lots of things are subject to change and new features will be added in the near future.
Anyway with that out of the way, lets get into it. I've played the game for two hours yesterday along with my friend and I'd like to share my thoughts on the game as it stands at the moment.
Pros
- The graphics look great and hold up very well even on low setting. The lighting in particular is very impressive as are the water effects.
- Character models are well done and historically authentic.
- The HUD and UI is clean and minimalistic which helps to immerse the player more greatly into the game environment.
- The soundtrack is a joy to listen to. Whoever composed it needs a big pat on the back.
- Gameplay while having several issues, is fast paced and intense which mirrors how firefights often happen in real life.
Cons
- Lack of an ability to go prone.
- Strange ground physics. gun shots against stone walls produce large amounts of debris. Characters running on certain terrain kicks up clouds of dust which don't look natural.
- Inability to steady aim when crouching or by cover. Bypods don't work currently. Soon to be added.
- Lacks customizable keybindings.
- Character animations are quite poor.
- Character movement is clunky and not intuitive. Often I'll take my finger of the 'W' key and my character will keep moving for a split second.
- Games are often over very quickly with people spending large chunks of the match spectating as they die early on.
- Lack of teamwork incentive. From my time playing, if I never used VOIP, more often than not nobody would communicate. This meant the entire team would go off and do their own thing.
- Gunplay for me and my friends felt a bit clunky and sluggish. I'd really like to hear other people's thoughts on this.
- Bugs and FPS inconsistency issues.
- The time it takes to join a server and for the server to switch maps takes far too long. I imagine this is just an optimization issue.
- Lack of ambient sounds (anti aircraft guns in the distance, birdsong, crickets, sounds of the seaside)
- Spawn protection. From my experience, as the attackers advanced, quite a few defenders were still hanging about which meant as everyone respawned they were often gunned down by defenders who had not fallen back.
Suggestions
1) I am of the opinion that the server cap needs to be increased from 12 v 12 to 24 vs 24. Larger teams allow for all objectives to be covered by the defending team thereby creating a frontline that the attackers have to break through. Many of the matches I played, objectives were often taken by lone wolfs who would go far out onto the flanks.
2) Increase the number of waves (10 waves/15 waves/20 waves) for both attackers and defenders. At the moment, troops drop like flies and waves are quickly expended by squad leaders. Bear in mind this would often occur at the first pair/trio of objectives. Include this change along with an increased time limit.
3) Split the map into zones. If attackers go beyond the current zone into the next one before they've captured the objectives then give the standard "Turn back soldier" *count down to zero* before instant death. Same with defenders, once they lose a zone, they have a certain amount of time to retreat before they're instantly killed.
4) Apply incentives to encourage teamwork. Give points for staying together with your team/squad. Maybe give points for using VOIP to hopefully encourage people to talk.
5) Instead of capturing one objective to take a zone, maybe make it so that you have to take all objectives in order to capture a zone. Obviously this change would have to be in conjunction with suggestions 1), 2), 3).
6) Include the ability to "ping" the map like in Rainbow 6 Siege. If a player pings an area on the map, it should alert the rest of the squad.
7) Maybe include a planning phase before the game begins which allows squad leaders to coordinate and plan out their strategy of attack/defence.
8) Include the cover system from RO2.
Let me know your thoughts. I will likely be playing this evening.
Hi guys, glad the game has finally released! Before I give my thoughts, I'd just like to respond to some of the unfair criticisms I've seen on the steam discussions and reviews:
1) "7 years for this! Very disappointed!" - Firstly, the dev team is quite small with fairly limited resources which is why the game is in early access. The project, Traction Wars, while appealing was far too large and ambitious. It was a smart move by the dev team to go for a much narrower focus. If this game is a success, there's nothing to say that they can't build up to what Traction Wars originally promised.
2) "Lame, just play RO2." - The game is in early access therefore the game is very much work-in-progress. I imagine lots of things are subject to change and new features will be added in the near future.
Anyway with that out of the way, lets get into it. I've played the game for two hours yesterday along with my friend and I'd like to share my thoughts on the game as it stands at the moment.
Pros
- The graphics look great and hold up very well even on low setting. The lighting in particular is very impressive as are the water effects.
- Character models are well done and historically authentic.
- The HUD and UI is clean and minimalistic which helps to immerse the player more greatly into the game environment.
- The soundtrack is a joy to listen to. Whoever composed it needs a big pat on the back.
- Gameplay while having several issues, is fast paced and intense which mirrors how firefights often happen in real life.
Cons
- Lack of an ability to go prone.
- Strange ground physics. gun shots against stone walls produce large amounts of debris. Characters running on certain terrain kicks up clouds of dust which don't look natural.
- Inability to steady aim when crouching or by cover. Bypods don't work currently. Soon to be added.
- Lacks customizable keybindings.
- Character animations are quite poor.
- Character movement is clunky and not intuitive. Often I'll take my finger of the 'W' key and my character will keep moving for a split second.
- Games are often over very quickly with people spending large chunks of the match spectating as they die early on.
- Lack of teamwork incentive. From my time playing, if I never used VOIP, more often than not nobody would communicate. This meant the entire team would go off and do their own thing.
- Gunplay for me and my friends felt a bit clunky and sluggish. I'd really like to hear other people's thoughts on this.
- Bugs and FPS inconsistency issues.
- The time it takes to join a server and for the server to switch maps takes far too long. I imagine this is just an optimization issue.
- Lack of ambient sounds (anti aircraft guns in the distance, birdsong, crickets, sounds of the seaside)
- Spawn protection. From my experience, as the attackers advanced, quite a few defenders were still hanging about which meant as everyone respawned they were often gunned down by defenders who had not fallen back.
Suggestions
1) I am of the opinion that the server cap needs to be increased from 12 v 12 to 24 vs 24. Larger teams allow for all objectives to be covered by the defending team thereby creating a frontline that the attackers have to break through. Many of the matches I played, objectives were often taken by lone wolfs who would go far out onto the flanks.
2) Increase the number of waves (10 waves/15 waves/20 waves) for both attackers and defenders. At the moment, troops drop like flies and waves are quickly expended by squad leaders. Bear in mind this would often occur at the first pair/trio of objectives. Include this change along with an increased time limit.
3) Split the map into zones. If attackers go beyond the current zone into the next one before they've captured the objectives then give the standard "Turn back soldier" *count down to zero* before instant death. Same with defenders, once they lose a zone, they have a certain amount of time to retreat before they're instantly killed.
4) Apply incentives to encourage teamwork. Give points for staying together with your team/squad. Maybe give points for using VOIP to hopefully encourage people to talk.
5) Instead of capturing one objective to take a zone, maybe make it so that you have to take all objectives in order to capture a zone. Obviously this change would have to be in conjunction with suggestions 1), 2), 3).
6) Include the ability to "ping" the map like in Rainbow 6 Siege. If a player pings an area on the map, it should alert the rest of the squad.
7) Maybe include a planning phase before the game begins which allows squad leaders to coordinate and plan out their strategy of attack/defence.
8) Include the cover system from RO2.
Let me know your thoughts. I will likely be playing this evening.
