Antisync2
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It's going to be a long post so bear with me.
It is not a problem of new players getting slammed by bigger ships. That's more of a game mode problem. There's a reason why games with a player base of millions segregate play areas based on level. For example, World of Warcraft seperates its battleground battles by level groups so that a level 85 Hunter don't perform a 20,000 damage Explosive Shot on a poor level 30 player. Sound familiar?
If Navyfield would revive its dd/cl, ca/bb game modes etc, FF/DDs and BB1/2s won't get completed served by CA/BB1s and BB4/5/6s respectively.
But then of course, there's the issue of shared experience. I mean hey, why work your ass off for $50 when you can get $30 for free! We are all humans, we all subject to greed and sloth, and we can't blame each other. Adding on to the problem is the fact that the 2 most active game modes favor the higher end tier players, which are CA/BB1s in Blitzkrieg and BB4/5/6s in GB2. They eat players who are new to the game modes as an appetizer for breakfast. If I'm forced to grind my character up in World of Warcraft by continuously getting owned by higher level players, I'd quit the game, uninstall it and burn the DVDs.
So the problem here is that we have "Leechers" and "Cannon Fodders".
The solution is easy. Introduce Shared Exp in Normal Game Modes. It's that simple! Feed on the Greed! In fact, it would be better if we could introduce more Blitz-like games with level caps of 30 and 90, adding on to Blitz cap of 60. That would even out the difficulty of the grind for new players and lower level ships. Everyone will have a fighting chance. There should be no reason to leech. There's still a leecher? Boot his lazy ass in the next game lobby. It's as simple as that! I'm no IT Programmer, but I'm sure the implementation of such game modes wouldn't take long. After all, it's just editing existing games modes, give it a new name and color theme and you're all set.
Now, high level players will complain that they themselves went through harsh times to get where they were. My reply would be "Don't Lie. You either were a pioneer player from the early times, leeched, Anti-Air Whored your way through or purchased a PBB. If you really did grind, suffer and had your ass served in GBs to get your BB4, then you ought to accept change. It's for the good of the future of the game. You should be proud of SDE for implementing major changes if it means making the game more more user friendly. If you really leave because of these changes, it only shows your maturity level."
However, with every solution comes a new problem. If such game modes are to be implemented, it is IMPERITIVE that the amount of players with different tier ships online simultaneously be very, very high or the game will die due to long waiting times. Solution? Merge ALL the servers. Yes, I said it. ALL of it. If need be, Advertise for more players. This is where SDE must really put their backs into it.
And yet another problem will arise. "Lag". If the current hardware causes lag on current "High" population servers, which is really ridiculous as its a sprite based game, Upgrade. Invest. Spend some money. Change the entire server rack. I bet my left nut that it will work. More people will join the game. Money will come in. You will laugh your ass to the bank.
If you really need some capital to invest, increase the incentive to use the NF store, or worst case scenario, introduce in-game advertisements on the Main Menu, Harbors and Map Room etc. Just don't do it on the Battle Screen due to obvious reasons. People are going to hate it, but it's only going to be temporary. In fact, personally, I wouldn't mind if it's permanent. Just don't make them too irritating.
Which comes to another problem (sigh), the logarithmically increasing learning curve. Currently, new players, including me 6 years ago, will be completed blown away by the massive information they immediately get on the Harbor Screen. I mean, the new arrow guides are nice, but that's just not enough. That's spoon feeding, not learning. Now I know there's a nice flash guide on the website and forums, but let's be honest here. Not many players will first visit the website to research and gather information to plan long term. They would launch the shit out of the Navyfield Launcher, alt-tab during the loading screen, log-in, launch the shit out of their frigate and finally, get their arses served as a side dish.
Solution? In-game tutorials. Not just about the basics, but the more advanced stuff as well. The REAL advantages of Manual FCS, armor, speed, range, ammo type, gun type, Experts and Veterans, sailor growth, ship maneuvering, torpedoes, support sailors, Nation Advantages/Disadvantages, game modes etc. Then there's the really advanced stuff like Aircraft Carriers and Submarines, Sailor Ability, differences of different Battleship routes, Battleship formation lines in GBs, Rushing, Anti-Air, AA whoring, Armor whoring, Speed whoring, experience penalties for various reasons, Team work etc. There's just so many factors and features of Navyfield gameplay that it's not user-friendly to learn them through experience and mistakes.
I understand these changes might take a lot of time, effort and money, but I can assure you once again with my right nut this time, that the end result will be completely worth it. It's a game with a niche audience, but it's a great game nonetheless. It's unique in so many ways, that even I prefer it to World of Warcraft. Screw World of Tanks. I'd hate to see Navyfield die.
PS, buff KM range. PPS, remove 1 level gain per game limit for sailors. PPPS, add more normal ships, not event ships. PPPPS, what the hell, buff 2nd set KM 11" shell damage.
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