Survival: what needs to happen to save this game
-
If you haven't seen my last post, head over to general, it discusses how poorly this game has been handled by both devs and players alike. In an attempt to return to being positive, while still maintaining a critical tone, I'm going to outline a few things that absolutely need to happen for this game to survive. I don't claim to be a genius so some of my concerns might not be as crucial as I feel they are. That being said I think the things I will be discussing are important and necessary to this game surviving.
Increase the player base -
Although BE does have an apparent constant trickle of new players I haven't noticed them sticking around. Additionally the new players don't seem to have a good grasp of the game and mechanics which makes these new players more of a liability than a sign of good times. We need a surge of new players because there are some regions where people won't even find a match, more players means better matchmaking, and we have a higher chance of new players coming into this game with a higher skill level/understanding than our current "new recruits." If you just hopped into the game and are offended by what I just said, stop, it's not your fault. This game isn't treating new players very well at the moment so if you like the game stick around and do your best to learn quickly. Not great advise but thats all I can offer you via forums.Regular patches -
We don't need often changes, we don't need massive content drops (not entirely true), what we need is consistency. I'm talking one patch once a month, every two months. This way the players know they only have to deal with poor balance, bugs, and exploits that the last patch added for a set time. Obviously big enough problems, game breaking level stuff, would justify a hot fix but for the most part NT just needs to make patches regular.Road map -
A feature I don't feel like is completely necessary but to others, it is. Knowing what content is coming, how much, an idea of when. This information can keep players interested knowing they can expect a new hero in a few months or that the least played hero is getting reworked. We used to have a road map so expecting the return of one shouldn't be too out of the question.Marketing -
Like damn NT, Microsoft. How hard/expensive is it to have small, short ads, on YouTube and Twitch? Advertise where the gamers are, a little bit. Don't make a huge investment. Use the intro cinematic, a bit of gameplay. I mean shit I posted a clip in the Discord of me getting a triple Wing Blast train kill the other day. You have my permission to use that. Not the flashiest play but if you need a clip to get people interested that's not a terrible option. There is also paying popular content creators to play the game. A bit risky seeing as how some gamers could give it a negative representation but an easy to reach gamers is to go where they are.Long term goals -
As the previous things are done this game will improve, player base will increase, but you can't stop there. Now you need to maintain. Once you have a big enough player base introduce more queue options. Ranked, no map mods, specific gametype (this could kill Power Collection, but meh). This would allow experienced players to play ranked to separate themselves from new players improving the experience of both considerably. New players get to learn with fewer stomp matches and dedicated players get the competitive matches they have desired for months.A new gametype needs to come around eventually. Although many games survive off a handful, or a single one, this game essentially has a good gametype and bad one. Even the good one can get screwed up by map mods. In my opinion we have enough maps, stop making maps and work on the content we currently have to improve every match. Power Collection needs some love. I'm not sure what except for Makutu Cheese, that must be purged. A few of the map mods are gross and should be looked at for purging as well, or at least lower their frequency. If I play Open Season twice in a single day I consider that to be a grim Omen. As I said near the start of this paragraph, some games get away with minimum game types. I don't know if this game can.
Communicating with the community is something we need. I prefer some proper conversation. Now if the devs are only comfortable with popping into the Discord and joking about, than that is what we will get, but I would prefer something constructive. Hold a stream every now and then and ask us questions about our concerns and things we want to see added. Get a feel for where you stand with us. Use those opportunities to give us a sense of what you are working on, past what a road map would say.
You guys have a solid game here. NT just need to take this seriously. I know this has been described as a "passion project" but if they are truly passionate about this game then they should know they haven't given it the attention it needs. If NT has been directed to halt development on the game temporarily then we have to wait until they can resume for changes. But NT, if you're reading this, the moment you return to BE development you better come at it full throttle.
-
I'm a fairly new player and I agree with just about everything you've said, however you left out probably the most important thing this game needs, a ranking system. I'm only level 23 and yet I still mop the floor with most players under level 10 or so. That's only a 13 level difference. Imagine what happens when I get put against a team that is all level 125 and up. Yea, it's not fun. But what I think is tanking this this game the most, is the toxic community. I STILL get messages about once every day or so telling me how bad I am at this game and how I should stop playing it. These are probably the same people bitching that the player base is too small.
-
@Moj4do if you enjoy the game try to stick around. Or at least play it on and off. The game is solid. Community is always a rough thing to deal with. Unfortuantely the only way to learn is to play so if these players are calling you "trash" or whatever they need to back off. We are supposed to be attracting new players, not pushing them away.
Hang in there homie! If we are on at the same time maybe we can play together
-
@thetruepilliger Sorry for the late reply, but yes, the community is DEFINITELY pushing people away. I’ve stuck around because this is a really fun game, despite STILL receiving messages a few times a week. I’ve gotten a lot better at the game yet somehow I’m always trash when it comes to my teammates
but thank god I don’t give a fuck what other people think, cuz I prolly woulda stopped playing a long time ago lol another thing I’ve discovered since last messaging here, is the quit penalty is fucking ludicrous! And I’ve never even quit out of a game I lagged out of a game once and another time I was AFK for like 2 minutes because someone rang my doorbell and I’m not gonna just ignore that. I came back only to find out that I’ve been kicked and I have to play 3 games where I back-fill just to get rid of the ban. Like.....WOW. THAT right there, almost made me stop playing this game alone, like seriously. -
Honestly the leaver penalty is weak. To you it is brutal because you are unlocking things and leveling characters. Backfilling is annoying but it also takes up one of those three games. Meaning, if you join a game and 1 minute later it is over that is one third of your backfills. I hate to shamelessly self advertise but try to check out my stream (disclaimer: I'm super inconsistent). If you ever want advise you can ask me directly. I love to talk about this game.
Also, apologies for getting back to you late as well. I sometimes forget to check out my own forum posts... whoops
