Deciding on if I should play?

(burawura) #41

[QUOTE=AmishWarMachine;362247]Surely there are PC players out there that are satisfied with pub-level competition? Or is it your estimation that invariably all PC players gravitate to wanting/needing a more competitive environment to continue playing?

Part of me can totally see how a PC FPS player by default might be more geared to a higher level of play, but it’s also hard to comprehend that there isn’t a pool of PC players that just want to have fun (read: playing purely for the entertainment value).

Honest question.[/QUOTE]

Well, Verticae said it pretty well, but I will expound. It’s pretty simple: The general inaccuracy of the weapons reduces the importance of shooting skill, and therefore the importance of tactical decision making and team positioning is elevated far above that of shooting. This means that once players get to a certain level of skill, they stop seeing improvement in their game. The only thing they can do to get better is simply to make the correct decisions in the heat of battle, and stick with their teammates. In Brink you can play a perfect game, make no mistakes, make all the right decisions, and still lose, due to the randomness of the guns. Your skill will not be able to overcome the game mechanics, and the fact that A weapon is way better than B weapon at such and such range or such and such position. They went way overboard on trying to force teamwork, and ended up turning an action shooter into a tactical shooter.

I’ve been playing computer games since 1998 starting with Half-Life. I have a very limited competitive gaming background, and in general I play games purely to have fun. I consider myself to be slightly above average in mouse skill. Brink neuters my mouse skill. Every time I go to play it I’m reminded that I cannot do what I would like to do because my gun blows and cannot be relied upon to hit where I point it. Even the Gerund has this problem, even using ADS. I play action games primarily for the action, not the tactics or strategy. Those are important as well in an action game, as is teamwork of course, but the core of the game should be action, lots of it, and fast. Brink just doesn’t have this.

That being said, I’ve played the game for 170+ hours now and have had decent fun that whole time. But it gets boring, and you will eventually get fed up with it if you are proficient at playing fps games and want to get more proficient. To the OP, I would say go for the purchase, but don’t expect too much. Brink is a casual diversion, and at best an object lesson in teamwork, while we wait for a real shooter.

(Rex) #42

Is there a reason to play? I would say no.

(burawura) #43

Compare Brink to a game like Quake Live and you will start to see the difference. Even if you could play Quake Live for decades, without aging physically during that time, you still couldn’t “master” the game, or play it perfectly. Even the best QL players only hit 60% rail and 40% LG. Action games need to follow QL’s lead on this and tell the player “the sky is the limit, be the best you can be”. Then the game is fun for everyone, because everyone is constantly learning!

(Jimmy James) #44

So I did some research starting last night to see what the availability of servers on Steam was at various times of the day during a Friday.

So I took three screenshots, one at midnight, one at 9am (when I got up), one at noon, and one at 6pm. (Pacific Standard Time) I only took a screenshot of the first page of servers after sorting them by number of players but I did scroll down to see how many other servers had people on them.

At all times 300+ servers were found.

Midnight - Only servers on the first page and then one other server when I scrolled down.

9am - 2 full pages of servers, but second page only had 1 person in each.

Noon - Same results as 9am.

6pm - Same results as Midnight.

-JJ

(DrpPlates) #45

[QUOTE=Jimmy James;362320]So I did some research starting last night to see what the availability of servers on Steam was at various times of the day during a Friday.

So I took three screenshots, one at midnight, one at 9am (when I got up), one at noon, and one at 6pm. (Pacific Standard Time) I only took a screenshot of the first page of servers after sorting them by number of players but I did scroll down to see how many other servers had people on them.

At all times 300+ servers were found.

Midnight - Only servers on the first page and then one other server when I scrolled down.

9am - 2 full pages of servers, but second page only had 1 person in each.

Noon - Same results as 9am.

6pm - Same results as Midnight.

-JJ[/QUOTE]

just about every “full” server is a EURO server, game is laggy enough for me… surely dont need a 200 plus ping thrown in the mix… :smiley:

(and yes, i’ve played on those 200plus pingers- Horrible LAGFEST)

(burawura) #46

Yeah, this is a big reason why my playtime has dropped…I am west coast and the only active NA servers anymore are East Coast, ping 100+ and usually around 130, which in Brink is not ideal at all…

(Jimmy James) #47

There are two up right now that I can see.

DILLIGAFF16 San Jose, Ca

PartyPiratesGaming.com (Checked the web site and they are located on the West Coast too.)

A lot of the problem is that people don’t want to join an empty server, even though they tend to fill up pretty fast once a few people are logged in. Maybe I should create a West Coast social group on these forums so we can schedule games?

-JJ

(Smokeskin) #48

Is there a reason to play? I would say absolutely yes. I enjoy it more than any other game for many years, except for the “wow that’s cool” moments in the Portal games, but no staying power there.

It is not a mainstream title though. Weapons aren’t laser precise or super deadly. Lone wolfing often don’t work. If your team sucks, you’ll get frustrated. If those things put you off, you’ll have more fun elsewhere. Otherwise, you’ll probably love it.

(Dormamu) #49

I say go for it, me as a Noob i have plenty of fun with this game.
Abut the weapons, be sure to use the best weapon for the map/body type, and experiment with all of them to find what suits you best. Yesterday i got an epiphany, i said, let’s try different weapons for different maps and not stick with only one, and then the fun factor got sky high.
One more thing: Erase all your expectation, step in, and if this is what you want from Brink:

[QUOTE=DirtyLarry;361973]hello all,
…
With that said, I also do not have the time I once did. … I need a game I can hop on here and there, contribute to the team, and enjoy.
…
[/QUOTE]

You got it!

(gooey79) #50

[QUOTE=Smokeskin;362355]Is there a reason to play? I would say absolutely yes. I enjoy it more than any other game for many years, except for the “wow that’s cool” moments in the Portal games, but no staying power there.

It is not a mainstream title though. Weapons aren’t laser precise or super deadly. Lone wolfing often don’t work. If your team sucks, you’ll get frustrated. If those things put you off, you’ll have more fun elsewhere. Otherwise, you’ll probably love it.[/QUOTE]

Why do we keep saying it’s not ‘mainstream’? Wasn’t it built for mainstream? The design decisions certainly appear to have been made for mass market appeal.

Brink, in my view; is not a niche game by any manner of means.

(Jimmy James) #51

[QUOTE=*goo;362362]Why do we keep saying it’s not ‘mainstream’? Wasn’t it built for mainstream? The design decisions certainly appear to have been made for mass market appeal.

Brink, in my view; is not a niche game by any manner of means.[/QUOTE]
Pfft. Who ever heard of id Software or Splash Damage? (Sarcasmed!)

Maybe there are a lot of players who are new to this genre of game?

I actually feel that Brink was pretty heavily advertised, but I’ve been a huge fan of id Software, Splash Damage, and American McGee for years so I tend to keep track of any upcoming titles they are working on.

-JJ

(Smokeskin) #52

[QUOTE=*goo;362362]Why do we keep saying it’s not ‘mainstream’? Wasn’t it built for mainstream? The design decisions certainly appear to have been made for mass market appeal.

Brink, in my view; is not a niche game by any manner of means.[/QUOTE]

Mainstream is stuff that gives instant gratification and rewards lone wolf behavior, generally through precise and lethal weapons, k/d tracking, etc. Works well both for casual players and “boom headshot” pro comp types.

Brink on the other hand is teamwork and objective oriented, most stuff is impossible to complete on your own, it isn’t easy to get kills and the scoreboard doesn’t even list kills. That is very far from mainstream.

(.FROST.) #53

Just passed the 200 hours mark. I’d say I got a good feeling for the handling of the game after around 150-170 hours of MP playtime. Now after 200hrs I’d say I have a real solid feeling for this game. A solid base and something to start from. Even though there are still many routes* and little tricks to discover to be a real pain in the rear of the enemy. But I’m getting there. And since I’m not a very good shooter I gain my advantage mostly from this kind of experience.

Still seeing people in the opposing team or, the one in wich I spawned initially, don’t deem it necessary to have a single guy play the class required for the objective. As if the game came out last week. Plus they don’t seem to understand, that this game is all about pushing. Not recklessly, but assertive.

*Not the actual routes since they are quite limited, but the way how you use them and when! you use them. You learn how the average of the people play this game and you start to sneak up where you know they wouldn’t expect you(outflanking and stuff). Theres more than meets the eye. But CC is like in many other aspects the best example for this. There are many approaches and tactics possible wich aren’t obvious in the first place.

Even a Team of good shooters would have a hard time to battle, experinced players. On the other hand, its clear that those guys would catch up quite quickly and so you have no real advantage left. But I’m fine with little above mediocre. Ok, I’m not, but I can life with it…most of the time.

(tokamak) #54

What would it be if not a mainstream title?:confused:

Brink on the other hand is teamwork and objective oriented, most stuff is impossible to complete on your own, it isn’t easy to get kills and the scoreboard doesn’t even list kills. That is very far from mainstream.

Oh right, it’s more like those obscure indie titles like L4D and Team Fortress.

(DirtyLarry) #55

Damn. Nice to see a healthy debate going about this. That shows some people do want the game to be a good one.

Let me state a few things for the record. I own the game now, it is installed on Steam. It is a done deal me getting it for $20 from Amazon (who indeed had a golden box deal, which I only knew about thanks to Kotaku). So I kept it. When I started this thread I had already purchased it, I just did not have it in my possession yet and since I did not open it I had the option of returning it. That is why I came here.

Also, I have played the game. I rented it for my 360 through Gamefly. It is just as I stated in my first post, I am a PC gamer at heart, and it it actually close to Blasphemy playing an FPS on the consoles IMO. So anytime I can, I play FPS’s on the PC. So me starting this thread was always more about the activity of the community itself.

And I would say at the very least if there is not people playing, there are people wanting to play. So it looks as if I got it at the right time with the new DLC. I am sure that will add a spark, even if for a few weeks, and that is really all I was looking for for $20, some entertainment for a few weeks. I am also very much looking forward to Deus Ex, so when that is released my limited time will switch over to that for a while until I beat it, and I have not checked Brink out yet as I checked out the Battlefield 3 alpha when I had the free time yesterday, which is not often as I stated. Also the summer X Games have been on, so have been watching them to.

Just has not been the best weekend for me to try a new game, with that said I am going to get some breakfast in me, and see if I cannot find a server or two to hop on for an hour or so. And if I cannot, I will play with some bots to get familiarized with the game again anyway, as my time playing the 360 versions was brief at best.

Thanks again to everyone participating in the conversation. There were some standouts as well, like the member who took the time to post the screens of the current situation with servers. That was kick ass to do. And actually every person who has been in the thread period, there really is an intelligent, real, passionate discussion going on. Again, to me, that shows people at the very least want the game to be played, it is just they feel it is a shame no one is really playing it.

So once I do check it out, I may very well start a thread trying to organize a time where a few of us try to hop on at the same time. Know that will be rough with all of the different timezones coming into play, but it could be worth a shot.

(burawura) #56

Cool, feel free to friend me on steam, id is the same as here. Glad we could be of help! :slight_smile:

(snoopycat) #57

I’ve never seen so many excuses for one game. People didn’t abandon it because it’s a new ip. Has a steep learning curve. Isn’t maintream. Wasnt advertised enough. They abandoned it cos its junk. Pure and simple.

(Wildkarrde) #58

To be fair the game did have a lot of potential…But yep, i agree it’s pretty much rubbish it’s going to need a load of large updates and a shed load of free DLC to make this game rock and frankly there’s more chance of me winning the lottery than there is of Sd/Bethesda spending more than another month of what they would laughingly call “support”.

(Smokeskin) #59

Says the mainstream gamer.

Brink is great. It had some problems at launch but things are very good now, and it is easily the best game I’ve had in many years.

Calling it junk just because it isn’t to your taste is taking your own opinions too seriously.

(snoopycat) #60

Mainstream gamer? Can you use your psychic powers and tell everyone what games i’ve played this week?

No. The problems have not been fixed. Still unable to play with friends due to lag. Yet, put Halo in 2 mins later and no lags, no problems because that game was designed and tested properly.

I call it junk because it is junk. 8 unbalanced, broken maps for a full price game is not only junk, its a rip off. If its the best game you’ve ever played then you have my condolences.