This goes out to both the alpha players and SD.
SD I believe the direction you are taking the game right now is the best course for the game to succeed. Focusing more on characters vs classes will make the game more attractive to a much broader audience. In addition, it will also separate it as an FPS compared to other FPS’s. In essence, the focus on characters is what will make the game unique and make it its own.
I think your biggest task will be achieving the perfect marriage between FPS and MOBA (more on this later.)
Currently, there are noticeable flaws with your current product. Some you are aware of others you may not be.
First and foremost, your largest flaw is your map design. I believe this is a consistent problem you have had across multiple games. At some point you need to address your level designers and tell them that the maps they are making are not working. Camden is your best map, don’t take that as it’s phenomenal, because it’s not by any means. It’s just the most playable, but even the ending of that map is lackluster. You have a fetish for putting objectives out in the open with minimal to no cover, then having defense spawn directly on top or in front of the objective making it near impossible to complete. Though classless objectives are somewhat of a band-aid to this, that’s like putting a cherry on a piece of **** and telling me it’s a sundae. Fix the root of the problem.
Here is a post I made on Brink repeating almost the exact same thing I am stating here.
[QUOTE=strychzilla;308539]Discussion Topics
1. Defensive Favored
There is the very true feeling that most of the maps are defensively favored. So far, the suggested solutions are:
Like you stated, spawn timers are a serious issue at the moment. By the time you clear the defense out they’re already running back in buffed and nades primed.
Gibbing should take 4 - 5 bullets tops. Currently, it takes anywhere from 15-30 bullets (far too many imo) to kill someone and another 10 to gib. You either die trying to gib or have to reload and by then they are being revived while you’re under fire.
The choke points are brutal, getting passed the bridge stage on Resort is almost impossible since it’s out in the open right outside where the defense spawns. Since snipers are almost useless, trying to pick them off on that ledge is quite a task.[/quote]
If you need some ideas on where to go take a look at some of the RtCW maps. Assault, the objective was right next to the defense spawn, but they spawned on a low level and you could plant on the opposite side of where they spawn. This made it so you could plant once the enemy team was wiped, then you could properly defend the plant. Ice, again, defense spawns right next to the objective, but yet again they spawn under it not on top of it. Base, and again, defense spawns close to the objective, yet they spawn under it. This is all for a reason, it’s so that once the offense wipes out the defense they can plant and defend; not get wiped out in 5 seconds from defense spawning on top of them and shooting them in the face while they’re trying to complete the objective.
In addition to the map flaws your current spawning system, which you stated will be addressed, is not helping the situation either. Having the opposing team come in pulses is infuriating to experience. There have been numerous times where I killed someone and then died to them shooting me in the back while I was completing the objective all within a matter of 10 - 15 seconds. My fear with your approach to balancing these maps is that you’re balancing them without a proper system in place. How can you balance a map when you don’t even have the spawn system correctly implemented? How is your echo data accurate? It isn’t. You can’t say it is because you know the spawn system isn’t working. Yet you’re moving objectives around and spawn locations etc. to accommodate the current flawed system. Fix it.
Being the current architect for our SCCM environment I can tell you I have made some poor decisions and have learned more of what not to do vs what to do. My advice here would be to write it out, even if it’s on paper, what you want and how you want things to play out, then design it. Right now it feels like you’re just designing with no direction, no architecting. That is, imo, a terrible approach. Reduce your scope (all this progression stuff you have planned.) Get back to the basics (fix the core before adding more, should be your office motto.)
I feel once the 2 above flaws have been addressed we will see a much more steady flow to the game and feel the objectives with their purpose and not just a zombie wave of players coming every other second.
The next major flaw that needs to be addressed is your overall combat system. I will break this up into sections to make it easier to comprehend.
Models/Hitboxes: Models are small and skinny. This isn’t really a big deal, but your hitboxes are. They are tightly wrapped around the model so tight, that I can shoot someones hand and it will be a miss (tested), I can have half of my crosshair on a model and it will miss (tested). For me, that’s too tight. Some people call it modern, I call it obnoxious. Increasing the model size does not seem like a reasonable resolution. Slightly, inflating the hitboxes though does.
Movement: Strafing needs a slight increase in speed. Sprint canceling for reloading, nade cooking, and specials needs to be removed. I was going to say over all the movement needs to be increased but after thinking about it, I feel removing the sprint cancels will be a better resolution and give the game a much more fluid feel. Whether you are against it or not, I think we should be given the opportunity to test it. Your movement and combat is chunky. There is no rhythm or flow just stop go stop go stop go. Can we get a yellow light please?
Weapons: You guys will work on this later but as you are aware a lot of the guns feel like they have no punch. No wow factor to them. Just blah. More often then not, I feel grabbing sand and throwing it at the enemy would be more effective than using the original medic SMG. The desert eagle feels and shoots nice, the revolver is the same, the new Lt primary feels pretty good too. Even the new engie shotgun feels and sounds nice, though if you miss it’s gg.
The marriage:
You need to take the best elements from A (FPS) and make them fornicate with the best elements of B (MOBA).
Your first mistake here was saying that this game was anything like xxx game. Essentially, you are setting an expectation that you may not be able to meet, at least not to everyone. Everyone has a different reason as to why WET was awesome. The damage is done so whatever, at least you can make an awesome game right?
What are the best elements in an FPS? That’s subjective because what is awesome to 1 person may not be to another. That’s what Anti would say. I agree to an extent but the one thing I believe most can agree on is memorable maps and fluid combat. RtCW, CoD 1 + 4, CS, TF were all extremely successful because of those above qualities. The core of those games are rock ****en solid and you can’t deny that no matter what game you came from.
To reiterate, you need to seriously put a lot of attention and time into making the most fluid gameplay experience ever. Followed closely you need to put a lot of work into your maps and I’m not talking about cranes and hamsters running around the map.
What are the best elements in a MOBA? For most I believe the characters are the most memorable thing. I can mention Teemo and immediately anyone who has played League knows exactly who I am talking about. It’s the little asshole that runs around dropping shrooms every where. Right now, DB’s characters are not unique enough at all. The biggest difference is Conker vs Nader and that’s only because they have drastically different primaries.
This is where I might lose comp players but I’m starting to feel in order for you to succeed with DB and the direction of an FPS MOBA you need to make some crazy loadouts to add flavor. How about a soldier with a Riot Shield + Pistol as his special. He would be used to break through a choke. He would be the more of a tank style soldier and have slightly slower movement but some beefed up HP with weaker weapons. Support only medic with no offensive capabilities, engineer with effective deployable cover (no turret), melee based spec ops, etc. Basically, give a reason for someone to want to purchase another load out. The benefits in doing this, especially with a classess objective system is that elevated levels of strategy can be applied for the competitive crowd. Example: “Well it’s this map, with this choke/objective, we need someone to run this character who excels in this scenario.” It would almost play out like a MOBA.
This is an idea that I thought about while typing this up:
Primary objectives are classess (repair tank, blow up wall, etc.) make secondary class restricted objectives that give noticeable benefits to the team. I.E. engineer can repair a command post that has a forward spawn for attackers/defenders. This will give reason to run a certain class, even if it’s for a temporary time.
That’s all that I have for you right now SD. Good thing it wasn’t a lot. 
To the players, I think you guys are zooming in too much and not zooming out to see the big picture. I know I’ve been negative or what I like to call over passionate but you guys are starting to just shoot **** down without thinking about how it could play out. I don’t think it’s entirely your fault because of the false impression delivered by SD on the “Magic of ET” statement or whatever but I’ve changed my perspective on what this game should be, to what it could be. To us RtCW and WET were the best games of all time…again that’s to us. SD needs to make the best game of all time to a new generation (look at Smite’s success.)
Basically, if we steer them towards RtCW/W:ET 2 you will have a population of 3 - 5K players and pretty much no competitive support because who wants to host a tournament for a game that has no following? It’s time to embrace change, even if you quit and never come back because it isn’t RtCW/WET 2, if it’s successful for what it is, a new comp scene will be formed and you will be replaced. That’s the truth whether you choose to accept it or not.
I think this game has extreme potential if we let SD go a little out of the box and not try and scare them to making a sequel to a dead/dying game just to relive our younger years.
Edit: Cleaned up some stuff.
