The Novelty Wore Off...

(PixelTwitch) #1

Now I am making this rather vague post for a very important reason…

The card system novelty has completely wore off…
Now I don’t mean I am particularly annoyed with the system or anything like that at all really. Simply, even though there was cards I was excited to try and get I no longer feel myself being all too concerned with unlocking the crates. Now what is think is happening is not directly linked to the card system itself but more to the augments, skins and the weapons directly. This is also linked to the way the game is balanced also…

Before I go into more detail I want to prefix my argument with a quick statement…
I am actually quite good (compared to the current player base) at Dirty Bomb. This could account for my “Meh, weapons and augs are not worth bothering about!” attitude. Meaning that because I am fairly lethal regardless of my loadout or Merc I decide to use. I do not feel the need to switch Mercs or Loadouts for certain rolls (apart from repairing). The reason I play games is simply to win! The winning / competition means as much, if not more to me then the game itself. Ok… So… Where is the problem?

I believe the issue is down to the content of the cards (the loadouts) and the current drop rates of certain cards. When it comes to the drop rate of certain cards, I found myself frustrated when getting doubles and cards that did not interest me. This would be considered a fairly standard response… However, what eventually happened is what concerns me. I started going into crate openings expecting disappointment then eventually started going into them with no expectations or excitement towards opening them at all. In short, I have become almost completely numb of emotion in regards of opening the crates, to the point where even getting an EPIC card would not phase me. When it comes to the loadouts, I feel there is not enough variation to really make anything all that desirable… At first, I was very excited to get my first Legendary Stoker card with the Stayer Aug. I soon realised however, it was balanced to the point of irrelevancy and actually ended up preferring the default Stoker… Saying that it did take me a while to get over my “Rarity means better” mentality even though I already knew it was not the case. Preferring to go back to default or common cards really does feel like a kick in the teeth and one of the biggest problems in games like Counter Strike Global Offensive where people would use crappy weapons in Matchmaking just so they could show off a new skin…

TL:DR - I feel the card system in its current state and most importantly current direction (from what we know about) is going to fall flat. The link between skins and loadouts feels wrong… Also, if I have already had to start forcing myself to go into the crate menu to unlock crates, its going to be even harder for me to force myself when there is a pay wall in the way. I am doing a post on “Balance” at the moment that will go live soon that also touches onto this topic. I feel much more needs to be done game wide (though I believe the changes themselves are small) in order to make an engaging monetisation/loadout system.

(Glottis-3D) #2

read only tldr part.

i can say, that in order to realy connect with this system i need to decide which way i want to go.
like in RPG games. i play engie, i doo objects, so i get more object-cards.

(Mustang) #3

Main points for me

(RasteRayzeR) #4

I can understand that playing 16 hours a day for days does make any game wear off lol. How about you try to take a break, and come back to it after a while ? This is also only the first iteration of the card system, it’s normal that it’s not really evolved yet.

(PixelTwitch) #5

It’s like I said though I feel the direction is also off…
If you cannot make the loadouts desirable you have a problem full stop…
The cards themselves are fine and I like where the customisation will take it future. However if customising mercs feels pointless anyway the problem remains :slight_smile: Also, I don’t play as much as you think I do :stuck_out_tongue:

(tokamak) #6

I think each augmentation should level up throughout the match.

But that’s just to bring temporary growths into the game, which is what made ET addictive.

Outside the game it should be possible to constantly tinker with your configuration. Like in Hawken, or Tribes. Can be based on cards but I want modules and tech trees and all that.

(Kl3ppy) #7

I dont need to play 16h per day to get bored by DB :tongue:

(montheponies) #8

Everything that’s wrong with game design is contained in that statement.

(Nail) #9

I thought we were testing the delivery system not the actual cards

(potty200) #10

Oh you! :stuck_out_tongue: Love you raste… You just gotta get into CSGO now!

(Kendle) #11

The novelty of the card system never worn on as far as I’m concerned, I’ve tried to ignore it as much as possible. I’m just hoping that people more interested than me (which I suspect is everyone) will balance it out by the time we go live, and that I’ll then still be able to ignore it as much as possible.

(tokamak) #12

Prioritising which ability you want to strengthen further was a meaningful part of the gameplay.

(Exedore) #13

I think the points raised are fair, but please remember that this is an initial implementation. More loadouts, rarity tweaking and a loadout recycling system are critical to making this work better.

(Mustang) #14

If we’re going to mention critical changes then either card crafting or removal of gameplay effecting factors from cards needs to be in there.

(PixelTwitch) #15

Again, my issues are not the cards…
My issue is with there limited scope when it comes to variation in loadout due to everything being balanced in such a way that almost every option becomes irrelevant. Adding more features, rarity and customisation to the card only serves to lengthen the process and increase the need. It will do nothing to to make the actual system engaging, rewarding or add any real depth.

(INF3RN0) #16

I have too many proxy dupes! System is rigged.

(INF3RN0) #17

A suggestion from me here- keep the restricted combo’s of mercs+perks+weapons. BUT instead of having just card sets in drops (not saying to remove these), the default drops should be broken up into smaller parts like individual perks, base merc cards (skins), and weapons. A player can collect these individual pieces and combine them into a completed card. You can still offer the random card drops as well, but the main system should be a “collect and craft”. This allows for more player flexibility, more micro-transaction opportunities, and overall a much more appealing system. My 2cents, but srsly do it :slight_smile:

(PixelTwitch) #18

I think there concern is then communicating what you can and cannot use for each merc and preventing certain combos that they deem to throw off balance. While in general it would reduce the luck based factors it would increase grind unless drops where much much more regular. I like the idea but I still think a system somewhere in the middle would be much better. Having completely random cards for each merc within set boundries and allowing the player to combine cards and shift over certain Augs and weapons from one card to the next (but destroying one of the cards) would be a better way in my opinion.

(INF3RN0) #19

I’d say it would reduce the grind simply because you could collect all the parts individually and combine them into exactly what you wanted (within the balance restrictions off), assuming each boxes would contain multiple parts with a randomized rarity per part. I’d still have the the pre-set card drops too, but I’d also include salvage kits for breaking down unwanted cards back into their components. A crafting system like this would give means for a ton of monetization options that would never interfere with the game play. You’d be able to sell rarity multipliers or re-rolls to be used per component, salvage kits, pre-set card packs or random component packs, rare drop boosters, etc. MMOs do this kind of stuff really well and I think we would all benefit from as much flexibility as possible.

(PixelTwitch) #20

I do get it mate, It just seems like it will limit variation in the long run (eveyone building the same loadout.)
It also sounds like it would be a little too friendly towards the end user >.< I want them to make me work more and not have direct manipulation. I think the counter to the lots of components argument is that you could give the player too much choice so you clutter the store and you allow them to buy what they want right away.

More random but gameable systems allow 100% of your audience to be in the market for 100% of your items. I feel in the long term people would spend more money with less control. The challange is making it FUN to spend the money though.

Honestly either way I don’t really mind.
Like I have said multiple times in this thread already, its all irrelevant if the loadouts mean nothing anyway :smiley: