MP Players - What do you want?

[Garnier]

I think we MP folks should discuss what we would like the team to prioritize as they continue improving this game. They may find it helpful in deciding what to do when. We tend to do all our discussing in teamspeak where the team doesn't see it, so they have no way to know what we want.

Obviously the team can do whatever they want, but they might like to know what we think as well. After all, if they just took our suggestions and implemented them in the order they hear them, they could work for years and we'd think they didn't care about us because the things we always talk about in teamspeak would not be done. Therefore it would be good to discuss it so we can see what most people think is important, rather than just having lots of different suggestions everywhere.

So post what you want most of all.

[Garnier]

Personally, these two things are the top of my list. There are lots of things I would like, but nothing is critical like these.

1. Allow modding in multiplayer.
2. Allow map making, and use of the maps in MP.

In other words, FREEDOM!!!

(Not that I don't have freedom. I can go mod and make maps for other games already. I just want freedom to do it here instead.)


1. This is obvious, many of you showed up to ask for it and they said they'll do it to some extent in the next patch.

2. Maps. The MP community hasn't talked about it on the forum much, but the fact that we can't make our own maps is alongside modding, the biggest discouragement for us, and has been for some time. We've played at least 85 battles on the pickett's charge map in just two months.

The maps we're given look nice, the problem is when you're playing a competitive game every night and you have to fight for the same ground every time, and you know at the start of a battle how it will develop because you've seen the same situation dozens of times already, it just is far less interesting. It also is annoying when starting a new game, someone has to decide which of the worn out maps we will play.

This isn't an issue that can be solved by getting one or two or three or whatever more maps. This is going to continue to be a problem until we can make them ourselves.

If we were making new maps I am certain there would be a lot more excitement to play because there would be real variety, there would be new maps that people haven't seen yet, and it would make the community grow. Making the game fun for the people we already have does without a doubt grow the community.

I already have made tools for map making in TC2M and have been working on more of that recently, such that I can make decent TC2M maps in one to three hours, which is really fast. Just as we get bored of a new map that came out, there will be the next new one to try, and eventually there will be enough old ones that haven't been played in a while that they'll all be somewhat fresh.

I know that the maps were intentionally kept locked so that the team could make maps themselves and sell them, which they might not be able to do if we could make our own. Personally I wouldn't buy an expansion that would split the community between those who have the new maps and those who don't, as surely those who don't wouldn't be able to play on new maps.

I doubt it's worth intentionally keeping the multiplayer community from having the fun it could have in order to sell something to them later. What about the money that could be made on the game as it is if people liked it now because there were maps and mods to make and play on. Growing the community should come first, then you have more customers when you do try to sell something.


People like to make things and share them. The two most successful independent games I know of, Mount & Blade and Minecraft, had huge modding communities (that helped grow and sustain huge communities in general) while still in Alpha and Beta stages. This wasn't because they prevented people from helping improve the game. If Mount & Blade didn't have modding until a year or two after release, it would have a tiny fraction of the community it has now.

[General P R Cleburne]

Most important for me would be the inclusion of a way for the community to create their own multiplayer maps.Of course there are alot of things id eventually like to see but i think this is the most critical right now.B)

[KG_Soldier]

Something similar to Combat Mission's random map generator would be great, if possible.

[Kerflumoxed]

No question...MAPS are at the top of the list.

Still, running a close second: the ability to increase weapon ranges, accuracy and reload times is at the top of my list. Yes, it is the same old "dog and pony show" that many have been BEGGING for, a very long time ... o'k, just since the game came out and we realized historical accuracy in this area is lacking, BIG-TIME! (At the very least please recognize that the "historians" who provided the data for the game developers were highly inaccurate!)

Unfortunately, I suspect this will, again, fall upon deaf ears! "Too bad, too bad" as a famous General once quipped.

J

[voltigeur]

It's all very well asking for more features in MP but I'd humbly ask that more attention is paid to the stability of the MP platform in the short term.

It may well be that factors outside NSD's control are wrecking the larger player count MP games (freezing requiring restarts), but I note that even entering the lobby and receiving accurate update data does not seem to work well in large MP games either (eg you need to leave the lobby and rejoin if you only see 6-7 players, game assigning incorrect general to you, etc)

These games often can take more than an hour to get going and then bug out within 10-20 mins. Perhaps the answer is to limit the number of players or force minimum cpu and bandwidth requirements on players machines. Or perhaps that is something the MP community will need to enforce itself to ensure some decent games can be enjoyed.

Are there set Host requirements for instance, in terms of computing power and inbound/outbound bandwidth required on a per player basis.

I'd like to thank Garnier for his excellent work so far, it has really added great value to the MP aspect of the game.

Anyway, keep up the good work!

cheers

Volt

[norb]

We read everything, nothing falls on deaf ears that is written on this forum. We don't respond to everything, but if enough people feel a certain way it will eventually make it's way into our bug database.

Next patch will have new maps.
Next patch will have MP modding to some degree, but definately weapon ranges.
Next patch will hopefully!! be more solid as the main bug is the commander switch bug that causes issues for everyone and we are working hard to figure out how to squash it.

[Blaugrana]

When weapon ranges get modifiable, I hope the rifle muskets will still be much more effective at shorter ranges and quite ineffective beyond 160-200 yards.

[Kerflumoxed]

We read everything, nothing falls on deaf ears that is written on this forum. We don't respond to everything, but if enough people feel a certain way it will eventually make it's way into our bug database.

Next patch will have new maps.
Next patch will have MP modding to some degree, but definately weapon ranges.
Next patch will hopefully!! be more solid as the main bug is the commander switch bug that causes issues for everyone and we are working hard to figure out how to squash it.

Thanks, Norb, for the reinforcement...all of which was known by forum users but not always acknowledged.

J

[Willard]

This will come as no suprise to those who have read my previous posts...

#1 - A 200yard range rifle option for infantry (preferably with slightly decreasing effectiveness level as distances increase).

#2 - Increased artillery ranges for all gun types.

#3 - Improved counter-battery fire that will serve as a real deterrent to players moving guns up.

#4 - Improved long range fire, especially in the 200-500 yard gap that exists in game.

#5 - Increased fatigue and morale hit for charging units (to prevent uber-charging).

#6 - Morale check required prior to infantry initiating successful charges.

#7 - Increased fatigue/morale/casualties malus for units under fire while in column formation.

#8 - Increased fatigue for units moving cross country.

#9 - Increased speed bonus for units moving along roads/paths.

#10 - Decrease the speed of units moving into/out of formations (i.e. from line into column and vice versa).

#11 - Volley fire button for infantry.

#12 - Hold position button for infantry which would prevent infantry from leaving a position and countercharging (though still be allowed to accept the charge).

EDIT:

#13 - Free form courier messages.

#14 - Team chat in addition to the universal chat we currently have.