MAG
- Thread starter patsu
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MAG Escalation DLC Arrives Today:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/11/04/mag-escalation-dlc-arrives-today/
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/11/04/mag-escalation-dlc-arrives-today/
Interdiction was dead within a week. I expect the same for Escalation. Sony needs to some kind of commitment to PS+ to offer map packs for "free" on same day they're released for this to work. Or else it's just disappointed gamers after buying useless content, and poor sales for map packs.
They pump people into Interdiction because it's the default game mode now. Sometimes I press X too quickly and end up in Interdiction. Usually try to finish the session before going back to Acquisition.
I don't like Interdiction because it's vehicle based. Escalation may be slightly better but there are a lot of opportunities for sniping. In the beta, it's hard to move around without getting shot at.
I don't like Interdiction because it's vehicle based. Escalation may be slightly better but there are a lot of opportunities for sniping. In the beta, it's hard to move around without getting shot at.
Hmm... I think the players are generally better now. You can find excellent team work sometimes.
Most of them know what to do in any given situation (e.g., what to protect, how to protect, what's urgent/important to save, etc.).
That doesn't surprise me, as the only people who haven't ditched the game and moved onto something else will be dedicated players. That is, you're left with those who 'got' MAG, rather than educated the user base so it all got up to speed. But the teamwork alone wasn't just it. The scoring and awards system was broken. The different combat styles were broken (LMG FTW). The whole game was just plain broken and wrong. It was poorly thought out, very poorly tested (why don't developer test with the mainstream public to identify points they manage to miss, like throwing a player into tthe mist of a battle with no opportunity to practice and having them repeatedly slaughtered as they come to grips with the controls and mechanics is a bad idea that generates frustration, not entertainment which is what games are supposed to do?!), and from the sounds of it they are making decisions while still not really understanding what they're doing. It's apparent Zipper aren't going to overhaul the game to a useful degree, and so it'll remain broken IMO.
Although to be fair a lot of complaints at MAG can be levied at competitive online gaming in general (WH, KZ2, etc.), and it's not a type of gaming I particularly like.
MAG is innovative and ambitious game. Some mistakes were bound to be made. Even though it can be continuously updated through patches, I'm still hoping we'll get a proper sequel some day. That should let them take the lessons they've learned on MAG, and use it to make the necessary changes that can only be made if you build a new game from the ground up. Much like Media Molecule decided to make a sequel instead of updating LBP.
I actually thought the weapons are fine. At level 66, I am killed by a fair share of SMG, LMG, Assault Rifles, knife, shotgun. May be I should start a second character and go through the difficult newbie experience again. 
My only trouble was the the steep learning curve. The second problem is once you're up against a well coordinated platoon, it's difficult/impossible to turn the tide. The player has to know when to give up and go spawn in another location. Sometimes, I'd stay and try to overcome them. It's hard to sustain our position because they'd come back and lock down the area for good again.
These days, you find resourceful players exploiting map positions very well. Good players know where to park their vehicles. At times, they would also drive 2 to overrun 1 bunker at the same time. Occasionally, they'd drive the vehicles (enemies' and ours) to locations I thought are inaccessible by vehicles. ^_^
My only trouble was the the steep learning curve. The second problem is once you're up against a well coordinated platoon, it's difficult/impossible to turn the tide. The player has to know when to give up and go spawn in another location. Sometimes, I'd stay and try to overcome them. It's hard to sustain our position because they'd come back and lock down the area for good again.
These days, you find resourceful players exploiting map positions very well. Good players know where to park their vehicles. At times, they would also drive 2 to overrun 1 bunker at the same time. Occasionally, they'd drive the vehicles (enemies' and ours) to locations I thought are inaccessible by vehicles. ^_^
The game has gone through a lot of tweaking, so they may have sorted it by now. But when I was playing, it boiled down to LMG or sniper. If you're a great shot, the AR was okay after the 5th or 6th updateI actually thought the weapons are fine. At level 66, I am killed by a fair share of SMG, LMG, Assault Rifles, knife, shotgun. May be I should start a second character and go through the difficult newbie experience again.
p), and I did enjoy sneaking behind enemy lines when high enough to have motion detector and silencer and causing a bit of havok, but then the game never rewarded my contributions even though I was contributing significantly to the team's success. Whereas running stupidly into the thick of the action and rezzing people and dying a lot was deemed valuable.This is probably the biggest fault with most online competitive games. Any game that can throw players into a no-win situation and expect them to die repeatedly with no defense for 20+ minutes is just plain badly designed. There's no other way to describe it. The game should give every player the opportunity every game to get enjoyment from it. If your game makes people miserable because they're getting spawn-killed or are hemmed it, then it's failing in the raison d'etre of games! And I'll point out that it's not losing that I don't like. I find the occassions I'm on the winning side and pasting the opposition no fun either. In WH, when hosting, I'd give the opposition a chance, let them break out of their base and try for another, or even switch to the losing team to help them out. I don't know what percentage of the (gaming) populace gets a thrill from utter domination and maybe that's something a lot of gamers play for, the times when they are crushing the opposition, but it's not something I find entertaining. I like balanced games with to-ing and fro-ing and good sportsmanship. I'll applaud a good shot that takes me out or a well executed plan, as long as it's within a fun game where I feel I'm making a contribution. Uncharted 2 was pretty good in this respect, where even against dominant teams I could find entertainment, but sadly balancing remains off in that game too such that teams get quitters, which then makes their position even weaker.
The other pet-hate is that more capable players are given advantages to make it easier for them to dominate. That's just plain backwards and prevents new players from getting any enjoyment for a long period of slog. This may tie in with the above question about how people feel about total domination, and perhaps for many gamers having noob cannon-fodder that offers no resistance or challenge is seen as fun. If so, there's no place for me in any online competitive game (shooter anyhow) and there's no point me buying into them.
The game has gone through a lot of tweaking, so they may have sorted it by now. But when I was playing, it boiled down to LMG or sniper. If you're a great shot, the AR was okay after the 5th or 6th update
... like assigning extra strategy points to me defending the Anti-AA guns throughout the whole game ? Yeah, I felt cheated sometimes.
If you were in a MAG beta, then you would experience more pronounced weapon imbalances. I suspect weapon issues are more obvious earlier in the game too. Once I got heavy armor, the guns don't kill so easily unless it's a headshot.
MAG Escalation user impressions:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24240492&postcount=332
I was in the Escalation beta. Didn't try the new maps too much. Was fooling around with the Move controller in MAG.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=24240492&postcount=332
I was in the Escalation beta. Didn't try the new maps too much. Was fooling around with the Move controller in MAG.
Prophecy2k
Veteran
The game has gone through a lot of tweaking, so they may have sorted it by now. But when I was playing, it boiled down to LMG or sniper. If you're a great shot, the AR was okay after the 5th or 6th update
This is probably the biggest fault with most online competitive games. Any game that can throw players into a no-win situation and expect them to die repeatedly with no defense for 20+ minutes is just plain badly designed. There's no other way to describe it. The game should give every player the opportunity every game to get enjoyment from it. If your game makes people miserable because they're getting spawn-killed or are hemmed it, then it's failing in the raison d'etre of games! And I'll point out that it's not losing that I don't like. I find the occassions I'm on the winning side and pasting the opposition no fun either. In WH, when hosting, I'd give the opposition a chance, let them break out of their base and try for another, or even switch to the losing team to help them out. I don't know what percentage of the (gaming) populace gets a thrill from utter domination and maybe that's something a lot of gamers play for, the times when they are crushing the opposition, but it's not something I find entertaining. I like balanced games with to-ing and fro-ing and good sportsmanship. I'll applaud a good shot that takes me out or a well executed plan, as long as it's within a fun game where I feel I'm making a contribution. Uncharted 2 was pretty good in this respect, where even against dominant teams I could find entertainment, but sadly balancing remains off in that game too such that teams get quitters, which then makes their position even weaker.
The other pet-hate is that more capable players are given advantages to make it easier for them to dominate. That's just plain backwards and prevents new players from getting any enjoyment for a long period of slog. This may tie in with the above question about how people feel about total domination, and perhaps for many gamers having noob cannon-fodder that offers no resistance or challenge is seen as fun. If so, there's no place for me in any online competitive game (shooter anyhow) and there's no point me buying into them.
I can agree with pretty much all of your complaints when directed at a game like MAG. Given the time i've spent with it as well as in the beta, at this point i've lost interest in it because as much as the MOVE patch got me interested in it and i got in and started blasting fools with much enjoyment, the fact that regardless of my personal individual performance i always end up on a side with guys who are practically useless (should have chosen a different faction) made the game far less fun for me. At the same time trying to level up so i can actually get some useful equipment is a chore when you're on the losing side for umpteen matches... i've given up on the game now.
On the other hand when you mention games like KZ2 and WH with regards to the complaints you mention i can't really agree. KZ2's default MP mode is the Warzone mode which pretty much doesn't allow a team to dominate another team for 20 straight mins. It switches up the action juts enough such that both teams have a chance. And all the games i've played of that game were pretty balanced (however that may just be my experience as i didn't play that much online - no time).
WarHawk also, as i felt that WH was the most balanced online MP game i've ever played this gen... in fact out of all gens since the beginning of my gaming career... I LOVE that game, and i never ever played a match where one team utterly dominated the other, or i got owned for 20 mins straight... and i played that game for 2 years and even after that was pretty admittedly terrible at it (mainly because i'd keep going away to play other games and coming back to it, forgetting the controls
)... WH had enough variety and such a wonderful "rock - paper - scissors" balance that even if you were crap at online gaming in general you could still get in a game and get a sizeable amount of kills (maybe not every match but certainly enough to maintain your enjoyment).WH's only problem was that the progression system was a severe grind, but it was awesome that the unlocks were cosmetic and transparent to the game's balance. WH even made me into a (dare I say) trophy whore for a short time, i loved the game so much.
What're the gameplay differences between WH and MAG ? I can't get into WH for some odd reason. I know many people love it. I blame the planes (I want to pilot one, but I can't last for 2 seconds).
BTW, were you in Raven ? SVER should be the strongest. I think they dominate most, if not all, the game modes now.
I tried more Escalation yesterday. Got shot up like bee-hive because I don't know the maps. It looks like many people already understand the maps very well. They hide along well travelled paths and ambush newbies like me. Died many many times along the way before I get to the game objectives to fight for real. But once I'm inside the base, it's back to my favorite combat (earned 1000+ points in some games). To avoid getting slaughtered by enemies, best way is to wait for teammates and attack together. Never go in alone. Some of the clans are very well organized.
EDIT:
May be they should give new players 15 free skill points. You should be able to build a reasonably strong soldier with 15 points, like the original MAG (Improved health and such).
I blame the planes (I want to pilot one, but I can't last for 2 seconds).BTW, were you in Raven ? SVER should be the strongest. I think they dominate most, if not all, the game modes now.
I tried more Escalation yesterday. Got shot up like bee-hive because I don't know the maps. It looks like many people already understand the maps very well. They hide along well travelled paths and ambush newbies like me. Died many many times along the way before I get to the game objectives to fight for real. But once I'm inside the base, it's back to my favorite combat (earned 1000+ points in some games). To avoid getting slaughtered by enemies, best way is to wait for teammates and attack together. Never go in alone. Some of the clans are very well organized.
EDIT:
May be they should give new players 15 free skill points. You should be able to build a reasonably strong soldier with 15 points, like the original MAG (Improved health and such).
Prophecy2k
Veteran
What're the gameplay differences between WH and MAG ? I can't get into WH for some odd reason. I know many people love it.
BTW, were you in Raven ? SVER should be the strongest. I think they dominate most, if not all, the game modes now.
I tried more Escalation yesterday. Got shot up like bee-hive because I don't know the maps. It looks like many people already understand the maps very well. They hide along well travelled paths and ambush newbies like me. Died many many times along the way before I get to the game objectives to fight for real. But once I'm inside the base, it's back to my favorite combat (earned 1000+ points in some games). To avoid getting slaughtered by enemies, best way is to wait for teammates and attack together. Never go in alone. Some of the clans are very well organized.
EDIT:
May be they should give new players 15 free skill points. You should be able to build a reasonably strong soldier with 15 points, like the original MAG (Improved health and such).
WH & MAG are completely different games. For starters MAG is an FPS and WH is a... well... TPS/Driving Combat/Air Combat/Tank Combat - vehicle all-in-one type game... they both play completely differently. Plus in MAG it's really all about the team and playing together. It's pretty much almost impossible to go lone-wolf in MAG and do well, and even if you do fluke it by some great feat your contribution to the team overall will be such that a whopping individual performance can mean nothing if your team get nailed. In WarHawk it's completely different, if you play awesome you'll score awesome and have a much greater impact on how well your team does. If you're solid in a Warhawk then you can support & protect the weaker players in a team so that they can have a better game and enjoy it more too. It's a game that rewards both individual skill as well as teamwork... that's why WH's formula for me was and is almost perfect (i did say almost) and my fav this gen.
Funnily enough i didn't get into it easily until i learnt how to fly, once i did i had lots of fun and got many kills in the WarHawk/Glider. The tutorial they added later on in a patch is really solid for learning and mastering WarHawk combat (and pretty much everything else).
In MAG i play(ed) as Raven, mainly because i thought they were the faction that dominates (i was misinformed
). Yeah i agree as well that SVER seems to be the dominant faction. From my time with the game recently they were practically untouchable to the point that i'd quit lobbies because i knew i'd be facing them.I agree also Patsu with your idea of giving away free skill points. At this point in the game, because there aren't any single player or co-op modes where you can earn skill points (like in games like Uncharted 2 and R2) the only way to earn them is in online MP, which isn't fun or enjoyable when you're earning pittance from losing continually because all the MAG-masters are all clanned up on the other faction.
The skill points for improved health (20 more points) is the main source of grief. The MAG weapons are mostly the same for new and old players. Once you have increased health and learned the maps, it is possible to go deep inside enemy territory alone, but not recommended of course.
Some clans send a pair to enemy spawn points, or to ambush newly spawned soldiers in choke point. It is very effective in games like Sabotage. As long as they can stop one wave of reinforcement when the charges are set, victory is guaranteed.
I am of the opinion that beginners should join SVER. I am having a hard time dealing with them too. I can win the battles but usually lost the war unless I'm playing with the better Raven clans. However sometimes, I will die repeatedly when SVER start to camp our spawn.
Some clans send a pair to enemy spawn points, or to ambush newly spawned soldiers in choke point. It is very effective in games like Sabotage. As long as they can stop one wave of reinforcement when the charges are set, victory is guaranteed.
I am of the opinion that beginners should join SVER. I am having a hard time dealing with them too. I can win the battles but usually lost the war unless I'm playing with the better Raven clans. However sometimes, I will die repeatedly when SVER start to camp our spawn.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...n_MassMarket_Retail_Prices_More_DLC_Sales.php
I think MAG is using this model now ? (since they lowered their price and roll out DLC after DLC).
The problem is their newbie experience is too harsh. They should really revamp their introductory experience, and consider giving free skill points to beginners to level the playing field. As a high level player, the core gameplay is still fun for me if everyone else also have high skill points.
I think MAG is using this model now ? (since they lowered their price and roll out DLC after DLC).
The problem is their newbie experience is too harsh. They should really revamp their introductory experience, and consider giving free skill points to beginners to level the playing field. As a high level player, the core gameplay is still fun for me if everyone else also have high skill points.
They should start the game of with some default classes that are specific to playing certain roles on the battlefield that cannot be customized, but do include some of the better equipment and skills. Letting new players see the advantages they bring before spending their points, and showing them the diversity of MAG. Then when they reach a high enough rank take the classes away, and let them buy their own skills and equipment with the points they have to make their own loadouts. With the option to do this immediately for veteran players.
