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[Amir0x]

Which is funny, as I remember playing CoD4 Mp and it felt very refreshing that the mechanics were tweaked and changed in a way that wasn't widely accepted at the time. The problem was that the pendulum swung too far in that direction and never really came back.

Also, RTCW Mp was insanely fun when it came out. Loved the flamethrower.

I mean even early on I could tell the new form of competitive FPS that was taking shape in Modern Warfare wasn't going to be for me. And I was fine with that, I mean, I couldn't expect every game to be like Halo 2 or Return to Castle Wolfenstein (or the old Quake and Unreal Tournament for that matter). Different is good, it's fine to have a range of FPS that appeals to different skill sets.

The problem becomes as you suggest here that it has swung so far in the direction of coddling the no-skilled that now virtually every competitive FPS is like that. I can't even remember the last major competitive FPS that eschewed much of this stuff (Red Orchestra 2? And that shit was rife with other problems that ruined its chances). It's just a crapshoot now, and you either deal with it or you just back away from the genre entirely as I've had to.

I tried Titanfall out, I really wanted to like it. You got the extra mobility and it really is fun to just get around. But once the mechanics start showing themselves, players chasing after lame challenges instead of focusing on objectives, perks eviscerating playfield balance, no recoil, ironsights, dumb A.I. cardboard cutouts... it all adds up to just a really unappealing package if you're like me and just want a pure skill competition.

Alas, I have to wait longer to see if we'll ever get a savior of the FPS genre. Titanfall is not it

 

[GHG]

Sadly, most developers these days don't think about designing a game that people will still want to play for more than a year or two, much less 13. The thought never crosses their minds because they're approaching games as a disposable product rather than a work of art.

Yep, which is why the trend is now towards annual sequels which are nothing more than reskinned games with a couple of added perks. Oh and killing off the online servers/support for older games as soon as the new on is released.

Gotta keep those profit margins up.

We all know how this pans out. In the next couple of months, DLC and a season pass will be announced for titanfall. Then in 6 months time a sequel will be announced and it will be scheduled to release at some point in H1 2015.

 

[Krappadizzle]

From the videos I've watched it looks like they've made aiming easier so a player will have to play smarter to get the advantage on the enemies. This will help a lot of new comers who have trouble aiming play better as long as they know how to flank people.

Why not have both aiming and tactics as a skill that needs to be learned to do well? I'm just surprised to see so many that are okay with some of these changes. I'm by no means up-in-arms about it, but I'm going crazy thinking that so many players need instant gratification to say a game is good or enjoyable. I'm getting old.

 

[Squire]

Just got my beta key like 40 minutes ago. Sooooooo hyped to play this weekend.

 

[FStop7]

No wonder Adam Sessler likes this game so much

And Andrea Rene.

I'll reserve final judgment until I play it for myself, but it looks super dumbed-down in the beta streams that I've watched.

 

[Unknown One]

Alas, I have to wait longer to see if we'll ever get a savior of the FPS genre. Titanfall is not it

My only hope now is if a next Counter Strike from Valve comes out. I'm not holding my breath on that though. CS from Valve only comes out when the next Half Life comes out.

 

[Matriox]

I'll reserve final judgment until I play it for myself, but it looks super dumbed-down in the beta streams that I've watched.

Ditto for me. I've been either over hyped or disappointed thus far and I'm not sure which, perhaps both. I was really hoping for something that would put CoD down a few pegs to actually innovate but I don't think this will be that FPS I'm looking for.

 

[Syf]

Yeah, based on what I've played I actually agree with Polygon this time. The pistol is stupid easy to use and that's just one example. This is not a serious competitive game. It's definitely catered to the casual crowd.

That's not to say it doesn't have potential. They could easily remove some of these crutches and have a great competitive game on their hands. But this isn't it.

 

[Dysun]

After just trying it out for two hours I really dont think this is true. Unless killing bots makes you happy, other players are gonna tear you up if FPS's aren't your thing

 

[BPoole]

I've noticed this as well. Titanfall looks like it is the ultimate casual FPS games. There are tons of mindless crappy bots for horrible players to gun down so that they can get into their Titans and kills players that are much better that are in infantry. I have a feeling this game is going to make COD look like Counter Strike

 

[Dragonborn]

The bots ruin the game for me. They're too easy and as a result the game often times just feels repetitive and boring

They need to improve the AI enough that it cam get kills in, otherwise I'm going to have to stay away from the game. After the novelty wears out (mainly from the cool parkour), the blandness sets in and it really just feels like CoD with mecha.... Except a lot easier and in certain ways, less fun.

 

[Amir0x]

My only hope now is if a next Counter Strike from Valve comes out. I'm not holding my breath on that though. CS from Valve only comes out when the next Half Life comes out.

I'm still waiting for the day someone brings a RTCW+Enemy Territory HD+ Edition for consoles, where everything is kept exactly the same from the old days, but just got an overhauled visual engine. No fucking with what works perfectly in multiplayer!

That'll be enough for me. I'll settle for living in the past then

 

[fallagin]

The game does sound alot like dota, which is kind of easy in terms of just mechanical skill but increases in difficulty once you factor in all of the strategic elements to the game. Team play will probably be alot more necessary to win in this game vs something like cod.

 

[GHG]

I might experiment later actually. Just run around the map, not shoot anyone/anything. Call my Titan in, set it to auto and then see how many XP points I end up with.

 

[Krappadizzle]

I've noticed this as well. Titanfall looks like it is the ultimate casual FPS games. There are tons of mindless crappy bots for horrible players to gun down so that they can get into their Titans and kills players that are much better that are in infantry. I have a feeling this game is going to make COD look like Counter Strike

I hope you're wrong. But I don't think you are.

 

[thefit]

Working mans fps.

 

[Mully]

It's a game that wants to be a blockbuster. It'll likely be a blockbuster. Titanfall appeals to a larger crowd. That should not make it a bad game. It's pretty clear that Respawn and formerly Infinity Ward are good at making a games that appeal to a wider audience in a genre that was initially all about, "skill."

I laugh at these opinion articles. They don't help the industry at all. They criticize a game for being more inclusive when that same game could remove the long held stigma that only teenage boys play video games. Titanfall should not be propped up at as the best game, but it should not be ripped apart for being more inclusive.

 

[WordsintheWater]

I love it so far, but I can see their point. I really hate the bots around the map, they are too dumb to add any bit of challenge, they just get on one knee and shoot at you every once in a while. I think the game would be completely fine without them and just have the 6v6.

 

[Matriox]

The game does sound alot like dota, which is kind of easy in terms of just mechanical skill but increases in difficulty once you factor in all of the strategic elements to the game. Team play will probably be alot more necessary to win in this game vs something like cod.

Dota has replayability where you can play multiple character that do different things, I see the point you're trying to make but it just doesn't fit that for me and FPS's. Granted we have different guns and what not but playstyle wise it doesn't change much, like dota does on a hero to hero basis.

 

[Karsticles]

It's a game that wants to be a blockbuster. It'll likely be a blockbuster. Titanfall appeals to a larger crowd. That should not make it a bad game. It's pretty clear that Respawn and formerly Infinity Ward are good at making a games that appeal to a wider audience in a genre that was initially all about, "skill."

I laugh at these opinion articles. They don't help the industry at all. They criticize a game for being more inclusive when that same game could remove the long held stigma that only teenage boys play video games. Titanfall should not be propped up at as the best game, but it should not be ripped apart for being more inclusive.

Why is the only way to make a game more inclusive to water down the skill level?

Because I have only seen people criticize the latter here, but you are equating it with the former.

 

[Arrogant Bastard]

I love it so far, but I can see their point. I really hate the bots around the map, they are too dumb to add any bit of challenge, they just get on one knee and shoot at you every once in a while. I think the game would be completely fine without them and just have the 6v6.

Hell, that isn't even the worst part about them. It is the fact that they get in the way. There are six enemies on the opposing team and how many bots? It is damned impossible to tell who is a grunt and who is an enemy player when they are all bunched up. Numerous times I was killed by someone hiding within bots. Make the bots look completely different, change the color of their name tag, something.

 

[Dragonborn]

I hope you're wrong. But I don't think you are.

It's actually a great description of the game.

 

[Duxxy3]

I love it so far, but I can see their point. I really hate the bots around the map, they are too dumb to add any bit of challenge, they just get on one knee and shoot at you every once in a while. I think the game would be completely fine without them and just have the 6v6.

The game is too empty without bots. These are huge maps and only a few players.

 

[BradC00]

It is damned impossible to tell who is a grunt and who is an enemy player when they are all bunched up.

I have zero problems telling players apart from bots. It's so obvious. Not to mention it feels like as soon as Titans start dropping the bots thin out a bunch.

On-topic: Yes, the game is easy to get into. But good luck being a complete scrub and shooting guys jumping from building to building as they gun you down as you stand there being a noob. The vertical game alone separates this from CoD. You can tell who the less skilled players are definitely. They are usually the ones that go after bots (in attrition) and end up with a 4 pilot, 9 death, 26 minion k/d.

 

[WordsintheWater]

Hell, that isn't even the worst part about them. It is the fact that they get in the way. There are six enemies on the opposing team and how many bots? It is damned impossible to tell who is a grunt and who is an enemy player when they are all bunched up. Numerous times I was killed by someone hiding within bots. Make the bots look completely different, change the color of their name tag, something.

I noticed this my last few games. I don't know who to aim for and they all bunch up together, end up getting killed by the one human player. I really hope there is a mode where the bots aren't in.

 

[theRizzle]

I'm still waiting for the day someone brings a RTCW+Enemy Territory HD+ Edition for consoles, where everything is kept exactly the same from the old days, but just got an overhauled visual engine. No fucking with what works perfectly in multiplayer!

That'll be enough for me. I'll settle for living in the past then

Other than some old ass Battletech MU*'s I used to play back in the day, RTCW/ET was the best multiplayer game I have played in my life. That game got friends of mine who had never touched a PC in their life playing 10 - 14 hours a day. I knew a guy that played the demo almost every day for about 3 years.

 

[WordsintheWater]

The game is too empty without bots. These are huge maps and only a few players.

I don't have a problem finding pilots, they usually are on the rooftops of buildings and when they are jumping around, they are easy to distinguish. They should have just had this be 8v8 and got rid of the bots.

 

[Shrennin]

I don't know - after seeing one of the Respawn guys playing TitanFall and was able to get 17 pilot kills with 0 deaths in an entire game, I think a skill factor is easily there. It's not like he was getting destroyed by Titans either - he was just moving throughout the map so fast that Titans couldn't get to him. At worst, this game makes lesser skilled players feel like they accomplished something, but players with a higher skill level will easily get the advantage even then.

 

[adamantypants]

That's awesome for me lol. I just started getting into FPS games like, yesterday. And I've been gaming the better part of 20 years. Something about this game feels more approachable to me.

 

[Hurf]

Titanfall is actually worse than I expected and I went in with very low expectations.

Virtually every design decision aside from the ability to double-jump and wall-jump is terrible; Respawn has managed to make a game even more cynically aimed at people too stupid to realize they're being manipulated than CoD.

 

[travisbickle]

No it isn't. Super Mario bros is the perfect game for people who are terrible at fps.

This is the perfect game for people who think current online fps are inaccessible.

 

[zhorkat]

My only hope now is if a next Counter Strike from Valve comes out. I'm not holding my breath on that though. CS from Valve only comes out when the next Half Life comes out.

Well Global Offensive did get released. although that wasn't purely a Valve game.

 

[Mully]

Why is the only way to make a game more inclusive to water down the skill level?

Because I have only seen people criticize the latter here, but you are equating it with the former.

It isn't the only way to make a game more inclusive. Developers should find more interesting and scaled attempts at making games more inclusive, but most people can't put hours into a game. Respawn has, in the past, done a great job at making competitive shooters fun for anyone using certain mechanics that bring people back (admittedly at diminishing returns, although I'd put that blame on .Activision).

I think the notion of, "skill," has inflated the egos of many hardcore gamers over the years. Most people suck at FPS' because the controls are still clunky while playing with a controller. There's no skill in being good at an FPS, just time and experience.

HOWEVER, the fact that developers have essentially copied Respawn and IW's perk system, etc, shows that other FPS developers have either been told to emulate COD or have become lazy.

Respawn/IW is good at making a particular blockbuster MP game that allows for the lower experienced to have fun and the more, "skilled,' players to still feel important and powerful, yet the higher skilled players will always feel alienated in these types of games.

 

[Amir0x]

I noticed this my last few games. I don't know who to aim for and they all bunch up together, end up getting killed by the one human player. I really hope there is a mode where the bots aren't in.

After a few matches you begin to pick them apart easier, but the problem is the pace of matches are usually so hectic that it's sometimes hard to take that split second to make the distinction.

There's lots of little design flaws like that. Personally instead of bots I would have made the game 8 v 8, made pilot kills worth slightly more time off a titanfall drop and simply added a mode that allowed bots instead. The current format is just pointless. They exist just so you can farm them for faster titanfall drpps and so that shit players feel a little better about their scores, but they get in the way of getting to your only opportunities of ever getting into actual challenging encounters (provided the players you're facing are even trying). I usually just end up looking for Titans since I know they're usually with people in them and once a pilot ejects it's easy to follow them and kill them. And Titans are super easy to kill.

Everything about this game is super easy really. Like I said in the other topic, it made me wish for a FPA game with this game's moveset, that's basically it

 

[Tetrasides]

The AI are so bad.

If you know where to look, at the start of the game most of the enemy AI come through the same building.

 

[akaoni]

I haven't posted my thoughts outside the initial reveal I think and haven't played the game, but I always felt it was CoD with mechs. Watching the PC gameplay from the beta it looks to be fairly accurate. At best you have the mechs/parkour to divert your attention from it but the infantry play is CoD all over with the peek-a-boo, laser cannon automatics, no recoil/bullet distribution, fast movement, ADS + 0.5s TTK. AI trash are the new '+10'. It was built to be like CoD in many significant parts to the gunplay and it is. It's kind of like the 'WoW' effect for FPS games at this point, it's about being CoD while trying to not look like CoD. The general statement being made rings true, cheap thrills are enough to motivate anyone to play based on what we saw with the CoD phenomenon.

 

[Unknown One]

Well Global Offensive did get released. although that wasn't purely a Valve game.

Yeah I got it. I didn't feel it though. I guess I want a CS game with a new engine.

 

[Matriox]

No it isn't. Super Mario bros is the perfect game for people who are terrible at fps.

This is the perfect game for people who think current online fps are inaccessible.

On a literal interpretation, you are correct lol.

 

[MyLifeIsALie]

I think the trend has been clear with modern competitive FPS in general, it's why I started disliking them more and more, where before this gen, they were frequently amongst my favorite types of games. They've been ruined by challenges, perks and constant increase of features that specifically target the coddling of skilless players, turning me off. Modern gaming is about trying to make games as inoffensive as possible, so that everyone gets a pat on the head.

Titanfall from my play so far has been this turned up to eleven. Every element possible that can be funneled toward making shit players get their little celebratory dings here and there is implemented. Shit A.I. players so they can get satisfactory little kills and quicker Titanfalls so they can bombard for a few easy kills; cloaking and auto aim weapons that kill instantly with proper lock on, no recoil and insane mobility.

Used to be we play a competitive FPS and it was pure skill vs. pure skill. You had your weapon, but none of this superfluous nonsense. You had to fucking aim true, and you had to do it consistently. You had to compensate. There were no perks you had to worry about that turned shotguns into snipers or gave the enemy combatant just that much extra health so that all else being equal they're the ones who walk away. These days with all the add-on nonsense, balance just begins to go right out the window, until it's a complete crapshoot. It's not like half a thought is even paid to really making these systems smooth out, they just expect everyone to play long enough so everyone has access to the same perks as if that solves the issue.

Great players will always inevitably win - usually even in the least balanced of games - but in unbalanced games the problem is always you have to walk around with the sinking feeling that that last encounter you just didn't win because some shit player had some 3 second invincibility perk on or some shit.

Amen brother. Best post ive read in awhile. This is my exact reason why shooters are so stupid now and why most of their communities die off so fast. Crysis MP is a prime example of this. Getting shot by a dude you cant see because hes literally fucking invisible isnt fun.

Theres cloaking in this game?? My interest just dropped to Zero fucking percent. A free kill with a heat seeking rocket just helped murder my hype. WHY do developers feel they need to put this shit in these COMPETITIVE games is beyond my understanding. Some stupid Go big or go home attitude where the easiest thing is to cram as much shit into a game as you can assuming bigger the better. Even from a smaller dev this happened.

With the death of socom and Rainbow six apparently? where am i going to get my real shooter without all the garbage from? Some one save the skilled players please.

 

[Papercuts]

Amen brother. Best post ive read in awhile. This is my exact reason why shooters are so stupid now and why most of their communities die off so fast. Crysis MP is a prime example of this. Getting shot by a dude you cant see because hes literally fucking invisible isnt fun.

Theres cloaking in this game?? My interest just dropped to Zero fucking percent. A free kill with a heat seeking rocket just helped murder my hype. WHY do developers feel they need to put this shit in these COMPETITIVE games is beyond my understanding. Some stupid Go big or go home attitude where the easiest thing is to cram as much shit into a game as you can assuming bigger the better. Even from a smaller dev this happened.

With the death of socom and Rainbow six apparently? where am i going to get my real shooter without all the garbage from? Some one save the skilled players please.

Cloak is to hide from titans, you can clearly see dudes thinking they can cloak and run around and just drop them.

 

[Booshka]

After a few matches you begin to pick them apart easier, but the problem is the pace of matches are usually so hectic that it's sometimes hard to take that split second to make the distinction.

There's lots of little design flaws like that. Personally instead of bots I would have made the game 8 v 8, made pilot kills worth slightly more time off a titanfall drop and simply added a mode that allowed bots instead. The current format is just pointless. They exist just so you can farm them for faster titanfall drpps and so that shit players feel a little better about their scores, but they get in the way of getting to your only opportunities of ever getting into actual challenging encounters (provided the players you're facing are even trying). I usually just end up looking for Titans since I know they're usually with people in them and once a pilot ejects it's easy to follow them and kill them. And Titans are super easy to kill.

Everything about this game is super easy really. Like I said in the other topic, it made me wish for a FPA game with this game's moveset, that's basically it

If you want a balanced, skill based shooter on Console with excellent movement mechanics, try Shadowrun. It's old and mostly dead, but you can still find games any time of day without too much hassle. Game has a pretty steep learning curve, especially for a console shooter, but it rewards you for learning it.

I was pretty hyped for Titanfall early on with the initial announcement, but the more I see of the actual gameplay in action, it looks dumbed down to hell and way too casual friendly for my tastes.

 

[Matriox]

Amen brother. Best post ive read in awhile. This is my exact reason why shooters are so stupid now and why most of their communities die off so fast. Crysis MP is a prime example of this. Getting shot by a dude you cant see because hes literally fucking invisible isnt fun.

Theres cloaking in this game?? My interest just dropped to Zero fucking percent. A free kill with a heat seeking rocket just helped murder my hype. WHY do developers feel they need to put this shit in these COMPETITIVE games is beyond my understanding. Some stupid Go big or go home attitude where the easiest thing is to cram as much shit into a game as you can assuming bigger the better. Even from a smaller dev this happened.

I wasn't even aware Titanfall had cloaking.. Granted halo had cloaking too, and I havn't seen this to know how it is, but being that you are going to die in .375 seconds I doubt the two are even comparable.

EDIT:

Cloak is to hide from titans, you can clearly see dudes thinking they can cloak and run around and just drop them.

This eases my pains.

With the death of socom and Rainbow six apparently? where am i going to get my real shooter without all the garbage from? Some one save the skilled players please.

I'm excited to see H-Hour (makers of SOCOM) and hoping they have something cooked up to soothe my FPS itches.

 

[Amir0x]

Amen brother. Best post ive read in awhile. This is my exact reason why shooters are so stupid now and why most of their communities die off so fast. Crysis MP is a prime example of this. Getting shot by a dude you cant see because hes literally fucking invisible isnt fun.

Theres cloaking in this game?? My interest just dropped to Zero fucking percent. A free kill with a heat seeking rocket just helped murder my hype. WHY do developers feel they need to put this shit in these COMPETITIVE games is beyond my understanding. Some stupid Go big or go home attitude where the easiest thing is to cram as much shit into a game as you can assuming bigger the better. Even from a smaller dev this happened.

With the death of socom and Rainbow six apparently? where am i going to get my real shooter without all the garbage from? Some one save the skilled players please.

Yup, there is cloaking. It's an ability you have to equip so not everyone has it, and it has a timer, but it's so exploitable it's almost comical. You can see their outline if you are observant, it's not hard.

In this game, if you can think of some cheap skill-killing mechanic, it's likely been included. It's a veritable what's-what of cheap modern FPS game design. Respawn outdid themselves for sure since that was clearly the goal, lowest common denominator pap.

If you want a balanced, skill based shooter on Console with excellent movement mechanics, try Shadowrun. It's old and mostly dead, but you can still find games any time of day without too much hassle. Game has a pretty steep learning curve, especially for a console shooter, but it rewards you for learning it.

I was pretty hyped for Titanfall early on with the initial announcement, but the more I see of the actual gameplay in action, it looks dumbed down to hell and way too casual friendly for my tastes.

Oh, interesting recommendation. Never tried Shadowrun that came out on 360. Ack, but I no longer have XBL Gold

 

[VariantX]

The AI are so bad.

If you know where to look, at the start of the game most of the enemy AI come through the same building.

It's not just them being dumb, their weapons are hilariously innacurate too. They literally can't hit you worth a damn even when they are close enough to punch you.

 

[M.W.]

Easy to say when most of the gameplay time has been in sessions with other jurnos and a beta where everyone is getting their feet wet. Give it a few weeks after launch and people who aren't good a competitive multiplayer will still see themselves getting their asses handed to them. Defensive/supportive points and a few novel gameplay modes aren't going to make this into the everyman's shooter. I guarantee you're not going to have any long term fun if you aren't good at shooting people in the face.

Minions are super easy to kill. People will be fine.

 

[WordsintheWater]

Yup, there is cloaking. It's an ability you have to equip so not everyone has it, and it has a timer, but it's so exploitable it's almost comical. You can see their outline if you are observant, it's not hard.

In this game, if you can think of some cheap skill-killing mechanic, it's likely been included. It's a veritable what's-what of cheap modern FPS game design. Respawn outdid themselves for sure since that was clearly the goal, lowest common denominator pap.



Oh, interesting recommendation. Never tried Shadowrun that came out on 360. Ack, but I no longer have XBL Gold

I really didn't have an issue with cloaking, the enemies are easy to see and their only real use is to escape Titans. People have tried using it while attacking me head on and they were easy to take out.

 

[cheezcake]

I don't mind sprinting, but I agree completely with you.

Actually scratch that. I don't mind that some games go down that route. But it stands now that 99.9% of all competitive FPS are like that now, fodder for the skill-less, and it's really infuriating. If at least some popular FPS that came out focused for pure skill (and weren't confined to PC, the few that were), it'd be less a problem. But now it's everything fucking modern competitive FPS. Titanfall just upped it to the next level of "gimme"-ness. It's turned a genre that was once my favorite into one I can barely stand to touch. Ah, I wish I could just return to my RETURN TO CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN days. I was the 56k avenger

Good Luck.

For shooters a mouse is just an infinitely superior aiming device compared to a controller. It just makes sense that competitive shooters gravitate exclusively to PC.

 

[Eppy Thatcher]

Thread title got a good guffaw out of me. I can't imagine that's a tagline Respawn want attached to their game lol

 

[Arrogant Bastard]

Yup, there is cloaking. It's an ability you have to equip so not everyone has it, and it has a timer, but it's so exploitable it's almost comical. You can see their outline if you are observant, it's not hard.

Was in a titan fight with some guy, he wrecked me. Had him down to under half, I ejected (could of sworn it did it for me) I was using the assault titan I think. It cloaked me on eject, automatically it seemed (some perk), needless to say I was able to RPG him without him even seeing me. It felt cheap as crap.

 

[Gxgear]

From the streams it seems like all the human players are feasting on the NPCs, with few player kills in between. The game does a good job of making you feel badass despite minimal PvP interactions.