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Can Relics roadmap resurrect coh2?

4 May 2015, 21:41 PM
#61
avatar of Frencho

Posts: 220

CoH 2 is not dead, neither is it truly healthy, it's just the walking dead.

The game is fundamentally flawed, because it has no clear vision of what it wants to be. Instead trying to please every crowd, and not satisfying any.

Relic just hops around with no clear direction from adding new MP content to adding new single player content, while never achieving decent MP balance in between the content releases. It's a vicious cycle.

TBH, the biggest issue CoH 2 has is that it's current content is not solid. How do you expect to build something grand on such a shaky foundation

Firstly, the game engine and current optimization are atrocious. Secondly there is no cohesive design for the multiplayer factions. You have to look at the basics.

Try to put yourself into the shoes of someone who has never heard of the Company of Heroes franchise.

The game runs poorly, you need a beefy PC just for it to be playable. Once in a match the game is quite unresponsive compared to the competition. Dammit when even your fucking menus are unresponsive and lagging like hell you have a huge issue on your hands...

I would not be surprised if newcomers are quickly frustrated by CoH 2, there are too many issues that a newcomer has to digest, that's one too many hurdles in the face of enjoying your limited spare time. This is why; despite being one of the best selling titles on Steam, CoH 2 has a small player base (I would guess 10 000 unique players that play daily online)

Really I could not recommend this game to anyone who is not a CoH franchise veteran or a hardcore WW2 enthusiast. Your average gamer will melt his Laptop trying to run CoH 2, then try it on a beefier gaming rig just to meet the bugsplat screen and move on to a product that fucking works, where menus are snappy and the gameplay responsive.

The Road Map won't help CoH 2 that much either. It follows the same vicious cycle. Flimsy foundation, new content adds countless bugs we can't squash, trying to get the balance right, almost there, the game state is vastly improved... OH here comes the clusteruck! Let's add the Commonwealth faction the anglo-saxon fanboys are raving about. Now we have to balance odd-numbered factions with no cohesive design... squash the new bugs, and the vicious cycle starts again.

Honest question, is CoH 2 a secret Hidetaka Miyazaki experiment? Because with all the endless cyclic tropes that result on dudes lit on fire to sustain depressing fucked up worlds or bring even darker ones, I see a common soulsborne pattern here.

I still love CoH 2, but I'm a CoH franchise veteran who also loved the Dawn of War Franchise! That's why I put up with all the flaws and jump those hurdles, but don't expect John Doe to do the same.

Lastly, don't get your hopes up for CoH 2, instead hope for W40K Dawn of War 3. DoW franchise uses Games Workshop's IP, which will bring a larger & broader audience. Moreover the Sci-fi setting is much more suitable for e-sports/competitive play anyways as Relic can throw authenticity out of the window. Just think of CoH 2 as a 5 year beta for DoW 3.
4 May 2015, 21:55 PM
#62
avatar of daspoulos

Posts: 1116 | Subs: 1

Permanently Banned
Well shit balance combined with a lack of new content will do that to a game. Relic dropped the ball pretty hard, coh2 still is a decent game. But relic obviously can't handle it. Thats why it isn't the game it should be, therefore it doesn't have the playerbase it potentially could of had.

4 million units sold was it? And such a low amount of players play the game. Ha pathetic.
5 May 2015, 19:32 PM
#63
avatar of sluzbenik

Posts: 879

Personally I'm just bored to death of the same stuff game after game. COH2 does lack depth and it's a game more of hard counters rather than doing clever stuff with soft counters...

There just isn't much strategy in this real-time strategy game.



6 May 2015, 03:44 AM
#64
avatar of Frencho

Posts: 220

Personally I'm just bored to death of the same stuff game after game. COH2 does lack depth and it's a game more of hard counters rather than doing clever stuff with soft counters...

There just isn't much strategy in this real-time strategy game.


CoH 2's lack of depth stems from it's poor faction design and Commander System. When you have tank traps, trenches, wire, and mines locked behind commanders or non tier 1 units units (M20s), your options will be limited. Less depth, less creativity, which brings more spam, more blobs, call-in meta with the same couple of good commanders because stock units underperform. New content won't solve the issue, I reiterate, CoH 2 is fundamentally flawed.

Going off topic here, and don't take it personally sluzbenik just jumping on the occasion to hammer this gripe I have :)

But, people really need to grasp what strategy truly is seeing it's been massively vulgarized and trivialized to the point that when politicians say they have a strategy to combat unemployment or terrorism they actually mean they have a plan or some sketchy guideline. Clausewitz must be rolling over in his grave.

But well it's impossible to agree on a single definitive definition of strategy, specially when defining it takes more or less 2 pages. For western military strategy see Clausewitz, André Beaufre or Liddel Hart, best scholars to introduce yourself to this discipline.

There is no strategy at all involved in CoH 2, it's a purely tactical game. CoH 2's minute scope, very short term timeframe and lack of non-military alternatives void any strategic play. CoH 2 engagements are skirmishes, not even battles. When it comes to video games: No politics, no diplomacy, no complex economy/teching, lack of multiple operational theaters and lack of long term timeframe = no strategy.

The RTS genre is a bloated with games misidentified as strategic when they are actually tactical in nature. Whilst the Real Time Tactics (RTT) genre is almost empty or unknown due to said mislabelling. I wonder if it's the devs or publisher fault.The only true RTS titles that instantly come to mind are Europa Universalis IV and the upcoming Hearts of Iron IV (You can pause but it is not turn based unlike Civilization series or Total War series).
6 May 2015, 09:17 AM
#65
avatar of BibiHesten

Posts: 33

No and I'm already looking forward to CoH3, next year or whenever.

Reason are imo the following:

* Ridiculous stats system. People love those and Relic offer very barebone stats in game.

* No proper ladder system with leagues or something similar. People need something to look forward to. Besides what they currently have should be in game and not on some third party site.

* frustrating unlock system. Again people like to be rewarded and have something to look forward to. The current system is a gigantic FU.

* Faction imbalance. Whoever thought "herp derp these should be ridiculously hard to enjoy in the early game" should find himself s new job. Balance is out the window and the game isn't exactly new either.

* performance issues. The game only looked mildly better than the first one back when it released and yet even today with s high end system i can have weird issues like flames outright killing frames.


Why do I look forward to s new game? Because Relic was acquired by Sega after the collapse of THQ. This must've hurt the development and I'm thankful for the product we got. It could've likely been much worse, but in reality it turned out alright.
Now a sequel with a good development and focused goal (e-store?) combined with what they learned from COH2 (ladder system, costum games,RNG issue, asymmetric balance issue etc) could POTENTIALLY give birth to the game we deserved back when COH2 launched.

Truthfully we do need a sequel and a good one at that. This one is just a walking husk that should be put to the ground. If a good sequel is launched this one will die in seconds, I'm sure of it. And while I realize that Relic do "try" to fix this on they don't really. They'll milk it some more and come next year we'll hear about the next Coh.. Or Dow. I doubt they have many members of their team working on this, likely just a few to keep it a float which would also explain the long wait between patches.

Sega own Relic and Sega want to earn as much money as possible. A sequel would be a good way to do so. The game is still popular or at least well known and can easily sell s lot given the right circumstances.
6 May 2015, 09:40 AM
#66
avatar of Unshavenbackman

Posts: 680

No and I'm already looking forward to CoH3, next year or whenever.

Reason are imo the following:

* Ridiculous stats system. People love those and Relic offer very barebone stats in game.

* No proper ladder system with leagues or something similar. People need something to look forward to. Besides what they currently have should be in game and not on some third party site.

* frustrating unlock system. Again people like to be rewarded and have something to look forward to. The current system is a gigantic FU.

* Faction imbalance. Whoever thought "herp derp these should be ridiculously hard to enjoy in the early game" should find himself s new job. Balance is out the window and the game isn't exactly new either.

* performance issues. The game only looked mildly better than the first one back when it released and yet even today with s high end system i can have weird issues like flames outright killing frames.



Some of the things you pointed out are in Relics roadmap.
6 May 2015, 13:07 PM
#67
avatar of Blalord

Posts: 742 | Subs: 1

A ladder still not implemented after 2 years, the "road map" is looooooong.
meh
6 May 2015, 16:39 PM
#68
avatar of meh

Posts: 59

Did you ever date a girl who just graduated college and was really hot. And the true reality was that you were only dating her because she was both young and hot and you were listening to the head that resides below your belt. Granted I was only like 3-4 years older but we were in different worlds. And at the time you have a pretty good well paying job and she views you as either being steady/stable or a sugar daddy so you decided what the hey and decided to try things out. But then you just sat there during your dates or in bed going through the usual motions and were having a great good old time, but then eventually you begin to ask yourself 'Where the Hell is this going?!?!?!?'

Yeah that's exactly what is happening here. My suggestions are to just enjoy the moment and when it ends it ends, find another when that time comes and try not to get too attached. Otherwise even more problems are bound to arise. Just remember that you were only there to have a good time, nothing more nothing less.
6 May 2015, 18:33 PM
#69
avatar of GuyFromTheSky

Posts: 229

I stopped playing because CoH2 feels like an early access game. They released an empty, shallow shell of a game and promised us more content in the future. Two years in and the game still feels hollow.

I just wish they would have made it clear from the beginning (before release) that they wasn't done developing the game and that it was an early access beta, because that was essentially what we were paying for.

I wish they would finish the content for the game and then just put out some balance patches now and then. I will not stick around for promises of future greatness.
7 May 2015, 16:49 PM
#70
avatar of Crecer13

Posts: 2184 | Subs: 2

He's dead, Jim. The game requires a complete redesign of the factions. Plus, the addition of just one faction puzzles me. And six months later will be the new alpha of Italians / Germans? and will cost as much as a new game?
7 May 2015, 21:28 PM
#71
avatar of WingZero

Posts: 1484

I think automatches for new players is a huge problem. The problem is many new players get a game against AT or strong opponents and end up quiting with sour taste in their mouth.
7 May 2015, 23:19 PM
#74
avatar of Frencho

Posts: 220

There are not enough concurrent players to warrant splitting the multiplayer into two queues. Same goes for adding a tiered or league hierarchy in the matchmaking. Players don't want to search for 30 minutes to get matched.

This issue is inextricably linked to the size of the playerbase. Fair matchmaking is only possible with huge successful videogames.
meh
8 May 2015, 13:03 PM
#75
avatar of meh

Posts: 59

There are not enough concurrent players to warrant splitting the multiplayer into two queues. Same goes for adding a tiered or league hierarchy in the matchmaking. Players don't want to search for 30 minutes to get matched.

This issue is inextricably linked to the size of the playerbase. Fair matchmaking is only possible with huge successful videogames.


I would rather wait 30 mins and masterbate in between and play good games than play Instant Stomp Games.
9 May 2015, 05:21 AM
#76
avatar of skemshead

Posts: 611

-
I just started up the game to find 1800 players online, it may be the beginning of the end. I might be just a subjective opinion but the interest in the game is faultering. I dont think that the faultering interest in the game is related to balance this time. My guess its more related to the lack of new content.
Here are som stats: http://steamcharts.com/app/231430

Do you guys think that something in Relics roadmap can resurrect this soon to be dead game? Or should Relic focus on something else? Or is it just natural that Coh2s time is over?

Here is the roadmap: http://www.coh2.org/topic/32944/relic-s-roadmap


Relics roadmap won't do shit to resurrect the multiplayer because their focus is on the casual gamer and morons that like shiny things. By shiny I mean simple minded shit like big explosions and shock value units that can be A-moved for success. The thing about Coh2 is its all about abuse, about how fun it is to abuse shit. They give very little thought to what it is like to play against this crap.

The fact that the most braindead tactics ( eg callins, inf spam, blobs )dominate the game and relics reluctance to do anything about it indicates to me that they are afraid they will drive away the simpletons that are the bulk of their paying customers. They present a diplomatic front when put under question about the competive scene but jack shit is ever done. Its just we are looking into it, its a difficult problem, but we are excited. Blah, blah, blah. Just a smoke screen.

However as the game gets older more people realize that the game isn't going to evolve and the effect is the better players just abandon ship leaving just the casual scrub. I personally have been hoping ( futilely it seems ) since WFA that relic would get their act together and try and polish this game and remove some of the more abusive and cheesy aspects of the game, but it seems my wait has been in vain.

Brits will, if history is any indicator be a clusterf***, and we will be back to pre WFA. There is nothing in the road map that will change my perspective, because i want a better game NOT just more shit thrown into the mix.....
9 May 2015, 05:56 AM
#77
avatar of daspoulos

Posts: 1116 | Subs: 1

Permanently Banned
-

Relics roadmap won't do shit to resurrect the multiplayer because their focus is on the casual gamer and morons that like shiny things. By shiny I mean simple minded shit like big explosions and shock value units that can be A-moved for success. The thing about Coh2 is its all about abuse, about how fun it is to abuse shit. They give very little thought to what it is like to play against this crap.

The fact that the most braindead tactics ( eg callins, inf spam, blobs )dominate the game and relics reluctance to do anything about it indicates to me that they are afraid they will drive away the simpletons that are the bulk of their paying customers. They present a diplomatic front when put under question about the competive scene but jack shit is ever done. Its just we are looking into it, its a difficult problem, but we are excited. Blah, blah, blah. Just a smoke screen.

However as the game gets older more people realize that the game isn't going to evolve and the effect is the better players just abandon ship leaving just the casual scrub. I personally have been hoping ( futilely it seems ) since WFA that relic would get their act together and try and polish this game and remove some of the more abusive and cheesy aspects of the game, but it seems my wait has been in vain.

Brits will, if history is any indicator be a clusterf***, and we will be back to pre WFA. There is nothing in the road map that will change my perspective, because i want a better game NOT just more shit thrown into the mix.....

right on, kudos to you.
9 May 2015, 07:14 AM
#78
avatar of Flamee

Posts: 710

Dat crying. Such drama.

You play a game, then you don't want to play it anymore.

No, nowadays you need to go announce on forums how game is dead, how you don't feel like playing it anymore etc.

Wtf :D
9 May 2015, 08:42 AM
#79
avatar of The amazing Chandler

Posts: 1355

jump backJump back to quoted post9 May 2015, 07:14 AMFlamee
Dat crying. Such drama.

You play a game, then you don't want to play it anymore.

No, nowadays you need to go announce on forums how game is dead, how you don't feel like playing it anymore etc.

Wtf :D


:clap::clap::clap:
+1000
9 May 2015, 09:31 AM
#80
avatar of dasheepeh

Posts: 2115 | Subs: 1

jump backJump back to quoted post9 May 2015, 07:14 AMFlamee
Dat crying. Such drama.

You play a game, then you don't want to play it anymore.

No, nowadays you need to go announce on forums how game is dead, how you don't feel like playing it anymore etc.

Wtf :D


thanks :thumbsup:
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