Profile of SwissCheese

That screenshot from NinjaWJ says it all ...

Hum i have just made a post (new tread) for nothing ... I see that the resistance is well and alive. Frankly, what fun it is now to play COH2 : a real pain if you are playing allied, and most of the time no challenge at all to win as axis. So long soldiers. If Relic do something abought it, i will reconsider.

Hello,

I did not post anything for a long time. But with the latest patch, and so much improvements i could not ask for more (for now). COH2 is not as fun as COHO, but among the latest RTS it's the best all around. Thank you RELIC. And here it is for the generals reactions :



See you on the BF.

Swiss Cheese

I didn't know coh 2 was good.

When you compare it to the others recent RTS. It's true the we do live in a world where companies makes billions selling the same shits (same game, new skin) every year (Call of duty anybody ?). But I digress here, when you look at VCOH, COHO and compare them to COH2, they where better games, and by far !

Hello,

My previous post have been seen as rude to many people. It was not my intention. I will never again make a post after seeing abuse in 2 consecutive games (and the abusers where on my side and we won ... but winning is not everything). So i am sorry if some people where offended. I will try to get it right this time.

Over the years i have spent more times playing Relic games than from any other company. I have played them all (on PC) : Homeworld, Dawn of War, Warhammer, Company of Heroes (it’s extensions) and Company of Heroes Online. When this last one was cancelled and closed, it just broke my heart (and thousands of others). The wound is still fresh. Company of Heroes and COHO were called on different well established gaming web site : “The best real time strategy games of all time”. So yes, i’m aware that this is difficult to do a sequel to titles that were (is) so good. So when Company of Heroes 2 was announced, I was thrilled … and having a lot of expectations.

I have played the beta. The game is out there since almost six month. There’s also been some patchs. But is the new iteration any good ?

The simple answer is yes. It is a good game. And a lot better than anything else available at this time. So thank you Relic to bring us good games and for keeping the franchise (COH) going forward.

Now to the more complex answer :

The good :

The Franchise lives !

I like the job Relic have done with the graphical engine for COH2. We have clean and precise graphics, good animations. The sounds are awesome. The artistic direction is in direct continuation of the first games.

True sight is adding to the fun factor and to the possible strategies. Let’s play cat and mouse.

General winter is so so, except for the maps with lakes. Now the map can dynamically change (even more) during the fight. Interesting, useful and it adds variety.

The not so good :

Technical :

Choosing “Peer to peer” server system may look good to corporate exec, but even if the code improved over the last six months, some issues remain. Input lag is frequent (lost orders) and finding opponents takes too long (and I have been mostly playing Russians !. Must be real hard for the germans …. longer waiting time(but it was also true in COHO)). Having dedicated servers is way more efficient. I have a cable 150mb access with low latency. Same thing for my friends. We are not experiencing difficulties, lag or whatsoever with any other games … only with COH2.

My only complaint about the graphics is the low level zoom-out. Come on, a lot of gamers have top notch PC’s and want to use them. You should have the choice to balance your visual settings to accommodate a good zoom out (or set it all to ultra depending on your hardware). Still I can live with the way it is now. But it could be better.

The game :

I must point out that for me the “company” aspect is very important. I am playing almost only 3 VS 3 or 4 VS 4. Most of the times with allied friends, sometimes with total strangers. I have been playing mainly Russians. This is important about my view of the balance problems, because i think that in 1 on 1 (or 2 VS 2), they are less of an issue.

The way resource points have been change feels like a mistake to me. In COH, munitions points gave munitions, fuel point gave fuel, and pop point gave just that. You could improved their outputs (and protect them with OP), but it remained the same type of resources. This gave territory much more importance and intense fights that were really meaning something. Now with points giving a bit of everything, it’s a set back. The former system was better as it required more planning and cunning strategy, as well as really bloody battles (your mission is to take munitions hill and to keep it at all cost!).

The commanders. Too many of them are overlapping (pinned post at the top of this forum with interesting suggestions) or are just plain useless. But what is most important, they are not dynamic. In COH you could choose between 3 types of doctrine, and develop them in the sequence you needed DURING the game. Much more interesting and pertinent. In COHO, there was this kind of RPG elements : with the commanders, you were able to build your OWN tech tree (within certain limits), and there was the heroes units. That was giving real reasons to grind some of them, even when you lost a battle you were marching toward a goal. Sure, sometimes it was frustrating, but in the long run, it was just pure fun. And very addictive (with the loot system, what kind of rewards would you get after a big match). So far I have played around 300 hours of CHO2. It is a lot less (really) than to COH or COHO, but the game is still young. And with 300 hours for 50 bucks, I can say that I’ve had a lot for my money. I even bought the commanders in DLC. To support RELIC. But to some it looks like pay to win (I am not sure about that, no opinion yet). I would be a lot more enthusiasm to buy “Commander slots” to start building new (build your own tech tree " à la COHO") commanders (like you buy mech bays in Wechwarriors Online”).It gives you more control, leave some place to creativity and gives you reasons to change your style of play and to start gaining XP again ! It also brings cash to the DEV.

In COH2 you have a smaller population cap, and individual units don’t seem so important. This is some kind of a paradox. When a faction (side, 4 playes) can spam the same units (Panther, Tiger Ace, T70 and T34) and roll over the enemy almost untouch there is a problem. The strategy went a little out of the window in 4 VS 4. In COH (and COHO), unsupported tanks were really vulnerable. If you took a pack of them, charged … it was almost certain death ! Now you can do it. Don’t need a lot of skill. Just rush, spam and win. Like so many RTS games. Watching an isolated Ostwind circle around two ZIS and take them down is sad ... and it is wrong.

Another great thing in COH was the terrain, the cover and the houses. The cover system in COH universe, the buildings and the destructible war zone is part of the “unique” aspects of the game compared to other RTS.I know that in the latest patch the DEV have adjust the critical hits to building in COH2, but still, they are too few of them, and they are too easily destructible. So here is another loss in strategic elements of the game.

The community :

It is great that you are able now to launch 4 VS 4, and to be able to do it even when you are alone (was not possible in VCOH). The latest channel chat addition is ok, but this is also a major set back from the ingame Lobby and community chat we had in COHO. And, I don’t know if it’s because of the peer to peer (instead of dedicated servers) or if it’s by having only a small group of players at any given time (RELIC did sell at least 400 000 COH2 (the last time it was mentioned)), but these channels are almost empty. And finding a game takes a long time.

Those are my main issues for now. My friends and I recently download “Eastern Fronts” for VCOH. This is another good thing with Relic, it welcome modders ! And the people behind Eastern Front did a really good (fantastic !) job. For now, I think I will let COH2 aside to play Eastern Fronts with friends (old game, not a large community anymore). Maybe in a few months COH2 will get better and gain a new momentum. When you buy a new version of software or a new computer, you want to do more things with it, to have new features that matters, with COH2 you get a good game, but one that is somehow a diluted version of the previous ones.

I think if those issues (and some others) are addressed, Relic could sell more DLC, start thinking about an expansion pack and so on. I really wish it.

Anyway, thanks to RELIC for the games you have released so far,

Swiss Cheese