My OperaWolfenstein : How to dissapoint the fans.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 2:00:43 PM
Wolfenstein is one of the most well known first person shooter ( fps ) game and with a very large fan group all over the world. In 2001 Gray mater released Return to Castle wolfenstein single player ( sp ) that was a direct hit. The multi player ( mp ) with new objective mode became very popular and two years later Splash Damage relest Wolfenstein Enemy Territory, a follow up of the original multiplayer, that became one of the most popular mp games in the world and not only for player but for map makers as well.
Previous Wolfenstein games, Wolfenstein 3D and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, have made gold for the software developer ID and along waited new release was most likely supposed to bring a lot of the green stuff to companies that made the new game. But there was a problem, or a very big problem.
The problem was the multiplayer, which so many people had been waiting for, constantly logging in to a development blog to see if there was any news about their new multiplayer game.
When it came out the multiplayer was not finished. There where lot of bugs, which in some cases made it unplayable, in it and it really did not look or feel like a Wolfenstein game.
Now given that it took 5 years to develop the new multiplayer game it should have been fine polished when it came out but not half done, leaving the fan group furious poring their anger on the Wolfenstein community site, while ID is trying to smooth the anger by promising that they will try to fix the bugs. Furthermore ID has agreed to do some changes to the game to make it feel a bit more like a Wolfenstein game.
Now if that is not bad enough, it turned up that the game was well of one and half year ago, that is a multiplayer game that felt and looked like Wolfenstein. But something came up, the company making the multiplayer game wanted more of the green stuff and decided to change the game. Someone ( how likes money ) found out that there was another popular game that is Call of Duty MW 4 ( CoD MW4 ) that has become a hit, so the order was to change the game and make it look more like CoD MW4 and that is where the problem began.
Here is what one, that had been testing the game during development, had to say about the new release :
Summary of issues: After having played the MP portion of the game so far, the biggest problem by far seems to be the overall lag and choppiness that was not present in earlier builds. First and foremost, this needs to be addressed! Also, I have noticed a lot of features gone missing from the Wolfenstein PC build of 17 months ago. Obviously the game is in a vastly different state now, replacing the XP/reward/deployable system for a cash based upgrades system. I realize that is a fundamental difference that I am sure at this stage the developers wanted after the success of Call of Duty 4, and it probably explains why the maps were trimmed down to suit TDM as well as Objective gameplay. Sadly, this results in simpler map designs, trading the strengths of the objective modes for TDM requirements. I also realize that the primary platform for the project was the Xbox 360- so these simplified priorities are displeasing the legions of longtime PC MP Wolfenstein fans, who now take issue with the excessive simplicity of the interface, maps, and gameplay compared to RtCW and more specifically, Wolf: ET. There are at least a number of changes that could be more easily made since there were a number of features from ET:QW or that were in that previous build which have since been removed, resulting in a shallower game and at times unbalanced gameplay. Recommendations: I recommend reverting a number of changes back into the game from that previous build: Lost features: Player lean ability Shotguns for medics and engineers Different weapons for each side (explains no dead ammo drops, see below): - Resistance: Thompson, Bar1918 - Axis: MP40, MP43 Lockpicks* (all classes...but would require maps to add back the lockable doors) Unlimited Sprint HUD indicator showing grenade cook timer Enemies without red HUD indicators unless moused over, health of enemies hidden Molotov **** for Resistance engineers Shock Grenades for Axis engineers Smoke Grenades for all engineers Balance issues: Remove ammo drops from dead enemies (will increase reliance on engineers for ammo) Panzerfaust requires splash damage larger radius and more damage MP40 with Big Bore upgrade too close in power to the Soldiers' MP43 Re-spawn timers are too fast, and along with the smaller map sizes results in: -No sense of success after repelling an enemy attack since they return to soon -Not sure if this can really be fixed now that maps are smaller. If respawns are too slow, Resistance may win too often because of slower Axis defense re-spawn. -Medics encountering difficulties when trying to revive because either (a)the teammate respawns before they can reach them or (b)the medic is killed by quickly respawning enemies while trying to revive a teammate Quality/Polish issues: Add death animations. Blood effect when shooting enemies is horrible. Replace or remove entirely. Sound effects- gunshots/ footsteps need distance volume and spatial orientation (these used to work fine- what happened?) Ironsights are too distracting, take up too much of the screen and aren't useful enough in aiming. Keep only for scopes. Sadly, I don't expect the maps to return to their former size and complexity, especially with the high priority that has been placed on the maps to make them smaller and TDM compliant, but I ask that you entertain the notion anyways. Again, thanks for taking the initiative in restoring gamers faith in ID!
Now I do not believe that I mentioned that where only 8 maps released with the new game, after 5 years in development. There are no winter maps nor desert maps, which would add a flavor to the game. They are all middle Europe maps.
As a sample of how large the Wolfenstein fan base is, they have already come out with a mod to fix some of the issues and they are suggesting that the developers should try to fix the bugs while they will try to fix the game play.
Now what is sad with this is that they were on the right corse until the guys that wanted more green stuff started to get ideas.
My best guess is that the guys that wanted the more of the green stuff have shut their doors and refuge to take the blame, all denying to pay for development time to fix this mess. They probably have agreed that the money that was invested to deliver a map pack will now be used to save what can be saved and let the rest go out the window.
Previous Wolfenstein games, Wolfenstein 3D and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, have made gold for the software developer ID and along waited new release was most likely supposed to bring a lot of the green stuff to companies that made the new game. But there was a problem, or a very big problem.
The problem was the multiplayer, which so many people had been waiting for, constantly logging in to a development blog to see if there was any news about their new multiplayer game.
When it came out the multiplayer was not finished. There where lot of bugs, which in some cases made it unplayable, in it and it really did not look or feel like a Wolfenstein game.
Now given that it took 5 years to develop the new multiplayer game it should have been fine polished when it came out but not half done, leaving the fan group furious poring their anger on the Wolfenstein community site, while ID is trying to smooth the anger by promising that they will try to fix the bugs. Furthermore ID has agreed to do some changes to the game to make it feel a bit more like a Wolfenstein game.
Now if that is not bad enough, it turned up that the game was well of one and half year ago, that is a multiplayer game that felt and looked like Wolfenstein. But something came up, the company making the multiplayer game wanted more of the green stuff and decided to change the game. Someone ( how likes money ) found out that there was another popular game that is Call of Duty MW 4 ( CoD MW4 ) that has become a hit, so the order was to change the game and make it look more like CoD MW4 and that is where the problem began.
Here is what one, that had been testing the game during development, had to say about the new release :
Summary of issues: After having played the MP portion of the game so far, the biggest problem by far seems to be the overall lag and choppiness that was not present in earlier builds. First and foremost, this needs to be addressed! Also, I have noticed a lot of features gone missing from the Wolfenstein PC build of 17 months ago. Obviously the game is in a vastly different state now, replacing the XP/reward/deployable system for a cash based upgrades system. I realize that is a fundamental difference that I am sure at this stage the developers wanted after the success of Call of Duty 4, and it probably explains why the maps were trimmed down to suit TDM as well as Objective gameplay. Sadly, this results in simpler map designs, trading the strengths of the objective modes for TDM requirements. I also realize that the primary platform for the project was the Xbox 360- so these simplified priorities are displeasing the legions of longtime PC MP Wolfenstein fans, who now take issue with the excessive simplicity of the interface, maps, and gameplay compared to RtCW and more specifically, Wolf: ET. There are at least a number of changes that could be more easily made since there were a number of features from ET:QW or that were in that previous build which have since been removed, resulting in a shallower game and at times unbalanced gameplay. Recommendations: I recommend reverting a number of changes back into the game from that previous build: Lost features: Player lean ability Shotguns for medics and engineers Different weapons for each side (explains no dead ammo drops, see below): - Resistance: Thompson, Bar1918 - Axis: MP40, MP43 Lockpicks* (all classes...but would require maps to add back the lockable doors) Unlimited Sprint HUD indicator showing grenade cook timer Enemies without red HUD indicators unless moused over, health of enemies hidden Molotov **** for Resistance engineers Shock Grenades for Axis engineers Smoke Grenades for all engineers Balance issues: Remove ammo drops from dead enemies (will increase reliance on engineers for ammo) Panzerfaust requires splash damage larger radius and more damage MP40 with Big Bore upgrade too close in power to the Soldiers' MP43 Re-spawn timers are too fast, and along with the smaller map sizes results in: -No sense of success after repelling an enemy attack since they return to soon -Not sure if this can really be fixed now that maps are smaller. If respawns are too slow, Resistance may win too often because of slower Axis defense re-spawn. -Medics encountering difficulties when trying to revive because either (a)the teammate respawns before they can reach them or (b)the medic is killed by quickly respawning enemies while trying to revive a teammate Quality/Polish issues: Add death animations. Blood effect when shooting enemies is horrible. Replace or remove entirely. Sound effects- gunshots/ footsteps need distance volume and spatial orientation (these used to work fine- what happened?) Ironsights are too distracting, take up too much of the screen and aren't useful enough in aiming. Keep only for scopes. Sadly, I don't expect the maps to return to their former size and complexity, especially with the high priority that has been placed on the maps to make them smaller and TDM compliant, but I ask that you entertain the notion anyways. Again, thanks for taking the initiative in restoring gamers faith in ID!
Now I do not believe that I mentioned that where only 8 maps released with the new game, after 5 years in development. There are no winter maps nor desert maps, which would add a flavor to the game. They are all middle Europe maps.
As a sample of how large the Wolfenstein fan base is, they have already come out with a mod to fix some of the issues and they are suggesting that the developers should try to fix the bugs while they will try to fix the game play.
Now what is sad with this is that they were on the right corse until the guys that wanted more green stuff started to get ideas.
My best guess is that the guys that wanted the more of the green stuff have shut their doors and refuge to take the blame, all denying to pay for development time to fix this mess. They probably have agreed that the money that was invested to deliver a map pack will now be used to save what can be saved and let the rest go out the window.
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