You could release a Comp Mode to fill the missing pieces.. if ~800 ppl are playing now at a time, that means for them the current version is OK.. for the 500+ missing that were here for release are looking for a different experience.. Comp Mode would provide that experience.. Its not separating the community, well you could call it that but is that not better than them leaving?
So current pub mode would be for those casual players looking to have fun.. Comp Mode could be ran by any server providers for those players looking for a more challenging raw gaming experience.. The difference? well we've been talking about those changes for a long time, so you should all know by now..
If I'm not doing anything wrong or in fact not doing anything but playing the game and getting [TOS Violation] for it, then yes I think the community is indeed bad. People accusing left and right and playing nice guys on forums, what a great community. When I was playing this more actively I could've made daily reports about people insulting, tking and voting me off official servers, glad they introduced the new system even if it's not completely flawless.
I realize this community can be great and I've met some really nice people but the bad experiences overweight. Guess it goes both ways. You may consider this the greatest community on earth but I'll consider it bad. Not worse than other communities but that doesn't automatically make it a good one.
It really depends the way you look at it. Yes the community is overall bad/non-experienced players and then yes this is a good community of mostly loyal America's Army Series fans and I have seen lots of good and bad ideas. I been around quite a few communities. I have to say this one is the best overall. (Which isn't saying much) The major issue many people have about this community is the fact that they have no idea who is actually legit and who is really hockin'! You could be on a server and go 12-6 18-6 w/e and get accusations left and right but the moment a real hocker comes in they can't even tell the difference. If everyone who has played this game for at least 6 months was still here we would have a fantastic community and competitive scene. But people just losing patience I don't blame them at all. I actually got kicked from a server going 5-1 and then anyone who joined their server with my teams tags got banned immediately. I don't know how this server is ever full considering half the community is banned from it. They may try to call themselves Elite but they are definitely an Eternally Butthurt Unit.
Funny thing about slide gents! At the end of the slide you warp. (Broken animation fellas) Maybe you never notice this so go explore a map offline and go slide you will see your screen warp back and then forward if you pay attention.
Now if you all are so keen on keeping slide I will say it again. Make it so you are stuck looking in the direction you chose to slide in, then at the end of the slide you can aim. (Oh wow did we just fix a broken core game mechanic with one simple suggestion?)
I think there's a real issue with the new player experience and coming in for the first time only to get totally hosed. I know what it's like. I've had a pretty steep learning curve getting back into gaming. That being said, I actually LIKE going up against difficult players so I can learn something. It may be frustrating short term, but I know it benefits me.
So, I think this points to a real issue of how to provide the kind of environment EVERYONE wants. Match making has been discussed a lot. I've recently put forward a "No Stats server"idea for new players to look around in and interact with others instead of the Explore feature offline, which can only go so far.
I think keeping the farming of newbs to a minimum would help with retention.
I also believe that nailing down the game mechanics and then letting MAPS control how the game is played is better than splitting the community along Comp/Pub lines. What happens is a real attitude issue in which "Pub" is for people who can't handle the REAL game. I think that's a bad direction to go.
I'm quite confident, and not from inside info, that the Devs are interested in continuing to add quality to this game.
After that, I'd suggest keeping our quibbling to a minimum would also help.
______
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
"I think" .. theres the number one problem Keebler !
Let me tell you what I know.. that right now were averaging ~800 players, AA3 at the point of its failure where the Devs decided "screw it, well just make another version" had 500+ players! 611 players was the lowest point for AAPG, thats awfully close to AA3's numbers ALREADY..
Do you see this game getting more popular? no.. the numbers are consistently decreasing..
You guys can tell yourselves the game is "perfect" .. but its anything but... by the time you realize the truth, Im afraid its going to be too late
I've recently put forward a "No Stats server"idea for new players to look around in and interact with others instead of the Explore feature offline, which can only go so far.
I think this may be possible now. Edit the server's AAGame.ini to include the following. You'll need to add a new section and I haven't tested whether it'll actually work.
@Doba.... no. That's a problem, but not in the way you believe it is.
I use the term "I THINK" because I respect the views of others, I like discussing ideas for mutual benefit, and am willing to admit I still need to learn a lot.
I don't have the right to come in here and tell anyone what to think, and I respectfully suggest that anyone who does it in an unofficial capacity is full of themselves...
______
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
Steam Stats are not the same as game stats are they? IE....any Official auth server that gets set up with contribute to your Profile data....?
The naming conventions throughout the code aren't always precise. That boolean should disable AAUAddRoundStatsToProfile() and AAUAddMatchStatsToProfile(). Whether that only covers reporting to Steam or reporting to the AA internal system as well... I'm not sure, there's more code than I care to carefully inspect. That's why I say needs testing, it's faster to do empirically
Ah. Gotcha. Anyway....I'd rather discuss the merit of the idea and let the code jockeys figure it out only if it makes sense. I guess a test server might be interesting, but without full backing, it wouldn't get used.
Back to the point, I think worrying about our stats causes us to be less helpful to new players.
______
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
Ah. Gotcha. Anyway....I'd rather discuss the merit of the idea and let the code jockeys figure it out only if it makes sense. I guess a test server might be interesting, but without full backing, it wouldn't get used.
Back to the point, I think worrying about our stats causes us to be less helpful to new players.
I think the challenge is finding people willing to spend time mentoring and getting players interested in hearing what they have to say into the server with them. I think the logistical issues there are way more of a hurdle than stats tracking (though that may help keep players in that server behaving appropriately). How do you communicate the presence of a mentorship server effectively and actually get people into it? I don't have a good answer for that.
Do you really think this game is so hard compared to other FPS games that it needs mentoring to keep new players in? Stop telling those lies to yourself and face it, the game isn't good enough for w/e reason. You don't have to share my thoughts on why it is bad and what should be changed but stop denying there is something wrong.
Doba, if what you say is true about the way I come across, then I want to change it. Thank you. Shutting down people with other ideas is a bad for the community. You're right.
As to the mentoring issue, that wasn't really the goal, per se. The idea I have is for a safe place where STATS are not the goal, therefore whomever is in the server can goof off, talk, learn, explore, whatever.....and you and I can go there and there is zero pressure to farm new players for points....because there are no points awarded.
Just an idea, more like musing about stuff, really.
I just don't want new players to get hosed so much or put down for the fact they aren't up to speed yet.
______
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
Do you really think this game is so hard compared to other FPS games that it needs mentoring to keep new players in? Stop telling those lies to yourself and face it, the game isn't good enough for w/e reason. You don't have to share my thoughts on why it is bad and what should be changed but stop denying there is something wrong.
Do I think this is the best game ever? No. Do I think this is a good F2P? Yes. The fact that it doesn't have any pay-to-win or grind-to-win aspects is really unusual for the genre. As for growth -- there's never been more competition in the F2P or FPS genres. I think the game's been pretty successful given the gaming environment it's been released in and the idea that the only definition of success is 10,000+ average concurrents and endless growth is naive. I want the game to grow, too, but I don't judge how good a title is based on how many people play it.
Back on topic -- People frequently complain here about hackusations, bad players, bad revives, bad plays, etc. The only way to fix that is with education and experience. I don't think the game is crazy hard, but I've seen what happens when I sit a non-FPS gamer down in, say, Portal. It isn't pretty. Some fraction of players will come in at that level and may like some extra non-judgmental help.
Let's flip it around. Do you think having mentors would hurt retention? Would make it harder for new players to stick around? There's no Dev opportunity cost for a volunteer effort on a volunteered server.
Funny thing about slide gents! At the end of the slide you warp. (Broken animation fellas) Maybe you never notice this so go explore a map offline and go slide you will see your screen warp back and then forward if you pay attention.
Now if you all are so keen on keeping slide I will say it again. Make it so you are stuck looking in the direction you chose to slide in, then at the end of the slide you can aim. (Oh wow did we just fix a broken core game mechanic with one simple suggestion?)
So much going on I missed this.
I really agree with Colts on what's going on here and that it needs some attention. That animation stutter drives me nuts, and the not looking where you're aiming (and don't forget possible hit detection issues!) is a real problem that the Devs have said requires some resources to tackle properly.
______
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
Doba, if what you say is true about the way I come across, then I want to change it. Thank you. Shutting down people with other ideas is a bad for the community. You're right.
As to the mentoring issue, that wasn't really the goal, per se. The idea I have is for a safe place where STATS are not the goal, therefore whomever is in the server can goof off, talk, learn, explore, whatever.....and you and I can go there and there is zero pressure to farm new players for points....because there are no points awarded.
Just an idea, more like musing about stuff, really.
I just don't want new players to get hosed so much or put down for the fact they aren't up to speed yet.
I actually think that's a good idea. people can learn the routes and flanks and where you get shot from and when and where to pick up. and like keeb said If your farming nubs for the fun of it even though you don't get points you have some other issues that need addressed.
I think some of you guys have a wrong picture of comp/better players. I can only speak for myself but I'm sure most of those wouldn't play any different on that server than they are now. Mentality is not getting points (in fact I couldn't care less, I haven't even done any elite weapon challenge) but playing good and improving. Yes, there are players going for high KDRs, points and what not but contrary to popular belief it's not limited to the evil guys known as "comp players".
Well, remember how we wanted Training to be better for all kinds of things, including stuff like reviving into the line of fire, and we had this big discussion about declining a revive?
The No Stat scenario is like the next level of Explore Offline, wouldn't cost much to implement, and players like Doba and Colts could help new players so we keep gaining a bigger community!
______
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
Comments
no
You could release a Comp Mode to fill the missing pieces.. if ~800 ppl are playing now at a time, that means for them the current version is OK.. for the 500+ missing that were here for release are looking for a different experience.. Comp Mode would provide that experience.. Its not separating the community, well you could call it that but is that not better than them leaving?
So current pub mode would be for those casual players looking to have fun.. Comp Mode could be ran by any server providers for those players looking for a more challenging raw gaming experience.. The difference? well we've been talking about those changes for a long time, so you should all know by now..
Everyone Wins this way!!
DIsableRunningReload= True
DisableSlide=True
DisableEnemySpotted=True
DisableSupportedPosition=True
etc..
#Support Comp Mode
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN4YhM6jUB2MxVj8i3b9rhw
bFixAllAnimationsSoOpforIsLookingWhereHesAiming=1
;REM bSetRunningReloadsToRealisticLevels= ;They already are.
bSetEnemySpottedToAreaSpotForComms=1
bTeachPlayersHowToDealWithChallenge= .......................ah, forget it. This isn't possible....
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
It really depends the way you look at it. Yes the community is overall bad/non-experienced players and then yes this is a good community of mostly loyal America's Army Series fans and I have seen lots of good and bad ideas. I been around quite a few communities. I have to say this one is the best overall. (Which isn't saying much) The major issue many people have about this community is the fact that they have no idea who is actually legit and who is really hockin'! You could be on a server and go 12-6 18-6 w/e and get accusations left and right but the moment a real hocker comes in they can't even tell the difference. If everyone who has played this game for at least 6 months was still here we would have a fantastic community and competitive scene. But people just losing patience I don't blame them at all. I actually got kicked from a server going 5-1 and then anyone who joined their server with my teams tags got banned immediately. I don't know how this server is ever full considering half the community is banned from it. They may try to call themselves Elite but they are definitely an Eternally Butthurt Unit.
Funny thing about slide gents! At the end of the slide you warp. (Broken animation fellas) Maybe you never notice this so go explore a map offline and go slide you will see your screen warp back and then forward if you pay attention.
Now if you all are so keen on keeping slide I will say it again. Make it so you are stuck looking in the direction you chose to slide in, then at the end of the slide you can aim. (Oh wow did we just fix a broken core game mechanic with one simple suggestion?)
So, I think this points to a real issue of how to provide the kind of environment EVERYONE wants. Match making has been discussed a lot. I've recently put forward a "No Stats server"idea for new players to look around in and interact with others instead of the Explore feature offline, which can only go so far.
I think keeping the farming of newbs to a minimum would help with retention.
I also believe that nailing down the game mechanics and then letting MAPS control how the game is played is better than splitting the community along Comp/Pub lines. What happens is a real attitude issue in which "Pub" is for people who can't handle the REAL game. I think that's a bad direction to go.
I'm quite confident, and not from inside info, that the Devs are interested in continuing to add quality to this game.
After that, I'd suggest keeping our quibbling to a minimum would also help.
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
Let me tell you what I know.. that right now were averaging ~800 players, AA3 at the point of its failure where the Devs decided "screw it, well just make another version" had 500+ players! 611 players was the lowest point for AAPG, thats awfully close to AA3's numbers ALREADY..
Do you see this game getting more popular? no.. the numbers are consistently decreasing..
You guys can tell yourselves the game is "perfect" .. but its anything but... by the time you realize the truth, Im afraid its going to be too late
#Support Comp Mode
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN4YhM6jUB2MxVj8i3b9rhw
I think this may be possible now. Edit the server's AAGame.ini to include the following. You'll need to add a new section and I haven't tested whether it'll actually work.
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
I use the term "I THINK" because I respect the views of others, I like discussing ideas for mutual benefit, and am willing to admit I still need to learn a lot.
I don't have the right to come in here and tell anyone what to think, and I respectfully suggest that anyone who does it in an unofficial capacity is full of themselves...
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
The naming conventions throughout the code aren't always precise. That boolean should disable AAUAddRoundStatsToProfile() and AAUAddMatchStatsToProfile(). Whether that only covers reporting to Steam or reporting to the AA internal system as well... I'm not sure, there's more code than I care to carefully inspect. That's why I say needs testing, it's faster to do empirically
Back to the point, I think worrying about our stats causes us to be less helpful to new players.
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
#Support Comp Mode
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN4YhM6jUB2MxVj8i3b9rhw
I think the challenge is finding people willing to spend time mentoring and getting players interested in hearing what they have to say into the server with them. I think the logistical issues there are way more of a hurdle than stats tracking (though that may help keep players in that server behaving appropriately). How do you communicate the presence of a mentorship server effectively and actually get people into it? I don't have a good answer for that.
I love this community!
As to the mentoring issue, that wasn't really the goal, per se. The idea I have is for a safe place where STATS are not the goal, therefore whomever is in the server can goof off, talk, learn, explore, whatever.....and you and I can go there and there is zero pressure to farm new players for points....because there are no points awarded.
Just an idea, more like musing about stuff, really.
I just don't want new players to get hosed so much or put down for the fact they aren't up to speed yet.
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
Back on topic -- People frequently complain here about hackusations, bad players, bad revives, bad plays, etc. The only way to fix that is with education and experience. I don't think the game is crazy hard, but I've seen what happens when I sit a non-FPS gamer down in, say, Portal. It isn't pretty. Some fraction of players will come in at that level and may like some extra non-judgmental help.
Let's flip it around. Do you think having mentors would hurt retention? Would make it harder for new players to stick around? There's no Dev opportunity cost for a volunteer effort on a volunteered server.
So much going on I missed this.
I really agree with Colts on what's going on here and that it needs some attention. That animation stutter drives me nuts, and the not looking where you're aiming (and don't forget possible hit detection issues!) is a real problem that the Devs have said requires some resources to tackle properly.
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.
I actually think that's a good idea. people can learn the routes and flanks and where you get shot from and when and where to pick up. and like keeb said If your farming nubs for the fun of it even though you don't get points you have some other issues that need addressed.
I love this community!
The No Stat scenario is like the next level of Explore Offline, wouldn't cost much to implement, and players like Doba and Colts could help new players so we keep gaining a bigger community!
This has been a test of the emergency flame-fest system. Please do not adjust your set.