![]() So back to NS2 - where to from here? I believe the answer isn't as complex as some might imagine. They might be a AAA dev team, but these principles can be translated back to the indie world – many of which UWE might be doing already, but there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to areas like game mechanics and balance. They have found a healthy balance, and have found a system to sort the good ideas from the bad/troll ones. Nothing is off limits – from gameplay mechanics to simple things such as a characters pose, the blizzard team have shown they are open to ideas and changes, but necessarily governed by them. Obviously this is starting from scratch whereas all the additions to NS2 have been taking place whilst the game is live and on the market, but I still believe that there are lessons to be learned in overwatch’s approach. You need only to look at the success of the development cycle of Blizzard’s overwatch to see the benefits of community driven multiplayer game development with solid foundations and a clear overarching direction. This has occurred since beta, when people like Fana would write up large well-constructed essays with constructive criticism that were largely ignored. Healthy discourse has often been mistaken as trolling, and good ideas are the collateral damage. Many times this community has been called toxic, which might occur in some instances, but the majority of the time this couldn’t be further from the truth. The irony of this whole situation is that the devs have created such an open ecosystem for development that they were not prepared for the barrage of feedback that came with it, especially when that feedback was negative in nature. In all the games I’ve played, I’ve never seen such a passionate, dedicated community as this one. Much of the work and changes they have done/are doing are good and well received, but ultimately like the CDT, they have lacked overarching direction, autonomy, and the necessary authority to elevate NS2 to a point of true recovery (Obraxis I can already see you shaking your head :P) A proper refresh is needed to achieve the targets that everyone wants. Ultimately, decisions of major changes had to be run by UWE to ensure that they were in line with the philosophy of the original devs. They did an incredible job with what skills they had, and within the stringent boundaries they were confined to. The CDT exemplified just how passionate and talented this community is, and sort to address many of the core issues that community members like themselves had issue with. They made many QoL improvements that should have been in the game since launch. The CDT did a wonderful job after the departure of UWE. Understandably, UWE had to move on from the game after this – it wanted to explore new ideas, and obvious have a new product to put food on the table. It’s easy to forget they are an indie company with limited staff and resources and we should all be more mindful of this. UWE really didn’t have to help fund the event, and should be eternally thanked for how much money they sunk into it 2 years after launch. The WC was a triumph of an event for both UWE and its community. Many will argue that the decline began soon after launch when concurrent numbers never reached the same point as release, but for many like myself the moment the game began to die was shortly after the NS2WC. Small figures of improved populace are not enough to eliminate the issues that come with defective foundations. Unfortunately ive come to believe that anyobe who says otherwise is either ignorant or needs to come to grips with the reality of the situation. However, as it stands, NS2 has reached a point of no return. Though NS2 might be terminal, this is not to suggest that the franchise has to die, or that elements of NS2 cannot continue to be a part of the future of the franchise. ![]() The game is showing its age and it’s time to prepare ourselves for its inevitable death.Īll of this has been said before. ![]() Arguably, its population is unrecoverable and is certain to become extinct in due time. As time has passed, and we've had enough time to examine the work of the PDT, of phase 1, the beginnings of Phase 2, I think this is a good time to talk about NS2 and where it's going.įor me, Natural Selection 2 has failed to evolve - therefore it must die. This piece might ruffle a few feathers, but I think it’s a healthy discourse that is long overdue and has been on the mind of many community members like myself. This post is simply to stimulate discussion about the future of the franchise. ![]() ![]() I have long been a supporter and advocate for the franchise and believe that the best is yet to come. Disclaimer: Please do not construe this post as one of negativity – it couldn’t be further from the truth. ![]()
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