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| My plane is better than yours, ha ha! |
Now that we've seen the upcoming new planes, there has been some lively discussion as to the fairness of offering planes with ever increasing performance values. The strategy from Z2Live seems pretty clear to me - a slowly escalating arms race will constantly push players to feel the need to buy the latest and greatest planes or at least buy some expensive missiles in order to deal with the latest and greatest planes.
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| Bisnos Anyone? |
My guess is that it wouldn't be that popular of an option except for the select top few. The upgrade to 4.0.5, in some ways, I think, is less fun. Don't get me wrong, it is great to play against players of similar skill, but every now and then it is a stress release to unload on some poor SOB. That was actually part of the fun and no longer exists in the game. Having a random mix of playing good AND bad players gave a little more variety. Now almost ever match is hard work to squeak out a win! I am sure that many will disagree, especially if it is important to you to increase your skill rating.
Players with high skill levels naturally are not thrilled by the new high performing planes that are emerging. They have worked hard to hone their dogfighting skills and now some noob clown is going to take them out just because daddy bought them the latest plane and some Bisnos? Unfortunately, I have a feeling that Z2Live is going to take the side of the noob clown. Why? Because the noob clown is the one spending the money and the Ace with 30,000 SR doesn't need to spend money - he can get buy just fine with stock weapons and basic planes.
So where am I going with this posting? Not sure. Just opening up the points for discussion. My prediction is a continuous stream of better planes to encourage spending. Maybe, just maybe, Z2 will also focus on gaining new players by making the game BETTER. We can only hope. My list of better would include:
1. More and harder campaigns
2. Group play: 2 vs 2 versus matches, 5 vs 5... whole squadrons engage against each other!
3. Survival death matches: Start with 10 players, go to last man standing
4. Automated online tournaments
5. Standard plane/weapon matches as mentioned in this article
6. Variety of environments for versus matches with more interesting obstacles and terrain to fight in
Any more ideas? Lets hear em! :-)
Being at level 40 is boring lets raise it to fifty. I also want to see some choppers cOme into game play. A story line or a versus location in a big city would be cool.
ReplyDeleteAlso
Is any one in the USAF or any Air force at that matter because I am thinking about enlisting!
DeleteI don't even know why they bother with a level limit, given that you can seemingly have near unlimited SR. They should at least allow levels up to 100. Collecting 2 coins per level would help keep players more active too.
DeleteHeindrich1988
I quite agree .
DeleteI agree !
ReplyDeleteNEW MAPS, with obstacles like cities, buildings, gates…
Be careful, yesterday an incredible flight game has been previewed on the "new iPad". Far away from MetalStorm. Very beautiful game, with lot of effects and high definition textures.
If MetalStorm doesn't get improved quickly, it's game over for Z2Live.
What game is that?
DeleteSky Gamblers Air Supremacy. It's $5, and absolutely worth it. (Almost)everything is unlocked via skill level, completing missions, or meeting specific requirements. I've only seen 2-3 planes that require another purchase, and I've spent less on that game than I have in metalstorm. Highly Recomended.
DeleteWith more obstacles, it has been proven that their server will lag us to death. ((The Port Crescent map had once been on versus mode, but many players found that people began to hide-and-seek instead of dogfight, wasting our time, and also severe lag issues)) BEFORE adding these cool stuffs you suggested, fix or improve the servers is a MUST DO for Z2 in Top Priority.
ReplyDelete@Metalstormforever: I don't think I've thanked you for creating and hosting this blog yet, which is kinda rude given I've commented quite a few times already! It is the first and only decent Metalstorm 'community' and source of info I've found online so far, which is quite ridiculous given there are over 6 million players. Anyways the blog is much appreciated and really useful and interesting. It answered quite a lot of questions for me, such as the difference between classes and the stats of planes which are no longer available to buy, but which are still active in versus mode. (I was so confused the first time I came across a Green Eagle!)
ReplyDeleteHeindrich1988
Now on to the topic of discussion...
DeleteAs I've already explained, I'm very much against 'power-creep', as I think that will ruin the game, and if it happens, I will simply quit. That said, I don't think Z2 has fallen to the temptation so far. If you think about the 'best' planes released so far, many of them are in the past rather than the present.
In the weapons class, the Best In Class is the Red Widow, which is marginally superior to the Hawken, which has long been a staple and favourite of the versus mode. The Red Widow was available for about one week and can no longer be bought.
In Agility class, the Reaper is very very good, and seems to have become a 'standard' plane now as it hasn't disappeared since 'its week' ended, but looking back in history, before I joined the game, it seems the Spectre and Mako were absolute Agility beasts too. In fact the only plane I've never managed to beat in versus mode is the Spectre... it's just so fast and agile! Runs rings around my poor dragon.
In defense class the best planes are clearly those of the past- the Dragon and the Green Eagle. Although I joined the game too late to buy a Green Eagle, I've now come across quite a few in versus mode... and man they're hard to beat! None of the currently available defense planes come even close to those 2 kings of the class.
Hence my point is that there is no obvious trend for steadily better planes... and just when I feared such a trend might be emerging (with the leaked planes), it appears Z2 had a rethink and tweaked things to avoid the problem again.
If you think about it, Z2 don't need to rely on power-creep arms race to encourage people to buy new planes. In fact I reckon their current psychology works even better... If I knew planes would be getting better and better, I'd keep holding off buying a new one, perhaps until one of my friends had settled on something, and then I'd wait to buy the next 'improved version' of that.
If however, when I see a kick-ass new plane, and knew that it'd only be available for a week, and future planes might never be as good, I'd be sorely tempted to buy it. For example right now I'm rather regretting not buying the Red Widow when I had the chance (I didn't understand the stats at the time and cos I beat them a few times on versus mode, I assumed they were rubbish... in hindsight my SR was quite low then and my opponents were probably noobs/werent used to the RW yet/hadnt upgraded their plane fully yet...) Similarly, those who want a good defense class plane must be longing for the next Dragon/Green Eagle and would jump at the opportunity to buy something on par cos they know if they missed the chance, they might have to wait months for the next one. This is the whole appeal of 'Limited Edition', it makes people feel special for owning something which others can't have, and should be a more powerful incentive than simply blackmailing players into buying steadily more powerful planes to simply keep up with the competition.
Heindrich1988
I agree with you but in order to allow level playing field in versus mode the game should select players with similar SR AND similar missiles. The players willing to use coins missiles should play in the same group and let the others enjoy the game and a REAL dogfight together... If Z2 doesn't change this the credit weapon players (the true pilots!) will get bored and go away...
DeleteThanks Heindrich - much appreciated
Delete@MetalStorm Forever: You're welcome ;)
Delete@Anonymous: I agree with the need to level the playing field in terms of armaments, but Z2 need to be careful how they do it. If you can only play against people with the same missiles as you, it might take ages to find a match... also it rather ruins the point of buying upgraded missiles, cos you'd have no advantage what-so-ever.
However the current system is clearly flawed. I mostly use the Dragon in versus mode and I used to use RAMs in most battles, but since I passed 6000SR and the 'Age of Reapers' arrived, I've had to switch to Lancers cos it's SO hard to hit a Reaper with a defense plane, and I also bump into Bisnos so often that RAMs just won't cut it anymore. Thankfully blue coins aren't too expensive now thanks to Tapjoy.
I think the following would be a nice compromise... Missiles can clearly be divided into 4 tiers, the basic sidewinder, and then 2 different missiles for each of the next 3 tiers. I think it should be okay to be matched with people using weapons 1 tier above or below yourself, but not 2. For example, when I use Lancers, I don't mind taking on Bisnos, and when I'm using RAMs, I don't mind taking on Lancers... but taking on Bisnos with RAMs, then the gap is too big. Similarly if I come across a poor dude using side-winders when I'm using Lancers, I almost feel bad for beating him (I normally just score a quick kill and then spend the rest of the match practising evasion).
Heindrich1988
Say "we don't want more complexity in the game because it will lag" is not a good way to see things.
ReplyDeleteWe do not really improve the game experience reacting like that.
Sometimes, the game lag in cooperate mode. I suggest to decrease graphisms level, so the game wouldn't lag anymore. This is a nonsense.
I agree! And I don't like the binos to! I was wondering, how many people have a skill rating 20.000 or higher? Does anyone have any idea?
ReplyDelete(Robert)
I have a Skill Rating of around 32,000... And I'm not top 300 in the game. Most SR I ever flew against was 100,000 plus. (I beat him :). SR is just a number. I lose to lower rated pilots time-to-time.
Delete[USAF] hatcherooney
@[USAF]hatherooney: I think I've fought you before online, no idea about result (most likely draw or defeat, since I don't beat 20K+ often) but your name looks pretty familiar, and I've definitely come across [USAF] in versus mode.
Delete100,000 sounds ridiculous, you sure that's not just a bug or something? or maybe an internal game-tester?
Heindrich1988
I've faced a 99,000
DeleteNo, it's a real score. There are guys out there with 20,000 games under their belt. I don't usually have the USAF tag on my name, except on posts. Anyways, hope I gave you a good match!
ReplyDelete[USAF] hatcherooney
actually you can go to game center to check the ranking... there are top SR... all monsters!
ReplyDeletebut the highest score are limited to 50,000?!
Game Centers rankings top at 50,000. When you match up with top players their SR are actually much higher.
Delete[USAF] hatcherooney
fa 230 sentinals out it owns best plane i have Z2 live watered it down though
ReplyDeleteI've finally decided to splash out on a Weapons Class plane, and since I've never played with Hawken/RW, it's difficult for me to compare, but it certainly seems to be a formidable plane, but not necessarily over-powered... I just got nailed by a Hawken.
DeleteHeindrich1988
I saw someone with a SR at 128,000 and was amazed that it paired me up with him or her since I'm a measly level 26 with a SR of 3600 . But I need it handed to me from time to time for sure. Hehe
DeleteGuys I bought the achilly SR 71 black bird but after .... I update I lost it how do I get this plane back.....
ReplyDeleteWHAT IS THE BEST PLANE CLASS FOR DOGFIGHTING/VERSUS
ReplyDeleteWHAT IS THE BEST PLANE CLASS FOR DOGFIGHTING/VERSUS
ReplyDeleteWhoa, calm down, Vel. I know there have been a lot of posts like this lately, the all-caps WHAT IS THE BEST PLANE TELL ME NOW OR ELSE type thing, but yelling back at it doesn't help much.
DeleteIt is true, though, that no one can tell you what the best plane is. It might be that the Annihilator suits your fighting style best, or you could be one of this game's millions of Hawken pilots. We honestly can't tell you that unless you give us hundreds of videos of your fighting techniques, and even then it's unlikely that any of us would take the time to watch them. Just pick one and fly it. Or try out SGAS, there you'll have less risk because you don't have to pay money to get all the planes.
Huh? Someone named Vel AeruLiya had a post yelling at the Anonymous guy to stop asking that question, and now I don't see it... where'd it go?
DeleteWhat is your favorite mode.
ReplyDeleteSurvival, Campaign or Versus.
My favorite mode is Versus because it is fun to play against hard people.
Please reply and tell what is your favorite mode and why.