I set about trying to understand my loss of enthusiasm for PR, and have ended up with an essay. Which to save on TL : DR posts i wont post, but i believe it can be summed up in the topic title. Whilst the reasons may be personal (I'm older, i have less time and patience for games etc) i think alot is directly linked to the loss of enjoyable game-play and the dilution of intensity in PR rounds (this is all IMO).

 

What follows is a brief summary of the gameplay elements I beleive have almost ruined PR for me (all of these can be rectified by GOOD teamwork - but thats hard to come by, you occasionaly see it on Big D and when it happens there is a feeling that I would never belive could be conveyed by a game - absolute satisfaction and enjoyment, when everything works together - synergy? all up its freaking awesome - but rare)

 

anyways (remember IMO):

 

- AAS RANDOM with big flag caps - no more centralised intense fighting for a specific building/objective

 

- insurgency - it CAN be fun for BLUEFOR, being an insurgunt will gernally lead me to ALT+F4. sick of being killed by APC out in the desert i can do nothing about except hide from. I understand = realism but stfu it sucks and i wont waste 2 hours of my night on being killed by something i usually can do nothing about

 

- Logistics - sucks having to dilute my squad to provide logi support or vehicle support. ideally there should be dedicated support squads but usually the pilot/driver is pinging 230 or is difficult to communicate with or simply cant fly/drive to save themselves. Main problem is that i feel i need to get someone i know - a squad member, thereby reducing our effectiveness and cohesion - to carry out a task that should be secondary. Your expected to perform full army functions like logistics when combat is occurring on platoon scale (32 people a side - realistic?), in this situation i believe the old rally point system was more relevant and provided more liquid maneuvering and enjoyable combat. By no means remove FOBs and deployable assets, they have their place, but dont force people to depend on them - especially when you play in a pub and (IMO often) teamwork is at a minimum. rallies allowed semi independence, and ironicly encouraged people to join squads which in turn INCREASES total teamwork (IMO).

 

- Freeform maps - most PR maps dont seem to have linearity anymore - they may represent real conflict zones, but they have no flow (especially AAS random) which leads to a lot of aimless wandering and fighting lone wolves every now and then in the middle of nowhere. i miss maps like OGT, Ejod, Mestia.

 

- Militia factions - not fun getting owned by other team with scopes etc. (vice versa not fun getting hit by someone you cant see, or can see, is 500m on a rooftop who has an AK and youve got fancy scope etc)

 

Unfortunately i think this pretty much makes every map on the rotation (aside from barra, jabal, QWAI - classic) not very enjoyable lately

 

Regardless i still put up with it for the aforementioned moments of gold described above, it just seems its getter even fewer and farther between.

 

/rant

Edited June 1, 201113 yr by Squelchy

I agree, the best fun I had in PR was probably back in 0.85... I like the 3D scopes but still... *sigh* Maybe its got to do with whos still playing?? I remeber calling in CAS from experienced pilots on kashan and ... the one with the dam

 

I guess im waiting for A2:pR..

AAS Random still has points you fight over, point is its not always the same building/area. IMO this adds to the playability of the map and extends its lifetime/enjoyment. No longer are you stuck in the same hole on the map you know you are safe in, but rather are forced out to find new cover. The game is more dynamic and the player needs to adapt to this to survive/win.

 

Logistics, you can build FOBs from one crate now, so on roll out a squad can establish a rear FOB on a defense flag, then build another on a forward flag. Arranging one squad member to fetch/reload a logi truck isn't much of a hindrance, and when "teamwork" is used its easy to get crates from a chopper, or ammo from an APC.

 

The lack of linearity in maps is what makes things fun. You can try different things with different flag caps, you aren't stuck rushing A long on de_dust2 because you think its going to work.

 

Lack of scopes with militia factions, while I agree this is annoying, its just more of an incentive to attain an enemy kit and retain it, therefore reducing ticket losses. You have to work the lack of a scope to your advantage, making the enemy come closer to you and ambushing them.

 

TL: DR The player has to adapt to the game.

i gave up on PR after 0.75 too. alot of things went downhill, but mainly i just loathe deviation . imo if you can't model it realistically (like scope sway), don't model it at all.

...they have no flow (especially AAS random) which leads to a lot of aimless wandering and fighting lone wolves every now and then in the middle of nowhere. i miss maps like OGT, Ejod, Mestia.

 

AASv4 should fix this in the next patch.

 

So instead of zig zaging flags like this:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/1126679995_mQTKi-L.jpg

 

It will be like this:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/1123893804_cKEEi-L.jpg

 

IMO just this small feature will make a really big difference, especially for the 4km maps.

AAS Random still has points you fight over, point is its not always the same building/area. IMO this adds to the playability of the map and extends its lifetime/enjoyment. No longer are you stuck in the same hole on the map you know you are safe in, but rather are forced out to find new cover. The game is more dynamic and the player needs to adapt to this to survive/win.

 

Logistics, you can build FOBs from one crate now, so on roll out a squad can establish a rear FOB on a defense flag, then build another on a forward flag. Arranging one squad member to fetch/reload a logi truck isn't much of a hindrance, and when "teamwork" is used its easy to get crates from a chopper, or ammo from an APC.

 

The lack of linearity in maps is what makes things fun. You can try different things with different flag caps, you aren't stuck rushing A long on de_dust2 because you think its going to work.

 

Lack of scopes with militia factions, while I agree this is annoying, its just more of an incentive to attain an enemy kit and retain it, therefore reducing ticket losses. You have to work the lack of a scope to your advantage, making the enemy come closer to you and ambushing them.

 

TL: DR The player has to adapt to the game.

 

I agree with you on this one.

 

Also the difference with being on a side with no scopes vs scopes shouldn't been seen as a disadvantage but rather different tactics & stratagies required. I don't agree that insurgents should "run out and fight" like an AAS game but rather use chokepoints & ambushes to your advantage.

 

If we're going to start the "I miss you thread", I really miss the miniguns on the old Huey CAS

whats that second map

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/1123893804_cKEEi-L.jpg

new one someone's working on.

Whilst I agree that players need to adapt to the game, i feel that people will substitue away from PR if it no longer provides the same experience/enjoyment originally offereed and go to games such as arma etc which is where I'm at more or less.

 

Personally I dont want to wait around for 45 minutes as malitia for an APC dumb enough to drive into my mine or for enemies with superior gear to walk into my killzone, and that's IF I'm lucky enough to survive that long and have a random objective that lends itself to that style of play.

 

Incidentaly these greiences are likely to change, be eliminated or substituted with each sucessive version of PR. That said looking forward to trying out AAS 4, which may bring it's own new set of issues

Edited June 1, 201113 yr by Squelchy

IMO pr has improved greatly from the old versions.

 

By no means remove FOBs and deployable assets, they have their place, but dont force people to depend on them - especially when you play in a pub and (IMO often) teamwork is at a minimum. rallies allowed semi independence, and ironicly encouraged people to join squads which in turn INCREASES total teamwork (IMO).

I think the complete opposite. The new rally/fob system makes you rely more on other squads for transport and logistics, which encourages teamwork. Its also alot more realistic to spawn on a fob or get transport than to spawn on a pile of bags 100m away.

 

 

...but mainly i just loathe deviation . imo if you can't model it realistically (like scope sway), don't model it at all.

Soo it would be better to have people sprinting and dolphin diving to be just as acurate as a person that has been sitting still for a while?

 

 

Personally I dont want to wait around for 45 minutes as malitia for an APC dumb enough to drive into my mine...

Mines are more of an area denial tool or to force vehciles into a choke point, and Im pretty sure the mines are basically the same as they were in 0.75.

 

...or for enemies with superior gear to walk into my killzone...

If enemies are walking into your killzone you should have an advantage regardless of the weapons. You have better deviation then them because they are the ones walking.

 

The old small maps were pretty good for some infantry action, but they were too small, making them restrictive, which didnt allow for flanking and made for only a couple different tactics. They also didnt have much replayablity as the lack of tactics and room on the map made every game pretty much the same as the last.

 

How would you fix these 'issues'? Simply going back to how it was before would be like a dumbed down version of the current game.

- Logistics - sucks having to dilute my squad to provide logi support or vehicle support. ideally there should be dedicated support squads but usually the pilot/driver is pinging 230 or is difficult to communicate with or simply cant fly/drive to save themselves. Main problem is that i feel i need to get someone i know - a squad member, thereby reducing our effectiveness and cohesion - to carry out a task that should be secondary. Your expected to perform full army functions like logistics when combat is occurring on platoon scale (32 people a side - realistic?), in this situation i believe the old rally point system was more relevant and provided more liquid maneuvering and enjoyable combat. By no means remove FOBs and deployable assets, they have their place, but dont force people to depend on them - especially when you play in a pub and (IMO often) teamwork is at a minimum. rallies allowed semi independence, and ironicly encouraged people to join squads which in turn INCREASES total teamwork (IMO).

 

This was the main thing for me. I found the game just became way less enjoyable with the removal of rallys. Rallys were fun, FOBs are tedious.

IMO

Maybe we should have a retro night with 0.85 or .75 on the servers (if everyone can be bothered re dling...)

Although I can't speak from experience as I'm a newbie, I can understand what the point is.

 

Although not with accuracy, I can attempt to visualise your scenario, and although .95 is more realistic, it's a game! I mean yes...the mod is called Project REALITY...but still!

 

Oh yeah...and who the hell is gonna download all...how many GB's is PR? Not trying to be rude, but it is pretty damn big!

like 1.5gb for an older version.

Would be pretty sweet imo.

whats that second map

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/1123893804_cKEEi-L.jpg

 

http://www.realitymod.com/forum/blogs/12510/b281-epic-view-distance-epic.html

 

Shijia Valley - [R-DEV]AFSoccer

I moved away purely because the enjoyment factor was lost around 0.7 - 0.75 onwards.

 

Absolute 100% BS deviation is what caused a lot of my grief, but also the way the game "flowed." It really just became joyless and boring.

PR is a game that should make you think, if that means splitting up your squad to get a logi truck up to the front to build a FOB, then it is achieving its objective.

 

This 'game' is slow paced, (most of the time) and i think waiting ~5 seconds for your shot to be most accurate is worth it. I personally prefer the current rally point system as it acts as a 'Rally" point where all your wounded squad members can form up quickly, hence rally. FOB's fill the old roles of a RP.

 

Lorrie make your points cohesive, I could be here all night picking them apart but i wont waste my time okay and if something changes the way PR has, expect to lose some of the things you loved about it, but harden up and get over it as something else awesome might take its place.

radr its his opinion, you arent required to pick it apart. stating you opinion is sufficient.

 

I think PR is getting better, though its hard to realise some times. going back to old version will make you see this i think.

 

Its not hard to have good teamwork in pubs at the moment, its just sporadic and if you knew when and where then it would be worth the effort.

 

The OCN game was much better, but in the end we got beat by a community that does it so much better than us.

 

I honestly believe there was a point where bigD was the fore front of teamwork in the PR world....we are sadly well off the mark now.

I think I still have 0.75 on a cd somewhere...

Come to think of it I still have 0.6 as well...

I have 0.5 on my server somewhere I think.

 

I'm sorry radr but sneaking up and then crouching/standing less than 5m behind a target and they turn around and your shot lands 10m from where your gun is pointed is absolute BS.

 

When a "game" is no longer fun to someone then it is no longer a game.

 

edit:

There was a point a few versions ago where the attitude of the community changed and it became "PR is serious Business." And anyone who was playing outside of the square or having a laugh was criticized.

 

I actually mostly miss the old players and attitude towards the game from both on a development level and community level.

Edited June 1, 201113 yr by iveskins

Do a lot of people still play on the present server?

One server is full most nights:

 

http://cache.www.gametracker.com/images/graphs/server_players.php?GSID=1243384&start=-1w&request=06777576042895904

 

http://cache.www.gametracker.com/images/graphs/server_players.php?GSID=1243446&start=-1w&request=016207140374863505

 

Lots of new players too - short term pain for long term gain

The game changed for the better even if many (including myself) hated it at the time.

 

Don't like the game? Build a bridge & get over it.... litteraly..

http://media.moddb.com/cache/images/mods/1/5/4338/thumb_620x2000/close_support_bridges_01.jpg

I don't think it was the game that was great in 0.75 but the playerbase.

 

So many regulars where on every night and we all knew each other, it was hard not to be in a well led and teamwork oriented squad. Now many of the "old guard" as such have moved on to other games or have RL issues that keep them from playing like they used to and we just don't have enough quality new players stepping up to replace them.

 

IMHO.

The above seems to happen with all online games. Everyone always looks back to "the glory days" and gets nostalgic. Things change, people change, life goes on. Its how we adapt to this that makes us each unique.