Thu Mar 06, 2003 1:23 am
To the Mod Community at large
Freelancer is a spectactular single-player game, and the multiplayer experience is outstanding... for a while. The shortcomings of the game are well documented, and rather than add another "freelancer MP sucks I have a titan in 3 hours" thread, I thought I would add a post here, to hopefully give some of you modders some ideas. Who knows, I may even get involved.
Just to rehash the basic flaws with the multiplayer component, here is a list of problems I've found with the game. I'm sure they've been all dscussed in other threads, in other forums... but they bear repeating in a context of "let's fix this" rather than "this game sux dood".
1) Making money is too easy.
Unless you enjoy missions... hauling cargo is clearly a superior way to make money. Simply hauling Luxury Trade Goods from Manhattan to London and bringing Luxury Food back will make you upwards of 500k an hour. Combined with faction tricks, this makes for quick and dirty money making. Clearly some of the more profitable and less-dangerous routes need removing. Ajusting the faction system will solve many of the problems, and making death more costly would help as well... but the balance between mission jobs and cargo jobs needs to be adressed. Long routes through dangerous territory are not rewarded well enough, relatively speaking. Going from Omnicron Beta to Cambridge with a bay full of alien organisms should be more profitable than simply going from Manhattan to London... but it's simply not the case. Those supertransports bring lots of goods around the tradelanes. Make the traders go off the beaten paths to make their big bucks.
2) Class 10 ships overpower anything. It's not uncommon for a good player to take on 8-10 Ace Corsair Titans solo.
Part of the problem with MP is the fact that once you have your Titan or whatever... you can go anywhere and kill anything. These ships need a serious nerf. It should be an option to use a light figther. You should have a reason to bring a friend along for a big fight. Class 10 guns dropping off shipwrecks? Please. The "best" equipment needs to be harder to get. Nomad guns or whatever you decide should be the elite weapons need to be rare, and hard to get... and easy to loee. Flying solo and coming back with 4 nomad guns in 20 minutes cheapens the game. I would eliminate class 9 and 10 guns altogether. Eliminate the Xhvy fighter class, and use the models to build different heavy fighters. A class 8 heavy fighter vs a classs 7 Banshee is a good match. A banshee vs a Titan is a joke.
3) Little variation at the top of the ladder. Everyone has the same guns and one of three ships. Missiles optional.
Similar to the above, we need choices. the top fighters shouldn't simply obliterate freighters. Two Humpbacks should have a chance of driving off a PKiller... if they stick together. We should see the best players flying a variety of ships... not just three. Top-end freighters should have the same armor, shielding, and more guns. They are larger, and have more hardpoints. The maneuverability advantage of the fighter is supreme anyway. Even if freighters had class 10 guns they wouldn't stand a chance as an agressor... they have no cruise disruptors. If someone wants to fly a tank, let them. If they want a quick, nimble fighter... so be it. 90% of the ship models are never used, because nobody wants a light figther or a freighter with less than 250 cargo. New ships should fill holes in the high end, and hopefully give more choice to players. How about small, quick ship with some decent cargo space? Where's my hybrid fighter? I want a 100-cargo class 8 ship to do long runs into hostile zones. Take a few guns off and add some cargo space. Maybe I want a light fighter that goes 400 on cruise. How about a 150-cargo class 8 freighter? How about a fighter without countermeasures... but a little more room in the hold? I hate my Sabre. Take it away and give me choices please.
4) The faction system is broken. Currently, shooting three storage depots at Manhattan and buying Zoners faction at freeport 4 makes you non-KOS to all but Corsairs.
Clearly this is most in need of an overhaul. Not only is it simple to get on the good side of everyone in the known universe, but it's counterproductive to work for anyone! For example. After I got my first class 10 ship, I figured I'd run a few missions with the GMG. Now I know the Outcasts are going to be bitter about it... after all I'm killing their ships... but come on! does everyone in the world have to hate me? I can Doing missions for the GMG not only lowers your Outcasts faction, but it also screws up your Rhineland experience. Maybe that' understandable? What's not understandable is how when flying back from there, I encountered a Rhineland convoy in Liberty. They attacked me, and to my surprise, the liberty navy joined in. Clearly this is a flaw. Missions have so little going for them as it is... it's asinine to have them destroy your factions all over the universe as a bonus.
5) Death is not painful enough. In a PvP environment, there must be tangible risk for the attacker, and not just the poor slob hauling cargo. Likewise, it is often a better idea to just let your ship die than to waste shield batteries and such trying to escape.
PvP is horrible in this game, and not because of the combat. One of the lessons learned from Ultima Online is that there MUST be risk for the attacker. If I come after a freighter with my fighter, I have nothing to lose.... and nothing to gain. There must be a REASON to PVP. If you are an anti-PvP crusader just set your flag and be done with it. But those of us who need more than AI ships to deal with need some kind of risk vs reward system.
6) Smggling is no more profitable than regular cargo hauling, and you never get caught.
I've hauled a ton of Cardamine into Manhattan. Just about every time, the cops pull me over... and then I duck into the tradelane and dock in Manhattan. Do cops in the 40th century not have radios? Getting caught with contraband should turn the whole zone red. Getting caught... wether you are caught or not... should lower reputation. Didn't they get your licence plate? The same goes for bandits. Shoot first, ask questions later. You are hauling contraband, that's reason enough to open fire. The same goes for criminals who ask nicely for your cargo. I've got cruise and countermeasures... make me use them.
Hopefully this gives you mod makers a few ideas. Maybe I can get involved, I have ideas, but no experience modding games. Let me know if you need some help on the conceptual side... and maybe even a little help scripting. I'm hopeless with programming so I can't help you there.
Just to rehash the basic flaws with the multiplayer component, here is a list of problems I've found with the game. I'm sure they've been all dscussed in other threads, in other forums... but they bear repeating in a context of "let's fix this" rather than "this game sux dood".
1) Making money is too easy.
Unless you enjoy missions... hauling cargo is clearly a superior way to make money. Simply hauling Luxury Trade Goods from Manhattan to London and bringing Luxury Food back will make you upwards of 500k an hour. Combined with faction tricks, this makes for quick and dirty money making. Clearly some of the more profitable and less-dangerous routes need removing. Ajusting the faction system will solve many of the problems, and making death more costly would help as well... but the balance between mission jobs and cargo jobs needs to be adressed. Long routes through dangerous territory are not rewarded well enough, relatively speaking. Going from Omnicron Beta to Cambridge with a bay full of alien organisms should be more profitable than simply going from Manhattan to London... but it's simply not the case. Those supertransports bring lots of goods around the tradelanes. Make the traders go off the beaten paths to make their big bucks.
2) Class 10 ships overpower anything. It's not uncommon for a good player to take on 8-10 Ace Corsair Titans solo.
Part of the problem with MP is the fact that once you have your Titan or whatever... you can go anywhere and kill anything. These ships need a serious nerf. It should be an option to use a light figther. You should have a reason to bring a friend along for a big fight. Class 10 guns dropping off shipwrecks? Please. The "best" equipment needs to be harder to get. Nomad guns or whatever you decide should be the elite weapons need to be rare, and hard to get... and easy to loee. Flying solo and coming back with 4 nomad guns in 20 minutes cheapens the game. I would eliminate class 9 and 10 guns altogether. Eliminate the Xhvy fighter class, and use the models to build different heavy fighters. A class 8 heavy fighter vs a classs 7 Banshee is a good match. A banshee vs a Titan is a joke.
3) Little variation at the top of the ladder. Everyone has the same guns and one of three ships. Missiles optional.
Similar to the above, we need choices. the top fighters shouldn't simply obliterate freighters. Two Humpbacks should have a chance of driving off a PKiller... if they stick together. We should see the best players flying a variety of ships... not just three. Top-end freighters should have the same armor, shielding, and more guns. They are larger, and have more hardpoints. The maneuverability advantage of the fighter is supreme anyway. Even if freighters had class 10 guns they wouldn't stand a chance as an agressor... they have no cruise disruptors. If someone wants to fly a tank, let them. If they want a quick, nimble fighter... so be it. 90% of the ship models are never used, because nobody wants a light figther or a freighter with less than 250 cargo. New ships should fill holes in the high end, and hopefully give more choice to players. How about small, quick ship with some decent cargo space? Where's my hybrid fighter? I want a 100-cargo class 8 ship to do long runs into hostile zones. Take a few guns off and add some cargo space. Maybe I want a light fighter that goes 400 on cruise. How about a 150-cargo class 8 freighter? How about a fighter without countermeasures... but a little more room in the hold? I hate my Sabre. Take it away and give me choices please.
4) The faction system is broken. Currently, shooting three storage depots at Manhattan and buying Zoners faction at freeport 4 makes you non-KOS to all but Corsairs.
Clearly this is most in need of an overhaul. Not only is it simple to get on the good side of everyone in the known universe, but it's counterproductive to work for anyone! For example. After I got my first class 10 ship, I figured I'd run a few missions with the GMG. Now I know the Outcasts are going to be bitter about it... after all I'm killing their ships... but come on! does everyone in the world have to hate me? I can Doing missions for the GMG not only lowers your Outcasts faction, but it also screws up your Rhineland experience. Maybe that' understandable? What's not understandable is how when flying back from there, I encountered a Rhineland convoy in Liberty. They attacked me, and to my surprise, the liberty navy joined in. Clearly this is a flaw. Missions have so little going for them as it is... it's asinine to have them destroy your factions all over the universe as a bonus.
5) Death is not painful enough. In a PvP environment, there must be tangible risk for the attacker, and not just the poor slob hauling cargo. Likewise, it is often a better idea to just let your ship die than to waste shield batteries and such trying to escape.
PvP is horrible in this game, and not because of the combat. One of the lessons learned from Ultima Online is that there MUST be risk for the attacker. If I come after a freighter with my fighter, I have nothing to lose.... and nothing to gain. There must be a REASON to PVP. If you are an anti-PvP crusader just set your flag and be done with it. But those of us who need more than AI ships to deal with need some kind of risk vs reward system.
6) Smggling is no more profitable than regular cargo hauling, and you never get caught.
I've hauled a ton of Cardamine into Manhattan. Just about every time, the cops pull me over... and then I duck into the tradelane and dock in Manhattan. Do cops in the 40th century not have radios? Getting caught with contraband should turn the whole zone red. Getting caught... wether you are caught or not... should lower reputation. Didn't they get your licence plate? The same goes for bandits. Shoot first, ask questions later. You are hauling contraband, that's reason enough to open fire. The same goes for criminals who ask nicely for your cargo. I've got cruise and countermeasures... make me use them.
Hopefully this gives you mod makers a few ideas. Maybe I can get involved, I have ideas, but no experience modding games. Let me know if you need some help on the conceptual side... and maybe even a little help scripting. I'm hopeless with programming so I can't help you there.
