Ok, so a bit of briefing for you guys and gals. Downloaded the beta version of Soldner (sic) and tested it out. You can find out more at http://soldner.jowood.com/.
To sum it up, it's battlefield 1942, except with modern technology and totally destructible, persistent landscapes. It approaches the idea as you being a soldier, who has to buy weaponry using funds earned previously. The idea is that the better you are, the better the weapon you can afford.
IT WAS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS EVER.
Very innovative? Yes.
Did I have fun? No.
For starters maps are far too large and generic. How many people can a server expect to host? 32 tops. This was a massive map.
Traversing the landscape in either this or Planetside on foot is boring. It takes forever. You walk for five minutes, only to be killed by a camping person, and for it to happen next time. And the time after that.
You're told that "Objective A" has been captured. This isn't very descriptive. You're never sure where objective A is. There is no real motivation for the games save that you're there, they're there and you both have guns. The HUD is a mess.
However, when you die, you lose any weapons. So you have to rebuy any weapons above a pistol and knife. This is unacceptable, since new players will rapidly run out of funds and not have time to get proficient with weapons.
Weapons are locked by default, so if you drop them halfway across the map, no one, the enemy can't use them. Which is a shame.
EVERYTHING is destructible. Although crude, it is annoying. Some pillock blew up every single bridge, This meant we couldn't cross easily in vehicles (also purchasable) and had to cross at a shallow fjord in a Tractor and lada respectively.
The controls are over complicated. There are different instructions for each vehicle, and unlike 1942's tips, it doesn't tell you how to pilot them. So you have to work out how to fly a helicopter by pausing the game and reading the manual. Except you're still vulnerable and the camera takes up a position on the soldier, NOT where he is looking.
It is very common to die whilst in this mode.
Two different buttons are assigned for stand up sit down. One for the crouching and one for the standing up. This is a pain.
Controls are really bad and a bit slow. Weapons don't have any feel to them when using them. Vehicle camera isn't by default a chase cam. You control it manually. The camera does not pan around to follow you in a straight line. So you have to operate the keyboard and mouse, just to not crash.
In short, it has some nice ideas, ruined by generic locations, poor game design, total lack of balance (pretty much discriminates in favour of who was first to join the server) and many other flaws.
Compare this or Planetside to BF1942 or UT2004. Two are simple, the other two aren't. Guess which continue to be fun after many hours?
To sum it up, it's battlefield 1942, except with modern technology and totally destructible, persistent landscapes. It approaches the idea as you being a soldier, who has to buy weaponry using funds earned previously. The idea is that the better you are, the better the weapon you can afford.
IT WAS ONE OF THE WORST THINGS EVER.
Very innovative? Yes.
Did I have fun? No.
For starters maps are far too large and generic. How many people can a server expect to host? 32 tops. This was a massive map.
Traversing the landscape in either this or Planetside on foot is boring. It takes forever. You walk for five minutes, only to be killed by a camping person, and for it to happen next time. And the time after that.
You're told that "Objective A" has been captured. This isn't very descriptive. You're never sure where objective A is. There is no real motivation for the games save that you're there, they're there and you both have guns. The HUD is a mess.
However, when you die, you lose any weapons. So you have to rebuy any weapons above a pistol and knife. This is unacceptable, since new players will rapidly run out of funds and not have time to get proficient with weapons.
Weapons are locked by default, so if you drop them halfway across the map, no one, the enemy can't use them. Which is a shame.
EVERYTHING is destructible. Although crude, it is annoying. Some pillock blew up every single bridge, This meant we couldn't cross easily in vehicles (also purchasable) and had to cross at a shallow fjord in a Tractor and lada respectively.
The controls are over complicated. There are different instructions for each vehicle, and unlike 1942's tips, it doesn't tell you how to pilot them. So you have to work out how to fly a helicopter by pausing the game and reading the manual. Except you're still vulnerable and the camera takes up a position on the soldier, NOT where he is looking.
It is very common to die whilst in this mode.
Two different buttons are assigned for stand up sit down. One for the crouching and one for the standing up. This is a pain.
Controls are really bad and a bit slow. Weapons don't have any feel to them when using them. Vehicle camera isn't by default a chase cam. You control it manually. The camera does not pan around to follow you in a straight line. So you have to operate the keyboard and mouse, just to not crash.
In short, it has some nice ideas, ruined by generic locations, poor game design, total lack of balance (pretty much discriminates in favour of who was first to join the server) and many other flaws.
Compare this or Planetside to BF1942 or UT2004. Two are simple, the other two aren't. Guess which continue to be fun after many hours?
Long live Penny Arcade.
Comment