Balance has no finite resolution, and no outcome will ever please everyone. It is an infinite loop and the constant nagging about every aspect of balancing from the community, whether warranted or not, is taking dev time away from other content, or so I fear.
I will happily accept classes as they are for a while if it means we get some more maps. Maps are stale AF right now. I really want more biomes and maps. I want to fight inside a sprawling 40k-scaled mine network with 3 mile cliff faces or amongst plants (farms?) or deeper parts of the frozen lost refinery or an outpost deep in the desert or at a huge off-world freighter port etc etc.
Like, please can we put complaining about balancing (which is never ever, ever, ever, going to be perfect for everyone) on ice for a bit so that we can let FS, with their seemingly miniscule window of annual man-hours, get on with some actual content for all users?
Rework after rework after rework means no new biomes or maps (it shouldnât mean that as it should be different teams but with FS it does seem to be the case unfortunately).
IMO the best way to fix balancing is to buff Vet a bit then that means all classes are somewhat aligned in terms of powecreep. THEN a holistic and gradual buff via tweaks to all enemies until Auric feels scary again. But damn I want more maps before any of that so that at least we have something fresh whilst we wait.
Their map âgameâ has been strong on recent releases too - I love Gloriana and the cathedral carnival maps. We just need LOADS MOAR. Whoever is designing the maps at FS is in a groove so lets let them rip with it. Balance doesnât need entire reworks. It needs small incremental adjustments. Give the devs time for maps, I am begging.
In software development and other information technology fields, technical debt refers to the implied cost of additional work in the future resulting from choosing an expedient solution over a more robust one. While technical debt can accelerate development in the short term, it may increase future costs and complexity if left unresolved.
Naturally! Which is why the current glacial pace of updates is such a sore point.
For what itâs worth I donât think that the maps and balance teams are blocking each otherâs progress. It wouldnât make a lot of sense if this were the case, in my opinion!
If anything, weâve seen more progress in maps than in balance. I reckon the dust still hasnât settled from Unlocked & Unloaded from a balance perspective. Having initially balanced the game around imperfect gear has a lot of flow-on effects, surely.
A solution to the balance issue could be to do literally anything except make it worse with every single patch. Psyker has gotten a substantial buff literally every patch for over a year. There hasnât been a truly substantial nerf since patch 13.
They do balancing, but the main issues are that their balancing cycle is very long, they have some pathological need to re-invent wheels, and when they drop major balance changes they drop so many changes at once that I bet even they canât keep up with the myriads of changes to an aspect they are attempting to balance; not to mention a few instances where some teams may not be talking with each other so that there are multiple changes to multiple layers that all target the same in-game behaviour, usually resulting in overcorrections, compounding and unintended effects.
Touche! But more in the pool is still more in the pool at the end of the day. Iâm just so bored of many of the maps.
In a normal studio I would agree but FS really do seem to have very few staff from what I can tell. Bordering on micro-studio. So I assume their designers muck-in on all tasks and what is deemed a priority first.
Iâve not played DRG but yes new maps would of course take time but making content for the game is literally their job.
All levels are desined the same - whitebox through to art. They already have art assets for all existing biomes so technically a new level for an existing biome could be fairly streamlined depending on what scripted events take place. A new biome would require a whole new palette of assets but once this has been made, they will then be available for in-house artists/designers to slap in. All the assets will likely fit over tile templates so could be done (and likely would be done) by an outsource arthouse so wouldnât be a manhour cost to FS.
Also, when I ask for new maps, itâs not just for their art. Itâs for the events and layout and vibe. Like the end event on the Cathedral or the rods room in Glorianna. Memorable and challenging events that give individual maps their flavour. Not just art.
Normally Iâd expect it this way but FS seem so small that I canât see Designers not sharing tasks organically.
Exactly! Which is why I want a whole plethora of new maps to keep us entertained whilst they âreinvent the wheelâ (whilst naturally breaking the accelerator peddle!).
Itâs also why I believe balance tweaks should be small incremental changes very often. I hate the way they leave it for months then change the game into a totally different game, because in a game as complicated as DT - it is bound to break something else and the cycle starts again.
And itâll never go away due to itâs nature. Hence my desire for some fresh shiny levels to keep us entertained whilst they feel the need to reinvent the wheel instead of making sensible regular incremental balance changes.
Pre-Arbie it was mostly âyeah okay Ogryn needs to be toned down as well as the DS and plasma lights, but mostly okâ, but now itâs full on âkill the casualsâ
I unfortunately donât have faith that they could do a big balance pass without something falling off a cliff and then, by FS standards, requiring another multi-monthâs long super-update to fix/break something else. And so on and so on lol.
I just worry about them making a pass a big thing instead of lots of small digit nudges regularly. I then worry that loads of noise from the forums pushes them into this âall at once mega passâ direction. Just a hunch though.
Sorry Iâm not sure if Iâve articulated that very well so I apologise if it doesnât make sense!
Itâs weird, because the consistent drumbeat from the forums is âFIX THINGS ON THE HOTFIX DAYSâ rather than the massive balance patches. Most of balance is just numbers rather than full on tree reworks imo, but Fatshark insists on the latter instead of just fiddling with things more often.
