I'd like to get a review of everyone's gripes and suggestions for improvement in the game, so I can write up a detailed review in the next couple of days.
I want to split them into the following categories:
- Interface: Server browser, game overlays, HUD.
- Gameplay: Roles, map dynamics, balance and overall enjoyment.
- Weapons / Vehicles: Balance, effectiveness or lack thereof.
- Immersion: Sound, visuals and game feedback which puts you in the action.
My observations so far:
Interface:
Minimap needs cardinal directions. Most of us know the layout of the maps, but NSEW would really help.
Squad join requests / invites need to be at the bottom of the screen and follow a PG UP, PG DN system instead of the obtrusive rose that inevitably gets you killed.
Server browser needs to show IP and allow for smooth scrolling. It should also refresh only when you tell it. Right now, it seems to do so periodically, which can be quite annoying when you're browsing. You should be able to join a game by double-click and search by server name with open-ended wildcards. Of course, favourites and the ability to join on friends is a must.
Painted enemy triangles on the UAV are way too big. They should mark enemies consistently and maybe even indicate the enemy type. A triangle pointing downwards just above the enemy would suffice. The triangle could scale with proximity. At the moment, the triangle can obscure your visual on the target, making them difficult to hit.
Friendly and enemy name tags should be sharp like the kill ticker rather than fat and anti-aliased. They are too big right now and make the game feel "cartoony".
The kill ticker messages should have a small sharp black drop shadow or stroke to better define them from the background. They should also not wrap when long, but each be on its own line.
Chat messages need to be separated from kills just below.
Squad members on the minimap need to show facing instead of just appear as squares. It helps a lot to know where your team mates are covering and where they are not. Squad Leader should be in yellow. I'd also like to see arrows at the edge of the minimap showing the direction of your squad mates, much like in the HUD. The HUD arrows should be smaller.
My squad member loadouts and roles need to be visible on my HUD, so I know what they have available. Recharges would also be great. Maybe not progress for each upgrade, but a yes / no for availability.
Gameplay:
Enemy vehicles should not be capturable. It makes no sense to be able to enter enemy vehicles and make off with them. If you run across enemy vehicles, you should have to destroy them and wait for your own to spawn. Seeing people run around with the express purpose of sneaking off with vehicles seems silly.
You should not be able to kick over tracked drones as easily. At their size, they seem like they'd be reasonably heavy and should interact as such. Right now, I find my squad mates are my worst enemy when they spawn on me as they stumble over my poor R2-D2. Likewise enemies under fire can just jump on top of one and you have no chance to kill them while they laugh at you, playing Soccer with your robotic friend.
You should be able to control all drones while prone. Having to stand leaves you very limited options to stay safe from enemy fire.
Weapons:
The grenade launcher is ridiculous right now and reminiscent of early BF2 days. Either drop the ammo to 2 rounds or reduce splash and minimum range. Minimum range should be 10m anyway. Shooting grenades at your feet is ridiculous. I'd also like to see the crosshair match every other FPS in history as a notched inverted triangle. The circle makes no sense and the notches to the left of it mean nothing.
Give us a reason to choose something other than Assault, Sniper and AV.
The SMG should beat an Assault Rifle at close-medium range with a high rate of fire, but a high damage drop-off at anything greater than say 20m. Right now, especially with the GL, the demo charges don't mitigate the poor bullet performance.
Heavy Assault needs greater stopping power when prone and horrible accuracy when standing, with only a little improvement when crouched. It should be brutal when prone and set up, with a high mag capacity. Its counter is obviously its lack of mobility. Right now, it can't out-shoot an Assault Rifle at any range and its lack of use is testament to its weakness.
Aiming crosshairs don't feel right. The converging lines don't fit with the rest of the hud and are too large. I'd like to see a better animation when bringing the weapon up to ironsights rather than just that faded black zoom. I'd also like to have a little peripheral vision and still see the rest of the HUD.
Immersion:
I'd still like the weapon firing sounds to be a little louder and more visceral. In-game VOIP which auto-lowers the effects volume would be a big plus.
Directional sound doesn't seem to work. I'm not really able to pinpoint enemy movement like I was in other games. Footsteps should be audible.
Commo rose is essential. We need canned comms to be able to communicate with people who aren't on voice comms outside our squad. "Gimme a ride", "Follow me" etc. Hearing comms from your team mates also helps give that more authentic feel to the battle.
Control points should have context-sensitive commands. I'd like to be able to point at a control point as a SL and tell my guys to head over to it. Doing so directly on the minimap would also be a bonus.