Here's a few insights regarding the evolution of Raider's game balance that we want to share with you, but before we address the issue in more detail, there’s a point to make: Extensive play testing of balance issues takes a lot of time and people to fine tune, specially when it comes to low-to-mid skill players that quickly change their game style after a couple of weeks playing.
That's why our approach has to be very open and honest with you: It is an ongoing process. This is not a pre-cooked experience. We want you to come along with us and unlock the strategies of the game together, hence the low-price [TBA] entry point and the campaign-based nature of the game. If you are not happy being a part of an online game that is already ‘solved’, this is the game for you!
In the past, traditional symmetrical PvP games have had little variance in objectives and instead have focused on producing an interesting ecosystem of characters and skills that compete with each other. Hopefully reaching a point where the fluctuations of the balance and the meta are healthy and based on the player's actions, rather than being harsh and based on the developer's changes.
Raiders of the Broken Planet presents you with a different environment for these concepts of ‘balance’ and ‘meta’ because it plays as a cooperative game against the AI with an invasion from players called “Antagonists”, rather than as a symmetrical PvP game.
Our aim is to recreate that special feeling of “finding out what the meta is” again and again. Not by designing around it, but by presenting new and different challenges that up the ante players will face: the missions. Obviously this ties in greatly with the narrative focus of the game, but let’s go back to the gameplay.
We have started by creating a cast of characters that represent different archetypes, or simply put; different methods of dealing with enemies. We will release new characters from time to time. New characters will shake the meta of already-released missions a little bit, but that is not our main focus here.
Our intent is to present players with a set of complex issues: “What is the best/easiest way to beat this mission with an optimal score”, “Who is the optimal antagonist character to use to ruin this particular mission for this particular group of Raiders”. This will not be a simple task then, there’s also different weapons and talent cards that one can customize the character with too, and a team of four raiders to assemble for the different tasks required in any given mission.
New weapons and characters will force the community to rethink this meta, in a different way for each individual mission. If they ever feel ‘solved’ to you, and you liked the experience, you may want to check out a new campaign when they are released.
This is just a little glimpse into the future. The current beta features only a couple of missions for you to try and this high variance in objectives can only be inferred at the moment. That is why our current focus is on player satisfaction when playing each one of the basic characters for now.
