First off, thanks for game, it's great!
Devs, I want to talk about the game, the psychology of people, money, and other interesting things.
Spacelords need improvements. This, of course, requires money. In turn, to make money, you need players who want to buy something from you, and the more players (and purchases), the better. The logic is straightforward and simple.
Here's what I think might help you. First of all, about what is easy to do and what has a greater effect.
1. People DO NOT like to wait.
Your cutscenes are great, but don't make people hate them. The joke told 100 times is not funny anymore.
I suggest that the very first playthrough of each mission should be a solo game. Set the difficulty to a minimum, so that the mission is something between training and real multiplayer. Check each mission so that it can be easily completed by ANY character.
So player can enjoy the story, cutscenes, and get familiar with the mechanics of the mission.
Further, starting from the second playthrough, everything is as usual, only game start needs to be made as fast as possible, without cutscenes (you can put short information on slide before the mission).
2. All people are DIFFERENT.
Yes, I can't ignore the MMR. I understand you wanted to balance the game. I could write a lot on this subject, but I think that you already know: the system simply does NOT work. In fact, it could NOT work. EVER. If I ask you - "what is balance?" - you will give one answer. If you start asking people, then everyone will give the answer, and all answers will be different. And if you try to equalize all people with one system, without the possibility of choice, and flexibility, you'll get a FILTER. So you've filtered players ... why?
Unfortunately, instead of a reward system, you ended up with a punishment system. At first, you often win, quickly pass missions, for which you get a high score. Then it becomes more difficult to play, missions are completed slowly, the score is lower, rewards goes down. This is ridiculous.
Everything has already been invented, it is enough to adopt successful solutions. I propose to introduce a "tiers" system. It will allow:
- Different groups of players get the desired gaming experience (casuals just run around and have fun, hardcore players get a challenge, etc.).
- Get a sense of progression, upgrowth.
- Freedom of choice.
- Sense for leveling.
0 tier. Training. Opponents have 50% HP, -50% damage, and the number of opponents is greater. There are NO antagonists. Just fun'n'meat.
Max. reward - 70%.
1 tier. Normal difficulty, like MMR 30.
Max. reward is 100%.
2 tier. Difficulty 20% higher
Max. reward - +20%.
3 tier. Difficulty 20% higher
Max. reward - +40%.
And so on. Figures for example.
Important - raiders' weapons should not receive bonuses or penalties any more and ever (if enough people in queue to start game).
The antag, on the other hand, receives a penalty from the difficulty:
If he joins tier 3, then no penalty (for him, the difficulty is normal, for the players - high)
If joins tier 2, 20% damage penalty and CQC (for him, the difficulty is 20% higher, for players - also 20%)
Etc.
3. People love personality.
I propose to introduce customization of characters - hairstyles, make-up, jewelry, backpacks, etc. + ability to change color.
And sell for mercury points.
It should also be possible to assemble the necessary jewelry or accessory (and maybe a hairstyle) from spare parts that will drop out at a high level of difficulty on missions.
Profit for you. Interest in playing and leveling for players.
4. People love constructors.
LEGO is still alive and well. Why are we worse?
I propose to introduce a system of cyber-implants for characters of various qualities and with various properties (for example, +10% speed, +10 armor, etc., a small but pleasant bonus).
For a start, 2 is enough for each character.
These implants should be assembled from parts that will drop at different difficulty levels. The higher the level, the higher the quality, the higher the bonus.
Again, parts can be sold for mercury points.
5. People get bored playing the same game over and over again (unless it's CS or Diablo, LOL)
I propose to introduce level variability.
What if, for example, when the characters enter the elevator, Cortez shouts - “Run! This is a trap!” ... But, of course, it's too late, and the elevator goes the other way, another map is loaded, players must fulfill certain conditions in order to turn elevator back. The probability of such an event is, say, 20%.
You can imagine of a lot of very different interesting situations. Tell me what you think about it and if you wish to know about my other ideas.
6. Little things:
- Introduce the highlighting of characters suitable for the mission.
- Daily Objectives - Kill 50 CQC opponents, or with a crossbow, or kill 30 Elites...
I can describe everything in detail. Let me know if interested.
Thanks!
