Hello there!
After seeing the reception of the newest Patch by - what i hope to be - the vocal minority i want to chime in, bringing my opinion to the table as well as some feedback for Muse!
I have been playing this game since 12. may of 2013. I started playing back then with a friend because it seemed like an amazing concept ( and there was a sale ^^ ). Fast forward to today and i am still playing since the concept held up and is amazing (and i by now purchased like 8 copies that i gave away to friends to play with me)
So far every patch (yes every) i saw so far pushed this game a bit more in a good direction. All ships have viable playstyles, basically all guns and tools and ammunitions have a good use. What i like about this, is the pure depth it provides both ingame and pregame. Setting up your ship and crew, getting the right tactic, getting the advantage in a match.
The newest major version with the matchmaking was received rather sceptically by us (me and my mates). However that evening we jumped into it. After some starting issues we quickly found matches, had no trouble setting up our crew thanks to suggest-a-loadout and the matches started quickly as well, increasing overall played time.
This was and still is amazing. Fewer "Lobbies of Icarus" more gameplay. Stomps can still happen either way, but anyone who ever played a competitive game with matchmaking with few players will have noticed those. And even then we experienced some of the closest matches ever in this new system (something like 587-600 laby?). Just by knowing how matchmaking rating works and the issues those system hold in interchangeable team setups, hotjoin, friend with skill disparities ..., my point is it works well enough, a lot of issues will go away as more players come into the game.
On the topic of more players, did you take a look at the player numbers recently? Even during non NA primetime i see a LOT of players playing. Also a lot of new players recently. Matchmaking DOES make it easier for the "average user" to find enjoyable games. This is exactly what GOI needed. More players -> more games -> more gameplay. It was no fun sitting around waiting for matches just to fill for upwards of 30 minutes.
Next topic, the levels. I am the kind of person that likes seeing those kind of numbers go up. After the new leveling system was announced we had some of our most fun times trying to get those pesky achievements for lvl 12 - Commander. However i know that levels hold no value for showing player skill. Maybe experience, but not all people can translate experience into skill. I know alot of <12 crew that did better jobs than some >30. Same for pilots really (JOHNNY!!!). Thats why i think hiding the levels in pregame lobbies is a good idea.
You might notice a trend here. I think that all changes have the right idea, just maybe not the right implementation. That is why i want to provide some feedback to Muse on what I think should be changed for the better! I did the same when 1.3.8 hit with a rather big email, but after the negativity i think its good to make it public. Too often are game forums too full of the vocal minority.
Hiding of Levels:
- Good Idea, but you didnt go all the way
- Hide Levels in lobby chat completely (In Match chat)
- Maybe show Levels after the game is over
Rematch will always scramble:
-Yes Please! I love me some scrambled lobbies
Pilot as captains, engis and gunners as crew
- Again good change. None Pilot Captain is gimping an entire team
Improvements needed:
- Level display in chat in general is rather ugly. How about displaying it like in the top right selection? (Class Icon with level number)
- Accept Loadout Box for Crew was changed, why not mention that in the patch notes
Things nice to have:
- Friend Groups! I started adding just about everyone to my friendslist lately. That makes it just a bit hard to actually find the people you want to play with sometime. Being able to group friends would make that way easier
- In the same vein: Toggleable Friend notifications
- More People playing!
-- Though i heard you are already working on that
That is it for now, i will probably be able to come up with more as i play on the new patch.
Thanks again to Muse for delivering an amazing game, i hope you keep on developing your vision and not cave in too much for nobody.
