Strogg>gdf

[sc1ence]

Roughly one week into the release of the game and the following is fact:

~83,000 games have been played

GDF have won ~37,000 45%
STROGG have won ~46,000 55%


This is fairly significant. this pattern is holding true on our server as well.


I have not yet concluded why strogg are winning more. I suspect the following:

1. More experienced players are gravitating to the strogg side which is resulting an stacked teams. Strogg have a coolness factor. I saw the same thing in Wolf:ET when it first came out. All the cool kids want to wear black. 1337 looks better when your an alien.

2. Strogg also seem to defend on more maps than GDF. defense gets more XP than than offense. This results in a strong strogg team with more unlocks. by the 3rd map, STROGG are dominating in XP and simply owning GDF.


Dont be surprised if you find admins shuffling teams at the start of a campaign to try to eliminate the effect of 1. If things are really bad at the end of a round admins may shuffle then as well.

We are interested in fair gameplay and will do what it takes to promote that.

The one thing I don't think it is is the weapons. I think the classes are fairly well balanced.

[rydogg1]

In support of that I know I like to play GDF as the underdog. I find that there are a lot of people who aren't really familiar with the gameplay yet.

Last night I was the only medic on 95% of the maps. On island (after 5 or 6 round of Strogg domination) I finally saw the team start working together. There was an additional medic, the field ops were coordinating and the covops were actually laying down radars and smoke. The thing about this game is that it is MUCH easier to coordinate on defense than it is on offense. The teamplay is truly the thing that makes the team successful. If your team is not working together than it's useless. One of the things that disappointments me the most in this game is no built in VOIP. In the closed beta (I beta tested the game for close to four months) we had access to an early build that included VOIP but for some reason Splash Damage could never get it to work and it was removed.

To sum up or TLDR: it's not the teams as much as it's people not working together. Defense is easier than offense.

BTW I applaud TG and sc1ence for recognizing the problem; when the server is not fun people won't return.

[Curlydave]

I'd attribute this to your second point. Strogg defend in 7/12 (58%) of the maps, which is a very similar percentage to their 55% win record.

[Gillespie]

Defense is much, MUCH easier than offense, so that stat makes sense.

[RGM-79N_GM_CUstom]

The closest thing to an imbalance in the game if you ask me is the GDF not having a direct counter part to the Cyclops but it is working out well.

[Curlydave]

Originally Posted by RGM-79N_GM_CUstom

The closest thing to an imbalance in the game if you ask me is the GDF not having a direct counter part to the Cyclops but it is working out well.

Sure they do, it's the Titan.

[RGM-79N_GM_CUstom]

Not really. The GDF needs a heavier tank then that.

Basically the way it goes is Cyclops>Titan>Desecrater. A desecrater in siege mode will beat out a Titan though. (This is all based on a "slug fest" type battle.)

It's alright though. I am happy the way things are. It's already a bit of a stretch that a fairly conventional military force would be able to hold out against an alien invasion.

[Curlydave]

The Titan is the direct counterpart to the Cyclops. It's the GDF heavy armor, the clops is the Strogg heavy armor. The cyclops is stronger and has more firepower, but the Titan is faster, more maneuverable, and has a longer range, higher-velocity gun.

(This is all based on a "slug fest" type battle.)

There's your problem - The titan is much more powerful if it keeps moving in combat.

[IMI-50AE]

Move where? The places where you engage the enemy are, guess what? Chokepoints. And while in the open the Titan can use its agility, when you're reduced to driving back and forth in a desperate, pathetic attempt to avoid fire, there's a problem with that line of logic.

[Cantab]

Some of the big GDF strengths come from cooperation between players. Strogg are a little stronger man for man, but things like the insta-revive on the GDF side mean a coordinated squad is a lot tougher to kill than a similar Strogg squad. As people get used to the game and, hopefully, voice coms come in, I could see the ratio evening out on the TG server even if it doesn't in general.

[Curlydave]

Originally Posted by IMI-50AE

Move where? The places where you engage the enemy are, guess what? Chokepoints. And while in the open the Titan can use its agility, when you're reduced to driving back and forth in a desperate, pathetic attempt to avoid fire, there's a problem with that line of logic.

It depends on the situation. The maps are fairly open, but with cover. Dodge shots, peak out behind cover, fire, hide again. The velocity of the gun makes it much easier to take out infantry and light vehicles with. It's better than the cyclops in some situations, not as good in others. If the Titan were beefed to do as much damage or have as much armor as the cyclops, it would be massively overpowered. I already listed its advantages.

[IMI-50AE]

True Curlydave, the Titan does have advantages, especially with its longer reach. The plasma cannons on the Cyclops, Desecrator, and Tormentor all have a limited range.