http://www.nowgamer.com/features/1197/brink-splash-damage-interview

Not sure if everyone here has seen this, but yeah -

How have you ensured that both on and offline offer substantial value for those who lean towards a specific side of the fence?
We try to ensure that the game is rewarding and satisfying no matter how you want to play. We don’t give favoritism to either side. This has led us to some important decisions too. For instance, originally we were going to give players more XP for playing online, because we wanted to encourage them to do so.



But we ultimately realized that this wasn’t fair to all our players, some of whom are just too uncomfortable with the idea of online play, or some of whom literally don’t have an online connection. So we dropped it to ensure true equality. So all the unlocks, the customization options, the missions, the challenges, and the leveling up, everything is totally available to you no matter how you want to play. [End]

Is this good or bad? Giving every player the same amount of EXP no matter Online or Offline? It means people can just grind their characters to 20 without every being Online, but then of course they will meet a new arena when they go against humans..

That's pretty much the trade off. They MAY be level 20, but they're going to be playing against other players of that level 15-20 level bracket, if I can remember, who may or may not have played fully online to get there.

It should be enough of a trade-off, yeah..

It′s okay. I think it makes no advantages to play on- or offline
Except the enemy team AI

Interesting.



I think that was a good thing.

It doesn't matter how good the bots are, they will never be as unpredictable as a human mind. So online play will always be more challenging. Guys who level up only through the offline mode will surely be not as good as the online dudes.

How much you bet ? :hubbahubba:

I never bet :l

In the end with this kind of system how good a player is will not be reflected by their level. Anyone can play alot and get to level 20 but still svck at the game. With a leveling system based purely on EXP like this skill is not measured but points are. Sure better players will get there faster but it doesent matter much. It will be much like CoD in this respect where you could have someone who has hit the cap 4 times but is still horrible. Honestly the levels in this game will only deturmen which items are being used on the battlefield since at certain levels you cant use certain things yet. I can only hope they keep adding levels and some weapons/ character things to help extend the life of the unlocks. Or at least make the higher levels take FOREVER to get through

/agreed.

Not an easy task for the dev.
They have to develop a game that will entertain all kind of people, from the total newbie to the geek with one word in mind : "fun".

In the end, do you want to show how good you are, or do you just want to have fun ? <----- I think it would be nice to have different servers that answers one or the other; a bit like what we have for mmorpgs.
"Have fun" servers and "hardcoe/pro" ones.

Every level-based system works like that.
Modern Warfare 2 is actually an exception, because for some challenges you had to have skill or at least a big amount of luck.


I can't even see why some people complain about offline-play being as rewarding as online-play. It's like they feel disadvantaged by it, because they have to play against human players. I always think that's a big plus, because it's often more fun.

No relationship between "fun" and "reward". Yes, it is way more fun - in my opinion - to play online. But it is more challenging as well. So why would the rewards be the same ?
That's it. I do not think this is really a "complaint", but take it more like a questioning. I can live with it .

More challenging? Might depend who you end up playing... Getting trough a mission against a bunch of 'f* the mission, all I care for is my killstreak' douches will most likely be alot easier then doing the same mission against 8 bots...

I think as well as reward, the leveling system is very good for enjoying the character creation, having lots of abilities and and attachments to choose from is great, but having all of them presented to you from the start would be overwhelming, you wouldn't bother to have a look at them all and probably miss out.

I'd personally play online because whats the point of having good stuff when the enemy team is owning you?

Every level based system that is based on EXP. The ones like say Halo 2 and 3 where it was based more on skill and how you perform. If you did well you would level up if you did bad you would lose your overall level. That works in halo though because theres no unlocking weapons as you go, all are there and its more arena based weapon system.

And was changed for Halo Reach. :nod:

And I was very VERY dissapointed. Feels like kids are getting lazy and dont want to improve they just want it all now.

I like the idea of it being mixed, that way if I'm having a bad time in online play, or if I'm just not in the mood for online, I can switch over to Single and still get the same benefits. This is a plus imo. :celebration:

Anyone else hear that Halo will be released?

I have heard devs say that they fully expect players to "farm" or "grind" xp - and they are totally fine with the idea, partly because they want to have minimal restrictions on allowing players to play how they want, and also because the way the unlocks work (abilities, weapons, etc.) Player skill is the ultimate factor on determining good and bad players, not what "toys" they have available - regardless if they are the high level variety or not.


I don't think it's so much that they "want it all now," but rather "they want to be able to get things, playing what they like."

For instance, in Reach the only thing I play online is Firefight - can you really "improve" playing this mode? Not really - you just play it and have fun. Should I or anyone be punished for not playing "true" online? Definitely not.
I really think Bungie tries to hard to make it so playing online is the only feasible way to upgrade your character - the recent nerf to Gruntocalypse was totally uncalled for - why "punish" players for choosing one way to play over another? Is their $60 not as good?

Yeah, there is nothing wrong with experience farming/grinding if all of the weapons and abilities are balanced and this seems to be the case. I'm sure there will be a way to maximize your experience rate in offline though by exploiting the AI in some manner.

it's a choice.
but everyone knows the best way to train is to reach higher than you can.
take on more than you can possibly take.
fight those guys that are way better than you.

well, at least that's true in games

and it's what i'm planning on doing:)

Taking on better players sure is the best way to improve, although to fight "those guys that are way better than you" can in the end be counter productive and hinder one's progress. Taking alot of small steps would help far more than trying to take on someone way too big for you. Well, IMO of course

I tend to first copy better players, then practice practice practice and develop my own style.

That's a very effective method, I noticed. After watching Modern Warfare 2 gameplay/commentaries may own game improved by a far lot.

Unlocks are all about developing ones own style.

Initial weapons should be versatile, encouraging players to explore different styles of play.

Unlocked weapons should be more specialised, so that once the player has discovered their style for the game, they can fine tune their arsenal to suit that style.

However, I disagree with unlocked weopons being more better in most ways than initial ones.
For the sake of balance, and also keeping gameplay interesting for the adept, they should offer more possibilities, but also more challenges.