Lack of Popularity, Fail? Video

Thanks Derrame!

The dropoff in TF1 was not due to a lack of Single Player (that would occupy 5 to 10 hours) or camos to make your pilot or titan look rediculous. And actually, the game didn't really even noticibly dropoff for about 7 to 9 months. I think maybe part of that was because every 2 months you were getting a new shot of really good DLC (3 new maps in each and some new modes in the later ones).

When it did drop off it was due to no matchmaking algorithm and no anticheat system. New players should not be subjected to an environment without those things in place. You have to have those things in place right out of the gate when your user base will most likely be the largest and then you have to have everything in place to not only keep players from leaving, but make them want to stay.

I wouldn't be opposed to having segregated areas as Jerdude suggested where new players could only play against new players, but I think if you implement a matchmaking algorithm correctly, you wouldn't even need that.

Also, as Jerdude suggested, a coop mode like Frontier Defense is a good training ground. If there is a SPC, that can be a good training ground, but I wouldn't want the MP experience to suffer due to the SPC hogging up 80% of the resources. I think modes like Titan Brawl are good for new players too, because it is fun even if you are getting destroyed, but at least you are learning along the way.

Jerdude mentioned that kill streaks help the less skilled players. No way! It is just the opposite. This is what creates the imbalance in TF2. You are rewarding the higher skilled players with Boosts faster and then subsequently Titans faster. So, how exactly does that help the less skilled players? Maybe it gives them more free time, because it further imbalances the game and they say, "screw this!", and leave the game to go do something else, so maybe that helps them get chores done so their spouse doesn't yell at them.

I agree with Jerdude that everyone should play their own style. However, the core of the game should not be modified to accomodate any styles. The game should focus on it's uniqueness not on making sure everyone can play their style. In my opinion, this is why the direction TF2 took was a huge mistake, because they exhausted almost all of their resources that they had left, besides what they spent on the SPC, with the singular focus of trying to appease the traditional FPS shooters who didn't particularly like TF1, because they could not play their style. HUGE MISTAKE!!! You embrace the game's uniqueness. You do not accomodate a style, otherwise you ruin the game.

He's right, they intended to slow TF2 down even more in the tech test and that was a huge mistake. Thank goodness the outcry was huge and they put most of the speed back. One of the things you hear people praise the most about TF1 or TF2 is the movement, the fluidity and the speed. Let's be honest. They tried to kill that in order to 100% sell out to the traditional FPS crowd. Those who thought that was a good design decision or that having choke points or 3 lanes on each map should be put on the Star Wars team, never to touch Titanfall again. Do not CODify Titanfall. There are already at least 14 of those games. Keep the uniqueness in Titanfall.

 

Sorry, but there was another point I wanted to make about something Jerdude mentioned in this video, because it has been bugging me, so I have to just get it out of my head and into words.

He mentioned that he thinks a lot of the reason TF2 might be struggling is because of the "perception" that the learning curve is too steep. I disagree with this, because I believe if the game at least appears to be worth it, more people are going to be willing to invest the time to get good at it no matter what the "perception" of the skill gap. For example, if you don't know how to ice skate or play ice hockey, there may be a "perception" that it would be really fun to learn and worth the investment to get good at it. On the other hand, the game of Curling might also have a similar learning curve to learn the skills and strategy, but maybe not as many would see it as worth the investment, because there might be a "perception" that the end result would not be as much fun.

I only bring this up because of my own experience. I had never played any FPS games and I can still remember the first time walking onto the "Colony" map in TF1 and getting killed from the rooftops every time I respawned before I could even take 2 steps. It was frustrating as hell and I could tell there was a HUMONGOUS skill gap that I was going to have to overcome in order to enjoy playing this game. But there was just something about TF1 that made me feel like it would be worth it, so I was willing to put in the time and go through the frustrations over and over and over again.

If the same thing had happened with TF2, I mean if I had never played any FPS games and TF2 was my first, I would not have that same feeling that it was worth it. Heck, it's why I still play TF1 even now 4X as much as I play TF2. It just doesn't have the same "IT" factor that TF1 had. So, it doesn't surprise me that the player base is not growing even though it seems to get good reviews, but in my opinion, it is not because people have a "perception" that it would be too difficult. I just think it doesn't appeal to them or does not look worth it to them. That is exactly where I would be if I was in their shoes. Frankly, the only reason I play TF2 is because I loved TF1 so much.

 

Titanfall 2 has the same playerbase Titanfall 1 had.

No one is going to be right with this answer because it's all subjective and we can keep going over it. Titanfall 1 had those initial awesome sales because of the hype surrounding the first game that the former Infinity Ward was going to come out with (there wasn't nearly as much hype of marketing for TF2) because mech games don't do well in America and they had already established their playerbase with the first game.

There are two reasons the population dropped off in Titanfall 1.

#1 Call of Duty. Let's face it, Titanfall 1 released in March of 2014 and there were 0 other competitive MP shooters it had to contend with. It was the only thing that people who loved MP would play and it had enough of a similarity to CoD for them to pick up and play. However, once the newest CoD was released that's when you seen a stark drop-off in the number of players online for Titanfall 1.

#2 It already had it's base. Like I said, those people who played because it had a similarity to CoD left when the new CoD came out because they didn't like the mech portion of the game. So now they already know what Titanfall is and they weren't as hyped to play the second one especially when a new CoD AND a new BF1 (which was going back to the World War era) were coming out just around it. So those players that Titanfall 1 had initially because they didn't have anything else to play aren't playing Titanfall 2 because those other games they prefer are out at the same time.

Finally... Titanfall 1 had 3 lanes and choke points on maps as well so I don't know why that is a steady downgrade on Titanfall 2. Titanfall 2 maps may be smaller in total but the design layout is the exact same.

 

Good points Ik0n. You make some very good arguments.

I only disagree about TF1 having choke points similar to TF2. Please let me clarify that wnen I speak of choke points I am speaking from the perspective of someone who primarily played Hardpoint Domination in TF1 and plays Amped Hardpoint in TF2. If you think about how A, B and C were/are laid out. In TF1, it was more triangular (Fracture, Air Base, Sentinel, Runoff, Swampland, etc.). In other words, you didn't have to go through or past B to get from A to C or vice versa. In most TF2 maps, they are laid out more linear, creating a choke point at B, so in most cases, you have to go through or past B to get from A to C or vice versa. Usually, there are outer routes you could take, but they take you so far out of the way, that most people never take them, so you end up with everyone jammed up at B. In my opinion, this makes things even worse than what their intention was. They intended to have a 3-lane design, but what you really end up with is a 1-lane design with a massive choke point in the middle with 2 roads less travelled on the outer edges. And if you really think about that, it makes the TF2 maps, which are already way smaller than the TF1 maps even that much smaller when you consider that a large percentage of the map is being unused, because there really is only 1 heavily used lane.

 

You said it in your first point and to my mind it is the defining factor in the perceived or otherwise lack of success of this game. Releasing it in the same window as CoD and possibly one the biggest FPS's in BF1 was just throwing it under a bus.

The maps for me don't feel as effective or fun as the TF 1 maps, again this is not based on any objective piece, rather a feel thing. I notice when I play colony and angel city I am far more effective than TF 2 maps but this is due more to my map awareness rather than design I'm guessing. Aaaaaaaand my personal opinion is that there are a few too many moving parts in TF 2, many of the tacticals/boosts/whatevers are cheese and there just seems to be too many ways to die to cheap stuff. A TF 1 or hardcore mode wouldn't go astray in TF 2, just for fun.

Having said all of this I have decided to put more time into TF 2 and I discovered a newly found appreciation for it. I certainly can't grind it like I did with TF 1 but I do appreciate it more lately.

 

Yeah, I have spurts like this too, but then:

Totally agree. Way too much cheese stuff. Sometimes I just find myself going, "Uggh!!! That doesn't belong here." about every 30 seconds and that's when I have to leave and go back to the adult battlefield feel and far superior mechanics of TF1 to cleanse my palette.