[UPDATED: 2014-04-22] - Playtest reviews - Build 64624

Experimental build v.64624-balance review 2014-04-22:

A 5 player Team-Armies (2v2v1) again on Zaphod Prime. Teams Meta + Scathis, Brad + Garat, AI. Scathis won the match by annihilating Garat with an asteroid and taking the last kill on AI just couple minutes later. The game run smoothly, there seems to be some server improvements.

Link to the video: http://www.twitch.tv/metabolical/b/522121611
Don’t forget to follow Metabolical on Twitch to catch his streams when they are live!

Changes noticed in the stream:
(most important changes are in bold)

• Metal storage holds 20k metal, up from 5k
• Units (noticed on Ants and Infernos) are much faster!
• T2 energy plant costs the same as before, produces the same as before
• Grenadiers have a bad time killing a moving target
• T2 vehicle factory consumes 180 metal and about 2200 energy
• Anti-nuke launchers costs 18k metal, comes with no missile loaded
• Anti-nuke missile costs 17k metal
• Anti-nuke missiles seem to have bigger range
• Leveller costs 1830 metal, vanguard and sheller costs 2700 metal
• Catapult costs 27000 metal
• Orbital factory cost 1k metal (unless I missed a zero)
• T2 metal extractor costs 3030 metal
• There is a new ping (I didn't see it though, no picture)
• Orbital radar is called Arkyn
• Anchors don't move
• Nuke explodes in the air when shot down by anti-nuke
• Server performance seems to be improved (less lag)

I hope you enjoyed, if you noticed anything else, please let me know in the comments.

Experimental build v.64520-balance review 2014-04-21:

A 5 player Team-Armies (2v2v1?) on already famous system called Zaphod Prime played from perspective of Meta. Other player include an AI, Brad, Scathis (Meta’s teammate) and Garat.

Link to the video: http://www.twitch.tv/metabolical/b/521844307
Don’t forget to follow Metabolical on Twitch to catch his streams when they are live!

Changes noticed in the stream:

• The goal of this playtest was to discover any major bugs
• You still cannot let even single turret shoot your commander, he will die very quick as demonstrated by Brad’s unsuccessful commander push
• Selected units now highlight in circles
  
• There is a new icon in the bottom right (show/hide waypoints?)
  
• New avenger model
  
  
• Orbital units show their location respective to the ground by a thin line
  
  
• “Man it gets forever to get T2” - “That was the point, right?” - “That was the point”
• Orbital factory model (fully animated, looks very cool)
  
• New advanced orbital radar model (fully animated, looks very cool)
  
  
• Astreus now costs 1500 metal, down from 2400 metal
• SXX Laser Platform now costs 39000 metal, up from 25000 metal
• “Ow, I just got eliminated” - Always watch your commander, kids!
• In System Creator you can now use metal sliders (density and cluster size)
  
  
• Nuclear launcher costs 21000 metal, up from 5410 metal
• Increased laser turret costs to their previous costs?
• The game was cut early because of tight time schedule

Things known from previous playtests as a reminder of upcoming features:

• Grenadiers - replacing Dox, they are a bot artillery unit
• PIP can follow a unit, very useful when scouting with fireflies (already ingame)
• T2 factories are more expensive, about +50% metal cost increase
• Anchors can shoot the ground units below them and they don’t have a ground vision (they are an effective way how to assault enemy base from above as long as you have radar vision)
  
• New orbital fabricator model
  

A blue bird told me that his build also includes many other very interesting changes that yet remain a secret and will be revealed in upcoming playtests, so watch closely!

This review and all future reviews will be available on our new community hub www.exodusesports.com (they are not available on the website yet, it is in developement). Please make sure you bookmark the website if you don’t won’t to miss any important info and you want to stay up to date about the latest strategies and tournaments.

https://forums.uberent.com/threads/...nce-changes-new-models-and-more-–-4-21.58874/

Beat ya!

The Orbital Fabricator model isn't new though. That was revealed a few weeks ago.
PIP following a unit isn't new. It's in the live game.

Although, @Martenus has more pictures and information than yours, just sayin'...

it is not "new" but it is not in the current build so I think it is still valid for a playtest review

Hmm... After semi-recent happenings that won't be mentioned specifically, I have a feeling that things might get... awkward...
*grabs popcorn*
Oh, and as an actual comment on the build, anyone think that the satellite looks... for lack of a better word... edgy?

Mine's bigger.

Nah...it looks....spiky.

Calm down guys
Such reviews just like this one will be posted on our website www.exodusesports.com, that is why we need our own review. I cannot simply take someone else's work, post it on our website and claim it was our review. So it has to be this way.

So this is how WW3 started, heh?

Why can't you just ask Brian to contribute and cite the source, like a decent civilised human being, instead of stealing the one consistent job Brian has had over the last few months, like a savage barbarian mongol horde?

You get a like for the great imagery. Martenus is a one-man mongol horde.

Sorry Martenus.

We have to acknowledge that Martenus did indeed an excellent job as well.

As I assume that it has been done with positive intentions, I do not see the arm in having a plural point of view. Even if it's a mere reporting. Brian excels for experience in doing it, but there should be room for others if so they desire.

This is amazing

Says "Experimental" on the edge of the Stream video. EXPERIMENTALS CONFIRMED, Y'ALL SAW IT!!

It has been done with positive intentions.
However it has not been done in a positive way with regards to how it treads on the toes of someone who is already doing it. It has not been done in collaboration, but in competition.

I'm sorry, but considering the smallness of the PA community, cooperation and communication are the key. When the game has less players than goat simulator, maybe putting aside differences and working together as a team might be a very good idea, rather than peacocking about who can do a job best?

Nothing wrong with healthy competition. That's how the best products, services, etc.. are made. It's nice to see reviews from two points of view instead of just one. With just one you only get to see what he/she saw and hear what he/she things about it personally. With two you get to see it from multiple points of view with thoughts that may conflict or coincide. One of them might catch something the other does not, and the other may mention something the first did not think about. Which is a good thing. With two sets of eyeballs or even two groups of people you are likely to catch more. As long as they don't attack each other personally, or get into a heated emotional rage ball I don't see any problem with it. If they team up you will not get the same multiple points of view that you can compare/contrast that you get with two separate entities.

@Martenus great job, keep it up

Brian's wasn't the first post either, so what's the problem?

I'd be fine with contributing to Exodus and/or cross posting the recap. I've already submitted my tutorials to their site. Never heard back.

Mine was posted 1 minute before his.

We have been busy with other things, non guide related.
If guides are done everyone will be able to post guides (with some review system in place of course) even you brianpurkiss.

Hey I agree that Martenus did a great job (and my post was meant very lightheartedly, hence the ridiculous imagery) Plus Tektrekd won the forums.

All I'm saying is, as an independent observer, I get the impression that there is some bullhorn locking going on. I agree that more observers is better.

However, there are duplicate threads on the same topic. Competition in this instance is kind of unnecessary, because we end up with duplicate threads (which should be locked/merged themselves), or we end up with one thread taking the monopoly on users.

This may be an instance where it would be better to collaborate and communicate to achieve quality, rather than to compete.

And I think it would be a lot better for many people if certain members of the community would put their differences aside and cooperate to deliver quality.

If they were to team up (properly), you would still get both points of view. That's part of what makes team armies in PA so interesting - you combine one person who loves using land, one person who loves using air, and you combine their playstyles. And that synthesis can be very powerful.

There should still be multiple points of view, because there are two sets of eyeballs. But you get both points of view in one summary, not two summaries.


That's all I have to say on the matter, I'm not really interested in getting involved in other peoples personal issues with one another, and I would prefer to stay neutral. I'm just getting a vibe that there are people who could be working together in this community, who are letting personal differences get in the way of that.

Thankfully I'm just getting subtle hints of bad blood from people, and I don't know any more than that.

Considering the size of our community at the moment, I think that negativity and division may not be a positive thing.

Also, seeing as no one is actually profiting from the endeavour, it may be best to collaborate between organisations. You see that in certain industries a lot, while at an individual level there may be competition, at an organisational level different authorities are sharing information between one another to improve quality.