Reasons why i feel the game is failing

I noticed lately the game is slowly being completely abandoned with negative reviews continuing to pop up, so i decided to write a wall of text on why i feel the game is failing at its current state and i am interested to know how others feel about it.

· Lack of balance: Right now the game is horribly imbalanced with the higher level player often wining the match without needing to put much effort due to the fact higher levels will often completely out gun and out tank lower level players. Often the argument used against this is just avoid playing higher leveled players, but the issue with that is because of the very small community your often forced to play higher leveled users or don’t play at. Because of this often forced gameplay with people that are most likely going to completely crush you people tend to just drop the game for good and move on which only contributes to the above issue I pointed out and causes a domino effect of lower level players leaving the game because they aren’t having any fun losing all the time and higher level players drop the game because they either get bored winning all the time or just have no one to play at all because most of the players were chased away.


· Stale gameplay: Due to the fact there is only three types of game modes, 1v1 hp games, team hp games, and FFA hp games. The game tends to get stale real fast, and sadly due to the fact the community is very small two of the three game modes rarely pop up so that often leaves you with 1v1 hp games, and that’s only if you’re looking to play for fun. If you want to ever make progress with your leveling you’re almost required to play 1v1 hp games hundreds upon hundreds of time with the only changes possible to make to spice up gameplay in a very small negligible way is either the amount of hp you start off in the beginning of the match or the addition of wind. Not only that but until you get to a reasonably high level you are going to be using the same couple of weapons all of the time due to the new tiered weapon system limiting the possible amount of weapons you get per match and because of the fact that once you upgrade a weapon you will almost never use the previous version again matches turn into nothing but unloading top tiered stuff on your opponent with the only bad stuff being weapons that are either not fully upgraded or terrible to begin with instead of the random grab bag of possible weapons good and bad you could get in ssl2.


· Grind heavy gameplay: To achieve just about anything in Shellshock Live your required to grind for everything like you would in a mmorpg often requiring hours upon hours of your time to get anywhere which turns the game off to anyone that simply wants to pick up the game and play and chases away anyone who does not have the free time to keep up with those who do have the extra free time. Almost no aspect of the game doesn’t require frankly ridiculous amounts of grind. Want to level up? Just win about 10-200+ games depending on your level with each match taking 5-20 minutes each. Want that shop item that costs 500 gears? Just save up the measly 1-3 gears you get every match. Want to level up a weapon? Just pray to any god that’s willing to listen for your weapon to pop up in the beginning of your game and pray you don’t miss the shot and repeat 400+ times. Most people do not enjoy this type of gameplay at all especially if it’s a requirement to have any chance against the higher leveled players people are often forced to fight thus turning the game into a grind to win game.


· Lack luster rewards and impossible achievement’s: Hey congratulations you managed to grind long enough to achieve one million exp the equivalent of reaching the max level three times, you may be thinking the reward for doing such a thing is a very destructive weapon that makes nuke look like a baby’s toy right? Nope you get a chopper. People absolutely despise stuff like this, no one wants to put in the frankly unrealistic amount of time and effort for rewards that do nothing but make you feel like you just completely wasted your time. This often happens during the later stages of people’s journey to level 80, they grind out another level to either unlock a completely useless map or a lack luster weapon that should’ve been unlocked at a much lower level. Another problem is a lot of achievements with unlocks behind them are frankly impossible and quite cocky of the developer to expect the common player to actually achieve. Play and win the game 5000 and 50000 times? Get enough exp to get from 1-80 three times? This is just ludicrous all something like this does is just simply lock out pieces of the games content from players who either cant or are unwilling to put the time required to complete achievements like that. If you want to have achievements like that for achievements sake fine go for it, but never put unlocks behind them.


· Lack of single player game modes and local multiplayer: Let’s face it not everyone wants to do multiplayer all the time, some people would prefer to bring a couple of friends over to play a local multiplayer mode or just play alone against some bots. If these two things were in game it would more of the pick up and play type game the developer is going for. Heck if they made local multiplayer games have everything unlocked from the start but you don’t gain exp and nothing carries over to your actual progress it would be pretty fun as players would be able to experience everything the game has to offer without putting in the 500+ hours of work required to unlock it. I’m also sure there are players mainly the lower levels who want to avoid the high level players who would prefer to play single player games against a bot to level up as I’m sure it’s possible to replicate all three current game modes but replace the players with bots.


· Lack of developer communication: Everyone likes to know what the developer is up to or just want to hear him validate our concerns, but sadly the current amount of communication to his player base the developer does is often through private chats on steam. It nice the developer does reach out to players privately but it’s severely limits who can actually get a hold of him to have concerns validated. Personally I feel the developer should connect more with the SSL forums and steam forums by responding to the occasional bug or issue posted or responding to suggestions and such. Another thing that would help is the developer posting a dev blog on what’s he up to or what plans he has for the next updates and such so players aren’t completely in the dark and guessing what’s going on with the game.

 

It is usually that Kyle couldn't get an better game engine. Steam can handle even the best engines (ie frostbite) so Kyle get a better engine (maybe use unity).

This game is still too similar to ssl2 (gameplay). What can change rapidly but keep the style of ssl2? Add special weapons, abilities (passive and active), win streak rewards. Make scripting more complicated which means the mechanics would be more awesome. Delay the official release. Clans wouldn't help much but it's would be like some buffer.

 

no its kyle overestimating his game and underestimating our suggestions

not underestimating, more like ignoring the majority of

on another note, if we really wanted to sucker punch him with reality, we should mention how he asked us to leave positive reviews in one of our reviews

 

10 days since i got my item perk. IT STILL ISNT WORKING! Normally i wouldnt care much, but now i have to live with it for 20 days. Just 6 needed tokens doing nothing for 20 days.

 

It's so true it hurts... but then again, that's part of the reason I flipped my review to negative. Not because it is a bad game, but because kChamp is being foolish by not listening to us, the users who actually play, and the updates he has made recently are 100% useless.

 

I tried to warn you...

 

Wise-est of the wise. Well, I suppose it could be a game for forumers... but that is not what kChamp wanted to gain a good profit. This isn't getting off the ground anytime soon, I bet.

 

On top of that, It's almost like Kyle is intentionally making this a hard purchase for anybody unfamiliar with the series, which is really killing the game as there isn't anybody to play with. And no, Kyle is not trying to market the game just towards fans. He's already asked for positive reviews to "help new players find the game" and is already considering putting out a free demo. You would think with the ridiculous price and non existent marketing he's purposefully aiming for only crazy people like us to buy the game, but it's pretty clear otherwise that he wants new people to enjoy the game as well.

I feel like the game could get a little bit of a boost by making two REALLY simple changes

-Make the game $5
-Make progression 5 times as fast

There is no way that a game like this could cost more than $5 for the average consumer. It's more like a minigame than it is an actually fully fleshed out game. Nobody is their right mind would pay fifteen dollars for it.

Also, it shouldn't take literally 500 hours to get to max level in a game that has prestige in mind. That's outrageous. Just cut literally all progression to be 5x as fast. Levels should be 1/5th of the requirement they used to be, items in the shop should be 1/5th as expensive, and weapons should require 1/5th of what the require now. I shouldn't have to play this game for more than a few hours without any new things to play with. The game is just really boring. Making progression faster would fix half the problem.

But even if these two miracle changes actually happened, the game would still likely be destined to die. The gameplay is just really stale. There's almost no strategy, there's almost no variation, there's almost no emergent gameplay. And that emergent gameplay can be pretty vital for a multiplayer based game, but SSL has none of it. A pretty major breakthrough has to happen if this game is to go anywhere.

 

Your last paragraph just summarized the problem of the game

 

Yes the game needs changes and yes it does need more of everything really but it is in beta
I repeat
IT IS IN BETA!!!!
Changes will happen peoples, just hold your ponies >.>

 

After playing on steam for a several weeks I would like to put in my two cents. My immediate reaction to the game was that it had a much lower skill gap. In the steam version upgrades give higher level players such an advantage that it is actually impossible to compete. I'm not saying higher level players shouldn't get rewards, some of the upgrades are just a bit excessive. For example, being able to upgrade your tank to have 300 armor? That is actually insane: it should not be more than 100. The gun upgrade is also incredibly over powered, allowing higher players to completely outgun lower players without any extra skill. Players definitely need to be rewarded for there progression, but these features need to be toned down.

Touching on some of Towels points, I agree that this game should not cost 15$. Being the simple flash game that it is, a price of 5$ is perfect and certainly no more than 10. I actually believe Kyle would make more money if he made the game 5$, as I have talked to many people that would love to get the game but simply do not have enough money to buy it. The leveling system in this game is also much slower than SSL2. There are several factors that contribute to this. First off, pretty much every player that is willing to pay for this game had deluxe in SSL2 and was used to the 2x xp. Also the removal of points mode has made it much more difficult to get xp. I remember going into a 1v1 30 turn points game with a friend and pulling 400xp per game. There needs to be some way to get more xp, with some of the suggestions I gave, or simply giving players more xp per match through various bonuses. I also have to agree that the challenges in this game are completely useless. Your telling me I'm going to win 50,000 matches (which is pretty much impossible) and your going to give me 500xp? That sure makes me want to go for the challenge. I would also love for Kyle to be more involved with the forums and the community as a whole. He really underestimates the community here and I don't think he realizes that at least half of his revenue comes from the people on the forums.

Now I would like to conclude by saying that this game is still in beta and I am not going to give up on it while it is still in beta even though I have not played it in the past week. Through the updates I have seen the future of this game is not looking very bright, but on the upside I love the core mechanic of the game and with some simple changes this game could be as fun, or even more fun than SSL2.

 

Let's make a deal with Kyle if official version isn't any much better lets hit it

 

I agree with everyone except those who're kissing the game's and Kyle's ass.

Since nobody has tagged Kyle on the thread I'll do so. @kChamp

By then it's too late. Games generally don't get a dramatic change after an official release.

 

We made enough of these 'summary' of what we need in the game. Yet Kyle keeps adding crappy updates like the so-called global rank (the game isn't even that big) ignoring the unfinished projects such as clans and victory songs.

By all means, he gives zero poo.

He's making the game worse and worse per update, constantly launching a new buggy feature that just gives pointless kb to the game. Kyle, for the sake of your own game, finish what you start.

P.S. He once said he'd beat CS:GO in-game..... lol ok

 

Most useful comments imo:

$15 is an absurd price for a glorified flash game.
500 hours is an absurd time requirement for a glorified flash game.

Fixing these two things will increase incoming players as well as the number of "regular" players.

The community is trying to help him determine the right changes. As Kyle himself said, SSL has always been community based. If no one said anything, ever, the game would never have made it to Steam. Also, I find your unpopular brony idiom annoying.

 

I meant if the official release isn't much better than the beta lets bail.

We could use gears to upgrade the weapons at low cost and based on its ability on offense.



-The map shouldn't just be base on the size of the screen. The map should be expanded like a virtual world but in 2D.

-Status Effect this could be implement to the game. A CONCUSSION GRENADE could affect the opponent power and angle. FLASH BANG (grenade) could make the opponent lose a turn. ICE could force the any opponent when traveled on to lose traction and required to use up more fuel.

-ASSAULT WINSTREAK after your third win you will get a reward to be used during a match. ROLL THE DICE (3) gives you a random mix of gears, permanently gives you a weapon to be used during the next match (cooldown 3 turns), Kevlar armor lets you receive less incoming damage on your next match. CARE PACKAGE (4) gives you a random winstreak but usually score a less value. SENTRY (4) lets you place a turret near your tank for you or AI to control during your turn. HOMING MISSILE (5) goes to your desired target when fired. NBK (6) after your kill your next shot will gain +50% extra damage. SANTA CLAUS WITH A GUN (17) an AI controlled gunship that shoots at enemy during your turn and drops 3 randomized winstreak rewards. These rewards should be for mostly attacking. Resets when lose a match.

-SUPPORT WINSTREAK after your fourth win you get a reward to be used during a match like the assault version. ROLL THE DICE (4) same functionality but rewards at 4 since it doesn’t reset. AMMO TRUCK (5) gives 5 extra weapons to your team. STASIS FIELD (6) any shot that would do over a high amount of damage in your area will automatically be neglected. Doesn't reset but has less choices.

A simple and easy game to play and be scripted could get boring but if someone just think outside the box and Kyle actually worked harder to program these sophisticated codes in Java then I don't have to continued this...

 

Yes, there needs to be some changes:
Perhaps some matched skills matchmaking;
With random matchmaking giving you a bit more EXP
See if kChamp can do a free weekend and do a 66% off sale ( bring the price down to 5 bucks for about 70 hours)


Plus, when you have a free weekend, it will appear in player's libraries and on the store page....

 

The largest problem at the moment isn't a lack of fancy features. It's getting people to purchase the game. Additional features can come later once enough people who like this particular niche of a game play it.

Broken features and needed fixes/qualifications will (hopefully) be weeded out during BETA. Imo, these changes should make it a casual and fun game, not an bland MMO grind fest. Given, as Dec mentioned, there should be a competitive side, but people should first play casually.

Given, the game is in BETA... but what happened to BETA happen could easily happen to the main release.

 

People are focusing on too many insignificant details rather than major ones that will bring more players and keep the players it already has happy. For instance Firing range. Like do you honestly think the FIRING RANGE changed how much players like the game? No, so I'd recommend saving those suggestions until later. I think that in order to get this game thriving we need to focus on creating positive attention from the audience. Things like new weps, tank parts, colors, minigames etc. These are things that hold the attention of a player longer because its something new, practical, and easy to get and use. Bombardments of missing 5XP every once in a while isn't helpful at this stage of the games development. Missing a WHOPPING 5 XP on a rare occasion isn't going to make much difference in the amount of players and positive reviews. Also this probably isn't easy on Kyle, i mean after all he is Human. He has daily situations just like all of us, so its important to be supportive and positive rather than creating threads that discuss how the game is going to die.

 

How is painfully slow progression an insignificant detail? That is the main reason the game is extremely dull. Locking away half the game's content behind hundreds of hours of grinding is the worst thing to happen to this game.

 

This is what we needed to hear. Thank you.

$10 is still overpriced to be honest. Change it to $5 for now and return it back to $10 at the official release. It really isn't worth ten bucks.
Other than that I agree, sort of, yeah. Please post this on the community hub on Steam, too.

 

Thank you so much for the response, most of what you said is very reassuring.

I feel like the best way to give newer players a shot is to heavily modify the current weapon leveling system. New players and old players have completely different sets of weapons, and in the case of low vs high leveled players, the high leveled player will always have an objectively superior arsenal, giving them the upper hand. One of the great things about the flash versions was that even if you had the best weapons in the game, sometimes you had to put up with your shots and breakers. In the Steam version that is completely nullified, you don't have to make do with the bad weapons as much as you did before. That added a lot of depth to the game in what weapons you choose to use, but right now if you're a high level you will pretty much always have decent weapons to work with, compared to the newer players. Rather than the current system, make it so weapon tiers are independent of each other, rather than just obsoleting weapons like 3 ball very early on.

Also, honestly, I think the best price for the game would be something like $4.99. I don't know much about marketing, but I do know that a lot of people on Steam will buy a $5 game without a second thought. Besides, so many indie games are priced at $10 these days, you would be putting yourself way ahead of that curve very easily just by dropping those potential $5. If you think that's too little, I think $7-8 would be a fine price as well, but $9.99 is still pretty steep for what the game is at heart.

Otherwise, your plan seems pretty a-okay. 200k XP still does seem a bit steep, but I would be happy with that if the bumpers and portals were a bit more common as well.

One last very small thing, but I'd really like a way to mute victory tunes since it overlaps the music I listen to and there's no way to mute it without muting the entire game.

That's it from me. Godspeed

 

well gettting bored easily is one of the problems that im having already and its still at beta stage