Ways to Improve and Revitalize Ren X

[RadicalEdward2]

 I just wanted to give some of my feedback on how to fix the game and give it some much needed freshness.

First things first, the level ups were cool but, I feel like they're a thing that kind of just come with the C&C territory. I'm not saying they're bad but the game needs more substantial changes to bring new life to the game (aside from new maps but that's another topic for another day).

These are just some suggestions I have:

1. Finally follow through with getting Viceroids into the game.

So far, I think I've asked about Viceroids like 3 times over the course of half a decade lol (once back in 2014, again this past February, and again now).

Granted it wouldn't be a playable character/unit but, it would add something actually new to gameplay and actually make Tiberium fields more involved outside of being a cash field/no-go zone.

To be honest, the lack of RNG for infantry to turn into Viceroids makes flamethrowers and chem troopers nothing more than glorified Flamethrower units with nothing else beyond a difference in stats to distinguish them. Or the fact that chem troopers are so indistinguishable from flamethrowers that they're just recolors of the laser chaingunners.

I know Viceroids aren't a major part of the game but they ARE a major factor behind why Tiberium is dangerous after all.

Also, its worth noting that Chem.Troopers would have something they can't destroy (at least not effectively).

Maybe flamethrowers could even be more effective at eliminating them.

The risk that Chem.Troopers and sprinting through Tiberium fields could spawn Viceroids (that CAN heal in Tiberium) would definitely added some much needed change to the game.

 

2. Offline Obelisks and AGTs could be reactivated (with a compromise) by having 2 or 3 Engineers charge the CMT.

I mentioned this idea ages ago but, when Power Plants are destroyed, the advanced base defense structure just becomes useless and yet, we're still allowed to repair them.

Like offline Tesla Coils in Red Alert 2, having multiple Engineers 'charging' powerless towers should reactivate them but, with a catch that could act as a double-edged sword.

While a team COULD reactivate their tower without their power plant, it would require 2-3 Engineers to keep the tower online. On top of that, the towers would work at a far less efficient capacity when compared to a fully powered one.

For example:

An Obelisk of Light would take twice as long to charge before it can zap a target while the AGT has a slower reaction speed when it comes to targeting enemy units before it opens fire on them.

In a way, this would give the crippled team a means of defending their base at the cost of having 2 or 3 less available players to aid on the actual battlefield (beyond defense); potentially doubling as a game changer for hours-long Field and Mesa matches.

 

3. Add 3rd person over-the-shoulder aiming

Ever since I first played the game, I was always bothered that aiming while playing in 3rd person switched the view back to 1st person iron sights.

If a dedicated Battlefront style over the shoulder aiming was added in-place of the switching to 1st person aiming, it would make playing in 3rd person feel more like a different style of gameplay and not a tacked-on feature that doubles as a means of peaking around corners (don't hide it, we all know that's all 3rd person is currently good for). Vehicles sort of already have this 'over the shoulder' zoomed in aiming; now its just a matter of ensuring that infantry have it too.

 

4. REPLACE THE ARTILLERY'S CROSSHAIR WITH THE GRENADIER'S CROSSHAIR

The artillery doesn't fire in a straight line like it used to in the original game; it arcs its shots.

The artillery NEEDS the rangefinding crosshair that the grenadier's use in order to properly make their shots because unless the target is within spitting distance of it, that crosshair isn't worth beans when it comes to being useful.

 

5. Increase the basic infantry pistol range

Using the screenshot above as a frame of reference, the pistol CANNOT reach targets from this distance.

Heck, I don't think they can his a player standing on the opposite end of a Nod airstrip.

I get the nerf in the range was probably for ""realism"" but, using Canyon for reference, the pistol can't even hit someone on the perch that overlooks the Silo (they sort of can but, you HAVE to be standing on the silo to actually hit them). I know pistols don't have quite the same range as rifles but, they should at least be able to fire further than a store-bought Nerf gun.

 

6. Reinstate passenger control of vehicle turrets (when the vehicle is unlocked but the driver is present)

Every vehicle in the game has at least one passenger seat because the original game had a designated gunner seat if a passenger was present.

I know not a lot of people want to hand over gun controls to their passengers but, the vehicle queue is almost always full in-game. If gunner position was bound together with the "Lock Vehicle" key, maybe there will actually be more players sharing vehicles instead of waiting in queue for their turn to use a vehicle.

On top of that, I feel like the APCs and Jeeps/Buggies are some vehicles that would definitely have benefits of having another player control the gun while the driver...drives. Granted, this feature isn't for everyone but, I don't see any reason why this teamwork-encouraging mechanic shouldn't be reinstated into the game.

 

7. Players should be able to give bots orders.

Online and Offline, bots just kind of do whatever they want.

At some point, maybe squad commands could be worked into the game so bots will actually follow orders when the player uses taunts like "Get In The Vehicle", "Get Out of the Vehicle", "Follow Me", etc. Anything that makes the bots look and feel more coordinated would be welcomed if it also benefits gameplay.

 

8. Better Vetted Map Rotations

No matter which server I play on, whenever Field or Walls is picked, the game is pretty much goes one of two ways, one team gets steamrolled OR the match lasts 2-8 hours.

I honestly think that some sort of cooldown should be added to the game so that other maps can actually be played. Maybe a 6-12 hour cooldown before a map can reappear in the rotation after its been played.

Almost every time I log on to play, the most active servers are playing Field and I can even check back in hours later and see that the same match or one almost indistinguishable from the previous one on the same map is taking place.

There's dozens of maps in this game that are more interesting than Field but, we keep ending up with Field being the only map ever being played. I can honestly say that I've unwillingly played more hours (days) on Field than I have on any other map in the game since I first started playing Renegade X. I would be surprised if the frequency of Field being played didn't play a part in hurting the number of people playing the game. I mean...I've had month long periods away from the game that I revisit it only to see that people are STILL playing Field instead of literally any other map in the game. I honestly can't remember the last time I've seen maps like Complex, Whiteout, Under, Volcano, or Outpost in the rotation. There's probably plenty of other maps that I'm missing but, Field is played so often that I can't even remember the names of the other maps.

 

These are just some bits of feedback I have for the game. I hope they help improve the game in some way for the better.

 

Edited April 16, 2019 by RadicalEdward2

[Goku]

The maps could be fixed reasonably easily. I will increase the excluded map size on the FPI server. But I'm against taking too much choice away from players.

If the majority of players vote for those maps they must like them. Personally, I like Volcano but it hardly gets voted for.

Point 1 and 6, you code a mutator for it ill be happy to trial it on the Test server for peoples opinions.

I don't really have a strong opinion either way about the other points.

Goks

[RadicalEdward2]

13 hours ago, Goku said:

The maps could be fixed reasonably easily. I will increase the excluded map size on the FPI server. But I'm against taking too much choice away from players.

If the majority of players vote for those maps they must like them. Personally, I like Volcano but it hardly gets voted for.

Point 1 and 6, you code a mutator for it ill be happy to trial it on the Test server for peoples opinions.

I don't really have a strong opinion either way about the other points.

Goks

I'm all for having choices but, Field is played so often and voted for so often that it almost seems like the illusion of choice.

As for mutators, I don't have the slightest idea how any of that stuff works. The probability of players turning into viceroids could probably use a similar RNG to the one used for making crates into nuke crates.

[NodSaibot]

5 minutes ago, RadicalEdward2 said:

I'm all for having choices but, Field is played so often and voted for so often that it almost seems like the illusion of choice.

As for mutators, I don't have the slightest idea how any of that stuff works. The probability of players turning into viceroids could probably use a similar RNG to the one used for making crates into nuke crates.

Issue isn't code side, it's all related to art. There's no one available to make these assets

[RadicalEdward2]

Just now, Sarah. said:

Issue isn't code side, it's all related to art. There's no one available to make these assets

ah. I don't know how to make models either but, is there even a post up about looking for modelers?

[NodSaibot]

Just now, RadicalEdward2 said:

ah. I don't know how to make models either but, is there even a post up about looking for modelers?

https://renegade-x.com/forums/topic/75589-looking-for-artists-join-us/

This is pinned in news section

[RadicalEdward2]

Is it on the facebook page too?

Also, do you guys have a moddb to post it to?

Heck, even a video would probably get the attention of some new talent to join the team

Edited April 17, 2019 by RadicalEdward2

[NodSaibot]

38 minutes ago, RadicalEdward2 said:

Is it on the facebook page too?

Also, do you guys have a moddb to post it to?

Heck, even a video would probably get the attention of some new talent to join the team

https://www.indiedb.com/games/renegade-x

I don't think it's on the page, but we aren't really needing much done in terms of art work anymore. We have most of the stuff made for the things we have planned, and I don't think recruiting anyone would change much. We have very high standards for art, and not many people want to devote the time needed to create art that matches our standards, and do it for free. 

Edit: However, we are always recruiting programmers ^^

Edited April 17, 2019 by Sarah.

[RadicalEdward2]

6 minutes ago, Sarah. said:

https://www.indiedb.com/games/renegade-x

I don't think it's on the page, but we aren't really needing much done in terms of art work anymore. We have most of the stuff made for the things we have planned, and I don't think recruiting anyone would change much. We have very high standards for art, and not many people want to devote the time needed to create art that matches our standards, and do it for free. 

I guess...but that's why I'm offering suggestions on how to improve the game

Sure there's no need for new art at the moment but, there's definitely stuff that's still missing in the Tiberium department that could improve the game and make it more like the original Renegade. I mean, there's always room for more/improvement.

[Madkill40]

Either HIHIHI or irs have worked on Passenger-controlled-turret mutator... Somebody is