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Wassup gamers,
Been playing Sandstorm since the Alpha and recently revisited Insurgency 2014 and Day of Infamy to study how I enjoyed them compared to ~2 years of Sandstorm playing. My conclusion ultimately is that Sandstorm is already now the better game, but is overall less consistently fun than the Source engine games.
What is my primary reason for concluding Sandstorm is better? Because the Ministry and soon to come Sinjar ports are superior to the originals in game and graphical detail. A close second reason is that map votes and team continuity are coming in the next release, a feature I believe will finally put Sandstorm over the top.
What is my primary reason for thinking the originals are more fun to play? Without question, the maps. While the original Sandstorm maps have their appeal and are fun to play sometimes, they are too large and become tedious and fatiguing to play relatively quickly. Second reason would be the lack of a map vote and team continuity, a sucky decision that has crippled the fun and bonding factor thus far.
That said, the developers have been clear that they are going to listen to the community, as they did in the earlier games, and I am pretty excited about the recent community announcement (#6), which will bring in the much needed voting-continuity, visibility into currently populated game modes, as well as an intriguing new system that will spawn both more hardcore realistic scenarios as well as fun, wacky, and nostalgic situations. Can I get pistol only push on ministry please?
If you have read this far, thank you, and I invite you to share your thoughts, reflections and twists on what was shared above, as well as what is shared below, ideas for improvement based on the originals and the fantastic Squad.
Ideas for Developers of how to improve the gameplay
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Import all original insurgency maps into the game, adding some new elements, and solving known spawn exploits of past.
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Dedicate some developer resources to work with the community to import in all Day of Infamy maps. How neat would it be to play those with the new weapons?
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Improve the original Peak map by making it more like the Manic map of Squad terrain wise, with lots of rock, tree, and crag cover, as well as bunkers and caves used as housong and caches by insurgents.
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Develop new, smaller maps that do not involve as much running around, improving the pacing without sacrificing the tactical element.
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Add in a mode similar to RAAS in Squad, with randomized capture points, which could apply to Push, Skirmish, Frontline, and Coop.
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Improve the drone system by giving the Commander or Observer control over drone flight via an attached camera/tablet setup.
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Develop new factions, with some unique and some overlapping weapon systems. Examples: Israeli Defense Forces, British/Canadian, Russian, German, Militia (similar to Squad). This of course includes new voiceovers.
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Refine the female "Kurdish" voiceovers - include the famous battle cry that scared ISIS fighters, and add in more bad-assery in respect to those badass female warriors.
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Give each faction, including the current Security/Insurgents more unique asymmetrical abilities. For example, along with drone control, insurgents get 2 motorbikes that can carry 2 passengers & allow the passenger to shoot while on the move with smg/pistol/grenades, security gets free light armor, IDF Advisors can have a CornerShot weapon, Militia can call in attack dogs, Russians can get the Spetznaz ballistic knife, etc.
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Specialize the classes a bit further. Including the drone control, ideas could be adding a single use medic option for a class that can revive a body within 10-20 seconds, 2 or 3 point claymores for demos or snipers, rifleman can deploy sandbags/barriers, laser pointer option for airstrikes, commanders can mark map for team etc.
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Give demolitions the option of carrying 4 HE grenades. Demo can already carry 2 HE and 2 rockets, so why not offer this as an alternate option of similar cost?
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Introduce ability to call for supply crates like in DOI, perhaps limited to single use per player
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Introduce a mode similar to DOI Commando Cooperative, with elite bot units using elite tactics mixed in with the regular bots, but without the slow movement of hardcore.
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Refine the voice call out system to be more tactical, and more colorful/fun.
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Add in some refinement towards destructible walls/furniture/items, as well as a limited yet tactical & realistic build system for unique cover.
I'm sure there are more ideas, but am excited to hear what you all think.