From NWI's Steam store page...
"Insurgency: Sandstorm is a team-based, tactical FPS based on lethal close quarters combat and objective-oriented multiplayer gameplay.
Experience the intensity of modern combat where skill is rewarded, and teamwork wins the fight."
The second sentence amuses and annoys me the most at the same time.
Actually they fail at their own claim. Sorry.
Let's have a look at the reality (public servers).
I see a bunch of individuals widely scattered between the capture points.
Often there's a group rushing while more or less unaffected by bot resistance and the ones that have to move slow because of skirmishes on their way to the next point.
Selfish behaviour at the destructible ammo crates - some players blow up themselves or use rockets and hurt team mates to prevent their participation at this event.
Why does this happen?
Because...
---it's possible by design and...
---promoted by a still underdeveloped so-called A.I. as well as...
---highlighting purely individual achievements (which is o.k. for the statistic record but not for the team spirit)
Possible solutions?
Everything that makes it plausible / rewarding for the players to act more team oriented, helps to regroup, gives a reason to develop tactical behaviour and communication, requires problem solving.
Suggestions...
---increase capture times drastically
---increase handling times and effort at the ammo crates (also by enemy activities), let them burn much longer (30s+ instead of less than 10s now), exclude the use of rockets and artillery for their destruction - only "manually controlled / close distance" timed explosives allowed
---much more resistance at the cap points for the first ones arriving
---increase the time for grabbing the own ammo / equipment (no fast resupply)
---reduce resources slightly
---highlighting more team oriented achievements, less personal ones
I'm missing the achievement as a participant of a MVT - the Most Valuable Team.
No losses, all targets accomplished.
How does THAT sound?
A little bit more skill rewarding... tactical... team-based?
As valuable as custom servers are - it should not be their task alone to correct the situation.
It's not the amount (or lack) of maps that makes this game boring after a while - it's the current style of play.