RON 1.0 critique .. I need to cut my liver out and scratch it a bit

[SiD]

Past week I have been playing RON 1.0 Build quite a bit. The experience has been a bit of sweet and sour. On one hand, I'm happy that the game finally launched and packaged nicely with somewhat standard polish. It really has come a long way from EA launch in terms of ai, animation, level design and all the assets. I still remember the time where Swat would walk around stiff like that particular bipedal cockroach character from courage the cowardly dog, don't remember its name tho.

I'm just opening up this beehive to talk about what I feel worked or did not worked or never worked on. Hopefully devs might read it and maybe keep certain things in mind.

So good things about RON, a lot of it, I don't need to say it and good things are the reasons we all keep playing and talking about it, ain't it?
So moving on.

---->>> 1 <<<
V1.0 launch is marred with Optimizations problems, network problems so framelags tanks a lot due to network and Graphics combineds. Coop experience has been sour and lag spikes and frame dips quite a lot. DX12 mode solves somewhat for me but that's case by case basis. I hear some ppl have better time over at DX11, not for me.The optimization issue has come a long way since EA build and got really better during Adam update but now back in full force. Example would be from overall lag during coop play, host and client not seeing the same thing such evidence etc, client not able to do some actions etc.
I think it's time to address this once and for all. Host and Client mismatch has been the issue since early access.. can void fix it or it's out of their expertise? I see this as first high priority.

--->>> 2 <<<
AI problem. Yeah, at first I've been seeing a lot of AI complaints and didn't pay much attention but I was in early missions. But as soon as I hop onto coop and later stages, the AI is really unbalanced. My theory is that void had to re-engineer and re-balance AI as swat AI became much better. Were they simultaeniously working on Suspect AI to improve or upon having better swat ai, did they realize that balance was broken and simply just turn the slider up to 11 for suspect ai wholesale to compensate and quick fix? Because Suspect AI doesn't have that nuance they had during ADAM. They always immediately shoot and more robotic. it felt like playing insurgency sandstorm except, ai shoots better and you can't shoot back. But right now, optimization is the number 1 problem and AI is somewhat fixed with community mod that came out within a week.. So void, you had over a year, it's kinda not nice to get the balance wrong. Also what's stopping you from adding a difficulty slider-- normal vs hardcore. Technical skill issue? Commander mode can be made as painful as possible while Coop Mode can be more flexible. Not a lot of people, myself included doesn't have insane AI reflex like swat ai has now... so there has to be two different present function for both modes (online and offline with bots). In fact, if the host have control over how hard AI should be, how many suspects would be great.

This is for now the second highest priority problem with the game.

--->>> 3 <<<<

I appreciate the new maps but new maps and layout added on 1.0 kinda sucks. I can't help but put off by the what little variation each map has. The suspects placements are kind of same-ish every round and the lack of different layout or scenerio like last time AKA barricade suspects, raid, bomb threats. For multiplayer purpse and replayablity, they should be brought back.

Also, it's kind of mind-boggling that certain old EA maps are dropped. EA-Hotel, EA-Dealership, EA-Port, EA-Carriers of the vine should be brought back as optional missions for multiplayer and practice. Sure it doesn't make sense lore-wise but who cares. More map layouts on top of more scenarios for each maps makes for more time to enjoy and experiment runs.

Also the old Maps were superior in my opinion. They had variations in level progressions. To describe what i meant by then we'll have to look at new re-design of the maps. I'm talking about revamped maps like Karens of the vine, hotel, garage and port hokan. THEY ALL HAVE somewhat square-ish area in structure and sort of sub-divided with more squareish sections inside. It's kind of hard to explain in words but old maps have variations in progression.. open areas, funneled into long corridor point, open area with verticality to go to next point etc etc. Shapes of level areas if you will. New maps look more realistic and lived in but it's basically square area after another with varying sizes. Lesser Verticalities. Back in old farm, you start off from the below and slowly make way to upper court yard which surrounded by 3 building block pieces. In the new Karens of the vine, you are immedietly arrive at one of the buildings surrounding the courtyard and play in that squarespace. New Port Hoken was basically lounging about the container jungle then arrive at big warehouse with very little verticality. Sure there is a (vertical) tower you can enter from but it's not critical to the objectives and not a lot to be done there. Old Port Hoken has narrow passages infil, wide space, big warehouse areas then funnel into small spaces to go up where all our final objectives are locked at, it was a beautiful map and it feels butchered now. Basically new one is a big open spaces with boxes in between. I can tell you, I feel it and I don't like it. Maybe you were so far up in your environmental storytelling (modelling all that sex auction dungeon) and realism quest, you'd forgot the S-curve rule of Art. Did your old map designer quit or something? Oh yeah, school shooting map.. same issue. Just a very wide H.. Can't tell left wing from right wing...can go on endless about this new hotel map too but i'll control myself :D

But hey, afterall maybe it's just me. I don't mind the new maps but there was magic to be had in old maps and should be brought back. That's what i'm getting at.


These are my gripes.. Maybe think about it? Cheers~