New World: Merge Day and Community Q&A

 New World is gaining momentum again. The server merges are scheduled for tomorrow, March 27th. Following that, the Season 5 update will be released next week on April 2nd. Additionally, the March community  Q&A update has been released.  Let's dive in!

 First, the server merge that is relevant to me.  US East/Castle of Steel is merging into Valhalla.  I am not deep into the server politics or war scene anymore so that aspect is irrelevant for me (though I am sure it will cause some grumpy faces for others).  What I like about merge days is the interruption to my daily routines.

 I have a consistent set of open world runs I like to go on.  I am not talking about elite chest runs; I am talking more about areas of the world I like to hit up and usually do so the same time every day.  With the merges I will get to see new faces and as I'm PvP flagged 90% of the time that means the fight may be on!

 Also with merge days comes the collision of trading posts.  In the past I'd have spent the better part of the week before merge scouring for deals to buy low and sell high post merge. This time around I am not putting that level of effort in but I do have stockpile of stuff ready for merge day.  I am also sitting on 300,000+ gold which is 200,000 short of the cap for gold so I can't generate too much wealth until the Season 5 update when gold cap updates to 1,000,000.

 The developers also took time away from Game Developers Conference (GDC) to give our March community Q&A.  

 I found this update to be refreshing and it restored some hope.  Nothing major was said but the team was more blunt in their responses which was helpful.  For example the team finally said "we are not working on adding daggers to the game" vs past statements that were wishy-washy such as "we think daggers are cool yadda yadda" which lead players to keep asking for updates on daggers.

 In that list of more definitive statements the team confirmed:

• Daggers, as noted, are not being worked on
• They are working on PvP updates for the game; more to come in the June announcement
• They are NOT talking about the June update at this time
• They are NOT working on a new OPR (outpost rush) map
• They are NOT working to change town buffs
• They are going to get rid of the perfect salvage pop up
• We will get cross server 3v3 arenas in 2024
• They believe they have a fix for the title spam on changing game modes for Season 5 (4/2)

 For me these answers were a breath of fresh air.  I liked the answers.  I continue to enjoy that the team confronts negative feedback and "stick to their guns" on topics.  I am frustrated like other players we have to wait for June for the next big info dump but at least they are confirming PvP is part of that update.  They seem excited about the big announcement so that gets me excited.

 This time next week we'll be playing Season 5 and fighting in the new combat code/animation system.  I am glad they chose 4/2 instead of 4/1 so we can all be spared the April Fools jokes should another delay occur.

 

Steam Backlog: Borderlands 2

 This post is part of my running series: My Steam Backlog (see all MySteamBacklog tagged posts).

 With the lull in activity for New World I am back at it in my backlog of games on Steam.  Today I booted up Borderlands 2 and an hour later uninstalled it.  Here's my thoughts.

 This was actually my second go around at Borderlands 2 and it didn't take long for me to remember why I stopped playing the first time around.  For context, I loved the original Borderlands.  It was a fast looter shooter and was over before it overstayed it's welcome.  Borderlands 2 on the other hand bogs down as soon as you start.  The looting and shooting is still there but there is a good bit of waiting inbetween.

 To go along with the waiting I also had some technical issues.  Changing resolutions and windowed kept causing the game to not launch properly.  Then while playing, no matter the settings, I kept getting stutters intermittently.  Mouse sensitivity was all over the place and I was never able to figure out what was up between the game's settings  and my mouse's DPI settings.  I don't have issues in other games.

 Throw in technical issues and an early reminder starting a new game that there is a bit of waiting and I was bored fairly quickly and moved the game to uninstalled.  For the purposes of my Steam backlog though it is off the list!  Glad I picked it up in a sale :)

 Some screenshots:

Oh... ah... pretty sky!

I do like the intro screens but they are a bit too common to start the game out.

I do like the intro screens but they are a bit too common to start the game out.

Oh look a quest where... all I do is... wait?

Oh look... another quest where all you do is... wait?

I do like the intro screens but they are a bit too common to start the game out.

By the background you can see I was in the middle of shootin' when this game tip popped up freezing the action.

Spring Break Recap

 I'm back from Spring Break.  We hit the aquarium, zoo, museum, and a Lego Discovery Center.  Oh and I reminded the family of my gamer greatness by winning at Ticket to Ride New York.  Also lots of fishing; got my kids onto a school of crappies.  Love watching the 5 yo catch fish back to back to back to back to back to back (easily caught 100 of them through the week).

New World Season 5 Patch 4/2

 Back from Spring Break and New World has a patch date for Season 5/Season of the Guardian: April 2nd!

Spring break from the blog!

 I am off to spring break vacation!  See y'all in a week!  

A little AI fun as we go out the door:

AI: Microsoft co-pilot

Prompt: a gamer going on vacation

Result:

Certainly! Here's a playful depiction of a gamer embarking on a well-deserved vacation:

🎮🌴 Gamer's Vacation 🌴🎮

In the pixelated world of games,
Where quests and battles endlessly unfurl,
Our dedicated gamer, controller in hand,
Decides it's time to escape the digital whirl.

🌅 Destination: Sun-kissed shores,
Where palm trees sway and waves gently kiss,
No respawn points or save files here,
Just golden sands and ocean's bliss.

🕶️ Gamer dons shades, inventory intact,
Sunglasses as epic as legendary loot,
They trade their headset for a sun hat,
Ready to explore, adventure afoot.

🏖️ Beachside quests await:
1. **Sandcastle Construction**: Gather resources,
   Build fortresses against the tide's assault.
2. **Seashell Collection**: Rare shells hidden,
   Like legendary drops, waiting to be caught.

🌊 The gamer wades into azure waters,
   Swims like a mermaid, no lag or latency,
   The sun's rays level up their tan,
   XP gained: Vitamin D proficiency.

🍹 At the Tiki Bar, they order a potion:
   **Mango Mojito +10 Refreshment**,
   Sip, recharge, and watch the sunset,
   Pixels fade, reality's enchantment.

📸 Selfie time! Gamer strikes a pose,
   Sand between toes, joy in their eyes,
   Caption: "Logging off, embracing life,
   Vacation mode: Activated. 🌴✨"

And so, our gamer finds balance,
   Pixels and pixels of a different kind,
   For even heroes need a break,
   To recharge, reset, and unwind.

🎮🌴🌊🕶️🏖️🍹📸
```
Bon voyage, gamer! May your vacation be legendary! 🌟🎒🌞

No New World expansion this year?

 Some keen Reddit faithful caught a developer quote in the New World Discord.  In the Discord message NW_Kay made a statement that there was no planned expansion for this year.  This is a very odd way to make a very big announcement during a time when New World is losing player interest.

 We don't have a road map for 2024 and the next road map update was delayed until June "for something big".  If there is no expansion then what is "something big"?  As mentioned in my recent posts the assumption is that console is the "something big".   

 I am honestly losing my patience here.  I am the faithful defender of New World and the dev team.  I think there is a lot of negativity that is unwarranted about the game and the developers.  New World is a fun game even if it hasn't held player interest at a level I'd expect.  It's biggest downfall is just being unable to pump out content to match player pace of consuming that content.

 If the "something big" is just a console release that is going to break me.  That would be the dumbest thing to be hyping up if there is no major content expansion to come with it.  I really hope by "no expansion" they mean there won't be a paid expansion but we will get some major content updates this year.

 Also how on earth did NW_Kay get in a position to haphazardly drop a reply like this in Discord?  I never want to discourage developer interaction with the community but this isn't interaction... this is leadership level decisions being casually dropped in a community discord.  Why even touch this comment... the user wasn't even asking a freaking question.

 /sigh

Friendship ended with Wooting 60HE

 Friendship ended with Wooting 60HE and friendship started with Wooting 80HE! Well not started yet, but the Wooting80HE is entering it's founders period today and I'm jumping on the buy button if I can snag one!

80% layout!? WTF!

 As I've said before playing with my Wooting 60HE feels like cheating.  I gave up my old Glorious GMMK to my teenager when I moved to the Wooting and the few times I go to use his PC I immediately miss my Wooting.

 While I love my Wooting 60HE I have to admit I am not a fan of the 60% layout.  I really liked the 75% layout of the GMMK.  The good news is Wooting is bringing us a bigger layout with the 80HE with all of the other features I've come to enjoy and rely on to be the l33t gamer that I am (not really)!

 In classic Wooting fashion they couldn't just be like the rest of the world and give us a standard 75% layout and instead landed at an 80%.  It is hard to say what actually makes the up the 5% difference and there was a small uproar in the keyboard community about the placement of the arrow keys (too far to the left).  The arrow keys will be moved to the right slightly in the final version.

 For me I just want my F# keys back and arrow keys.  As much as I've adapted to using customized key settings and the FN key on my 60HE I will be happy to be back to just using an F key or an actual arrow key.  Also delete instead of FN + Backspace will be nice.

 Of course all of the other Wooting goodness will be there and I'll still be legally cheating in all the games I play because of it :)

New World New Low

 New World is hitting new lows in peak concurrent player counts.  The game that launched at 900,000+ peak concurrent users is now dipping to 6,000 with a peak just short of 15,000.  Here are some thoughts on what is going on.

 

Low!

 I am writing this post a day after Season 4 was supposed to complete and Season 5 was supposed to launch, but as I posted previously that plan was delayed.  Also we still don't have the road map for 2024 and won't have it until June at the earliest. This is one of the drivers to the low numbers: there isn't anything new to do or to look forward to in the game.

 Content and the promise of new content continues to be king in the MMO genre and New World has slowed down in it's content creation and been unable to tell us whats next.  The most recent major content drop was the Rise of the Angry Earth back in October 2023 but it was more of an appetizer than an actual meal.  Most players moved through it within a week.  We got a new expedition with Season 4, but for many players there wasn't more than a couple hours of experience.  

 So Season 5 getting released will help right?  Not really from a content perspective.  Season 5 is bringing a new 10-man trial but that is going to be short form content. The Season pass itself  is not really content.  Some new artifacts will interest players, but are more reasons to do old content than new content.  There is nothing meaty in Season 5 to bring players back or for players to invest in.

 This doesn't mean the New World team isn't doing anything.  In Season 4 they launched cross-server expeditions with an improved group finder.  This is a key tech to ensure players can get into content more reliably; especially with the lower player population playing currently.

 Also with Season 5 they are launching a rewritten combat system which is a major overhaul to the combat code and offers a promise of better changes and faster bug fixes in the future.  This no doubt took a tremendous development effort and getting it right is a likely reason Season 5 has been delayed.

 Controller support is also part of Season 5 which is speculated as a precursor to June's road map update announcing a launch to consoles.  A console launch could also explain why not much other content has come out recently as the team is busy on the changes needed to support consoles. 

 There is a debate to have if a console release is about New World itself or about the underlying Azoth Engine and future games being console ready from day one. My honest opinion about a console launch is that it has to come with a massive content update. If all that the team brings forward is a console release of the current game it will affirm that the diversion to console support was about other games than New World.

 However, if we get a console launch + a big content expansion it will say a lot about New World's future.  I am hopeful this is where we are headed because personally I am finding myself playing New World less and less even though I really do enjoy the game. 

New World Woes

 New World Season 5 is delayed.  This announcement comes within shouting distance of the recent news that the game's next road map update is delayed from May to June.  "Woe is me" sighs the New World fan.

Sigh

 The Season 5 delay was not unexpected.  The update has a major change for the game as the dev team has re-written the entire combat engine in a new scripting language called slayer script.  The team has said this change will allow them to move faster and fix more issues.  

 This is a good change for the game and sends a good message that AGS is dedicated to the game's future.  However, this is also the sort of change that a game cannot recover from if it launches poorly.  This is a rewrite of the combat system which is the core experience that New World offers and what sets it apart from other games on the market.

 Having played on the PTR (public test realm) with the changes I can agree that a delay was needed.  The combat does feel like it is improved and there is a lengthy list of bugs they have fixed with the move to the slayer script.  It does seem like the team can move faster and fix more with the scripting change. There is a but coming though: the combat doesn't feel right yet on PTR.

 It is hard to put it into words.  For me the main issue is that melee combat still feels off in PvP.  Melee attacks still struggle to register a hit just like they do in the current system.  PvE seems fine, if not improved over all, as things feel snappier and cleaner in dense combat situations.  That doesn't seem to translate to PvP where something is just not there yet with the changes.  

 I do admit this could just be my thousands of hours of experience with the current live game compared to just a couple hours on PTR.  Regardless; I want to get my hands on PTR again with the next set of changes so I feel comfortable the release isn't going to give any more ammunition to the negative-Nancy crowd.

 New World has to get this update right.  In a perfect world the season wouldn't be tied to the update so that we could get the new 10-man trial and get working on the next season pass, but I get that is not reality.  I will be patient.

Oh Helldivers...

 The Helldivers 2 developers took on their game's namesake and hell dived right into a hot steaming pile of community feedback with a discussion that is as old as time: nerf or buff.  Developers always land on nerf and players always end up on buff.

 I caught up to the controversy via Massively OP: Helldivers 2 tries to further explain recent balancing as players push back against nerfs.  The key quote pulled from a dev blog:

“I have since the game released seen many who say ‘Don’t Nerf, only Buff’ and other similar ideas. However as a designer I can tell you this is not a great idea, but I understand where the sentiment comes from. All too often in the games industry the core fantasy, and what makes a weapon feel good and fun, is ignored for the sake of Balance. I believe players are scared of Nerfs, because it will ruin the fantasy of a weapon, ruin their fun. It is extra important to us to tread carefully so that we don’t ruin fantasy and fun when we do nerfs. We hope you, our players, will tell us when we cross that line inadvertently.”

 The last part of that quote stuck out to me: "cross that line inadvertently".  This is basically saying "we are going to cross that line on purpose"; reinforced by the line before says when and not IF they implement nerfs: "when we do nerfs".  So we have developers here calling out their strategy is going to favor nerfs and they need the community to tell them when it's too far.

 As can be expected the community feedback was swift and loud.  Lifting a summary from Massively OP "with most arguing that nerfs shouldn’t be the first move in a PvE-only game".  That is a solid argument.  Helldivers 2 is a player vs environment game so an unbalanced weapon is not the same detriment as PvP.  The only one being hurt by the imbalance is a developer or two that have hurt feelings the toy they made isn't getting as much use.

 Which brings me to my thoughts here.  Reading the dev blog it is clear the developers have their idea on the fantasy (as they call it) of what a weapon should be in their game.  I am stressing their because as we can see by the community feedback it is not the general player's fantasy they are fulfilling.

 Also this whole fantasy comment is just odd.  I get that player's have an idea in their minds (aka a fantasy) of how something should work but do the developers really think players are so basic that their fantasy overrides that it's a game?

  What's the point of a game? To have fun!  So shouldn't fun win out over a perceived fantasy?  This is why sniper rifles in a Battlefield are balanced to not be equivalent to their real life counterparts (i.e. invisible and firing from a mile away).  Games make concessions to be a game all the time.

 I'm the type of gamer that is persuadable to agree with developers that "nerfs" are appropriate and a better design approach than thinking games can be buffed into balance (when does power inflation stop?).  If nerfs are appropriate, especially in a PvE game, then the reason will be obvious to most.  It does not seem that is the case in Helldivers 2 and the community is screaming the line was crossed.

 This attempt to hide the nerfs behind the fantasy is just nonsense.  Players want to have fun.  Don't take fun away.