Flashpoint review

[pvigo]

I'm back to days passing and no new Flashpoints appearing, so I guess that's that for the first DLC (and before any of you reach for your pitchforks, relax -- this is going to be objective).

The new stories were well-written, more mechs are always welcome and I liked some of the new little vignettes aboard the Argo (one of my pilots was injured for 19 days and my character found him wandering around the mech bay blaming himself for the mishap and they had a moment; aww). Bottom line for the plus column, what content there was was solid. I enjoyed it.

On the cons side, after having been stable prior to 1.3, the game's bugging again (no store access post-BSC, increased load times, enemy mechs appearing outside mission boundaries doing nothing, mechs losing CT but not dying, etc. etc.) Some of the Flashpoint missions were repetitive (literally played the same setup on the same map twice in a row), some of the "choices" were pretty thin and, increasingly, there is less room for any actual tactics (enemies appear right on top of objectives, or -- worse -- right behind you). But most of all, for the price tag and 6-7 months of development? Flashpoint was very short on content.

Don't get me wrong: I like what was there -- just feel there should have been more of it. For Urban Warfare, I hope HBS tightens up quality control and doubles down on the content.

 

[mjbroekman]

The BSC- bug seems to only occur if you put the BSC in storage. I have never put my BSC in storage and never had problems with the shops. There are bug reports on shop issues out there, please add your savegame, etc info to one or more of them to give HBS as much data as possible.

 

[jj284b]

One big issue i have observed with 1.3 is slowness all around with the game, longer loading times, longer black screens before loadings, everything takes a lot longer... and then i decided to try Turbine mod, and suddenly these things disappeared and game runs a lot faster and its even more stable now... so maybe Devs should check that mod out.. and maybe use same approach with the game to make it run better...

 

[Donvale]

One big issue i have observed with 1.3 is slowness all around with the game, longer loading times, longer black screens before loadings, everything takes a lot longer... and then i decided to try Turbine mod, and suddenly these things disappeared and game runs a lot faster and its even more stable now... so maybe Devs should check that mod out.. and maybe use same approach with the game to make it run better...

I'm on macOS and I have actually found the opposite, there is a graphics glitch with the headlights (I am on Intel so technically not supported, but it sure used to work) but otherwise 1.3 actually seems to run significantly better.
I have used Turbine in the past though and can attest to the incredible difference it can make!

For Flashpoint in general (well actually 1.3) I am quite amazed and how some areas of the game have been reworked and look MUCH better, the Sim game has had some great visual improvements, especially in the flight scenes etc... I suspect a fair bit of the effort has actually been spent on the 1.3 engine rather than Flashpoint.
I kind of consider Flashpoint to be a stepping stone of implementing the engine required to make the game far more extendable going forward, I expect future campaigns to consist of a series of connected Flashpoints instead of a single distinct item, this would also allow multiple concurrent campaigns to occur in a single game.

 

[pvigo]

I suspect a fair bit of the effort has actually been spent on the 1.3 engine rather than Flashpoint.

This was my impression as well. Extra content aside, it actually felt like 1.3 had a bigger impact on the game than the new DLC.

 

[Donvale]

This was my impression as well. Extra content aside, it actually felt like 1.3 had a bigger impact on the game than the new DLC.

Likewise, I do enjoy the Flashpoints as well though and I am certainly happy to have turned over some more money to HBS.
1.3 + Flashpoints has resulted in my played hours advancing from 170 to around 210 and it wouldn't surpise me if I get to 340 effectively doubling the value of the original game for me.
If every expansion + the associated engine changes they bring manages to this I'll be a happy man!

 

[EmptyPepsiCan]

I haven't gotten too far in career mode, but I like it so far. That said...

Load times used to be terrible, but eventually HBS got them to decent. Post Flashpoint/1.3 they're worse than they've ever been.

Suddenly my guys can't hit an undefended building at close range. Cleaning up my last base assault mission took 15 minutes. They missed so frequently that heat started to become a problem. I don't recall that being the case prior to the patch and expansion.

The writing needs another round with the proofreaders. There are quite a few little mistakes.

 

[HF22]

Another issue is the extent to which Flashpoints/1.3 are designed/balanced around the new career mode, to the exclusion of the existing campaign mode.

Especially in respect of the new reputation system.

 

[Havamal]

Another issue is the extent to which Flashpoints/1.3 are designed/balanced around the new career mode, to the exclusion of the existing campaign mode.

Especially in respect of the new reputation system.

Can you please list some specifics (in your opinion).
I've been playing them from campaign mode myself.

 

[Amechwarrior]

Can you please list some specifics (in your opinion).
I've been playing them from campaign mode myself.

Basically it's near impossible to dig yourself out of a "Loathed" hole with some factions due to global scaling not found in career mode.

Here's a suggestion thread that addresses the 4-5 threads in general that cover a lot of the same problems.

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-reputation-problem-1-low-reputation.1134610/

 

[Havamal]

Basically it's near impossible to dig yourself out of a "Loathed" hole with some factions due to global scaling not found in career mode.

Here's a suggestion thread that addresses the 4-5 threads in general that cover a lot of the same problems.

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-reputation-problem-1-low-reputation.1134610/

Ive seen all that.
People should always try to reference their own specifics though, for the Devs.

When we use our own words and thoughts we cast a wider net.

 

[HF22]

Can you please list some specifics (in your opinion).
I've been playing them from campaign mode myself.

Adding to @Amechwarrior point, the other two issue I have found in this regard are:

1. The skull ratings for the non-Alliance Flashpoints, which are more appropriate for when they turn up in career mode, rather than as post-game content in the campaign mode; and
2. The difficultly of getting an alliance with Kurita or Steiner in campaign mode, when there is almost never a Kurita or Steiner mission in the 3 available on each planet where they are active, as compared to career mode (where the higher number of missions per planet resolves that problem).

I know HBS runs its development on very little playtesting, but its painfully apparent on this point.

 

[Packrat]

I like the core of what's offered, but a lack of polish holds back its potential. That's been my view of the game since launch, and although the game got better over time, the latest major content drop added a ton of bugs and worsened optimization, not to mention typos and other minor stuff, and some bugs since launch still haven't been fixed despite being mere JSON edits.

HBS has spoken about how they're a small team on a tiny budget, so I suppose I'm saying that it shows. This extends to the game mechanics, too, which sometimes feel like "that's what we were able to do" rather than "that's the best way to do it".

 

[pvigo]

HBS has spoken about how they're a small team on a tiny budget, so I suppose I'm saying that it shows. This extends to the game mechanics, too, which sometimes feel like "that's what we were able to do" rather than "that's the best way to do it".

Agreed. In my mind, I've basically filed HBS in the same category as Egosoft or (pre-buyout) Obsidian and adjusted my expectations accordingly. And, small though they might be, I think they do a great job most of the time.

For my own part, the optimization doesn't bother me that much. I grew up back when patience was still a thing. But stuff like grammar omissions or game-breaking bugs do annoy me a little (former, because they're so easy to fix; and latter, because they sometimes get in the way of enjoyment of an otherwise fine game).

 

[AussieGiant]

For me Flashpoint has added a ton of content. The reason why is that I upped the difficulty. I've gone from 107 hours at campaign completion to 175 in a new career mode. I've only completed 4 Flashpoints in 70 hours. That's because it has been a total grind to get to this point. Getting my 2nd medium was huge. Getting my 1st heavy was even bigger.

This I imagine was HBS intention. If you are a solid to good player then by not upping the difficulty and making it a challenge you will whiz through it.

 

[Donvale]

For me Flashpoint has added a ton of content. The reason why is that I upped the difficulty. I've gone from 107 hours at campaign completion to 175 in a new career mode. I've only completed 4 Flashpoints in 70 hours. That's because it has been a total grind to get to this point. Getting my 2nd medium was huge. Getting my 1st heavy was even bigger.

This I imagine was HBS intention. If you are a solid to good player then by not upping the difficulty and making it a challenge you will whiz through it.

This is me as well, Career + Difficulty + Ironman + Flashpoints is a totally new, much harder, more fun experience for me!
With the difficulty ramped up the Flashpoint rewards really mean something so your willing to risk doing them when your still a bit under done. Unfortunately I suspect the dreaded Steel Beast store bug may have just wrecked it for me, here's hoping that one is solved sooner rather than later!