RO Rising Storm with RO2 Expansion:

[Cpt-Praxius]

.... cuz that's what we have now.

• The splash screen / menu is all Rising Storm.

• The Music is now Rising Storm.

• http://store.steampowered.com/stats/
^ "Rising Storm/Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer" ~ RO2 is secondary.

• Rising Storm when bought includes RO2 for free

• If you own RO2 already, in order to get a similar deal, you have to pay more, or get a demo version of RS in amongst your RO2 gaming experience.

• There is a Map filter for RO2 or RS maps, yet since 98% of all servers will have both sets of maps, that renders the filter pointless. If you join in halfway through or near the end of an RO2 map, you can easily be switched right into a RS map and have to search all over again.

• Server admins have to actively remove RS maps from the list to provide an RO2 only experience.

• Since RS is the new, fresh thing.... we all know the greater majority of servers will be running mostly RS maps for the next while, especially with the XP boost promotion. I will now have an even harder time to find a decent RO2 gaming experience than I did before the Humble Bundle weekend, which player counts were at one of their lowest levels... but at least then I could still find a bot server to play on. Now I'll be lucky to even find that.

• The only real reason why RO2 got a big update with fixes was because they were affecting Rising Storm as well. While they made improvements to the AI, that's the same AI found on MP servers and in RS, so now they had to fix them up for a better experience for the new comers.

• RO2 development has been put on hold for the last few months in order for TW to focus entirely on Rising Storm. So will development for RO2 go back to normal or is it just going to be Rising Storm all the way from here on?

• They separated RO SP Campaign so it won't get messed up in the future from updates, which is good, but since RS purchasers don't get the SP Campaign of RO2 and only helps existing RO2 owners, it seems the SP Campaign is gradually being phased out.

• In order for new players to get the RO2 SPC they have to first purchase RO2, then purchase RS to get everything.... costing even more money for what some would consider as a waste of money just to get the SP Campaign.

• Those RO2 owners who don't buy Rising Storm get a limited (I'd like to call a Demo) version of RS where they can only play as a Rifleman and there is no level progression, which means you're always at a disadvantage against other players with better classes with higher levels..... hell they'll be below Bots in regards to how much they can contribute to their team.... at least bots can snap shot you in the head from halfway across the map.

• Because of this lite version of RS, RO2 owners get a broken gaming experience from coming from a full version game, to a highly limited one when the maps change over..... thus you're pretty much pressured in every single angle to buy Rising Storm.

• Even if you don't have any interest in Rising Storm, you still end up having to download a pile of files and fill your HD up with Rising Storm.

Lets see.... did I miss anything??

Yeah, apparently TW thought it made sense to not split up the community and merge both games together... and to a small degree I can understand this frame of mind.

But it's coming at a dramatically huge disadvantage to RO2 and those who truly enjoyed RO2.... and to those who had little to no interest in Rising Storm.

I think it's safe to say that we're looking at the game Rising Storm, with an expansion of RO2.

Understandable from a business point of view, as a US based FPS will sell a hell of a lot better in the US than some game about two forces that are not Americans...... and TW is based in the US after all, and after RO2's shaky short life, it makes sense for them to put all their chips behind RS.

So I felt a bit burned when RO1 came out and things I liked in ROCA were changed..... but I got over it.

Then RO2 came out and players from RO1 felt burned from the changes in RO2.... which I liked because they reminded me of ROCA.

And now here I am again in the same seat where it appears a game I actually enjoyed is getting bastardized yet again and taken away...... and I kind of feel like those RO1 guys who complained this whole time.

So

I guess we can say goodbye to RO2 now??

I mean, since RS is getting such a better response from players than RO2, shall we just keep seeing more development towards RS and RO2 will be left to the community? Let's keep in mind that the reason why RS is getting a better response is because all the bad kinks and most of the performance/bug issues were fleshed out during Ro2's life.... and it's RO2 that suffered the most. I'm sure that if RO2 was released in a similar condition as RS, things would have been much more different for RO2.... but it seems RO2 took the bullet and RS is reaping the rewards.

Or will TW finally turn around and look back at RO2 and try and bring it back to the glory it deserves??

I came into here for Red Orchestra, I stayed because of Red Orchestra... and now it seems like Red Orchestra is gradually being phased out. When I load up Red Orchestra... all I see is "Rising Storm"

I mean hell, you couldn't at least try and balance the identity of RS/RO2?? The design of the merger is if to make the viewer forget RO2 even existed..... like a tumor that needs removing.

I just hope my concerns about RO's future are not as bad as I think they are.... but there's not a lot of clarification on TW's end regarding these concerns.

Everything being said does not align with the actions being taken.

 

[SQBsam]

I don't think that's quite the case, RS has some fantastic gameplay features but I think RO2 still has scope and urban combat. It's my belief that everybody was just getting a little bit tired of playing the same old maps, so now we're all in RS.

If it goes like DH (which I hope it does, DH was far and above better than Ostfront, and the same thing happened on its launch) then soon enough the player numbers will head back to something like 55-45 (RS-RO2).

 

[Cpt-Praxius]

I don't think that's quite the case, RS has some fantastic gameplay features but I think RO2 still has scope and urban combat. It's my belief that everybody was just getting a little bit tired of playing the same old maps, so now we're all in RS.

If it goes like DH (which I hope it does, DH was far and above better than Ostfront, and the same thing happened on its launch) then soon enough the player numbers will head back to something like 55-45 (RS-RO2).

Thing is.... I never cared for Darkest Hour either.... while I liked ROCA more than RO1.... I still liked RO1 a lot better than DH.

 

[Adenru]

Opinions will be taken into account in Rising Storm 2
I thought they will finally concentrate on expanding RO2 after RS is done, but now it's more like they try to ditch it in favour of RS.

 

[Sora364]

I agree with almost everything here. As stated above, player base will probably go around half-half for both games...

I just hope that TWI continues updating RO2 instead of completely phasing it out and only doing stuff for RS (and doing more things for RO vets). I haven't been able to find any servers running RO2 maps today, but that's probably because it's release day.

It'll take time, but I'm sure they'll find some way to balance the two games out... we just gotta wait

 

[Herr Doktor]

I'd like to think TWI go back to Ro2 so they can finally deliver on all those promises that were made.

 

[jan610]

RS might be fun for some people, but I prefer the eastern front.
I only bought RS because they said it was standalone expansion.
Im dissapointed in the way things are now.

 

[Cpt-Praxius]

RS might be fun for some people, but I prefer the eastern front.
I only bought RS because they said it was standalone expansion.
Im dissapointed in the way things are now.

I bought Rising Storm simply because I didn't want to get borked by this whole "Rifleman Nerf Ya" thing..... and I figured I might as well get sucked into the 40% off discount for pre-order rather then eventually get completely fed up with the Rifleman Nerf later on when maps changed over, and end up paying more for something I never wanted.

 

[Kowalczyk]

I agree and I hope things pick up again for HoS.

I mentioned my feeling in the poll I posted in the Ideas section, it kind of sucks to have the focus on RS in the main menu at the expense of HoS.

 

[EvilHobo]

Thank you, Cpt-Praxius, for posting what I was thinking because I certainly wasn't going to say it.

 

[Randy Newman]

blah blah blah blah blah
Yeah, apparently TW thought it made sense to not split up the community and merge both games together... and to a small degree I can understand this frame of mind....

You know Praxius, you have a talent for being incredibly long winded

The part I just quoted outweighs all the other stuff that you said by a factor of atleast 10 to 1 (in my opinion). "To a small degree" Praxius? Come on. Get it through your head in a large degree.

They did not want to split the community. Everything else you said, is, I think, completely and utterly outweighed by the fact that the community is still together. So much so that I call the rest of your post irrelevant.

But hey, thats just me.

Its funny, normally I am inclined to agree with you. On this issue, I completely and utterly disagree.

Edit: I do miss the old RO2 menu though and to some extent I sympathise with you that RS seems to be the new "face" of RO2. But...this is relatively minor to me. I am just happy that we have tons of new players and awesome new content.

 

[Steppenwolf]

I have no general problem with the actual stronger focus on RI. It is new and as the OP said it is better for actual marketing in the home market (thought playing as bad *** 'nazi' is more popular then as US marines ... even for the US audience ).

But I hope TWI will treat both game parts equal after some weeks.

 

[Cpt-Praxius]

You know Praxius, you have a talent for being incredibly long winded

That's because I pay attention to what's going on and like to make sure everything is covered.

That and I type as fast as I can think of the words, so I can fit more inside a shorter period of time.

The part I just quoted outweighs all the other stuff that you said by a factor of atleast 10 to 1 (in my opinion). "To a small degree" Praxius? Come on. Get it through your head in a large degree.

They did not want to split the community. Everything else you said, is, I think, completely and utterly outweighed by the fact that the community is still together. So much so that I call the rest of your post irrelevant.

But hey, thats just me.

Indeed.. that is just you.

In a small degree, I can understand why they did this... but in the larger... more grand scheme of things, this is only going to cause more problems then it is going to solve.

It's only been a few hours and already the Steam Discussion sections are flooded with confused, frustrated and annoyed players.

Some are frustrated that they have to run RO2 to play RS.... others are frustrated that they had RS shoved down their throats when all they wanted was RO2.... and others have no idea wtf is going on.

Then you come in here and already you have a group of players agreeing with my point of view. Believe it or not, there are a number of us who had no interest in playing or owning Rising Storm.... yet here we are with Rising Storm none the less.

There have been a number of things I called out beforehand that have eventually come true. Just you wait and see in the next few days..... or even give it a week or two and I bet you dimes to doughnuts that this act of throwing both games together is not going to benefit anybody in the "Bigger Picture"

I've been in the Marketing, Advertising / Identity and a slew of other industries for the last 15 years to know how it all unfolds with consumers..... if this doesn't start to rip the community apart between one group wanting to play one game and the other playing the other.... then it's going to end up as one group taking over (Rising Storm) with the minority being pushed out the door (Red Orchestra)

If they just left them both separate in the first place, there wouldn't be any issues to complain about. Darkest Hour and RO1 did just fine on their own (even though DH was a free mod)

Rising Storm has less content now at release than RO2 did at its release.... RS has more of a player base right now than RO2 because it's new.

Both have their advantages, and it would seem that TW thought it'd be a good idea to throw them together so that RO2 would get RS's player base while RS got RO2's content to keep it afloat until new content came along.... which hints towards TW continuing their focus on Rising Storm for the next while, if not, for now on.

In doing this, they're now going to make the whole game experience a real pain in the arse for most players, both new and old.

Solve one problem, create several more.....

Yes, there are a number of players in here who love the idea of having it all together as they want to play both games, but there are others who just wanted to play Rising Storm or Red Orchestra 2..... now they'll end up having to play both whether they want to or not.

If they just kept the games separate in the first damn place, then those who wanted to play one or the other could..... while those who wanted to play both could easily do so by clicking a few extra buttons.... big deal.

Those who enjoyed RO2 could keep playing RO2.... those who enjoyed RS could buy RS and keep playing RS.

Instead everybody who owned RO2 is forced to buy RS (re-word it anyway you want, they're being forced), while those who just wanted RS are forced to have RO2.

Sounds like a nice deal?

Actually it's not. It might be for some people who want that kind of thing, but not everybody does.... and I sure as hell didn't sign up for Rising Storm being integrated into the Red Orchestra 2 I pre-ordered back in 2011, let alone taking the game over via its splash screen, music, servers, Steam stats, game title and everything else.

Hell, look at the game...

"Rising Storm / Red Orchestra 2 Multiplayer"

Rising Storm is the first and foremost aspect of the entire identity.... it's the first image you view when looking at the game icon.... it's the first and only thing you see when you load the game up and for the first god know how long it'll be... it'll be the only game available on most servers.

RO2 is getting the shaft in every which way and becoming the runner up.... the side kick..... a second rate side show.

Add to all of that.... What does it tell new players when they are handed RO2 for free when they buy Rising Storm? It's free.... it must be pretty crappy compared to RS.

Everything Market-wise is pointing at Rising Storm being the new thing and RO2 being phased out and put on the back burner. They even said RO2 was put on the back burner while they worked on RS..... seems like there was a lot more meaning to that now.

Its funny, normally I am inclined to agree with you. On this issue, I completely and utterly disagree.

It happens.

 

[nymets1104]

I too share many of Praxius' opinions. In a matter of hours RO2 has become RS. The identity if RO2 is gone and whether you wanted it or not you have to take a spoonful of RS everytime you log on. TWI didn't want to split the community so they simlpy forced everyone to play RS. Maybe in going forward mods should not be released like this and simply made an optional addition.

Side note: I like Rising Storm but I am here because of Re.d Orchestra 2

 

[Moskeeto]

I don't necessarily agree with what you have stated here, Praxius, but I do believe that there was a smoother way of launching this title. They could have pushed out the patch that fixed all the bugs for everyone, but made Rising Storm an optional DLC download for those RO2 that didn't purchase it.

Something like this: http://i.imgur.com/LJH7n0j.png

Basically, those that want to play the free version can, and those that don't want it won't have to have it on their hard drive and can be kicked from servers if an RS map shows up.

 

[Brosif]

Praxius you are totally and utterly correct. Ever since RO2 came out TWI has been falling down the slippery slope of giving the veteran RO1 players and the people who expected it to be similar in realism and play style as RO1 a nice, raw dicking. Now they shove a game down our throats that clogs up the server browser with a bunch of RS servers, I did not buy RS and I might not. I am not very interested in playing the American side of the war for the millionth time in a WWII FPS. Its really sort of a tired experience, and regardless of whether or not they are Marines or Army, they have nearly the same equipment and its all just rather overdone. I mean don't get me wrong I am an American, I have family members who served in WWII and honoring their struggle and side of the war is great and all. But its been done so many times, its just a bit stale now.

 

[Chopy]

Completely agree with you Cpt-Praxius. Despite how good RS is , it can never hope to replace RO2 , just because of the setting. Hopefully things will balance a little out , when people get tired of RS.

 

[AussiePariah]

I have close to 1600 hours hours in RO2. If RS was a standalone, I would probably not return to HoS until my RS time was similar. It's a much more polished and enjoyable experience, and that ways a lot considering how much I play RO2. I'm glad the games were combined, otherwise people would probably be on here complaining about how empty RO2 is and how they shouldn't of split the player base. The developers cannot please everybody, but they give options. If enough peopl dislike RS, in sure they can all come together and run their own server that excludes it. Ramblings over.

 

[Randy Newman]

That's because I pay attention to what's going on and like to make sure everything is covered.

That and I type as fast as I can think of the words, so I can fit more inside a shorter period of time.

Alternatively...you could just be a windbag (see your last post for further evidence of my point)

In a small degree, I can understand why they did this... but in the larger... more grand scheme of things, this is only going to cause more problems then it is going to solve.

Keeping community alive=1 priority!

blah blah blah blah 15 years of background in marketing blah blah blah blah

Hey man, thats a bold series of statements and predictions. You know what I think is going to happen?

There'll be RS servers, RO2 servers and mixed servers. Look at the poll in the community- it seems that mixed servers will win out. Doesn't mean that there won't be RO2 servers...use the browser filter.

You and I have been around long enough. Lets suspend this discussion for about 2 months and see who is proven right.

 

[Makiriv]

I'd like to think TWI go back to Ro2 so they can finally deliver on all those promises that were made.

The earlier you realize that they will never deliver on everything they said the better. A company requires money to work and they won't work on something if it doesn't give enough profit. That's why they released a really broken game consciously in the first place, there's no way they didn't knew it the state of it.