Renew the game?

Hi everyone,

I have been a long time player crossfire. I played it ever since it was released 5,6 years ago through many versions and now i'm kinda settle in here. It is sad to see that the game hasn't keeping up with today competition in term of engine and graphics. I still love the game but I feel like we need a major overhaul (specifically on game engine and physic). Moreover, some graphic change (nothing too over the top) is also good.
For the player base, many clans that I have been in were now inactive or disband altogether. And I find it's hard these day to enjoy a good old SnD without crazy VIP guns or smoke helmet...etc. I remember the days where AK silver/ AK gold were so precious with +5/+8 bullets. This might be the wild guess, but is this why many players leave? Since they couldn't find the fun anymore even though hack problem is VERY VERY much improved.
I have no demands in mind posting this but I hope CF will take this into consideration since CS:GO is gaining popularity extremely fast these days! Keep it up guys, don't fall behind!

PS: I feel accomplished with double AK in CS:GO and I feel nothing reaching colonel in CF these days :)

What do you guys think?
Cheers.

Comments

  • This belongs in suggestions

    and yes the game doesn't have the "amazing graphics" but that's what makes the game.... Well crossfire..
    but things have definelty changed over the years on the accomplishing part... Getting the m4 custom crystal use to be an accomplishment and still kinda is.... Having the ak gold and what not was awesome and all especially if you had a barret you were awesome.
    But things are a lot easier to come by like weapons, GP and exp...

    but it we do have stabled match system now so that's kinda cool!
  • 90% of the people involved in this game are techno-illiterate and don't even understand what a better engine would do. This whole crossfire 2.0 garbage is a joke. They changed application cosmetics and redesign 3 overfarmed maps and call it a "graphics update". Highest grossing and can't even upgrade engines smh. At what point will smilegate actually listen to the people that are paying to keep this game limping? Likely never. This game is a lost cause. Lobbying for anything major now is pointless.
  • JBird101 wrote: »
    90% of the people involved in this game are techno-illiterate and don't even understand what a better engine would do. This whole crossfire 2.0 garbage is a joke. They changed application cosmetics and redesign 3 overfarmed maps and call it a "graphics update". Highest grossing and can't even upgrade engines smh. At what point will smilegate actually listen to the people that are paying to keep this game limping? Likely never. This game is a lost cause. Lobbying for anything major now is pointless.
    I really miss the old layout man :'( it was so awesome and old skool.
  • Firstly, this version of the game is 7 years old, Korean version is 9 years old.

    Secondly, you seem to think you can just "update the engine" as you can update a computer...nope...the game would need to be rewritten in a new engine, the newer games have better engines because, like you said, they're NEW, i.e. they were released after those engines were...There have been various news articles about CF2 (note: NOT the same as CrossFire 2.0 - confusing, I know) - This is a NEW game built on a NEWER engine...Granted, they'll probably incorporate some/most of these maps when it does get made etc...But the engine makes CrossFire what it is - Bhop for example is a bug in the engine, so any new version may not have that ability.
  • Firstly, this version of the game is 7 years old, Korean version is 9 years old.

    Secondly, you seem to think you can just "update the engine" as you can update a computer...nope...the game would need to be rewritten in a new engine, the newer games have better engines because, like you said, they're NEW, i.e. they were released after those engines were...There have been various news articles about CF2 (note: NOT the same as CrossFire 2.0 - confusing, I know) - This is a NEW game built on a NEWER engine...Granted, they'll probably incorporate some/most of these maps when it does get made etc...But the engine makes CrossFire what it is - Bhop for example is a bug in the engine, so any new version may not have that ability.

    Smilegate ~ 1 billion $ revenue/year, they can launch a space satellite from cape Canaveral 2x times with that money and you saying that updating the game engine is not that easy? I think you over justify their laziness.

    What about EGL prizes? Told us that prizes for competitive cups are being rearranged and that we will know if they come back by the end of February, it is 17 of March right now and, pay attention, "we are sponsored by z8 BUT without any prizes".

    Now don't tell me that adding a few in-game currency to 10 accounts / week is hard because I know it is not.

    @ MODs Please have a look at this thread: http://forum.z8games.com/showthread.php?313564-Are-prizes-back

    No hate, just anger @ z8 stuff.
  • Borjah wrote: »
    Smilegate ~ 1 billion $ revenue/year, they can launch a space satellite from cape Canaveral 2x times with that money and you saying that updating the game engine is not that easy? I think you over justify their laziness.

    What about EGL prizes? Told us that prizes for competitive cups are being rearranged and that we will know if they come back by the end of February, it is 17 of March right now and, pay attention, "we are sponsored by z8 BUT without any prizes".

    Now don't tell me that adding a few in-game currency to 10 accounts / week is hard because I know it is not.

    @ MODs Please have a look at this thread: http://forum.z8games.com/showthread.php?313564-Are-prizes-back

    No hate, just anger @ z8 stuff.

    I'm simply stating that what the OP was suggesting isn't possible, in that you can't just "upgrade the engine" on an already released game... It's not technologically possible. If you read my comment you would understand that. I also said there is a NEWER version of CF being developed in a NEW engine...that is how you have to do it. I think you over-simplify things.

    This isn't a thread about prizes. Do not try and de-rail the discussion.
  • Borjah wrote: »
    Smilegate ~ 1 billion $ revenue/year, they can launch a space satellite from cape Canaveral 2x times with that money and you saying that updating the game engine is not that easy? I think you over justify their laziness.

    They dont need to release Crossfire 2 yet to kill Crossfire when its still making them lots of money.CSO 2 was released faster alongside CSO but that game is not that popular although its based on CS.And dont give me the crap with "they havent updated/upgraded the game engine" Look at the zm2 and zm maps from now and compare them to the first td/snd maps which are small and blocky af with barely any details except square walls.
    Just like with cs 1.6,you'd think people would like their oldschool game to be moddified? no,thats why css exists (cscz is like "cf 2.0") Same with Crossfire "1" if you change the graphics overall most people wouldnt like it except the NA kids which only care about graphics in a game.
  • svanced wrote: »
    They dont need to release Crossfire 2 yet to kill Crossfire when its still making them lots of money.CSO 2 was released faster alongside CSO but that game is not that popular although its based on CS.And dont give me the crap with "they havent updated/upgraded the game engine" Look at the zm2 and zm maps from now and compare them to the first td/snd maps which are small and blocky af with barely any details except square walls.
    Just like with cs 1.6,you'd think people would like their oldschool game to be moddified? no,thats why css exists (cscz is like "cf 2.0") Same with Crossfire "1" if you change the graphics overall most people wouldnt like it except the NA kids which only care about graphics in a game.

    Engine and Mechanics:
    I personally don't mind the graphics that much. I do think though this game needs some actual direction. I understand that players who pay for the game for any advantage should very well be able to use these objects. However, at the same time, I don't think it's fair for the only time that these items are disabled is when you're in a tournament. This is one of my main issues with this game after playing it for this long. The "meta" changes and not for the better. We went from using standard AK's and SMG's that were actually lethal to breathing-dragon weapons with extended mags. Also, I do think adding more and more of these items to an old game running on an old engine is certainly not helping out with the game's performance and optimization. I think we've seen some consequences already when we had some new maps added (like the Spain map) and had some major frame drops. I know it would take a lot of time but with the amount of money CF is making (even if it's including every single CF Client), a new CF would be great to have.

    I like the mechanics of CF, I just don't like all the fluff that's added on top that can and has been abused in Clan Wars. So I am suggesting a GP only server. "But wait, z8games still needs to make money!" I know but 1 or 2 servers won't be breaking the bank. If you really really are that worried about your profits, then simply put in a GP and EXP reduction on the server. That would mean anyone who tries to farm for GP would still be better off in the normal servers I shouldn't be thrown in to games with every other player being VIP with all the premium weapons and armor. CF had a chance to get into a really neat competitive scene but with the added content, they kind of drowned that possibility, at least for our client. Now I'm not saying I would be in the competitive scene for this game, but having an actual GP only server could bring back interest to those who do and we can bring back a lot of players including the ones who were scared off because of all the VIP items.

    Lag and Hit-Detection:
    My only other issue with this game is the hit-detection. I don't know how many times it feels like I should've had the kill and I end up dying around corners and other questionable deaths (that are not from cheaters). I think part of this issue is with the net-code of the game itself, but I also think it is because of the servers themselves. Alpha server does seem to have the least amount of lag but I can still feel it. Bravo server (at least when it was active) felt like it had more lag than Alpha. I know other games have realized that it's because of the rate being too low and boosting it to 40 htz and higher have resulted in a less-laggy, more responsive gameplay. I don't know if this would be the case for this game due to the age of the game, but I do think something has to be done to smooth out the gameplay, again more-so if you want to see a competitive scene for this game ever again.

    My last thing I will say is that there's a lot of old f2p games that are being re-made (i'm not saying which ones they are because I know that would get this post deleted). I don't know how well they are being remade but if they do become successful, I feel CF will continue to lose players for the NA client. It's really a shame to see this good game be going to waste because of neglect to the polished, bare-bones gameplay this game had when it first came out. This game went from being a fun, challenging shooter to almost an RPG-shooter game.
  • Changing the Engine of a Game is more work then making a new Game and Engine. Not only you got to make a new Engine which is a lot of work, you also got to update the Game to work with the new Engine and make sure everything works in the new Engine as well as add new content that the new Engine makes possible that the old one can't do. The cost and work are to much to justify what little gain there be.

    As for Graphics, CF could upgrade those pretty easily compared to the Engine. But better Graphics means better computers are needed to play it. And most of CF NA player base is playing on computers from 2002 or so. They'd be removing a lot of current costumers if they did upgrade the graphics to much.
  • VATAV wrote: »
    Changing the Engine of a Game is more work then making a new Game and Engine. Not only you got to make a new Engine which is a lot of work, you also got to update the Game to work with the new Engine and make sure everything works in the new Engine as well as add new content that the new Engine makes possible that the old one can't do. The cost and work are to much to justify what little gain there be.

    As for Graphics, CF could upgrade those pretty easily compared to the Engine. But better Graphics means better computers are needed to play it. And most of CF NA player base is playing on computers from 2002 or so. They'd be removing a lot of current costumers if they did upgrade the graphics to much.

    There are games which were made with higher graphics and still with lower setting people manage to play them fine. So I think that wouldn't be the problem.

    But if people keep saying that it takes too much time/work to do such upgrading the Engine and the game they will never do it, if u keep postponing it, it'll never happen, so, I think they could start doing it bit by bit, with time they would get there someday, I think it would better for the players and the game itself :)
  • Ruben_PT wrote: »
    There are games which were made with higher graphics and still with lower setting people manage to play them fine. So I think that wouldn't be the problem.

    But if people keep saying that it takes too much time/work to do such upgrading the Engine and the game they will never do it, if u keep postponing it, it'll never happen, so, I think they could start doing it bit by bit, with time they would get there someday, I think it would better for the players and the game itself :)

    You're not understanding...

    The Engine CANNOT be upgraded. EVER.

    The game would need to be RE-WRITTEN in a new engine for it to work on a new engine.

    There have been SEVERAL news articles saying that CF2 (NOT CrossFire 2.0) is in production in a new engine.
  • There is a indie game called Insurgency (paid game so it is by no means in competition with CF) that is being remade into the Unreal 4 engine. It was announced early this year and set to release in 2017. 1 year to shift a game into a new Engine. Granted they got the funding they needed through a Publisher but they're planning to have the game transferred to Unreal 4 in 1 year.

    So yes it will take time to make CF in a new engine but I don't think 1 year would be that bad. Even if it is done little by little, working on content for both games, we could say 2 - 2 1/2 years for CF to be in a new engine and I think that's being lenient. I don't want CF to be made in Unreal 4 and it most likely will not anyways.
  • MRain202 wrote: »
    There is a indie game called Insurgency (paid game so it is by no means in competition with CF) that is being remade into the Unreal 4 engine. It was announced early this year and set to release in 2017. 1 year to shift a game into a new Engine. Granted they got the funding they needed through a Publisher but they're planning to have the game transferred to Unreal 4 in 1 year.

    So yes it will take time to make CF in a new engine but I don't think 1 year would be that bad. Even if it is done little by little, working on content for both games, we could say 2 - 2 1/2 years for CF to be in a new engine and I think that's being lenient. I don't want CF to be made in Unreal 4 and it most likely will not anyways.
    There have been SEVERAL news articles saying that CF2 (NOT CrossFire 2.0) is in production in a new engine.

    It's already been confirmed that a new version is in production.
  • CF2 will be made in UE3 engine.Its a different game not a different version so i can at least say this.For any more info check the wiki
  • Ruben_PT wrote: »
    There are games which were made with higher graphics and still with lower setting people manage to play them fine. So I think that wouldn't be the problem.

    But if people keep saying that it takes too much time/work to do such upgrading the Engine and the game they will never do it, if u keep postponing it, it'll never happen, so, I think they could start doing it bit by bit, with time they would get there someday, I think it would better for the players and the game itself :)

    New Engines can't be done Bit by Bit, Games are made around the Engine. If the Engine is changed it can render the game unplayable. Just changing a variable in a Engine can cause dozens of glitches in the Game. They need a complete working Engine before they start adapting CF to it. It is why it is easier to make a new Game from scratch then to adapt an old game to a new Engine. With a new Game you design around the Engine, when Changing Engines you are translating and finding workarounds the differences between the Engines and fixing glitches from those differences. It can be done, but it is usually more cost effective to just make a new game entirely.
    MRain202 wrote: »
    There is a indie game called Insurgency (paid game so it is by no means in competition with CF) that is being remade into the Unreal 4 engine. It was announced early this year and set to release in 2017. 1 year to shift a game into a new Engine. Granted they got the funding they needed through a Publisher but they're planning to have the game transferred to Unreal 4 in 1 year.

    So yes it will take time to make CF in a new engine but I don't think 1 year would be that bad. Even if it is done little by little, working on content for both games, we could say 2 - 2 1/2 years for CF to be in a new engine and I think that's being lenient. I don't want CF to be made in Unreal 4 and it most likely will not anyways.

    Indie games are usually small team games and are far easier to adapt because they are still small. An Indie game is projected to take 1 year to adapt to a new Engine. CF has been updating and adding stuff for 9 years with a medium sized team behind it. It going to take quite a bit longer if CF does it. To give you an Idea how long, it took Bungie 3 years to get HALO Combat Evolved updated using a different Engine and better graphics for the Anniversary Edition.
  • VATAV wrote: »
    New Engines can't be done Bit by Bit, Games are made around the Engine. If the Engine is changed it can render the game unplayable. Just changing a variable in a Engine can cause dozens of glitches in the Game. They need a complete working Engine before they start adapting CF to it. It is why it is easier to make a new Game from scratch then to adapt an old game to a new Engine. With a new Game you design around the Engine, when Changing Engines you are translating and finding workarounds the differences between the Engines and fixing glitches from those differences. It can be done, but it is usually more cost effective to just make a new game entirely.



    Indie games are usually small team games and are far easier to adapt because they are still small. An Indie game is projected to take 1 year to adapt to a new Engine. CF has been updating and adding stuff for 9 years with a medium sized team behind it. It going to take quite a bit longer if CF does it. To give you an Idea how long, it took Bungie 3 years to get HALO Combat Evolved updated using a different Engine and better graphics for the Anniversary Edition.


    First off, I think Bungie had more work on the table. Having to rework the graphics, cutscenes, etc would take a lot of work. Here, for CF, there's more liberty. They don't even need to have all the weapons and maps and characters available at launch. Unlike Bungie who needed to get everything working at launch.
    This would allow to have a running and working game that can be tested through betas, etc. earlier. In any case, they are working on a new CF. So we'll just have to see how long it will take haha.
  • MRain202 wrote: »
    First off, I think Bungie had more work on the table. Having to rework the graphics, cutscenes, etc would take a lot of work. Here, for CF, there's more liberty. They don't even need to have all the weapons and maps and characters available at launch. Unlike Bungie who needed to get everything working at launch.
    This would allow to have a running and working game that can be tested through betas, etc. earlier. In any case, they are working on a new CF. So we'll just have to see how long it will take haha.

    They also had a massive budget, bigger team and didn't have to keep the old version updated during their time of doing it though...If they decided not to update CF for 3 years to change the engine, you really think people wouldn't be annoyed/angry about that..?
  • They also had a massive budget, bigger team and didn't have to keep the old version updated during their time of doing it though...If they decided not to update CF for 3 years to change the engine, you really think people wouldn't be annoyed/angry about that..?

    It would annoy players for sure. I'm already annoyed though with the updates as each one continues to drag CF further from its roots and more into a one-size-fits-all game.
    This game does need major fixes as I've mentioned before, hit-detection feels like garbage at times. Of course I don't expect the devs to have as much budget or resources to make a new game. I think it would be for the better if the new game was just a normal paid game. Grab a publisher, get funded, hire some new talent and make a game that everyone can get behind. Yes, it's an extreme measure for sure but this game needs it and from its profits, it deserves to be polished. Instead, it's a out-dated game filled with players who do whatever they can to grab VIP weapons and hack the game. If people are willing to spend $80 for a single weapon, charging $20 - $30+ for a polished version shouldn't be that much to ask. Micro-transactions can still be part of the full game as it already is with other large titles.
  • They also had a massive budget, bigger team and didn't have to keep the old version updated during their time of doing it though...If they decided not to update CF for 3 years to change the engine, you really think people wouldn't be annoyed/angry about that..?

    I think most people will be more annoyed to know that CF will die soon (2-3 years tops) since it will be replaced by another game (CF2). I'd prefer to wait 3 years, with no update and see a new engine arise to give us another 10 years or so of this games prosperity, rather than see all my 7 years of gaming go to waste and be replaced by a sequel (with no compensation for it's loyal players, for sure).
    Really hope this game will continue living on, despite CF2, that's the real worry.
  • Tuga1991 wrote: »
    I think most people will be more annoyed to know that CF will die soon (2-3 years tops) since it will be replaced by another game (CF2). I'd prefer to wait 3 years, with no update and see a new engine arise to give us another 10 years or so of this games prosperity, rather than see all my 7 years of gaming go to waste and be replaced by a sequel (with no compensation for it's loyal players, for sure).
    Really hope this game will continue living on, despite CF2, that's the real worry.

    Idk how you camed to that conclusion or who told you that crap,but CF2 wont replace CF,nor will it be a "sequel"(cf has no story to begin with so theres nothing to continue) Just like how css didnt replaced 1.6,or how cso2 didnt replaced cso....

    Also,I wouldnt dream of any "compensations" because all mmo's die eventually(sooner or later),that doesnt mean youll get anything back or that you will have freebies(compensations) in CF2.You got what you payed for during CF.Theres nothing in CF for veteran players,so its useless imo to make false hopes about "compensation".
  • svanced wrote: »
    Idk how you camed to that conclusion or who told you that crap,but CF2 wont replace CF,nor will it be a "sequel"(cf has no story to begin with so theres nothing to continue) Just like how css didnt replaced 1.6,or how cso2 didnt replaced cso....

    I really hope your right, about CF2 not replacing CF, like CSS didn't replace 1.6 or CSO2 with CSO, that would be very delightful for the old school players (at least).
    svanced wrote: »
    Also,I wouldnt dream of any "compensations" because all mmo's die eventually(sooner or later),that doesnt mean youll get anything back or that you will have freebies(compensations) in CF2.You got what you payed for during CF.Theres nothing in CF for veteran players,so its useless imo to make false hopes about "compensation".

    I never said anything that would imply "false hope", (read carefully), I actually said the complete contrary as quoted on my previous post: "(with no compensation for it's loyal players, for sure)", which mean't "we definitely will not get any, no doubt."

    I/many just hope our accounts won't be washed away, if CF2 really has nothing to do with CF then we should still see some decent prosperity around this game (if it lives on), for more years to come.
  • MRain202 wrote: »
    First off, I think Bungie had more work on the table. Having to rework the graphics, cutscenes, etc would take a lot of work. Here, for CF, there's more liberty. They don't even need to have all the weapons and maps and characters available at launch. Unlike Bungie who needed to get everything working at launch.
    This would allow to have a running and working game that can be tested through betas, etc. earlier. In any case, they are working on a new CF. So we'll just have to see how long it will take haha.

    Are you talking about an update or a new game?
    Update means the players stuff MUST be still there. The Weapons Characters and other Items make CF what it is to most players. Not having to do cutscenes is a boost, but Graphics are not where the time consuming process is. It is getting mechanics that work in one Engine to work in another. Recoil, Accuracy, Running, Walking, Jumping, Ladder Climbing, Bunny Hopping, Ghost Invisibility, Player Mutation, Smoke Effects, Flash Bang Effects, Grenade Effects, Weapon Damage Variance, Crouching, Player Collision, Sound Generation, etc... These are just what I can think of right now that will all need to work like they did in the previous Engine. All these we're designed with the first Engine around the first Engine. If the new Engine for example has move Units equal to 2.456 of the Old Engine's, it will cause lots of changes to how Running, Walking, Jumping, Bunny Hopping work that will need to be adjusted till they work as close as the can like the old Engine. It is far easier to start from scratch then to translate tens of thousands of lines of code from one Engine to another. Over half the time taken to update the game would be from glitch/bug/error correction alone.

    Open Betas happen near the end of games development, when they are finalizing the Mechanics of the Game. They are used for bug testing, game balancing, and to receive player feedback for needed changes. But to get their they need to have already picked an Engine and translated most of the code already.