First thoughts on AvP2 Fortress Beta 3 blog - Herr_Alien

Although it was uploaded a bit later than announced (20:15 GMT as to the scheduled 20:00), beta 3 made it's way to the download page. The server went up immediately after that, configured for a run through the CTF game mode and maps. Since we didn't have the full team of testers joining, we went on and started to check out gameplay features, one by one.

First, we wanted to see how the animated flag looks like, ingame. But of course, instead of looking at the flag each of us already had in it's base, we decided to take a much closer look at the enemy flag. I got a taste of the blue flag, while Windebieste had the red one. With this ocasion I was able to see that the flag icon (we replaced it with a new one) doesn't distract your atention from playing the game, but it will still make you aware that you carry the enemy flag.
Regarding CTF, besides the usual take-the-flag-and-return-to-your-base, the following rules stand:

• If a flag carrier decides to switch classes (via F1), it will automatically drop the flag.
• Touching you own flag, when dropped by your enemy, will return it to your base.
• If nobody touches a dropped flag in 2 minutes, it will automatically return to it's base.
• While carrying the flag, the aliens have their pounce ability seriously limited (thanks Vemarkis, for suggesting this).

From what we saw, CTF is one of the game modes that is better polished, in terms of rules and overall gameplay.

Having all CTF rules tested, we decided to have a shot at the Assault game mode. I spawned initially as a red predator engineer, and I started to place sentries.
From the first attempts at reaching the objective, we started to get the feeling that indeed, Assault is a team oriented game mode:

<< Herr_Alien >> a sentry can imobilize across the bridge
<< Herr_Alien >> range too big?
<< windebieste >> can't get engineers in without a team
<< Herr_Alien >> yep
<< windebieste >> needs a sharpshooter to take out the sentry
<< Herr_Alien >> the issue would be to detect it ...

So I switched class, and I respawned as a sharpshooter. Meanwhile, Windebieste decided to cross the bridge, while the netgun sentry was still live. A mistake that ended up with him taking a plunge in the river. So, we both respawned in the blue base.

But that raised another question:

<< Herr_Alien >> ok, let's go
<< windebieste >> why am I standing on this rock?
<< Herr_Alien >> because i thought it would make a nice spawning point

The rock he mentioned is the one near the sewers entry. I put a game starting point there, since the rock itself isn't too high to hurt human players, and I thought it also had a nice view. However, the game engine seems to got fond of that game starting point:

<< windebieste >> Huh... backon this rock again.
<< Herr_Alien >> where are you?
<< Herr_Alien >> yes!
...
<< Herr_Alien >> you don't like the rock?
<< windebieste >> I think this rock likes me
<< Herr_Alien >> ha ha ha :))

I should have taken screenshots, seeing windebieste on that rock somehow connected (in my head) to the image of a bird keeping it's eggs warm, so that they would hatch.
But we had a job to do, to get that pred ship to self destruct. So we tried another approach: I'd be an engineer, and he would be a marine soldier. We figured out that the splash damage from rockets would take out that pesky sentry gun:

<< windebieste >> ammo, flares and goodie!

(I dropped some ammo in front of him, I though he could use some extra roockets, but it seems he liked the flares better)

<< Herr_Alien >> hide behind trees
<< windebieste >> back on my rock again

The netgun sentries caused him to fire his rockets close. Too close, actually.

<< Herr_Alien >> they can't shoot through the tree trunks
<< windebieste >> where is it?
<< Herr_Alien >> it's under a tree
<< Herr_Alien >> i just can't see it through the steam
<< Herr_Alien >> i'll be bait
<< Herr_Alien >> you take it out
<< Herr_Alien >> but get closer using trees

This time we were lucky, and we managed to take the sentry out. In the red base I placed the remaining two sentries to net anyone around the selfdestruct mechanism. Needless to say that both Windebieste and I got netted, and it took us about 20 - 30 seconds to free ourselves and get away from the guarded zone. In normal situations, we wouldn't have 30 seconds, the defending team would have "sent us towards the light". But this was not the case, so after taking out the sentries we were once more the witnesses of the ship being blown to pieces. I went back as a red predator engineer, to place the (by now hated) netgun sentries, to see how good the defense mechanism can be. I switched then classes and became a blue runner:

<< Herr_Alien >> it worked 
 << windebieste >> cinematic played OK... this time.
<< windebieste >> back on my rock again. sweet
<< Herr_Alien >> ha ha ha :))
<< Herr_Alien >> belive it or not, there are 4 spawn 
  points for each team, on this map.
...
<< Herr_Alien >> the steam helps the defending team
<< Herr_Alien >> trees. Definately hide behind tree trunks.
<< windebieste >> meanwhile, back on my rock
<< Herr_Alien >> ha ha ha :)))

But that wouldn't last long. I tried to take a jump over the river, to get behind the sentry gun and take it out. I wasn't that lucky. Actually, according to the game, I "made a mistake":

<< Herr_Alien >> the runner can make mistakes ... obviously
<< Herr_Alien >> hey, I took over the rock!
<< windebieste >> you're welcome
<< windebieste >> hey ma, I found a pretty blue bug in the 
  forest, can I keep him?
...
<< Herr_Alien >> yeah ...
<< Herr_Alien >> meanwhile I'm helping a rock baby to hatch .... 
  got spawned on it again.
...
<< Herr_Alien >> so, that bug you mentioned
<< windebieste >> back on my rock
<< Herr_Alien >> yeah, you keep it warm for a while ...

Suffice to say that somehow, the game seems to favor that particular game start point, since the next two respawns placed us again on top of that rock.
At this point, I really hope Windebieste will not remove that game start point: I had plenty of laughs at the idea of spawning in that spot, and the view is quite nice actually, if you're to belive Windebieste:

<< windebieste >> Hmmm.... nive view from this rock
<< Herr_Alien >> ha ha ha :))

I have to admit, although Beta #3 has only one Assault map, (the "Gunnison County Forest"), the gameplay promises even more fun than CTF, and an even stronger team coordination. Basically, the attacking team has to protect one or several engineers all the way from their own base to the enemy base. Although it might look like the defenders have an advantage, suffice to say that besides the human engineer, the attackers can also use a predator engineer. Further more, the attackers can place sentries of their own, on the other side of the river, to keep the defending engineers from placing sentries of their own.
All in all, with the bugs Vemarkis pointed out in the first beta fixed, Assault became my favourite game mode: full of fun, challenges and with a great demand for team coordination.