EVA-251's feedback
My overall time playing the mod is limited, due to some frustrating issues, but this is what I have to say.
Pluses
Map Design: The map design on the single player maps is absolutely stellar. TI's terrain set allows for a mind-boggling amount of detail to be placed within the limitations of the TS engine. Though I think you guys should cut down the number of crashed A-10s, especially in the campaign. You'd think the entire GDI Airforce once passed by and bombed the area.
Graphics: SHPs and voxels look great. Lots of detail, and all fit a general scheme, with only a few issues, mostly related to the absolutely ridiculous/deceiving scale of some of the TD units. (I was shocked by the Medium Tank's appearance, being so large and powerful looking, to find it was basically a cardboard armored POS, even against the other TD units)
Balance: While TS's balance system is far from my cup of tea, TI doesn't seem to have many glaring balance issues. I'd love to, and want to give more feedback on this aspect of the mod, but all I have is an impression of single-player unit balance, which isn't exactly reflective of the in-game. I'd like to test the mod online, but neither my router nor my university's dorm internet have cooperated with TS online.
Storyline: The whole premise of Nod winning is kinda cheesy- so GDI is gone, so that means that nations like the United States and Russia have no interest in stopping a dangerous and rapidly growing terrorist organization hellbent on destroying everything in the name of some bald psychopath?
Getting past that though, the story was pretty good and intriguing. The campaigns left me wanting to know more from and about both sides.
Annoyances
FOREST F***ING FIRES: This really hurt parts of the Single Player campaign. Here I am, using small units of infantry on the heavily wooded single-player maps, and the enemy sends a Grenadier or Incinerator over. My guys take care of him, but he gets off an attack or his death explosion occurs. The forested area I was in turns into a giant conflagration that burns for several minutes and stops me from moving my infantry safely, forcing me to basically watch the fires grow and spread until they die out, or tediously destroy each tree.
Admittedly, the use of forest fires in Nod mission Burn Baby Burn were actually pretty fun, taking out those formidable defensive positions by means of fires spreading to the classic "conveniently placed volatile explosives".
I understand that forest fires CAN be an interesting gameplay element, but with the jungles in the campaign and perhaps elsewhere (I haven't played many MP maps), they go from a visual spectacle to an advance-halting annoyance to a possible cause of rage-quit.
Debris
Debris makes a very cool visual effect for destroyed buildings, but seriously- not everything when shot at blows up into a 35,000 pieces of flammable debris capable of causing massive forest fires. Most buildings will probably collapse in on themselves, not explode in lethal fireballs.
Animation Translucency
I say what I do about TI looking past this critical and massive annoyance. It was actually the first thing I experienced in this mod.
I start the GDI campaign, I'm given battlefield control and look down only to have my framerate drop to about 5 or 6 at best, due to a crater rapidly spawning an unending stream of translucent smoke particles. Needless to say, I had visual effects on Low by the end of the second mission, as parts of the game became literally unplayable.
However, even on low detail, the debris from destroyed buildings causes massive frame-drops -- 10-15 pieces of debris spray out with closely packed translucent smoke trailer animations.
Fix that and it's an instant winner in my books.
All in all, despite the few minor flaws and the obvious placeholders, you guys have a solid release. I'll be getting the next version for sure. Good job.
