Do we really need unlocks?

[Mkilbride]

Having just heard it - I am shocked, in a supposed skill oriented game such as, to feature unlocks?

It halved my hype meter for this game. I was hoping for a throw back to classic gaming, when we just enjoyed the game.

And now I find out there will be stats, K/D Ratio's, and such outside of a per server basis?

Wow, when you switched to "Medieval Warfare", you decided to just go blam, the whole Call of Duty route, didn't you?

Heck, wouldn't surprise me at this point that if you make 5-7 kills without dying, you can call in Ballista strikes, or Catapult barrages.

[SlyGoat]

Condescendingly inaccurate hyperbole aside, the unlocks system is meant to let players experience the arsenal gradually instead of just having 42 weapons thrown in their faces the first time they open up the game. I'd estimate it'll take the average (casual) player about two weeks to have every primary weapon unlocked, and the really dedicated/good players maybe a few days. If there's any one weapon in particular you want to try, you can easily get it your first day of playing, and while you work towards it you'll get some experience in easier to use weapons of its type under your belt.

Chivalry offers a wide range of weapons - the ones initially available are the most well balanced ones, with average stats, that are generally easier to pick up. The unlockables are more specialized, generally excelling in only one area, so the developers felt that making sure the players got some experience with the more straightforward weapons first would keep anyone from being intimidated by picking out one of the harder weapons in the game as their first choice to use and thinking the game was just too difficult.

In short, it isn't meant to be a slow grind to keep you playing. It's just teaching you how to swim before you dive into the deep end - and it's still skill based, because no weapon is meant to be an upgrade to another, just an alternative with different strengths and weaknesses. Even the initial arsenal of 12 primary weapons is a lot of variety.

[Sir Killsalot]

Having just heard it - I am shocked, in a supposed skill oriented game such as, to feature unlocks?

It halved my hype meter for this game. I was hoping for a throw back to classic gaming, when we just enjoyed the game.

And now I find out there will be stats, K/D Ratio's, and such outside of a per server basis?

Wow, when you switched to "Medieval Warfare", you decided to just go blam, the whole Call of Duty route, didn't you?

Heck, wouldn't surprise me at this point that if you make 5-7 kills without dying, you can call in Ballista strikes, or Catapult barrages.

[Don]

Im totally for stats and unlocks to be honest.

[TheNarrator]

I think the unlocks are okay. I don't think it's a good thing, but neither is it bad. I also hate hierarchical unlocks with a passion: it's very silly to reward players with weapons that are plainly better than the ones available to new players. However, this is not the case in Chivalry. The unlockable weapons will all be sidegrades: weapons that are different from but not superior to the default weapons.

[Pantheon]

Don't see what's the problem with stats of any kind. I don't care for them, so I don't check them, but let people enjoy their stats, if they want to.

And I understand the concern about unlocks, but SlyGoat made a good point: instead of having a huge array of weapons from the start, you gradually unlock them and learn to use them.
It makes sense in my opinion. Also a lot of people enjoy unlocking stuff, it gives them something to work for.

[TheNarrator]

Don't see what's the problem with stats of any kind. I don't care for them, so I don't check them, but let people enjoy their stats, if they want to.

I don't like stat tracking because I find it encourages an unhealthy form of competition. Competitiveness is okay, but there's a time and place for it and we call that time and place a competition. There will probably be plenty of tournaments after release because the game already has a fairly solid fanbase, even before release. This whole global ranking nonsense that many games do these days feels wrong to me. It's just much more fun to play with people who are laid-back on a lazy night of pubbing than to play with people whose mouths are foaming with rage because 'their team' is somehow to blame for their K/D stat dropping.

It's not just other people though, I find it negatively impacts my own attitude as well. I am somewhat competitive by nature, but I can shrug that off when I'm just pubbing and spend a large portion of my time on the server idly chatting with friends or even random strangers. I get mildly frustrated when my performance is poor, but I still enjoy the game. When my stats are being tracked, however, I feel pressure to perform well. I know that's completely irrational and that no one cares about what numbers my stat page displays, but I can't help it. It becomes much harder for me to enjoy a game when I'm performing poorly. Normally, when I'm a bit sleep deprived and my reactions are slow (or I have a bad evening for whatever reason), I can just play and have fun, but with stat tracking, I feel that I shouldn't be playing because my poor performance will pollute my stats. Also, archer deaths or being backstabbed are frustrating enough as it is without it permanently affecting data which people use to measure their skill (however flawed that kind of skill measurement is).

Yes, I know that that is my problem and not yours, but these are the reasons why I prefer games not to track stats.

[BrandonB890]

Don't see what's the problem with stats of any kind. I don't care for them, so I don't check them, but let people enjoy their stats, if they want to.

I don't like stat tracking because I find it encourages an unhealthy form of competition. Competitiveness is okay, but there's a time and place for it and we call that time and place a competition. There will probably be plenty of tournaments after release because the game already has a fairly solid fanbase, even before release. This whole global ranking nonsense that many games do these days feels wrong to me. It's just much more fun to play with people who are laid-back on a lazy night of pubbing than to play with people whose mouths are foaming with rage because 'their team' is somehow to blame for their K/D stat dropping.

It's not just other people though, I find it negatively impacts my own attitude as well. I am somewhat competitive by nature, but I can shrug that off when I'm just pubbing and spend a large portion of my time on the server idly chatting with friends or even random strangers. I get mildly frustrated when my performance is poor, but I still enjoy the game. When my stats are being tracked, however, I feel pressure to perform well. I know that's completely irrational and that no one cares about what numbers my stat page displays, but I can't help it. It becomes much harder for me to enjoy a game when I'm performing poorly. Normally, when I'm a bit sleep deprived and my reactions are slow (or I have a bad evening for whatever reason), I can just play and have fun, but with stat tracking, I feel that I shouldn't be playing because my poor performance will pollute my stats. Also, archer deaths or being backstabbed are frustrating enough as it is without it permanently affecting data which people use to measure their skill (however flawed that kind of skill measurement is).

Yes, I know that that is my problem and not yours, but these are the reasons why I prefer games not to track stats.

I'm all for unlocks and I like stat tracking so i hate to admit that you're right about how playing for fun and goofing around are harder knowing you are killing your stats

[-Slash-]

You care for your stats only if you really want to, if you really don't want you won't care even if they track your stats.

Some people might change their playstyle to boost their stats I guess, that's bad to be honest, they might backstab people and gangbang people to get a good k/d ratio in their stats, but really in the end what do they earn, just some e-peen.


If you want to play relaxed and have fun with your buddies you'll do it no matter stats or unlocks, there are always times you feel like not leaving the game, but having some fun instead of being 100% focused there.

[Jihell]

I think the unlocks are okay. I don't think it's a good thing, but neither is it bad. I also hate hierarchical unlocks with a passion: it's very silly to reward players with weapons that are plainly better than the ones available to new players. However, this is not the case in Chivalry. The unlockable weapons will all be sidegrades: weapons that are different from but not superior to the default weapons.

This.