I am a long time halo wars 1 player and have put together an entire review of the beta with suggestions and fixes as well. I have written 3 reviews at various times throughout the beta. I have compiled them in order as i played the beta and spotted things i thought needed addressing.
Game mode: The domination game mode is one that does not seem that impressive when it comes to a strategy game. one complaint many people had in halo wars 1 was the lack of depth. This mode only seems to add to this as it is more about capturing points fast rather than building up an army. If this was a third game mode in the original it would be the least played due to not really having many player vs. player engagements.
New game mode ideas: I feel if you insist on a game mode like domination you should make king of the hill with one hill that moves to various locations, just like in the fps halo games. this would create more action rather than just roaming from capture point to capture point with no battles like in the current domination. for this mode it might be best if main bases were indestructible and same with main base turrets( which should be spawned from start). possibly allow individual buildings to be destroyed to slow the enemy down though. another possible game mode could be a four person free for all standard battle (eliminate enemy bases and units to win).
Overall beta review: To be quite honest i think the game deviates way too much from the original. If I am playing halo wars 2 I want to feel some similarity from halo wars 1, and sadly I don’t. Truth be told most of the fan base was not looking for something brand new, but rather an upgrade that went a little more in depth than the original.
If the beta was symbolic of the full version to be released then please name it something else because it does not coincide with the original halo wars and does not deserve to be in its family.
Base structure: The base structure in the original halo wars looked pretty good and it was simple. I’m really not sure why the base in the beta had to be completely changed from original. as it stands buildings in the beta almost look detached from the main base and so do turrets. A base is should be the entirety of buildings and the main complex connected as one as in the original game. also i do not see the reason behind changing so many of the building names from the original, they were fine as is. It is very hard to tell when buildings will be completely built and same with extra bases. the original game had a good system for this, my advice for base structure just copy the original bases and buildings without name changes, and just upgrade the graphical details of each building. Also generators are clutter the base and design should maybe be reverted to one small wind turbine or even a solar panel.
Resource system: I am undecided about whether the old system needed more depth. What i would say about the new system is that you need to take tech off of base upgrades and make them into reactor buildings as they were before. currently as it stands it is just too easy to upgrade and keep tech levels. in the original game enemy players could come over and slow you down by destroying reactors, this option is now gone because you would have to destroy entire base which is much more difficult. as for the addition of power i sort of like the attempt at more depth but this setup is not it. currently power is basically supplies with a different name and instead of adding a new element you just copied supplies and made a new name. one suggestion i have is to make power into real energy rather than a numerical value like supplies. you could have a energy meter which actually powers the electrical components of your base. example: no power = no new building of units. have power slowly recharge over time but i guess possibly maybe faster with generator buildings? im not a huge fan though of having to build all these generator buildings so maybe have one generator allowed(like covenant temple in original) which can be upgraded maybe like 3-5 times which would increases the recharge rate of power. this energy would recharge on its own without this one building but this would be like a field armory for energy upgrades only. Keep supply pads as they are now and were in the original. no change needed to them.
Map hooks: bring back all the hooks from the original game, they were good except the cannon on tundra. I feel mini bases are pointless and should just go back to being one or two slot building spaces. reactor hook, population hook, sniper towers, shield walls, and healing spires should all be back. I feel these hooks should be as in original game where you put infantry in and leave him in there if you want the benefits of the hook. Supply hooks as well should reappear but maybe they would be with your current setup of capture them with infantry but you can leave when you have fully captured it. assuming you remove power from its current state (which you need to) do not have many hooks on the map as currently there is in beta.
Leaders: Please do not take away from the original aspect of covey leader and unsc 3 Spartans with leader power. This made the first halo wars have differences between leaders and factions. if they are made similar as they currently are with hero’s then you are actually taking away from the diversity in the game. I will say i like the idea of an upgrade tree for certain powers as you have it currently. also please bring back super units and unique units for covey. these also helped each leaders uniqueness. I cannot say because you have not released it entirely but a new faction plus the old 2 would be welcomed, but again keep them diverse if possible.
graphics: I realize this is just a beta but the graphics are horrendous. they have lost their mojo and toughness from the original game. instead they look like cartoons and mega blocks. even though halo universe is not real the graphics should try to make it look real. units should look mean and tough made of metal rather than look like flimsy plastic. one thing that i would say is that the last halo wars was a little dark so i do think the game still needs to have brightness in it as the beta has.
units: to start i do like that mainline infantry and scouts are all in main base, but please make all infantry and scouts able to collect supplies. i also like the upgrade in each building to upgrade the speed and damage of all units in that building. again this is just a beta but please still bring back old units such as gremlin, elephant, jackals and others. but cobra did need to go. please bring back pelican dropship and covey teleporter (or a dropship).
suggestions: I know console can be more difficult but adding more precise micro capability is possible and needs to at least be attempted. also unit formations should be added. this would give a new dimension to strategy. Maybe add like four quick keys to d-pad where you would activate by holding down another button. examples could be circle an area as painted with the paint brush tool, get in rows like ancient battles used to be, split army in half ( just would be quicker than paint brush, and maybe one other type. make the attack cursor lock to enemy. Please create a line paint brush for unit movements and make it just follow the exact line so you could technically draw any path not just straight line. i don’t know your plan but please do not let units get vetrancy from killing rebel (AI) units and bases.
add onto original game you don’t have to change everything around.
Deathmatch: The game mode is much better than domination but that is because it was already good and popular from being called standard in halo wars original. that i can see only small changes have been made on this mode from the original. first thing i notice is everything on the map is a free space to take. I feel this has actually taken away from the depth of the game. there should rarely be free bases and free extra slots just like it was in halo wars 1 (except exile which was alot of free bases.) bases should have rebels to kill. i feel every attack unit should be able to attack rebel base and its units, (unlike arbiter with sentinels). power hooks should at least have a few sentinels like domination capture points had. Please make scout vehicle able to collect resources and please go back to the scout being the only starting unit.
Population: Im not sure why you had to change the population system it was fine as it was. I feel the way you have changed it has just complicated the building of units. All units except vulture and scarab should be within the 1-4 population range. this would just make the system alot more understandable and user friendly. The reason i say up to 4 and not 3 is that should allow for more balance among units. I do agree in last game having hornet as 2 and tank as just 1 more at 3 was a little unbalanced, therefore tanks could be increased to 4. Im not against 2 population upgrades in the field armory but anymore than that would be overkill.
controls: again i know its a beta but in case its representative of the final product controls need to be tweaked. controls feel clunky and have slow response times, not to mention sometimes the inputs to do not register (trying to build buildings). having all units, and local units on same button does not work. please make them 2 different buttons, or allow customization of controller layout. I still feel there needs to be an enemy lock on feature for attacking as there was in the first halo wars.
visual settings: the current view is way too zoomed in. please zoom it more out and just keep the ability to zoom in more if players wish.
supply system: again from my last review I want to reiterate the importance of changing the current setup of resources, tech, and power. Tech levels need to go back to being reactor buildings on base. This allows the enemy to slow you down by taking out reactor buildings rather than kill an entire base. this is important because it allows you to have variation in the way you attack. currently as you have it players would just attack main base but in the original game you had to decide what was more important to attack the base or the reactor. truthfully i do not see a need for power in halo wars 2. the old system of supply and tech worked great. if you must have it though please change it to something like this (which is sort of went over in the first review. power should be changed to energy. just like in real life everything you do that is work requires energy like building a unit. have each player have an energy bar (like a health bar) and have it slowly recharge over time to max. If the bar is drained you either have to wait or you could upgrade, take a power hook, or teammates could send you power. now for two options of upgrading:
option 1. keep the generator building which produces power but only allow 1 for each player (like the temple was in halo wars 1). the reason for this is to not clutter up bases with this element of the game. You could then give the option to upgrade which would produce power at a faster rate. if you really want to get in depth you could make to sides for upgrading generator one being power recharge rate and the other being power capacity which would increase how much power you could have. if you go for this option please make the generator building show the level upgrade it is on like the temple did in the first halo wars. also optional, if the building gets destroyed and you rebuild it it retains the level of upgrade it was at.
option 2: have the base be the generator and the base upgrades would also be energy upgrades. your highest base that is upgraded would be the one that counts for your energy. this is basically what you have with tech now but it would be energy instead. while this is better than your current setup i would be more against this option than option 1 because it would lack depth. upgrading base gives you two advantages instead of 1 which is in my opinion not good. upgrading base should only be for more building slots and to make base stronger.
Again im not convinced the game needs another element to supply and tech but if you must add one please consider the two options above.
graphics: as i stated in the first review graphics looked weak and cartoonish. I feel the landscape looks ok, but units still need a drastic change from cartoonish to realistic and tough looking. again the units should not be toys they should be thought of as a real army an thus look as a real army as well. please enlarge and brighten health bars of units and bases. at its current state it is very hard to tell when units and bases will die. Make health bars bright green and bright red when low. Also please go back to blue crystals for supplies on the map. the teammate flares need to be a bright color as they were in the original game. also I see you have this red vs. blue, but honestly its hard to differentiate between teammates in your current color setup. please change this and please use bright colors, not black and brown as was sometimesthe case in the original.
Upgrades: since this is a beta im not sure if stuff for units was left out or not. either way please make each unit have individual upgrades. currently one example is the wolverine does not have one. also I will say that I fell the upgrade all units in a specific building is a good idea if done correctly. what I mean by this is that individual upgrades should not be a weaker upgrade than the upgrade all. for these upgrade all upgrades, i think having anymore than 2 of them is too much. 3 is overkill. And assuming you do keep these upgrade all the units in a building, please put markings on the units to show they have that upgrade and show the building being upgraded to look different to show what level it is on (again like the temple did in the original). Super units need to make a return. go back to the covey leaders and human 3 spartans with leader power. just please make a disruption bomb with either bigger range or shorter cool down time than in the original game.
positive additions: I do like having more options for base defense than just the standard turret as long as all are balanced. ranking system seems to be pretty good, but please do not make bans for resigning. this is just a part of the game because eventually one team gains the advantage and there is no reason for the other team to hang around just to be taunted and messed around with by the enemy. what I would say you could do is put a penalty for quitting before a certain time period in game, but its risky because if a player lags out im not sure they should necessarily be punished.
Units: The more I have been playing the beta the more I have realized they have lost the balance of units within each faction. What I’m talking about is specifically the anti-type units. To specify i think of the anti-vehicle units, both are infantry units. the problem with this is it does not add variety within the different factions. In the first halo wars cobras and hunters were the anti vehicle units. what was nice about this is that hunters countered cobras and for air wolverines countered vampires. As the units are currently setup it lacks creativity between factions. If you are supposedly adding depth to the game this is for sure taking away from it. my suggestion would be to have a setup something like this:
human: barracks: hellbringers, sniper, put the 3 spartans here (as original game was), heavy infantry unit (possibly odst)
garage: tanks, wolverines, kodiak, warthogs ,anti vehicle unit
air pad: hornets, vultures, nightengale, possibly building killer like a bomber (that is if you dont put one in garage)
covenant (banished): barracks: suicide grunts, elite rangers, hunters, brutes(like the brutes from hw1 with bruteshot) they would be the heavy unit and could attack air
garage: wraith, marauder, locust, possibly 1 more
air pad: banshee, vampire( anti-air from hw1), engineer, blisterback, the support one (forgot the name) from beta
to further explain heavy infantry would be a slower moving unit that has high damage, more health than main infantry, and would be better than main infantry against vehicles, but slightly worse against air. gremlins and elephants should return.
Upgrades: I would say some of the new upgrades you have put in the game have promise but need to be tweaked slightly.
units: I feel that they should keep the main system where each unit has individual upgrades that give them new abilities, more damage and health. it would be cool if you could make y abilities for each unit, although it would not be a big deal if not all had one. i am assuming all units will have upgrades because currently wolverines and kodiaks do not, but i realize this is just a beta. all units need individual upgrades come full game though.
Upgrade all units in a building: I welcome this addition, but i think currently having three levels is overkill. instead of adding depth and creativity all this is really doing is taking a good element and making it dull and repetitive. My suggestion would be to have just one level in all unit buildings, which only upgrades the speed and health of all the units in the building. It would almost be as an adrenaline upgrade (from original) for all unit types. Damage upgrades should only come from the individual unit upgrades. it is important to try and balance this upgrade with individual upgrades so it causes players to upgrade in different orders depending on the in game situation. Again, 3 levels of these upgrades is too much. I feel it should be 1 level, but please no more than 2 levels.
Field armory (special upgrades): to start of with a positive i like the new turret upgrades having an upgrade on building strength as well. again though I feel this should be cut down from 3 upgrades to 2 upgrades (medium and large turrets). reserves needs to be just one upgrade. having more than one just becomes tedious. population on the other hand i could see being useful if it did have two at 2 different tech levels, but again one would also be fine. i would say keep the covey hero in this building as it was in the original game.
commander points: I could be wrong but it feels as though players earn commander points by waiting out time limits. this should be removed if it is the current way of earning them. I would say i do thing the upgrade tree is a neat idea, but it is currently overpowered. this is where it gets difficult to suggest stuff because i feel you should go back to covey leaders and human powers, super units. in my opinion powers such as mac blast and cleansing beam should be support additions in the game rather than attack powers. to simplify I am saying the army you build with units needs to be what dishes out the damage and matters most. powers should only be there to slightly alter the battle. One change I would make is to put the mac blast and all powers like this back in the field armory. upgrading the leader power needs to be a right that is earned, meaning that an enemy player should be allowed to stop you from upgrading your powers. they could do this by destroying the field armory building. what i would say you could do to try and keep this aspect of an upgrade tree is to just have supply by each ability in this tree. it may not be the most unique way to get the upgrades like a commander point was trying to be, but it makes it fair for an RTS game. again all upgrades should be earned rather than just given to players. you could keep heal level 1 and 2, capture points faster 1 and 2, put in a disruption bomb to stop powers again maybe have level 1 and 2 with either different cool down times or larger radius. pelican transport level 1 and 2 (different levels would carry different amounts of units.) going off of this dropships that drop predetermined units could have a place in here because I do think its a cool idea, but it would just have to be balanced and not completely change a battle just by this power. as for the mines i think they should either be removed from the game or they should in some way be a base defense mechanism that you build from a building. For the brute currently the cleansing beam is fine, but the other cleansing beam that has 5 beams and explodes is way too strong and honestly should be removed from the game.
overall suggestions: supply gathering on the map takes way too long. i think the collection time needs to be reduced.