DoctorEvil

I have added a brand new survival map, called "Desert Storm Survival", into the collection (see Map 5)! Like the Jungle Falls Survival (Map 3) it is a 4 player survival map - but this time the players have access to their full arsenal again. Unfortunately for the players they have to protect all four sides simultaneously, since Yuri attacks from four bases with the same amount of units.  

Due to some feedback I've decided to change the spawns on the survival maps from one huge wave every few minutes to many smaller waves every few seconds. This seems to reduce lag as far as it was possible to me. Since those smaller waves are way easier to handle I've added veterancy to each wave as a compensation of difficulty. 

Additionally I have added a section for special thanks, since many people helped me in testing these maps. Please write me a PM if I forgot anyone of you. 

As always have fun with my maps! Since I am quite busy with my own projects as well as my job right now I won't be able to finish my other maps so quickly. 

Another bug I have noticed isn't a game bug but rather a problem with map design. On the 8-player map "World Rejector" there are small islands at each corner of the map with a bunch of tech buildings. At the very top of both top corners are oil derricks, which can't be captured with an engineer. 

In this case I have to say how well the character of Libra and how poorly the character of Yunru are written. Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion.

Besides some other flaws I've noticed does Yunru fulfill a lot of the "Mary Sue"-cliché. Just to describe it: A Mary Sue is an overpowered (not gameplay-wise) and perfectly good character, with no explanation given for that power level. A Mary Sue is instantly liked by all the established characters, yet at the same time he/she doesn't have much of a personality. Mary Sue's feel often like some sort of wish-fulfilling and are often an attempt to implement a perfect version of the character's author (like it is in many FanFictions). Besides are typical Mary Sues never embarrased or show any form of weakness, causing them to never fail even the hardest challenges. 

In case of Yunru: She is an extremely intelligent young woman, who is able to create powerful weaponry within a short time. Besides that does Yunru have the Chinese army behind her up to a point, where she gets some kind of private army (the Foehn Revolt). 

Personally I do not have a problem with these traits and the idea where this is going - I simply don't like the way it was approached. There were so many puzzle pieces that got omited. Why do all of those man follow a 19-years of teenage-girl? Does she show so much charisma? Etc.

Mr_DevilSmile and Solais already pointed that out very well, so I don't need to write it again. 

Another thing I don't really like about Yunru is the way she lacks of weaknesses. I think she might be a bit comparable to Tony Stark / Iron Man. Tony always was intelligent and a great creator of warmachines, yet from the peak of his arrogance he fell to a point, where his point of view changed drastically over time. 

In case of Yunru there is a huge potential for weaknesses. While just being a teenager, I highly doubt that everybody will follow her - many man in the military will follow others, who have experience. There should be man, who ridiculate her. Also even if the people trust her (for whatever reason), onto her shoulders rest the hopes of her close allies to be the only ones, who can repel the plans of Yuri - the level of stress this must create is for sure way above the level she can manage to handle. 

The last thing I have to criticize about Yunru is her "pacifism". Isn't it a bit weird to declare yourself as a pacifist when you invent and build weapons? I know that there is no way to defeat Yuri peacefully, but as far as I can remember did Yunru already create weapons for the Chinese army, when they fought the Allies.  

In contrast to Yunru, I have to admit that the character of Libra is really well written. In fact Libra is so believable, that I really don't want to be near her. The voice actress of Libra did a great job here as well.

Even though Libra is insanely powerful, there is an explanation for her power (the CAS) and still she isn't invulnerable like shown in Blood Rage. I also like the small hints over the story, where people report of experiments on a strong female psychic. What were these experiments? What did they do to her?

Libra seems to be a sad human being that got tortured and withstood inhuman experiments with the goal to seize her down to an emotionless weapon. A sad background story. 

I really hope to see more of her in the future.

I'm not sure if this is known but: If you play the first mission of the Epsilon campaign and try to save your game, your savegame will be named after the fifth mission of the Soviet campaign.  

Just a short update on this topic:

I have added Baidu as a download-alternative, since there are many Chinese players in Mental Omega. This way it is now possible for Chinese people to download the maps without using VPN.

I am currently working on a 4 player battle map, which is based on a real world location. One of the users wished for a skirmish map based upon a real-life location, so I decided to give it a try. Even though it won't be symmetrical, the map shall still be balanced in terms of gameplay.

DoctorEvil, on 16 Apr 2018 - 7:52 PM, said:

 

Flandre, on 16 Apr 2018 - 05:52 AM, said:

There is something I kinda don't like in the 2 of the maps is that constant fog of war keep popping up.

 

Was that intentional? As it does kinda good in multiplayer but bad for singleplayer (or a challenge)

 

This is intentional. The first map, Subcon Forest, has this feature since it should represent a cursed and haunted forest. It's also a gameplay feature since the map offers various paths to sneak around the map. The curse (regrowing fog of war) however can be broken. Have you figured already out how? 

 

The second map, Jungle Falls, keeps the regrowing shadow through the entire match. The reason behind this is to provide a more jungle-like feeling. The four players have a hard time to see through the density of the rain forest, so the lonesome soldiers that get lost in the ominous Jungle Falls have to use their senses again instead of their pathetic sensors. 

 

 

I see that makes sense, although I did notice that there is a hidden "gap tower" in the map in Subcon Forest.

 

Ah I see you got it! Here's a message for you: