I was still sometimes playing GoldenEye 64 even this year, whenever I could convince someone to play me, and I remember years ago following the development of this mod, but I never played it until now. So, my first impressions after playing for just 3-4 days since the 5.0 release are based off of having not played the mod previously:
First of all, this team has done something very special here. I am completely amazed at the level of detail, the attention to quality game play, the unreal amount of time so many of you have put into this... all to recreate, and improve upon, a game we all loved and enjoyed playing so much. Phenomenal, outstanding job!
My biggest 1st Person Shooter frame of reference, other than playing GoldenEye and Perfect Dark 64 for thousands of hours, was playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and SpearHead on PC. Once I play a game I like, I prefer to keep playing it - I started playing when it first came out and was popular, and I still play it today, even though it's virtually dead, and there's only a couple of active servers left.
That said, what impresses me about this mod is that it has some of the same features I loved about MOHAA in terms of excellent control... to me, having played (and not really liked) some COD 4 and some of the later versions, the "feel" of GE:S is almost a blend between the N64 game and MOHAA: SpearHead. Maybe it's because the two original games were developed within a couple years of each other; maybe it's just because I can jump over railings in GE:S now like I can in MOHAA and it suits my playstyle in both games... whatever it is, I really, REALLY enjoy playing this game, because it both takes me back to the N64 nostalgia and has given me a place to play an FPS similar to MOHAA that, because it's gone viral on social media and gaming sites the last few days, is well-populated with a great variety of maps, game types, and server populations for whatever mood I'm in... whether I'm looking for a tight, 3-6 person skirmish or an all-out 16-person war (or 16-plus! - I know the mod is not coded for it, but I have had a lot of fun playing in some of those 32-person matches, especially when it's two teams of 16).
I do have some "wishlist" items and am curious, being unfamiliar with the mod's history over all these years, whether any have been tried, considered, or are planned for the future. Would love to hear more about them! Please see below, many are small, cosmetic things - I know they're low on the priority list, if not even
- I still find myself doing this, but especially during my first few matches, I was trying to open doors I knew were locked (and others I wasn't so sure about), but was disappointed that there's no "This door is locked." text that appears. Part of that classic nostalgia, I guess.
- One of things I used to (still) do in GoldenEye 64 when I'm bored is run around shooting out the lights in multiplayer levels. It's also cool when random bullets hit them in matches and they shatter; it's likewise good target practice/boredom avoidance when a server is dead and you're waiting for people to come in. I noticed in one of the Bunker maps that you could do it, but was wondering if any of the other maps might have that functionality in the future.
- There was an Easter Egg in the original game where Rare stuck their logo on the end of a brick wall in the Depot level before the ending. I looked for a similar one in that spot (like the GE:S logo or something) but didn't notice one, although I was in a firefight at the time. Probably the most minor detail imaginable... but I'm a fanatic.
- The music is absolutely incredible, and I've already downloaded and listened to both the 5.0 and the previous soundtrack. All of the artists on your team did an amazing job! Is there a plan to allow menu options for custom playlists/music of those songs in the levels, or do they just play randomly according to the level? I even find myself humming the songs while driving to work!
- I imagine if you had all the time in the world, you'd make every map... but I'd love to see one based on Frigate. Second choices would be Surface 1 (could have insane sniper and grenade launcher battles...) and Dam "Backzone" (again, could have great sniper fights from the "secret 4th guard tower" across the water to the other 3 towers on the dam, while people fight inside rooms of the dam itself... would be awesome! I see people requesting Perfect Dark maps on Reddit and other places too, and have agreed with your responses there that people are free to add their own content, but they won't be "official" since this game is about GoldenEye... I'd love to play PD maps, but that's not what this game is about; in other words, I agree with your sentiments... anyway, the map selection is amazing already, I understand it could be years before more get designed and polished - those are my "wishlist."
- Are there server settings where servers can be set up to always have teams? How about having options to have 3-4 teams competing against each other? Is that something that's been considered, or does it make things too complex? I always enjoyed, 2 vs. 2, 2 vs. 1 and especially 3 vs. 1 team options in the original game (I loved the challenge of 3 vs. 1 when I was the 1); I know those don't translate well in an online setting, but is there a server option to do that? I'd love to even get a couple of friends online and play old-school like that.
- Finally, one big question - when you all set out to do this project (or joined it as the years went by), did you ever imagine it would be THIS good? I mean, it's incredible - and now that I've tried it, I look forward to playing for a LONG, LONG time!
