The game is definitely a CPMA clone. And I'm probably one of the very few people that actually prefer Q4 to any other duel game as well. As much as I loved and played D3, I even preferred Q4 to that. It would be fantastic to see another duel fps game that has some new elements to it....
but let's be realistic, it's been ages now since a good duel game has come out. QL is fun still, but I really only play it because its the only thing out there that has people on it, I don't enjoy the game nearly as much as most other duel games, the features are ancient, and ID is doing absolutely nothing to modernize the game. EVERY single competitive game has ranked matchmaking...QL even has a built in ELO system and they still can't give us that, it's ridiculous. They want to start appealing to a more casual audience in order to get players in the game- I 100% agree, history shows that games can't stay competitive without the casual players backing. You need a big player base, viewers, etc...but adding in loadouts and making the game easier for new players isn't the solution. Where are the features that the casual community would need to play the game:
-ranked matchmaking so that they don't get stomped by pros
-twitch stream integration to increase viewership
-purchasable weapon skins/player skins similar to what made CSGO explode
I get that it's risky for ID to put the money into the game, because they have to see a return somewhere, and that's the problem, ID isn't willing to implement these kinds of things to modernize QL. Gameplay speaking, Reflex won't play like Q4, it won't be that innovative in respect to movement etc...but it has the features that no other modern arena shooter has ever brought to the table, and I think it's those features that give this game a chance at success.
The reality is- Reflex will probably fail...it likely won't reach its kickstarter campaign goal and features may need to be cut or things will be half-assed; or even if it does release it just won't capture the audience that it needs to keep afloat for long...but based on what I've seen so far (watched Vo0 streaming this game for a few hours yesterday), it's by far the most that anyone else has done for a new arena shooter. They have goals, they have a timeline and the game looks and runs gorgeous- so that for me is enough to back the game.
The steam release of QL has brought some players back to the game, servers are more populated than they've been in a long time, there's still lots of good players kicking around...but there's no sustainable growth, and no pull for new players to get into it. The learning curve is still ridiculously hard to duel and for a new player there is hardly any chance at viably finding enough duel practice partners at your level to improve...and even if you do, the competitive scene is virtually non-existent compared to say CS, where there are multiple leagues and tournaments going on every night of the week.
All that being said, I've started playing some QL again, balancing my time between that and CS
I'm awful now, but it is fun to play some arena fps again. Maybe a new arena fps with huge competition is a pipedream, but what I've seen of reflex makes me more excited than any other game out there/that's been announced.
Sounds like you will mop the floor with me, but I'm down to get some games in sometime, just msg me ingame or add me on steam (if you just search 'hadriel' it should be easy to find me)
I don't think we've had any sort of vent or ts servers in several years now :s
As much as we have a few players that are still active here and there, it seems like eXg. as a whole is pretty well dead now. Everyone is inactive or split between tons of other games.