I think AR and SMG are fine when I tested SVN today, as Sanzo said they've become situational weapons, SMG especially feels much more viable to use in matches. Carbine feels better to handle in this version (more like the instagib rifle in sauerbraten), but I didn't really test it too much, same for shotgun.
I really hate this new sniper though, and in my very controversial opinion I think the sniper balance is terrible, and I'm not even sure if there's a way to get it right. There are players like Sanzo who are genuinely skilled with the weapon, and play it nicely, etc, and that's great, but at the other end of the spectrum you have idiots just scoping at doorways to try and get kills, and it's just annoying to play against. In 1.1 you can deal with this, but if sniper really is as OP as everyone says it will slow down the gameplay dramatically - if a sniper camps to get a hit in 1.2 it will essentially turn into a death sentence for the weakened player. I'd just like to clarify, that I really have nothing against snipers being able to flag or have the same use in a team as a normal player, I actually think that would be amazing, but the problem with sniper is that in addition to being able to play in a team environment with it, you can also dominate with it just by out-camping your enemy, which isn't fun and just slows gameplay down, when AC is supposedly marketed as having "fast, arcade gameplay".
I'm not even hating on the new balance, I think it's mostly great, I just don't understand why everyone's so happy about sniper being an OP weapon. It's too weak in 1.1, but too powerful in 1.2, this is all I'm saying.
Also if the half-time balance will be implemented, it would probably be nice to test it first, instead of getting it "suddenly added". Just my opinion.
I really hate this new sniper though, and in my very controversial opinion I think the sniper balance is terrible, and I'm not even sure if there's a way to get it right. There are players like Sanzo who are genuinely skilled with the weapon, and play it nicely, etc, and that's great, but at the other end of the spectrum you have idiots just scoping at doorways to try and get kills, and it's just annoying to play against. In 1.1 you can deal with this, but if sniper really is as OP as everyone says it will slow down the gameplay dramatically - if a sniper camps to get a hit in 1.2 it will essentially turn into a death sentence for the weakened player. I'd just like to clarify, that I really have nothing against snipers being able to flag or have the same use in a team as a normal player, I actually think that would be amazing, but the problem with sniper is that in addition to being able to play in a team environment with it, you can also dominate with it just by out-camping your enemy, which isn't fun and just slows gameplay down, when AC is supposedly marketed as having "fast, arcade gameplay".
I'm not even hating on the new balance, I think it's mostly great, I just don't understand why everyone's so happy about sniper being an OP weapon. It's too weak in 1.1, but too powerful in 1.2, this is all I'm saying.
Also if the half-time balance will be implemented, it would probably be nice to test it first, instead of getting it "suddenly added". Just my opinion.