40K Source

Playing Beta 5.05, if that's needed.  This post is in no particular order.  Also, new here (^_^)b

First experiences:

My first experience is pretty good.  I think I've played 3 hours or so.  To me, this mod does need a lot of polish, but it is a very good beta thusfar.  Some CTDs happen, and I'll be sure to send crash dumps (if they even exist) the dev team's way if desired.  (Suggestion: Sticky something in the forums for crash dumps with replies so that the forums aren't cluttered)

That said, the Tyranids feel underpowered at first impression.  The warrior's projectile feels like it can't hold its own in guerrilla tactics, which I mainly have to do because the bolter feels really powerful.  This may be intended, however.  And Tyranids in expert hands are deadly, deadly, and deadly.

The two reasons I don't describe the Space Marines is that I haven't played with them much, and they feel pretty solid.

Map-specific input:

Dig site: Pretty even, I think.  I did have a situation where the marines won, though the Tyranids held three control points.  But when there are even teams, it seems like actually good battles take place, and it's fun.  Even Losing is Fun in those battles.  Mainly big problems: Default graphics made my FPS drop massively when I faced towards the open courtyards on Space Marines, and FPS drop on medium-low graphics settings on Tyranids (I usually have to keep textures on medium or any possible text in the game world is unreadable).

Hive: I have not played this very much as a Tyranid.  As a Space Marine, I've mainly won with maybe low server levels.

Lycantium: Haven't played this much.  Open areas galore, feels kind of bare, and easy to win with Tyranid ninjas.

Space Hulk: Tyranids feel massively underpowered here.  So much walking.  Space marines can easily camp a corridor and mow down any Tyranids with a bolter.  What is worse is when the bigger Tyranids get into play, like the Carnifex.  They cannot go through doorways without having to crouch.  Sometimes the Warrior might have to crouch, but that's a little fuzzy.  I'll note doors next time I'm playing with myself.

Thunderhawk: The Tyranid tunnel is a shooting gallery, and the dragon teeth, while obvious to jump over, just get in the way for Tyranids.  The secondary tunnel is not obvious because of the facing of the Tyranid spawn.  I must have went around a dozen times before I finally looked around and noticed: "Ah!  A tunnel! *flank*".

Conclusion:

This mod has potential.  I would like to see a good community rise (my ignorance on the matter is that I'm a newbie), and I've seen many of the communities I've formerly taken part in basically go down the drain (I will not name specifics).  Therefore, I think I will stay and try and take good part of the community.  I have quite a bit of experience in open source software, so bug reports and testing are on my skill set, and I do plan to help out with that.  My first experience has been a good one, even though this mod may not be polished yet, and I am impressed (and repeating myself).

I hope this post helps. (^_~)b

Hello and welcome to the forum.  Thanks for taking the time to write up your impressions of the new beta.    Feedback always helps guide the development of the next beta.

If you have crash dump files you can mail them straight to me ( leader@40ksource.com ).  Apart from some pesky crashes on map change EX seems fairly stable these days.

Dig Site, does have an odd issue with non-specific lag.  I have found that deleting the ex/maps/soundcache folder can help.

Hive, needs a rebuild in most cases it's either a fight to a standstill or tyranids rush win.

I'd agree that Lycantium has too many shortcuts.  With their higher speed the Tyranids can and do take advantage of that.  I need to plan a better layout.

Space Hulk has a new version in the works, with better cover on the approaches to the generator.  It missed this patch because of a problem with the email system.

I know Typheron wants to build a whole new version of Thunderhawk, so I doubt it worth fiddling over details of this map.