The Future

This is mostly for EA and PopCap to see as I want to see a new PvZ shooter in the future, and I know I'm not the only one.

Things look bleak for our beloved shooter series right now. BfN hitting a brick wall like it has was quite a shock. We know it's had a rocky time since Founders but GW2 had a rocky launch too, although not to this extreme admittedly, and I was looking forward to new characters, Ops phase 3 and so on, so the announcement of no new content before we get any of the stuff we expected to see added, really hit hard.

I think it's important to note that we can still play all 3 PvZ shooters right now, and GW is 6 years old, which is pretty amazing for an online game in the current environment. I mean, I can still grab a cartridge for my Colecovision or Atari 2600 and play those old games any time I want, but they aren't online games that do best with lots of other people playing to enjoy, and this is especially true in GW1's case as it has no PvE beyond Ops, and even then, only as a plant, but you can still get G&G games on PC, and sometimes some of the other modes too. That really says something in these days of releasing a new game every year!

I put a huge post up on the gardenwarfare reddit about why BfN hasn't done so well compared to the GW games (and @stukapooka commented on it there already). I'd be happy to post it here too if people are interested. Regardless of how well BfN did or why it ultimately lost support without an announcement of a new PvZ shooter, don't let it end here. I like darker shooters like F.E.A.R. and more tactical realistic shooters like R6 Siege, as well as the old favorites like TF2, but the PvZ shooters are my favorites for the PvZ characters, the silliness, the little details like that ad on Moonbase Z in GW2 of the zombie looking for a date, the crazy weapons, the different ways to play, and so on. It may be awhile with the team being moved around and other mitigating factors, but I and I'm sure several other forum goers here, both current and past, would love a new PvZ shooter to enjoy for hours and maybe even years to come. Let's not let BfN be the end of the line but instead, a fork in the road. Player retention is high in these games and playing GW2 again I'm seeing a lot of folks still playing it consistently, so the playerbase is here for a new game, that can keep that PvZ spirit alive!

39 Replies

kubo701
5 years ago
@Iron_Guard8 In fact you're right BFN when it was released had many bugs
stukapooka
Legend
5 years ago
@Iron_Guard8I would love a gw3 to go back to the older style of 1&2 yet be in devlopment for several years, focus on day 1 and dont give us roadmap bs, extra appeal by having all the previous maps back with bot support, all gamemodes already working at full capability alongside some new ones with gnomes maybe, a proper game on launch (especially pc), and get actual marketing this time then honestly I don't care what Popcap does with the rest of the game in terms of pve or artstyle.

Imo its going to be hard to top gw2 in terms of playability and options for a gw3.
Iron_Guard8
Legend
5 years ago
@stukapooka I know a lot of us were hoping for basically more GW when we knew they were working on a new shooter all the way back in 2016, evena s GW2 was still getting updates. New characters, new variants, new maps, and so on. I don't think many of us wanted anything drastically different from what GW 1 and 2 gave us, but mostly little improvements; better customization UI (GW2's was awful), a more robust backyard battleground (more quests, more stuff to do in general, more places for decorations), the ability to save builds/costumes and so on. To be fair, BfN did improve a couple of things (like the customization UI and the ability to save builds/costumes), but fell short in other ways.
If they take the best of the current PvZ shooters and improve upon them, the game could be amazing. I really want to play the old GW maps for example, but as you can't play bot matches, and the game is 6 years old, it's hard to get games in. If it added crossplay and anti-cheat and gave us solid, fun game play, it would be exactly what people have been asking for.
stukapooka
Legend
5 years ago
@Iron_Guard8 I agree in thinking that all that mostly everyone wanted was an improvement upon gw2 that would iron out its flaws and bring maps back.

Yeah when they announced walnut hills was coming back I was really excited until I learned there would be no bot support (I was fine with og classes only tbh), I think Krook said it best in that if wallnut hills was going to lazily be cut and paste into gw2 then there was no excuse to not add the other maps in anyway even if new feautures wouldnt be available like graveyard ops or bots as gw1 nowadays is just mlg foot soldier gods against bunnyhopping peashooter.

If gw3 presented itself in a end to the trilogy fashion gameplay wise in the style of having all maps and characters to play it could work pretty well if the launch and advertising is good imo.
BlixGoblin
New Scout
5 years ago
you sound like me. I really enjoy Resident Evil series and other horror games. I do like the ability to go to the PvZ games and relax and have fun. GW1 and 2 still have a lot of players.. GW1 is just mainly garden and graveyard and team vanquish but i have been able to participate in Taco Bandit and Gnome Bomb as well. I wish they wouldn't end BFN. as it does have a lot of potential. I'm really sad. I'm not sure what they could do though to revive it. It does feel like a mess from the beginning.. with all the rainbow stars, prize bulbs, and coins. I had emptied out the reward o tron a long time ago and now i'm stuck with tons of coins. 😪
CharlesHlcBende
5 years ago
If GW3 comes, I want 32v32 modes.
Fork_x_Spoon
5 years ago
@Iron_Guard8 Pretty much nailed it right there. I struggle to stop yet play this game and participate in the community because it's still good. But supporting something not even the creators are willing to handle isn't a good sign. I've said it multiple times by now, but just focus all development on the next project (PvZ or not) so we don't end up in a situation where GW2 dies without limbs while BfN is born with none.
Iron_Guard8
Legend
5 years ago
@BlixGoblin I really loved Taco Bandits, I'm even in an old Zack Scott video playing it so long ago! I do get G&G matches on GW1, and I've had a few TV matches too, but I haven't been able to get a taco bandits game or mixed mode (my go to mode for GW1), in a long time. I too am stuck with a ton of coins and have been using the XP machine lately to help level up the characters, all of which (barring the swarm characters) are Grandmaster 3 right now.
@stukapooka Krook knows the games very well and some of his ideas to help balance things going back to at least GW2 would have been great to see. I was disappointed we only got Wall-nut hills and only with the old characters in GW2, and indeed, it seems like it would be worth the effort to modernize those old maps enough for a newer game. People are often asking for the old maps in a new game, that even if they adjust it for bigger characters and to address any consistent balance problems, it would be worth their time.
I'd be happy to see a GW3 where thanks to the gnomes or some other reason, we could time jump and fight on any currently existing maps and any more they create to play on for a new game. There are a lot of maps between the 3 games and they'd likely add more. There is so much potential here and a sizable fanbase that is hungry for more, if it was done well they'd make money and we'd have a great game to play!
Shadowphinx101
5 years ago
@Iron_Guard8 How about this... GW3 IN SPACE. A Super mario galaxy themed pvz shooter, how sick would that be :o Am I the only one?!?
agqwpe663oe6
5 years ago
@Iron_Guard8 The chances of getting a new shooter are probably low, but not 0. Honestly, BFN still has done several things better then GW2, but GW2 still remains pretty superior to BFN. BFN has been pretty shaky with the community. If we do get a new shooter, I'm not expecting a GW3 or BFN 2.