To my knowledge, the unbalanced nature of the average NS2 game is the one issue that UnknownWorlds has done nothing to address.
There are plenty of popular FPS games out that there 1. Require a fee to play and 2. Are very hostile towards new players.
However, the similarities you will find between almost ALL popular FPS games out there is that they have a working matchmaking system.
This is the one issue that causes the most frustration for new players and veterans alike. The fact of the matter is that it doesn't matter how many cool new things you add to the game, it doesn't matter how good you make the tutorial, it doesn't matter if you add free to play, it doesn't matter if the graphics are legendary, it doesn't matter if you make the bots so realistic that you can't tell them apart from real people - As long as the game continues to placate and encourage teamstacking and enormously imbalanced teams, it will fall through the cracks.
When I think of the most popular FPS games out there today: Halo, COD, BF3, CS:Go, etc. - They all have matchmaking. Yes, I know they are a lot different than this game but that's not the point. What is the most popular RTS game currently on the market? Starcraft 2. And what does Starcraft 2 have? A wonderful matchmaking system. You take either side of the hybrid genre this game is based on, and by default, the games that are doing the best, have good matchmaking. They are not free to play. They are often extremely difficult on new players. The analysis from the community of why this game is losing users is simply dead wrong. Add matchmaking, do another a free weekend, and watch it grow.
Yes I realize the cost of adding a system like this may be quite considerable, but it is much more important than anything you've added so far. If a MM system had been included in the game at launch, the playerbase would look so much different right now.
I'm sorry, but as a person who has been playing since mid-NS1, it's very easy to tell when a game is over at the 5 minute mark. Why stay and wait another 20 minutes for the game to end, just so I can (most likely) participate in another game that's a stomp? Stomps aren't fun for the winning or losing team, but as I said, I've seen no attempt to address this crucial issue.
Thank you