I think a pretty common sentiment a lot of us share is "Why is EFT development taking so long?" This game is amazing, we want to play it at its best, but it seems like it's dragging its heels before crossing the finish line. Taking it a step further: if it takes much longer, or never completes, would it be okay for another game to supersede it as the reigning champion of looter-shooters?
As a casual scav-main, Tarkov is a true gem. Aside from the established, glaring, problems, the whole thing just pops, feels great, and is a thrill to play. The sounds, aesthetics, controls, gameplay, are *chef's kiss*. The Russian theme seemingly never gets old and it's top-notch in EFT.
Unfortunately the problems with the game, though neatly categorized, are significant. As we all know, the sounds are amazing but unbalanced. EFT could really benefit from contracting Call of Duty to solve directional audio. Also, desync seems like it's a little out of control.
And the big one, of course: cheating. ESP, fly-hacks, unused accounts being stolen, etc are terrible for EFT's high-stakes gameplay. Not only that, but it makes the launcher feel like a hazard to have installed on my computer. Add that it's developed in Russia, infamous for its corruption and current evil atrocities, and I'm deeply conflicted at how much I'm willing to risk for the game in its current state.
If EFT did introduce a working anti-cheat, likely requiring kernel-level access, would I be willing to take that risk? Could they have a 3rd party from a neutral nation like the UK, Germany, or Switzerland, be wholly in charge of security instead?
But EFT isn't really taking anti-cheat measures. As we know, the cheating is not subtle at all and cheaters do get ousted in ban-waves, but then EFT immediately goes on sale and it's just a recurring cycle. The witch-hunt phenomenon of community contributors banning and unbanning folks on shaky evidence is an interesting commentary on society, but I'm ready to play a complete version of EFT, please.
The AAA shooters have been dabbling with looter-shooter aspects and even new upstarts like Marauders are offering us other options than EFT. If EFT keeps lollygagging it's going to see itself be leapfrogged and forgotten. Which would be a shame.
EFT is so close to the finish line and I'd love to see it take its seat as the rightful champion of its genre. Unfortunately, there is some, perhaps insurmountable, obstacle and we may all be disappointed to see it usurped. It's a beautiful passion project and pioneer, but maybe we just have to accept it will never fully bloom.
