Dracol, on 01 July 2013 - 08:41 PM, said:
Aim64c, I appreciated the info low down. Was an interesting read. As were your ideas on expanding electronic warfare in MWO.
Comparing RL equipment to MW:O, we can see PGI has taken a more advanced position. The uav drone is much more accurate then what is currently available. But, they stayed away from complete radar coverage found in previous MW titles as well as current fps games.
You kind of have to take the "more advanced" approach with games like this that are not intended to be hard-core simulators. It's a lot of work to sift through the data and figure out what is relevant and what is not (and the programs designed to help with that can make errors).
If this were a hard-core sim environment, we'd spend twenty minutes playing scout-tag with each other and the fight would be over in thirty to ninety seconds.
Seeing how people around here complain about having to walk more than three steps to be in range of the enemy on Alpine...
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As much as I would love a complex system like you described in your thread, IMHO it is not a viable position for a game to take if they desire to draw in a large player base.
One thing your ideas are based around is the inclusion of a dedicated scout in a group. Unfortunitly there is only a small percent of the population that wants to sit on the sidelines, target for others, and watch the action unfold. For a dedicated group of 8 mans, this role could be filled, and most likely not reluctantly.
When it comes to general population though, IMHO it would be poor game design if a successful team required such a passive role to succeed. Personally I've achieved a 2 wins to 1 lose record in meds/lights or fast heavies simply by being the person that watches the flanks. It seems like 9 times out of 10 when I run a slow heavy or an assualt we lose simply because everyone stays in a blob with no scouting.
A lot of that would go by the way-side once community warfare is implemented and a more complex match-making system is implemented. Just like how a lot of games have "roles" that you queue for in raid groups - you'd have the same thing happen, here - or there'd be the ability to launch with your mechs in the 4-slot "ready bay" and select your role from them (or some combination of both - especially if the pilot skill-tree is revamped to include specific weapon systems and other stuff - though I may be getting my hopes up too high, there).
Add in an integrated voice-chat system, and that would all go over about as well as it could for a random group.
I don't think MechWarrior should embrace the ideology of "bring the player, not the class." A lot of players have left WoW because of that, and have migrated to other games.
In this game - you functionally cannot do that. Lights are not "the same" as heavies and assaults. You can't "bring the player, not the class" with them - everyone will end up in heavies and assaults, because those "bring the player."
Without a solid information warfare aspect that relies upon lights - many lights completely lose their efficacy because they don't pack ECM or spam enough lasers to make them effective strike platforms. The information warfare portion of the game is largely one-sided. ECM denies information and is really the only reason to bring along some of the lights.
Because the role of a fast scout that feeds information to the team is absent. You really only need BAP if you have missiles on your rig. TAG is occasionally carried by lights - but NARC is -rarely- seen (took me by surprise when I saw someone running it earlier today).
Scouting is powerful - but not essential. You can 'scout' with a group of Atli. You just aren't fast - but good teamwork can still meet the enemy with you at the advantage. The enemy having a fast scout doesn't really put you at much of a disadvantage (unless they start throwing in some extra capture objectives or something).
Mind you - I'm talking about combat. In the overall game objective of Conquest - it can be argued that fast lights are nearly essential... but mechs like the QuickDraw really kind of put lights in a difficult position.