23 replies to this topic

[Professor Menzies]

Whats the appeal for this game?

i love battletech but this game seems lacking somehow - so lacking in fact that i gave up trying to play it after the tutorial on movement and runnin it on empty maps to practice shooting

mouse control seems overly sensitive for firing in a game where aiming is apparently the only thing that matters and that was with the sensitivity set to low

trying to control your aim, torso and legs while not gettin shot yourself seems like utter futility in the long run

or do these games just degenerate to a long snipe match hiding behind cover peeking out and firing without any real mech motion as that seems to be the case from the vids i have watched- or are the matches decided by a "kill the afk mech for the win" huzzah

Again the question remains- whats the appeal to that?

Is there any element of Battletech actually in this besides the fact that you are shooting from a mech?

Any politics involved in terms of inner sphere factions or clans?

Besides the long grind for c-bills for a new mech what is the actual point of playing this game?

Do you get some advantage if you win a match - any new territory conquered becomes your factions territory - if not - again what exactly are you playing for once you have got all the bonuses for your mech?

Are factions really just here in name and not actually a part of the game and if thats the case what makes this any different from any other f2p fps game on the market?

Honestly, what is the appeal for this game?

Edit: went to correct and posted it twice - ooops

Edited by Professor Menzies, 27 July 2014 - 03:20 PM.

[Koniving]

"Is there any element of Battletech actually in this besides the fact that you are shooting from a mech?"
This and the related ones below it are my own questions as well.

The answers will come when Community Warfare, most recently slated for September, is released...

This is PGI's answers to your questions.

How close to this they are over time is anyone's guess.

Edited by Koniving, 27 July 2014 - 03:54 PM.

[JigglyMoobs]

LOL.

OP - This is not a troll question.

*Proceeds to troll.*

[Redshift2k5]

I play because it's fun. I get to drive a mech, I get to tinker in the mechlab to build new mechs and experiment with them, I play with friends and friendly folks in my unit.

Is movement, aim, heat management, etc more difficult than a point & click shooter? Sure, and the simulator aspects are part of the appeal. Not as simulation-like as some previous Mechwarrior games, but to many playing with any sim aspects is more fun than unrealisic floating gun 360 noscope shooters.

you could ask the exact same question about any game, especially grind-heavy online games where there is no ending, only more matches. Why do people play LoL? WoW? Angry Birds? My wife loves playing The Sims, it's not a genre I enjoy but she does and that's enough for me.


Personally I don't see the appeal of faction warfare and taking over territory, that doesn't affect the actual stompy robot shooting play. A game should be fun to play, not just because some numbers go up or a map changes color.

[TercieI]

I'm with Redshift on this. The actual play is fun, especially in a group. I don't need more than that.

[Candun]

why dont you play the game and find out?

[Lukoi Banacek]

Your community warfare related questions are entirely valid. What is the game providing above the level of immediate combat that players can enjoy, strive for, compete for etc.

Your description of the game play and asking what the appeal is either pure troll or you definitely need to actually play a little to learn that the game is actually pretty fun and dynamic from the level of combat. That being said, if you want to just rush in and blast things, you'll find that the learning curve is fairly steep and demands people to play as a team to win consistently. Heroic solo acts rarely have success in this game, which is often the root cause of people upset with the game's mechanics....peel back a layer or two and you find out the player does not understand the mechanical basics of the game, or thinks they should be able to take on multiple mechs solo and win each time.

[Professor Menzies]

Thanks Koniving for the link -answers a lot of the questions i had with the direction they intend to go with the game

if its implemented that way - i can see the appeal to playing it from my perspective as it wouldn't just be another fps game as it is right now

and thanks for the other responses as well for recommending more than just the empty maps to understand the gameplay better

Edited by Professor Menzies, 27 July 2014 - 03:53 PM.

[Koniving]

You're quite welcome. The current gameplay can be fun.

It isn't the Battletech experience that I wanted with ideas deep-seeded in the lore and where heat management truly mattered and shutting down would have been a life or death mistake (in terms of Battletech, with 10 doubles or 20 single heatsinks, a mech could not start up again until after 15 seconds, plus or minus 3 seconds depending on the exterior temperature).

Instead it's more akin to MW4 or MechAssault in the sense that it's far less simulator and far more vehicle-like shooter. Simplified yet unnecessarily complex at the same time.

I will confess that MWO did try to give a story but it went on pause and completely stopped after the first year when PGI fell behind with its anticipated schedule. The timeline got a reset back to 3049 and is supposed to 'start' when Community Warfare is released (not sure if by the first phase or the third).

Elements of the story included earthquakes, events of mention in the news, political strife, use of mercenary units. At one point there was a rescued survivor from a colony world where he claimed his team was attacked by "forest lupines." (Timber Wolves).

But again those stopped during the first year as PGI fell majorly behind overly optimistic dates.

(For a glimpse of the Battletech that I wanted, take a peek at the "What 3/3/3/3 cost us" signature link. Taking everything ever said by PGI has ideas, concepts, and goals, I created my own little Community Warfare scenario focusing on the capture and defense of a specific planet. Lemme know what you think.)

Far as the fun... If you don't mind the edited in computer voice overs (I like the variety), I think this might demonstrate some of it.

[DEMAX51]

Regarding your mouse sensitivity issues, if you've already lowered your in-game settings, do you have a mouse with variable DPI? If so, you can lower that as well.

[Pekiti]

Seriously? You haven't even tried a single live match and you are posting every negative thing you can think of in the New Player Help forum? About how the game play is in PVP? That's trolling, by definition, but sure I'll respond.

Mouse sensitivity? Adjust it Game Settings, or on your own mouse software, or both. Just like every other game out there.

Learning to control moving your legs, torso and still aim well is tough? Welcome to every game in the world that has turreted vehicles or torso twist on your character. That's what makes a mech a mech, really - torso twisting to fire and defend. In table top BT, you had to stand still or move slowly to avoid massive penalties to hit - just like here. You also had to worry about weapon firing arcs and torso twist - just like here.

Any other elements of BT? I dunno...Clan mechs, IS mechs, House/Clan/Merc factions, camo/paint schemes, Hero mechs from the Lore, hit locations, critical slots, BT weapons/names/tech. There are no sheets of paper with hexes printed on them, and you have these animated virtual miniatures instead of plastic or lead ones, so yeah its not much like table top BT at all I guess. I admit, I really miss the whole 'wear a headset and talk through it while I drive my mech' in table top though.

Any politics? No more than any other game with organized clans (small S). Hop over to the fan/group forums and read some of the byplay between these groups and you'll see all the politics you can stand, I'm guessing. When Community Warfarecomes out, it will move MWO into the ranks of the (very few) MMOs that actually have persistant, conquerable territories.

Besides grinding for Cbills, why play the game? Um..the same reason you play any other MMO, perhaps? Competition, social interaction, gaining Achievements (in game milestones), mastering a given mech you like (or hate), relaxing after a long day clubbing seals or whatever you do for a living?

What do you get for winning a match? Cbills, XP, bragging rights, thrill of victory? What else exactly do you get by winning a match in other games? Other than a Community Warfare related match (like Clan Wars in WoT), there are very few games that give anything else.

It's a FPS game, with a theme of giant robots from BattleTech. They plan to have some form of Community Warfare in the future. All of this is clearly presented in videos, articles, reviews and even the tutorial. What part of that didn't actually show up in your (admittedly very brief) exposure to the game? Live opponents?

Your original question was 'What's the appeal (to us) for this game?'
My reply is 'What was the appeal (to you) for table top BattleTech?'

Edited by Pekiti, 28 July 2014 - 09:01 AM.

[n r g]

Professor Menzies, on 27 July 2014 - 03:10 PM, said:

Whats the appeal for this game?

i love battletech but this game seems lacking somehow - so lacking in fact that i gave up trying to play it after the tutorial on movement and runnin it on empty maps to practice shooting

mouse control seems overly sensitive for firing in a game where aiming is apparently the only thing that matters and that was with the sensitivity set to low

trying to control your aim, torso and legs while not gettin shot yourself seems like utter futility in the long run

or do these games just degenerate to a long snipe match hiding behind cover peeking out and firing without any real mech motion as that seems to be the case from the vids i have watched- or are the matches decided by a "kill the afk mech for the win" huzzah

Again the question remains- whats the appeal to that?

Is there any element of Battletech actually in this besides the fact that you are shooting from a mech?

Any politics involved in terms of inner sphere factions or clans?

Besides the long grind for c-bills for a new mech what is the actual point of playing this game?

Do you get some advantage if you win a match - any new territory conquered becomes your factions territory - if not - again what exactly are you playing for once you have got all the bonuses for your mech?

Are factions really just here in name and not actually a part of the game and if thats the case what makes this any different from any other f2p fps game on the market?

Honestly, what is the appeal for this game?

Edit: went to correct and posted it twice - ooops

The appeal is the fantasy sci-fi battles of thousand ton mechs battling in interstellar space. OK, no really, let me list the reasons in an easy format:

1) Rich, beautiful story-line that has legions of fans
2) Mech FPS combat that you cannot get from any other game/dev atm (no, hawken does NOT compare nor does titan fall)
3) customization features that no one currently offers (weapons like ballistic, energy, projectile, heat, speed, engines, armor, different tonnage mechs, cockpit items, battle horns, skins)
4) versatile simulation/fps gameplay that no one offers (having to manage heat, pick weapon loads-out that complements play style/map choice (i.e. <400m loadouts brawling vs. 600+ sniping loads outs, having to manage heat, speed)
5) game has a competitive backing

There are much more nuances as-well, like the fact that Mech Warrior has always had a lot of competitive ladder/leagues (cough, Community warfare, will we ever see it?).

So combine all those features listed above with intense competition and epic 8v8/12v12 battles and you'll see why there is no game out there like it, and never has been. The community of MechWarrior fans is also pretty die hard and I literally played the game in 2002 with MW4 noticed the passion these guys had.

The game made such a mark on me that here I am 10+ years later and notice that I see about 50%+ of the people from mw4 have ALSO RETURNED.

Long live MechWarrior! <3

Edited by E N E R G Y, 28 July 2014 - 09:54 AM.

[Appogee]

Koniving, on 27 July 2014 - 03:20 PM, said:

The answers will come when Community Warfare, most recently slated for September, is released...

They gave themselves until December 21, actually.

Edited by Appogee, 28 July 2014 - 10:02 AM.

[Koniving]

Appogee, on 28 July 2014 - 10:02 AM, said:

They gave themselves until December 21, actually.

NGNG or Reddit? Or did I overlook it on a Vblog? 'Cause I missed that.

[Modo44]

MWO is deep (lots to learn) and difficult (lots to practice even if you have talent). Combined with real, live opponents, it is engaging enough to counter the bugginess, lack of extra features, and lack of polish for many people. If you installed MWO expecting a campaign/persistent world, come back in a year -- that feature is only now being worked on.

Edited by Modo44, 28 July 2014 - 10:07 AM.

[Appogee]

Koniving, on 28 July 2014 - 10:03 AM, said:

NGNG or Reddit? Or did I overlook it on a Vblog? 'Cause I missed that.

Reddit. Russ said "...(F)ull focus switching in June but delivery of V1 in the Fall of 2014. Yes Fall goes right to Dec 21st 2014. I do not have an ETA and have no desire to miss one ever again. That is the best information I have at this time."

[DEMAX51]

Appogee, on 28 July 2014 - 10:09 AM, said:

Reddit. Russ said "...(F)ull focus switching in June but delivery of V1 in the Fall of 2014. Yes Fall goes right to Dec 21st 2014. I do not have an ETA and have no desire to miss one ever again. That is the best information I have at this time."

He also said the in a recent NGNG podcast that phase 1 - unit creation - could hit in August.

[Appogee]

DEMAX51, on 28 July 2014 - 10:40 AM, said:

He also said the in a recent NGNG podcast that phase 1 - unit creation - could hit in August.

Unit Creation is just an organising front end. It isn't what most people would see as Community Warfare, ie actually fighting over territory.

[DEMAX51]

Appogee, on 28 July 2014 - 10:44 AM, said:

Unit Creation is just an organising front end. It isn't what most people would see as Community Warfare, ie actually fighting over territory.

Oh I know - i'm just saying it's not like we won't see anything prior to December 21st.

[Rogue Jedi]

reasons to play MWO

it is a Mechwarrior game

you get to chose, customize and pilot a variate of Battlemechs, with the customization you can give yourself an advantage or disadvantage, and (to a degree) chose how the mech handles

it takes practice and skill to pilot a mech, as well as knowing the mechs limitations, just because someone can brawl successfully in their heavily customized Atlas does not mean they an use LRMs compatently or scout successfully in a Light

you play against other players, in a test of skill

their is an element of luck involved, if your team meets a better organized or more skilled team you will loose

no-one in invincible

you can join groups and become part of a community of players




in my opinion this is the best game I have ever played, and looks like it will get better. you are free to disagree