11 replies to this topic

[Sandpit]

Good evening my fellow forumites!

WARNING: LOOOONG POST!

I have returned (for those that rembereth the time before lol) from a hiatus. I wanted to hold off on giving much feedback until I'd had a chance to experience a decent amount of gameplay (outside of CW thus far, strictly as a solo pug running around in my Stalkers so no CW except a few matches here and there yet)

The Academy???? Wow. I am thoroughly impressed. You guys have done an excellent job laying the groundwork to improve the NPE a hundred times over. I honestly loved every part of it. It was challenging enough that I didn't just jump in and gold everything quite yet lol

The entire layout, storyline, atmosphere, it was truly awesome. I felt like I was inside an active world for once. Excellent job all the way around. Just about everything I see implemented into the tutorials was taken directly from a lot of community feedback. As I nearly always say, PGI does listen to feedback even if they act contrary to that at times. In this case though, I can remember many discussions about having an academy like this.

So know that the following feedback is intended to hopefully come up with ideas to help enhance that even further, not to just nitpick or overly criticize. So with that disclaimer out of the way, let me also say, for those who do not know me, I take great care in my threads to help maintain them and keep them constructive. Just keep it on topic and be nice to one another.

Ok, my first suggestion comes from, is this the absolute first thing upon hitting launch on a newly created account a player does? If it isn't, it should be. The intro was a great little blurb that actually hyped the universe we're in and the galaxy we're fighting over. Continue adding things like this. Go back to adding those in-universe announcements and cable news. That's how you're going to hook players into wanting to continue playing. You give them a reason to care about WHY they're stomping around in big robots. So this should be the first thing they should see.

Immediately after that they should land straight into the tutorial mode. Many of us suggested long ago that they be given missions similar to this and a wad of cbills upon graduating. Excellent job on this front thus far. I think the rewards should be a bit greater and the mech piloting diversified. Piloting a Spider is nothing like piloting a Stalker. It helps new players make a more informed purchase when they decide to buy their first mech.

The other little challenge areas are fantastic! Here's where you're missing an opportunity. Simply implement a cbill wagering system and post game-wide top scores for these. Let it become the groundwork for Solaris. These competitions would become a great cbill sink. Then open up the true arena mode and let the community go crazy with everything from 1v1 to FFA 24mans. Set up league structures if you want. Let those solo and small groups and such (just like in TT lore if you want to get down to it, washed out mercs, merc units rebuilding and just starting, glory house units, etc.) Have an area where they can play with less pressure of the CW and play with much less restraint.

I promise if you do this you're going to see a whole new level of interest from both within and from outside this community. You will see the beginnings of your esports. Now from there you separate CW into the "military campaign Inner Sphere War" side of things. You give players two separate hangars. You can grandfather in accounts, give options for long-term players, etc. If you log into the CW servers, you are now involved in the intergalactic war and you don't get to "customize your strategic and optimal location and mech design each and every time" and you implement a tiered mission style similar to what you already have. (I'm getting a little off-track here with CW and I'll be posting on that in a separate thread so I apologize but I'm wanting to show the separation of this and CW)

From there you create social lobbies. You create an area for your streamers, youtubers, facebookers, etc. to congregate and help promote your game! Sure you're going to spend a bit to get some community managers and a really strong presence on the forums and beef that all up a bit, but I can guarantee you that combined with the other suggestions it's going to more than pay for itself. I am also fairly positive you can get many from the community to help moderate.

The cadets, upon finishing that basic tutorial and prior to begin free roam of the academy, should then be taken to the "Mech Lab" and allowed to take out 1 (you could tie this in with the current trial rotation) mech from each weight class. They could then take any of those mechs into any of the training grounds. You have record scores and times for each weight class. (Even more esports and epeen potential lol). You've just created the Solaris Games and Solaris Training Academy.

Keep giving bonuses and require the "cadets" to complete xx amount of multiplayer matches with others in the NPE queue. Allow veterans (who have been vetted and approved of by PGI) to have access to this queue and chat lobby as well. They can be there to assist new players and give helpful answers and advice. This community will be surprisingly welcoming of newcomers I promise. Sure there will be a few who will "test the waters", but I honestly believe that there's a LOT of people within this community want to make everything about it better.

Anyhow, these vets will be given access to a training mech (again could be tied to trial rotation) as well as a special trainer mech. This mech could be something like the Chameleon (Classic training mech) and only those who dedicate that time to help improve the game and community can reap that reward. Forget $500 mechs, I'm telling you right now, that right there? Whatever mech you put in that spot, would become one of, if not THE, most coveted mechs in the game. Not to mention the goodwill it would create between you the community. Showing us a little trust. We're grownt adults as well PGI, we want this to succeed.

You also give recruits access to a free mech lab. They get a "free" (only to use within the academy before they graduate and get their own hangar) hangar tied to the current trial rotation and several million cbills so that they can also learn the ins and the outs of the mech lab before blowing their first several million on mechs and designs that they don't enjoy playing. You give them a much more informed decision on how and where to spend their cbills as well as get them experience in optimizing and playing in the multiplayer environment before dropping them in alongside of and against long-term vets with optimized mechs and loads of experience in the game.

Finally, upon graduation of the academy they can either enlist in one of the great IS Houses, slip onto a ship and set out to find his heritage among Kerensky's path, or slum it on Solaris and grind it out as a Merc or SOlaris games pilot.

You integrate Solaris and the academy like that and implement just a few changes here and there to what you already have implemented into the game and I'm telling you, you just created that vibrant universe, in-game economy, Esports environment, CW military campaign, AND story all in one swoop! Talk about expansion! The best part? The only thing you'd need to add in order to tell your story?

Simply add in a quick 30 second animated promo about Kerensky and clan-life according to the archives. Make it a "class" a cadet has to take before choosing to "defect". Now look, I know I've left the clans out of this, but I haven't forgotten about them. It's just not for this thread and I think what I've suggested would do wonders to boost the popularity of IS mechs in general and take some of the "stress" off balancing for a bit.

If it works out, you can easily work a similar system into the clan side of things with trials and such. Have the "defectors" have to fight a clan training course similar to what the IS does, just in clan mechs. Make it take no longer than 10 minutes max (Hey, that's the price you pay traitors! lol) and then they pick their clan. Heck, I'd even be willing to see how many people would be willing to bet pink slips in matches (Depending on the rules I might be one of those myself!)

Anyhow, I know this was a long post and appreciate anyone who took the time to peruse it. I just wanted to give an honest interpretation of where MWO is now in this particular case and where it was. How it has improved and how I feel it can be further improved from the perspective of a long-term player.

TL;DR
yea right, don't be lazy lol

Remember, keep it constructive please. Let's discuss how to improve the game whether you agree with my ideas or not.

[Tesunie]

I shall admit to not reading the whole thing, but I read a decent amount of it.

I've always thought that PGI did listen to feedback. That doesn't mean that all feedback is something "needed" in the game though. So, I feel PGI has worked well with some ideas that were nice.

The Academy is not something a new player is jumped right into as far as I know, but the first log in with an account prompts a tutorial option (which can be canceled). After that, the Academy button flashes to bring attention to it till it is played. Just an FYI.



I do want to leave a small remark here though, I think your thread belongs more in General Discussion than Academy Tutorial/feedback. Seems to start on the topic of the Academy, and then drift to other topics (which isn't a problem).

It's nice to see some actual positive comments at PGI for a change. Things may not be perfect. It may not be how we think it should be. Doesn't mean PGI isn't doing a decent job on most things in the game.

[Sandpit]

I just

Tesunie, on 23 November 2015 - 07:54 PM, said:

I shall admit to not reading the whole thing, but I read a decent amount of it.

I've always thought that PGI did listen to feedback. That doesn't mean that all feedback is something "needed" in the game though. So, I feel PGI has worked well with some ideas that were nice.

The Academy is not something a new player is jumped right into as far as I know, but the first log in with an account prompts a tutorial option (which can be canceled). After that, the Academy button flashes to bring attention to it till it is played. Just an FYI.



I do want to leave a small remark here though, I think your thread belongs more in General Discussion than Academy Tutorial/feedback. Seems to start on the topic of the Academy, and then drift to other topics (which isn't a problem).

It's nice to see some actual positive comments at PGI for a change. Things may not be perfect. It may not be how we think it should be. Doesn't mean PGI isn't doing a decent job on most things in the game.

Well I wanted to point out that by expanding on the Academy and integrating it into the rest of the world like that, they immediately build a much better NPE, expand their universe, and create numerous cbill sinks that help out the in-game economy as well as add in all the small groups and solo players in being able to have areas they feel competitive in. It all ties together in my opinion. Integration is the key.

[Fiona Marshe]

Created a new account on the weekend for my 4yo (stop him accidentally screwing up my account). It automatically loaded into the Academy with no option to escape until you complete the movement tutorial (2 mins tops).

Of course the fact that registration doesn't allow an age younger than 14 to be created was an indirect issue.

[Sandpit]

a

Fiona Marshe, on 23 November 2015 - 09:27 PM, said:

Created a new account on the weekend for my 4yo (stop him accidentally screwing up my account). It automatically loaded into the Academy with no option to escape until you complete the movement tutorial (2 mins tops).

Of course the fact that registration doesn't allow an age younger than 14 to be created was an indirect issue.

That's definitely a step in the right direction then. I think if they would just integrate the community more instead of making every player feel like they're on an island (yea yea) instead of in this community of fun-loving nerds

[AdamBaines]

Sandpit, on 23 November 2015 - 07:38 PM, said:

Remember, keep it constructive please. Let's discuss how to improve the game whether you agree with my ideas or not.

Welcome back Sandpit. In the end I agree that the key to this Acedemy is integration into all other aspects of MWO. It should be the "Gateway Drug" for new player to the universe, and old hands alike. So continue to build on it and also CW and Solaris and I think we finally have a product that will appeal to a broader base.

[Dino Might]

For experienced players who want to play with the new players and help them out, I like the idea of trials only. Also, curtail the c-bill/xp rewards so people don't go there to farm. We've had people directly say on the forums how their favorite part of the game is just steamrolling others. They're usually the ones that are fixated on the big numbers at the end and how they can make them bigger at all costs, so just don't give them that benefit and we won't have to worry about many, if any, of those guys trying to steamroll the new player queue.

For those experienced players that are available to help in the new player queue, we could force certain mech restrictions with the special trial mechs - each one has no more than an alpha of about 20 or so (maybe less). Keep the agility so it gives the new players good target practice and can still be a challenge for them, but don't let the experienced players have the capacity to focus one-shot someone.

[Sandpit]

AdamBaines, on 24 November 2015 - 06:12 AM, said:

Welcome back Sandpit. In the end I agree that the key to this Acedemy is integration into all other aspects of MWO. It should be the "Gateway Drug" for new player to the universe, and old hands alike. So continue to build on it and also CW and Solaris and I think we finally have a product that will appeal to a broader base.

Agreed. I think by integrating this and using it as the central hub to the player experience. it will alleviate a LOT of stress on the game and community in general. PGI screwed up actually. They showed me that they are capable of some pretty cool stuff creatively, now I expect nothing less lol

I'm going to do a more detailed breakdown and split it up so it isn't such a lengthy read sometime this week hopefully. Based on what I've seen and my current in-game experience I like a lot of what I'm seeing. I'm halfway hopeful again lol

and thank you (and the rest of my online buddies and within this community) for the warm welcome backs!

[Sandpit]

Dino Might, on 24 November 2015 - 07:12 AM, said:

For experienced players who want to play with the new players and help them out, I like the idea of trials only. Also, curtail the c-bill/xp rewards so people don't go there to farm. We've had people directly say on the forums how their favorite part of the game is just steamrolling others. They're usually the ones that are fixated on the big numbers at the end and how they can make them bigger at all costs, so just don't give them that benefit and we won't have to worry about many, if any, of those guys trying to steamroll the new player queue.

For those experienced players that are available to help in the new player queue, we could force certain mech restrictions with the special trial mechs - each one has no more than an alpha of about 20 or so (maybe less). Keep the agility so it gives the new players good target practice and can still be a challenge for them, but don't let the experienced players have the capacity to focus one-shot someone.

I'm going to post a more detailed breakdown of ideas on these things. I'd say you earn no cbills but give them a boost to their gxp pools for donating their time in helping new players as well as give them a few unique cockpit items, cosmetic stuff, and give them one exclusive mech.

Don't make it a farming tool, and those vets would be required to donate xx hours per week to the cadet queue. Give them a boost in LP on those matches. Stuff like that. You also have to understand that these "trainers" would be selectively chosen so you help minimize the people who only want in to help them farm extra stuff as opposed to helping the new players. Keep it closely monitored and boom, it would help alleviate issues like farming.

Don't put extra limitations on trainers. That defeats the entire purpose. New players then still get involved in a multiplayer game and have no more information than they had before. Again, I think you underestimate the overall good nature of this community. I can think of several who would jump on board with this with nothing but the best of motives to help new players.

You keep it closely monitored and quickly weed out those trying to damage the system and NPE. It takes a little work as far as keeping somewhat vigilant, but other than that it really requires very little "extra" work in coding and such.

[Dave Forsey]

Thank you! Appreciation is much appreciated, and I'm inordinately pleased that a long-time player is pleased.

I don't have much feed back on the rest, but I can say that the reason C-bill and achievements and leader boards were not considered is the client-side nature of the academy which is far too easily compromised. A one time cheat of a few million that can be obtained with 10 minutes play-time just won't affect the economy very much, and leader boards, server-side verifications, back-end support are all big commitments way beyond the scope of what we could accomplish with a small team in a few months.

[Sandpit]

Dave Forsey, on 24 November 2015 - 10:08 AM, said:

Thank you! Appreciation is much appreciated, and I'm inordinately pleased that a long-time player is pleased.

I don't have much feed back on the rest, but I can say that the reason C-bill and achievements and leader boards were not considered is the client-side nature of the academy which is far too easily compromised. A one time cheat of a few million that can be obtained with 10 minutes play-time just won't affect the economy very much, and leader boards, server-side verifications, back-end support are all big commitments way beyond the scope of what we could accomplish with a small team in a few months.

I figured it would have something to do with limitations of team size. (no sarcasm intended) I think what you guys have done with it thus far is fantastic. It has laid a lot of really good groundwork for the first time in really enhancing the NPE and offering a little substance to the universe and game.

Most of the things I suggested in the OP are what I would consider future goals. I think with what you guys have done thus far, you have a lot of potential to really ramp up a lot of areas that have frustrated players both new and old alike for a long time now. I'm going to work on some smaller, more detailed breakdowns of some of the ideas I glossed over up above as soon as I am able.

I think I have some suggestions that would help alleviate the ability to game the system and farm cbills and such that would require very little (if any) real coding. I'm hoping to get some constructive discussions going on about them and maybe we can come up with some ideas to help improve MWO for everyone that enjoys playing it and build a bigger community.

Contrary to popular belief, this community is actually pretty friendly and welcoming. If PGI will give us the tools and ability we will build the community side of things. We just need tools integrated into the game to make that happen. VOIP and the Academy are fantastic additions to help with this.

TL;DR
Thank you for the response! Great job thus far and I think PGI is on the path to making some great and much needed improvements to MWO

[Sandpit]

I enjoy the MM now. I honestly do. I find games quickly both as a solo and a PUG. Most every game is well fought and rarely do I see a roflstomp. The MM has come a long way honestly. So far I'm very impressed with it overall. The implementation could be less "clunky" (it always feels like the screen is cut off at the bottom) and get us lobbies to congregate and I think you've got it pretty much done.