46 replies to this topic

[Morashtak]

Since the community has welcomed many, many new members since the MercCorp Naming Convention was posted (but never stickied) the following posts by Bryan Ekman, Creative Director and co-founder of PGI, spell out the rules at this time for the naming of MercCorp groups as well as a few whispers of how canon units will come into play.

First the usual disclaimer; http://mwomercs.com/...672#entry227672

"The final rules are not written yet. I promise to let you know when they're all drafted."

The Naming Convention; http://mwomercs.com/...378#entry227378

"Players will NOT be able to claim canon units as their own. When it comes to Mercenary Units/Corps/Companies, these names will not be available during MC creation. Trying to circumvent the naming system will result in the Merc Corp being renamed/denied.

Faction units are being handled slightly different. When a player aligns themselves with one of the major factions, say House Kurita, they will have the opportunity to join famous house units as the rank up by earning loyalty points. Some house units will require additional feats of excellence and challenges to achieve before membership is granted. Since these units are not run by the players, and we can reserve/restrict access to very active/famous units for sake of preserving the BattleTech timeline.

Our general stance on player run merc units is simple - create your own legacy! It's very unfair for players to stake ownership over a canon unit, and creates a host of politic and pr issues. So we're avoiding the complexities and edge cases associate with players assuming the role of these units by encouraging you to forge your own destiny.

This is our launch POV. As always, we listen to your feedback and ways to improve the system."

The Why - http://mwomercs.com/...531#entry227531

"I fully expect not everyone will be happy. But let's be honest here. There is no way to allow player run merc units to use canon names. It's just not logical or fair. Period.

I'm very open to the idea of including units such as WD and GDL in MWO as non-player run factions. This makes a lot of sense, and is fair."

About the last Sentence - http://mwomercs.com/...585#entry227585

"Unfortunately, someone misspoke about naming rules. The rules as I have stated have been in place since inception of the game. HOWEVER, a new development is considering adding canon merc units to the faction list, and treating them as such. I think this is quite a good solution, fair, and concise."

But wait... a little birdie said; http://mwomercs.com/...555#entry227555

"It's under consideration yes. Our long term goal is to slowly introduce a way for players to run the NPC factions as well (hugely ambitious and highly risky)."

But What about People who only want to fight as a "Sub-Unit" in a canon MercCorp/Faction? http://mwomercs.com/...565#entry227565

"We can't control people "claiming association", however if your name implies association, it will be changed. "

and; http://mwomercs.com/...558#entry227558

"Northwind is just a word. So I would assume you could use it. Again, I leave the policy to the CSRs."

So, What's the Difference between Player Run MercCorps and Players that fight under a House banner? http://mwomercs.com/...543#entry227543

Faction Player - Passive Participation

Merc Player - Active Participation

as well as; http://mwomercs.com/...588#entry227588

"Correct, but faction players have no choice over which planets are being fought over."

How do the MercCorps interact with the Houses? http://mwomercs.com/...538#entry227538

As the game rolls out, Merc Units can fight for Factions.

TL,DR;

Walk your own path. Make your own story. Find your own destiny.


Not at this time but maybe later;

• Canon units are dev controlled faction but a player may have the chance to join one once a set of accomplishments/achievements have been met. This would mean a House player may be able to join a very prestigious House unit (ex. Lyran Royal Guards) or a Lone Wolf join a very prestigious canon MerCorp (ex. Wolf's Dragoons).
  
• Houses, canon MercCorps, and other Major/Minor Factions are dev controlled but players that have risen through the ranks may be able to exert some control at the highest rank(s).
  
• MercCorps fight for Houses by fulfilling contracts netting them Loyalty Points and any perks that come with them. They may choose which planets (via game generated contracts) to fight over.
  
• Faction players fight under a House/Faction banner and fight over planets that are in play with no (little?) control over which planets they'll drop on to.
  
• Lone Wolves fill in empty spots as they are needed.
  
• There are approximately 5700 unit and sub-unit names that are dev controlled. Nothing stops one from setting up a website with one of those names but a "non-associated" name would need to be used in-game.
  
• Attempts at circumventing the naming rules will be met with disapproval.
  
• Any/all of the above may change at any time before, during, or after launch. Bryan Ekman and crew will let us know.

edit - finally got around to the formating

Edited by Morashtak, 02 November 2012 - 06:16 PM.

[Brakkyn]

+1 to that. No, +9,001 to that.

[Dihm]

Wonderful collection of information, I applaud you sir.

[Graives]

Brakkyn, on 01 August 2012 - 09:52 AM, said:

+1 to that. No, +9,001 to that.

"IT'S OVER 9,000!"

EDIT: Very awesome post you made there Morashtak, much appreciated.

Edited by Graives, 01 August 2012 - 10:02 AM.

[Dihm]

Petition for this to get stickied methinks?

[Morashtak]

Thanks for all the good words. Please ask for this to be stickied if you find it helpful or this would be helpful for new players as well as players yet to join this great game.

The DHB "evolved" from the GDL. While they did not approve of this policy those in charge of the unit saw the writing on the wall and has embraced being the DHB while still fighting within the spirit of the GDL.

The part that excites me as well as others I am sure is the opportunity (should it come about) for Lone Wolves to join canon MercCorp units and rise in rank as well as what I call "Freelancers" (House but not unit specific) players to gain entry into canon House units and rise through the ranks. I have a friend that is going to join the LCAF and climb the Steiner ladder. It will be interesting to see what part, if any, he and his regular group of Steiner associates will play once they reach the higher and highest ranks.

Much, much goodness to look forward to over the next several months.

Good luck and good hunting.

Edited by Morashtak, 08 September 2012 - 10:17 AM.

[Harvey Batchall Kerensky at Law]

I wonder what all the non official, large, existing merc corps and the ones that are associated in name are going to do?

[Purgatory22]

Yes please sticky this.

[Alaric Wolf Kerensky]

Hey Shin! I still need to leg you again, btw.

Yousef, on 01 August 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

I wonder what all the non official, large, existing merc corps and the ones that are associated in name are going to do?

They are either going to have to let go of their egos and rename themselves, or just twiddle their thumbs perhaps?


Great op. Should be stickied, although not sure it belongs in Merc Corp Recruiting. Although not sure where else you could put it.

Edited by Alaric Wolf Kerensky, 01 August 2012 - 07:14 PM.

[MadChemist56]

This is SUPER helpful. It clarifies a lot of what I've read the past couple days.

[Morashtak]

Alaric Wolf Kerensky, on 01 August 2012 - 07:13 PM, said:

Should be stickied, although not sure it belongs in Merc Corp Recruiting. Although not sure where else you could put it.

The original thread started in General Discussion but has since been buried as well as Bryan's statements are buried deep within the thread.

Hopefully he will make another post soon™ with as many details as he can share with us (as well as these notes) and sticky it for all to read and abide by.

[Peiper]

bump

[Morashtak]

Yousef, on 01 August 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

I wonder what all the non official, large, existing merc corps and the ones that are associated in name are going to do?

While no one can keep anyone from starting a fan page for any canon unit they will need to decide which of the following options they want to pursue;

• Rename their group so that they are not associated with the canon MercCorp/House Unit.
  
• Continue as Lone Wolfs until the time that they are able to join the dev controlled canon unit that they would like to represent.
  
• Other - Any other option or options that the devs introduce that are missed here.

The first involves setting up a unit with a rank structure and web master as well as active member. VOIP is considered standard. Drama is optional. They can still be <insert famous unit here> on their own web page but the in-game unit would be dev controlled so they would have to use a "non-associated" name.

• Ex. A group of players want to be the "1st Lyran Guards". They set up a webpage with all the trimmings. They settle on a "non-associated" name of the "Fierce Lycan Gargoyles". In this newly named unit they set up a rank structure all their own. They decide on who gets promotions when and what, if any, recognition (medals, awards, etc) are given.

The second involves waiting for the devs to introduce ways to join canon units. Those that join could then find various ways to link up on TS and drop as a group. The players choosing this option would not have to deal with any MercCorp drama as they could find ways to only drop with like-minded players. This way anyone can opt to join <insert famous unit here> and not be worried that a player named <insert famous canon name here> tries to bully them around. A ticket to the CSR would likely end that kind of shenanigans.

• Ex. A group of players want to be the "1st Lyran Guards". They set up a webpage with all the trimmings. They patiently wait for the devs to allow them to join the Steiner military. The rank structure is set up by the devs as well as the promotion system, achievements, medals, awards, etc. They still drop as a group but climb the rank structure set up within the game. Eventually they are able to join the in-game 1st Lyran Guard and proudly proclaim their status in game.

All this is all highly speculative but I am hopeful that PGI can pull this off. It would be the hook to keep people playing as they could see their actions having an affect on the star map's borders.

[Morashtak]

Was going to post something but have already said it in the Community Warfare Dev blog.

[Neo160]

I vote for a sticky, this is some seriously useful information, thank you for compiling it all.

[Kyrie]

Found this thread finally, many thanks to the OP. And I am really disappointed at what has been stated so far.

The focus is precisely the reverse of what I expected -- I had thought that factions would be represented fully in the game mechanics, and that we would have the ability to have significant campaigns as faction players.

When Bryan stated that 'Factions will be "passive", Mercs will be active', its like a dagger to my dreams. The vision follows through on the URL I guess, mwomercs indeed.

OTOH there is a thin thread of hope in that at least they are considering player run factions down the road.

[Sam Slade]

Sticky!

P.S.: I think by passive he means players will not be able to chose which system they invade and so forth... they may be able to have epic canon battles in the Inner Spheres major territories and hire Mercs to invade periphery planets but if the canon timeline is to followed this is kind of necessary.

[Numberwang]

This really needs a stickey! I found this a little late!

I think I'm going with Morashtak's first course of action. I was planning on (and had created the website for) the Killer Bees (http://mwokillerbees.com). I plan on still retaining the feel and flavor of the unit, but in game call it something else, either just an acronym of the whole name or partial (K.B.Fury Team or just K.B.F.T.).

We'll see what comes down the road.

Edited by Numberwang, 20 August 2012 - 03:26 PM.

[Davers]

Very excellent post! Thanks for collecting all those quotes!!

[Morashtak]

Kyrie, on 19 August 2012 - 01:06 PM, said:

OTOH there is a thin thread of hope in that at least they are considering player run factions down the road.

Most likely far down the road but not out of sight.

The Lyran loyalist that I work with is all about being the "very model of a modern major-general" and is looking forward to how the meta-game will play out. As in the other threads that deal with Community Warfare he hopes that he can rise to the upper ranks where realpolitiks come into play and he has to wheel and deal with the other Steiner high commanders.

And if not player "run" I hope it comes about that a player can "greatly influence" the canon, dev run unit they have always wanted to be in but didn't want to put up with the drama of a player run unit. The devs could always over-rule the influence due to canon events needing to be followed but the players could still see their actions having consequences.

Here's to hoping and patiently waiting.