286 replies to this topic

[Garth Erlam]

Hey everyone, sent your questions around, got the following answers:


Q: Is anything going to be done about in-game voice options? The C3 thing seems deserted/abandoned, and I've never seen it used. We really need voice with PUGs. Tell me something good is going to happen here, please. ;_; [Levesque]
A: We're still on it, don't worry. I don't have specific dates to give you, but as soon as I do I will let you know [Garth]

Q: Can we please have a hero Atlas mech. I love my atlases and would love nothing more then a hero variant. If so can you guys bring it out sooner then later....Please. [Nightcrept]
A: I'll see what I can do, though it's a pretty safe bet we'll have one eventually. [Garth]

Q: How much does the brevity of a question affect whether it gets answered or not? [Farix]
A: It's more coherancy and clarity than brevity. I often take the actual 'question' out of long paragraphs to answer, as otherwise half the Q&A answers are reading someones reasoning [Garth]

Q: What localisations are planned? [Vovochka404]
A: As we add territories I imagine we'll add those languages in. It'll be an 'over time' thing. [Garth]

Q: Will there ever be a virtual 'Mech Lab on the web site or the ability from within the game client to preview and customize 'Mechs prior to purchasing so we can see if our loadout plans work? [Kilgor]
A: It is a possibility that we're looking into. I'd love it, myself, so there is internal thumbs up for it [Garth]

Q: Any plans for making toggling an option for TAG, rather than having to hold down the fire button for it? [Grissnap]
A: Yes, we're looking into this. [Garth]

Q: Do lights take the same amount of damage as other non-light mech classes from other mech classes? [Rooikat]
A: Yes, they do. Mechs all use the same weapons, so different class/variants wouldn't do different damage. [Garth]

Q: Any plans for "assymetric" game types, e.g. one side defending (or escorting) ,and the other side attacking? [MustrumRidcully]
A: For the future, yes. [Garth]

Q: What do you prefer - Scottish or Irish Whiskey? [Quax1102]
A: That is a crazy tough call. Initially I wanted to say Scottish and then admonish you for spelling it 'whiskey,' but then my Irish side head-butted my Scottish side and slurred something about Jameson. [Garth]

Q: Any plans on adding command/communication shortcuts for the chat system or the UI that allows us to call out a target or mark a target in the HUD, to "ping" a location or ask for aid, simlar to how previous Mechwarrior games had commands to communicate with lance mates? [MustrumRidcully]
A: I believe we do have plans for a quick communication system (IE. CS, Rainbow Six, etc), though I'm not sure about location ping. [Garth]

Q: Has there been any thoughts by you guys to help boost FF, to make it an upgrade, instead of a next step upgrade to ES? [Zyllos]
A: Yes we have, and they are ongoing. We have a few ideas, though a nice first step was removing the repair cost fromt he game [Garth]

Q: So... could it be, that in all mechs real equipped weapons shown correctly with different models for SL and LL, AC-2 and AC-10, PPC ect..? And if weapons not equipped - there be "empty" places. [Warge]
A: This is something that is added over time. The K2 and Hunchbacks already show this, but it is a very time consuming thing to do. Once we’ve covered the major hurdles of features and Mech customization, we will be expanding resources on these type of visual upgrades. [Paul]

Q: All media on this game was pointing to 12 vs 12 battles. Then we get in and its only 8 on 8. When are we getting the bigger drops? [iminbagdad]
A: We test in 12v12 currently, but until external stability improves, we'll be sticking to 8v8. [Garth]

Q: How are our names going to appear in the credits for legendary founders? Will we have a choice how they appear? Real name? pilot name? [StringyQuark]
A: We're going to ask you Essentially the template is [FirstName][Handle][LastName], but if people want they can go with just their name, or just their handle [Garth]

Q: When are you planning to drop the news bombshell, ruining many people's hopes and dreams, that the Urbanmech will never, ever, ever, ever be in MWO? Cute little cockpit items don't count [Thontor]
A: They can announce that when I am cold and dead in the ground. [Garth]

Q: Well as I asked in (StD29), will any of the Spider variants be able to equip the Guardian ECM? [Monsoon]
A: I'll have to ask DavidB when he's back from his holiday (next week). [Garth]

Q: I read recently (from you Garth) that torso twist speed increases with larger engine sizes. How exactly is this calculated? Also are there any other benefits beside torso twist speed, run speed, and heatsinks? [Jman5]
A: I'm not sure of the math involved - but those are the only changes made due to engine size. [Garth]

Q: Since there are alot of canon paint schemes with Bronze, Silver, and Gold paint. Will these colors be added sometime in the near future? [Hollister]
A: We will be adding as many colours as we possibly can over time. I can't say when specific colours are in, but chances are it'll be there at some point. [Garth]

Q: When can we reorganize the Mechlab order/rename our Mechs? [EveryoneEver]
A: This is an upcoming feature of UI 2.0. [Paul]

Q: Will there be a fullscreen, borderless window mode for the Mech lab / pre-game area? [Lon3Wol1f]
A: Yes, when the Mechlab 2.0 system is ready. [Garth]

Q: Can we get a reconnect button? [Homeless Bill]
A: We are looking into this system, so yes you can. Can't tell you when though [Garth]

Q: Garth, What would your custom hero mech be? [Ashnod]
A: Oh man, awesome question... How about two?

• NUMBER 1: UrbanMech - with XL engines, endosteel, and a max speed of _ninety_ KP/H. Has a PPC and two ML's. Torso twist 360. Torso twist speed is lightning fast. Paintscheme: My family tartan, with glowing neon-blue viewports.
  
• NUMBER 2: Cicada - 6x ML (three in each arm) and a missile slot in one of the torsos to make it more OP. Around 140 KM/h speed, max armour and heatsinks, best torso turn/speed possible. Paintscheme: Midnight blue and black. [Garth]

Q: After seeing a couple of days of how a Conquest match works in your original design, are there any changes you're considering to promote going to the capture points over getting in the middle and making it another TDM? [KuruptU4Fun]
A: We have a few tweaks planned, mostly to do with the speed the germanium is gathered, and bonuses for capturing the points. [Garth]

Thanks for your questions everyone!

[StalaggtIKE]

Tolkien said:

Since it most certainly wasn't answered in the patch notes:


Question 1 is about ECM)

How was it considered balanced to introduce a 1.5 ton 2 slot piece of equipment that does all of the following:

i) Counters Artemis
ii) Counters BAP
iii) Counters TAG bonuses and the whole system inside of 180m
iv) Counters NARC - a system which weighs more and requires real skill and teamwork to use
v) Counters other ECMs
vi) Destroys LRM locks
vii) Destroys SSRM locks
viii) Ruins information sharing via minimap
ix) Scrambles HUD display of enemies
x) relegates AMS to the dustbin
xi) Requires no exploding ammo
xii) Generates no heat
xiii) Costs less than a much less useful module by a factor of 15...
xiv) Doesn't use up a weapon hardpoint

Going by tonnage and critical space the ECM should be about as useful as a small laser plus a regular heatsink.
Or a medium laser and a little armor,
Or an AMS and a ton of ammo
etc.

As it stands now, ECM is the single most useful item in the game in terms of how it affects the battlefield.

Here's a link to the existing unanswered question from 'ask the devs' 29: http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__1598770

edit: That question is over 200 likes at last count.

How was this question just ignored?

[C0VVB3LL]

Yeah!

[Homeless Bill]

Khavi Vetali, on 02 January 2013 - 01:13 PM, said:

A question with a neutral slant is much more likely to be answered than a question that blatantly throws a bias around.

How about, "Are there any upcoming tweaks planned to adjust current ECM implementation?"

That stands a greater chance to be answered than the original question by Tolkein, no matter how many likes it receives.

1. If you look through the Ask the Devs post, you'll see at least two pages worth of ECM-related questions.

2. First page of Ask the Devs 29: "8) With almost two weeks under us with ECM, has there been any talks about balancing the numbers of ECM?" - Zyllos (It wont let me quote for whatever reason...)

3. Tolkien's question was the one that should have been answered because it so perfectly addressed the concerns many players have about ECM. He thoughtfully laid out exactly what's wrong with the system and challenged the developers to explain their thinking or offer a rebuttal. I think the burden is on them to defend what they've done with ECM, not on the community to contain its rage and ask a civil question.

4. Look at these answers...

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: I don't have specific dates to give you [Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: ...it's a pretty safe bet we'll have one eventually. [Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: It'll be an 'over time' thing. [Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: It is a possibility that we're looking into.[Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: Yes, we're looking into this. [Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: I believe we do have plans for... [Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: We have a few ideas... [Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: I'll have to ask... next week. [Garth]

Garth Erlam, on 02 January 2013 - 12:42 PM, said:

A: chances are it'll be there at some point. [Garth]

...and tell me they couldn't have given us one of these vague, one-sentence answers on ECM. It's a joke to have a Q&A, and then not answer the question asked far more times than any other.

Leaving the biggest, angriest pile of butt-hurt unaddressed so it can writhe around in the forums for another week was poor form, IMO.

Edited by Homeless Bill, 02 January 2013 - 09:51 PM.

[MadPanda]

Well that was a disappointing read. You pretty much told us nothing. Answering question with "sure sometime in future" is waste of time for you to write and waste of time for me to read it.

[Pugastrius]

Have to agree with the others here. The complete silence regarding ECM is rather frustrating.

Knowing what's in the pipeline is important, but knowing if something that already exists is going to be materially changed is critical.

Edited by Pugastrius, 02 January 2013 - 12:58 PM.

[Ryvucz]

StalaggtIKE, on 02 January 2013 - 12:52 PM, said:

How was this question just ignored?

He's a master of dodge ball.

[hogglebass]

Ryvucz, on 02 January 2013 - 01:00 PM, said:

He's a master of dodge ball.

If you can dodge a question you can dodge a ball.

[Khavi Vetali]

A question with a neutral slant is much more likely to be answered than a question that blatantly throws a bias around.

How about, "Are there any upcoming tweaks planned to adjust current ECM implementation?"

That stands a greater chance to be answered than the original question by Tolkein, no matter how many likes it receives.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to do this service for the community.

[Noth]

Khavi Vetali, on 02 January 2013 - 01:13 PM, said:

A question with a neutral slant is much more likely to be answered than a question that blatantly throws a bias around.

How about, "Are there any upcoming tweaks planned to adjust current ECM implementation?"

That stands a greater chance to be answered than the original question by Tolkein, no matter how many likes it receives.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to do this service for the community.

There were several ECM questions phrased that way...

[DTheSleepless]

I like how you can answer a question about whisk(e)y, but the issues with ECM are still being publicly ignored.

A lot of us have given you guys a lot of money, we deserve an explanation.

[Khavi Vetali]

Noth, on 02 January 2013 - 01:15 PM, said:

There were several ECM questions phrased that way...

Notice I said a greater chance, I didn't say it was an absolute

Out of all of the ECM questions, that is the one probably least likely to be answered.

[Ryvucz]

Let me drop this off here for you ECM question guys-

http://www.pcgamer.c...t-mode-release/

Scroll to the bottom of the article for the ECM specific response.

[B B Wolfe]

DTheSleepless, on 02 January 2013 - 01:16 PM, said:

I like how you can answer a question about whisk(e)y, but the issues with ECM are still being publicly ignored.

A lot of us have given you guys a lot of money, we deserve an explanation.

You know this because you are in their offices, eating their cheetos?

[Tolkien]

Jimminy garth - the ECM questions I put up gathered nearly 300 likes and you can't even give me the benefit of one of these?



I am sad panda...

[JohnnyWayne]

All i have to say, without reading anything:

[ObsidianSpectre]

Thanks for taking the time to do this, Garth.

I have to echo some of the others here though, the silence regarding ECM is starting to get a bit frustrating.

[StalaggtIKE]

Ryvucz, on 02 January 2013 - 01:24 PM, said:

Let me drop this off here for you ECM question guys-

http://www.pcgamer.c...t-mode-release/

Scroll to the bottom of the article for the ECM specific response.

Lol. Yeah, that started my ECM frustration about a month ago.

Edited by StalaggtIKE, 02 January 2013 - 01:49 PM.

[steelblueskies]

wow no ecm response AND no info about the wedding. how distressing.

[StalaggtIKE]

Thontor, on 02 January 2013 - 01:53 PM, said:

They are probably waiting until the "new toy" syndrome dies down a bit more before they do or say anything about changes to ECM.

Its already died down signicantly. ECM seems to be far less common these days, and teams with less/no ECM seem to be doing a lot better... People are starting to figure ECM isn't god mode, and it is possible to win without it.

Haven't it been about a month? It never was God mode, just simply unbalanced. All ECM variant's superiority were solidified with the inclusion of ECM. Why would anyone choose a RVN-2X over a RVN-3L? Also, AMS is now a joke.

Edited by StalaggtIKE, 02 January 2013 - 02:04 PM.