trebormills, on 17 January 2013 - 03:21 AM, said:
Well i missed out on the closed beta and signed up recently- This game is excellent (but not perfect)
I'll address 4 FPS bug first. It does not occur on Very High settings. I've only experienced it once, and it was two patches ago when I decided to try medium settings. I have never experienced it again after switching back. At the time I did the change because the game had some LoD change issues that were drawn out with checkerboard grey ants consuming a part of the map and then leaving behind a more detailed piece of map in a process that took 2 to 5 seconds. Issues that I later found out was from corrupted shaders; frequently delete your shaders cache located here:
MechWarrior Online\USER\Shaders\Cache <--DELETE THE EVIL! Delete the EVIL!!!
On to the next item.
Trial 'Mechs, some are good, some really are awful (case in point, giving an XL engine to a new player is a BAD idea; avoid the Centurion 9D it dies on losing side torsos. Dragon's build is very limited ammunition-wise and extremely bad with heat. But man do I love the Commando 1-B. Very skill oriented, yes, but an awesome little 'Mech even if most things can kill it in a single shot.)
Let's see here...
ECM --
big issue here is that ECM was meant to remove all accuracy bonuses from LRMs, and in the table top that means that missiles miss about 75% of the time. Since only maneuvering makes missiles miss (somehow the concept of an error-miss ratio being increased instead hasn't occurred to them or was thrown out), they decided the solution was to combine Stealth Armor's effects, as well as the effects of another type of ECM (Angel), to effectively turn it into a cloaking device. Remember that "TAG" is their designated counter, but since the scouts refused to carry it, they enhanced the tag for the LRM boats to tag for themselves (breaking many strategic combat roles and turning scouts into front-line fighters that can single-handedly take down assault 'Mechs [I do it on a regular basis]). Even its current implementation wouldn't be so bad, but they gave ECM to all of the MISSILE HEAVY 'Mechs. O.o;
Many solutions were thought of, such as ECM prevents you from using streaks and/or lrms; ECM does not cloak you and allows for targeting and highly inaccurate lock-ons; 'ghost targets' to make hitting you into a hit or miss game depending on whether you locked onto the real or a false target (requiring scouts to, uh, actually scout again) ; changing who carries the ECM to 'Mechs that do not have missile launchers (promoting teamwork instead of solo or squad ECM missions) ; ECM-balancing considered during matchmaking v0.04's decision making process.
Flamers
used to be super powerful; 4 of them allowed me to take on two Atlas (back when there was only one map and collisions/knockdowns) without ever overheating (due to my high number of heat sinks). It was hilariously fun. The Hunchback 4P was popular for it as well with the 9 flamers. Now they are the opposite, they overheat you too quickly. However if you're serious about using flamers, my recommendation is double heat sinks, a powerful engine at 210 or greater, and two flamers. It can be more but you'll heat up instead of balance out. Set them together in the same group. Chainfire. That's enough to do the job right so long as you can stay close, and even in Caustic Valley you can stay under 50% heat on a Commando while launching missiles.
You'll thank me with a like.
Impact/collisions
are a fickle thing. Given the very early "we'll make hacking / cheating nearly impossible" mentality, the game's netcode is almost entirely network reliant. Optimizations have removed the delays in our actions as the client asks for permission from the server. Rubber-banding, a symptom of the server and one or more clients involved in a squabble about who gets to be where, is also a sign that a "collision" would have occurred. It was great, actually, as the instant the clients and servers argued, the server had a cure-all command. "I was here." "No I was here first." "No no I was first!" Server: "Shut up and fall over." Clients: "O...okay." Sadly a new argument started between both ends. Client: "I fell to the left." Network: "No, you fell to the right." Second client: "Which is it!? OMG TELL ME!" Eventually we'll see which one the Network physics engine saw because the 'Mech will get up there. Until then the 'Mech would teleport back and forth rapidly. When I explained this for the first time, someone dubbed it Schrödinger's 'Mech. Although, I really wish we'd call it Koniving's 'Mech.
Rearm and repair
Already existed. People hated it. Personally I'm fine with it being gone. However -- HOWEVER -- when the "actual" game with the planet conquering and the factions holding key resources on various planets, etc., etc., etc. actually comes into gameplay, I'll be fine with it returning. Both tell-tales from devs and rumor/hear-say claim that community warfare will allow the various houses to fight for territory (planets), making real-time shifts in power each day as groups strategically make advances into enemy systems to claim resources and ground. Some planets are derelict of benefits. Some would have cheaper repairs, some cheaper ammo, some cheaper weapons, some would have certain 'Mechs at cheaper rates, others would be advantageous for defense, others would be very difficult to defend, and then through it all, supply lines would have to be maintained with the entire community working together.
For example one group could be making a huge push towards a capital planet, taking planet after planet in a straight line without securing their supply lines. Another group aligned with the same house could see what the first group is doing and then follow suit, establishing supply lines while telling other groups to rush ahead and support the first group. Of course, those on the defending side could see this progress over the process of real life days, and then send their forces to set up reinforced strategic barricades against them to wipe the force out and send them back. Should the supply lines not reach that first force in time, they can be there with depleted ammo or botched repairs, leaving them very vulnerable and able to be pushed back. This either forces that first group to retreat to the nearest supply line (allowing those planets to be retaken by the defending team uncontested), or force the attacking force back a planet, to be rechallenged again and again in their weakened condition until humiliated and shamed back into their place. Of course, if that original group made it to the capital and won, talk about the glory and tales that could be had. The losing forces would have to begin dedicating and coordinating themselves to retaking their capital planet. Great fun to be had then! But... finishing the beta and hashing out the issues comes first. Til then, let's leave the RnR out.
Capping
Originally implemented because team loadouts were not equal (one might have a few 60 kph Jenners, a Commando or two, and a Dragon or Hunchback, the other would have 8 Atlases. Naturally this was an issue), the game actually rewarded capturing bases over total conquest. At the time without a Stealth ECM, this was a very challenging and rewarding goal. With ECM, it became incredibly easy. As such, the reward for capturing (and enemy alive bonuses) stopped. Still, it is the easiest way to win a losing battle so it will continue to happen. It's the only chance pugs have against an army of 8 ECM 'Mechs all totting streaks.
In game comms
Supposedly C3 handles this. However it used to crash my game every time it started, only to have to be restarted with my game, so I gave up on it. Comstar's got a great TS. Check out the "Hi I'm Gunnthar" thread, I put a TS address for Comstar and its password there.
Forums
I honestly think they're doing fine with that. My only issue is that the announcements on the front page are hard to reach and comment on as they have to be found within the forums to do so.
Expect visuals to improve more, I've been noticing retextures happening in a lot of places in the maps. Someone even noticed a few patches ago that the commando's been significantly improved visually. Cosmetic touch-ups are frequent and unannounced so keep your eyes open. Never know when putting the AC-20 on the K2 will make for very large, visible barrels!
Oh, I also have another great way to deal with Ravens. Catapult K-2, AC-20x2. Ravens die within one to two trigger pulls when hit (wait until they rush head on, you don't even have to hit them directly). Bam. Dead. It's great.
Good luck out there, and I'm putting together a tutorial series and will be announcing some of my non-standard builds and how to make them including the energy versions of GaussCats (both pult and phract) and AC-20Cat (pult), AC-20 / Gauss Raven, various really good builds including the never-shutting-down series of super heat efficient but still deadly 'Mechs. Everything except my invincible Atlas (because once people know how it's built, it won't be invincible anymore).
Say hi if you see me in the field. Check out my vids if you need ideas.
Edited by Koniving, 18 January 2013 - 09:15 AM.