47 replies to this topic

[Zhanna Kerensky]

Hi everyone,

I am a bit surprised about the developers' announcement indicating that only 4 particular mech models will be up for grabs regarding the Elite Founder's Package (EFP) and the latter seems to be something that will become very popular in the near future (according to new threads/polls that I have looked at, containing plenty of purchase statements already).

The effect would be that there will be lots of people running around in the same mech types. I wonder if this will be true to canon and, for instance, wonder if so many 100 ton Atlas mechs were actually existent at that time, so that it will not disproportionate the mech type equilibrium and reduce the diversity?

Wouldn't it be a good approach to randomize the 4 EFP mechs available instead? This would mean that a shuffling between mech types would take place so that everyone who opts for the EFP will be presented with 4 different kinds of in-game mechs from each weight class by the role of a dice (e.g. Raven, Cicada, Catapult, and Awesome) instead of sticking to the 4 particular mechs (Jenner, Hunchback, Catapult, and Atlas) as per developers' restrictions. However, the shuffling would occur after the EFP amount has been paid, so that the user cannot cancel the EFP purchase and hope for a new randomization of the 4 mechs. This would ensure that someone cannot repeat the EFP signup several times in order to get the one mech in a specific weight class that she/he likes the most (unless someone wants to pay for several EFP).

Will such an approach not benefit the gameplay by promoting a more balanced distribution of different mech types in MWO or will this be an irrelevant factor?

Naturally, I would also be curious to know what Piranha Games/IGP thinks about this ...

Edited by Zhanna Kerensky, 27 May 2012 - 09:35 AM.

[Aegis Kleais]

As for this once-in-a-lifetime promo, I wish you could just choose a Mech from the starting lineup, but they may have just made skins for 4 of them, so if we have to choose, that's fine.

I'm interested in knowing what PGI is going to do to mark Founders in game. Some kind of icon by our name on the scoreboard? In the game HUD when we're targeted? Both Vets and Elites get this feature, so it has to be something tied to the pilot and not just the Mech they're piloting.

[Lightdragon]

you know thats a cool idea and all and im all for mechs being more even... but to have it randomly chosen where my 60$ is invested.. that seems a bit unfair

[Kudzu]

The prevalent theory is that those four mechs will also be the starter mechs everyone gets to choose from and by keeping it limited to them PGI cannot be accused of "selling power".

[Zhanna Kerensky]

Aegis Kleais, on 27 May 2012 - 08:49 AM, said:

As for this once-in-a-lifetime promo, I wish you could just choose a Mech from the starting lineup, but they may have just made skins for 4 of them, so if we have to choose, that's fine.

I'm interested in knowing what PGI is going to do to mark Founders in game. Some kind of icon by our name on the scoreboard? In the game HUD when we're targeted? Both Vets and Elites get this feature, so it has to be something tied to the pilot and not just the Mech they're piloting.

I would be happy enough to be restricted to 4 mechs only for the EFP, but making it the same for all of those who purchase an EFP is not very innovative (unless there is a reason why it is limited to these 4 specifc mech types, representing each of the weight categories) and in my opinion it will most certainly not help the in-game balance and mech diversity on launch day and in the following weeks.

The Founder's Tag ... your are right, it may just be a different colour when you show up off-battle in the stats or in the friends/lance comrades list and, probably, an insignia of some sort next to your name will appear. I wonder if the devs will also differentiate between the Founder types as well? On the battlefield I think a change or flashing in HUD colour would be a good idea or, possibly, they could implement some other visual feature like a yellow glow around the mech silhouette but I would prefer an audio signal (short ring tone like a drum roll or a fanfare) once the Founder's mech has been localised by the sensors on the battlefield for the first time and a Founder's Tag insignia on the mech's torso shown at close range combat.

Lightdragon, on 27 May 2012 - 08:50 AM, said:

you know thats a cool idea and all and im all for mechs being more even... but to have it randomly chosen where my 60$ is invested.. that seems a bit unfair

Hm, why is that? It is sort of a 'Forrest Gump principle' as you may not know what you will get, but you would still get to choose one mech from either the light, medium, heavy, or assault category and it would be the same for everyone that purchases an EFP, not really unfair to anyone but a bit more of a gamble, that's true. However, where is the fun in all the predicatability?

[Felicitatem Parco]

If people are paying real cash for a product, then we should all have access to the same products being offered, or else people will think it's unfair to be prevented from buying a Founder's Package with the XXXMech when your best friend just bought one on the same offer.

It will cause people to CANCEL their transaction, then re-attempt to purchase the Founder's Package over-and-over again until the Mech they want comes up as an option. If you force them to make the purchase transaction before allowing them to choose a Mech, and the Mech they wan't isnt available to them but it is available to other people, then they will request a refund.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 27 May 2012 - 10:08 AM.

[Vulpesveritas]

Yeah... I wouldn't want to do that because I want my awesome founder jenner....
As far as why those four, I'm fairly certain based on what's in the gameplay vids that it is because they're the only four fully coded and ingame and such....

[Gremlich Johns]

The liklihood that every player on one team will have an Atlas.......

A well balanced team should win over another not so well balanced.

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 27 May 2012 - 11:05 AM.

[Iolobliss]

Kudzu, on 27 May 2012 - 09:18 AM, said:

The prevalent theory is that those four mechs will also be the starter mechs everyone gets to choose from and by keeping it limited to them PGI cannot be accused of "selling power".

Vulpesveritas, on 27 May 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

Yeah... I wouldn't want to do that because I want my awesome founder jenner....
As far as why those four, I'm fairly certain based on what's in the gameplay vids that it is because they're the only four fully coded and ingame and such....

It is interesting both of you assume that only those four mech types will be available in the Beta test phase and at game launch, although the devs initially indicated that all mech models presented online will be available at MW:O launch and that there will be no limitations regarding the mech selection then. Naturally, there seem to be no screenshots or gameplay videos available for the other models introduced online, yet (e.g. Raven, Centurion, Cataphract, and Awesome), with the exception of the Dragon though (if I remember the videos correctly). For this reason I have the hope that all of the other mech models announced on the MW:O webpage at that time will be finished/available before the EFP is available (in fairness, maybe I am expecting too much). However, the devs would have to reconsider their approach and I sincerely doubt that this will happen ...

Edited by Iolobliss, 27 May 2012 - 11:14 AM.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

I was intending to go for a Hunchback anyway, so it doesn't worry me - the problem is that it seems to be NA only.

[ManDaisy]

Any kinda of lottery system is going down the line of milking customers rather then growing side by side with customers. The only reason behind a lottery is to give someone something they dont want to have them pay twice or 4 time as much until the get what they desire.

Edited by ManDaisy, 27 May 2012 - 11:32 AM.

[Zhanna Kerensky]

Prosperity Park, on 27 May 2012 - 10:06 AM, said:

If people are paying real cash for a product, then we should all have access to the same products being offered, or else people will think it's unfair to be prevented from buying a Founder's Package with the XXXMech when your best friend just bought one on the same offer.

It will cause people to CANCEL their transaction, then re-attempt to purchase the Founder's Package over-and-over again until the Mech they want comes up as an option. If you force them to make the purchase transaction before allowing them to choose a Mech, and the Mech they wan't isnt available to them but it is available to other people, then they will request a refund.

It is overall still the same product, just the mech models that each player will be able to choose from will differ. If necessary, you could even randomize it based on the same tonnage, for example, having a Raven, Centurion, Dragon, and Atlas for selection on the one hand and offering the choice between a Jenner, Cicada, Cataphract, and Atlas on the other hand (both options amounting to 245 tons in total), so that there is nothing unbalanced/unfair about it (for everyone the odds would be the same), also, because everyone planning to get the EFP would know this beforehand. In addition, noone knows at present which mech model will suit her/him the most, possibly, a different mech type will suit one better later on than the first one selected, so that it may all end up to be almost the same.

With regard to the payment practice you have a valid point as this could become an issue if people are actually willing to go through all that trouble just to have several tries to get their specific mech model with C-bill booster after purchasing the EFP. However, the choice of mech resulting from randomization could be outlined in the EFP terms and conditions as non-refundable when the EFP in cancelled (as they have been presented with the choice before) but I am not sure if the developers are going to do that and it might come back to haunt them, true . It has to be considered though, that this might occur in the present case (with the current setup of the EFP) as well, since people may change their minds in two weeks time after purchase and demand a refund for the EFP with a different mech than the one they initially chose (all of a sudden not meeting their expectations anymore), thus, it would really not be an argument against the randomized approach.

[Zhanna Kerensky]

Usually, I do not like to double-post, but with regard to the in-game balance and mech diversity resulting from EFP, you might find the following link to a poll on the EFP-only mech types interesting, although, in fairness, it is mainly representing House Steiner players who are expected to be a bit on the heavy/assault side:

http://mwomercs.com/...hich-mech-type/

You may have to get ready for swarms of Atlas and Catapult mechs coming your way ...

[Aegis Kleais]

PGI can run the same promo for when they start offering Clan Mechs for purchase.

Though I would personally prefer it if a player could choose any Mech from the original IS lineup (and then the original Clan lineup) PGI would just need to ensure that the unique skin is available on all chassis.

(This also leads to my concern in that I hope that these Founder Mechs allow us to change their skins) I plan on using my Catap a lot, but I really want to rock the colors of my Merc Corp.

[Redshift2k5]

I strongly believe the jenner/hunchback/catapult/atlas will be the same starting line up that all players have to choose from, and that the founder's mech selection will not be an 'additional' mech but features applied to your one starting mech.

Will this be bad for diversity during the first whole? Yes, but those four mechs are really standard models of their weight class and they all would have had a high proportion of use anyway.

If anything, the people with founder's packages will be the first ones to buy additional mechs and play non-starter chassis, owing to their $80 worth of MC they'll have, and are clearly the sort of player who will want to own lots of mechs.

[Aegis Kleais]

Redshift2k5, on 27 May 2012 - 12:46 PM, said:

I strongly believe the jenner/hunchback/catapult/atlas will be the same starting line up that all players have to choose from, and that the founder's mech selection will not be an 'additional' mech but features applied to your one starting mech.

Will this be bad for diversity during the first whole? Yes, but those four mechs are really standard models of their weight class and they all would have had a high proportion of use anyway.

If anything, the people with founder's packages will be the first ones to buy additional mechs and play non-starter chassis, owing to their $80 worth of MC they'll have, and are clearly the sort of player who will want to own lots of mechs.

Interesting.

The promo states: "Exclusive custom 'Founder's BattleMech'" which makes it sound as if you're getting another Mech on top of the one they are giving all players.

I would be very interested in knowing if it's just a modification to the free Mech everyone gets, or if it is a unique Mech in and of itself.

[Redshift2k5]

I think there is more than enough free/bonus stuff in the Elite package not to include an additional free battlemech on top of the free starter mech everyone receives. I won't complain if they do want to give me another mech, but I don't expect one.

[El Loco]

I want to support PGI, that's why I'm going to purchase an EFP. They decided to let me chose from 4 different 'Mechs and, fortunately, among these 4 is one 'Mech I would have considered starting with anyway. Of course, it would be best if we could chose from all the 'Mechs that will be available at launch. But, if we're limited to 4 designs to chose from, I definitely don't want these 4 to be selected at random. What if you were fond of the AC carrying mediums, but it just so happens that in your draft the mediums are represented by the Cicada. Great, I would feel screwed over by PGI...

Nah... make the offer as transparent as possible, i.e. show the people what they will get, not, what they could get if they're lucky.

[CyBerkut]

When it comes to spending $60, there should not be anything random about it. The only appropriate way to get a more varied distribution of mechs from the promotion would be to offer a wider selection in each mech class, and then let the purchasing pilot select one from it. Some will choose A, some B, etc.

The pilot spending the $$ should choose... not some random number generator.

[Tincan Nightmare]

Damnit I wish they would have the Centurion as an option though !!!!