3 replies to this topic

[Sleipnir]

With the addition of ELO and the new Alpine Map, where your choice of mech and loadout is critical to good gameplay, it is now increasingly important that the devs focus on getting a robust lobby system in place for teams to be able to operate tactically.

This should include:

• Choice of map
  
• Choice of tonnage (weight limits)
  
• Chat room
  
• Password protection
  
• Maximum players in room

This should be easily achievable I believe.

There are a lot of competitive players and teams out there now, with community run leagues and drops going on, but with the addition of ELO it is going to be even harder to now co-ordinate drops. As Alpine Peaks is so different to the other maps in terms of size (I love the new map btw), there are very, very different play styles and loadouts required for it, which you can't prepare for with a random map choice. Hedging your bets for each drop isn't cool, and doesn't produce fun gameplay. I think by now we've all been dropped into Alpine using our brawler mechs and said: "Well, this is going to be a pain for the next few minutes" - it's frustrating more than anything.

A functional lobby system will also help new players in that patient individuals can create rooms for new players to jump in and mess around, get some tips and tricks without worrying about getting abuse or being completely stomped as they try to learn the game (or at least, you would hope it would be to a much lesser degree).



@devs: Could we have an ETA on if / when this will happen please?

@community: What are your thoughts on the issue?

[Littleboots]

I have no particular qualms about a lobby system in and of itself, but I do think that if it is implemented it would have to be completely off the current system. The previous patch was an excellent example of unintended consequences, and implementing a system that allows people to set things how they please would almost certainly bring along its own set of miseries.

I'm all for the potential for a vibrant tournament community and the ability to set up teaching/learning/practice/ect games, but all of these games could have no Cbill/Exp reward, as they wouldn't be random allotments and abusing the system would be a lot easier given the ability to set your own matches.

Personally, I like the randomness of the current system. It's made me stop and think about which mech to bring to the match so that I can at least contribute regardless of what comes up. More importantly, the ELO system requires that everyone be on exactly the same playing field, and having a system that is half-random and half-"chosen" would completely obviate the effort of matching people, as closely as possible, based on skill.

[As a quick aside, I think part of the "meta-skill" in the game is building a mech that is diversely useful if you're solo dropping OR building a team that can handle whatever map they drop on and adapt to what they're facing. A tournament where you build a team and then have to play across both maps and modes without swapping to min-max for the given circumstances is the most accurate representation of skill, in my not-so-humble opinion.]

As I recall, PGI has stated they want to allow practice matches where you can run around on maps and shoot at practice targets. I'd hope implementation of that system would be concurrent with the option to choose your map/constraints/opponents.

I can't comment on the difficulty of creating/implementing a lobby system or the effects it would have on the random/ELO system. I'd like the choice to play one or the other, and especially the ability to practice with friends outside of the current drops. My only real concern/request is that whatever lobby/pre-selected match system they implement would be off the current "economy" to prevent abuse and drain of PGI's time trying to police what people do in "private" matches.

[Sleipnir]

That's a really good point, and I totally agree.

It would be completely seperate from ELO anyway, that's just how ELO works, so it would as a result be required to have no effect on your ELO rating.

As for xp and c-bills - again I agree. Gaining XP and C-bills should require you to queue in the random Matchmaker, that makes complete sense. Games which you set up in a lobby should grant no reward (other than obviously being able to have a game which you have set up to hopefully get more enjoyment from).

A training map will help new players, but it won't aid them in learning to adapt to "live" environments against real people, so being able to set up rooms for new players to duke it out and learn would be very beneficial.

The biggest positive for the lobbies is definitely in building community, in terms of recruiting, tournaments, etc.

Lets hope it happens soon.

[Rex Zero]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but, as i think that a lobby system will provide a solution, it may be. I'll start by saying that over the 6 months I've played this game it's been degenerating slowly. All the number tweaking in the world wont change my mind. The underlying issue is that the game has to make a choice.

Will it be squad based tactical game play? Or will it be a fancy fps with alot of unlockables? I envision a mwo where both teams tacticly select their mechs in a transparent turn based draft pick based on the mission and map using match specific resources. What i mean by match specific resources is that both teams select mechs that when added together equal the same weight/points/whatever can be used in order to ensure that both teams have an even playing feild.

There could be a planning phase prior to the mission exicution where team commanders selected based on rank can path routes and attack patterns and can group their own lances based on weaponry, speed, and chassis. Hell there could even be plays like in football that people could chose form.

It is my firm belief that this game is on the verge of greatness but is risking a catastrophic failure due to the elemination of tactics in favor for an easy to learn game. If it continues down this path not only will I stop playing but I am convinced that many others will as well.

Edited by Rex Zero, 20 June 2013 - 11:31 PM.