15 replies to this topic

[Arnasi]

Hello,

just a quick note for whoever from Piranha checks these forums

I had to google how to start the game once install was complete. thankfully there were similar questions in a thread back in November that directed me to the correct directory to find the game executable file.

Guys, I've spent like $600 between 3 different F2P games over the last year . . . if you want my money, you got to help me by actually making it stupid easy for me to play. And once you've made it stupid easy, make it even stupider easy.

p.s. the launcher loading screen is way, way too busy. I have no idea where I am supposed to be looking once the launcher comes up.

p.p.s this is not a troll post, having that 'beta' tag doesn't excuse you from using standard install methods and telling your users what is going on.

[Mounty]

Serious? There should be an Icon on your desktop to start the game, unless you told it not to create one. As for the launcher, the big blue and white 'PLAY' button doesn't jump out at you? I'm well on my way to being blind and I have no trouble seeing it.

[darkkterror]

I don't intend to be mean, but I honestly don't see how it could be any more straight forward to play the game. Shortcut icon on the desktop, ginormous PLAY button, Launch button in the upper right corner...

The only hiccup I can see is if the installer didn't, for some reason, place a shortcut on your desktop. I can't speak to that, since the installer certainly DID place a shortcut on my desktop.

[Watchit]

The launcher looks pretty standard for F2P games I've seen. Like WoW, Wakfu, etc...

[Wolfclaw]

I'd like to petition to ban the OP for ignorance.


In all seriousness now...

HOW, please tell me, do you not see the large PLAY button? It's about that size, can't be too hard to miss.

[Geadron Kane]

You need to select one of the trial mechs or buy mc and buy one in the mechlab. The launch should be blue otherwise the server might be down which may be the reason you did not log in at that time. It is pretty much up all the time compared to other online games I have played.

[Typhoon Storm 2142]

Mounty, on 21 February 2013 - 08:49 PM, said:

...big blue and white 'PLAY' button...

darkkterror, on 21 February 2013 - 09:14 PM, said:

...ginormous PLAY button...

Wolfclaw, on 22 February 2013 - 10:08 AM, said:

HOW, please tell me, do you not see the large PLAY button?

You people seem so smart. Why don't you tell me why there's no PLAY button in my launcher sometimes...Only a PATCH button.

However, don't make this game anymore noob-friendly. I hate games that are made noob-friendly.

[Koniving]

So... Step by step instructions.

First you should see an icon on your desktop or in your start menu. If not, we'll make one. See below. Note that yours will probably be in Drive Letter \ wheveryouputit \ MWO \ Mechwarrior Online \ Bin32

Also note that we want to make a shortcut of the MWOLauncher.exe file onto your desktop.

(There was a picture here. It has disappeared now.)

Once you have clicked on or created a shortcut and clicked on it, you will see this screen. Note that while the imagery may differ on a weekly basis, the play button will always remain in the same place. Unless a team of Axemen Battlemechs with ninja masks come in and swipe it, in which case to retrieve the button you'll need to click on the "PATCH" button.



Then you'll be taken to a login screen. Here you will type your email and the password.



After doing that, spend a brief hiatus by getting rid of all the pests in your life, gathering some beverage such as coffee, beer, or a soda. Once it loads you will see this screen.



Once Mechlab turns white, click on it. You will see an empty screen with empty bays. Or possibly this screen.



If you do not see 4 mechs, you should click on "Trial Mechs"

Now click the launch button in the upper right.

As for driving, you're on your own. But that's okay, your local store brand cereal has box tops that you can turn in for your official driver's license. Enjoy!

Edited by Koniving, 14 March 2013 - 05:27 PM.

[darkkterror]

Typhoon Storm 2142, on 23 February 2013 - 03:33 AM, said:

You people seem so smart. Why don't you tell me why there's no PLAY button in my launcher sometimes...Only a PATCH button.

However, don't make this game anymore noob-friendly. I hate games that are made noob-friendly.

Because you have to PATCH the game before you can play? Click the patch button, wait for it to do it's thing, and then press play. Is this seriously so difficult? I lose faith in the human race more and more every day it seems.

[Daggett]

When comes the time where forum users don't insult anyone with a question that SEEMS dumb TO THEM?

The OP was not able to tell where his problem was, but he had a problem which PGI should fix.
Just because some of you guys in all your greatness are too smart to see that problem does not mean that it won't exist and the OP is stupid (im looking specifically at you, WolfClaw ).

In this case, the problem is that the installer -unlike any other game- never creates a startmenu entry.
So if you chose to not put an icon on your desktop, you will have the OPs problem.

Granted, the OP could use some more experience with Windows to know such details and where to find the executable of the game in such cases, but this is no free ticket to insult him.

In the end, the OP made a valid post to tell PGI that there is something that need to be fixed within the installer.

Kudos at Geadron Kane and Koniving for giving real aid without questioning the OPs intelligence.

Edited by Daggett, 23 February 2013 - 01:43 PM.

[Koniving]

Daggett, on 23 February 2013 - 01:30 PM, said:

Kudos at Geadron Kane and Koniving for giving real aid without questioning the OPs intelligence.

Why thank you. And yes I've had that same problem when I "cleaned up" my desktop by deleting all the short cuts. I couldn't find a start menu program entry. Typing anything related to the game in the start menu search bar resulted in nothing. So at one point I created a new shortcut and pinned it to the task bar. It's easy to forget some of the troubles that we once had.

I think part of the reason for the forum trolls is that though the OP stated his or her complaints, it was stated immediately after saying he or she had already solved the issue. Since there wasn't any help to give, the trolls got excited.

(Having re-read the original post I'm actually thinking this should have been in the suggestions thread. Although my contribution to it should probably remain in player help in case if someone in the near future deletes the desktop shortcut and winds up in this terrifying situation.)

[Wolfclaw]

Daggett, on 23 February 2013 - 01:30 PM, said:

When comes the time where forum users don't insult anyone with a question that SEEMS dumb TO THEM?

The OP was not able to tell where his problem was, but he had a problem which PGI should fix.
Just because some of you guys in all your greatness are too smart to see that problem does not mean that it won't exist and the OP is stupid (im looking specifically at you, WolfClaw ).

In this case, the problem is that the installer -unlike any other game- never creates a startmenu entry.
So if you chose to not put an icon on your desktop, you will have the OPs problem.

Granted, the OP could use some more experience with Windows to know such details and where to find the executable of the game in such cases, but this is no free ticket to insult him.

In the end, the OP made a valid post to tell PGI that there is something that need to be fixed within the installer.

Kudos at Geadron Kane and Koniving for giving real aid without questioning the OPs intelligence.

There's nothing that needs to be fixed though...

The way this game launches is the same as 8/10 other games...

You can't say that you didn't find it in the least bit strange that he couldn't see the "Play" button. Or that he knew to click "Patch" in order to play....

[Daggett]

Wolfclaw, on 23 February 2013 - 10:02 PM, said:

There's nothing that needs to be fixed though...

The way this game launches is the same as 8/10 other games...

You can't say that you didn't find it in the least bit strange that he couldn't see the "Play" button. Or that he knew to click "Patch" in order to play....

I suggest to read closer.

First, there totally is something that needs to be fixed:
The installer does not create a startmenu-shortcut.
Nearly ALL other games i ever played do create such a shortcut, MWO is the exception that does not.
Therefore this has to be fixed to increase user experience.

Second, the OP only said that the launcher is overloaded with lots of links, images, text, ect.
I'm kinda sure that he had no problem finding the play-button, but was simply confused by all those other elements.

Third, the guy with the 'Patch'-Button was a obviously a troll which wanted to raise your attention to the fact that the button is not labled 'Play' everytime. Maybe the OP made a new account for trolling but we don't know this and personally i doubt it.

[AyeCapn]

The giant PLAY button is moot if you have no desktop icon to launch.

I just experienced this and it is the first time in my life I have seen a program not install a Start Menu icon without at least having the checkbox options in the installer:

[X] Create a desktop shortcut?

[X] Create a start Menu entry?

[Genewen]

Daggett, on 23 February 2013 - 01:30 PM, said:

In this case, the problem is that the installer -unlike any other game- never creates a startmenu entry.
So if you chose to not put an icon on your desktop, you will have the OPs problem.

No, because everybody who has spent more than 30min at any given PC using Windows 95 or higher should know how to utilize the Windows Explorer. If you can't manage to even do even that much, there is still the search function on every PC.

Which brings me to:

Koniving, on 23 February 2013 - 02:20 PM, said:

And yes I've had that same problem when I "cleaned up" my desktop by deleting all the short cuts. I couldn't find a start menu program entry. Typing anything related to the game in the start menu search bar resulted in nothing.

I don't know what you did, but my start menu search instantly finds me the Launcher when I type in "MWO" and also instantly finds the MechWarrior folder when I type in "mech". Both are the topmost results for their respective searches.

Sure, they could add the option to add a start menu entry, that would certainly do no harm. But this whole thing is not nearly as much as an issue as the OP tries to make out of it.

Edited by Genewen, 14 March 2013 - 03:59 PM.

[Koniving]

Genewen, on 14 March 2013 - 03:58 PM, said:

No, because everybody who has spent more than 30min at any given PC using Windows 95 or higher should know how to utilize the Windows Explorer. If you can't manage to even do even that much, there is still the search function on every PC.

Which brings me to:

I don't know what you did, but my start menu search instantly finds me the Launcher when I type in "MWO" and also instantly finds the MechWarrior folder when I type in "mech". Both are the topmost results for their respective searches.

Sure, they could add the option to add a start menu entry, that would certainly do no harm. But this whole thing is not nearly as much as an issue as the OP tries to make out of it.

Mine pulls up a series of MWO.NVC files from Nero Video Studio. For a while MWO is listed in the quick launch part of the start menu, but if I play a number of other programs it disappears as it very recently did again.