498 replies to this topic

[aptest]

very interesting post, OP, but i fail to see how MWO is going to die from what you've presented. Not being a battletech die-hard fan myself, failing to meet the "clan invasion" deadline (which can be moved) or being delayed in the release of several mechs (while there is a critical mass of mechs already in the game) doesn't automatically mean the game is going to die.

The way I see it, MWO currently is a functioning game. It can be a whole lot more than it currently is, and obviously I hope community warfare is going to be community warfare and not community grinding, but at this present time it is a working game that can be enjoyed.

there are two ways in which a game at this stage will die: either it's player base leaves and it ends up without sufficient player base, or it's producing company decides to pull the plug. You havn't shown either one of those issues is going on.

As for myself, I am not waiting for "the clans". They represent power-creep that's hard-wired into the game's lore and design, and will probably be accompanied by a "grind loyalty stats to get to the good mechs" game (A.K.A. CW). Being matched against superior mechs in my "inferior" mech over and over and over again is definitely something that will make ME leave.

Edited by aptest, 04 March 2013 - 05:07 AM.

[Thirdstar]

aptest, on 04 March 2013 - 05:03 AM, said:

There are two ways in which a game at this stage will die: either it's player base leaves and it ends up without sufficient player base, or it's producing company decides to pull the plug. You havn't shown either one of those issues is going on.

You didn't actually read the OP did you? Come on, it's okay to admit it.

[Sir Roland MXIII]

aptest, on 04 March 2013 - 05:03 AM, said:

very interesting post, OP, but i fail to see how MWO is going to die from what you've presented. Not being a battletech die-hard fan myself, failing to meet the "clan invasion" deadline (which can be moved) or being delayed in the release of several mechs (while there is a critical mass of mechs already in the game) doesn't automatically mean the game is going to die.

The way I see it, MWO currently is a functioning game. It can be a whole lot more than it currently is, and obviously I hope community warfare is going to be community warfare and not community grinding, but at this present time it is a working game that can be enjoyed.

there are two ways in which a game at this stage will die: either it's player base leaves and it ends up without sufficient player base, or it's producing company decides to pull the plug. You havn't shown either one of those issues is going on.

Wow wait what. TIME OUT. TIME THE **** OUT. Did you just try to sneak in a "no one is leaving the game" comment there? Norris said people have left as far back as August / September last year. I can pull a half dozen names out of a mental hat of people who've stopped playing, and I would have to do so 5 times before I needed to repeat names. And that's just people *I* know of. Now magnify that by whatever number you want and the FACT becomes clear, as Norris stated in his Op and which you obviously missed or ignored:

People ARE leaving. They HAVE been for some time now.

Edited by Sir Roland MXIII, 04 March 2013 - 05:09 AM.

[Inertiaman]

Yeah but to play devils advocate - it goes without saying that we don't know how many have commenced or what they're spending so you can't possibly intuit the overall +-.

[Chrithu]

Thirdstar, on 04 March 2013 - 05:07 AM, said:

You didn't actually read the OP did you? Come on, it's okay to admit it.

He actually has a point. The crowd of people that couldn't care less about Mechwarrior or Battletech but like stuff like LoL and WoT could be well enough to more than keep this boat afloat when production costs can be lowered enough. This is exactly my fear. This could be a desirable scenario for anyone not interested in making a game but making money (read a publisher and the investors behind it).

[Inertiaman]

I think it's a little nuts to suggest that noone over there wants to make a game.

[Aaren Kai]

Wait wait! I got a solution that will save MWO!

Ready? Here it is... Its going to be legend...wait for it because they can change the stated date of what the time line is and when the clans invade... dary.

Problem solved. Where do I collect my profit?

[NewAge]

Here's a handy visual aid, color coded for your pleasure (because black and white dashed line maps are for suckers and freebirths, right?)


The shin dig kicks off in August of this year (3049) with the following planets falling to Clan occupation.

Clan Wolf:

Drask's Den (August 3049)

Ferris (August 3049)

Placidia (August 3049)

The Rock (August 3049) - Phelan Kell is taken prisoner here.

Gustrell (September 3049)

Oberon VI (September 3049)

Paulus Prime (September 3049)

Sigurd (September 3049)


Clan Jade Falcon: (Exact dates not given)
Twilight

Von Strang

Gotterdammerung

Last Chance


Clan Ghost Bear:
Porthos (September 3049)


Clan Smoke Jaguar:
Santander's World (August-September 3049)




Also, A little history from the Jade Falcon Sourcebook.

Quote

"The last Periphery world fell to the Clans near the end of 3049, and the invaders spent the last two months of that year consolidating their holdings by ferrying in a minimal civilian force to establish basic services and to stockpile supplies."

In other words, all the fighting takes place between August and October of 3049, after which the Clans take a 4 month vacation to get their tan on, as well as prepare for the first wave of what could be considered the "real" invasion of thre inner sphere (no resistance encountered in the periphery was capable of causing any significant pause to the invaders). ComStar are aware of the Clan presence by this point but choose to remain neutral, and the rest of the Inner Sphere are still for the most part in the dark aside from rumors and conjecture.



"ZOMG What ever does this mean for development?"

PGI could easily ignore the Periphery Campaign entirely, as it represents only a handful of battles against ill equipped and under-prepared forces that just get steamrolled (The clans obviously drop in 4 man premades). A handful of ISN news flashes could account for these happenings, and PGI would have until March of 3050 (aka March 2014) to finish community warfare, and get Clan Assets into the game and tested.

I think people are jumping the gun in calling this game doomed, and guessing at anything to do with development timelines. Perhaps the 2 mechs a month schedule was too ambitous and the staff were getting overworked. Perhaps they were planning to hire more staff to work at that pace and that hiring plan got tossed. We can guess as much as we want and it will get us nowhere. What we do know are 3 things:

1. We know the timeline of the Clan invasion and how that all plays out.

2. We know PGI have both missed, and met, quite a few self-imposed deadlines. (You know, that they gave us no promises on to begin with and that were solely for the benefit of the community).

3. We know the guys working on this project care a whole hell of a lot about making a damn fine MechWarrior game, and that for all the bitching, whining, complaining, and doom-saying that goes on here; We're just going to log back in and play because it's the best thing we've got.

Based on the above selection of what we know, I'll throw in my prediction that we'll get Clan mechs some time before they are ready, on a timeline that is later than most would like, and that people will gripe about them incessantly regardless.



TL; DR: It'll be done when it's done. Shut up and play or G T F O.

[Norris J Packard]

Artgathan, on 04 March 2013 - 05:02 AM, said:

I appreciate the links you supplied earlier about the development time / staff requirements.

That said, Bryan indicated that it takes a team of 6 to create 1 mech per month. He didn't indicate how many teams of 6 they had (though considering they only have 43 employees I'll grant that they may only have one team).

In response to the above quote, I feel that this is the biggest flaw in your argument. Why does the inclusion of Clan mechs necessitate a 4 month content gap? PGI could easily just plug those 4 months with 4 more IS mechs while they sort out the hardpoint system for Clan mechs. I doubt the team that develops the mechs is actually involved in the creation of the systems that drive those mechs - they're there simply to implement someone else's ideas. As long as they're ready to roll onto the development of Clan mechs once the system has been finalized I see no reason why there should be a gap in content introduction (since they can just keep producing IS mechs until the devs are ready for Clans).

Because the Clans are an entirely different faction.

It would necessitate that there be four Mechs they can add all at once in order to include them. And believe me, they are going to add the Clans. This means that it will mean there is going to be four months of absolutely no new Mechs.

[Inertiaman]

Aaren Kai, on 04 March 2013 - 05:13 AM, said:

Wait wait! I got a solution that will save MWO!

Ready? Here it is... Its going to be legend...wait for it because they can change the stated date of what the time line is and when the clans invade... dary.

Problem solved. Where do I collect my profit?

I'll leave it where you'll find it. i.e. a [REDACTED].

Edited by Mason Grimm, 04 March 2013 - 06:25 AM.
Unconstructive / Flaming / Bashing

[Thirdstar]

Jason Parker, on 04 March 2013 - 05:11 AM, said:

He actually has a point. The crowd of people that couldn't care less about Mechwarrior or Battletech but like stuff like LoL and WoT could be well enough to more than keep this boat afloat when production costs can be lowered enough. This is exactly my fear. This could be a desirable scenario for anyone not interested in making a game but making money (read a publisher and the investors behind it).

No that actually makes no sense, the people who couldn't care less about MW and BT will go play a better, more complete game such as LoL and WoT.

Edited by Thirdstar, 04 March 2013 - 05:15 AM.

[Norris J Packard]

Aaren Kai, on 04 March 2013 - 05:13 AM, said:

Wait wait! I got a solution that will save MWO!

Ready? Here it is... Its going to be legend...wait for it because they can change the stated date of what the time line is and when the clans invade... dary.

Problem solved. Where do I collect my profit?

You completely missed my point.

By adding the Clan Mechs, this will create (at minimum) a four month content drought up to their release.

This is the problem.

Edited by Norris J Packard, 04 March 2013 - 05:15 AM.

[Sir Roland MXIII]

Inertiaman, on 04 March 2013 - 05:11 AM, said:

Yeah but to play devils advocate - it goes without saying that we don't know how many have commenced or what they're spending so you can't possibly intuit the overall +-.

ANd this is true Inertia but how many of the people we're picking up any more are people you want to play with? I can honestly say that a lot of the people I enjoyed gaming with have already left, and no matter how many replacements we get for them there's a lot of them who act like WoW-jects and CoD-pieces. I'll pass on the latter thanks. Quantity in this case does not have a quality I like.

[Inertiaman]

NewAge, on 04 March 2013 - 05:13 AM, said:

The shin dig kicks off in August of this year (3049) with the following planets falling to Clan occupation.

lol. Glad I bothered reading this in entirity.

[Accursed Richards]

Maybe the OP's right, and this game is doomed. So....what do you think we should do about it? Do you have a plan to save the game from this perceived doom, or do you just want to score internet points by talking about how you're the only one who realises the truth?

[Thirdstar]

NewAge, on 04 March 2013 - 05:13 AM, said:

TL; DR: It'll be done when it's done. Shut up and play or G T F O.

From the bestselling book 'How to make a successful game and keep it populated' by NewAge

[Inertiaman]

Damnit trying to make a meme for that ***** but can't find a picture of the 3050 hologram

[Sir Roland MXIII]

Accursed Richards, on 04 March 2013 - 05:17 AM, said:

Maybe the OP's right, and this game is doomed. So....what do you think we should do about it? Do you have a plan to save the game from this perceived doom, or do you just want to score internet points by talking about how you're the only one who realises the truth?

Dude if I hit a jackpot of some kind the MW IP rights are so mine. You won't even have time to say YOINK before I have them. And a game WILL get made with them that fits the titile of " A MechWarrior you'd happily wait another decade for, but are being given now". Rather than "hey, this is what we got, take it or leave it".

Edited by Sir Roland MXIII, 04 March 2013 - 05:21 AM.

[Norris J Packard]

Accursed Richards, on 04 March 2013 - 05:17 AM, said:

Maybe the OP's right, and this game is doomed. So....what do you think we should do about it? Do you have a plan to save the game from this perceived doom, or do you just want to score internet points by talking about how you're the only one who realises the truth?

Actually I do.

[ciller]

So he bashes the conspiracy theory thread then posts one of his own, with the exact opposite point of view. That's cool - this month will tell which theory is right or wrong.