102 replies to this topic

[Armando]

ExAstris, on 23 March 2013 - 10:17 AM, said:

Same, I pug 95% of my games. I'd be interested to see what exactly constitutes the majority of players playing in groups. Because I play in groups... 5% of the time. If they're counting me, then thats a pretty meaningless statistic. But if they actually mean that over 50% of all the players actually playing at any given time are in a group at that moment, then it might be significant. Still, I'm pretty sure the number of players who prefer pugging, plus those that pug in their spare time when their regular team isn't around, would prefer MWO to have some more pug friendly attributes.

The biggest factor in that is that proper team construction parameters are utterly dependent on ECM, but its mal-effects extend far beyond punishing puggers who cannot check their team ECM counts before dropping.

But even beyond pet-peeves that have kept me from enjoying the game, the pugger experience is precisely what new players are going to have to deal with. Thus, building the game in such a way that it doesn't punish solo players should always be on the short-list of design goals.

While I fully agree that people should not be 'punished' for playing solo, there should be no benefit to it either. Then again, why people play MMOs, solo, is something that just seems oxymoronic to me, especially a MMO that has no PvE content what so ever.

As for ECM, it is my experience that outside of pugging ECM makes little to no difference at all (if it even makes a difference then). In competitive 8 mans the better team generally wins (damn you SJG) regardless of how much (or little) ECM you bring.

If you don't trust me....make an 8 man with all ECM and drop against a team like the Steel Jaguars or some such group (cough**The Templars**cough) and when you get smoked 0-8...over and over again...even though your team has 8 ECM mechs while the other team DIDN'T...then you might understand that pilot skill > EMC (even in Pugs).

On I related side note: Really wish someone would make a "while I don't always drink...." pic that says "I don't always make excuses for losing, but when I do....I perfer "They had more ECM than we did".

Edited by Armando, 25 March 2013 - 09:01 PM.

[Caboose30]

Quote

Polleys: In a previous ask the devs, you mentioned we would soon be able to paint hero 'mechs. Will we also be able to paint our founders 'mechs?

A: You can already. You are able to change the pin stripping. There has also been talk about tweaking the textures internally to support more colors.

Okay, I like most of the clear cut answers, but this one? For real? Have they *looked* at how on some mechs - like the Catapult or Hunchback - you can barely tell the pin striping color has been changed? The Atlas only has a noticeable difference when you turn it red, and the Jenner really only shows up green for some reason. How about changed all three colors?

[Ratfriend]

i distinkly remember that it was said that there wouldnt be any ingame advantage from buying things with real money compared to using c.bills but this new coolshot cost 15 mc mc cost real money and its the best one of them can we exspekt you to go back on other promises as well? i gues you got greedy like blizzard

[Irvine]

Thanks for answering my question!

[ExAstris]

Armando, on 25 March 2013 - 08:39 PM, said:

If you don't trust me....make an 8 man with all ECM and drop against a team like the Steel Jaguars or some such group (cough**The Templars**cough) and when you get smoked 0-8...over and over again...even though your team has 8 ECM mechs while the other team DIDN'T...then you might understand that pilot skill > EMC (even in Pugs).

Its not that I don't trust you, its that your point is irrelevant. Player skill being able to overcome bad game design doesn't change the fact that there is bad game design. One key issue to consider is what skill level we want to normalize the game's balance to. If we want to normalize everything to the absolute top tier of players, then ECM may very well be fine as it is. As player skill goes up (and the use of 3rd party voip), the relevance of ECM goes down. I plow(ed) ECM mechs handily and (was) only rarely misled about enemy positions due to it.

Thats simply not the problem. Or rather, its not one of the half-dozen problems spawned by ECM's current implimentation.

If we take the proposition that sufficient player skill simply validates any game design decision that doesn't unbalance the game for the top tier players only, then we would have to rebuff LRMs into effectiveness levels most players would simply quit over. But on your reasoning, LRMs would be fine because there are a few 8 man teams out there with the coordination, piloting skills, and solid-enough aim to use the non-LRM weapons to overcome them on a fairly regular basis.

Thus you present no viable solution.

Alas, further substantive commentary will be reserved for the actual ECM feedback thread.

[Ratfriend]

Thontor, on 26 March 2013 - 05:32 PM, said:

you can get the same thing with cbills and GXP, both of which do not cost any real money

well this coolant cost money reread last patch notes mate

- Cool Shot 18

- Only one of these can be equipped on a BattleMech at a time.
- Cannot be equipped on a BattleMech that has a Cool Shot 9 equipped.
- Consumed upon use.
- Costs 15 MC.
- When used, it removes 18 heat per second, for 1 second, from your BattleMech(in addition to the standard heat loss from your heat sinks).
- This is equivalent to the cooling provided by 180 single heat sinks.

point is this is the most effective cool shot so in that way you are buying for money a ingame advantage thats rather huge imagine a awesome mech with large pulse lasers and this shot it would rip appart anyone not using energi weapons and this also i dont like these cool shots it gives energi based mech a big advantage over ammo based mechs

Edited by Ratfriend, 29 March 2013 - 03:54 PM.

[Corvus Antaka]

My only major dissappointment here is the comments on mute/block, etc.

still cant block trolls without friending them first, this is an EPIC fail, and no plans to add this is just a horrible decision.

I myself find more and more a way to turn the text window off would be welcome as an addition, and I do find it very sub-par for PGI to be unwilling/unable to implement something that could be toggled with a simple keystroke on or off.

instead its like they are saying "you will be spammed dammit! fools!"

very very very poor answer.

otherwise, nice Q/A.

yeah, more bitching on one measly item, little praise for all else, such is the ways of the world.

sadly its such a simple implement, and once again simply defies all logic and reason.

[SgtKinCaiD]

Yeah Cool Shot 18 and Cool Shot 9 by 9 have the same requirements and effects. The only difference is the price.

[Petert]

Good morning!

I've been playing MWO for a week or so now, and must say the game is amazing! Gameplay is awesome, and I think it's good it's free to play. But I do have some points that can be slightly approved. Please consider the following:

1. Why creating a group? Can't you just make it so, that if I invite someone, a group is automatically created? Maybe with a small if/else-statement that sais I can only have a group of >5 or 8?

2. As a group leader, why should I set myself to "ready"? Please make it so that the group leader can press "launch" when everybody but himself is ready. Now it's just a really annoying extra click...

3. The small commercials you get when starting up the game are loud...

But besides these 3 points it's an awesome game. Keep up the good work!

[BlackBeltJones]

Bryan Ekman, on 22 March 2013 - 07:08 AM, said:

Irvine: HI, any ETA on integrated comms? Haven't heard alot about it in a while.

A: I would hope to see it around Community Warfare. However, we find most players still prefer to use their own VOIP solutions.

To me this sounds like a person 'bragging' about their dogs ability to hunt and forage food on its own when the owner should have just bought dog food in the first place.

Edited by BlackBeltJones, 01 April 2013 - 12:06 PM.

[MentalPatient]

BlackBeltJones, on 01 April 2013 - 12:05 PM, said:

To me this sounds like a person 'bragging' about their dogs ability to hunt and forage food on its own when the owner should have just bought dog food in the first place.

The thing is, this game NEEDS voip badly. I hope they implement it in a way similar to Battlefield 2 did, with lances having their own comms, and lance leaders having a dedicated comms with the commander, and finally a team comms channel for communicating team wide. It's good to hear they are aiming on CW having voip, because without it, teams using their own voip program's will be hugely advantaged, leaving poor lone wolves or people without mates they play with regularly in the dark and without direction or consolidated teamwork.

I don't think anyone needs to worry about griefers or mic abuse, as it seems to me that the majority of people who play MWO are mature and serious about the game. The long hard grinds hopefully filter out the not so serious types.

Edited by MentalPatient, 01 April 2013 - 06:12 PM.

[JustPyro]

I'm still very disappointed in how the regional servers are being planned. If you're planning on a long-lasting game, people move. They move to different time zones, or are stationed in different countries. They switch shifts at work or get new jobs with new hours.

I believe expecting people to maintain different accounts on different servers is going a bit much. Syncing servers in the modern world is not difficult, and give the players the ability to change servers at least every login is something a lot of modern games (using centralized servers) do. An even better solution, is to have player profiles on 1 bank of servers, separate from the game servers.

Then the game servers poll from that. Suddenly accounts are completely region agnostic. It saves storage space and solves issues of players wanting to play across time zones with different groups of people.

[BorlandRussian]

I agree with @JustPyro. I live in Russia, my ping is usually 200-230ms. This is a serious obstacle for normal play.

Perhaps, it's only my position, but I think that you must enter normal searching service. Many people do not like same maps, but they are forced to play...

My suggestion is making game more optionality. For example, I deslike laser reloated sound I would like to turn it off.

One more. I played in MC2 and all Mechwarriors. If you think, which mechs can be add, I can help u :

Spoiler

Uller
Anubis
Hollander
Bushwacker
Shadow Cat
Vulture
Mad Cat
Shootist
Fafnir
Daishi

And the last. I think, new game modes greatly enhance the game

[Volkodav]

JustPyro, on 01 April 2013 - 08:11 PM, said:

I'm still very disappointed in how the regional servers are being planned. If you're planning on a long-lasting game, people move. They move to different time zones, or are stationed in different countries. They switch shifts at work or get new jobs with new hours.

I believe expecting people to maintain different accounts on different servers is going a bit much. Syncing servers in the modern world is not difficult, and give the players the ability to change servers at least every login is something a lot of modern games (using centralized servers) do. An even better solution, is to have player profiles on 1 bank of servers, separate from the game servers.

Then the game servers poll from that. Suddenly accounts are completely region agnostic. It saves storage space and solves issues of players wanting to play across time zones with different groups of people.

Thus there is no bigger crushing of players, and more online on the server.

[Petert]

Thontor, on 01 April 2013 - 04:23 AM, said:

.....
3: press spacebar to skip the "small commercials"

Lol, thnx! :-)

[Gremlich Johns]

A very substantive and informative set of responses. Some questions remain for "ASk the Devs #36"

one point that bothers me:

extracted from above - this ability to purchase mech related items like engines pushes the game into P2W territory because it is no longer a microtransaction. Purchasing C-bills with MC amounts to the same thing.

Community Consolidated Question 4: Will we ever be able to purchase CBills with MC? Or purchase expensive items like engines with MC?

A: We have discussed adding this functionality; no decisions have been made either way. And yes we are looking at adding MC items. We have a full design for the later, however, it is too early to discuss details.

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 02 April 2013 - 06:26 PM.

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

Gremlich Johns, on 02 April 2013 - 06:09 PM, said:

... this ability to purchase mech related items like engines pushes the game into P2W territory because it is no longer a microtransaction. Purchasing C-bills with MC amounts to the same thing.

I disagree ... it's not "pay to win" it's "pay to not grind".

You can already do this, just not directly ... buy a mech with MC, sell the mech, get C-Bills.

If someone doesn't like the stock mech, but doesn't want to grind for a week to earn the C-Bills to upgrade it, buy two mechs, sell one, and use those C-Bills to modify the other mech.

It is inefficient and (in my opinion) a waste of money, but it can easily be done right now.

[Syllogy]

Gremlich Johns, on 02 April 2013 - 06:09 PM, said:

extracted from above - this ability to purchase mech related items like engines pushes the game into P2W territory because it is no longer a microtransaction. Purchasing C-bills with MC amounts to the same thing.

They haven't even released the details. You are crying about the steak before it's even been cut off of the cow.

[LogicalTightRope]

Bryan Ekman, on 22 March 2013 - 07:08 AM, said:

grayson marik: You said, "Private matches will be implemented, but not in a way players are probably thinking. We are still working out ways to make this feasible. No ETA." Have we ( the other league/tournament creators and me) wasted our time creating the stuff we created?

A: We plan to create and host a variety of tournaments, challenges, and official MWO league. At this time we are not sanctioning or encouraging players to create independent leagues.

I CERTAINLY hope that the current attitude towards player-run leagues changes. There is so much more potential for players to do what they want if they have the power to do so rather than following the whims of the central authority.

All in all, though, I think this game is doing far better than so many skeptics are saying. It hasn't been ruined and PGI is doing a fine job considering the task. I would have wanted something more like MW: Living Legends (a larger, more Battlefield-esque game environment), but I feel like the current model is suited fine for the wider audience (although that whole MW:LL ceasing development fiasco is a shame).

[Manotha]

Are their any plans to increase the flight speed of LRM'S, comparable to ballistics? they seem to take forever to reach target.