12 replies to this topic

[pomomojo]

I'm sure other newbies have undergone similar experiences, though I believe sharing my thoughts in a public forum is, at the very least, a worthwhile exercise to offer encouragement to my fellow Puggers who average mediocre damage and abysmal K:D ratios.

1) Big Mistake #1: The minimum computing requirements are misleading. This is my first dedicated FPS since Counterstrike (c. 2000-01). I was trying to play the first three weeks with my stock Intel graphics chip. I had my game adjusted to minimum settings and couldn't watched as lights "skipped" across the screen. One successfully landed autocannon shot was an assured death since my computer couldn't handle the associated graphics of explosions and smoke.

2) I averaged around 100 pts of damage per game. My K:D ratio was less than 0.33 with more than 600 deaths. All prior to investing in a graphics card. My 630W power supply and GTX 650Ti Boost arrived last Friday. My latest Cataphract is averaging better than 2:1 K:D and 500+ experience on exclusively PUG games.

3) Big mistake #2: I bought a Highlander. And then sold it. All because I couldn't steer it sans graphics card. I also bought a CTF 4X and Catapult, and promptly sold both. I then realized that I should just invest a few bucks and expand my mechbays.

4) Support PGI (willing or unwilling). See Big Mistake #3. As an older player who played the original Battletech board games, I'm an adult with a full time career. A cocktail in my neighborhood is $14-15. $15-30 to pay for some Mechbays won't break me.

5) Practice: Korean-guy videos are very helpful. As a former Starcraft player, I know that Koreans are hardcore about their video games.

6) Stay excited and have fun: communicate with people. Even during PUG games. One of my favorite experiences I had this weekend was a coordinated flanking maneuver with an Atlas D and two heavies on Tourmaline. We used the ECM as cover and flushed out a three mech sniper position and then proceeded to clean up the remainder of the leftover enemies.

7) Join a group: I'm still working on this part. My skills are still unrefined, though I have become better at fighting 1v1 and coring CTs rather than landing random damage.

8) My present K:D ratio at the time of this writing has improved to 0.52. I've played a lot over the past few weeks.

Edited by pomomojo, 20 May 2013 - 09:55 AM.

[Koniving]

Mistakes 1 and 2 are very, very common.

By mistake 1, I'm referring to believing that an intel graphics chip is remotely any sort of equivalent to a Nvidia or AMD graphics card. Though even with the higher specs, what a lot of people don't realize is that even if you do run "well" at very high settings, nothing above medium genuinely works. So the graphics demands will get a bit higher starting around "June," supposedly according to Ask the Devs 36. There will be greater performance hits on older computers over time as features get enabled.

Mistake 2 is pretty frequent. While it is possible to play the game without ever spending a dime, the mechbay design is a convenience which ensures you at minimum put $6.99 into the game.

Koreanese's vids while sometimes difficult to understand are helpful to many.

Flanking is life. But if everyone flanks the same way, it's not flanking and thus it is death.

Joining groups is very important as the gameplay's quality changes significantly with voice communication and coordination. There's many places where groups gather with absolutely no commitment and a come and go policy. Someone should bring links to them here.

Edited by Koniving, 20 May 2013 - 10:38 AM.

[Genewen]

1) Your integrated Intel chip is far below the recommended specs. It's a wonder the game even started up. There is nothing misleading about the minsysreqs - your specs are just terribly far below it. 2) and 3) are just consequences of that, no idea why those are extra points.
4) Is just your situation and not something you should tell others to do. Everyone will spend what he can and what he thinks is worth the deal.

[JoeyFTW]

I am in a perhaps unique situation of (1) loving Mechwarrior and (2) in the middle of trying to learn the Korean language. Could you give a link or youtube profile name for these Korean mechwarrior videos?

[Stoicblitzer]

as far as i know, Koreanese isn't Korean which makes your racist remark about Koreans and videogames worse.

[Flux Reversal]

About your stats, and this games stats in general. Many put too much stock into these numbers. What makes them inaccurate were all the bugs and issues that did not get fixed until a week or so ago. All the individuals that were plagued with game-freezes, crashing to desktop or to client and the hud bug were getting screwed in regards to their stats. While some could care less, others like me do. People either had these issues in abundance or had none at all. There did not seem to be a happy medium regarding the people having this issue. The ones that did not have any issues were the lucky ones. They ones that did got screwed.

I hope, if ever this game gets out of beta, that the stats will be reset so that they may be a reliable source of info. Currently they are not, they are a joke.

[scJazz]

JoeyFTW, on 20 May 2013 - 10:49 AM, said:

I am in a perhaps unique situation of (1) loving Mechwarrior and (2) in the middle of trying to learn the Korean language. Could you give a link or youtube profile name for these Korean mechwarrior videos?

The Player's name is Koreanese. I do not know if he is actually Korean. You can find him on the NA1 TS server. His videos are linked all over new player help.

[pomomojo]

Stoicblitzer, on 20 May 2013 - 10:53 AM, said:

as far as i know, Koreanese isn't Korean which makes your racist remark about Koreans and videogames worse.

His posted name under YouTube is Yong Choi. If he isn't Korean, he sure likes the Korean Schtick. And I don't think commenting about the cultural phenomenon known as Starcraft I is racist. For whatever reason that game was embraced by Korea, moreso than the US or any other Asian country. And fervent competition usually leads to improved skill sets.

[pomomojo]

Genewen, on 20 May 2013 - 10:29 AM, said:

4) Is just your situation and not something you should tell others to do. Everyone will spend what he can and what he thinks is worth the deal.

I should have stressed the barrier for entry into this game is relatively low, which I appreciate, once you have appropriate hardware. I wish system requirements were less so people of all income brackets could enjoy this game.

Edited by pomomojo, 20 May 2013 - 02:20 PM.

[DeaconW]

Stoicblitzer, on 20 May 2013 - 10:53 AM, said:

as far as i know, Koreanese isn't Korean which makes your racist remark about Koreans and videogames worse.

Please take the chip off your shoulder. The Korean/Starcraft thing is a well-known phenomena...at worst his comment is stereotyping...but certainly not "racist". This political correctness BS only contributes negatively to civil discourse in the modern world. (pretty ironic if you ask me...)

[Genewen]

pomomojo, on 20 May 2013 - 02:19 PM, said:

I should have stressed the barrier for entry into this game is relatively low, which I appreciate, once you have appropriate hardware. I wish system requirements were less so people of all income brackets could enjoy this game.

The hardware requirements are low. A gaming PC matching or exceeding the recommended specs today can even be a cheap PC from 3 years ago - I know because right now I am playing on such a machine. Today's low-end rigs for around 350€ (~450$) will easily run this game. You just tried to play with an office PC, and those are just not built to be able to run 3D games, as they don't even have a graphics card, just an integrated chip.

[Mazzyplz]

koreanese is korean american, so he's american, despite his name. i believe.

please don't racial stereotype!

[scJazz]

Seriously the PC police have just derailed this thread about the newb experience into stereotyping, racism, and other PC idiocy? Go watch some MSNBC kay?