1095 replies to this topic

[Bryan Ekman]

I've added a new discussion thread for social elements specifically. Please head on over there.

http://mwomercs.com/...ial-discussion/

[Nicholas Carlyle]

Bryan Ekman, on 10 May 2013 - 10:00 AM, said:

I've added a new discussion thread for social elements specifically. Please head on over there.

You guys really want to make sure I have to spend as much time as possible at work finding threads, don't you?

[Khanahar]

Roadbuster, on 10 May 2013 - 07:49 AM, said:

Looks nice so far. A few things would be nice to have though.

• color coding for weapon types (ballistic/energy/...)
  
• seperate color for all actions/buttons involving MC
  
• seperate buttons for social and grouping (no key combos please), maybe a permanent window for group chat (it's a teamgame so this should be a main part of the UI)
  
• weapon location when setting weapon groups (easiest way would be to just write RA, LT, CT,... next to the weapon)
  
• info about loaded ammunition in the mech overview window (ammount, location, protected by CASE,...)
  
• ability to rename mechs
  
• ability to save different loadouts would be nice
  
• one click actions for grouping with status display via text ("name of player" invited to group...) or color and no more confirmation windows like the current "You created a group."
  
• seperate tabs for owned mechs, trial mechs and any hero/custom/sale mechs

Good point.

All of this.

I know you guys couldn't acknowledge doing so, but seriously, go take a look at a third party mechlab like Smurphy's. There are a lot of important visual elements that could be helpful, some of which have already appeared in MechWarrior games:
-Give tonnage remaining, not total tonnage
-Color coding (R/G/Y for weapons and Blue for HS and White for structure and Purple for special equipment)
-Make empty slots fade away visually with actual emptiness, or at least grey words
-Button color standardization: Green for MC purchase, Yellow for C-Bills, Blue for go, Red for cancel, etc.
-Weapon/Hardpoint locations visible at a glance, a la the charts used by Ohm and Smurfy.
-Ammunition listed separately
-Ability to name and save a loadout like in MechCommander2. Really handy feature, every 'mech game should have it.

And the other things the guy above me said. UI is key to making a user experience pleasant, and the UI of MechWarrior should be easy to compensate for the fact that the game itself is inherently difficult for new players to get into.

[Krell Darkmoon]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 10 May 2013 - 09:58 AM, said:

Are you looking to get closer to the playerbase then? Making things right in opposition to that previous position?

+1 for hope.......

[zraven7]

I do agree with one of the above posts in that having some lore about each mech and some of the weapons would add a lot of flavor to the game. Would also help to make new players feel less like their at the lodge house without knowing all the stories behind the jokes. Little stuff like the origin of the Atlas or the Orion might sway people to pick a mech based on backstory as well as specs.

I do like the new mech selection layout. Giving us a custom filter option would be kinda of awesome, too. Maybe a way to check favorites or most commonly played mechs, so they appear first in the master list, or have their own filter tab.

A personal want is to have an "overview" screen option for the mech creation. A lot of us remember character/mech sheets, and would like to see all of our slots at a glance. Spending 10 minutes fretting over a build-out only to discover you forgot about the ton of armor in your head can be trying. Something along the lines of a prettier version of http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ would be absolutely lovely.

All in all, though, I like the direction of this. Thanks for the info.

[WaKK0]

OK, here's an ambitious request in this new UI...

Pre-configured loadouts selection per mech based on maps being played. IE: If the map that gets selected is hot, I run a more ballistics heavy mech. If its going to be cold, I can run more lasers...

Like having an mech with specific loadouts already configured and purchased. An hot running Atlas variant to run on Frozen City, or a cooler configuration Atlas variant to run on Caustic.

• Either the player would preconfigure which variant would load depending on the map provided

OR

• The player is allowed to select which mech variant to run after the target map is selected

OR

• Players can actively select which maps they are willing to play on and variant before dropping into matches.

[slash b slash]

Vassago Rain, on 09 May 2013 - 02:22 PM, said:

Yes, but it's important it has rubies for eyes.

If Vassago gets a 105 ton Atlas with rubies for eyes, I want a 105 ton Atlas made of chocolate with almonds for eyes!

[zraven7]

WaKK0, on 10 May 2013 - 10:25 AM, said:

OK, here's an ambitious request in this new UI...

Pre-configured loadouts selection per mech based on maps being played. IE: If the map that gets selected is hot, I run a more ballistics heavy mech. If its going to be cold, I can run more lasers...

Like having an mech with specific loadouts already configured and purchased. An hot running Atlas variant to run on Frozen City, or a cooler configuration Atlas variant to run on Caustic.

• Either the player would preconfigure which variant would load depending on the map provided

OR

• The player is allowed to select which mech variant to run after the target map is selected

OR

• Players can actively select which maps they are willing to play on and variant before dropping into matches.

Ya know, I'm not sure this is a UI issue, but I'm all over this. There is no logic, at all, is us not knowing where we are fighting before choosing our mech. If you want to keep the stage randomized, that's more than fine, but let us, somehow, choose our mech after we know where we are going. Not a lot of pilots would knowingly take a laser boat to Caustic, and not a lot of commanders would let them. Please.

[WaKK0]

Well it even goes to say, who would willingly bring a SRM Splat cat into Tourmaline or Alpine peaks, if they had an LRM or otherwise long range mech variant available?

[zraven7]

WaKK0, on 10 May 2013 - 10:35 AM, said:

Well it even goes to say, who would willingly bring a SRM Splat cat into Tourmaline or Alpine peaks, if they had an LRM or otherwise long range mech variant available?

This, also. I have a 2 mechs I love playing, but I've been apprehensive about choosing them lately because they are designed for medium-to-close range. If Tourmaline or Alpine turns up, I feel less effective than I should.

[TheMadTypist]

A few things-

I feel like the orange tone of the current set up matches the mechwarrior vibe more than the blue tone does. You know, blue evokes sleek, advanced futuristic design while orange brings to mind sparks and hot metal. Just a minor quibble.

Play Now for the launch button is a bit odd. I can get at the 'mechbay, I'm already playing. Launch was good, it conveyed both a battletech feel without being something difficult to recognize to newbies (like "Drop" might be).

On the 'mech details mockups:

bit of an information overload. Current version actually feels cleaner in this regard, with a view of the 'mech and a list of equipped items on the right. Unless I am actively modifying the 'mech at the time I'll never need to see the actuators, or all those empty slots, just a listing of how many there are and an option to show where is enough (like how we can mouseover "empty slots" and have numbers appear on the 'mech).

If I am modifying a 'mech, unless I can just drag items right in to all those part windows, I don't really need to have more than one visible at once. having to click into the specific component to modify it, when I can already see it in this set up, kinda clunky. Also, just having all these windows in my face sort of pulls me away from the idea of building a 'mech- right now, I click on the actual physical component of the 'mech to modify it, giving a very hands-on feel. Unless I can tinker with the whole paperdoll at once, showing me everything is too much too fast. Summarize the whole, and don't hide the 'mech behind all these windows.

I also see that the equipment menu is listing MC costs for all items. I suppose this is why you've decided not to call it "upgrades" anymore. Not really a fan of that change. Fiddling around in the loadout screen is one of the things I can do right now without any fear of accidentally spending MC. You can make us pay real cash outside the loadout screen, and by all means allow us to bring those things we bought into the loadout screen, but don't have it in our faces while we're working, that feels like having a door-to-door salesman who's set up in my living room and refuses to leave, and keeps trying to sell me things while I'm eating breakfast and whatnot. Sort of an idea of Store territory and Player territory. I get you want to make it easy to buy things, and make sure people know what can actually be bought, but this feels intrusive.

I guess we'll get a better look in september, so we'll see what comes round in the Fall.

[Khanahar]

I have one thing to say:

MC Purchased UI Themes. That is all.

[SgtMagor]

looks good, can.t wait to try it out, funny thing is the thing that caught my attention the MOST! is the jump distance on the Atlas

[Straker]

Straker, on 08 May 2013 - 06:52 PM, said:

I play stretched across three monitors using NVIDIA surround. I wanted to verify that larger resolutions will still work (the mech lab will just be smaller.) Is this correct? Also at times if you own a lot of mechs, finding something specific such as an engine can take a lot of time. Will this be easier with the new UI? Lastly, I was hoping that the new UI would allow for saving mech configurations for later recall. Will this ever happen?

Bryan, any chance we can get these answered?

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Nicholas Carlyle, on 10 May 2013 - 10:03 AM, said:

You guys really want to make sure I have to spend as much time as possible at work finding threads, don't you?

Wasnt that the point of the new forum structure?

Only answer I really want is off topic:
Will CW be in first person only or will there be multiple CWs for 1pv only, mixed, and 3pv only?

Edited by Mechwarrior Buddah, 10 May 2013 - 02:54 PM.

[Avimimus]

Like:
- UI will allow weapon variants to be introduced

Don't like:
- Being forced to see everything I haven't bought
- Not being able to arrange my mech's (with their custom names) in an esthetic layout
- No clear evidence of a system for remembering different loadouts

[INSEkT L0GIC]

Hmmm, a weapon damage drop off chart overlayed with ALL weapons on the Mech would be sweet. I like visual at-a-glance comparison stuff.

[Dth2Vwls]

I'd like the ability to share mech loadouts and paint schemes with my friends. Being able to show off mechs you like and suggest builds would be super sweet. It would be even more awesome if there could be a button to buy what your friend sent you, or to apply it to a mech you already own.

[FoXabre]

I just wanted to add a suggestion. I think it was mentioned that we would get load out slots for our Mechs so we can easily change between builds we like. I would like to suggest that the same be done for Camo Spec. It would be nice to be able to save a Camo pattern and colour scheme that we like and can easily change between (and may even be able to be linked to a specific load out). Just thought I'd throw that out there.

[Shiro Matsumoto]

Looks ok.. im absolutely no fan of the cold, grey look though, the live one is a lot warmer.

Maybe offer a few colors, or keep the old orange-brown?