49 replies to this topic

[TheForce]

other: a stock mech game mode

[Alistair Winter]

Lots of great input here. I'm thrilled to see such an interest in a potential Hardcore mode. There's 67 votes so far, of which 57 are for some kind of hardcore mode. Of course, no options have actually received 57 votes, but I still think there's enough common grounds that something could be done, if PGI wanted.

Pht, on 19 May 2013 - 03:45 PM, said:

Essentially, the pilot keeps the 'Mech upright (no small task, and the 'mech actually can't do this), directs it where to go, and directs it what mode to use. A more skillful mech pilot is one who understands how his 'mech can achieve these things and how to help it do these things successfully.

I stand corrected! That makes more sense than the stuff I've read on the forums. The fact that the battlemech is able to make decisions based on the input from the pilot explains stuff like this, which didn't make sense to me before.

[Rebas Kradd]

I think hardcore mode can be done, but you'd have to dangle a hell of a carrot to make it worthwhile. Specifically, connect it to the NON-hardcore experience. Quintuple the ordinary XP/GXP rewards, throw in some unique (and mostly cosmetic) loot, and for pete's sake don't set it up to fail by deleting a mech after its first hardcore death, or even its first headshot. Make it hardcore-die like five times before it gets too "worn out" to be combat-viable. Probably need to set up designated weekly time periods for "hardcore" games, too, to make sure there's enough participants.

[buttmonkey]

i like almost everything on the list except for losing the mech and engine purely because of the cost. if you have a chance of losing your founders mech or hero mech then NOBODY will drop in them lol. and i suspect the same would be true for nearly all mechs.

consider that if you lose a mech you have to buy a new one (with engine) so if you lose your ddc thats 14 mill down the drain possibly on a per match basis which is crazy imo.

[Alistair Winter]

buttmonkey, on 21 May 2013 - 02:20 AM, said:

i like almost everything on the list except for losing the mech and engine purely because of the cost. if you have a chance of losing your founders mech or hero mech then NOBODY will drop in them lol. and i suspect the same would be true for nearly all mechs.
consider that if you lose a mech you have to buy a new one (with engine) so if you lose your ddc thats 14 mill down the drain possibly on a per match basis which is crazy imo.

Amusingly, most people voting liked the idea of being able to salvage dead enemy mechs, but didn't like the idea of losing a mech when destroyed. No way that could be abused, right? Just do a few sync drops with 8-man groups, let teams take turns winning and everyone suddenly has 20 new mechs

As I mentioned already, there are many ways to do Hardcore mode, but the further you want to take it from Normal mode, the greater the need is for a separate economy and/or separate pilot tied to your account. So in this regard, you could lose an Atlas in hardcore mode, but the separate economy would enable higher incomes, so you could buy it back very quickly. And it would have no impact on the game in Normal mode. The alternative is to just bring things back to 2012 and reintroduce R&R and very few other features, so you don't need a separate economy.

[Prezimonto]

Heh... I would love if the only way to earn Clan tech/mechs was through salvage in hardcore community warfare, and eventually through mech salvage from people using it (who lose it when it breaks).