97 replies to this topic

[Pando]

Everyone want's to know, when are the clans coming?

The answer to your question; Up to 3 quarters AFTER "Launch" happens.

<source>
http://www.warcry.co...After-Release.2

If we were to hold our breath, we would all die. That is approximately 13 months from right now, from today. So, according to this article we'll have Clans as playable factions approximately 13 months from right now at the latest, provided they aren't further delayed.

For those of you who aren't up to speed on financial calendar;
Q1= January, February and March
Q2= April, May and June
Q3= July, August and September
Q4= October, November and December

Question for our clanners out there, what do you think about this news?


** edited ** added content, food for thought.

I loved the thought of participating in the clan invasion. After all, that's what was eluded to and what we the clanners were expecting. When the developers started teasing the idea of "invading clans" through the year of 3049 during interviews, phrases like these really excited me and gave me that food for thought I needed to keep myself motivated and interested. I always felt like the clans were right around the corner. I always felt as if my wait was almost over.

Date 8-9-12 source PC Gamer Magazine issue #233 Page 39 excerpt;
Groups:
Mercenary corps Independent player-run groups.
Factions Canon groups like House Kurita and the Draconis Combine. Populated by Players.
Clans Biding their time; invading summer 2013. Certain to have an impact on Community Warfare when they do.

Date 11-07-12 source Kotaku.com conversation excerpt;

Sabb-fan says - Will there be clan-mechs next year? If I remember correctly, the Clan-Invasion started 3050 and ingame-time is now 3049, so... I am very much looking forward to pilot a MadCat . 11-07-12 @2:32pm

Bryan Ekman says - Yes next year.

Russ Bullock says - You got it, the Clan invasion is coming.

Date 2-8-13 source ASK THE DEVS 31 - ANSWERS! question/answer excerpt;

ThomasMarik - Since we are able to freely modify our mechs anyway; How are Omnimechs going to work?

A: At this point we are not ready to discuss Clan Technology. We are getting very close to a final design, so look forward to a more official announcement in April/May. (BTW we're in June, nothing yet!)


I sincerely doubt any true clanner wanted to paint the floor red with inner-sphere *** to the point it was no challenge. I wanted to take part in one of the exciting stories in battletech lore and history; the clan invasion. As it stands, having that honor of participating in the invasion is just a faint dream. The clans have already invaded. Hell, in this 1:1 timeline we're in wave 2 aren't we? However, according to MechWarrior:Online we the clans are non-existent and won't exist for at minimum another 10 months, at most 13 months.

Realistically there are other games out there much more appealing to me personally at this point and time all things considered. I'm not saying i'm quitting, not inviting TROLLS to comment and say "WELL ****." I enjoy MechWarrior:Online above any other game. It's perhaps my favorite game of all time even in its current state and it has been since closed beta. The potential is, astounding. I hope this puts things into perspective.

If you're still curious why I'm upset. I suggest re-reading everything contained herein this post.

Edited by Pando, 17 June 2013 - 08:58 AM.

[GizmoGecko]

How'd you get 13 months? He said 2 to 3 quarters so I'd assume it was 6 to 9 months after launch/the start of September? And he did say, "it will happen probably within the first six months after launch".

I thought we were supposed to be given hints and details on Clans between May and June of this year? Doesn't seem likely now...

I'm enjoying MWO at the moment, and what I love more than anything is new concepts and new mechs (Alex should be given a raise! He has such a huge and positive impact on this game.). Clan mechs or Inner Sphere, I'm still content!

New weapons would be quite nice though.

Edited by GizmoGecko, 08 June 2013 - 03:12 AM.

[SmokinDave73]

Thanks for linking this article, you have missed out the part were bryan states; "We're not quite sure on the full details yet because we're just focused on launch right now but it will happen probably within the first six months after launch."

I myself will be definitely not holding my breath though. After the set backs of 12 v 12 and community warfare over the past few months I dont trust a single word that comes out of Bryan Ekman anymore. If it were to be 3 quarter's until clans come out after "Launch" I doubt the games active player base will last that long. It all depends on how good community warfare turns out to be enjoyment+content wise. I am dissapointed that Clan tech/mechs are not coming out anytime soon but if Bryan holds true to his word about Clan's coming out within 6 months of launch we will have them by April/May 2014 if the game launches on September 21st.

Edited by SmokinDave73, 08 June 2013 - 03:15 AM.

[Pando]

GizmoGecko, on 08 June 2013 - 03:08 AM, said:

How'd you get 13 months? He said 2 to 3 quarters so I'd assume it was 6 to 9 months after launch/the start of September? And he did say, "it will happen probably within the first six months after launch".

I thought we were supposed to be given hints and details on Clans between May and June of this year? Doesn't seem likely now...

I'm enjoying MWO at the moment, and what I love more than anything is new concepts and new mechs (Alex should be given a raise!). Clan mechs or Inner Sphere, I'm still content!

New weapons would be quite nice though.

We're in June right now, the beginning of June. Launch is scheduled to come at the latest by the end of September 2013. That's at the longest 4 months from right now. The article says 2-3 quarters, at the latest that would mean quarter 2 in 2014 meaning at the most 13 months from right now.

Edited by Pando, 08 June 2013 - 03:13 AM.

[GizmoGecko]

Pando, on 08 June 2013 - 03:12 AM, said:

We're in June right now, the beginning of June. Launch is scheduled to come at the latest by the end of September 2013. That's at the longest 4 months from right now. The article says 2-3 quarters, at the latest that would mean quarter 2 in 2014 meaning at the most 13 months from right now.

Ahhh from RIGHT NOW! I really should read things about four or five times before replying.

And nice link!

Edited by GizmoGecko, 08 June 2013 - 03:18 AM.

[Pando]

SmokinDave73, on 08 June 2013 - 03:10 AM, said:

Thanks for linking this article, you have missed out the part were bryan states; "We're not quite sure on the full details yet because we're just focused on launch right now but it will happen probably within the first six months after launch."

I myself will be definitely not holding my breath though. After the set backs of 12 v 12 and community warfare over the past few months I dont trust a single word that comes out of Bryan Ekman anymore. If it were to be 3 quarter's until clans come out after "Launch" I doubt the games active player base will last that long. It all depends on how good community warfare turns out to be enjoyment+content wise. I am dissapointed that Clan tech/mechs are not coming out anytime soon but if Bryan holds true to his word about Clan's coming out within 6 months of launch we will have them by April/May 2014 if the game launches on September 21st.

I didn't miss anything. I was adding that time + the time It takes us to get to launch.

[Cybertek]

Why are people so hard up about Clans, yeah I like a Mad Cat, but enjoy what we got all ready and be impressed what there is so far. At least we are a playing a MechWarrior game

[Pando]

Cybertek, on 08 June 2013 - 03:20 AM, said:

Why are people so hard up about Clans, yeah I like a Mad Cat, but enjoy what we got all ready and be impressed what there is so far. At least we are a playing a MechWarrior game

I've already enjoyed what we have already. I've mastered almost every battlemech in the game, or have the ability to at the cost of minimal MC converting any one of my battlemechs which have in total over 3,000,000 left over XP. I'm ready for the content that keeps getting pushed back.

We're told "you'll see more details in april/may" well april and may have passed and we've not seen any details on omnimechs. We were told we'll have clans at launch during a recent video at either PAX east or GDC i can't remember. Then, we're told "after launch". Now, we're told 2-3 quarters after launch which is a full 13 months from right now.

Being apart of a clan group, waiting eagerly for the clans and taking what our developers say to heart and expecting those words to have meaning...only to find the only content I'm remotely interested in playing is consistently pushed backward is sort of disheartening.

It eats me to think 1:1 timeline knowing;
I began waiting for the clans eagerly in June 3049 (2012)
Clans invaded in September 3049 right? (2012
We won't be able to play the clans until 3051 at the latest...June.

That means I've waited 2 years to play what I've been interested in. Biding my time playing with Inner-sphere battlemechs. That's why I'm "hard up" about it.

Edited by Pando, 08 June 2013 - 03:42 AM.

[Zerberus]

Pando, on 08 June 2013 - 02:26 AM, said:

Question for our clanners out there, what do you think about this news?

Doesn`t bother me at all. Gives the IS "Nerf the clans , HARD, NOW!" Fanboiz another year to collect thread after thread of semi-braindead nerfbat suggestions and "PGI can`t balance a scale and will kill the game" posts, making their embarrassment just that much greater when the Clans finally come and they realize they were talking out their *** the whole time

[Sam Slade]

For a free to play game this has the greatest whinge factor I'v ever seen

[Pando]

Sam Slade, on 08 June 2013 - 04:52 AM, said:

For a free to play game this has the greatest whinge factor I'v ever seen

It also has the most nescient forum users.

[TibsVT]

Not surprising really. I've been estimating around November next year for the introduction of the Clans. That's when the invasion restarts. Gives PGI a good excuse to keep giving us setback after setback.

[Prisma]

I don't mind the wait. There are new mech types coming on steady basis. While clans would add more depth into MWO, I'm still enjoying it a lot with what there already is, and there's bunch of other games to play when MWO momentarily tires you out.

[Zerberus]

I wouldn`t call it an excuse to set things back, thou that is certainly a possible added benefit.

But more importantly, more or less every battle until the death of Leo showers over Tywcross was one of the Roflstomps people incessantly complain about. Where is the gameplay motivation behing logging in knowing you are 100% going to get plastered all over the IS for the next 12 months (assuming they had introduced the clans w/ wave 1), and then telling the other half of the community "sorry, you can`t use your mechs for the next year, period." starting in October.

I think doing that would have alienated a whole lot more people than what the`Re doing now, which is essentially saying "Wave 5 is where it actually got somewhat balanced and interesting, so we`ll go straight to that and just simulate House on House on Merc action (sounds kinky....) for the next year until Jaime Wolf spills the beans on Outreach.

And THEN the Clanners can come in ful force, with over a year of internal testing and balancing spent (which is almost as much as has been spent on the entire existing game so far) to make sure it doesn`T blow up in their faces.

PGI makes mistakes, everyone does. But I think pushiung the clans off to begining or middle of next year just might have been the smartest thing they`ve done so far, from a gameplay perspective, from a balance perspective, and from a Canon perspective.

One must also consider that they`ve essentially set out to do something that has, so far, repeatedly shown itself to be impossible: Balancing Clan and IS tech. If they manage to do this, they essentially go from "the dumbasses that finished Duke Nukem" to "Almighty Gods of Game Balance, Rulers of the Scale and Nerfbat"

But they have exactly ONE shot at it..... so take as much time to aim as you need, guys, and be 200% sure when you pull the trigger.

Am I right? Dunno, ask me again next October

Edited by Zerberus, 08 June 2013 - 06:17 AM.

[GrimlockONE]

Zerberus, on 08 June 2013 - 06:12 AM, said:

And THEN the Clanners can come in ful force, with over a year of internal testing and balancing spent (which is almost as much as has been spent on the entire existing game so far) to make sure it doesn`T blow up in their faces.

PGI makes mistakes, everyone does. But I think pushiung the clans off to begining or middle of next year just might have been the smartest thing they`ve done so far, from a gameplay perspective, from a balance perspective, and from a Canon perspective.

What makes you think they will actually get the balance factor for a superior force correct right off the bat. Every patch has consistently degraded not only balance but also performance to a certain degree. I do not believe PGI will take any more time to balance the Clans before launch then they have to balance the rest of this game.


Balance....lol

[CyclonerM]

Probably you are right, but waiting is hard,especially for us,the Clanners.
I think balance is one of the most important things in online games,and i like your canon reasons.. But i cannot wait to get my Omnimechs ... So the rational part of my mind says:"They chose this timeline,Clans will come, testing is good,they have to work on a lot of features" but the irrational one says: "Surats,where is my Timberwolf?"..
I really hope they will take the balance serously. Until the Clan invasion, i will keep playing with these scrap IS mechs..

[Pando]

CyclonerM, on 08 June 2013 - 06:28 AM, said:

Probably you are right, but waiting is hard,especially for us,the Clanners.
I think balance is one of the most important things in online games,and i like your canon reasons.. But i cannot wait to get my Omnimechs ... So the rational part of my mind says:"They chose this timeline,Clans will come, testing is good,they have to work on a lot of features" but the irrational one says: "Surats,where is my Timberwolf?"..
I really hope they will take the balance serously. Until the Clan invasion, i will keep playing with these scrap IS mechs..

I wish we had that clarification from ask the dev's #31 regarding omnimechs. But hey, I think by now us clanners are use to setbacks and having our hopes and dreams crushed by the stiff hammer of probability considering...I'm tired of being hit in the sta-tisticles.

Edited by Pando, 08 June 2013 - 06:51 AM.

[Zerberus]

GrimlockONE, on 08 June 2013 - 06:25 AM, said:

What makes you think they will actually get the balance factor for a superior force correct right off the bat. Every patch has consistently degraded not only balance but also performance to a certain degree. I do not believe PGI will take any more time to balance the Clans before launch then they have to balance the rest of this game.


Balance....lol

PGI has said they are ALREADY balancing the 16 completed clan mechs and their tech. The difference to the last months being that all essential groundwork such as HSR is now actually in place, meaning they (theoretically) don`t have to rework basic game mechanics on a 24/7 basis at the same time. Or to put it in MWO perspective, when LRMs as a system are balanced and working properly, you only have to tweak the clan LRMs, not completely rewrite LRMs from the ground up to get them funtioning properly, first. Whick of those takes less time and resources?

They also have at least 6 IS mechs ready and waiting, meaning that once CW is finished and live they will have a comparatively large amount of resources available to invest into balancing this upcoming content. Likely more than they have ever had in the history of MWO, and will be able to put a large portion of that into balancing the clans if so desired.

My belief that they can accomplish it is based on logical conclusions based on inevitable events that WILL come in the future.

Conversely, your belief that they will 100% guaranteed absolutely **** it up and there is no way in hell they can possibly get it right is based on rage, frustration, dusty TT rules, and "bad" experiences garnered during the testing and tweaking of all of the features that had to beoimplemented to even make it possible to take these steps. All of which are at this completed or nearing completion.

In other words, I`m saying "when the framework is finally complete, they have a shot", while you are answering with "Building teh framework pissed me off yo much that there`s no way they can get it right, and they don`t care about the game anyway."

Since there is no logical or rational middle ground between these statements, we must simply agree to disagree at this time and see who is right next year.

Edited by Zerberus, 08 June 2013 - 07:01 AM.

[Pando]

Zerberus, on 08 June 2013 - 06:56 AM, said:

PGI has said they are ALREADY balancing the 16 completed clan mechs and their tech. The difference to the last months being that all essential groundwork such as HSR is now actually in place, meaning they (theoretically) don`t have to rework basic game mechanics on a 24/7 basis at the same time. They also have at least 6 IS mechs ready and waitring, meaning that once CW is finished wthey will have a comparatively large amount of resources available to invest into balancing this upcoming content. More than they have ever had in teh history of MWO.

My belief that they can accomplish it is based on logical conclusions based on inevitable events that WILL come in the future.

Conversely, your belief that they will 100% guaranteed absolutely **** it up and there is no way in hell they can possibly get it right is based on rage, frustration, dusty TT rules, and "bad" experiences garnered during the testing and tweaking of all of the features that had to beoimplemented to even make it possible to take these steps. All of which are at this completed or nearing completion.

In other words, I`m saying "when the framework is finally complete, they have a shot", while you are answering with "Building teh framework pissed me off yo much that there`s no way they can get it right"

Since there is no logical or rational middle ground between these statements, we must simply agree to disagree at this time and see who is right next year.

Where did the developers confirm they had 16 clan battlemechs working and were actively balancing their tech?

[Zerberus]

Atd 30something IIRC, I can`t be arsed to search for it right now because I`m welding someone a bicycle and posting on the side.

*edit cause I have 2 minutes..*
Atd 36 (20 April.2013)
Riddler9884: Are there currently any new weapons or variations of weapons in the works?
A: Yes, we are adding all of the Clan weapons.

Atd 35 (8 April 2013)
Team Leader: Has the development team put serious consideration on how to "balance" clan tech, without outright nerfing it? Or are they not at that bridge to cross it? Or, no questions on the clans yet either?
A: Yes. But we’re not ready to discuss clans until Fall.

Atd 30 (22 JAN 2013)
Q: [insert question about Clans]
A: We are not ready to discuss any details surrounding the clans at this time, including all edge case questions about technology, power, designs, concepts, etc. We are actively designing these features at the moment.

Ok, apparently I got that number of mechs from somewhere else, but I`m still 90% sure it was from a Dev post or interview at some point in time..... my bad

But "Actively designing" from, at least January means to me that they`ve been working on them for 6 monbths already, despite other things that needed to be done, as such I think it`s safe to assume that there has been significant progress made. And in teh coming year, more and more resources will become available as other Major features go live and stop taking up months of design and coding time.

Again, Time will tell.

Edited by Zerberus, 08 June 2013 - 07:30 AM.