21 replies to this topic

[Thrasymachus]

PGI seems to have its own ideas on how to balance the game. I think a lot of the community based frustration could be solved if you made gameplay selection options part of the game, ideally though the lobby system. This allows people to select the gameplay changes they liked instead of having all of them crammed down their throat.

Including but limited to:
HEAT SCALE: stock, singles only, 2.0 or custom
Screen shake: stock, light, none
Weapon heat: stock or tabletop
Tech level: T1, T2, custom.
Ectetera....

Will it take effort to impliment? Probably but i gurantee if you included as many gameplay options as you did buy buttons I would enjoy the game alot more.

Even if the implimentation it isn't feasible I feel the concept has merit. I feel alot of the stagnation currently is due to gameplay issues. This was a kickstarter project I feel it's only fitting you give players more choice on how they want to play the game.

[I am]

There's not much of a point in discussing it. If you do, this thread will devolve into pointing out the obvious.. dev failings. Then it will be erased and covered up, like the "balance game to skill, not hand holding" thread. Our moderators are trash, but I know that's old news by this point. All the points made were valid, and it definitely related to the "game balance"... hence the delete.

[Fabe]

When was this ever a kickstarter project?

[Sephlock]

This would make matchmaking into an epic cluster****.

[The Cheese]

It would dilute the playerpool too much, causing the matchmaker to cry in a corner when it gets asked to organise a match.

[Fabe]

Sephlock, on 12 June 2013 - 06:44 PM, said:

This would make matchmaking into an epic cluster****.

For random pugging matchmaking,yeah if they did this we'll all be getting a never ending stream of "match not found" messages everytime we hit launch.

[Ningyo]

Adding a stock mech mode would be great as it would make a large section of the player base that want to play stock mechs happy, AND it would give all new players somewhere they can play on a reasonably even playing field. Good for when other players buy a new mech too.

On the other hand adding 10 new modes would massively impact the pools each one draws from making finding a match nearly impossible. They are right to not dilute it too much by adding absurd numbers of modes.

I think Stock, and a test mode is all they should add for now (stock could even be the first test mode). And they could change the test mode every couple weeks to some new settings to test how the community feels about it. They could have a time of adding heat penalties, or collisions, or removed/modified convergence. If they got good feedback they could tweak it and try it in the regular modes afterwards.

As it seems unlikely they will have every facet of the game perfected by launch, this would be very strongly needed then too.

[Doommetal]

Not enough players in the game to be that selective.

[Sephlock]

Fabe, on 12 June 2013 - 06:51 PM, said:

For random pugging matchmaking,yeah if they did this we'll all be getting a never ending stream of "match not found" messages everytime we hit launch.

Although I like the idea of the old grognards being trapped in a hall of mrirors- an endless pit of narcissism where they play the same people over and over and over again as their pool drops from whatever it is now (thousands? Tens of thousands?) over time... more and more... until they can't find anyone to play their way.

Or, to put it another way, I like the idea that "A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid.”

With the "you" being the grognards, of course.

Meanwhile the rest of us will be happily stomping away in our mechs until the servers go down due to the masses deciding that fun is OP and demanding that it be nerfed (it WILL happen, just you wait).

[Fabe]

Ningyo, on 12 June 2013 - 07:02 PM, said:

Adding a stock mech mode would be great as it would make a large section of the player base that want to play stock mechs happy, AND it would give all new players somewhere they can play on a reasonably even playing field. Good for when other players buy a new mech too.

On the other hand adding 10 new modes would massively impact the pools each one draws from making finding a match nearly impossible. They are right to not dilute it too much by adding absurd numbers of modes.

I think Stock, and a test mode is all they should add for now (stock could even be the first test mode). And they could change the test mode every couple weeks to some new settings to test how the community feels about it. They could have a time of adding heat penalties, or collisions, or removed/modified convergence. If they got good feedback they could tweak it and try it in the regular modes afterwards.

As it seems unlikely they will have every facet of the game perfected by launch, this would be very strongly needed then too.

Well they do plan to add a public test server. I assume this will be a place where they will put all the new content and changes before it gets put on the main sever. This way the gaming community can test things out for them and without it affecting the actual game .

Edited by Fabe, 12 June 2013 - 07:16 PM.

[Sephlock]

^ And maybe we can avoid another double heat sinks debacle.

[Fabe]

Sephlock, on 12 June 2013 - 07:20 PM, said:

^ And maybe we can avoid another double heat sinks debacle.

hopefully

[The Strange]

This has to be one of the silliest threads I have read on these forums.

[Herbstwind]

A lobby system with ready rooms / missions to join would make the matchmaker unnecessary and would allow for exactly what the OP statet and more (e.g. tonnage limits). This could also work for Community Warfare (like it did in MPBT 3025) and for the first time the community would be more than just random names you happen to drop into random fights with.

Lets see what UI 2.0 and CW will offer in that regard - If there will be a feasible lobby system, players could actually be able to define their custom game modes per fight/mission without the need of PGI implementing them just by talking to each other (... and since this is the interwebz, this would be going to work like a charm )

[Corvus Antaka]

Cause it's the 21st century and as the NSA scandal has shown us, even the worlds greatest democracy is sliding into a communist dictatorship - no surprise PGI is going to make us play "their" game instead of "a good game". North Korea would be proud. Leads to middle age conditions and failure, but hey - that's the 21st century for you. Idiots in an idiocracy.

[Flitzomat]

Colonel Pada Vinson, on 13 June 2013 - 03:45 AM, said:

Cause it's the 21st century and as the NSA scandal has shown us, even the worlds greatest democracy is sliding into a communist dictatorship - no surprise PGI is going to make us play "their" game instead of "a good game". North Korea would be proud. Leads to middle age conditions and failure, but hey - that's the 21st century for you. Idiots in an idiocracy.

...Wow

[Fabe]

Flitzomat, on 13 June 2013 - 03:51 AM, said:

...Wow

yeah wow, "Help,help,someone is making a game the way they want to instead of letting me armchair develop it! I'm being oppressed!"

Edited by Fabe, 13 June 2013 - 05:18 AM.

[BigMekkUrDakka]

lol'd on OP if we let players decide. this game will become race to press "i win" button first

[LiminalSpace]

Thrasymachus, on 12 June 2013 - 06:12 PM, said:

PGI seems to have its own ideas on how to balance the game. I think a lot of the community based frustration could be solved if you made gameplay selection options part of the game, ideally though the lobby system. This allows people to select the gameplay changes they liked instead of having all of them crammed down their throat.

Including but limited to:
HEAT SCALE: stock, singles only, 2.0 or custom
Screen shake: stock, light, none
Weapon heat: stock or tabletop
Tech level: T1, T2, custom.
Ectetera....

Will it take effort to impliment? Probably but i gurantee if you included as many gameplay options as you did buy buttons I would enjoy the game alot more.

Even if the implimentation it isn't feasible I feel the concept has merit. I feel alot of the stagnation currently is due to gameplay issues. This was a kickstarter project I feel it's only fitting you give players more choice on how they want to play the game.

This seems unfeasible from a development and balance perspective. The more options you add, the more you have to test with every change you make, the more chance you have of unintended consequences of any balancing activity, etc. It's a recipe to slow design, development, and testing significantly, as many more possible scenarios must be accounted for.

Also, this is the classic customer response when there is disagreement on how something should be done in software: "Give us an option for it!" Kitchen sink design is usually not a good idea.

[Gallowglas]

Thrasymachus, on 12 June 2013 - 06:12 PM, said:

PGI seems to have its own ideas on how to balance the game. I think a lot of the community based frustration could be solved if you made gameplay selection options part of the game, ideally though the lobby system. This allows people to select the gameplay changes they liked instead of having all of them crammed down their throat.

Including but limited to:
HEAT SCALE: stock, singles only, 2.0 or custom
Screen shake: stock, light, none
Weapon heat: stock or tabletop
Tech level: T1, T2, custom.
Ectetera....

Will it take effort to impliment? Probably but i gurantee if you included as many gameplay options as you did buy buttons I would enjoy the game alot more.

Even if the implimentation it isn't feasible I feel the concept has merit. I feel alot of the stagnation currently is due to gameplay issues. This was a kickstarter project I feel it's only fitting you give players more choice on how they want to play the game.

This is a very interesting suggestion. I personally like it. I just wonder how often you'd get anything other than "easy mode"?