170 replies to this topic

[Akulakhan]

With a planned release (i.e shedding the eternal beta tag) for the end of summer, I think it would be wise to discuss the state of the game now vs. what PGI plans to have for its September release.

The patches since this announcement have been a tad underwhelming, with no great progress made.

This is the last June patch and all we got is an essentially DOA mech and another ridiculous thing to decorate our cockpits with.

So, six patches. Six patches to add the basics of CW new maps, new mechs, weapon balance changes, 12v12, 3PV(ohgod) and the list continues. If they're anywhere near serious about launching in late September, all of the remaining patches have to be twice the size of this one, with actual, meaningful additions to the game. So my question is, can PGI pull it off? How do you think this game will look come Sept. 21st?

In my own opinion, if any patch is as small or underwhelming as this one for here on in, we have a lot of broken hearts incoming. And fast.

[Chavette]

Make it eight. And no.

As always, they're free to prove me wrong.

[TheAtomiser]

As long as I can play with more than 4 in a group within those patches, I'll be a happy man.

[Esplodin]

"Done" depends entirely on what definition of "quality" we plan to use.

[One Medic Army]

Wouldn't call the quickdraw totally DoA, it's actually got a decent set of hitboxes which makes it quite a bit more durable than the Dragon.
It's just not suited to the current peek+snipe meta.

[Appogee]

Do you really think they're anywhere near on track for a September release...?!

Edited by Appogee, 19 June 2013 - 12:17 PM.

[Galen Crayn]

Hmmm... the could if they have "blocks" that they will finish in the next weeks. perhaps in july the ui 2.0 and end juli/august the complete cw... But i am not optimistic

[3rdworld]

Between ruining a mech via artwork, terrible glitches, and worse balance, my faith is about spent.

[Screech]

3PV is guaranteed, rest not so much.

[Unbound Inferno]

No. We really ought to really just completely overhaul some of the more basic mechanics first - and the pace they put these out I would not assume they could 'rush' it to any satisfactory degree.

I'd rather stomach a good late game than what they've got now with added frills.

[Akulakhan]

Chavette, on 19 June 2013 - 12:08 PM, said:

Make it eight. And no.

As always, they're free to prove me wrong.

Well, July: 2 August 2: September: 2.

We only get two content patches a month, and that's what I'm basing this number on.

One Medic Army, on 19 June 2013 - 12:17 PM, said:

Wouldn't call the quickdraw totally DoA, it's actually got a decent set of hitboxes which makes it quite a bit more durable than the Dragon.
It's just not suited to the current peek+snipe meta.

Aside from it's height, I agree. I think with a buff to SRMs and other perks to brawling, the Quickdraw could potentially be lethal and fun, but right now the thinking seems to be to just strap some PPCs on and call it a day. In which case, the Highlander is already a similar, better choice.

Appogee, on 19 June 2013 - 12:17 PM, said:

Do you really think they're anywhere near on track for a September release...?!

No, I don't. But it's what's been stated. I'm more interested to see if the community believes they're capable, or if they're just going to renege on promises again. The quirk here is that missing a release date is heckuva lot more embarrassing than missing an arbitrary date for a feature; this should be a major benchmark in the progress of MWO.

[Warrax the Chaos Warrior]

My prediction is that they'll launch with UI 2.0, and the only community warfare feature will be the ability to form actual corps in-game. Everything else will be "Coming Soon" after.

Keep your expectations realistic (low) and you won't be disappointed.

[General Taskeen]

Well hey, we can at least credit PGI developers for stomping out most bugs. A lot of the bugs in closed beta through now were incredibly annoying.

At this point, I'm more annoyed by balance, which includes a great many things. I could care less about content.

Edited by General Taskeen, 19 June 2013 - 12:34 PM.

[Angel of Annihilation]

DOA on the QD is a matter of opinion because there are quite a few people that actually like the mech and I am finding that I am able to put at as much damage with it in a match as any other mech I own (usually 350+).

Still there is a long way to go but honestly, when they went to Open Beta it was released whatever they want to call it because even after Official Release, they will be constantly patching the game and adding new content....kinda like they are doing right now. Imagine that.

Edited by Viktor Drake, 19 June 2013 - 12:34 PM.

[Soy]

Sure, why not

It's a video game

If CW blows up, meh, I had fun. Lets hope its a blast

[Chavette]

Akulakhan, on 19 June 2013 - 12:27 PM, said:

Well, July: 2 August 2: September: 2.

We only get two content patches a month, and that's what I'm basing this number on

Ye I meant even if it gets pushed back 1 month, it wont cut it, just remember when bryane said 2 months max from 12v12, its gonna be 4 minimum.

[von Pilsner]

General Taskeen, on 19 June 2013 - 12:32 PM, said:

Well hey, we can at least credit PGI developers for stomping out most bugs. A lot of the bugs in closed beta through now were incredibly annoying.

At this point, I'm more annoyed by balance, which includes a great many things. I could care less about content.

They got rid of the HUD bug.

To fix the knockdown animation glitches they removed knockdowns, to fix the advanced zoom bug they did nothing, to fix collision damage they scaled it down to be negligible (rather than fix it), etc...

I'd say they fixed one or two really annoying bugs and swept the rest under the rug.

[Akulakhan]

General Taskeen, on 19 June 2013 - 12:32 PM, said:

Well hey, we can at least credit PGI developers for stomping out most bugs. A lot of the bugs in closed beta through now were incredibly annoying.

At this point, I'm more annoyed by balance, which includes a great many things. I could care less about content.

PGI does deserve props for making the game look less like a high school C++ project and more like a video game in the last couple months. But that doesn't mean the game has progressed at all, just reached a point of stability with what we DO have.

I'd like to see a massive balance pass before we see any gamechanging (read: gamebreaking) features put in, a la 3PV, which will just cause more problems and is quite obviously a half-baked publisher directed initiative to expand the playerbase.

Viktor Drake, on 19 June 2013 - 12:33 PM, said:

DOA on the QD is a matter of opinion because there are quite a few people that actually like the mech and I am finding that I am able to put at as much damage with it in a match as any other mech I own (usually 350+).

Still there is a long way to go but honestly, when they went to Open Beta it was released whatever they want to call it because even after Official Release, they will be constantly patching the game and adding new content....kinda like they are doing right now. Imagine that.

The problem with this logic is it gives them a pass to tell us things and then do something completely different in the end. We have received almost nothing we were promised, and it's not an issue of entitlement, it's an issue of trust. And if your definition of "adding things" is cockpit items, I can tell why you're satisfied.

It's 2013, and we have no control over map selection, who we play against, yadda yadda yadda. Right now MWO doesn't play much differently than a first-person MOBA with stompy robots.

[Lostdragon]

I am not optimistic at this point. The lack of promised details about CW is the most telling issue in my eyes. Why are they not sharing that information as they said they would? One can only assume it is because they don't think we would like what they have to say or they don't have anything worth saying. Both are very troubling thoughts this late in the game.

The lack of movement on some things that could probably be fixed pretty easily is also very frustrating. SRMs were one of my favorite weapons and now they are not woth the tonnage. I have always used the LBX ACs in previous MW titles to great effect and enjoyed them a lot but in MWO it is basically useless to equip it.

The wild swings in some weapons' viability and the fact that others have been useless for so long is definitely not what one would hope to see this close to release.

[Pater Mors]

I'm going to wait and see what the July patch holds, since they've promised it's going to be very large. After that I will make a decision on how much time is going to get devoted to MWO over the next year.