82 replies to this topic

[Odanan]

So, you won the jackpot lottery and you decided to buy PGI.
Now with the power of decision, what would you change to make MWO a better game?

Here is my list:

GAME BALANCE/GAMEPLAY:

• Double Ammo (from TT values*) First thing I would do as I step into the PGI building is demand the ammo to be doubled to the TT values (it is already 50% the TT values). Why? 1) Double ammo will make stock variants and trial mechs viable; 2) Double ammo will value mixed loadouts (as people won’t need many tons of ammo for each weapon); 3) Double ammo will diminish the importance of energy boats (as people will feel safer to use ammo weapons – now with less ammo criticals); 4) MWO doubled the armor and internal structure of the mechs, so you need to shoot them twice more to destroy them; 5) 12 vs. 12 battles. *MGs don't need double ammo from the current values.
  
• Missile ports: a mech should launch as many missiles at the same time as there are missile tubes in the stock variant. For instance: Centurion CN9-A has 10 missile tubes in the Left Torso (because of the original LRM10 there): it can fire only 10 missiles at once (like 1 SRM6 plus 1 SRM4 or 2xSRM2s, not the absurd 3xSRM6s that is currently).
  
• Balanced Variants: all variants should be valid. If it is not possible to balance a variant by the number/disposition of hardpoints, give it more modules. There are indeed some variants in game that are worse than others and are a waste of C-Bills – why not to fix this?
  
• Balance Chassis: some chassis are worse than the others, unfortunately. Trebuchet, Dragon and Awesome, for instance, could use a buff (in form of more modules, better hitboxes, better maneuverability, etc.)
  
• More Modules: most of the variants (specially the weaker ones) should receive 1 more module. Some modules could be improved (as nobody uses them) and several new modules added. This is a part of the game that could be better explored. In fact, modules are way too expensive now... I would appreciate cheaper options.
  
• Adding the Missing Variants: Commando, Hunchback, Victor, Blackjack, Dragon, Atlas and Centurion have missing not-redundant time-wise variants – let’s add them to the game. The Stalker STK-4N, on the other hand, should be removed right away, as it is just a STK-3F without 1 hardpoint (troll mech, devs?).
  
• Rework the Yen-Lo-Wang: replace the crappy CN9-YLW3025-50 by the CN9-YLW3051-52, a better mech, with more hardpoints (2 extra energy hardpoints in the left arm), and sufficiently different from the CN9-AH to allow them both in the game.
  
• Hardpoint Sizing: hardpoints would exist in 2 sizes: small and large. Large Hardpoints can have any weapon, but Small Hardpoints are restricted to smaller weapons.That would give a lot of diversity to the variants, at the same time keeping their original roles and avoiding the abusive boating. Let's elaborate more: Small Missile Hardpoint = SRM2, SRM4, SSRM2, LRM5, LRM10, NARC; Small Ballistic Hardpoint = Machinegun, AC/2, AC/5, UAC/5; Small Energy Hardpoint: Small Laser, Small Pulse Laser, Flamer, Medium Laser, Medium Pulse Laser.
  
• Heat Penalty: with hardpoint sizing, there is no need for the heat penalty for grouping weapons as it will be impossible to have anything like a 6 PPCs Stalker. To be honest, I think too much effort was spent on that confusing and artificial solution.
  
• Weapon Balance: all weapons should be valid. Flamers, for instance, should be an option for smaller mechs. Machineguns are still underpowered... and who uses Small Lasers?
  
• Ferro Fibrous: should have some advantage to make it a real choice instead of Endo Steel. It was suggested that it could give a very small bonus to maximum armor (something like 2%) - as fluff itself says the Ferro Fibrous gives better protection. Why not?
  
• NARC: it is heavy, hard to use and takes a missile hardpoint - so it must be useful. Greatly increasing the time of effect would be a start. EDIT: I even don't see why the NARC beacon should be destroyable.
  
• Command Console: it is a placeholder item for too long. If no big features are planned for it very soon, just give it the ability of jamming enemy ECMs or something. Another idea: make UAV, Artillery and Air Strike only available for mechs mounting Command Console.
  
• Artillery Strike and Air Strike: improve the effects (strafing aerospace fighters would be cool) and power. BTW, is the smoke indicating incoming attack really necessary? If you played Battlefield 2, you know that Artillery Strike is something to be feared.
  
• ECM: it still has a big weight in the battlefield. Variants with ECM should be inferior in terms of hardpoints and modules. I think this equipment shouldn't have the ability to jam enemy ECMs (because it shouldn't be the sole actor of the Electronic Warfare – let other equipment have this ability). EDIT: maybe the ECM could start very "basic" and it is improved by modules. PS: and why the heck ECMs need to be mounted in a specific location?
  
• No Ammo in the Legs: the stock variants don’t have ammo in the legs, so why should MWO allow it? Even if not against the TT rules, it is illogical (how the ammo goes from the leg to the weapon, anyway?). That would also make CASE more essential to builds. EDIT: actually, there are a least 2 variants in canon that have ammo in the legs... weird. (if that is so good, why isn't it standard issue?)
  
• CASE: there must be a benefit to CASE mounted in mechs with XL Engine.
  
• Single Heat Sinks: must stand for themselves. Maybe the DHS should just increase the dissipation, not the heat threshold; or the contrary. One thing is clear: Single Heat Sinks must be a valid option somehow.
  
• Clans: very very careful to do not ruin the game with the Clans. First, IS mechs should not be able to mount Clan equipment. Ever. Second, IS is inferior, period. Clan equipment is far superior in everything (range, weight and damage) – so please, the solution is not nerfing the hell out of it. The way to balance is in the matchmaking. Smaller and/or lighter Clan-only team vs. larger and/or heavier IS-only team. I suggest 10 Clan mechs (2 stars) vs. 12 IS mechs (3 lances), with total weight advantage for the IS team. I also think Clanners should not use C-Bills, but a new “currency” called Honor.
  
• Mech Sizing: The size of the mechs should be calculated by their volume. Some mechs are much smaller than they should be. I know the light mecs were made very small to make them survive better, but they are realistically too small (a Spider is only 1/3 the weight of a Highlander - in the game it looks like 1/10).
  
• Speed: I think the "speed feel" in the game is weak. Mechs at 100 Km/h should be moving faster, right? Maybe because of technical limitations, the devs made the mechs move slower than in real life - but that should be worked out. There is no need of making light mechs so small if speed was treated correctly.
  
• Hand Actuators: give mechs with hands some advantage. Until we have proper melee, maybe some bonus in collision damage?
  
• Lower Arm Actuators: mechs without this component should have limited arm twist (but not necessary locked arms). Some mechs added lately (Highlander and Victor) just ignore this limitation, which is not fair.
  
• Consumables: nope. I agree with adding a module, for instance, that allow you to use Coolant Flush or Artillery Strike, once in a match. I don’t agree it should be paid for each battle - that's just wrong.
  
• (new) Armor Limits: for more diversity and in the spirit of the engine limits, there should be armor limitations for minimum and maximum (something about 1.5 of the stock armor?). So, mechs that traditionally have less armor (like the JagerMech) won't be able to maximize their armor.
  
• (new) Engine Limits: why opening an exception for the Hunchback? That's wrong!
  
• (new) No Ghost Heat.

NEW FEATURES:

• Triple Strength Myomer: the TSM was mass-produced from 3050 on. Time to add it to the game. Suggested benefices (that wouldn't break the game): increase the mech acceleration/deceleration; decrease the effect of terrain to your mech’s movement; make it harder to knockout; and/or increase the collision damage to the opposing mechs (and melee damage, if it is ever added to the game). Increasing the maximum speed would overlap with the MASC, so it’s not recommended. BTW, for TSM and MASC, I would add a new upgrade called “Myomer” (you can’t have both MASC and TSM at the same time).
  
• Manufacturer Weapons: this is a feature not necessary for the near future, but, like in Borderlands, each weapon manufacturer could have a quirk. Very small bonuses (something like 2%) in range, cool down, heat, durability or damage for each manufacturer would add flavor to the game. This is something the TT can’t do properly, but computer games excel. There are even more radical suggestions like adding weapon real variants, that would have a very distinct behavior. I'm not complete sure about that, tough.
  
• Experimental Weapons: there are some weapons that were used in a very limit scale in the timeline (like the Binary Laser Cannon). I think these weapons could be added to MWO, as much more expensive weapons (because of the rarity) or as weapons you need to unlock somehow. It would be unfair (P2W) to just make these weapons MC-only, even if they are not better than the regular ones.
  
• Customization Costs: replacing a weapon or equipment of a mech should cost C-Bills, like in MW2:M. Mech customization in the BT Universe is not something to take for granted.
  
• Solaris: I don’t know you guys, but I’m much more excited by the Solaris Championship than the Community Warfare. Strangely, it looks like it would be even easier to implement… (needing only some new, smaller arena maps)
  
• PVE: I would focus in the next year to add PVE to the game, like it was done in TF2, with the Mann vs. Machine update. A "Clan Invasion" mode would be a very cool way to introduce the Clans - imagine a team of IS players needing to survive waves and waves of superior AI-controlled Clan mechs?
  
• Third Person View: no 3PV in competitive games, just in Testing/Training Grounds. Maybe allow it in Private matches (if they add this feature).
  
• Stock-Only Game Mode: when launching a Stock-Only game, your mech is loaded with the stock variant loadout. The improved Single Heat Sinks and Double Ammo features are necessary for this to work, tough.
  
• User-Friendly Mechlab: why the heck can you mount ammo in your mech for a weapon you don't have? This is just an example of how the Mechlab could be improved to make things easier and noob-proof (not all players are experienced BT players).
  
• Singleplayer/Cooperative Campaign: with AI added, it's easy to add a full singleplayer (even coop?) game where you manage a small mercenary company, picking contracts, managing pilots and mechs, like in Mechwarrior 1 and Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries. I'm not taking about a full AAA campaign (much more complex to develop), but random missions in maps the game already has. I don't know you, but I would play this "game mode" even more often then the multiplayer one.

MISCELLANEOUS:

• Hero Orion: Looks like the hero Orion (because of the leaked red and black image) won’t be any of these exciting canon Orions: Lurch, Lady Death’s Orion, Kerensky’s Orion or Revenant. I would pick Revenant without thinking twice. Revenant is especially appropriate, because it was the mech of 2 of the greatest man in IS – however, the painting must be green and with a Kuritan dragon “tattoo” on it. For god's sake, why creating an out-of-the-blue hero Orion if there are these very cool actual heroes to choose?
  
• Kintaro: bad decision, IMHO. Not only add little to the game but has a somewhat uninspired translation to MWO. I would delay it (indefinitely?) in favor of better choices. About the “Golden Boy” hero, I would let the Japanese hero spot for the Orion (Revenant) instead – which would make a good rivalry against the Dragon Slayer. EDIT: Goldenboy already released... :/
  
• Next Light Mechs: Firestarter and UrbanMech. Make the UrbanMech happen! (even if adapting the current engine system)
  
• Next Medium Mechs: Wolverine and Griffin.
  
• Next Heavy Mech: Lancelot.
  
• Next Assault Mechs: Banshee and Cyclops (if there is a 3rd new assault, Zeus).
  
• Heat Vision: why not a blue-to-red heat vision instead of the current boring one?
  
• Performance: investigate why the game demands so much CPU and GPU, even in the mechlab. The game itself could use some optimization.
  
• (new) Half Ton Ammo: to add half ton ammo options for all weapons (or at least for the MGs).
  
• (new) Champion Mechs never as Trial: never allow Champions mechs to be Trial mechs - that breaks the whole trial concept.
  
• (new) Value the Paying Costumers: Instead of desperate trying to get more players by dumbing down the game, I would invest in the hardcore fans and paying costumers. I would hear their needs and expectations. I would not let them down and NEVER lie to them.

And you? What would you change in MWO, in terms of balance and features? What is your list?

(please keep the discussion civilized – even if I love the game and respect the work of the MWO devs, they are in no way infallible gods. Be careful with extreme opinions)

Edited by Odanan, 21 August 2013 - 11:18 AM.
Discussing moderation actions

[Khanahar]

Agree with pretty much all of this, even if I like my YLW.

Here's my addition:
Use C-Bills and Loyalty Points to balance the low-level metagame. They should never be thought of as a way to balance high-level play, as they are irrelevant there. But light and medium 'mechs should grind C-Bills faster, which would increase their numbers in a way that simulates the financial considerations that led to their use in universe. Running a straight up stock 'mech should also have a C-Bill boost, as should running a "nearly stock" 'mech with an identical speed and weapons profile to the original of its variant. Loyalty points should be boosted for a few particularly iconic 'mechs to make them more distinctive of their faction:
Steiner
Commando
(Zeus)
Atlas
Kurita
Jenner
Kintaro
Dragon
Davion
Centurion
Jagermech
Victor
Liao
Raven
Catapult
Cataphract
Marik
Cicada
Trebuchet
Orion
Awesome

and so on.

You can't balance the game with rewards, but you can modify the casual user experience in a way that allows role-players to have a more BattleTechy experience in a cool and unobtrusive way. (Obviously, rewards would have to be scaled in a way that did not displace heroes, though this is easy to work out.)

Edited by Khanahar, 03 August 2013 - 05:45 AM.

[Odanan]

3rdworld, on 03 August 2013 - 05:55 AM, said:

[REDACTED]

That comment was not helpful, don't you think?

I think Brian and Paul are doing a great job.
I just hope they consider more the users opinions before making hastily decisions (like the early consumables).

Edited by Prosperity Park, 03 August 2013 - 02:21 PM.
removed deleted quote

[Odanan]

Khanahar, on 03 August 2013 - 05:44 AM, said:

Agree with pretty much all of this, even if I like my YLW.

Here's my addition:
Use C-Bills and Loyalty Points to balance the low-level metagame. They should never be thought of as a way to balance high-level play, as they are irrelevant there. But light and medium 'mechs should grind C-Bills faster, which would increase their numbers in a way that simulates the financial considerations that led to their use in universe. Running a straight up stock 'mech should also have a C-Bill boost, as should running a "nearly stock" 'mech with an identical speed and weapons profile to the original of its variant. Loyalty points should be boosted for a few particularly iconic 'mechs to make them more distinctive of their faction:

Your Yen-Lo-Wang would just be improved (by receiving 2 extra energy hardpoint in the left arm).

Here is a more comprehensive list for faction mechs:

Liao: Raven, Cicada, Catapult, Cataphract, JagerMech, Highlander
Marik: Flea, Cicada, Hunchback, Trebuchet, Quickdraw, Orion, Awesome, Stalker
Davion: Blackjack, Centurion, Kintaro, Cataphract, JagerMech, Victor, Atlas
Steiner: Commando, Spider, Awesome, Stalker, Highlander, Atlas
Kurita: Spider, Jenner, Kintaro, Dragon, Catapult, Victor, Atlas

MWO already succeeded making some bad weapons useful (like the smaller Autocannons) and mixed loadouts playable. Now they need to make the stock variants competitive (the only way is by reworking the Single Heat Sinks).

[Sybreed]

surprisingly, I agree with pretty much everything stated in the OP. About NARC, its duration is fine, it's the hitpoints that are causing issues. If a target is focused fire just a little, a NARC won't last more than 2 seconds, making it completely useless.

If you want the devs to look at NARC and buff it, like this question for the next ATD

http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__2614580

Otherwise, I'd be careful with hardpoint sizes. I'd go with hardpoint crit slots or a system similar to MW:T. Tweaking your mech is fun, but the abuse needs to stop.

Finally, ECM shouldn't be a hard counter to LRMS and SSRMs, but should slow lock time by 300%

Edited by Sybreed, 03 August 2013 - 12:42 PM.

[Team Leader]

Hmmmm...

First, and very first, I would wipe Paul's Ghost Heat from the face of the earth.

Gameplay (sorta):

I would triple internal structure straight off the bat. Increase component health by 50% as well. Change the way ammo explosions work, so that they're much more likely to happen, but do far less damage than they do now (it's basically a 10% chance of instant component loss or death). I would say ammo has a 40% chance to cook off but only does 15% of the damage per full ton when it does. I would get rid of heat sink cap raising for DHS, the max heat a DHS could take would be 30 points at a time, but each single HS would raise it by 1. Increase all DHS to full doubles, not this .14 junk.

Now for weapons...

Lower heat for medium laser by 0.6, increase machine gun damage to 0.2 per bullet and remove their CoF, or increase their projectile speed (apparently they are hitscan, so they instantly go where you point, but the bullets tracer animation does not so its confusing to see what you're hitting). I would let flamers increase targets heat by 3% a second to a maximum of 80% of their heat threshold, while costing only .2 heat a second to fire. Increase heat for PPC to 10, ERPPC to 15, up damage of SSRMS to 2 and take splash damage out of everything. Lower PPC and ERPPC projectile speed to pre-buff values. Make the ACs burst weapons (besides the AC2 and AC5). Double ballistic ammo per ton from TT values (we currently have mostly 1.5 the amount).

[General Taskeen]

To the missile "port" thing, probably not.

Missiles are already boring as is with the adoption of "blob" missiles from Mech Warrior 3. MW3 had some great things, but adopting that old blob missile concept, for a new game is kind of sad.

They should adopt the Ripple Fire (1 missile after the other in very fast succession) like Mechwarrior 2, 4, and LL, while only MRM and Rocket Launchers should shoot all at once in a "blob" of missiles.

- For the Kintaro comment, I say why not, I want all Battletech Mechs in the game regardless if they are crap.

Edited by General Taskeen, 03 August 2013 - 07:45 AM.

[M0rpHeu5]

1-I'd make all hero variants CB buyable and give the ability to hero up any mech

2-I'd mix the MW4 hardpoint restriction with the MWO system for example: THe AWS-8Q right arm would have a 3crit energy hard point and one singe so in total it would have 4 critical slots to mount 2 energy weps. This would also make the variants more uniqe let's say that we could give the STK-4N bigger hardpoints than the 3F

3-PPCs would do TT heat and balistic/Missile would have 2xTT ammo/tone also some more wep balance

4-One mech would be able to reach master level without having to level up the same chassis variants also i'd changfe the mech trees to be more usfull to each mechs role for example the CTP-A1 would get a speed buff for it's missiles

5-I'd lose the heat scale

6-I'd focus more resources on the hit registration and memory leak fix

[Odanan]

@M0rpHeu5: agreed with everything except the MW4 thing (I really hate how MW4 handled weapons and equipment).

@General Taskeen: missile ripple fire would actually look cool. About the Kintaro: wouldn't you prefer a better mech now instead of that thing (almost) nobody wants?

@Team Leader: agreed with the heat sink cap for DHS and the removal of CoF from MGs.

Sybreed, on 03 August 2013 - 07:18 AM, said:

surprisingly, I agree with pretty much everything stated in the OP. About NARC, its duration is fine, it's the hitpoints that are causing issues. If a target is focused fire just a little, a NARC won't last more than 2 seconds, making it completely useless.

If you want the devs to look at NARC and buff, like this question for the next ATD

http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__2614580

Hey, I liked that long time ago.

Sybreed, on 03 August 2013 - 07:18 AM, said:

Finally, ECM shouldn't be a hard counter to LRMS and SSRMs, but should slow lock time by 300%

Totally right!

[Pinselborste]

1. Come up with totally new weapon balance and weapon mechanics to fit a realtime game where you aim yourself and not be lazy and use something that wasnt designed for it.
clans would also be rebalanced, so both IS and Clans have up and downsides with their tech,

2. Rework the mechlab and how customization works:
no hardpoint restriction,

ammount of crit slots depending on mech size and the size of the locations,

chaning weight distribution by for example removing weapons from one side and adding more to the other side will make the mech unbalanced and more prone to knockdown and recoil, to prevent this you can readjust your gyro wich than will affect turn rate and the ammount you can turn, raven with only an AC/20 in its right arm for example would only have 15 degree turn to each side and would be unable to fire on the move.

3. use a totally different timeline so people cant complain if something is different than in other games using the same timeline.

would go pretty far into the future, introduce modern variants of classic mechs like the warhammer and the atlas for example.

4. get rid of the 11 hitlocations and give the game a more sim like damage model, so shooting the autocannon on a mechs arm wont destroy the laser inside it and so on.
hitting someones ammo will make metall parts or if missiles are hit make them fly around and damage people next to them.
destroying someones engine while he is at high heat will result in heat comming out of the hole, and also heating up ammo.

the list could go on for ever, but its too hot here to write all day.

Edited by Pinselborste, 03 August 2013 - 09:11 AM.

[Unbound Inferno]

Odanan, on 03 August 2013 - 04:14 AM, said:

Clans: very very careful to do not ruin the game with the Clans. First, IS mechs should not be able to mount Clan equipment. Ever. Second, IS is inferior, period. Clan equipment is far superior in everything (range, weight and damage) – so please, the solution is not nerfing the hell out of it. The way to balance is in the matchmaking. Smaller and/or lighter Clan-only team vs. larger and/or heavier IS-only team. I suggest 10 Clan mechs (2 stars) vs. 12 IS mechs (3 lances), with total weight advantage for the IS team. I also think Clanners should not use C-Bills, but a new “currency” called Honor.

I have to call you out on this. Although it happens AFTER the Clan invasions (a few years or more) IS mechs do use Clan equipment they scrounge or scavenge.

Mercenaries that often fund their own effective mechs (which is basically everyone playing MW:O now) often scrounge after a battle and get parts - and in the case of Clan Invasions would gain Clan equipment to modify or use.

So sorry, IS does use Clan stuff. Eventually.

[Butane9000]

Odanan, on 03 August 2013 - 04:14 AM, said:

So, you won the jackpot lottery and you decided to buy PGI.
Now with the power of decision, what would you change to make MWO a better game?

Here is my list:

GAME BALANCE:

• Command Console: it is a placeholder item for too long. If no big features are planned for very soon, just give it the ability of jamming enemy ECMs or something. Other idea: make UAV, Artillery and Air Strike only available for mechs mounting Command Console.

I've suggested something similar. Requiring all consumable items to go through the command console. They could use a system similar to the extra engine heat sinks past engine sizes of 250. They could also make new pilot efficiencies to increase the slots for the command console. Starts with 1, then upgrades to 2 with standard then 3 with advanced. That way you can take a UAV, Artillery Strike and coolant flush.

But what would I do?

Command Console: See Above

Weapon Manufacturer Specialties: Given the games current state I would push this out faster over some other things. It'd definitely make the game more engaging. Also one of the quirks I'd add would be X weapon has more health and survives longer.

Battlemech Quirks: This is something that really needs to come into the game in a much stronger and noticeable way. Things like the Hunchback 4G, 4H, 4P and 4J (sorry 4SP) having 10% damage reduction to their shoulder hunch. Or the Centurions having 5-10% reduced damage to their gun arm and 15% or so damage reduced by their shield arm. This could be done directly as a quirk to each mech or have it tied to the mech XP tree.

Revised Battlemech Experience Tree: I honestly think it'd be a more engaging system if they turned the current experience tree to more of a talent based tree (similar to MMOs, yes don't flame me just yet) where as above you could something like this:
CN9-A
Tier 1 - (can choose both) 5% Speed increase, CT energy weapons produce 5% less heat
Tier 2 - (can choose one) 5% less damage to gun arm or 10% less damage to shield arm
Tier 3 - (can choose 2/3) Ballistic weapons get 25% increased ammo per ton, Missile weapons get 25% increased ammo per ton and/or increase torso twist amount by 15%
But regardless of which system I would implement each sub variant of each mech would have it's own unique tree.

Hard Point Limits - This is something I've touched on before regarding balancing changes.

The idea with the above if you have 1 ballistic in each arm and 2 missile. So with the JM6-A you could fit any ballistic up to a Ultra Auto-cannon 5. As for missiles you have 2 hard points but 5 total slots to work with which means you could run any of these configurations (in each arm):

2x SRM6, 2x SRM4, 2xSRM2, 2xSSRM2 (a mix of all of these before), SRM6+SRM4 w/Art, 2xLRM10, LRM15+LRM10, LRM10+LRM5 w/Art, LRM15 w/Art, LRM20, etc.

Basically it limited overall what you can put into those hard points without gutting build diversity. Also these same hard point critical slots can still be taken up by Endo Steel, Ferro Fibrous and other upgrades so people will have to more seriously factor in builds with regards to those. Also the energy slots will be able to mount any energy weapon besides PPCs and ERPPCs.

Missile Bays - As Odanan said this is a current problem and the Devs have addressed it in writing via ATDs before. The problem is not having enough people to go back and completely edit the mechs model. I'd make this a higher priority so some mechs aren't given what could be considered a "unfair advantage" when compared to other mechs.

Game Modes - This would be a huge push for me. Some would be mutations of others like a KOTH mutation from Conquest where the game always starts in the middle point. For every second of holding the point the team holding it receives 1 point. Each point would automatically cut off and switch to a new point at 30 seconds or if the opposing team capped it. First team to 210 points or all enemy mechs defeated wins. It'd force people to move around the map and gives mediums and lights a greater role.

I'd also consider a mutation to assault where the enemy base could only be captured at a random interval throughout the match. Or the edges of the out of bounds area shrinks inwards as more mechs die. Both of these ideas and many more have come from various community members and many of them are extremely good ideas.

Maps - I understand maps take a long time to make but we need more variety in them (in addition to having more). There have been some amazing suggestions for maps. We just need to make sure to see them eventually.

Better Communication - I'd make sure the team would at least spend a small amount of time each week (30-60 minutes) writing a developer blog detailing what they are working on. There needs to be better and more consistent communication from the development team.

Better Patching Schedule - I'd keep the new content patches to every 2 weeks but I'd make balancing changes constantly. The idea of a beta test to is test so having very frequent patches to address bugs and issues should be a big one. In combination with better communication getting issues fixed quickly shouldn't be hard.

Mech's I'd Add - In the short term (IS):
Light's - Hermes, Firestarter
Mediums - Vindicator, Clint
Heavies - Guillotine, Marauder
Assaults - Banshee, Cyclops

In the long term (IS):
Light's - Firefly, Urbanmech
Mediums - Sentinel, Hoplite
Heavies - Black Knight, Champion
Assaults - King Crab, Hatamoto-Chi

Clan's (aside from the 16 omni-mechs)
IIC Variants
Commando IIC, Jenner IIC, Clint IIC, Hunchback IIC, Guillotine IIC, Orion IIC, Highlander IIC
Second Line Clan Mechs
Shadow Cat, Woodsman, Kingfisher

To be honest I don't know a whole lot about the Clans so I'd poll the community to see what second line units they wanted to see.

Edited by Butane9000, 03 August 2013 - 09:59 AM.

[DegeneratePervert]

If I owned PGI....

I'd implement a solo queue.
I'd implement weight matching. As in, the matchmaker has "X" tons to use each match, and won't exceed that.
I'd shrink mediums by 10%
I'd give a 125% boost to mech health, to make matches last longer.
I'd add greatly increased rewards to the team queue, but bring back repair and rearm for this queue.
I'd set the timeline back by 1.5 years, so everyone would stop talking about the Clans.
I'd make the LB-10X more like a SPAS-12. 12 damage per round, increase firing rate by 3x.
Finally, I'd make machine guns do 2 damage per bullet against armor, and 4 damage per bullet against internals.

EDIT: Also, forgot to add, I'd make it so that if you equipped a ballistic weapon, you have one ton of ammo that comes with the weapon... as in, if I equip the Gauss rifle, then I have 10 rounds for no additional weight requirement, that just came with the gun. Wouldn't take up another slot, just free ammo. People would still pack ammo, but this would help offset the huge weight of some of the heavier ballistics.

Edited by DegeneratePervert, 03 August 2013 - 12:43 PM.

[Skadi]

Revert PPC's to their closed beta sats.

SKADI FOR HEAD DEV!

DegeneratePervert, on 03 August 2013 - 12:40 PM, said:

I'd set the timeline back by 1.5 years, so everyone would stop talking about the Clans.

Your fired.

REMOVE THE TIMELINE, VOTE SKADI.

Edited by Skadi, 03 August 2013 - 12:52 PM.

[Skadi]

I would fix the spider hitbox.

A vote for Skadi, is a vote for balance.

[Felicitatem Parco]

It seems to me like the OP was starting a discussion about what you would do to the Game, and not what you would do the company employees. This thread has been cleaned-up to ensure that discussion relating to GamePlay Balance and the features outlined in the OP is the main topic of the thread, and not directed attacks at individuals.

Please try to keep the discussion about the OP, and please don't try to deliberately derail the thread via off-topic comments, direct insults, discussion about how specific individuals are failures, and other stuff that doesn't actually contribute to the discussion.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 03 August 2013 - 02:29 PM.

[DeadlyNerd]

While I agree with absolutely everything OP said because I've pretty much written the same bunch of suggestions through past threads, there's a very big problem with the whole list.

PGI wont even consider anything on it because Paul's ego and ignorance wont allow it.

[DeadOnAim]

1. Pink Slips all around

2. Sell the IP to a company that can actually execute a Mechwarrior title.

[Odanan]

Unbound Inferno, on 03 August 2013 - 09:03 AM, said:

I have to call you out on this. Although it happens AFTER the Clan invasions (a few years or more) IS mechs do use Clan equipment they scrounge or scavenge.

Mercenaries that often fund their own effective mechs (which is basically everyone playing MW:O now) often scrounge after a battle and get parts - and in the case of Clan Invasions would gain Clan equipment to modify or use.

So sorry, IS does use Clan stuff. Eventually.

Eventually, but not in the next few years.

We are not playing in the late 3060's where Clan mech and equipment can be found in the next door store - IS barely know the Clans right now: their equipment needs a lot of study to even be understood.

Besides, allowing IS mechs to mount Clan equipment WILL break the balance of the game. Nerfing all Clan stuff is wrong, very wrong. I would prefer a game without the Clans to have the Clan stats ***** and stupefied.

[CHH Badkarma]

Unbound Inferno, on 03 August 2013 - 09:03 AM, said:

I have to call you out on this. Although it happens AFTER the Clan invasions (a few years or more) IS mechs do use Clan equipment they scrounge or scavenge.

Mercenaries that often fund their own effective mechs (which is basically everyone playing MW:O now) often scrounge after a battle and get parts - and in the case of Clan Invasions would gain Clan equipment to modify or use.

So sorry, IS does use Clan stuff. Eventually.

Yeah, thats why the DCMS had its units made up of captured clan tech suffered huge losses in operational machines because they lacked the ability to maintain the complex machines.

Eventually is the key word. Not in the early stages of the invasion, not for a good time after. Sure, the bounty hunter had hybrid mechs with clan tech, he also had a very, very deep pocket book. Sure, anything will work if you throw enough money and time at it. Keeping it combat effective in the field for most units is a very different story.