17 replies to this topic

[Sexport]

Heya fellas, good job on the game balance so far eh. I'm having a blast.

I read the reasoning for 3rd person view, and it's a bit of a hash up of keeping the game as true to a Mechwarrior experience as possible (Drones in Battletech?). The example was given of an eleven year old not figuring out the tank mechanic. That's my lead-in. (Read the post.)

Is that eleven year old going to walk down to the drug store and buy a $30.00 pre-paid credit card so he can buy, for example, a Misery? Maybe I'm getting old, but $30.00 was a weeks worth of work when I was that age.

Now I am an adult (I don't believe it yet) making money. I mind paying that much money for example, a Misery, but I can afford it, and I buy MC.

Which crowd are you catering to? Are you bringing in kids that aren't matured enough to know that the turret goes this way and the legs go that way? I understand that this is an attempt to open up the game to a broader base, however, I don't feel this is the right direction.

I feel that if you want to cater to a younger audience by dangling 3rd person views, then the cost of MC must reflect that.

Make the MC affordable to our children, or drop the excuses for 3rd person and continue taking my money.

[Clit Beastwood]

Were you aware that there were a bunch of threads on this already? Serious question - not being bitchy - I see a lot of new threads on it, but there are already tons of them. I think the thought process is something like the following scenarios:

1. 10 year old kid picks up MWO, plays 3pv, bugs mom and dad for 20 bucks of MC
2. 35 year old TT player, finds out theres a new video game version but isn't much of a gamer. Tries it out, since 3pv is "easier" as a concept. Has fun, spends money.
3. Mechassault players - probably good at the toy version of battletech, but can't adapt to FPV. Need 3pv to be able to play.

A fisherman with 1 hook in the water with great bait is probably going to catch less fish than a fisherman with 100 hooks with mediocre bait. They've got to make the game more approachable; in this case, people need to be able to sit down and play the game, having fun within say 10 minutes. If it takes over 10 minutes to get to shoot something, or they die without ever firing a round, they're not coming back. Once a customer leaves, its hard to get them back. Thats why so many stores will take it up the pooper from terrible customers. They're terrible, but if they leave they won't come back. Also, opinions are contagious. You don't want someone posting on their facebook that your product is terrible and they shouldn't bother trying it, as it'll affect at least a few people's decisions to try it out. I don't want 3pv, but I'll assume anyone I see using it is an ***** and I'll sneak up on them. After all, 3pv = no minimap, which means no seismic.

Edited by Fierostetz, 09 August 2013 - 02:47 PM.

[Clit Beastwood]

I think a progressive training campaign that starts out in 3pv and slowly starts moving you into fpv would be a better way to address it, and let people have 3pv in "arcade" mode, where you don't gain xp or cbills, would be a better way to handle it. That's just me though.

[Scromboid]

Fierostetz, on 09 August 2013 - 02:44 PM, said:

Were you aware that there were a bunch of threads on this already? Serious question - not being bitchy - I see a lot of new threads on it, but there are already tons of them.

You actually are being bitchy. Just saying.

[GRiPSViGiL]

I also thought it ridiculous that 3PV came about because a 10 year old couldn't grasp the concept of how the Mech moved. Then I fell into the mindset of that Fierotetz points out and thought ok hopefully it brings in more players.

However, I think this is something that should have been solved via a tutorial. Many FPS games have vehicles like tanks and APCs that move exactly like our Mechs do and 10 year old kids play those games just fine.

[Marmon Rzohr]

I think that 3PV implementation makes sense. It makes the game more appealing.
Hell it makes it more appealing to me, and i'm all about the hardcore realism. It gives me the ability to see my paintjob and watch the animation while walking to the point of conflict.

Furthermore: 3PV gives no advantages and even gimps the ones using it. Also 1PV is unchanged and still avalible. And they tried to make the 3PV thing be immersive with the drones and stuff which is cool.

So: it will bring in more people, help new player and take away nothing from us. I say it's good and we can and will benefit from it.

[Clit Beastwood]

My one big concern, really, is that by appealing to more "arcade" type gamers, it may start to attract the sort that run rampant with aimbots, wallhacks, on CoD, counterstrike, etc. I'm fairly certain I've seen aimbotting in MWO before and it was real nasty. I really hope that that sort of noise doesn't become too prevalent in MWO.

[Sug]

Sexport, on 09 August 2013 - 02:11 PM, said:

Which crowd are you catering to?

The crowd with money. Also imbeciles. So I guess imbeciles with money is my answer.

[heleqin]

question, are you focusing on the anecdote about Russ's son for a specific reason rather than on this part?

Quote

I watched hundreds of players walk up to a computer and immediately become confused ... It was shocking to me how little time people stayed to try and figure out what was going on, mere seconds and they were walking away.

I'm not a fan of 3pv, but you have to realize that PGI is a business, and just because you and i are not interested in 3pv, doesn't mean there isn't a market for it. PGI and IGP are small fish in the business world, but don't doubt for a second that they have mountains of data on this kind of thing. they're not going to sink the amount of time and money they have into this if there isn't a concrete $ reason for it.

[Tyrnea Smurf]

The move to a 3PV is I suspect a investor suit driven change. If the suits who fronted the original capital to start this ball rolling want the mechs to wear bright pink tutu's as they wade into battle because a marketing report states that millions of possible female customers under the ages of 15 both like the idea and have x amount of disposable income to spend, we will be seeing the 'new and improved mechwear feature coming soon!' threads the following week. The investor suits think that 3PV will increase the profitability of this enterprise, therefore we are getting 3PV no matter if some of us paying customers want it or not. Its really just that simple. And no i'm not buying the heartwarming story about a noble game developer and his offspring. Its to appeal to the arcade gaming crowd who has the attention span of all of 5 minutes. But the suits hope that in that 5 minutes they leave a few dollars behind as they wonder off to tomorrows diversion. In a year we will know their marketing report was right or not.

[Frisk]

The way I see it is that if we want to have melee combat, we're going to need 3rd person.

[Sug]

If Sarah could learn how to play i'm sure other people could if they put in some effort.

heleqin, on 12 August 2013 - 08:11 AM, said:

PGI and IGP are small fish in the business world, but don't doubt for a second that they have mountains of data on this kind of thing. they're not going to sink the amount of time and money they have into this if there isn't a concrete $ reason for it.

Haven't been around here long have you?

[MaddMaxx]

Sug, on 12 August 2013 - 07:44 AM, said:

The crowd with money. Also imbeciles. So I guess imbeciles with money is my answer.

Doesn't that make you an "Imbecile with Money" then?

[Sug]

MaddMaxx, on 13 August 2013 - 08:42 AM, said:

Doesn't that make you an "Imbecile with Money" then?

**** I wish I was an imbecile with Money. That's like the best combination for a happy life.

[MaddMaxx]

Sug, on 13 August 2013 - 10:08 AM, said:

**** I wish I was an imbecile with Money. That's like the best combination for a happy life.

My apologies good sir. I just saw the Founders Tag...

[Sug]

MaddMaxx, on 13 August 2013 - 10:33 AM, said:

My apologies good sir. I just saw the Founders Tag...

Well it seems like a good investment at the time.....

Actually I really don't regret the founding.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

The target MC market is adults with money but not time who enjoy the game. However it is the F2P folks who provide the playerbase that this market needs to actually enjoy the game. Also, younger players do have parents who might buy them a hero mech or something for their birthday/christmas/saturnalia/etc.

I'd also wager that most people with PCs that can play mwo are not children considering the cost of a gaming PC that can play mwo starts at $500 (refurbished computer with an a10 5700) so what PGI is likely attempting to do with 3PV is lower the initial barrier for gamers that already have gaming PCs but are so used to FPS games that they can't immediately pick up the game, get frustrated, and then quit after a few matches. Personally, I think a tutorial would be more beneficial in this regard but I haven't done the polling of the potential market for 3PV users to truly analyze the matter.

[Abivard]

A tutorial is what is needed.

With 3pv in, at the new con your still going see player after player walk up, play a couple seconds, and walk away.

It is not the lack of 3pv that makes them not play. Torso and legs are the very least thing new players will have trouble, it is simply one of the first things they will have trouble with.

How will 3pv explain the heat scale, or the Angles they can climb, or why they can't climb a curb that in real life is 4 inches tall, why when they fire certain combos of weapons their mechs blow up from heat, why they shoot something over and over but it takes no damage, why are their two reticles, why that flimsy tree stopped my AC20 shot, why water doesn't slow me but a pebble brings me to a dead stop and deploys the airbags, why when they fire their weapons 'stuff' blocks it?

maybe just maybe it might be some of them things that turn new people off.


p.S. why didn't you tell your kid how to play? I hope you didn't teach him to swim by throwing him in the deep end, gee he does know how to swim doesn't he?