5
1. You NEED to separate the community. Forcing people to play others that prefer to use game crutches is what is causing you to hemorrhage players. Like you said, beginners need some help with learning the game. It isn’t easy to learn the controls. This is what you need:
a. Beginner’s mode. This mode would allowed for all of the game crutches: 3PV, Arm lock, and “gas pedal” throttle. This would allow for beginners to learn how to play and control their mech. This would also be the area for the casual player that doesn’t want or care to learn how to play harder modes.
b. Normal Mode: No more 3PV. Arm lock and gas pedal remain, but now players are forced to play from inside the cockpit. This will be a great way to get new competitive players the training necessary to get use to cockpit view before they go to the next level. This is where many of the players will want to play for fun and fast games.
c. Hard Core Mode: No Arm Lock, No gas pedal, and no 3PV. The way the game was meant to be played (what we founders were told anyways, back when we started) this is the mode that not only veteran players of MWO, but players of older MechWarrior games will play. We like the difficulty of piloting a mech. We like the competiveness of the simulator. It makes it mean something to us when we win.
2. Game Lobby. Sometimes we don’t want to play against players outside of our group (clan, corp or whatever), or we want to play against specific players. Or play one on one. Or play with and against others in the same Mech class (think Solaris). We are BORED of the same old thing. We NEED verity in the game. Gamers are a spastic bunch. We get bored easy, it’s WHY we play video games. I know you’re worried about player count in public games vs. private games. It’s easy: private games don’t pay. If we need some more c-bills for the next mech or gun, we play public games, if we want to have an in-house competition, we can. If we want to go one on one with a sworn enemy to prove a point or against a friend for bragging rights, we can. They just don’t pay c-bills or experience. The point is that we can, and will have much more fun playing MWO.
PGI, you already have everything in the game to do all of this. If you do, and make a big deal about doing it, with a real apology, you will win back most of the players that have left. You will also keep many of the players on the fence about leaving. Above all else, you will increase the longevity of the game. With the current game, as it is, I would be very surprised if you are not forced to shut down the servers in less than 6 months. If you implement the above features, you will probably add 2 or more years to that estimate.
Edited by Alix Stone, 23 August 2013 - 07:20 AM.
