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Community QNA 1 - Ask the questions


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#41 Belial

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Posted 10 November 2011 - 09:47 PM

Mr Ekman,

Numerous news articles have immediately dismissed the quality of MechWarrior: Online based purely off of its "Free-to-Play" format. While we, the more die-hard fanbase, are still fully backing the game, such comments will undoubtedly discourage others from even taking a look at it. What will Piranha do to market this game to successfully garner a wide following?

#42 Threat Doc

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Posted 10 November 2011 - 10:03 PM

LIKE THIS!

View PostBelial, on 10 November 2011 - 09:47 PM, said:

Mr Ekman,

Numerous news articles have immediately dismissed the quality of MechWarrior: Online based purely off of its "Free-to-Play" format. While we, the more die-hard fanbase, are still fully backing the game, such comments will undoubtedly discourage others from even taking a look at it. What will Piranha do to market this game to successfully garner a wide following?
(OOC: Sorry, I'm out of Likes for the day, should increase those to unlimited, or at least 50)

However, I do have a follow-up question: do you have at least 30% of your budget put apart for marketing? (For those of you who would laugh, don't, as that's a common business practice when announcing new products; WoW did it, and look how big they got and how fast. This game could, easily, do the same.)

#43 rollermint

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Posted 10 November 2011 - 10:32 PM

Any mechanics to allow players to join a House officially (not simply as a merc)? As in joining as one of their regular/militia units?
There are a lot of interests to be able to do just that. Using Eve Online factional warfare as example, players there can officially join either of the 4 official military units representing the 4 factions, complete with its ranking and reward system, which then allows players to buy special gears, ships and equipment from the unit's internal shop. Is there a similar mechanic in MWO?

Thanks in advance.

#44 Karyudo ds

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Posted 10 November 2011 - 11:09 PM

I'm probably one of those few people to look at each Mechwarrior title and see little progress in creating a virtual Battletech. Graphics have improved and multiplayer has gotten bigger but things like melee and challenging combined arms (even if AI) really have never happened, story has never felt like that big of a deal no matter how they have hyped it for the other games so my first question is simple.

Beyond being online and persistent; how will MWO bring the MW concept forward, or will it be more of the same simply updated?

Second will the game be more sim-like than previous titles that show barren cockpits and play like driving tanks in FPS games?

#45 Gaius Cavadus

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 01:10 AM

Is there any particular aspect of of the combat which you felt needed to be radically revised and/or updated?

#46 McCaffrey

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 03:54 AM

Thank you all for the opportunity to ask questions!

How large of team will we be able to deploy? Will there be opportunities to have full scale merc unit battles with more than 12 players total?

#47 Mchawkeye

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 04:13 AM

This should be fun.

how far along the development cycle are you? Therefore, how much notice have you taken (if any) of the game play mechanics that we are talking about, in great length, in the forum?

A more wide ranging question perhaps; how much influence is the forum and it's participants having on your decisions, if any?

#48 Dihm

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 04:14 AM

Arg! "Keep it limited to reboot", but I have so many questions.

Okay, since one of my questions was already answered, how about this:

What do you consider the fundamental core of the Battletech Universe that you feel can't be touched during a reboot? What do you feel needs to be changed the most?

#49 wanderer

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 06:30 AM

I'm curious about command abilities, like the previous mentioned artillery strikes and the like. Will these be on a cooldown timer? Have a C-bill cost to "call in support"? Require purchasing said units in advance, and can they be destroyed by return fire?

#50 RaptorR

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 06:53 AM

Which Mech classes will be in game? Like llight, medium e.t.c.

#51 AdamBaines

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 06:57 AM

Great job sofar guys. There are allot of people with allot of onions on this franchise and sofar you guys are handling it great!

So My questions:

1) Will Periphery (Canopus, Taurians, etc), Pirate or Merc factions ever come into play as house like entities that you can join?

2) How will players fit into the structures of the houses? How will it be decided who is the CO of a Company, Lance Commander or House leader? Will that be built into the system or will it be the players doing it via Pen and paper? How will ranks be attained? Do I have to earn the rank of lt. Col though game play or do I just want to e a Lt. Col and so I call myself a Lt. Col?

3) Can players start a Merc unit that is already Cannon? Or will you protect Cannon faction/unit names? IE I want to start the Eridian Light Horse Merc unit, Im the first to register the Merc Name so its mine? Or I will be able to join the Waco Rangers and interact in it like I would a House unit?

4) Is it just going to be setup matches or will there be a greater picture, a conquest system like we say in games like Genie EGA MPBT or Solaris 3025 MPBT?

Thanks again guys!

#52 John Clavell

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 07:03 AM

I know yourself and Russ were playing a good deal of tabletop over the last few months. How have you guys found it to translate aspects of tabletop and Battletech canon into the current game design. Did the changes from what was presented in 2009 allow for you to explore these links further?

#53 SquareSphere

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 07:38 AM

  • At this point, how often would you guys like to introduce new content/store items/features/etc. per year?
  • Would these release come as small but many trickles (1 or 2 small things at a time) or would they be bigger release that happen a few times a year?
  • Are there any plans to be able to "trade" store bought items or ones in games (ie could I trade a mech I unlocked to another person etc)


#54 Kaemon

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 08:04 AM

Thanks for the opportunity to ask questions:

1. Can you give a few examples of how MWO will be different than the current offering of MMO's?

2. Where do you see MWO in 1 year? in 3 years?

3. What is the philosophy on gameplay vs. canon (if it comes up)?

4. How much will the community be involved in defining the course of MWO? (polls, marketing, technical choices, etc...)

5. will you offer the game through any of the 'cloud' based online game platforms eventually (i.e. Steam)?

6. Will you offer pay for DLC?

7. Please explain a bit more about the following 'One of the customizations in MechWarrior® Onine™ is to train your pilot to suit your play style.' Does that refer to having to 'grind' for XP?

Thanks again for rebooting this, and good luck!

#55 Orzorn

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 08:13 AM

The interviews kept using the words "information technology". What sort of technology are we talking about? The probes from the trailer, along with other targeting technology (like TAG)?

In addition, what sort of sensors will you have available? Mechwarrior 2 had Image Enhancement, while Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries had heat sensors, but many of the novels mention other sensors like Radiation, Ultraviolet, etc.

Are we going to see new elements to the cockpit, such as the 360 degree squeezed into 180 degrees view bar mentioned so many times in the novels?

#56 Vincent Vascaul

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 08:29 AM

Ok first of all thanks for even having this sort of direct communication line from consumer to creator!

First off with the game being slated for a Summer 2012 release my guess is that you have a whole lot to do mechanic wise and asking much that way wont get many answers so my question is as far as how this game is going progress and expand? I mean I love Mechs but I love the Battletech universe a whole lot more and knowing that expansion of the scope of the game is in the long term future would go a long way for me (and I am sure others too) I understand that lots of people just want to pilot mechs and obviously thats a core pillar of any Mechwarrior game (Ok I am rambling now let me cut this down to a question)

1. What are the long and short term Role playing aspects that are going to be present at the launch of the game and that you would like to see long term in expansions?

2. Will we be able to own dropships?

3. Could MWO ever expand or evolve into a MMO with the scope or scale of a Planetside or EVE Online type game?

4. Is this game going to have lots of servers like a WoW or are you hoping for a single persistent server world like EVE Online?

5.How much attention is being given to audio fidelity and is there a particular MW game you will be drawing sound effects from?

6.With the time frame posted it seems to me there wont be much in the way of A.I., do you plan on developing NPC's eventually?

7. Can you go more into detail for pilot skill trees? This seems to me the best way to even out the Free to Play model, as in you can buy the best weapons in the game but you still have to have your character train for 2 weeks to use it and in that time non paying players can earn the same gear. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

8. Is this email general@piranha-games.com the best way to contact you for a proposal offering my companies services in promotional products?

I am sure I will have more questions for you. Thanks again for your time and the chance to run these thoughts by you!

EDIT: Thought of some more

9. Do you guys have any idea if you will be hitting any Cons next year with early versions of the game? I need to know so I can figure out which to go to (Please say PAX)

10. Will there be any sort of subscription for the game?

11. Will we be able to trade in the game?

12. Can you explain the basic design of the economy for the game and the structure for in game and real money?

Thats all I have for the moment but give me an hour and I am sure I will be back with more :)


Edit number 2 got some more

13. How much attention and effort are being focused ona good mic system? It can be a huge annoying problem if its not looked after in this sort of game so I was just wondering .

14. With the release timeframe you have, are you planning on releasing a fairly compact but well developed game and adding lots of content in the months following that?

15. How far are you from having a working alpha? Or do you already have one?

Edited by Vincent Vascaul, 11 November 2011 - 09:37 AM.


#57 Silent

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 08:45 AM

Will the community be given the option to customize their 'Mech in the form of paint schemes/livery? If so, would this option more likely be utilized through some sort of in-game editor, or will someone have to use a third-party program like Photoshop or GIMP?

Edited by Silent, 11 November 2011 - 08:45 AM.


#58 Woodstock

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 09:02 AM

Hello.

Some comparisons between MW4 and MWO.

Firstly will you be remaining with the focused pinpoint targeting of weapons or will you introduce a more TT/canon system of scattering weapon impacts over other locations?

Secondly: How to you plan to keep Light mechs viable throughout the lifespan of MWO? Role abilities? (click-able powers that reduce incoming damage or make the mech harder to spot?)

Some suggestions from the forums:
1) Allow teams to have different numbers of players but a standard total BV (or other metric for balancing the mechs on each side.)
2) Introduce some damage adjustment mechanic to compensate for the speed mechs are moving at. (ala EvE.. The faster the mech is moving the less damage it takes from a weapon?)
3) Damage scattering as mentioned in the first question would also help to support lighter mechs.

Third question: How do you plan to maintain the elite 'FEEL' of the clans? Will players be given unlimited access to playing clan characters? Will some kind of 'Trial of Position be introduced to unlock a clan character option? Will you simply use uber A.I. NPC's to control the clans while also giving us some kind of salvage option?

Hope those are clear.

#59 phelanjkell

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 09:21 AM

Bryan,

I am most interested in gaining information regarding the 'Merc Companies' and the planetary PVP system for the game. As of right now we know from the FAQ and blog that the PVP portion will be Merc companies choosing an affiliation with one of the major houses. Well allot of questions arise from this.
  • What are the benefits of being affiliated with a Major House?
  • Do we have to be affiliated, are successful Merc Companies allowed to be hired?
  • Is there a member limit to these Merc Companies?
  • What level of logistical, managerial and possibly finance should we expect?
Some of these questions also bring up many other questions, such as:
  • Is the market player driven? Seeded by the developers? Is there a black market?
  • Are there certain battlemechs or equipment only available to certain houses?
World of Tanks is implementing, very soon only for the clan play, a system that if you are doing assaults and your tank is destroyed it takes X amount of days to be repaired. This is what I would refer to as a 'consequence' which I think is a unique aspect to a persistent 'group' playing that requires thoughtful preparation for on-going battles.
  • Are we going to see a 'death' or 'repair' wait time during planetary assaults? *This is not for regular public matches*
  • What should a player or Merc Company expect as a result of a successful win? Salvage? Industry points?
Battlemech customization, allot of questions pop to mind:
  • Customization on the level of Mechwarrior2/3? Hard-point system like mw4? Or variants?
  • Is there a list of possible equipment modifications any battlemech may have? *engine, gyro, sensors, etc...*
  • Will there be different models of weapons? *varying degree's of rate of fire, dmg, heat, ammo etc..*
Clan invasion
  • Will this be player ran? AI?
  • How will the technology be given to the player base? *Market availability*
  • Will you allow the player base to play any of these Clan factions?
Players & skills, allot of topics have been on-going due to this. There is allot of confusion regarding what it is meant by the statement in the fax.
  • Can we get a brief/quick explanation on what the team is going to implement and how that effects game play if at all?
  • Due to the accuracy of the mouse, will there be a built in system much like the 'Mechwarrior RPG' elements? Cone of fire of weapons? Effective range of weapons?


#60 Mal

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Posted 11 November 2011 - 10:37 AM

Thanks for doing the Q&A.

I've got lots of questions, but as this topic is supposed to be strictly 'reboot' related, just one for now.

How true to canon for later events (post clan invasion and defeat) are you planning on following the established storyline.. or will the reboot be like say the Star Trek reboot under JJ Abrams.. where events up to the reboot are the same, but everything after that can be different?





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