304 replies to this topic

[jozkhan]

Here's the problem:

They can't set deadlines correctly, they can't meet deadlines, they can't communicate effectively, they can't attract and retain new players, or old players or founders, they can't do music, they can't put the tutorials in through 95% of closed beta, they can't do game balance simply and intuitively, they can't get this website working properly, they can't seem to get directx 11 in, they can't deliver UI 2.0 after working on it throughout most of closed beta. And the list goes on and on but you get the idea.

They can make promises but they simply cannot deliver on them.

[Faithsfall]

jozkhan, on 06 September 2013 - 07:10 AM, said:

Here's the problem:

They can't set deadlines correctly, they can't meet deadlines, they can't communicate effectively, they can't attract and retain new players, or old players or founders, they can't do music, they can't put the tutorials in through 95% of closed beta, they can't do game balance simply and intuitively, they can't get this website working properly, they can't seem to get directx 11 in, they can't deliver UI 2.0 after working on it throughout most of closed beta. And the list goes on and on but you get the idea.

They can make promises but they simply cannot deliver on them.

When someone put's it in a list like that it's depressing.

[Edustaja]

It would be interesting to see a project timeline on pgi promises and realized features.

[Wiley Coyote]

Xie Belvoule, on 06 September 2013 - 01:31 AM, said:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Console port for Xbox One and PS4 anyone?

MW:O -> MechAssault 3?

[Vyrago]

After seeing Ekman's tweet about 'New Consoles', I'm convinced that this beta we've all been testing and supporting is all about funding a console port. Things like cool shot and 3PV would only support this. We'll be lucky if we (the PC crowd) even get to keep what we have now. Expect more sales, hero mechs and other cash-flow generating fluff.

[DegeneratePervert]

Vyrago, on 06 September 2013 - 08:22 AM, said:

After seeing Ekman's tweet about 'New Consoles', I'm convinced that this beta we've all been testing and supporting is all about funding a console port. Things like cool shot and 3PV would only support this. We'll be lucky if we (the PC crowd) even get to keep what we have now. Expect more sales, hero mechs and other cash-flow generating fluff.

They wouldn't do that.... would they?

On the other hand, I would enjoy seeing some cross-platform play against Xbox users. Mmm.

[Edustaja]

Vyrago, on 06 September 2013 - 08:22 AM, said:

After seeing Ekman's tweet about 'New Consoles', I'm convinced that this beta we've all been testing and supporting is all about funding a console port. Things like cool shot and 3PV would only support this. We'll be lucky if we (the PC crowd) even get to keep what we have now. Expect more sales, hero mechs and other cash-flow generating fluff.

I actually think he means that they're trying to avoid launching the same time as the new consoles come out. That way they can get some publicity before being drowned by all the new hotness.

[carl kerensky]

Vyrago, on 06 September 2013 - 08:22 AM, said:

After seeing Ekman's tweet about 'New Consoles', I'm convinced that this beta we've all been testing and supporting is all about funding a console port. Things like cool shot and 3PV would only support this. We'll be lucky if we (the PC crowd) even get to keep what we have now. Expect more sales, hero mechs and other cash-flow generating fluff.

I sure hope that THIS isn't the case. I really do. That would dash hopes of seeing MWO mature into the sim action game I have been hoping for.

Ck

[carl kerensky]

PGI just stick to those pillars and listen to your core audience. Listen to those on this forum that give there feedback and ideas that is generated by an amazing passion for Mechwarrior. Listen to The people including myself who will gladly spend there money to support this game and watch it grow into the sim game that we have all been waiting for so long. You won't find a more passionate crowd than these mech warriors on this forum in any other game....period. Don't shut them down. They are the heartbeat for this game.

Ck

[Lon3Wo1f]

Wolfways, on 06 September 2013 - 05:55 AM, said:

Well...i've listened to parts 1 and 2 of Bryan's interview and i'm not sure how i feel about the future of MWO.
(I recommend that anyone who is interested in the future of the game listen to them.)

.....

In the end there are good things talked about in the interview, if they happen.
Seriously, if you have a couple of hours to spare listen to the interview. Part 3 coming tomorrow.

At this point the only way any of this makes financial sense is if part 3 starts and ends with them going, "KIDDING! LULZ we had you guys going though didn't we?" but clearly that isn't going to happen because we all know that requires planning and they're awful at that.

[Wolfways]

There was one part of the interview i found funny, when Bryan revealed that the biggest selling mech is the Cataphract.
Really? The heaviest mech that can carry the most ballistic weapons is the most popular? lol

(Btw, if you use 4xAC's...otherwise why are you using a Cataphract?...switch to a Jagermech. Those high arms really make a difference )

[Hexenhammer]

jozkhan, on 05 September 2013 - 03:04 AM, said:

I cant seem to find any of this (pretty vital) information here you know on the game website forum

So here's the latest on launch and coming soon from NGNG88 with Bryan Ekman (reposted from Reddit)

why cant we hear info about the game here???

brace yourselves:
<p class="usertext-body">

TL;DListen version:

• 
  Will UI 2.0 be available at launch? No
  
• 
  Will UI 2.0 include a lobby system? What will that be like? Lobby system sounds cool, but it won't be in the initial release. Only thing he mentioned that was implied that would be in the initial build was a new ingame store.
  
• 
  Will UI 2.0 bring any additional information or functionality to the After Action Report? Website statistics to be available ingame. Eventually.
  
• 
  Bryan shares his API hopes and dreams Something along the lines of Eve Online's API system.
  
• 
  Will there be any elements of Community Warfare released with launch? No.
  
• 
  Where has the Public Test Server been? Will it be back? Technical/resource/QA reasons. Returning in September.
  
• 
  Will more player numbers and statistics ever be made available? They're concerned player numbers would be misconstrued. Some rationale about being disadvantaged if their competitors knew the numbers (guess someone should tell WoT and WT so they can remove their player counters post-haste lulz). According to Bryan, once they hit a certain number they plan to publish the figures "when there's no mistaking their meaning".
  
• 
  Bryan talks about new player numbers and player retention rates Retained more than 50% of original Founders, who still play at least monthly. "Most" of them have bought into Phoenix.
  
• 
  Muromets is #1! Cataphract is most-owned mech after filtering out Founders' mech chassis. Incl Founders', Catapult is the most owned.
  
• 
  Will there ever be metallic paint? Yes, in the form of skins probably.
  
• 
  Will we see a free-cam spectator mode? What would it be like? They want to support video makers, feature-wise. "Plans", nothing specific.
  
• 
  UI Twitch integration coming with UI 2.0 Ready to go, waiting for UI2.0.
  
• 
  Will the role of single heat sinks be re-examined, or are they as intended? "Working as intended". Will take another look when clan tech is introduced.
  
• 
  Bryan talks a bit about PGI's approach to Clan Tech balance and how to avoid a mass exodus to the Clans because of superior everything Clantech won't follow the lolOP model from tabletop/lore; PGI doesn't want to obsolete IS mechs with the release of clantech.
  
• 
  Regarding the recently updated 'Mech movement system, ie going uphill, is that based on weight or scale? "Class weight".
  
• 
  Is 'Mech scaling being looked at? Bryan says 'Mech scaling is also about balance When possible, they use references from the lore. Will look at "egregious cases".
  
• 
  Will 'Mech quirks ever evolve into something more, like 'Mech specific weapons capabilities etc? No specific plans.
  
• 
  Are certain 'Mechs being looked at, like the Awesome and the Hunchback 4J? More generic talk about looking at egregious cases, wanting to take a look at all mechs again, etc etc. Nothing specific.
  
• 
  The community is the canary, and the data is the truth Yea, Bryan actually said this. Such a terrible analogy considering what happens to canaries when the 'truth' is bad news.
  
• 
  Will 'Mechs ever be able to crouch? What would the gameplay advantages and/or disadvantages be? Eventually.
  
• 
  Are individual, lance, and/or team achievements coming? In development currently.
  
• 
  Bryan discusses upcoming MechWarrior leveling system and level unlocks Player level based on total accumulated XP. Level unlock example included a requirement to join a faction and what I assume was a tongue-in-cheek reference to a requirement to post on the forum.

The MWO launch none event.

[Farix]

Edustaja, on 06 September 2013 - 09:13 AM, said:

I actually think he means that they're trying to avoid launching the same time as the new consoles come out. That way they can get some publicity before being drowned by all the new hotness.

MechWarrior Online: September 17, 2013
PlayStation 4: November 15, 2013
XBox One: November 22, 2013

That's actually a good point. It's hard to tell when the press ramp up to the the new consoles will begin, but that does give a two month buffer between the launch of MWO and the release of the street dates of the consoles. They could have set it back another month, but they didn't anticipate that UI 2.0 wouldn't be ready.

[lsp]

Roadbeer, on 06 September 2013 - 05:23 AM, said:

I like to consider it as Western Nevada rather than Eastern California. We use the Sierra Nevada range to hold the creeping socialism at bay... and with all that open space, we can see 'em coming.

Socal here, I'm in the valley right outside LA. Can't wait to leave California and never come back, I go through bishop once a year usually. I go up to mammoth every year, went to toms place last month.

[DirePhoenix]

carl kerensky, on 05 September 2013 - 05:11 AM, said:

Also why in blazes can't PGI communicate these things here? Why does it have to second hand news? The core audience is the canary? Wtf The core audience is the foundation of this game !! You lost almost half of your founders? These people paid money because they believed in what you were doing. They saw the vision and potential. That has to tell you something. Like PGI needs to change the way they operate. Seriously.
Wow unbelievable.
Ck

1) NG/NG podcasts are posted here on MWO's Community page, so in a sense, it is posted here.

2) The Reddit entry was a transcript post that someone did on their own time (not NG/NG or MWO).

3) It is a well known fact that only a very small percentage of any game's playerbase even look at their forums. In order to reach the majority of your playerbase you've got to branch out and talk to media outlets to be where they are (game magazines, game news sites, podcasts, etc.). The forumites will bring the news back to discuss it if they want to, so posting here is usually redundant anyway. If you only talk to your forums and not to the outside world, people outside will stop talking about it, become disinterested, and the community becomes incestuously insular, inaccessible, and even hostile to outsiders, which is the opposite of what you want in an online game.

Look at WoW. That game is horribly outdated, clunky and ancient. While it has been steadily dropping subscribers for the past 3 or 4 years, it still has a decent number of players hanging on, and still gets a short infusion whenever there is a major update. Why is that? Because Blizzard is ******** everywhere. They've got hundreds of games sites following their every move. They've got tons of fan-made podcasts broadcasting their news. They're in all the game magazines. They're doing Television adverts. They even have branding on snack foods. Do you think they care about a handful of players crying on their forums about how OP Paladin bubble-hearth is? Or how much their forums claim some Blizzard Store Sparklepony is clearly representative of a P2W direction? What about whenever one of their classes get nerfed and the forums explode with cries that they've 'destroyed the game' ...every single patch for the past eight years? Do you think people like that are even representative of their actual playerbase? I'm certain Blizzard knows better.

[BlackBeltJones]

While I have stopped playing and uninstalled a while ago I do enjoy watching the mayhem here. Today I saw a post from Syllogy from July 5 pertaining to a delay of CW and I thought it was cute.

Syllogy

• 
  
• Legendary Founder
  
• 
  
• 2502 posts

Posted 05 July 2013 - 09:06 AM[/color]

WRONG.

Now that the short answer is out of the way, this is incorrect information. Russ Bullock specifically said during that podcast that Community Warfare would be out before Launch.

Please, listen to the podcast, get the real information from the source. Speculating on rumors and conjecture only leads to creating problems that don't exist, and riling up people that don't know better.

Here is the link to the podcast in question: https://soundcloud.c...ng-podcast-0079

Edited by Syllogy, 05 July 2013 - 09:11 AM.

Edited by BlackBeltJones, 06 September 2013 - 11:27 AM.

[N44B4LIFE]

[Kazairl]

This is very sad news.

[Inconspicuous]

jozkhan, on 06 September 2013 - 07:10 AM, said:

Here's the problem:

They can't set deadlines correctly, they can't meet deadlines, they can't communicate effectively, they can't attract and retain new players, or old players or founders, they can't do music, they can't put the tutorials in through 95% of closed beta, they can't do game balance simply and intuitively, they can't get this website working properly, they can't seem to get directx 11 in, they can't deliver UI 2.0 after working on it throughout most of closed beta. And the list goes on and on but you get the idea.

They can make promises but they simply cannot deliver on them.

It's almost like a mod team got hold of a good IP and have failed to make the transition from mod team to game developers.

[jozkhan]

As a former game developer it's quite inexplicable really. The only times I saw anything even close to this level of total fail were both due to Management / Executive level inexperience - i.e. the management of a project or a company being staffed by people who are not professional software developers, project managers or game developers. (Note: The fact PGI couldnt find a 'regular' publisher for MWO and IGP were simply 'created' to fulfill that role kinda says it all here - its a due diligence issue)

In one case the management insisted on 3D modelling of artifacts that would never be seen in-game maintaining their position even when presented with the facts this would require 26 years of rendering time!

In the other the management suffered from terrible cronyism, hiring 'friends' into positions such as lead artist even when that person had no 3D art skills whatsoever etc.

The ability to correctly plan out a games development (or any software project that runs over years, and has a massive burn rate (overhead cost) is so fundamental to the success of everything else that follows on from it.

This never ends well because the top level is at fault and cannot be replaced and worse still refuse to recognise the problem. In everyday life im sure everyone is familiar with government led software projects that run into the ground after millions are spent mainly because the top level of management have no clue as to how to develop software - which causes baked-in failure.

In both cases 'real game developers and software developers' abandon the company due to the fact objective reality is infinitely preferable to working in this kind of 'bubble'.

Sure, you get things wrong, things get delayed etc but if you are managing the project correctly these are mitigated by the things you do get right, time saved here and there and working smart.

In all honesty I think something else is at play with MWO. I mean nobody can get it wrong so consistently, it goes against the law of averages in fact and beggars belief. I think there is a minimalist approach at work here, they give the customer just enough to appear to have forward momentum (and nothing more). There's an illusion going on that we want to believe. But really all it is: a cynically exploitative business model to mine as much cash from its customers it return for giving them as little as possible.

Although there are some on the surface similarities to the world of tanks and war thunder business models there is something very different going on with MWO.

Edited by jozkhan, 07 September 2013 - 02:51 AM.