7 replies to this topic

[Geek Verve]

Just a few notes on some things that struck me, being brand new to the game:

• The new recruit bonus is fantastic. It lets new players buy their first mech and tweak it a bit to their liking. That being said, if the player makes a mistake (perhaps hadn't done enough research on the various chassis and weapons outside the game) and selects a mech that isn't quite what they expected, they're pretty much screwed. Sure, they can tweak and upgrade it, but it seems to me there is a pretty good chance that they will experience extreme buyer's remorse. At least I did. I bought a medium mech, only to find that it's too slow and fragile for my liking. I see lights rocketing around me with more effective weaponry and heavies better equipped to brawl. I know, I know, much of it is how you pilot it, and I'm working on that, but the bottom line is I wish I had chosen something different. There should be an option to sell back that first mech without taking a 50% cost penalty. That's huge, and after the recruit bonus, it takes a loooong time to earn back. Maybe a one-time, reduced penalty sell-back would help.
  
• The mech lab and upgrading/reconfiguring my mech befuddles me. I realize it's a comprehensive interface to a complex process, but it's just confusing in its current state.
  
• Lastly (and this is my biggest concern) is the fact that the game does not promote community. There is very little communication between players during matches, and what is said disappears from the screen after a couple of seconds. Also, the chat system itself is pretty buggy. I've taken to remaining silent for the most part, because half the time I try to say something in chat, the enter key doesn't work, and I have to hit ESC twice to get out of the chat box. Then at the end of the match, when everyone is saying "gg" and such, something might be said to which I may want to reply, but with all the "soandso has disconnected" messages, it scrolls off the screen before I can even read it all or see who said it. It would be nice to be able to scroll back and read chat messages both there and in-game.
  
• Ok, this is the last one. I am just amazed that there is such bad joystick support. Heck, it won't even let me map various actions to any buttons other than Mouse1 and Mouse2 on my Logitech G700 gaming mouse.

I want to end by saying that this is a phenomenal game. I've picked up several new games in the last many months, and within a week I've found myself still playing them just to justify the purchase. After a week into this one I am still staying up far too late, just squeezing in that "one more match" (about 15 times). It looks great. It plays great. It's just that I'm enough of a n00b on my own without some of the interface elements providing stumbling blocks for me, and I really wish I could connect with the rest of the community more.


Thanks!
GV

Edited by Geek Verve, 28 September 2013 - 04:27 PM.

[The Black Knight]

Welcome to the game. I can't speak to your recruit woes as I have been playing since before that was ever implemented. But as far as the mechlab is concerned it is currently set up for people who know the rules of the tabletop game and for those who have played other MechWarrior games. There is a complete revision of the user interface that was supposed to come out for launch but has been pushed back a while as it was still buggy, but know improvements are coming. I also agree that the in-game chat is very poor at the moment. I think the devs know this, but are unsure what to do about it currently.

[Aluminumfoiled]

Geek Verve, on 28 September 2013 - 04:25 PM, said:

...
. I bought a medium mech, only to find that it's too slow and fragile for my liking. I see lights rocketing around me with more effective weaponry and heavies better equipped to brawl. I know, I know, much of it is how you pilot it, and I'm working on that, but the bottom line is I wish I had chosen something different. .....

Mediums are a hard place to start. I use a big engine to make them work for me. And they are fun but a lot of work too.

A good place to learn and check out builds if you have not seen it yet is http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab . This has a lot of info you can read and play with, compare builds, what if ideas .

Mechs and Weapons tab at the top is very useful too. Ranges heat damage all laid out.

Maps tab, wish I would have seen that when I started.

Mechlab-Play with builds and tweaks.

Currently using a Logitech MX 518. I get 1-4 to map but not 5. Not sure why. Joy stick for the torso I just don't see as viable. I could be wrong about that though. There are some good joysticks ($$$) out there.

That bad txt team commo is the biggest flaw ingame I think. Teamspeak is out there if interested. It is a sharp learning curve so stick with it. One day soon you will fire up MWO and get more kills than you noticed while playing. I remember my first, and when I did get kills it was a big deal.

Never sell an engine. You will want it later and just have to buy it again, (yes I did that). Shouldn't really sell anything if you can help it. Poor return and you might need it later, even that certain mech you hate. (did that too). What you will always have a lot of is single heatsinks and medium lasers. Poor return on selling them too.

Go double heatsinks as soon as possible, always. Didn't know if you knew that. There are mythical builds out there with single is better. And I think a very few do exist.

It is a good game. Welcome aboard and see you on the field.

[Corvus Antaka]

Welcome to MWO!

Your journey has only just begun mechwarrior

[Geek Verve]

Thanks for the tips, folks. I found a mech lab tutorial on YouTube, and now it all makes sense to me. Once you understand it, it's pretty easy to use. I think the biggest problem is that people will often not realize that their own equipment inventory is mixed in with all of the stuff for sale. Being a programmer, myself, that now strikes me as a very novel approach. Some sort of brief tutorial or at least some informative tool tips would go a long way there, as it's something many won't normally expect to work that way. I do find that Smurfy's is a far better way to visualize what you're trying to do - then you just reproduce that result in the mech lab.

I'll have to look into the TeamSpeak option further. Not sure how that works, when you don't know anyone to jump in with. Is it tied to the game, so you can automatically join a channel for your team or lance?

Edited by Geek Verve, 01 October 2013 - 05:50 AM.

[The Black Knight]

if you want to try out teamspeak a good place to start is NoGutsNoGalaxy's teamspeak server. This can be found on their website http://nogutsnogalaxy.net/ top left there is a link. This server is great as there are "dropships" you can jump into and just ask if they are looking for another player, I've never been turned down unless they already have 4 players. This server is strictly MWO players so its a great resource. See you on the battlefield Geek Verve

[TLBFestus]

The community has tried to give the Developers good suggestions on improving the new player experience, but very little of it has been listened to.

I personally think that they should give new players one chasis of each class to get you started. It could be stripped, they could be non-sellable, I don't care, they just need to give new players an early leg up.

I've watched time and time again as new players make the same comments about the current model, and still nothing gets done. I suspect it's because the Developers think it won't make them any money, BUT they are wrong.

People with mechs tend to spend cash on doo-dads and paint jobs, etc. Players with one mech, that they regret buying, often just give up.

[JeffGoldblum]

Welcome to the game! I had the same concerns you did with the mechlab and such. But after some getting used to and getting accustomed with the layout of the mechlab, now its a breeze changing my mech around between matches.