10367 replies to this topic

[Horseman]

Erik Ouzbel, on 04 June 2023 - 07:00 AM, said:

Is there a way to reset my progress and start at a lower tier than 4, or am I and whoever else is on my team will have to suffer through another 100 matches at the rate my score tends to drop?

Group up with Tier 5 players. The group tier is averaged.

[BLACKR0SE]

Has a button been added to TAG, open, and close it? If not, are such programs legal?

https://www.reddit.c...0pq/toggle_tag/

[epikt]

Macros are legal, and indeed some players use them to toggle the TAG.

Quote

Keybind macro software and hardware mechanisms are permitted for use as long as such mechanisms still require manual input to initiate and do not fully automate gameplay.

source: https://mwomercs.com/conduct

[BLACKR0SE]

epikt, on 06 June 2023 - 06:46 AM, said:

Macros are legal, and indeed some players use them to toggle the TAG.

source: https://mwomercs.com/conduct

USING MACRO SOFTWARE



Keybind macro software and hardware mechanisms are permitted for use as long as such mechanisms still require manual input to initiate and do not fully automate gameplay.


I saw this. But isn't what's being done here automation?

[Aidan Crenshaw]

No automation involved. Toggle TAG via macro is completely fine.

[Horseman]

TAMTAMBABY, on 06 June 2023 - 06:51 AM, said:

here automation?

Yes, but not in the same sense - the rule about "fully automating gameplay" forbids bots and aimbots, not holding down a button or repeatedly triggering one.
I understand the confusion, though, as some developers forbid macros altogether.

[TheCaptainJZ]

Generally speaking, macros are fine if they let you do a series of actions you could do manually with good timing without being "superhuman". They must also be initiated by you, the human player, not by some kind of automated trigger. Firing weapons in a particular sequence would usually be permitted. There was a time that someone figured out a way to use a macro to exploit the RAC ramp up/down cooldown timer so it would never jam but that was patched to prevent it from working. In that case, the macro was an exploit of a game mechanic--to prevent it from working as intended by the developers. Another macro older than that was made to fire 6 x AC 2 rapidly like a machine gun. This was permitted as it didn't alter a weapon, just the staggering of pulling the trigger to produce a certain effect. I think it was every 0.5 seconds to avoid ghost heat at that time. Maybe it was faster than that. It was on a Jagermech.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 06 June 2023 - 09:38 AM.

[BLACKR0SE]

TheCaptainJZ, on 06 June 2023 - 09:36 AM, said:

Generally speaking, macros are fine if they let you do a series of actions you could do manually with good timing without being "superhuman". They must also be initiated by you, the human player, not by some kind of automated trigger. Firing weapons in a particular sequence would usually be permitted. There was a time that someone figured out a way to use a macro to exploit the RAC ramp up/down cooldown timer so it would never jam but that was patched to prevent it from working. In that case, the macro was an exploit of a game mechanic--to prevent it from working as intended by the developers. Another macro older than that was made to fire 6 x AC 2 rapidly like a machine gun. This was permitted as it didn't alter a weapon, just the staggering of pulling the trigger to produce a certain effect. I think it was every 0.5 seconds to avoid ghost heat at that time. Maybe it was faster than that. It was on a Jagermech.

I still see them using AC2 macros. I witnessed it in one of the matches I entered.

[Chryckan]

Does PPCs (all types) suffer from bad hit reg when multiple is fired simultaneously at a target?
Was in a light brawl and even though I could see splashes on the enemy mech my LPPCs did no damage. And I know bad hit reg was a problem long ago.

[TheCaptainJZ]

Hit reg is going to vary by person because of network stuff. It's possible there's fundamental hit reg issues in the programming too but we can't really prove that. But be aware that the hit effect doesn't mean you did damage. You could be out of range or something else. The cursor has to flash red. That's server authoritative. I am not sure PPC hit effects are or not. I believe they are for some weapons because this was confusing players in years gone by so they changed it so weapon impacts (explosions) would only appear if there was actually a hit. But I don't know if PPC splash is included or if it's all client rendered.

[Chryckan]

Is faction play still elitist?

Used to be, back years ago when I last played this game, that to play faction play, and certainly to join teams, you needed to run certain specific mechs using certain exact builds and if you didn't the prevailing opinion was that you shouldn't bother with faction play.
Since I've always liked quirkier mech thus the "wrong" mechs and being a F2P I could never afford the c-bills to get a drop deck with the right mechs, I only tried it a handful of times before sticking to quickplay.

But with the event this weekend I was wondering if its worth giving it a try or if you are still expected to only bring certain min-maxed decks?

[Chryckan]

LRM15s or LRM20s?

Back when I last played, lrm15s was the preferred choice because they hit more concentrated than lrm20s so was more effective even though they did less damage. (THis was both with and without artemis.)

Is this still true? Which should you use on a lurmboat?

[Horseman]

Chryckan, on 10 June 2023 - 02:57 AM, said:

Used to be, back years ago when I last played this game, that to play faction play, and certainly to join teams, you needed to run certain specific mechs using certain exact builds and if you didn't the prevailing opinion was that you shouldn't bother with faction play.

It has not been that way for a long time.

Quote

and being a F2P I could never afford the c-bills to get a drop deck with the right mechs

I've been running a F2P alt account since 2018. At this point, I have 136 mechs on it, including 25 heroes (yes, part of those are from event rewards). It's not a question of being F2P, it's a question of managing your resources effectively.

Quote

But with the event this weekend I was wondering if its worth giving it a try or if you are still expected to only bring certain min-maxed decks?

While there are occasional premades that go into the sniping game, most of the time it's a lot less cutthroat than it used to be.
Still, there are certain workhorse mechs that tend to do better than others.
Mass UACs 10s backed with UAC5s, PPCs or medium lasers to make for a decent - if sloppy -generic drop deck.

My Clan drop deck is two NTG-D's with 2xUAC10, ERPPC, ECM, TC1 and five extra heat sinks, followed by a frankenpodded Huntsman and a Hunchback IIC-C, each with 2x UAC10. I could probably cram 3xNTG-D and some light (perhaps KFX). Each NTG costs 15 mil (half that on sale) and another 5 or so to outfit and skill, and they definitely earnt their keep multiple times over.
A comparable mech on the IS side would be Warhammer 6R (drop deck of three with a UAC10 Bushwacker X1). I do use a Sleipnir in my primary IS drop deck on my main account, but that can be easily substituted by a Mauler 1R or 1P (in fact a 1R is the next mech in that deck after the Slappy).

Chryckan, on 10 June 2023 - 12:00 PM, said:

LRM15s or LRM20s?

Back when I last played, lrm15s was the preferred choice because they hit more concentrated than lrm20s so was more effective even though they did less damage. (THis was both with and without artemis.)

Is this still true? Which should you use on a lurmboat?

Varies based on the chassis and its' available hardpoints. An EBJ-C has to do 20s, a NCT-B will do better with 6x15 than 4x20, and a TBT-7M, CPLT-C4 or AWS-8R tend to be better with 15s as well (in part due to quirks on the TBT and AWS). Don't forget that the 15s are also slightly more tonnage efficient than 20s.

Edited by Horseman, 11 June 2023 - 08:18 AM.

[Chryckan]

Horseman, on 10 June 2023 - 02:10 PM, said:

I've been running a F2P alt account since 2018. At this point, I have 136 mechs on it, including 25 heroes (yes, part of those are from event rewards). It's not a question of being F2P, it's a question of managing your resources effectively.

Though is it possible that PGI upped the c-bills match rewards? I had 17 million c-bills when I came back and now after little more than a week's sporadic playing I'm up to over 40 million. When I stopped playing last time, which incidentally was around 2018 I think, I remember it being a struggle just to grind 1 million. The reason I remember is because I used to build all my mechs around the xl280 engine because that allowed me to switch the engine I owned around, because I couldn't afford the couple of millions new engine cost.

Horseman, on 10 June 2023 - 02:10 PM, said:

Varies based on the chassis and its' available hardpoints. An EBJ-C has to do 20s, a NCT-B will do better with 6x15 than 4x20, and a TBT-7M, CPLT-C4 or AWS-8R tend to be better with 15s as well (in part due to quirks on the TBT and AWS). Don't forget that the 15s are also slightly more tonnage efficient than 20s.

Fair enough, but then excellent quirks can make a bad weapon good. So for the sake of argument, let say you have a mech with zero quirks what so ever, and which has two missile hardpoints. On that mech, is it better to run dual lrm15s or lrm20s?

[TheCaptainJZ]

Chryckan, on 11 June 2023 - 12:14 AM, said:

Though is it possible that PGI upped the c-bills match rewards? I had 17 million c-bills when I came back and now after little more than a week's sporadic playing I'm up to over 40 million. When I stopped playing last time, which incidentally was around 2018 I think, I remember it being a struggle just to grind 1 million. The reason I remember is because I used to build all my mechs around the xl280 engine because that allowed me to switch the engine I owned around, because I couldn't afford the couple of millions new engine cost.

Yes, PGI was pretty stingy with rewards in the early years. A lot of that was modeled after World of Tanks, as I understand it, and they and their publisher at the time, IGP, obviously wanted to squeeze as much money out of the game as possible (perhaps more IGP's doing). Over time, events were created and the rewards slowly got more generous over time. Since the sort of relaunch at the end of 2020, they've had monthly free mech challenges and quarterly loot bag events. Both can net you some great rewards. Overall match rewards are higher today than they were in the early days as well. I remember struggling to get 100k in a Commando in those early days so I could buy another to unlock the elite skills on three variants. That was certainly a grind that's much easier today.

Chryckan, on 10 June 2023 - 02:57 AM, said:

Is faction play still elitist?

Used to be, back years ago when I last played this game, that to play faction play, and certainly to join teams, you needed to run certain specific mechs using certain exact builds and if you didn't the prevailing opinion was that you shouldn't bother with faction play.
Since I've always liked quirkier mech thus the "wrong" mechs and being a F2P I could never afford the c-bills to get a drop deck with the right mechs, I only tried it a handful of times before sticking to quickplay.

But with the event this weekend I was wondering if its worth giving it a try or if you are still expected to only bring certain min-maxed decks?

I would say, if you play FP, you still need to bring your best. Some maps are snipe heavy like Boreal so if you're on the wrong side of that match, you're going to have a bad time. But I guess this event is just skirmish and assault this weekend so you can play it like QP, but with drop decks. And because it's an event, more casuals are going to be playing, but also more pros so it's going to be hit and miss. Play however you want, but I would still take serious builds. They don't have to be perfect, just good. In the past, there were some dominant strategies that required taking certain mechs that were overperformers. That's less of a case today because the game is better balanced overall.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 11 June 2023 - 05:27 AM.

[Horseman]

Chryckan, on 11 June 2023 - 12:14 AM, said:

Though is it possible that PGI upped the c-bills match rewards? I had 17 million c-bills when I came back and now after little more than a week's sporadic playing I'm up to over 40 million. When I stopped playing last time, which incidentally was around 2018 I think, I remember it being a struggle just to grind 1 million. The reason I remember is because I used to build all my mechs around the xl280 engine because that allowed me to switch the engine I owned around, because I couldn't afford the couple of millions new engine cost.

They have done it by about 20% sometime in 2020 or so. Premium time from events is more abundant as well, so that helps too with the 50% payout boost.

Quote

Fair enough, but then excellent quirks can make a bad weapon good. So for the sake of argument, let say you have a mech with zero quirks what so ever, and which has two missile hardpoints. On that mech, is it better to run dual lrm15s or lrm20s?

2x20 if you can afford to do so without compromising your ammo and cooling. Three hardpoints would be 3x15.

[Chryckan]

Does the skill "Torso Speed" affect how fast the legs or torso is centered when pressing F or C (by default)?

[epikt]

Chryckan, on 15 June 2023 - 08:53 AM, said:

Does the skill "Torso Speed" affect how fast the legs or torso is centered when pressing F or C (by default)?

I suppose it does (at least the torso centering), it would be the logical behavior, but I'm not sure (I don't use these commands).

[Chryckan]

epikt, on 19 June 2023 - 10:52 AM, said:

I suppose it does (at least the torso centering), it would be the logical behavior, but I'm not sure (I don't use these commands).

Still, it stuff like this that makes me curious.

[Horseman]

To my understanding, centering uses your torso speed.