46 replies to this topic

[NRP]

AC, on 11 October 2013 - 06:28 AM, said:

Throttle decay.... yet another feature from PGI no one wanted, no one uses, and makes new user experience more confusion.

PGI: Because we care...

What is this post supposed to be other than whiney "I hate PGI!!!" drivel? They gave us both options. Use it if you want, or don't. And all you can do is criticize them for it? *****. No wonder no one takes you seriously.

[Arkadash]

Hans Von Lohman, on 10 October 2013 - 07:44 PM, said:

Making throttle decay a pilot skill unlock is horrible. I don't want my controls fighting me. This is as bad an idea as it gets. Also, taking away something we already have is just a great way to get the players angry at PGI, and lets face it. The PGI haters are everywhere complaining about the smallest details and preaching that the game is failing and getting worse.

And then you suggest they actually make it worse.

Hopefully that answers the question why your idea is not a good one.

oldradagast, on 11 October 2013 - 05:38 AM, said:

Dear heavens... no.

There is no better way to drive players away from a game than to force them to use controls they can't stand. Making the ability to configure your controls an unlockable feature would add a slap in the face on top of that, basically saying, "Yeah, we know the default controls are horrible - deal with it, or pay us money to get the controls you want."

Top that off with the generally accepted fact that throttle decay and arm lock are both rarely useful, with the latter being a great way to get a slow mech killed by being unable to track a fast moving target and the end result is that not only should we not be "unlocking" the ability to configure our controls, but the default controls should be changed back to throttle lock OFF, and arm lock OFF. Oh, and they ought to mention that these options exist somewhere... especially given how little is documented in this game and how brutal the new player experience already is.

I see your point for veteran players, and I agree it would probably upset too many people to be practical now. I also agree that the options are poorly identified for new players, and that tying these options (TD and arm unlock) to XP advancement may hurt the new player experience.

However, I would like to point out that the logical extension of your arguments is that XP advancement should not be tied to functionality, because the game is meant to be played with all options/optimizations unlocked and available. In fact, we already have the opposite system in that x2 basics, speed tweak, and engine start-up all greatly improve the piloting experience, and they are only available with XP unlocks. I suppose you could argue that TD and arm lock are "fundamental" options while the others (e.g., x2 basics) are "flavor" unlocks, but imo that is an artifact of you having played the game for so long. Functional XP unlocks make games much more fun (and the grind that much more palatable); I wouldn't care about XP if all I could unlock were cockpit items or mechwarrior outfits.

If I'm right about you feeling that TD and arm lock are too fundamental to be unlocks, what do you think about night/heat vision?

[Shadey99]

Arkadash, on 11 October 2013 - 07:59 AM, said:

If I'm right about you feeling that TD and arm lock are too fundamental to be unlocks, what do you think about night/heat vision?

Nightvision is downright required on certain maps as is thermographic (heat vision). The blizzard version of frozen city for instance has such low visibility without thermo that long range mechs beocme useless. Thermo and night vision are also range capped, so they artificially range limit weapons.

The problem with making any of these unlocks is that we have maps and game modes that feature these functions. This works much the way of how heat perks are basically 'required' on many mechs to get full use out of them.

[thebman]

from what i read here i am in the minority who use throttle decay. I find that for me that i like the ability to control my throttle better rather then us the "crusie control" that it seems most people prefer.

[Hellcat420]

your poll is broken. where are the options for i dont pilot x class of mechs?

[Arkadash]

Hellcat420, on 11 October 2013 - 02:32 PM, said:

your poll is broken. where are the options for i dont pilot x class of mechs?

I agree that the poll is not optimal because the forums require people to submit a vote for each question, which I did not know when I set it up. However, it still offers some useful information.

First, most pilots never use TD. Second, only a handful of pilots vary their use of TD based on the 'mech they are piloting (which makes it a horrible candidate for the "functional XP unlock" discussion). It is this second point that inspired the poll and that I find most interesting.

[Malagant]

Arkadash, on 10 October 2013 - 07:13 AM, said:

...However, I could imagine throttle decay being useful in certain situations, like when you're trying to stay in the blind spot of an assault when piloting a light 'mech.

^^This

I also find it useful for dodging the idiots who will just run into you, full speed, and damage your legs. Or just stop right in front of you, like at the supermarket or wallmart... If I need to keep myself going at a certain speed I'll just hit the 10%-100% buttons. Need to stop? Just tap the forward or reverse button once and let it decay on its own. The full stop button does the same thing...

Edited by Malagant, 14 October 2013 - 01:00 PM.