10 replies to this topic

[Execheomai]

Few thing's here, I mean no offense.

1. Dev's who ignore the lore/universe material that games are founded upon usually end up destroying their game, If not it just becomes a weak imitation that falls short of the original title.

2. Dev's who strive to dumb down/balance/simplify games end up destroying their game, And become one of those games no one will play in two years time with the only players being fish caught in an advert posted on the side of some random website.

3. Dev's who listen to the complaints and shape their game in favor of players who never/rarely pay for virtual cash/items and play for a month or two then move on.... will loose those who actually buy a decent amount and spend much, Support the game are dedicated to the title and play for years. Loosing such players will cause your game to slowly die.

This is supposed/claimed to be a "thinking persons game" And all i see are people complaining about having to think.. What's worse is it seems Dev's are falling victim to it. And it's no big help when your backers fall victim to it as well.

Do not become a shadow of the title. Once you cross that line and simplify the game.. it's impossible to go back without loosing 80% of your players, Team members and money. Be in favor of the original Title and lore.. And your game will surpass all expectations and everyone will win [ The right way ] If a weapon was OP in Lore may it be OP in game, Or at least put in some realistic measures like how much power your chassis/engine can put out... In turn effecting the range/damage output of lasers. An ability to buy modification kits to upgrade/swap a hardpoint from a laser to ballistic/missile/mod ect. Upgrade your missile hardpoints to increase launch speed/range/damage. So much is possible that can benefit your and your dedicated players in the long run. Games like this should be a "fearful challenge that take time", Not a "flashy convenient time passer".

I've been in many of indie dev teams for years at a time, And i've struggled with many of projects failing and crashing hard because we would give into the demand of players who needed their hands held to play. Taking away the most important features and aspects to dumb down and meet childish demands of simpler gamers and the people who claim they have power to change things because they gave some money to support a project

I love Mechwarrior and the Battletech Universe, I hope for this installment to surpass all others.. But as most dev teams today, Most follow the money and the complaints of weak gamers who want the game easier so they can feel like they are stronger instead of the interest of their dedicated players who really want a challenge and pay good money for it to be difficult. Leaving me to fear it may be fail to surpass anything other than one of those games you see advertised on the side of an ad filled web pages alongside the **** advert. I say all of this out of concern. I hope it does not come to this.

And just to be clear From what i have seen you have a great team and im not insulting your work or methods, i am not a die hard battletech/mechwarrior fan, I have played a few but not all games, I do not know the lore like the back of my hand, I did not play through your closed beta... but what i do know is what i wish i had in a game, A reason to spend years of time playing and paying when i see it has great potential.. what i know what should not be done as a developer and what really matters most in a game. I may have only worked on indies and might not have a place to say anything because your far past that... But i know that when a project falls short of expectations it really hurts not just as a dev... but as a player as well. On this forum and in the MC fan base i am a nobody.. But at least, please take some consideration...

Please make this a game in which i will spend a good percentage of my life and money on and do not give into this "Balance/Simplify" curse that end's up destroying a majority of once great titles.

[Execheomai]

*Readies Anti-Flamer Shield and braces for incoming attacks*

[627]

Hey, you nearly made it, one more day and you're here for two weeks!

[KinLuu]

Creating a smurf for a post like this?

Why?

[Victor Morson]

Copy & paste this message about 5,000 times and you'll have five months ago.

[MustrumRidcully]

So, anything specific, actionable you wish to be done?

[Execheomai]

Hey, I've been addicted to this release since i started playing, Every day... I love it already and have had a blast. This is no smurf account... I'm here for the ride and to see where it goes..A lot of communities i walk into destroy themselves with this balance issue. I always get worried when i find a game i like that just ends up falling apart because of the community.

Anything i wish to be seen done? .. Simply do not give into the complaints of people who want the game simplified with complete balance.. It just get's boring and everything will be the same. For example I saw posts about physics and mechs damaging/knocking each other over if they walk into one another..Its not going to work out because your going to have masses complaining about large mechs plowing through crowds in tight areas so much where the devs are annoyed by the complaints.. give in and remove or have it balanced where a light mech can do the same amount of damage and knock over large mechs with the same amount of force.. I want that advantage in a large mech and i want to scream like a little girl when i encounter one in a light mech.

Make it hard and complex.. Diverse with many possibilities to shape your role/mech the way you see fit. dont balance every fight to where i know what to expect. Give me a barebones Mech and that i can choose my own hardpoints so i have to spend millions of c-bills and test it 100's of times before i get a unique build. Clans/groups can really stand out and truly have their "Own" builds other people truly fear. Lastly, Sick to the lore of the games universe if you are going to make a game under it's name. I'm still reading up on the wiki and whatever material i find and at this point i really have no major complaints.. It's still young.

It's just my cry to the dev's to not be blinded by complaints because they lack the patience or ability to play a hard challenging game.. To not hinder their progress at the chance to make this the best installment yet. I really want to be playing this a few years down the line and see where it ends up.

[Blurry]

You forgot that they know what is best.
They know what the players want and they are going to give it to them- see 3pv and it worked great.

communicate and listen to what is wrong and driving people away. Dont think you know - know and fix.

This can be a great game but the issue need attention - the matchmaker for 1. Make the game fun and fair.

Start from there and move out.
Listen - people who take the time to write on the boards are trying to tell you something - ok the odd few to harass and troll but most want the game to excel and offer feedback.

[Lupus Aurelius]

Well said.

This is from a year ago, and it is telling that here we are a year later, and we are still seeing these kinds of concerns:
http://mwomercs.com/...__fromsearch__1

Lupus Aurelius said:

There is an old adage – "You can please all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot please all the people all the time". As with any product, you have to know who your targeted customer base is, and gear your product to appeal to that customer base. The more inclusive you try to make a product, the more you dilute it, the more generalized it becomes, until it loses what makes it unique or distinctive. The more exclusive you make that product, the smaller the customer base, the more specialized it becomes, but with a higher retention and dedication by that niche group. Obviously, the key is achieving a balance between the two.

There are 3 general categories of customers in MWO: Battletech table top fans, Mechwarrior computer game fans, and general gamers. The first 2 categories are heavily interrelated, but not necessarily the same.

Battletech is over 25 years old, with an immense backstory and rich history, including over 90 fiction novels, dozens of game manuals, and even an animated TV series. These players are all about teamplay, groups of people who got together in basements and gaming shops who would spend all day rolling dice, yapping, playing as a group. It’s an extremely social activity.

Mechwarrior computer gamers have had 8 different games, not counting expansion packs and sequels ( such as MW4 Mercenaries), an online gaming community since MW2, and the continuation and upgrading done by MekTek after Microsoft dropped the franchise. Many, but probably not the majority, are also into teamplay and socialization, but there are also those that ran the computer games as solo activity at home, school, lunch hour at work, etc.

These are the people that all you have to do is whisper “Mechwarrior” and they will jump thru fire to be part of it, so long as it stays true to the original fanchise. Granted, there are the hardcore fanatics that any deviation from TT is viewed as evil, but as in any population, they are one extreme of the bell curve. Mechwarrior computer gamers are a bit more flexible, having gone thru a lot of the debate on TT vs. computer simulation balancing. These are your core customer base, so long as you can keep these 2 niche groups happy, you have a dependable return customer base.

Enter the general gamers. Now, some may find this insulting, but general gamers for the most part don’t give a $41t about backstory, history, precedence. What they want is action and shinies, the faster and easier the better. Anything that restricts that will be screamed about, whined about, complained about, like an ADHD kid that is jonesing for a Ritalin fix. Here is the rub, though – they are the largest of the 3 categories of players. However, dedication to a brand is not the hallmark of the general gamer. Soon as that new game comes out that is perceived to have more action and shinies, where devs are perceived as being more accommodating to player demands, and they will evaporate faster than a glass of water on the sun.

In essence, PGI’s strategy and MWO appeal, in order to sustain longevity, and in doing so, a dependable level of earnings, has to base it’s product on satisfying those customers that it can depend on for a fairly consistent return business. Even if that is not the majority of players.

As soon as you try to go for the lowest common denominator, the distinctiveness of the game is diluted to the point that those who are “invested” in the MW / BT franchise will no longer see MWO as continuing in the spirit of that franchise. At that point, it becomes a drive to appeal to the rather fickle masses to keep a high turnaround of new customers coming in spending money for short periods of time. For the short term, this can work, but the cost in the end is longevity.

For the long haul, providing a service / product that has a dedicated following that you can depend on for return business, even if it is a smaller customer base, still allows for quite a bit of “walk-in” business, and provides for a long term business model.

[GalaxyBluestar]

lupus is right in away. you're a year too late OP... or perhaps PGI can evaluate the achievements next to their performance coupled with this same message playing a year later aspect and perhaps decide a different direction maybe more in their interest? i'll let the devs figure it for themselves.

nice thread BTW fair construction considering this topic is usually a foam at the mouth subject.

[Roadbeer]

The guy with 3 posts knows how to convey a thought better than most of you with a couple thousand. More posts like this and my job as a troll would be in question.

GJ OP, good read.