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Feature Suggestions


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#1 Glenfiddich15Yr

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Posted 26 December 2013 - 10:30 PM

Hello, I am new to Mechwarrior Online and have been playing for about five days. I have some comments and suggestions based on my observations. I am sure some of these things have already been mentioned, but these are still my thoughts. As a note, I haven't seen any developer updates except the latest one involving a level system.

1) The match system needs to be reworked so if someone disconnects before the match starts, they will be replaced if a player is available.

2) There should be options to buy just the chassis of each mech type to allow easy customization. I was new and bought a VTR-95. I believe that is a mistake. The armament on it is weak and the initial armor was horrible. Thus I sold the engine and downgraded a large amount so I could add a better laser, more armor, and various other tweaks. A lot of that was my fault for not researching the mechs before buying them. However, when it listed that numerous slots were available, I figured it'd be easy to upgrade. New player mistake, for sure.

3) The user interface for the mech lab is difficult to navigate through. Of course, I am getting used to it, but I feel it could be done much easier.

4) I would like to see modes that allow limited respawns. Perhaps one or two respawns per player. Or, maybe, unlimited respawns, but major delays for larger mechs. Say five minutes on assault mechs, four minutes on heavy, two on medium, and one on light, but then allow players to spawn in if someone disconnects due to not waiting for the respawn.

5) More is more. In games modes such as conquest, I am always disappointed how developers put in so few choke points. I realize the idea is to concentrate the action, but what I would prefer is more of a front line. What if every box on the minimap was a choke point? What if respawning existed, but the time to respawn was based on how many squares the side occupies? Other things such as ammo factories (which could allow reloads if in non-cut-off friendly territory) or mech factories (which could also affect respawn times) could also exist. Perhaps make it so light and medium mechs cannot capture individual squares, but can capture ammo/mech factories? Could also give ammo/mech factories hit points and allow them to take damage or be destroyed (to which they would automatically repair over time).

6) A dynamic mega map system would be great in my opinion. Something similar to World War II Online where all the maps are linked as one. They don't necessarily need to be able to move from northern snows to southern deserts, for example, but it would be neat if the maps were intertwined and battles raging between them led to global conquest objectives. I guess the moon map is a bit unrealistic to link in with the others, but this isn't a realistic game to begin with.

7) Lower prices for premium content. I enjoy the game, but not enough to where I will pay the prices required for special mechs, mech furnishings, or other things that cost cash.

8) Disable mech marking. One thing I don't care for in games like this is map marking. I realize that as futuristic robots, it is likely that mechs would have some form of tracking feature. But I think the game would be more fun if enemy mechs were found based on visual sight and team communication only, rather than a mini-map.

9) As a kid of the 90s, I owned many Battletechs as a kid. I remember Banshee and think it would be neat if aircraft were added to the game. Balancing would be a big issue here and the amount of aircraft allowable would have to be limited. Anti-aircraft speciality mechs could also be added.

10) Mines. Just how airstrikes are called in, I would like the ability to place anti-mech mines. Mines can be annoying and I wouldn't make one mine destroy one leg, but legs are surprisingly rarely destroyed in this game and if Mines took say 50% of a leg, then that may leg to more leg loss. May also prevent mech rushes. Especially if mines are visible to the naked eye (and can be marked for teammates if a player chooses to do so), but difficult to see for someone cruising along.

11) Suicide charges. If your mech is getting low on health, have a suicide charge option (that isn't superly cheap to equip). Allow the suicide to create a fair amount of damage over a large spread, but require say 30 seconds to activate.

12) Dynamic weather and gravity conditions. Some maps have normal and snow versions, but I think all maps should go through seasons. It would be neat if warm weather maps occasionally have thunderstorms with lightning that can strike and damage mechs (mechs on hills would be most prone, as well as larger mechs). I would also like to see gravity conditions and temperatures fluctuate on maps each time you play. Perhaps an in game cycle that varies the maps from day and night based on say a five hour cycle (five hours in real life equals 24 hours in game time).

13) The game really lacks on game modes. Free for all skirmishes, capture the flag (though difficult with light and medium mechs running around), and base destruction (one side attacks, one side defends) would all be good modes to add that also shouldn't be too difficult.

Well, those are my thoughts and suggestions for now. Really enjoying the game, but not sure it will hold my attention more than another week or two.

Edited by Glenfiddich15Yr, 26 December 2013 - 10:30 PM.


#2 luxebo

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Posted 26 December 2013 - 11:26 PM

A lot of these things are actually incoming. Like attack and defend (base destruction that's mentioned), free-for-all skirmishes (deathmatch incoming or 1v1 with private matches and UI 2.0), UI problems (UI 2.0), maps/dynamic missions/etc mentioned (CW), and a lot of things. So just be patient is best.

#3 Glenfiddich15Yr

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Posted 27 December 2013 - 01:03 PM

View Postluxebo, on 26 December 2013 - 11:26 PM, said:

A lot of these things are actually incoming. Like attack and defend (base destruction that's mentioned), free-for-all skirmishes (deathmatch incoming or 1v1 with private matches and UI 2.0), UI problems (UI 2.0), maps/dynamic missions/etc mentioned (CW), and a lot of things. So just be patient is best.


It is interesting to me that more gamemodes haven't been implemented yet since that shouldn't be that difficult to do. I did know about user interface 2.0, but as I mentioned, these are my thoughts. We will see about the other things. One thing I don't like about free to play games is that they seem to bog down development. Hopefully I am wrong in this case, but based on in game chat, it seems development for this game is very slow...

#4 luxebo

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Posted 27 December 2013 - 06:14 PM

Yeah. I think I may want to take a closer look at what you specifically asked though. (I'll highlight stuff with bold.)


View PostGlenfiddich15Yr, on 26 December 2013 - 10:30 PM, said:

1) The match system needs to be reworked so if someone disconnects before the match starts, they will be replaced if a player is available. Gonna come soon, hopefully with better matchmaker, UI 2.0, etc.

2) There should be options to buy just the chassis of each mech type to allow easy customization. I was new and bought a VTR-95. I believe that is a mistake. The armament on it is weak and the initial armor was horrible. Thus I sold the engine and downgraded a large amount so I could add a better laser, more armor, and various other tweaks. A lot of that was my fault for not researching the mechs before buying them. However, when it listed that numerous slots were available, I figured it'd be easy to upgrade. New player mistake, for sure. I think this may come from Community Warfare, but otherwise, I think this website will help. http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab It's a mechlab to help plan building of a mech. BTW, you can also ask through the new player's forum, which is helpful.

3) The user interface for the mech lab is difficult to navigate through. Of course, I am getting used to it, but I feel it could be done much easier. Yeah, UI 2.0. Also, this website tracker: http://www.mwomercs.com/theplan#1 Can help with keeping track of Community Warfare.

4) I would like to see modes that allow limited respawns. Perhaps one or two respawns per player. Or, maybe, unlimited respawns, but major delays for larger mechs. Say five minutes on assault mechs, four minutes on heavy, two on medium, and one on light, but then allow players to spawn in if someone disconnects due to not waiting for the respawn. Once again happening with Attack and Defend, UI 2.0, Community Warfare. They have planned turrets and dropships and bases, so one side will be a base defense, with the other side being an attacker. With respawns. Check the planner.

5) More is more. In games modes such as conquest, I am always disappointed how developers put in so few choke points. I realize the idea is to concentrate the action, but what I would prefer is more of a front line. What if every box on the minimap was a choke point? What if respawning existed, but the time to respawn was based on how many squares the side occupies? Other things such as ammo factories (which could allow reloads if in non-cut-off friendly territory) or mech factories (which could also affect respawn times) could also exist. Perhaps make it so light and medium mechs cannot capture individual squares, but can capture ammo/mech factories? Could also give ammo/mech factories hit points and allow them to take damage or be destroyed (to which they would automatically repair over time). Soon with Community Warfare again.

6) A dynamic mega map system would be great in my opinion. Something similar to World War II Online where all the maps are linked as one. They don't necessarily need to be able to move from northern snows to southern deserts, for example, but it would be neat if the maps were intertwined and battles raging between them led to global conquest objectives. I guess the moon map is a bit unrealistic to link in with the others, but this isn't a realistic game to begin with. Again with Community Warfare. BTW, the moon map actually is a planet with a communications system (Hyper Pulse Generator).

7) Lower prices for premium content. I enjoy the game, but not enough to where I will pay the prices required for special mechs, mech furnishings, or other things that cost cash. For all premium bought stuff, they really are just pay to lessen the grind or pay to get things faster. Heroes only offer more options, like the Boar's Head being more dependent on energy, the Oxide for missile boating on a light, etc, plus they get extra 30% for C-bills. They are often on sale. Champions are only if you really love a chassis variant. They only give a 10% XP bonus. Premium time is once again to pay for less grind. Mechbays are good for keeping more mechs, but there's many ways around that, like creating additional accounts and selling mechs. And stuff like the previous Project Phoenix pack and the Clan pack now is just paying for getting things faster.

8) Disable mech marking. One thing I don't care for in games like this is map marking. I realize that as futuristic robots, it is likely that mechs would have some form of tracking feature. But I think the game would be more fun if enemy mechs were found based on visual sight and team communication only, rather than a mini-map. Um, play in 3pv? Maybe stuff like this (objective based gameplay in Community Warfare maybe?) may show up, but I have doubts.

9) As a kid of the 90s, I owned many Battletechs as a kid. I remember Banshee and think it would be neat if aircraft were added to the game. Balancing would be a big issue here and the amount of aircraft allowable would have to be limited. Anti-aircraft speciality mechs could also be added. Maybe if UAV's or Artillery or Air strikes could show on the map, but otherwise no, not yet. Maybe later with AI potentially.

10) Mines. Just how airstrikes are called in, I would like the ability to place anti-mech mines. Mines can be annoying and I wouldn't make one mine destroy one leg, but legs are surprisingly rarely destroyed in this game and if Mines took say 50% of a leg, then that may leg to more leg loss. May also prevent mech rushes. Especially if mines are visible to the naked eye (and can be marked for teammates if a player chooses to do so), but difficult to see for someone cruising along. Agreed, these maybe if balanced should also have this consumable. But that whole process will change soon.

11) Suicide charges. If your mech is getting low on health, have a suicide charge option (that isn't superly cheap to equip). Allow the suicide to create a fair amount of damage over a large spread, but require say 30 seconds to activate. There's no knockdown, collisions, destructive terrain, splash damage, etc, so maybe when that comes we can have ctrl + z once again to eject.

12) Dynamic weather and gravity conditions. Some maps have normal and snow versions, but I think all maps should go through seasons. It would be neat if warm weather maps occasionally have thunderstorms with lightning that can strike and damage mechs (mechs on hills would be most prone, as well as larger mechs). I would also like to see gravity conditions and temperatures fluctuate on maps each time you play. Perhaps an in game cycle that varies the maps from day and night based on say a five hour cycle (five hours in real life equals 24 hours in game time). I agree. Likely coming soon as well.

13) The game really lacks on game modes. Free for all skirmishes, capture the flag (though difficult with light and medium mechs running around), and base destruction (one side attacks, one side defends) would all be good modes to add that also shouldn't be too difficult. Yup, Community Warfare.


I think I covered everything now. Yeah, I agree, development is slow but at least now it's more trackable via the planning page.

#5 Glenfiddich15Yr

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Posted 27 December 2013 - 07:49 PM

I don't have time for a long response at the moment, however, I checked over that community warfare tracker and that sounds pretty good. I am surprised that they are actually working on implementing fronts. I don't suspect they will be as complex as I would like, but maybe I will be wrong. I also appreciate the percentages of development, but wonder how quickly they increase. The lack of new gamemodes is disappointing. Skirmish has already been released and it says nothing about free for all skirmish matches. Still, these features, if they see the light of day, will give a lot more replay value to this game for sure. Thanks for the response!

#6 luxebo

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Posted 27 December 2013 - 11:14 PM

No problem. ;) They did say that we'll get 1v1 and sooner Solaris (free for all). Command post, public test server, and announcements all sometimes have new info.

#7 Glenfiddich15Yr

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Posted 28 December 2013 - 08:51 PM

View Postluxebo, on 27 December 2013 - 11:14 PM, said:

No problem. ;) They did say that we'll get 1v1 and sooner Solaris (free for all). Command post, public test server, and announcements all sometimes have new info.


1v1 would be very boring for me. Especially if having a light mech againt an assault mech. Especially if the operator of the light mech is a griefer.

In that tracking system, how often do they seem to update for you? Are the percentages linear to where they gradually increase a percent at a time or do they jump up in chunks based on when something is finished (similar to when installing a game). How often do they seem to update in your experience?

#8 luxebo

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Posted 28 December 2013 - 10:57 PM

Oh, no just in private matches, so maybe you and a friend can jump in and target practice or the like. Or just brawl for extra C-bills. Not in Pugs, that would be terrible. But they are coming with deathmatch, just much later.

The tracking system is likely updated maybe each patch or something (2 weeks maybe each time?). It's only been out for a very short time, and I think I've seen it move 1% (likely Skirmish being finished or something.) Each patch is around 2 weeks, meaning we may see one New Year's Eve actually (usually on Tuesdays, plus Fridays being sales and stuff). However, it's New Year's Eve, so we may get one delay.

I'm surprised to be the only one to respond, don't know why else anyone isn't responding. Others may know more.

#9 Glenfiddich15Yr

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Posted 29 December 2013 - 01:11 PM

If patches occur every two weeks or so, then that's pretty good. Most games have much further gaps between patches. I am surprised only you have responded as well. Too much reading, I suppose.

#10 luxebo

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Posted 29 December 2013 - 04:12 PM

Yeah, hopefully somebody else responds. I'm not too experienced myself, barely got in just before the technical launch (This August).





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