12 replies to this topic

[Ronious]

Reading the latest patch notes the general consensus to the AC nerf is, "Huh,....Why,....?. It seems not matter what PGI does in terms of balancing there seems to be an uproar. The way it stands now when something is adjusted I think to myself, "This must be one of those changes that the silent majority wanted and apparently, looking at the forums, the vocal minority detests. I can be all but sure someone will start a post lobbying to get the most recent changes reverted.

I would suggest that PGI use the forums to poll the players for their opinions on proposed balancing before making changes. I think an open dialog on balancing will help PGI's vision of the game and the player's expectations to intersect. It would also soften the blow, when changes are implemented. Even if a one doesn't agree with a particular tweak, he or she has had an opportunity to post an alternative way of doing it. It does not have to be democratic, just because 95% of the population wants the PPC to shoot dirty diapers that stick to the cockpit window of your mech doesn't mean it should be done. There are a lot of thoughtful people playing this game. There is no reason why PGI should not be tapping into the collective brainstorm.

Edited by Ronious, 07 January 2014 - 01:49 PM.

[StaIker]

The great majority of players do not have the skill or insight to judge the balance of weapons, as any open poll will reveal by the scatter of answers you always get. The top few percent of players probably do, so their advice is generally useful but the rest... not so much.

[Ronious]

I agree that every idea would not be a winner. It's about sifting through the ideas to get to the best one.

[Sandpit]

Ronious, on 08 January 2014 - 01:53 AM, said:

I agree that every idea would not be a winner. It's about sifting through the ideas to get to the best one.

This is exactly the method that's used right now on these forums. Seriously, that's exactly what the mods do. They collect feedback and funnel it back to the devs.

[Estonniel]

If you want this game to be ruined like Warcraft was when people started to mess and whine about gamebalance. pulling the gearbox of buffs and nerfs. go play a other game. becouse then the never ending complains would keep rolling in none stop.

in a way i feel the AC 20 / 10 / 5 / 2 should all undergo the idea of Optimal range Slug curve minimal to almost none but since the dmg / range is so great on those guns. the curve should go up making max range just crazy hard to do with em. in a way the AC 20 feels like this right now. still a great gun up close. but outside of the 270. falls like a stone overtime. however projectile speed seems to effect this atm in the game. the slower the speed the faster it curves.

[mad kat]

PGI = Simon says......



......Or bob hope and no hope and i'm fed up of eating humble pie.

[Joseph Mallan]

I could bet some of us have more time invested in this Game than some of the DEVs. I have been in it since 1986 both on TT an on Computers.

[Sandpit]

Joseph Mallan, on 08 January 2014 - 05:22 AM, said:

I could bet some of us have more time invested in this Game than some of the DEVs. I have been in it since 1986 both on TT an on Computers.

true but Joe you know as well as I do that rules by committee (especially what would be THIS committee) could just or would just be a train wreck for the most part.

Increased interaction and communication from the devs would do a lot though.

Plus it would give customers an idea as to whether they want to invest money (HINT HINT PGI) into things like clan packs by letting me know if it will be worth the investment.

I enjoy the game, nerfs, buffs, balancing tweaks, etc. I'll continue playing, I'm more concerned with content.

[Firewuff]

Joseph Mallan, on 08 January 2014 - 05:22 AM, said:

I could bet some of us have more time invested in this Game than some of the DEVs. I have been in it since 1986 both on TT an on Computers.

no you have time invested in Battletech not this game, anyone who thinks they know more than thedevs or works harder or whatever can step off right now. I've been playing various BT games since the late 80's or early 90's but I would never presume to know more than the devs on how to write this game. I'm enjoying the fresh take on a lot of things, its great. People forget that it was possible to do some stupid things in the old games (12 small pulse laser nova for example) and the game balance here is better than pretty much any others i've played. its evolving over time but will get there.

As for "asking the community" its proven to be immature and childish for the most part. I am so tired of whinge posts and "PGI you tried it your way now do it my way" posts I want to throwup some times. The level of entitlement and disrespect displayed by some forum member towards PGI is incredable. I'd say it was a bunch of teenage kids but I know a lot of it is coming from people my age.

PGI does get feedback and does read the forums. They use game stats for the entire population to see weapon perfomance and keep a close eye on the meta's. There have been some miss steps but that is inevitable. I think for the most part they have done a great job and will continue to do so. I am waiting for all the rage quits over clan tech, everyone wants their instaKill button and its not going to happen.... too bad, I like a game which is a challenge not a curb stomp every match

[StaIker]

Sandpit, on 08 January 2014 - 02:00 AM, said:

This is exactly the method that's used right now on these forums. Seriously, that's exactly what the mods do. They collect feedback and funnel it back to the devs.

What ever makes you think that either the Mods or the Devs have the insight to determine what is best for this game?

[VariousPickles]

Its kind of a tricky situation: Battletech/MechWarrior may have 20+ years of balancing and refinement, but it's rules don't necessarily translate well to a realtime FPS game.

On the other hand, convoluted, poorly documented systems, that lack a basis in anything but a few engineer(s)' spur-of-the-moment (read: ghost heat) are far worse.

I honestly don't have a good suggestion/idea of how to achieve a high degree of game balance aside from constant refinement.

[StaIker]

The crux of the issue is that the team at PGI just don't understand MechWarrior. They walked into an established universe and a culture that grew into it with no understanding of who we were and what we expected. They thought that MechWarrior was just an IP and they could insert anything into that IP that they wanted, so they imported a bunch of knock-off ideas out of other games that had proved popular elsewhere. And on the whole, those ideas don't work in the MechWarrior universe. But they don't realise that and they don't have the knowledge to understand why that is so. The many mistakes they have made so far are a direct result of that lack of understanding and there are no magic words that are suddenly going to change that situation. Big mistakes will continue to occur and will continue for the life of the game unless the people who make the decisions are replaced with people who understand the MechWarrior culture.

[Sandpit]

StaIker, on 08 January 2014 - 10:26 PM, said:

What ever makes you think that either the Mods or the Devs have the insight to determine what is best for this game?

...........

Not sure if troll or just dense.........