Thanks for fighting the good fight Chi Tatsu. I'm going to add a bit to it if you don't mind.
The zone had it easy since it was the single access point for multiplayer during the MW3/4 days. MWO Lobby doesn't have that luxury but I've built the lobby to meet and exceed its predecessor as much as possible in an attempt to retain users. Unfortunately rebuilding the zone and embedding a real-time league into it hasn't been enough to spark interest and I don't think my lack of effort is entirely to blame.
The built-in ladder league was a dream of mine when I was a kid playing on the zone. It's something I had always wanted out of the zone and I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. Had a league like that been around for MW3 and MW4 it would have ridiculously popular. I can say with near certainty that I'd have people knocking down the lobby doors if everyone playing MWO had experienced league play on the zone during the MW3/4 eras and knew that MWO Lobby and its ladder league existed.
Maybe the times have changed; it's possible the user base here doesn't have the fire for third party leagues as it did when I was a kid. Maybe it's easier to have endless matches against faceless opponents that you may or may not ever communicate with again than it is to organize a unit and play in the private lobbies. Perhaps only competing in PGI sponsored events is the only form of community warfare MWO players need. If this is the case then this isn't the 'Mechwarrior' I knew growing up and if you're a MWO player happy with the status quo then you are seriously missing out on the old school 'Mechwarrior' experience.
The older titles made Mechwarrior a community game where everyone knew everyone else, for better or for worse. There were good guys, bad guys and everyone in-between. You knew each unit, each player, the mechs they liked to use, their lag spacing, their defensive maneuvers and even what they ate for dinner that night (lol). MWO just does not have that type of community and it baffles me that the developers wouldn't try to recreate that type of environment again when they already have more than half of the equation in place.
Easing the access restrictions on private lobbies would be a good first step to opening the flood gates. Access to the private lobbies should not be so punishing. I fully understand the need to monetize where you can but the private lobby restrictions need to be reduced so third party community warfare options can flourish. It would make more sense to lure people in and then find a way to monetize once you get people hooked on the private lobbies. It just doesn't make sense to make such a high barrier to entry and expect to cover the costs of development to make private lobbies worth the effort. As of today, people are not dropping MC on Premium time for my league and I doubt they're doing so for any others out there either.
We're not trying to steal your thunder PGI, we're only trying to help you create an honest to goodness 'Mechwarrior' Community; the kind that lasts decades, not years. Please assist me and the other MWO leagues in the effort to create the community that this game needs by making the private lobbies more accessible to all users. Give us that much and I believe there's enough talent around here for us to do the rest.
I'm going to stop here because this post is already getting a little too long winded for my liking. I will most likely be elaborating these points further in a General Discussion post because I feel this part of the community need some love right now and the 'Community Hyperpulse Generator' just isn't the best place to shine a light onto this issue.
Edited by Tenbatsu, 11 July 2014 - 08:14 PM.