137 replies to this topic

[Joseph Mallan]

Though not a bad argument at all Lostdragon, it does ring with "Cause its how its been done". Not that I am not guilty of that as well at times.

[Gyrok]

Dozier, on 29 April 2014 - 02:05 PM, said:

I have to say I / we that have played the private match think it is really on point. Really like how it was done not gonna lie.

HOWEVER.... It is really BS to no give cbill rewards in there. Especially since I personally have to carry premium time to setup the desired matches. I totally understand the reasoning that maybe people would go there to farm. But at the moment with group limits in public, and no ability to choose mode I really don't see me in public matches to often.

May I suggest maybe just a flat 80k to the looser, and maybe 120k to the winner? I use consumables just about every match and that seems only fair to offset those cost. Nevermind the fact that the newer guys in our group that are trying to buy mechs or upgrades will benefit NONE by getting to play together just because the rest of the solo world don't want us there.

I think there should be rewards, but if anything is done about consumables for private matches, they should cost you 3 times more than normal...then you could have the 100k cbills reward.

Honestly, that is such a great idea, this evening I am going to start a feature suggestion thread.

[Lostdragon]

Blackscreen, on 30 April 2014 - 06:18 AM, said:

Let's not make this exclusively a complaint about artillery and air strikes, I see UAVs deployed frequently as well, and they cost just as much as strikes, and I haven't seen many threads in the forums asking PGI to nerf OP UAVs.

I think ALL the consumables are probably too good compared to other modules. That includes the damage dealers as well as UAV and coolshots. When you add in the available enhancements they become quite powerful.

[CeeKay Boques]

Joseph Mallan, on 30 April 2014 - 06:09 AM, said:

If that's the game they want to play, Why force them to stay?

They can totally do that! I could make a little server at my own house, Lan it up, and we could shoot each other all day. If I want money, however I need to play with everyone else.

If there were private rewards, I guess I could just have 190 days of an always on server, shoot my friends up, make millions, sculpt my sons finances however we want. Then my sons could use their 100 days... I could have a full year of just making money however we want, planting mechs in front of each other, getting sweet stats (or if stats are off) just raking in cbills at our own set pace.

I guess that's a good idea, if no one cares about CW, the economy, or any of the MMO parts of this game. Its hard to when you can't see them. I'm still holding out hope though. People would like to use this as an alternative to CW, and that's bad for CW. Its hard not to root for the alternative, I get that.

[Prezimonto]

Technoviking, on 30 April 2014 - 05:58 AM, said:

I just don't see the need for cash in Private matches.

You are supposed to play with the general population so that they have people to play with.

If you want to do a special server for some friends, practice etc... sure... but what do you need Cbills for? Because you feel like you're wasting your time in Private matches?

You are. You're doing your own thing, outside the "main game", of playing with everyone else. It can be fun, educational, and you can make your leagues out it in the long run. But the incentive is to play with everyone else, decreasing queue times for everyone and giving diversity to the player population. No reason for Cbills/XP in your practice/scrimmage, that's only for the real game.

And if the "main game" was still fun, I might agree with you. Private matches are great ways to train new players, to set up leagues, to play with more than 4 friends, and to host leagues/interesting rules set matches. Why shouldn't they earn in game cash?

I understand there are some worries to deal with, like farming, but "no rewards" is the laziest solution.

[TygerLily]

Flying Blind, on 29 April 2014 - 02:15 PM, said:

What if we further incentivize it by letting those members of a team with premium time ticking get the smallish flat rate reward while those w/o premium active who got invited in get nothing?

Eh...at some point, after prolonged play, the non-Premium members would run out of c-bill and the Premium members would then be the only one's that could buy artillery, air, uavs, coolshots, etc. It's seems like an unintentional pay to win situation would arise...

[Prezimonto]

Technoviking, on 30 April 2014 - 06:21 AM, said:

They can totally do that! I could make a little server at my own house, Lan it up, and we could shoot each other all day. If I want money, however I need to play with everyone else.

If there were private rewards, I guess I could just have 190 days of an always on server, shoot my friends up, make millions, sculpt my sons finances however we want. Then my sons could use their 100 days... I could have a full year of just making money however we want, planting mechs in front of each other, getting sweet stats (or if stats are off) just raking in cbills at our own set pace.

I guess that's a good idea, if no one cares about CW, the economy, or any of the MMO parts of this game. Its hard to when you can't see them. I'm still holding out hope though. People would like to use this as an alternative to CW, and that's bad for CW. Its hard not to root for the alternative, I get that.

Except we don't have CW, and previous experience suggests to me that CW is going to suck anyway. Nothing added to this game since close beta has been leap and bound forward in terms of fun... some balance, some tweaks, some things that cause problems and are near universally hated. But nothing that so changes the way we play or how we think about playing, in a good way that I'm honestly still looking forward to PGI's implementation of CW.

Also if my standards a low, I MIGHT be pleasantly surprised.

[Lostdragon]

Joseph Mallan, on 30 April 2014 - 06:18 AM, said:

Though not a bad argument at all Lostdragon, it does ring with "Cause its how its been done". Not that I am not guilty of that as well at times.

Don't disagree with you, and I am not saying it is the best system. My main point really is that if consumables weren't so much better than other modules then it would not be quite so bad, but as it stands now the damage dealing consumables are much better than any other module most of the time. Maybe not for LRM boats, but just about any other mech should have a damage dealing consumable if you are serious about trying to win.

Edited by Lostdragon, 30 April 2014 - 06:26 AM.

[Kyynele]

Androas, on 29 April 2014 - 02:16 PM, said:

but, might i suggest, instead of flat payouts, which you really could abuse by doing 1vs1s all the time,
scale them to the player number:

Winner gets flat 10K for each enemy mech in the game (adding to the 120K you suggested)
Loser gets 5K per enemy mech in the game, summing up to 60K, which covers at least one consumable.

While initially this doesn't sound bad at all (I truly wish we could have that), it's so easy to exploit that it's easy to understand why it won't happen.

Let's say Player X needs C-Bills. He invites 6 friends online, all they have to do is press READY - 1 vs 6 private match. Player X runs around and shoots everyone in the head, easy 60K in a minute. Repeat for an hour and he's got 4 million while his 6 friends browse internet and keep pressing READY every now and then.

If one has more friends available, one makes money faster. If one multiboxes (not sure how feasible), one doesn't even need friends to make that free money.

It's a free to play game, you can make infinite alt accos so you don't even have to risk your precious stats while being farmed by someone.

If there is a way to farm ingame currency, there are people who will do so. Just like if there'd be a possibility to draw a picture on your mechs, we'd see a penis in every match.

[CygnusX7]

Problem seems to be that the game is half finished.

[Joseph Mallan]

Technoviking, on 30 April 2014 - 06:21 AM, said:

They can totally do that! I could make a little server at my own house, Lan it up, and we could shoot each other all day. If I want money, however I need to play with everyone else.

If there were private rewards, I guess I could just have 190 days of an always on server, shoot my friends up, make millions, sculpt my sons finances however we want. Then my sons could use their 100 days... I could have a full year of just making money however we want, planting mechs in front of each other, getting sweet stats (or if stats are off) just raking in cbills at our own set pace.

I guess that's a good idea, if no one cares about CW, the economy, or any of the MMO parts of this game. Its hard to when you can't see them. I'm still holding out hope though. People would like to use this as an alternative to CW, and that's bad for CW. Its hard not to root for the alternative, I get that.

For those that want to play that way I have no problem. Let them stay out of CW and let folks like you and me duke it out over control of the universe at large.

[Blackscreen]

So the question here really is, would those of you who don't want Cbills to be rewarded in private matches be opposed to free consumables in private matches?

I can't see any way this hurts anyone's gameplay experience. If there aren't going to be any rewards given in these matches, then in turn there should be no additional expense, either.

[Joseph Mallan]

CygnusX7, on 30 April 2014 - 06:31 AM, said:

Problem seems to be that the game is LESS THAN half finished.

There... I had to add something.

Edited by Joseph Mallan, 30 April 2014 - 06:48 AM.

[Lostdragon]

Blackscreen, on 30 April 2014 - 06:46 AM, said:

So the question here really is, would those of you who don't want Cbills to be rewarded in private matches be opposed to free consumables in private matches?

I can't see any way this hurts anyone's gameplay experience. If there aren't going to be any rewards given in these matches, then in turn there should be no additional expense, either.

That would be a fair way to do it, but again, I don't see it happening because PGI wants you to have to play public matches. When you participate in public matches you are in essence "content" for the game. If there is no need to play public matches then there are players who will either never or rarely do so (and I don't blame them, I played 11 matches last night in the pug queue before I got a win), which increases wait times and the difficulty of making good public matches.

Edited by Lostdragon, 30 April 2014 - 06:59 AM.

[ApolloKaras]

Lostdragon, on 30 April 2014 - 06:52 AM, said:

That would be a fair way to do it, but again, I don't see it happening because PGI wants you to have to play public matches. When you participate in public matches you are in essence "content" for the game. If there is no need tobllay public matches then there are players who will either never or rarely do so (and I don't blame them, I played 11 matches last night in the pug queue before I got a win), which increases wait times and the difficulty of making good public matches.

I'm with Dragon on this one. The free consumables would be the way to go... Like Dragon said I don't believe PGI would do it.

[EvilCow]

The problem here is not that private matches could become farms, it is the public queues that will become farms.

All those interested in private matches will approach the public queue as a unwanted job to perform as quickly and efficiently as possible, screw fun.

[Joseph Mallan]

Its not that PGI wants us to play in public matches they want us to spend money. So give a way to monetize Private matches more and PGI will me more open to allow C-bills for Private matches.

[Blackscreen]

Lostdragon, on 30 April 2014 - 06:52 AM, said:

That would be a fair way to do it, but again, I don't see it hapoening because PGI wants you to have to play public matches. When you participate in public matches you are in essence "content" for the game. If there is no need tobllay public matches then there are players who will either never or rarely do so (and I don't blame them, I played 11 matches last night in the pug queue before I got a win), which increases wait times and the difficulty of making good public matches.

You'd still need to play public matches to level up new mechs (I assume PGI will continue their supply of these), and get cbills to upgrade and arm them (unless you're buying MC to do that, which I'm sure PGI would be happy with anyway).

I can guarantee you the increased wait times people experience from here on out will be more often due to players' desire to run anything but a medium mech as opposed to not having enough people available for a game.

[Lostdragon]

Joseph Mallan, on 30 April 2014 - 06:58 AM, said:

Its not that PGI wants us to play in public matches they want us to spend money. So give a way to monetize Private matches more and PGI will me more open to allow C-bills for Private matches.

I think you are wrong on this one, Joseph. PGI definitely wants to monetize private matches, however having a vibrant and active public queue is vital to the long term success of the game since they have chosen a F2P business model. They need that queue up and active and fun in order to attract new players and get them to spend money. If a new player tries to join a public match and fails to find one over and over they will just quit without spending a dime.

[Joseph Mallan]

I was being to cynical, you're right!