400 replies to this topic

[Threat Doc]

wanderer, on 20 May 2014 - 03:09 PM, said:

Actually, normal Battletech lore doesn't call for anything of the sort. Lances tend to be more organized along being able to keep up with each other than anything resembling arbitrary L/M/H/A. Otherwise, you're restricted to the mobility of your slowest lancemate. Recon lances don't field Awesomes. but parking a mix of 20-55 tonners in it is not only likely but common.

Okay, let's square this away, right now... there are all manner of Lance types and configurations to be had. In 1982 and 1984-5, the original rulebooks concerned running Lance's that had one of each type in it, as did some of the early novels. Novels began to switch over almost immediately, and so went the sourcebooks and any lore in the rulebooks, to where specific Lance types really were not set. You're going to find pursuit Lance's, scout Lance's, assault Lance's, siege and support Lance's, etc. I actually prefer these latter types of Lance's, but there is precedent to run 1/1/1/1 Lance's.

Lance types were, in later supplements, also listed as being between three and six 'Mechs, and varying types of element sizes could be designated as Company's, Battalion's, and Regiment's, etc. For example, Regimental Combat Teams during the latter part of the FedCom Civil War consist of a Battalion of 'Mechs, a Battalion of Combat Tanks and Battle Armor, and a Battalion of Transport and Support elements and PBIs of all types, Helicopters, Atmospheric and Aero Fighters, Intel, and all manner of support elements. They are built to run individually, to operate for combat-long periods autonomously, and to strike quickly and where needed, in accordance with their RCT roles.

So, rather than doing a bunch of d-waving, let's just agree that there are all manner of configurations to be had for Lance's, but they did begin with the idea of 1/1/1/1. Fair enough?

[ShoeButton]

Yes I report that so far this patch has been NEGATIVE for me.
My norm is 1-2 minutes wait time max.

Tried to Drop in for 30+ minutes.
Ten minutes at a time I would wait, then I'd back out and the launch button would tell me to take a Light or an Assult then back to Light... So I would try to take which ever Class Mech it indicated... with the same result, TEN MINUTES of nothing...
then I just backed out and watched the Join Button FLIP between classes in seconds...

VERY DODGEY FOLKS!

Was running Premium Time...

I think you are trying to Split The Hair TOO FINE!!!
Put it back so that it works again and Get Out Of The WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank You,
-ShoeButton.

[Claviger]

NeImporte, on 20 May 2014 - 04:21 PM, said:

As it is - I have a suggestion for all unsatisfied FOUNDERS out there: Let's all subscribe for $0.01 per month to PGI.

How would I go about this? I would love to make them pay more than they get as a means of protesting, especially since I gave them TWO very healthy sums of money and a ******* fubar game in return.

[IceCase88]

Wouldn't a more sensible matchmaker be tonnage limits instead of the goofy 3/3/3/3. Why not take the average weight of each weight class multiply by 3 and then add them together? For example:

Lights

20+25+30+35 = 110 divided by 4 = 27.5 round up makes 28 tons

Mediums

40+45+50+55 = 190 divided by 4 = 47.5 round up makes 48 tons

Heavy

60+65+70+75 = 270 divided by 4 = 67.5 round up makes 68 tons

Assault

80+85+90+95+100 = 450 divided by 5 = 90 tons

Take the averages and multiply by 3 (using the 3/3/3/3)

Lights: 28 times 3 =84 tons, Mediums: 48 times 3 = 144 tons, Heavies: 68 times 3 = 204, Assaults: 90 times 3 = 270

Add the totals up: 84+144+204+270 = 702 tons as the tonnage limit.

With 12 players that is an average of 58.5 tons per player. Seems pretty reasonable. Seems pretty simple and probably quite a bit faster than running through the player pool trying to fit 3 of each weight class per team. Especially given the fact most players are running heavies and assaults.

Edited by IceCase88, 20 May 2014 - 04:57 PM.

[InspectorG]

cSand, on 20 May 2014 - 04:05 PM, said:

Ghostbusters 2!!!

Is Viggo! Your complaints are like the buzzing of flies to him!

[Mister Blastman]

What happened with the patch today?! Sheesh! So much is broken!

Matchmaker--check.
ALL Missiles--check. (250% damage nerf to ALL vanilla SRMs for starters...)
New Hero Mech nerfed out of the gate--check.

Well, at least we can listen to music.

[Grits N Gravy]

RampancyTW, on 20 May 2014 - 04:13 PM, said:

People ragging on 3/3/3/3, that isn't the problem. Even if 3/3/3/3 did make it substantially harder to put together a game (which it shouldn't because the game displays what mech percentages are being used), the MAXIMUM wait time anybody should face would be 15 minutes, which is the maximum duration of a match. So one group of players should be swapping out, another swapping in, as it were.

Since this isn't the case, there's most likely a problem with the matchmaker sorting/recognizing players in the queue. If you're going 20 minutes without a match (which I am often doing), the matchmaker is getting hung up somewhere it shouldn't. 3/3/3/3 should only marginally increase wait times, assuming the mech class % is properly displayed, which is probably another can of worms.

Not true even under ideal conditions, wait times will be on the order of 20 minutes. Wait times are a function of queue size and composition.

For example 10,000 players/hour ... 3000 assaults, 2500 heavy, 2500 medium, 2000 lights.

This results in 2000/3 = 667 matches/hour or one match every 5.4s assuming the lights enter at a constant rate ... the assault queue would have 1000 people waiting for a game at the end of the hour ... the medium and heavies 500.

Someone joining the assault queue at the end of the first hour would have 1000 assaults queued in front of them. This would require 333 matches to be formed before they get a turn. At one match being formed every 5.4 seconds due to the light mech limitation this would require a wait of about half an hour while the medium and heavy queues would each wait about 15 minutes ... AND the queues will ONLY get longer as long as there is a discrepancy in the mechs chosen by the players to play in.

[OznerpaG]

IceCase88, on 20 May 2014 - 04:55 PM, said:

Wouldn't a more sensible matchmaker be tonnage limits instead of the goofy 3/3/3/3. Why not take the average weight of each weight class multiply by 3 and then add them together? For example:

Lights

20+25+30+35 = 110 divided by 4 = 27.5 round up makes 28 tons

Mediums

40+45+50+55 = 190 divided by 4 = 47.5 round up makes 48 tons

Heavy

60+65+70+75 = 270 divided by 4 = 67.5 round up makes 68 tons

Assault

80+85+90+95+100 = 450 divided by 5 = 90 tons

Take the averages and multiply by 3 (using the 3/3/3/3)

Lights: 28 times 3 =84 tons, Mediums: 48 times 3 = 144 tons, Heavies: 68 times 3 = 204, Assaults: 90 times 3 = 270

Add the totals up: 84+144+204+270 = 702 tons as the tonnage limit.

With 12 players that is an average of 58.5 tons per player. Seems pretty reasonable. Seems pretty simple and probably quite a bit faster than running through the player pool trying to fit 3 of each weight class per team. Especially given the fact most players are running heavies and assaults.

math rocks! you should throw that up in Feature Suggestions for fun - good concept

could also have a game mode allowing unequal sides, as long as both sides = 702 tons

[Claviger]

Math does rock, but this idea does not.

ANY mechanic that limits what can be brought to a match is failure. Period. Balance average weight on each team of 12 solo quers drop in match go.

******* simple but people are stupid.

[Worms4u]

The wait times for matches since this patch went live are way too long. Back the patch out, or fix them.

[_Comrade_]

I am waiting as much as five minutes between matches! This patch is horrible. Patches are suppose to fix games not make them worse

Edited by Grimwill, 20 May 2014 - 05:57 PM.

[_Comrade_]

I guess i'll go play elder scrolls while i wait 14 mins for my MWO match to start

[Jeffrey Wilder]

Grimwill, on 20 May 2014 - 05:56 PM, said:

I am waiting as much as five minutes between matches! This patch is horrible. Patches are suppose to fix games not make them worse

5 minutes is pretty long but NOTHING compared to high elo players that are dropping pug.

[Quintus Verus]

Wait times getting worse. Averaging 9-10 minutes wait times, up from 4-5. On a general night, with all selected I have never waited more than 2 minutes.

[Malleus011]

Quit trying after an hour with no matches.

[CykloneJack]

did they bust down and nerf damage too?!? wtf?

[Kivatu]

time to drop was ++15mins... when finally in a match ... all players had the same problem .

[Jolly Llama]

Nikolai Lubkiewicz, on 20 May 2014 - 09:06 AM, said:

Greetings MechWarriors,

O Fortuna! Every battle is a chance to win or face demise.

Lady Luck is watching over us and we are warming the dice today with a new Firestarter Champion: Scorching through the battlefield with five medium lasers, shredding past enemy fire with twin-AMS, jump-jet and a swift 295 XL engine. Upping the ante at over 100 kph and named for the largest trebuchet of medieval Earth; The Loup de Guerre will do more than level a stone wall: It will leap over them with its Jump-Jets and stack the cards against defenders with its SSRMs, SRMs, Medium Pulse Lasers, BAP and AMS. Destiny is truly with Trebuchet owners, who will also get to enjoy our first art revision of icons and visual weapon customization on these Mechs.

The original 'War Wolf' may have surprised enemies into surrender, but such good fortune might not happen again today. With fate in mind, we also have five new hanging charms to decorate your cockpit. Unverified claims suggest they originate from mystical wildlife of five worlds far off in the periphery and provide magical benefits to their wearers. While no pixels were harmed in the creation of these accessories, such baubles may still seem exotic to those who take more inspiration from their roots. Many MechWarriors trace their lineage back to that place called Earth, and we have something for those who really feel proud of the place they call home: Thirty-five standing flags representing some of the top homes of our fans, with more to come down the line.

Serendipity moves us from International to Interface. The UI 2.X system has had several auspicious tweaks. Aside from a series of bug fixes, we have the addition of notes on Owned Mechs and the removal of the Shopping Cart Window until changes are made in the Mechlab. We're also taking some of the chance out of matchmaking wait-times with the introduction of a visual Launch indicator for the best weight class to pick.

With another stroke of luck, we have successfully enabled 3/3/3/3 with this patch. We will continue to monitor it as needed, but we are very hopeful for this iteration.

Whether you are a new recruit or simply looking to fill in your collection, we are fortunate to offer sale bundles highlighting each weight class with the Firestarter, Centurion, Cataphract and Stalker: 3 variants each, including a champion AND hero, their 'Mech Bays, 30 days of Premium Time, and more each for 50% off the normal price.

In the weeks to come, we hope to further your luck with ongoing work in improving matchmaking, gameplay, performance, information on Clans and more. In the meantime, please see the patch notes for more details on these packages and other changes.

May the stars smile on you,
Nikolai Lubkiewicz

The newest patch is live? That unfortunate.

[Thango]

server down?

[xWiredx]

Server indeed down.