478 replies to this topic

[TLBFestus]

There have been Politicians in my family in the past, so I have a good ear for Bullock.

[Pyrrho]

Okay, I am just not fast enough at F5 + CTRL+C + CTRL-V

Edited by Pyrrho, 22 May 2014 - 03:23 PM.

[Davers]

Ronyn, on 22 May 2014 - 03:19 PM, said:

First Question:

Can you say anything about plans for SRMs and brawling weapons in general, both in terms of hitreg fixes and overall weapon balance tweaks? I know that there is at least one more SRM hitreg fix coming (can you tell us when that might be released?), but many feel that without further changes brawling will still, as a whole, remain underpowered relative to sniping. If there are any plans for further brawling weapon buffs, could you give us some hints as to what they might be? If there are not, could you share any of the reasoning as to why the devs feel that the current balance is preferable?


Answer:

This was a good and even expected first question, there will likely be others about weapon balance in general. So let me first start off by saying that MWO may very well be one of the hardest games in the world to balance. If you consider the Mechlab and then each of the different weapon types includes weight classes, its been tough. But as it pertains to SRM and hit detection. Just yesterday I was able to retask Neema our top hit detection expert onto the SRM's and hit detection in general. He started out exploring what has been called the Brian Buckton ( he found it ) discovery. Neema has started there and I did mention to him that he should "settle in". The thought here is to not limit the exploration to this one area of SRM code but to undertake a full audit of SRM and Hit detection in general. In fact we are already talking internally about having a Public test sometime quite soon to try some test criteria we are thinking of. The goal here is for me to allow Neema to spend another significant amount of time in the Hit registration code in general and try to not only greatly increase SRM hit detection but see if we can't make a noticable improvement overall. I dont have any ETA's or promises yet but I want this to signify that we are actively interested in making improvements to SRM's hit detection and brawling gameplay as you mention.

Of course this doesn't matter as Paul already stated when SRMs are properly registering it will be time to reduce their damage.

[Phlinger]

Just copy/pasting the question/answers from Reddit, none of these words are mine in the last two posts...

[Dracol]

I found watching Russ's Reddit page the easiest. http://www.reddit.co...er/Russ_Bullock Trying to wade through all the questions was just a hassle.

[TLBFestus]

Dracol, on 22 May 2014 - 03:24 PM, said:

I found watching Russ's Reddit page the easiest. http://www.reddit.co...er/Russ_Bullock Trying to wade through all the questions was just a hassle.

Thank you, that makes it much easier.

[Phlinger]

3rd Question:
What mistakes has PGI made in the past (in regards to development, communication, or anything else), what will PGI do to amend those mistakes, and what will PGI do to avoid those mistakes in the future?

Answer:

Well first - At this point were all feeling much better about our progress with the game and how our committments to the community are lining up. Now that we are into 2014 with many of the major roadblock features released we are seeing much quicker and more accurate feature releases. In the past the main mistake was made in not fully understanding just how much backlog was created in getting the initial closed beta and Open beta products into the players hands. Once we were in Open Beta it became clear that in order to deliver the features that players wanted there was an enormous amount of backlog that needed to be taken care of, and the continued pressure from many different communities within MWO on what was important to them. As to MWO I hope and we feel that at this point in 2014 although we still have features in our backlog we want to see developed that are important they are no longer completely dictating or hampering our ability to move forward with core features. As to the future I think with clear communication and expectations the community and PGI should never again see the kind of disconnect we saw in 2013.

[Roadbeer]

I don't even know what that means, but I'm guessing it's not good.
I bet there are a half dozen clan questions answered. Rather the same Clan question answered 6 different ways.

[Clideb50]

question 4:

Are mechanics like ghost heat, jump jet shake and gauss delay going to stay in the game indefinitely, or are you guys open to alternative methods of balancing the game?


Russ

One thing that sets MWO apart from past MechWarrior titles is we are actually trying to balance all the weapon types, if you have played MW4 or past products you know that is a true statement. When starting development on MWO one of the biggest concerns we heard from players was that MWO would also be completely unbalanced. So my main statement is that YES we do want to make every effort to have a balanced game that represents OUR interpretation of what MechWarrior/Battletech should feel like. However we are always constantly open to comments and suggestions. I think where we may be able to find more peace with our different factions is to provide more options in the premium private match window. As we have stated this is where YOU dictate how you think MW should feel and play.

Edited by Regulus1990, 22 May 2014 - 03:35 PM.

[Phlinger]

4th Question:
Are mechanics like ghost heat, jump jet shake and gauss delay going to stay in the game indefinitely, or are you guys open to alternative methods of balancing the game?

Answer:

One thing that sets MWO apart from past MechWarrior titles is we are actually trying to balance all the weapon types, if you have played MW4 or past products you know that is a true statement. When starting development on MWO one of the biggest concerns we heard from players was that MWO would also be completely unbalanced. So my main statement is that YES we do want to make every effort to have a balanced game that represents OUR interpretation of what MechWarrior/Battletech should feel like. However we are always constantly open to comments and suggestions. I think where we may be able to find more peace with our different factions is to provide more options in the premium private match window. As we have stated this is where YOU dictate how you think MW should feel and play.

[Nicholas Carlyle]

Ronyn, on 22 May 2014 - 03:34 PM, said:

4th Question:
Are mechanics like ghost heat, jump jet shake and gauss delay going to stay in the game indefinitely, or are you guys open to alternative methods of balancing the game?

Answer:

One thing that sets MWO apart from past MechWarrior titles is we are actually trying to balance all the weapon types, if you have played MW4 or past products you know that is a true statement. When starting development on MWO one of the biggest concerns we heard from players was that MWO would also be completely unbalanced. So my main statement is that YES we do want to make every effort to have a balanced game that represents OUR interpretation of what MechWarrior/Battletech should feel like. However we are always constantly open to comments and suggestions. I think where we may be able to find more peace with our different factions is to provide more options in the premium private match window. As we have stated this is where YOU dictate how you think MW should feel and play.

"We want you to pay to have a balanced game, sucka".

[Corbenik]

why not just go to the site and read the answers, you dont need an account to read the replys lol

[Phlinger]

5th question:
In March of 2013, splash damage was removed and SRMs got their damage reduced from 2.5 to 1.5. Since then (even after the damage was bumped up to 2.0 in summer of 2013), they have been viewed by most players as a garbage weapon. They see no action in competitive play, and even in PUG games, they lose nearly every time against an autocannon/laser brawler due to SRMs' short range and propensity to spread damage. While I understand that fixing hit registration is the key to viable SRMs, why have they been abandoned for a full year when a number of easy stat changes (decrease heat, increase speed, decrease spread, increase rate-of-fire) could fill the gap?

Answer:

They certainly have not been abandoned and even in the past few months we have implemented multiple bug fixes and improvements, but as I stated in similar question we have just begun what I hope will be a full audit of the SRM and hit detection code.

[Wabbit Swaya]

TLBFestus, on 22 May 2014 - 02:48 PM, said:

OK, here's one;

What percentage of PGIs time is being spent on game features, ie. CW, maps, Weapons Balance, etc., and what percentage is being spent on monitized features, ie. cockpit items, Hero Mechs, etc?

I'm curious to get a "spitball" estimate on this from someone who would be in a position to know.

You probably should have phrased that differently to get the answer most of us actually want.

Such as, what percentage of time is being spent on features we actually want and need, and of that percentage, how much time is being spent trying to figure a way to monetize those features???

Edited by Wabbit Swaya, 22 May 2014 - 03:40 PM.

[Barkem Squirrel]

TLBFestus, on 22 May 2014 - 03:22 PM, said:

There have been Politicians in my family in the past, so I have a good ear for Bullock.

I resent that remark.

We always tell the truth, as we see it.

[Roadbeer]

Corbenik, on 22 May 2014 - 03:37 PM, said:

why not just go to the site and read the answers, you dont need an account to read the replys lol

Because every time I go to reddit, a little more of my soul dies.

It's like a REALLY bad BBS from the 80s/90s

[Phlinger]

next question:

How does PGI respond to the increasing numbers of Battletech/Mechwarrior fans who think that they were left out of the focus for PGI's vision of the game development?

Answer:

I think the majority of people felt they were left out during 2013 when we were dealing with our immense backlog and didnt have the ability to react to feedback as much as we or the community would have liked. This was frustrating for both parties, but I would like to believe that again going forward we can get on the same page much better. We can't please all factions of or "belief" systems however again I think we can look to the Private Match area to help give more options for your player defined "feel" for MW.

[Clideb50]

Lets try this again...

Question 6:
How does PGI respond to the increasing numbers of Battletech/Mechwarrior fans who think that they were left out of the focus for PGI's vision of the game development?

Answer:
I think the majority of people felt they were left out during 2013 when we were dealing with our immense backlog and didnt have the ability to react to feedback as much as we or the community would have liked. This was frustrating for both parties, but I would like to believe that again going forward we can get on the same page much better. We can't please all factions of or "belief" systems however again I think we can look to the Private Match area to help give more options for your player defined "feel" for MW.

EDIT: Reddit just doesn't want to copy cleanly...

Edited by Regulus1990, 22 May 2014 - 03:41 PM.

[sabujo]

Good stuff:

Quote

I actually feel the command chair area has released almost everything as to how they will work and function, please have a look there again. However I do have the Variant list at this point which I can share.
• Adder:
o Prime
o A
o D
• Dire Wolf:
o Prime
o A
o B
• Kit Fox:
o Prime
o D
o S
• Nova:
o Prime
o B
o S
• Stormcrow:
o Prime
o C
o D
• Summoner:
o Prime
o B
o D
• Timber Wolf:
o Prime
o C
o S
• Warhawk:
o Prime
o A
o B
The actual load outs will be shared on the web site very soon but Im sure you can look these up on Sarna and basically understand what your getting.[/color]

Edited by sabujo, 22 May 2014 - 03:42 PM.

[Roadbeer]

Ronyn, on 22 May 2014 - 03:40 PM, said:

I think the majority of people felt they were left out during 2013 when we were dealing with our immense backlog and didnt have the ability to react to feedback as much as we or the community would have liked. This was frustrating for both parties, but I would like to believe that again going forward we can get on the same page much better. We can't please all factions of or "belief" systems however again I think we can look to the Private Match area to help give more options for your player defined "feel" for MW.

This makes me want to punch a f'ing kitten. How can a "business man" be so absolutely clueless about his business?