478 replies to this topic

[Pyrrho]

Question:
Do you have any telemetry which reveals underperforming ‘mechs/variants and do you plan to do any balance passes on these ‘mechs? Please elaborate on specific ‘mechs if possible.

On a similar note, what does PGI think about a perk system for less favored ‘mechs. For example, creating a heat-scale shift for the Awesome 8Q or 9M which would allow stock weapon alpha penalty free?

Answer:
I want to go back and tweak underpowered mechs or hero mechs but honestly I cant even think about that until we get the clan release past us. At that point we will have time to consider these items.

Translation:
(unnecessary)

[Galenit]

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

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.

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:
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.

Does this mean we can change stats of weapons and items for privat matches?

Or does it just mean, we can pay for a "balanced" match based on their vision of "balance" because on our island we can not change stats on weapons and items?

Maybe my english is to bad or iam just dumb, but i dont understand what he want to say with that?
Can someone help me?

Edited by Galenit, 22 May 2014 - 04:17 PM.

[TLBFestus]

Regulus1990, on 22 May 2014 - 03:41 PM, said:

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...

Looks like any FTP players are buggered. Oh, and as someone above me said, "Clueless Reply". An actual apology to those of us he offended would go so much farther than crud like this.

And somehow i don't think Private match areas are going to allow us to Change weapon statistics, which I think he somehow alluded to Private matches being a fix-all again.

Edited by TLBFestus, 22 May 2014 - 04:14 PM.

[wanderer]

Interesting. More of the Clan designs get jump configs, now...how many have ECM?

[Pyrrho]

Question:
Here's another question for COMMUNITY WARFARE:
You have stated that soon, you will make private matches require MC on a PER USE basis with no subscription plan available. Will this include refunds for dropped players on launch, how much do you plan to charge, and will this be required in your vision of CW?
PS: Will you charge the same rate for 1v1 as, say, 8v8 or a private 12v12?

Answer:
I cant say for sure right now - so major caveat here this may yet rear its head again at some point as we develop. However it is my opinion and what I am pushing internally to continue to just use Premium accounts for the entry into features. It's there, we already have it and I think players in general wouldnt mind having a subscription mentality in general if they get the features they want.

Translation:
If you don't pay, you play the way we want you to play. (and this is totally okay by me from a business standpoint, as a casual player I will still be miffed.)

Edited by Pyrrho, 22 May 2014 - 04:21 PM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

wanderer, on 22 May 2014 - 04:13 PM, said:

Interesting. More of the Clan designs get jump configs, now...how many have ECM?

So far only 2 get JJ, and none have ECM

Edit: one Timberwolf, and one Kit Fox get JJ.

Edited Edit: other than ones like the Summoner that come stock with it >.<

So only those two get a variant with JJ that does not normally get JJ

Edited by Shar Wolf, 22 May 2014 - 04:24 PM.

[Pyrrho]

Question:
Hey, Russ thanks for spending the time to come talk to us, outreach like this is always appreciated. I've got a few questions:

• 
  
  
  Are hit registration problems (real or perceived) seen internally as a high priority (and being given appropriate development focus)? It seems that this should be addressed before significant effort is put into balance or weight-class roles elsewhere, as it's got a chance to turn everything upside-down
  
• 
  
  
  The player base seems to feel that the current pinpoint / jump-snipe meta is stale. While sniping (and particularly jump-sniping) are valid tactics, it seems like they're the best tactic, with too much upside and not enough downside (eg: the tournament). Is the community wrong about this or are there plans to balance away from sniping and jump-sniping?
  
• 
  
  
  Will we ever have a brawl-pocalypse? If so, when (so I can put it in my calendar)?
  
• 
  
  
  Aside from the mech configuration experience, the updated UI has a lot of usability issues (too many clicks to do things, poor information availability, inconsistent use of space and focus of attention, etc). Are there plans to improve these, and if so what's your target for completing the first pass of fixes?
  
• 
  
  
  Why are you proceeding with 3-3-3-3 weight class balancing? What problem does this solve, and why can't it reasonably be solved by other means that don't involve longer average queue times and players having to make the choice between playing what they want or waiting longer?
  
• 
  
  
  Loyalty points - are they still a thing? When will we start accruing them?

Answer:


Great post but I can only touch on aspects of it because of time.

Yes I have posted on this a few times tonight - top priority atm since I just allocated Neema full time into researching this area of code again and looking for any improvements.

I think Brawling is going to steeply increase with the new Queue screen evening out the mechs in matches and with the above mentioned hit detection work.

UI 2.x after clan release is getting some dedicated feedback time, we have a huge feedback document just waiting for us - soon.

Translation:
We gave someone the job of fixing SRMs, Brawling is a weight based role, the UI will start getting polished (Polish?!) Soon™

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(this tried to insert itself into my last post so here is a line in case it happens again)

Question:
Hi Russ, first of all I'd like to thank you for this AMA. I will be grateful if you could answer this two questions.
Q1: Have you considered having public test server event for all players with clan mechs? I believe a lot of us would like to try them out before buying.
Q2: Have you considered doing regional servers in similar fashion as DOTA 2 or War Thunder where service, profile and all persistent layers are global and players choose which regional server they want to search for the games?

Answer:
Q1: I would love to but I think were not going to have the time, its going to come in hot and arrive just like the canon story of the invasion - very suddenly! Q2:Yes we have and in fact were hoping to do things very much like you suggest.

Translation:
June 17th is suddenly approaching! The world will be watching.

Edited by Pyrrho, 22 May 2014 - 04:26 PM.

[Roadbeer]

Agent of Change, on 22 May 2014 - 03:17 PM, said:

My questions are at -1 points apparently truth isn't on the menu.

it got answered?

[WarHippy]

His constant need to point at paid private matches as the fix all for making people happy is laughably stupid and completely out of touch with the needs of the community.

His belief that the command chair posts have given us all we need information wise for clans is just plain ignorant.

[Pyrrho]

Question:


Here are four burning questions I have:

• 
  
  
  Do you (PGI) ever intend to actually deliver on the "pillars of gameplay" CW, Role warfare, Information warfare, etc... fully?
  
• 
  
  
  Do you (Russ) truly believe that UI 2.0 is a user interface worthy of a high quality product and in keeping with the highest standards and good practices of the industry?
  
• 
  
  
  Why have 5-11 man groups not been re-implemented when all other MM fix attempts can be charitably called failures?
  
• 
  
  
  Do you (Russ) still feel that the dedicated BT fans, that funded your project int eh founders phase, populated your game in the closed beta phase, that recruited people for your open beta phase, and have provided pages upon pages upon pages of feedback and balancing ideas are "on an Island" and not your core audience? Bonus question: If BT fans are not your target audience, who is?

Answer:


(1)Yes - CW the remaining pillar missing the other pillars needs more improvements.
(2)Its a quality base but needs lots of refining and that work begins after clan release
(3)MM - I am going to post a large update on the subject before I finish here tonight look for that please.
(4)I never did believe that they werent our core audience. I have had some fun with that island comment over the months but what I really was saying is that there are many factions of beliefs on how MW should play in the community and the faction that I was referring to at the time wasnt even the largest one, many and perhaps a larger group wanted the sort of balance that we were providing. My apologies again to anyone that feels slighted by that. Let's start over, I want to hear from you the BT fan and I will listen carefully and weight it along with all the other players feedback.

Translation:
(1)We did deliver! All the pillars are there but CW, but they need re-working
(2)Good foundation, to be built upon after Clans [Soon™]
(3)Answer coming Soon™
(4)I was being too specific with one group when I made my "on an island" comment and I have been laughing about the reaction ever since. I have burst my sides with laughter and expended all of my tears of mirth. Now that I have my game face on, come at me BT bros! This time I won't judge you based on apparent "majority" status unless you aren't in the majority.

Edited by Pyrrho, 22 May 2014 - 06:18 PM.

[Deathlike]

WarHippy, on 22 May 2014 - 04:30 PM, said:

His constant need to point at paid private matches as the fix all for making people happy is laughably stupid and completely out of touch with the needs of the community.

His belief that the command chair posts have given us all we need information wise for clans is just plain ignorant.

It's actually worse when you realize that they've done NOTHING for CW - as a non-response to the earlier question (1st or 2nd about CW). I mean... Clan Packs must be sold!

Edited by Deathlike, 22 May 2014 - 04:34 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Corbenik, on 22 May 2014 - 03:45 PM, said:

[–]Russ_Bullock[S] 3 points 4 minutes ago



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.

the clan variants

Kit Fox S, Timber Wolf S, Nova S all make me a little weak in the knees. Summoner has the B & D Variants? Excellent.

[-Natural Selection-]

I still want to know WTF with 5-11 player drops

[Deathlike]

Dozier, on 22 May 2014 - 04:36 PM, said:

I still want to know WTF with 5-11 player drops

The answer is always soon™. Everything they have time for is money related... everything they "never seem to have time for" is actually gameplay related.

[Thuzel]

Roadbeer, on 22 May 2014 - 04:11 PM, said:

Is this where I get to say "I told you so" They're just interested in making a half-assed Esport CoD clone in mech paintjobs?

If you haven't said it by now, I'd say you missed the boat by a year or two. The ECM release was probably the best time to do that. Then again with any one of the other obvious pushes to a flat, direct-damage play model. And if not with those, then definitely when they completely backpedaled on their "no consumables" stance.

[TLBFestus]

So far it looks like Premium Time and Private Matches will solve all of MWO's problems. That's a big relief cus I thought it went much deeper than that. We are saved!

Edited by TLBFestus, 22 May 2014 - 04:49 PM.

[Roadbeer]

Quote

What is the first stage of Community Warfare going to look like? Will it just be a points system for each faction like we saw in the last faction tournament, or will it be more interactive than that?

Quote

More interactive then that. You will see a map of the inner sphere or at least the contested part. Clans are invading, choose a side and make every match count towards the invasion or it's defence.

SO, No IS house vs IS house? just IS vs Clan?

/Eject. Enjoy

[Wildstreak]

Just read this Question and Russ response.

Quote

Peter2000_HHoDTeam 007 11 points an hour ago
Can you comment on the Hill Climb Mechaninc/Slope Mechanic?
This was introduced almost a year ago, and was heralded as a buff to brawlers since it nerfed ridge-humping Stalkers popular at the time. However, since then it has proven to be extremely problematic for brawlers, as it makes movement across maps much slower, and in more predictable locations, while jump sniping teams barely feel the effect at all.
Also, there are persistent problems with all sorts of 'Mechs getting stuck on ankle-high obstacles as a result.
Are there any plans to look at changing the hill climb mechanic, maybe changing the numbers a bit, to make climbing possible in more places and not quite as slow?

Quote

Russ_Bullock[S] 6 points 58 minutes ago
Yes I agree we need to revisit hill climbing effects in general. Many of the maps were first developed before any hill climbing changes to the mechs. We need an audit of both the code mechanics and some of the level geometry.
Niko and QA have a thread open in our general discussion forum for this subject.

Highlighted item cannot be found.
I was going to do a series of Map & Mode reviews with hopefully other members input. Got one ready to go, partial on 3 more and one held for when a Tournament Round finishes.
Will / Is there the topic Russ mentioned or should I just start my own somehwere?

[Deathlike]

Did Russ not contradict what was said about the movement archetype stuff back when it was added? It was said something along the lines of "we built the maps in mind for it".

Lemme go look for it.

Edit: Can't find it, but that was the original thread about the archetype behavior:
http://mwomercs.com/...ement-behavior/

Edit #2: It's probably written in some AtD somewhere.

Edited by Deathlike, 22 May 2014 - 05:10 PM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Roadbeer, on 22 May 2014 - 04:43 PM, said:

SO, No IS house vs IS house? just IS vs Clan?

/Eject. Enjoy

Dude.

Really?

Yes - there is going to be IS vs IS.

However - since everyone has been asking whether there is going to be mixed matching (IE IS and Clan on the same side) they came out with that statement.