478 replies to this topic

[FlipOver]

I have a few questions that need an answer to:

Ballance:
1 - PGI started the hitbox correction in a few 'mechs. Then placed it on hold. When will PGI get to work again on this matter?
2 - Same thing with the specs of a few 'mechs. Same question.
3 - Will the above be worked in from start to finish or will PGI probably put it on hold like happened before? (This question refers to the priority of this kind of work)
4 - What's PGI's take regarding 'mechs not being able to afford to use too strong or heavy or big weapons for their chassis?
4.1 - How is PGI thinking to address the collisions so there will actually be a bit more than just a minor scratch or dent on the armor?
5 - Considering the arrival of the Clans, there will be the inevitable hitbox and weapon balance issues, if not in the IS tech, in the Clan tech. Is PGI considering running the Clans and IS 'Mechs on a Public Test Server at least for 15 days to gather all the data they can to correct issues way before the release? (About a month before)

Strategy:
1 - When is PGI going to add more relevant stats at the end of a match that can consider other roles than skirmisher or brawler?
2 - Why can't PGI ask the community for ideas for new maps, typed in the forums, not images?
3 - Why release the Clans in MC all separate from each other when in BT the Clans showed up all together?
4 - Is PGI happy with the kind of meta the games now have? Does PGI think it's a good way to go?
4.1 - If answered "No" to the previous question, what are PGI's plans to resolve this issue?

Organization:
1 - What's more important to PGI: Releasing 'mechs they try their best to be balanced without all other 'mechs and weapons being balanced or balance everything as much as possible and then release 'mechs closely balanced to the standard?
2 - What other things can the employees responsible for creating cockpit-items do besides that, that can help improve the amount of content in the game?
3 - If PGI notices one of their moves was a bad one and tries to correct it, is there anyone that can prevent them from doing so if it's a move that won't grant an immediate income revenue?
4 - On a scale of 0 to 10, being 0 the worst and 10 the best option, where would PGI say MW:O is regarding its content and the content existing in closed and open beta? And why?
5 - Does PGI/IGP / Any-other-high-entity-with-rights-in-MOW acknowledge that they know they would get a higher revenue if the game had more content and less fluff (cockpit items, cammos and whatnot)?
6 - Is PGI actually concerned about keeping MW:O close as possible to BT or are we to expect more "out of the box" thinking from PGI in the next few months?

I'll stop now...

Edit - One last one. When (if ever) is PGI considering servers in Europe / Asia / Australia?

Edited by FlipOver, 22 May 2014 - 06:25 AM.

[MrJeffers]

I'll see if I can get this in on the AMA but here goes:

How financially viable and healthy is PGI and MWO?

Many on the forums believe that MWO is on the verge of shutting down and any money spent (Clan Pack) is going to be lost as the game shuts down.
Given the lack of visibility of number of players(e.g. lobbies), lack of communication from PGI on the forums, lack of progress towards goals (e.g. Community Warfare, UI 2.0), untested game breaking bugs introduced in patches and being left for days/weeks (Missile bugs, Matchmaker), and sales that appear to be cash grabs and or compensation/diversion from the patch bugs; confirmation bias shows this to be a game and company on the verge of shutting down.

Convince me that the forums are wrong and PGI and MWO are healthy.

Side note – Not answering this question “proves” they are right.

Edited by MrJeffers, 22 May 2014 - 06:25 AM.

[Zerberus]

IceCase88, on 21 May 2014 - 09:50 PM, said:

...

Why do I have to signup for reddit or twitter to get info? It is clear the forums are not the hub of info. I do not want reddit, twitter, facebook, etc., etc...........

Why do I have to subscribe to a cable service to get cable TV?
Why do I have to fill my car`s tank with gas if I want to drive it?
Why do I have to own a computer to play MWO?

Because that`s life, and neither Life, the universe, nor anyone in that universe owes you or anyone else anything

[Tastian]

My biggest questions:

1. Can we get a stock only queue (minus champions and heroes)? I'm tired of seeing teams where every mech is carrying dual PPCs and AC5s. Even cicadas, ravens, and firestarters are running around with dual PPCs nowadays.

2. Any plans to bring ACs in line with energy weapons? ACs currently have more sustained DPS due to heat, pinpoint damage, and triple range. Energy are hot, have spread damage, and double range.

3. Can we expect to see more maps on a regular scheduled basis? If so, what is that schedule?

4. Any chance we can select or be better prepared for maps when launching? It makes absolutely no sense at all that I'd drop with a short range slow brawler on Alpine Peaks. Or bring an energy weapon intensive mech on Terra Therma. The current tournament gives the teams knowledge of the map before playing.

5. Can we get an update to the skill tree?

6. Artillery Strike and Air Strike are being spammed to a ridiculous degree. Any chance they will have their damage brought down, timer increased, or have their ability locked to a command console?

7. Any word on command console, masc, targeting computer, collision knockdown?

Edited by Tastian, 22 May 2014 - 06:20 AM.

[Bront]

Featherwood, on 22 May 2014 - 05:09 AM, said:

[*]How IS vs Clans battles will be organized (12vs10 or something else)

They've already stated their goal was 12v12 and to balance the mechanics to make clan tech "Different not better".

[Bront]

Sable, on 22 May 2014 - 06:03 AM, said:

Autocannons... it's been mentioned in one of the No Guts No Galaxy podcasts that clan autocannons will be firing in bursts of multiple shells instead of a single damaging shell. I love this idea as it will add a new flavor to MWO. I can't help but think all autocannons should behave this way. Will IS autocanons be reworked to function like this as well?

If it works well, one can hope.

[Clideb50]

Bront, on 22 May 2014 - 06:26 AM, said:

They've already stated their goal was 12v12 and to balance the mechanics to make clan tech "Different not better".

This. Plus if I recall correctly they're looking at things like slightly better on paper/ in theory, but require greater skill to use (beams with longer duration, higher heat and ACs that fire in bursts instead of single shot.

[Roland]

Zerberus, on 22 May 2014 - 06:14 AM, said:

Why do I have to subscribe to a cable service to get cable TV?
Why do I have to fill my car`s tank with gas if I want to drive it?
Why do I have to own a computer to play MWO?

Because that`s life, and neither Life, the universe, nor anyone in that universe owes you or anyone else anything

A better question than those posed, which is more in line with the question that you tried (and failed) to respond to, would be something like:
Why do I have to subscribe to cable TV in order to get information about how to get maintenance on my car?
And the answer is, you don't, because they're two unrelated services.

When I want information on Star Citizen, I got to CIG's website. That's where ALL of their communication with their player base occurs.

Turns out, it's really convenient, because that's where their players expect that communication to take place. That's why they have a website, forums, and chat.

[White Bear 84]

Homeless Bill, on 21 May 2014 - 10:38 PM, said:

Gentlemen, I welcome you all to Outreach. Ballsy move, especially after the missile bug; I like it. Shame I'll be moderating instead of asking questions.

On that note, I ask that everyone act like adults and be civil. I will not hesitate to moderate questions that contain name-calling or snide potshots. Grill them all you want, but don't be a **** about it.

Good luck Bill and kudos for modding, much respect..

Have not checked the times properly, but judging from it will most likely be in bed. Oh no, its 9am here.. ..yeah probably in bed, if I can get away with a late mark..

Should keep me entertained at work

[Roland]

Questions:

1) When, if ever, are players going to be able to easily play in casual pickup games (i.e. not private matches) with groups of 5-11 players, as we were able to in closed beta prior to institution of the player cap? At the time, that limit was described as temporary, and it's hurt the ability of many smaller units to play the game together.

[S3dition]

Some food for thought or interesting topics to bring up (I'll probably be asleep during the AMA):

1) When are we going to get basic fixes to the UI? For example, small text that isn't placed over a multi-colored background (see pic below). This isn't advanced UI design, it's very basic, art 101, color pallet stuff. It's as simple as putting a 20 - 40% opaque grey box behind it. There are other examples like putting in a simple threshold for the mouse over noise so that it doesn't drive you insane.

pic:


2) Clans release in less than a month and there is no word yet on weapons or warhorns. Bearing in mind that many people consider the clans to be what caused the original Battletech to die out, it seems prudent to receive feedback and telemetry prior to going live. Are you planning on releasing this information, and more importantly, using the public test server to get get live numbers prior to "the big patch"? Or is this a case of "wait for the surprise?"

3) Many people have pointed out concerns with what we know of clan direction. For example, if so much of the mech is locked down and can't be customized, and you aren't giving us true omni-pod capabilities, then why are the weapons being nerfed? In addition, if you want clan mechs to be at the same level as IS mechs, then why do they cost more? While no cbill pricing has been given, we can tell from the per-mech pre-order cost of clans vs IS that clans will obviously be more.

4) Are you going to continue selling Clan packs after the 17th, or are you going to kill pre-orders on the 17th?

5) What are the plans for future maps? Are any close to being released?

6) Are we going to see clan support mechs, like the Lupus, or just the popular ones?

7) Given that we're running out of mechs that have 3 variants in the time period, are you going to accelerate the time period or create a prototype/single mech section? For example, if only 1 variant exists in the time line, it takes 3x the experience but can be leveled without any other variants of the same chassis?

Note: I understand there are still a number of mechs from the current time period, but if you look at the equipment on their variants, they have technology from the 3055+ era and are not suitable for MWO.

8) Are there plans for PGI created (not player created) decals? For example, faction logos, skulls, heraldry etc that can be placed on mechs?

9) Can you post the intended IS mech lineup like you did back in beta? That is, a line of concept art that shows the rough release order of future mechs?

10) Have you re-addressed the idea of NPC combat, a la War Thunder?

11) Are you planning on implementing more support choices (we have air strikes and artillery), such as repair vehicles, vtol squadrons, etc?

12) I know there was some talk of merchandising, but is there a serious, no BS way we can get the redesigned mechs cast for the board game? I realize there is more than one company involved in this, but a new line of miniatures based on Alex's work would be too good to pass up and could breathe some new life into the ultra 80's robotech battletech franchise.

13) Are there plans to add different ammo types (armor piercing, inferno, etc)

14) Can we PLEASE have a toggle for TAG and AMS? PLEASE? PRETTY PLEASE?

15) can you add thermal effects to the cockpit, such as steam, foggy windows, or condensation dripping from the ceiling?

[xZaOx]

Why isn't this on /r/mwo? This game is called MWO is it not? It has more subs.

[Kael Posavatz]

As the Clans like the number 5, I have come up with five questions I would like answered, ranked in decreasing importance.

1) Back in December there was a timeline released of when major changes were going to be introduced. With one exception, announced more than a month in advance and delayed only one patch cycle (2 weeks), you have managed to keep to that timeline. My question is: Are you going to release another 'Six Month Plan', and if so what will be on it?

2) is there going to be a 'reinforcement package' like there was with Project Phoenix, and what mechs are we going to see if there is?

3) What OmniMech configurations besides Prime are we going to be receiving with our Clan packages?

4) How are targeting computers going to function?

5) What is the purpose of the warhorns?

[Edward Mattlov]

Tekadept, on 22 May 2014 - 02:22 AM, said:

Awesome we can get the lies straight from the horses mouth

This is why Russ talks on Reddit and Twitter rather than the MWO forum.

[Jacon Ceronia]

Only one question here:

So precious little development in the way of actual content, and yet what a HUGE laundry list of cash grab items (heroes, champions, bundle packs, clan collections, a-la-carte, cockpit items, paint schemes (that aren't even faction specific) gold clan mechs, etc. etc.). When will we see some sustenance to this game, rather than it simply being a loot-grabbing experience for PGI?

-Faithful Supporter

[Tekadept]

Edward Mattlov, on 22 May 2014 - 07:17 AM, said:

This is why Russ talks on Reddit and Twitter rather than the MWO forum.

Russ talks??

Oh sorry he does talk, he just doesn't say anything.

Edited by Tekadept, 22 May 2014 - 07:21 AM.

[TKSax]

Since I probably won't make it here is my questions

1. Russ with what happen with the most recent Missle bug, what changes are you/pgi making in your process to keep this from happening again, this was pretty much a game breaking bug. I happen to work with a development team on customer facing project, and if something like this happen we would happen someone (or more) would be written up or fired, and a incident document would have to be created explaining how it happen and whats being done to not happen again for our customers. (And this is not the first time this has happen with pgi).

2. A lot of people felt mislead/betrayed to have Brian on the stage at the launch party talk about community warfare being out shortly (90 days) after launch, but then to see in your 2013 summary command char post to hear have you say "This extended license deal gives PGI many of the assurances we were looking for to justify continuing to spend large amounts of development funds on the game, we know we now have the runway to make the investment logical." Which give the impresstion that CW was never going to happen unless you were sure you would continue to have the licenses. How would you change the communication in that regard to assure you customers that the most latest promise of CW is not just a carrot dangled in front of them to keep them interested in MWO.

[WarHippy]

When can we expect a detailed list of information about the Clans? What variants, what weapon stats, what are War Horns etc., and what other information can you give us about them? We are less than a month away from release and know next to nothing.

As a solo player I would happily drop in a group queue of any size 2-11 because I like the challenge and I enjoy watching and learning from the tactics used by semi organized to fully organized groups. Can we please have a separate queue for solo only, and a group queue with solos filling in as needed? If not can we get a good explanation as to why because right now groups and solos seem to be rather unhappy?

Do you have any new information you can share about CW such as when and what are going to be available, or more details on how it is going to work?

Is there a chance that we will be able to have graphics settings that allow us to have the game look like it did back in closed beta? There are a lot of people that are disappointed with the loss in graphic quality, and while we understand why it was done we would still like to see an option in the settings to get us back to that if we want.

Edited by WarHippy, 22 May 2014 - 07:37 AM.

[Lysander Voidrunner]

Instead of doing a reddit thing, why not a teamspeak event (moderated of course) where the community can get on the fly answers and give feedback. For starters it would give us some assurances that the devs are available and not sitting in an ivory tower somewhere far far away (ngng and the forum don't count as they are all formatted to be scripted and or edited) and at the same time it would be an other meet and greet for the community a la ACESWild and Atlas hunters event, which was genuinely awesome. Thirdly, it would potentially expose people who are too shy to try voice comms to finally give them a try.

Anyways, that's just me spitballing ideas.

[Zolaz]

For some reason my question was pulled ...

What do you call someone who doesnt tell the truth? What do you call someone who repeats that behavior over and over? What do you tell someone like that when he asks you for money? How do you feel about that person and his ethics?