112 replies to this topic

[Deathz Jester]

Gasoline, on 25 June 2014 - 10:51 PM, said:

Tell me when you announce this, I want to have my popcorn ready. This outrage will be epic!

In a second thought... Why not doing this while the live servers are patching?



While I like your idea, the thing about rewards is, giving everyone a fair chance to get them. Otherwise you will have a few very happy people, but a whole lot of pissed peeps complaining about not having a chance. Giving away C-Bills would probably be an elegant solution tho.



Ironically early access was what killed the test. Everyone wanted to grind their Clan mechs. But you're absolutely correct about the incentive. I like Jman5's approach of offering something special on the PTS more than giving away something. I personally would like to be part of this test, but I wouldn't kill myself if I missed it. If you give away a cockpit item, I bet someone out there will have issues with it.

I would've liked to test, but seriously... I haven't even downloaded any PTS clients so far, just because 90% of the tests have happened outside of my already short time for MWO. Why not leaving the test server open for 24 hours?

I hate to be "that guy who compares MWO to WOT", but anyway, look at what Wargaming does for events.

example right now there's a 30 day Discount on one line of tanks, and bonus credit gain on that line (American Tank Destroyer).

They also run other specials & events, like killing a Wargaming staff member in game gets you a small amount of premium currency, some missions reward modules/equipment for your tank. (I think the hunting the staff one is a permanent event)


Another example, right now there's a "Down the Line" event, you get I think its 10,000 credits for earning 5,000 XP, 25,000 for 10,000 XP, 50,000 for 20,000 XP, and so on. I think I'm off on the numbers but you get the idea.


Yet another example, last month I believe, there was an event for every 100 matches played, you received a free garage slot. I believe it capped at around 10 times you could complete it, but it lasted for 2 weeks and I wound up getting like 3 or 4 garage slots.



My point is if they ran more events and better public tests, it would increase the amount of playtime.



Yes, someone could say "well then go play world of tanks if you like their promotions & events better, well to them I say I do, but I'd rather play MWO and have events & promotions like that.

Edited by Iron Harlequin, 25 June 2014 - 11:21 PM.

[Davic Kerensky]

I think I was more disappointed about the fact you blatantly said it was Canada and America times ... talk about make you feel unwanted already ...

[Gasoline]

Iron Harlequin, on 25 June 2014 - 11:20 PM, said:

Spoiler

I hate to be "that guy who compares MWO to WOT", but anyway, look at what Wargaming does for events.

example right now there's a 30 day Discount on one line of tanks, and bonus credit gain on that line (American Tank Destroyer).

They also run other specials & events, like killing a Wargaming staff member in game gets you a small amount of premium currency, some missions reward modules/equipment for your tank. (I think the hunting the staff one is a permanent event)


Another example, right now there's a "Down the Line" event, you get I think its 10,000 credits for earning 5,000 XP, 25,000 for 10,000 XP, 50,000 for 20,000 XP, and so on. I think I'm off on the numbers but you get the idea.


Yet another example, last month I believe, there was an event for every 100 matches played, you received a free garage slot. I believe it capped at around 10 times you could complete it, but it lasted for 2 weeks and I wound up getting like 3 or 4 garage slots.



My point is if they ran more events and better public tests, it would increase the amount of playtime.



Yes, someone could say "well then go play world of tanks if you like their promotions & events better, well to them I say I do, but I'd rather play MWO and have events & promotions like that.

That's exactly what I said. Maybe I beat around the bush tho.

I'm happy with giving rewards for participation. But then make it so everyone has at least a fair chance to participate. You already mentioned it: 2 weeks, 30 days... not 4 hours.

I would happily test the living [surat] out of the PTS... if I could.

[Cavendish]

Zuesacoatl, on 25 June 2014 - 02:07 AM, said:

Get over it Europeeps, they wanted the test done during NA peak times, if they did it during Euro peak times, then it would still have been an issue because they would have missed the NA peak times, they stated it clearly in the lead up to the test as to why they did it this way. With the way they run the PTS at present, there is no good time for them to focus on, and right after a pre-order goes live, that was a big no no as well.

Well, "US-bros", they held it at NA peak time and see what happened?

Seriously tho, put up a testserver when you do the next patch and test features for the "next patch" then and I belive you would get a better population to work with. This whole "gif uz free stuffz to improve the game we play" feels a bit entitled. It is in OUR intrest that they get data, and while it would be nice for them to show a sign of appriciation for people downloading the entire client and put some time it, it feels rather blunt to say "Show me the money!" in these cases, no?

[SgtKinCaiD]

A quick question Karl : with the reintroduction of th 4*3, are the ELO buckets coming back too ?

[Name140704]

I agree with the people who suggested at least a 12 -24 test period next time, along with some cockpit accessory to entice more people to participate.

** edited for typo

Edited by Psycho Farmer, 26 June 2014 - 04:42 AM.

[Cimarb]

Toadkillerdog, on 25 June 2014 - 05:49 PM, said:

It sounds like the clan mech guys are pretty happy with their stuff, but the phoenix buyers promptly got **** on thanks to their mechs and medals awarding boosts to something that STILL doesn't exist.

I'm a PP buyer and I don't feel crapped on at all. Sure, it would be nice if loyalty was in the game already, but I didn't pay all that money for a cockpit item or 5% bonus to a stat. I paid for the PP package for the PP mechs, which I got, thoroughly enjoyed mastering, and am still very happy with even though I don't use them regularly any more.

It's a silly cockpit item that gives a meager bonus - get over it already...

[Zerberus]

Cavendish, on 24 June 2014 - 09:44 PM, said:

Me and a lot of other europeans would have loved to log on the PTS and help, but for some odd reason you placed this test really late at night.

Have to agree, would have loved to have tested, but weekdays after midnight CEST is an absolute no-go unless I`m on vacation.

But somebody has to get screwed, at least some of the australians and east asian players were able to participate this time around

[SinisterSocks]

hercules1981, on 25 June 2014 - 01:51 PM, said:

Nice thoughts j but I would put the free MC in there, I would never do any amount of work for free for someone I don't even know, this game is not a beta anymore, even though it feels like it.I'm not testing crap for free. Give me and everyone else something of worth and u guys would get the #s u need next time.

Thats just a douche-bag comment and uncalled for. No one makes you pay for anything int the game. Get over yourself.

NRP, on 25 June 2014 - 02:42 PM, said:

I'm sorry to pick your post as an example, but quite frankly I find this type of selfish, self-entitled attitude to be disgusting. This game is Free to Play, which means you get nearly everything . . . FOR FREE!!! Yet people like you seem to just want handout after handout after handout . . . .

If you feel entitled to complain about the matchmaker or the game mechanics, then you kind of have an obligation to help PGI test changes to said game systems. Being able to help test this game is a privilege, not a mere burden on your goddamn precious time.

/rant off

jackal40, on 25 June 2014 - 02:44 PM, said:

I'm a fan of better notification (more than 48 hours) notice of a test. This is particularly important when we have to download the entire client, perform a separate install, and try to (if necessary) sort through the problems with that install. Then there is the times chosen for the test - I suppose there is a reason you won't run it over a weekend, but that could really help your participation numbers.

Seeing that some people had issues connecting to the test makes me ponder if this is contributory to the low turnout.

edit: As an afterthought, you should reconsider not allowing testers access to more mechs. Limiting them to whatever they have in their mech bay at the movement is going to discourage some who might otherwise be willing and available to test.

Honestly, there have been enough tests that people should know about the client and have it already installed. its always available to download.

[Docta Pain]

Without getting sidetracked on what players should or shouldn't expect out of a non-beta game or ideologies, they had low turnout for the test but had normal activity on the live servers, hence thier request above for ideas on incentives.

As for a Mechbay for the first five matches being too easy, I was just using five as an example from the champion centurion challenge. I do think that there must be CB/GXP for test matches, but that the biggest draw would be Clan trial mechs in test.

[lol lol lol lol lol lol lol lol]

Karl Berg, on 24 June 2014 - 07:50 PM, said:

Just a quick update on today’s public test, and the new matchmaker changes we were attempting to trial. Unfortunately PTS population levels were far too low for us to fully test the new system. We saw less than 10% of the turnout that the Clans PTS drew a few weeks ago.

I will give you my time to test if you reimburse me one days worth of Premium Time that ticks away even though I'm not using it on the live server.

The reason you had such a massive turn out with Clans is that no one knew how the mechanics worked with clan mechs, or how they functioned so they playtested the mechs before they went live so they knew which weapons and loadouts they wanted ahead of time so they weren't buying impractical weapon loadouts when the clans went live. Even then many weren't prepared to outfit all their mechs and need to grind out some c-bills.

With respect, those of us who have play tested this 3/3/3/3 issue might feel a little burned over the past few months about spending their time with it, only to have it hot fixed/removed shortly after testing because for whatever reason it never works.

Basically my two reasons that I didn't test it was because I've wasted my time twice already, and didn't want to burn my premium time on it.

[Cimarb]

Docta Pain, on 26 June 2014 - 10:31 AM, said:

As for a Mechbay for the first five matches being too easy, I was just using five as an example from the champion centurion challenge. I do think that there must be CB/GXP for test matches, but that the biggest draw would be Clan trial mechs in test.

I complained about the Centurion "challenge" because it wasn't a challenge, at all. It worked to get people online, but five matches should have been marketed as a "participation award", not a "challenge". Likewise, if they want people to test and really stress the system, you need to incentivize them to play as much as possible during the testing time. That means setting the goals high and making it a challenge that few can actually reach the top tier of. For instance, give a day of premium time for everyone that plays at least 5-10 complete matches (meaning they get the reward on match completion, not just for launching the match - add a button to accept reward at the end of the match, for example). Then, for the next 10 matches, give another day of premium, PLUS a mechbay. Lastly, after 15 more matches, give another day of premium PLUS a trial mech of their choice (including mechbay).

You now have everyone trying to get the top tier, at 30-35 matches, which will not be attainable for most, as well as mid-tier, at 15-20, which will be attainable by some, and the "consolation prize" that is attainable by anyone that tries. THAT is how you do a solo challenge, which is what the public test needs to get large numbers.

[Toadkillerdog]

Cimarb, on 26 June 2014 - 01:10 PM, said:

I complained about the Centurion "challenge" because it wasn't a challenge, at all. It worked to get people online, but five matches should have been marketed as a "participation award", not a "challenge". Likewise, if they want people to test and really stress the system, you need to incentivize them to play as much as possible during the testing time. That means setting the goals high and making it a challenge that few can actually reach the top tier of. For instance, give a day of premium time for everyone that plays at least 5-10 complete matches (meaning they get the reward on match completion, not just for launching the match - add a button to accept reward at the end of the match, for example). Then, for the next 10 matches, give another day of premium, PLUS a mechbay. Lastly, after 15 more matches, give another day of premium PLUS a trial mech of their choice (including mechbay).

You now have everyone trying to get the top tier, at 30-35 matches, which will not be attainable for most, as well as mid-tier, at 15-20, which will be attainable by some, and the "consolation prize" that is attainable by anyone that tries. THAT is how you do a solo challenge, which is what the public test needs to get large numbers.

that kind of tiered system for rewards is actually a really good idea, especially since it's not tied to there only being a certain number of winners or anything. For example, the faction challenges and such get ignored by quite a few people, due to the need to be solo, and the fact that getting into the top places requires some system gaming, usually in some form of mass poptarts.This idea is an actual challenge, but a challenge attainable by most people, so you'd be stupid not to try for it.

[anonymous161]

Toadkillerdog, on 24 June 2014 - 09:07 PM, said:

didn't you guys offer a day of premium time for a test before? Honestly, the fact that we have to download the entire game again just to run on the test server just so we can help you is not really any kind of motivation. Like a few other guys have said, either let us run stuff we don't have access to on the test server, like clan mechs or such, or offer some kind of incentive. Especially considering how most of the population feels about you guys, expecting us to spend all that time just to help you out is a little silly. If you offered any reward you would get quite a few more people, as it stands it's like expecting people to go to the DMV and wait in line just out of loyalty to their mayor.

I agree except for the clans. We paid a high price to get them early, doesn't seem fair to start letting everyone use them so fast. After a good while everyone can use them for free, for now let those who decided to help fund them pretty majorly enjoy exclusive content for those that paid.

Offering premium time would be a big one up for lots of people, and a free mech bay or even mech. I think these devs have had enough help funding that offering something like a free mech every few months wouldn't be so bad and not just some crappy mech either.

[Karkland]

Might as well add my 2 cbills as feedback...

I participated in the clan test to fiddle around with the clan mechs a bit, since I had purchased a package, and experimented with some different builds without having to spend a lot of cbills on it. I didn't participate too much, though, for the same reason I didn't participate at all in this recent test. Namely, because the cbill grind in this game feels harsh enough that I don't like the idea of playing but not getting cbills. Pretty much all the mechs I have are from some sort of $ transaction (phoenix package, clan package, a few heroes on sale), mainly because getting even a single new mech for cbills takes a huge number of matches (this is, of course, after adding in the DHS 'tax' and potential XL engine costs).

I certainly enjoy the game enough to spend cash on it, but the rate of cbill earning is so blasted low that outside of basic outfitting (without modules; I have yet to get a passive module and haven't ever used the one consumable I ever picked up) that I feel like playing without getting that pittance of cbills isn't really 'worth' it.

In short, I played the clan test because it effectively let me save cbills (trying out a few builds for free before the clanners hit production). While I'm certainly interested in the matchmaker, the game's stingy enough with cbills I didn't feel I could justify the time. I suspect I'm not alone, though I obviously don't have quantifiable proof.

[N0MAD]

So the over whelming comments are, give us free stuffs or screw your testing.
MW deserves a better community.
You reap what you sow PGI.
This is the community you dumped your dedicated MW fanbase for...

[Toadkillerdog]

Darth Bane001, on 26 June 2014 - 02:03 PM, said:

I agree except for the clans. We paid a high price to get them early, doesn't seem fair to start letting everyone use them so fast. After a good while everyone can use them for free, for now let those who decided to help fund them pretty majorly enjoy exclusive content for those that paid.

Offering premium time would be a big one up for lots of people, and a free mech bay or even mech. I think these devs have had enough help funding that offering something like a free mech every few months wouldn't be so bad and not just some crappy mech either.

well, the other two packages were made available for everyone else right away (guys that bought the Locust package for phoenix probably hated life), and there's been an absolute lack of any new free content in this game for what's about to be 4 months here in a bit, and that's including mechs as content. To be honest, the clan mechs felt like a massive insult after the phoenix pack, the deal you got wasn't actually more valuable, PGI just got away with charging more by starving everyone else of any kind of change. Seriously, if you aren't willing to pay the biggest thing that's happened within 4 months was the SRM fix. Essentially, the clan pack isn't actually worth more money than the phoenix pack, they just ****** over the guys that didn't buy them more so they could excuse the extra cost.
Also this is coming from a lot of the old fanbase, there's only so much **** you're willing to put up with before you start demanding something in return, and so far this game has thrown more than enough **** at all of us.

Edited by Toadkillerdog, 26 June 2014 - 02:49 PM.

[Big Tin Man]

They want feedback on potential rewards and how to stack the PTS? First start with LOADING the PTS accounts with GXP and C-bills? I burnt through the 50 million c-bills and 50k GXP during the clan test 2. We need MORE. MC would be nice to test our hero's as well, but I understand that may be hard to do. The general idea is, come onto the PTS and try out that crazy build you've been dreaming about. XL400? Why not?

How about a tiered reward system for dropping? I would imagine this could be implemented via the achievement system somehow

5 complete test matches: 1 mech bay
10 complete test matches: 1 day premium time
20 complete test matches: 1 free champion mech + mech bay (because who actually buys these?)
25-50 complete test matches: 1 free hero mech + mech bay (hero decided prior to test, would set the bar for # of drops required)

200 GXP per match dropped (may be subject to abuse though...)

Coming onto the forums and providing useful feedback/bug report/whatever? That's a hard one. C-bills depending on content, 100k to 1 million?

Why didn't I participate in this test? I was at work and got home with 30 minutes of the test remaining.

Edited by Big Tin Man, 26 June 2014 - 03:01 PM.

[Karkland]

N0MAD, on 26 June 2014 - 02:41 PM, said:

So the over whelming comments are, give us free stuffs or screw your testing.
MW deserves a better community.
You reap what you sow PGI.
This is the community you dumped your dedicated MW fanbase for...

My personal feeling, at least, is that if the regular game didn't feel so stingy on cbill income I wouldn't mind playing test for free. More of a "if you're so stingy on cbills, PGI, then I'll be stingy right back." Unless I'm missing something you can't even test run a build without paying for it, and even basic equipment can be quite expensive (basic as in a weapon, not basic as in a small laser... although CERMLs are 160k a pop).

Edited by Karkland, 26 June 2014 - 03:53 PM.

[Wildstreak]

Not surprised they did not get enough players on PTS.
Holding it only on NA time and some people had problems.
This does not bode well for patch day.

Edited by Merchant, 26 June 2014 - 05:09 PM.