272 replies to this topic

[Bear Tech]

Given the seriously short times to get a mech and get into battle, has there been any discussion of prebuilt mech templates being saved and stored? So all you need to do is select your mech from a drop down menu and as long as you have parts/modules available it is "auto assembled" and ready to drop?
Thanks.

[Grumman]

Great update. I am really looking forward to dropship mode. Piloting one mech of each weightclass will add a great dynamic.

[TLBFestus]

Bit late to this party but I wanted to say that THIS is a perfect example of the type of communication we need to see more of.

It explains mistakes, it gives a taste of how things are being looked at in the background and informs us.

We need to see this type of post regularly from more people at PGI.

Imagine how cool it would be for the artists to start dropping sketches and mock-ups on us.

[Logan Hawke]

This looks about ten types of awesome at the very least! Longer battles, more variety, more fun, etc etc etc.

One thing I might add though, and I'd appreciate a devs response to this, since a number of people have raised concerns about the respawns breaking their 'immersion'.

So, here's the idea:

To respawn you need to eject from your mech. Once you do you get a little cutscene of your pilot getting picked up by a small search and rescue VTOL or Fast vehicle (for the immersion crowd) which takes you back to the dropship to get set in your next mech. If you're headshotted you don't get to respawn that match. At all. You dead son.

Alternatively, and I saw this suggestion before, you now have 4 different pilots in your stable, each with their own additional skillset focused more on the pilot's abilities rather than the mechs they are piloting. Once one goes down, they eject and the next pilot steps forward. Wash rinse repeat.

Oh, and another thing just in case I actually do get the Devs attention, have you seen/thought about/looked at Koniving's idea for making mech chassis variants more unique in regards to armor? It's pretty freaking awesome and looks like it would add a lot to the game.

Edited by Logan Hawke, 14 September 2014 - 09:35 AM.

[CyclonerM]

Logan Hawke, on 14 September 2014 - 09:32 AM, said:

Alternatively, and I saw this suggestion before, you now have 4 different pilots in your stable, each with their own additional skillset focused more on the pilot's abilities rather than the mechs they are piloting. Once one goes down, they eject and the next pilot steps forward. Wash rinse repeat.

Neg, please. You talk about immersion? How is it immersive to impersonate four pilots? I want to be the MechWarrior CyclonerM, and no one else, or i might suffer from personality split, lol.

[Cimarb]

CyclonerM, on 14 September 2014 - 11:19 AM, said:

Neg, please. You talk about immersion? How is it immersive to impersonate four pilots? I want to be the MechWarrior CyclonerM, and no one else, or i might suffer from personality split, lol.

I agree. While I do see some merit for allowing one IS "persona" and one Clan "persona", especially so I do not have to deal with some ridiculous reset every 3 months, it is still a bad way to handle it.

Nothing has changed in regards to CW as far as this is concerned, really. You are still able to use ALL of your mechs, but are restricted to your factions' mechs for CW specifically - that has been how it was always planned, and anyone that claims they were not aware of this is negligent - they should have paid attention or read what was wrote a little more closely.

If you really want to have two personas, do what Bishop Steiner did and have two accounts: one IS and one Clan. Shoot, you could even see if Customer Service will split your account...

[skorpionet]

I would know if the list of available IS mechs is by faction or every faction can use every IS mech.

Best Regards

[Cimarb]

skorpionet, on 14 September 2014 - 12:09 PM, said:

I would know if the list of available IS mechs is by faction or every faction can use every IS mech.

Best Regards

House, Merc and Lone Wolf can use any IS mech they have purchased or that is currently on trial. Clan and Dagger Star can use any Clan mech they have purchased or that is currently on trial.

[Snakerensky]

Cimarb, on 14 September 2014 - 12:06 PM, said:

Nothing has changed in regards to CW as far as this is concerned, really. You are still able to use ALL of your mechs, but are restricted to your factions' mechs for CW specifically - that has been how it was always planned, and anyone that claims they were not aware of this is negligent - they should have paid attention or read what was wrote a little more closely.

I don't think anyone wanting to use all their mechs in CW is arguing this, but we have been able to swap faction at will since beta started which will allow us to continue to use all our mechs as long as we aren't locked into a particular unit's faction. All we want to know is whether we as lone wolves or dagger star will be able to continue that. If once CW starts we can continue to swap faction at will as we are able to now then there is no issue to be had.

[carl kerensky]

Would love to see Dropship mode put in Paul. I hope your team really try's to create this for the game because it makes sense in terms of Btech warfare and planetary conquest.

Edited by carl kerensky, 14 September 2014 - 04:03 PM.

[Cimarb]

Snakerensky, on 14 September 2014 - 01:07 PM, said:

I don't think anyone wanting to use all their mechs in CW is arguing this, but we have been able to swap faction at will since beta started which will allow us to continue to use all our mechs as long as we aren't locked into a particular unit's faction. All we want to know is whether we as lone wolves or dagger star will be able to continue that. If once CW starts we can continue to swap faction at will as we are able to now then there is no issue to be had.

You will not be. As has been posted many times, several by me personally, Merc/House/LoneWolf will be able to use all IS mechs that are on trial or purchased, and Clan/DaggerStar will be able to use all Clan mechs that are on trial or purchased.

Being able to swap faction easily before means nothing, as CW was not in place until last month, when units were created. Now that units are created and tied to faction, this has changed and you should not be able to swap it unless you do "something" significant. It should not be easy to do, and the seasonal reset is a lazy, poorly thought out solution.

[Steel Scout]

Really like the idea of drop ship mode. Thought this was going to be in for sure so I am glad that its being talked about and explored as a real mode for CW. Respawns are cool too. So far I like both ideas. Keep it up!


Also Really really really really really want inter faction combat. I was a little disappointed with all the focus being IS vs Clan. I think a lot of the drama is and should in the inter-faction area.

Also I have always wondered how you plan on involving the bottom half of the IS map Liao, Davion, and Marik in the clan fighting seeing as they share no borders with the invasion corridor.

[Wintersdark]

Cimarb, on 14 September 2014 - 04:48 PM, said:

You will not be. As has been posted many times, several by me personally, Merc/House/LoneWolf will be able to use all IS mechs that are on trial or purchased, and Clan/DaggerStar will be able to use all Clan mechs that are on trial or purchased.

Being able to swap faction easily before means nothing, as CW was not in place until last month, when units were created. Now that units are created and tied to faction, this has changed and you should not be able to swap it unless you do "something" significant. It should not be easy to do, and the seasonal reset is a lazy, poorly thought out solution.

I hate seasons, as they seem to trivialize everything. However, the seasonal reset is the most practical way to allow this right now. I'm happy that it's at least an option, if a messy one.

Mid-season changing doesn't work; I'm right with you there. Not only from a fluff-bunny perspective, but in terms of game design. As much as I'd like some option myself, because I don't really care about the fluff to the degree that many do and I want to use all my mechs in Battles That Matter, there's no way to do it without opening the doors to really easy exploits that would totally ruin CW from a game mechanics standpoint. You'd have units with players swapping factions specifically to throw battles against their allies, all sorts of shenanigans. While many of those things can still be done with alternate accounts, that requires a lot more concerted effort. Making such exploits more difficult helps prevent them.

Quite simply, telling heavily invested customers they can't use mechs that cost them hundreds of dollars in the only battles with any purpose is not cool. Being able to switch factions was part of the initial game design - in fact, the original CW design that you conveniently ignore specifically stated we'd be able to build rep with multiple factions, and that would gate content.

So, no, the game design was NOT clearly "IS or Clan" from day one (there was PUG, Faction, and Merc as well, which was independent), and that was absolutely NOT highlighted when they were selling those Clan mechs (and IS mechs earlier).

I don't object to holding to IS v. Clan (and IS v. IS, and Clan v. Clan) battles. I'm cool with that. But there needs to be a way for players to use any of their mechs in Battles That Matter. Seasonal faction changing may be sketchy, but it's basically an easy patch to cover us for now.

[Cimarb]

Wintersdark, on 14 September 2014 - 06:35 PM, said:

I hate seasons, as they seem to trivialize everything. However, the seasonal reset is the most practical way to allow this right now. I'm happy that it's at least an option, if a messy one.

Mid-season changing doesn't work; I'm right with you there. Not only from a fluff-bunny perspective, but in terms of game design. As much as I'd like some option myself, because I don't really care about the fluff to the degree that many do and I want to use all my mechs in Battles That Matter, there's no way to do it without opening the doors to really easy exploits that would totally ruin CW from a game mechanics standpoint. You'd have units with players swapping factions specifically to throw battles against their allies, all sorts of shenanigans. While many of those things can still be done with alternate accounts, that requires a lot more concerted effort. Making such exploits more difficult helps prevent them.

Quite simply, telling heavily invested customers they can't use mechs that cost them hundreds of dollars in the only battles with any purpose is not cool. Being able to switch factions was part of the initial game design - in fact, the original CW design that you conveniently ignore specifically stated we'd be able to build rep with multiple factions, and that would gate content.

So, no, the game design was NOT clearly "IS or Clan" from day one (there was PUG, Faction, and Merc as well, which was independent), and that was absolutely NOT highlighted when they were selling those Clan mechs (and IS mechs earlier).

I don't object to holding to IS v. Clan (and IS v. IS, and Clan v. Clan) battles. I'm cool with that. But there needs to be a way for players to use any of their mechs in Battles That Matter. Seasonal faction changing may be sketchy, but it's basically an easy patch to cover us for now.

Seasonal resets are the laziest way to handle them. A much better way would be a process that required time and money to complete.

For instance, if you are CGB and want to switch to Davion, you have to pay 8 million cbills to switch to Dagger Star, effectively "buying" your release from duty, and then are "in transit" for 5-7 days, during which time you are locked out of CW matches on that account. After that wait period, you can then switch your faction to whatever other faction you wish to belong to. In doing so, you retain any achievements for loyalty earned up to that point from your previous faction, but lose all loyalty points with them. This allows you to complete the Wolfs Dragoons meta-achievement, but not gain any other faction benefits aside from your current one.

This can be used for Mercs, Lone Wolves, and Dagger Stars as well, but the faction would just not change until after the in transit time.

I am well aware of the Faction switching mentioned at the release party, and that is the system I just described. No where in that idea did they say you could use Clan mechs as an Inner Sphere pilot, or vice versa. They just said there would be some way to change factions. They did mention that everyone could participate in CW, and that you would not be locked out of using any of your mechs, but they did not put those two statements together, unless you have a quote I missed somewhere. You will still be able to use all of your mechs, just not in CW.

Regardless, though, a seasonal reset is lazy and completely immersion breaking. I realize there is not a whole lot of immersion to begin with in MWO, but CW is supposed to be the beginning of that, not a continuation of Deathmatch: Online...

[Hoax415]

That sounds a bit too punitive but maybe people would prefer time and cbill penalties to loyalty penalties so it might be palatable if you presented it as that sort of trade off.

The least punishing but still meaningful system would be on of strictly time.

So say you are Clan Wolf. To get to House Davion you would need to:

Go from Clan Wolf to Clan Daggerstar.
from Daggerstar to LNW
from LNW to merc
from merc to Davion

The advantage of this kind of system instead of free move between factions is fairly obvious I'd say in terms of people doing cheap or unsporting things.

Add in whatever time/cbill/LP deduction/whatever component people feels is appropriate to each move and I think you have a reasonable enough system.

Someone else suggested something like that so credit to whoever that was, its a solid idea.

But realistically I'm fine with anything. If people are allowed to switch then some people will join the winning side but that always happens so I'd rather keep players happy than try to force them to not be faction switchers and I think PGI has to take a similar attitude considering how strongly people feel its unfair to have their mech access restricted in any way.

Edited by Hoax415, 14 September 2014 - 08:37 PM.

[CorranHorn]

Not sure if anyone has asked this, didn't see it but also didn't look at every post, but if you only have 2-11 players in a unit you cannot try to invade a planet? Maybe have it to where people of the same faction, (Houses, Clans, Merc Corps, and....not sure how a lone wolf could own a planet...) can temporarily join forces in a queue to take a planet. The group with the most people alive, gets the planet, but the spoils are split evenly maybe? Either way I am excited about this. I am sure there will be things that need to be fixed and changed, but I look forward greatly to this.

Another thought, are we going to be able to see the dropships, or are they, for all practical purpuses, invisible or just a new/different mechbay?

[LtCasey]

Hi, just returned, because of the good news regarding CW. Finally Things get rolling.

I do appreciate the idea of the 1respawn rule and DS Mode. Sounds like a good way to go around. Another Idea might be a FARP
(ForwardArmingRefulingPoint). What do you think?

[Creovex]

Dropship mode.... bam! Can you smell the excitement???? I have to admit that the last week has been a roller coaster but I am feeling good about the future...

[Snakerensky]

Hoax415, on 14 September 2014 - 08:36 PM, said:

But realistically I'm fine with anything. If people are allowed to switch then some people will join the winning side but that always happens so I'd rather keep players happy than try to force them to not be faction switchers and I think PGI has to take a similar attitude considering how strongly people feel its unfair to have their mech access restricted in any way.

I remember back in MPBT3025 the Liao faction was always under pressure from Davion but that seemed to polarize their defence and they actually gained numbers, so perhaps there will be a bit of switching to both winning and losing factions by players who aren't as driven by lore or who have spent a lot of money on multiple factions mechs.

The example you mentioned is exactly my scenario, I have always been Davion at heart but have spent a lot of money on the Clan pack so would have liked to switch between Davion and Wolf to make use of all my mechs. Three months is way too long and it can't be too punitive on costs so perhaps a loyalty point hit might solve the issue, if you fight against the other factions you play then you lose loyalty points with that faction?

Edited by Snakerensky, 15 September 2014 - 12:55 AM.

[Ozric]

Another point about the proposed seasonal resets is that we are still supposed to following the timeline in some fashion or another, meaning that time will be passing at a few different speeds at once. The more I think about it, the less i like seasonal resets.

A better way to handle the compromise would be to have softer resets around a seasons results, and then move on to another season somewhere else. Three months for the battles of A/B/C, soft reset (victors rewarded), and then we all move on to three months of the battles of X/Y/Z. In this way the galaxy map evolves over time rather than goes back to where it started, and the factions have the feeling/illusion of galaxy conquest even though the devs will be directing where and when we fight.