744 replies to this topic

[Russ Bullock]

KamikazeRat, on 29 September 2014 - 03:30 PM, said:

How will the client handle the Timberwolf-S suddenly having JJs and a full complement of weapons/ammo in those locations? is it going to strip the build? reset it to factory? or just add them and have a slot violation that you have to manually fix? im probably going to preempt this and just add some JJs to it, but not everyone will.

A combination of slot violation stripping and manual fixing, depending on whether you end up over tonnage or over slot. Should be things your used to dealing with already.

[Livestick]

Question: Are the Timber Wolf S jets locked to the chassis itself or just the pods? If I take a Timber Wolf S and give it Prime side torsos, will it still have 5 locked jets or will it only have 1?

[Russ Bullock]

Zyllos, on 29 September 2014 - 03:40 PM, said:

About the Jump Jet turn rate, does this mean some chassis can get a turn rate that is higher than the turn rate of the chassis while on the ground?

Is the Jump Jet turn rate a function of the turn rate of the chassis on the ground?

completely separate from the ground turn rate. Many 1 JJ timber wolfs and Victors would use the 1 JJ to turn and bring weapons to target quicker than they could turn on the ground. You will need to take more JJ if you want that advantage...so the Summoner will have that brawl advantage.

[Summon3r]

these omgwtf my timberwolf is broken now thread are not serious are they? the t-wolf will remain bar none the best heavy in the game for the foreseeable future

[Nightmare1]

D0hle, on 29 September 2014 - 04:38 PM, said:

Clan Mechs haven't been nerfed at all. Clan weapons on the other hand have been. Seems only reasonable to move from weapon balance changes to equipment and specific Mechs.

I was using the term loosely. While you are correct that their weapons have been nerfed, and not the Mechs specifically, the aggregate effect is still the same - Decreased Clan Mech performance.

Hopefully, PGI will stop the nerfs with this latest round of engine heat sink nerfs. Clan Mechs are already glass cannons that are difficult to use effectively; nerfing them further simply reduces them to being expensive targets that cannot compete against IS Mechs.

...And before anyone accuses me of being a Clanner, I'm actually not one and run my IS Mechs more often than my Clan ones. In fact, I have about six variants I haven't touched yet, and half my Clan Mechs aren't even basic'ed. I simply find my IS Mechs more entertaining and effective in battle.

[Russ Bullock]

Zanathan, on 29 September 2014 - 03:48 PM, said:

Thanks for the update.

Reward System: This should not be restricted to just light and medium mechs but whichever weight class has the lowest percentage of players fielding them for a specific period of time. Static implementations are bad, avoid at all cost!

I'm interested in seeing what these rewards are.

Inner Sphere Quirk System: While this is welcoming news, forcing players to use a particular build because you deem it the most effective is not acceptable since everyone player plays differently. Using the example of the Hunch 4G, not everyone wants to brawl in it and would prefer to snipe or play long range support as opposed to using an AC20. In this case the quirk should be ballistics focused rather then a particular autocannon (AC20).

And you will be free to do that and even pick up some positive quirks and you will be stronger -

Kaeb Odellas, on 29 September 2014 - 03:51 PM, said:

Will the jump jet change affect the Kit Fox as well? It probably should for consistency's sake, but I don't know if the Kit Fox really needs a nerf like this.

yes consistent rule

[Rasc4l]

Hi Russ,

nice to hear from your future plans, thanks for the update.

Nice that the said plans seem to make sense.


But what about The Plan? Is it no longer being updated, because a) it was Bryan's domain and the Earth seems to have swallowed him since Transverse fiasco B) Your CW implementation changes so fast there is no point?

What I'm basically after is information on UI 2.0, which is still one of the steps in the plan. I saw you're no longer looking for a guy to do the UI. Is this because you hired someone for that or you dropped improving UI 2.0 altogether? I'm interested in this, because I know so many people who are still on a break from MWO exactly due to the lack of smurfy like UI. I know I would be if my interest wasn't boosted by being in an active unit.

Edited by Rasc4l, 29 September 2014 - 04:54 PM.

[Ren Kurogane]

-Huh? We have jump jets? I always thought they were just devices to help us walk over speed bumps /andor small rocks...
-Fixed JJs on Timber Wolf S-variant, uh....gotta change my loadout it seems. I do use JJs, but only 2, not 4 for my Timber Wolfs (Wolves?).
-Penalty for destruction of Clan's STs is needed.
-MOAR C-Bills for lights and mediums!!
-MOAR LOVE for IS mechs!!

Seems good overall to me, reserving judgement after they go online. Oh, and....any info about improvements for current UI too?

[LaserAngel]

I can understand the Victor and Highlander being the "old Tier 1" meta Mechs. When you talk about no quirks are you taking off some if not all of the the old movement quirks, torso yaw/pitch speeds and turn rate, that you applied before?

I still feel pretty useless in my Heavy Metal with 2 Jump Jets and I dare not even touch a Victor without x2 Basics.

Edit: It was answered on the previous page.

http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__3773775

Edited by LaserAngel, 29 September 2014 - 05:39 PM.

[Russ Bullock]

Fallengrace, on 29 September 2014 - 04:06 PM, said:

We need the A La Cart option for Clan wave 2.... As it stands if we dont pre-order the mech by the 1st we will not get that early reward. That is bull... You need to honor that reward for us all since it doesnt seem like you will get it out by oct 1st.

Off topic but yes we plan to extend the September reward into October for a bit based on when a la carte for wave 2 comes online

[Kaeb Odellas]

Russ Bullock, on 29 September 2014 - 04:35 PM, said:

The alternative is taking a tier 5 mech and buffing every single weapon on it and each of the variants - then you end up with 5 dragons that remain very much the same.

Better to say well this one only has 1 ballistic hard point lets make it about the Gauss and this one with 3 hard points more about the AC2 both in a support role. That's more interesting is it not.

You could promote certain weapons in a less direct way.

For instance, the Dragon 5N has the 3 ballistic hardpoints that allow AC2 or MG stacking. Give that particular variant reduced heat generation and faster cooldown for its ballistic weapons. On the other hand, the 1C has only one ballistic hardpoint, which means you're going to want to fit a bigger gun on there, which means a bigger, easier to crit target. Give the 1C a "hardened" arm that reduces crit chance and damage for components in that arm.. The 1N is a good variant to fit 2 AC5s in, so let's give that one better range and cooldown for ballistics.

[Russ Bullock]

WerewolfX, on 29 September 2014 - 04:08 PM, said:

Russ a big question I have is this. As IS mechs receive quirks will the clans also get some quirks like the JJ's that are fixed or will they receive different quirks to make them unique with the clan playstyle? So far this is freaking epic.

Clans get their Quirk pass next, and will be variant specific as well

[Nothing Whatsoever]

Cool, it sounds good!

---

And I'm wondering if Heat Capacity is getting looked at; through this process?

I still feel that Capacity is too high and that Heat Sinks should just affect Heat Dissipation. (I can go on and expand on what I mean, but keeping comments short in this post).

[aniviron]

I usually read MWO upcoming change notes with a mixture of excitement and trepidation- especially when it's announcements about balance.

Not today, though. Every change slated for October fixes something necessary, and so far it sounds like nothing is going overboard or doing too little. I look forward to seeing what this month brings. Thanks for keeping us posted- updates like this help a lot.

[Tastian]

These all sound like fantastic changes coming. The Jump Jet fall damage will be great for mediums and lights. The Jump Jet stacking for the Summoner (and all mechs) for jumping and turn is much needed. The Clan XL heat loss is great (you'll lose half your weapons anyway so the heat won't really matter). I also like the Timberwolf S fixed Jump Jet change. And shame on anyone whining about that.

But most of all, I'm looking forward to the IS Quirk pass. I made my own list here: http://mwomercs.com/...75#entry3742475 If you have a moment, Russ, take a look. I love the idea of tier 5 mechs getting larger positive quirks then tier 1 mechs. I'd love to bring out my Dragon, Quickdraw, and Commando again.

[Mawai]

Russ Bullock, on 29 September 2014 - 04:35 PM, said:

The alternative is taking a tier 5 mech and buffing every single weapon on it and each of the variants - then you end up with 5 dragons that remain very much the same.

Better to say well this one only has 1 ballistic hard point lets make it about the Gauss and this one with 3 hard points more about the AC2 both in a support role. That's more interesting is it not.

It may be more interesting but also more limiting. If there is one ballistic hard point then the mech might fit an AC20/Gauss or AC10 depending on whether it was fitting medium or large lasers and needed the tonnage. By adding a quirk for one specific configuration you essentially have chosen to favour that fit over any other.

Consider the 3 ballistic hard points you mentioned ... AC2s are subpar in general ... adding a quirk won't make the weapon itself that much better .. especially given the tonnage and ghost heat on AC2s. On the other hand, 3 ballistic slots could be used for 3xAC5 or 2xUAC5 or several other good combinations ... by adding a quirk that only supports one weapon system i can limit the effectiveness by only have one build on a mech that becomes competitive.

You might want to consider benefits to a range of weapons ... i.e. all ACs ... or AC10,5,2 or Gauss/AC20/AC10 just so that the preferred builds aren't limited to the one enforced by a specific quirk.

[Asaru]

Russ great post. However while I'm looking forward to the mech quirks and I'm a strong believer that something like this has been need for a while. I'm not totally convinced that it will help with build diversity.

Taking the Gauss as an example my builds tend to be more for mid-range combat and even where I do snipe I have been staying well away from the Gauss because of the charge mechanic. Unless the quirk is getting rid of that no buff is going to get me to use it. Similarly giving the Dragon a LRM buff won't make me any more likely to use them over and SRM.

People are still going to build mechs based on there play style, on weapon likes, and what they feel in most effective (min/max) quirks or no quirks. But please keep trying these are some very positive moves and even when we fail we can still learn something. Of course who knows maybe I'm totally wrong and it will work as intended.

[Russ Bullock]

FupDup, on 29 September 2014 - 04:30 PM, said:

I have a few questions for Russ about the quirks pass, if it's not too soon to ask for specific clarifications: 1. What tier are the Raven 4X and 2X variants considered to be? (I know what I would consider them, but I'm not the one making the quirks pass...). 2. I think it's safe to assume that the Shadow Hawk is a tier 2 mech at minimum, or perhaps even tier 1. That being said, are the 2H and 5M variants (maybe even the 2D) be considered a tier lower than the other "epic" variants like 2D2 and 2K?

Not going to answer all of these but the Ravens are tiers 4 and 5 for those 2 mechs.

[Wintersdark]

Rise or Die, on 29 September 2014 - 02:53 PM, said:

Great. Now you ruined all 3 of my Timberwolf builds since EVERYONE uses at least one Timberwolf-S omnipod and no jump jets. And now all three are broken.

If there are more fatal nerfs that break the Timberwolf even more im not playing this game anymore. Ive spend a lot of money the last 2 years for this.

Seriously? The S pods where flat out broken. They had the best hard points _and_ added jump jet capacity. The couple negative quirks where irrelevant.

Seriously, you can't act surprised when the best part of arguably the best mech in the game gets nerfed a little bit.

You *had* to know that timberwolf nerfs where coming, from day one.

Be thankful they are so mild. I was honestly expecting Victor level agility nerfs.

[Zanathan]

Scratx, on 29 September 2014 - 03:52 PM, said:

Been mentioned in that particular case it'll probably be a general buff plus an AC20 stacking buff.

Yes but my point still stands, are they going to give a stacking buff for other ballistics or just the AC20 which means unless you equip an AC20 you aren't maximising your build to a particular playstyle.