744 replies to this topic

[FupDup]

Also, about the XL side torso penalties. The rule will be 20% of the internal sinks lost, so the Mad Cat would for example lose 3. An Adder has 8 internal sinks in its engine, so 20% of that is 1.6. Would this value round up or down to determine how many DHS he loses?

Edited by FupDup, 29 September 2014 - 05:06 PM.

[Malcolm Vordermark]

I demand that you discontinue use of your mind reading device to discover what I want to see changed in MWO. I appreciate the attempt to make me happy but I'm uncomfortable with the invasion of my thoughts.

Omnimech Fixed Jump Jet Slots

I'm torn on this one. Obviously, we're breaking the rules here. I like the idea of forcing the S to take all 5 jump jets but I'm pretty sure most people only use 2-3. Different combinations of omnipods will still allow for 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 jump jets. In some cases you could possibly end up with the wrong hard points but in general I don't see this having much impact.

I don't think this will hurt anything either, but lets make sure this tool is a last resort. I think breaking the construction rules too much would be bad, not to mention confusing.

If forcing all 5 jump jets is the goal I think adding a perk to the CT of the TBR-S that requires all 3 torsi from the S configuration to be present to have access to jump jets and then they are fixed would do it. I'm not sure if that is the goal, though.

Destruction of a Clan Side Torso

I'm glad speed is being left out of the equation for now, I don't much care for the idea. The effects are uneven. Although, I could see adding an extra penalty for side destruction to certain omnipods. I don't think this will completely narrow the gap between IS and Clan but I think it is an important part of the puzzle to balancing them without making them the same.

Fall Damage

Excellent, the fall damage changes never really bothered me in my heavy and assault mechs but I know that it was causing some issues for light pilots and they were just innocent bystanders that took the brunt of that nerf.

Jump Jet Thrust

I'm interested to see how this works out. I don't much care for the poptarts but JJs haven't really been fun since the nerf.

Jump Jet Turn Rate

All for more incentive to take more JJs
Updated Reward System

I hope this means rewards for caputring and defending cap points.

Inner Sphere Quirk System

If the top tier IS mechs aren't getting anything I don't see it having much impact on IS vs Clan balance. However, it could make sub optimal mechs more interesting and that is always welcome.

Edited by Rouken, 29 September 2014 - 05:07 PM.

[Ugg]

Any chance you will share with the community the mech rankings you guys used?

[FoXabre]

Just wanted to pop in and thank you for the road map. this is the kind of communication from Closed Beta that I had missed so much. Now if we can only get that concept art flowing again I'l be one dang happy MechWarrior!

[Russ Bullock]

Livestick, on 29 September 2014 - 04:50 PM, said:

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?

You stumped me - Hope I am not wrong but you then just have the 1 in the CT of the S variant.

Seems logical since the Prime and B don't have JJ hard points at all -

Ugg, on 29 September 2014 - 05:05 PM, said:

Any chance you will share with the community the mech rankings you guys used?

When I get closer and believe in them completely

[Tristan Winter]

A solid 10/10 post, Russ. Everything sounds real good.

[White Bear 84]

E N E R G Y, on 29 September 2014 - 04:28 PM, said:

I'd rather (and the majority of the competitive community) have a speed/velocity buff to all PPCS. Somewhere in the middle,700-900 was a bit over-nerfed, nothing like it was pre-nerf but maybe 1000-1300 or somewhere in the middle.

Speed is everything.

Awesome + PPC speed perk & lower heat production = AWESOME

Just saying...

#bringingawesomeback

[Son of the Flood]

Good stuff here and welcome additions. My Jenner and its leg actuators appreciate the reduction in fall damage.

I'm most interested in is quirks to reenergize some of the mechs we know and love (some of which are collecting some dust in our mech bays)! I would love to see some more HBK 4gs around!

[Russ Bullock]

Zanathan, on 29 September 2014 - 05:03 PM, said:

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.

If you want to take out the AC 10 perhaps the Hunchback 4H is for you.

Again if we don't allow some particular load out to be the most specialized and effected by the Quirks then it becomes very hard to bring these mechs up from tier 5 to competitive without laying insane amounts of general quirks to absolutely everything. Which creates less diversity

[Tristan Winter]

aniviron, on 29 September 2014 - 04:58 PM, said:

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.

Exactly what I thought. I have many memories of patches that left a bittersweet feeling in my mouth, because there was a combination of good and bad changes being implemented. This is the first time I've seen such a long list of undeniably positive changes. It's great.

[The Shepherd]

Quote

Fall Damage
I have instructed the team to make a small adjustment to fall damage for Medium and Light class 'Mechs. Currently Medium, Heavy, and Assault class 'Mechs all take falling damage at 35 m/s, with Light class 'Mechs starting at 38 m/s. After some more testing, we have decided to leave Heavy and Assault class'Mechs as they stand, but we will be slightly increasing Medium class 'Mechs to 39 m/s and increasing Lights to 46 m/s.

I feel this will feel a little bit better for the more mobile Medium 'Mechs and provide a much better feeling for fast-moving jump-capable Lights overall.

ETA: Oct 7th patch.

Jump Jet Thrust
Since the adjustment of JJ thrust, along with fall damage, we have seen 'pop-tarting' gameplay decrease to a much more acceptable level. I think everyone agrees this is a positive step for MWO. However, I think certain 'Mechs, well-represented by the Summoner (who takes 5+ JJ into combat), are not receiving enough of a benefit for taking them into battle. I am going to be making a small adjustment to allow the thrust to increase a little bit faster as you add more JJs. This will make those 'Mechs feel a little more mobile and give more advantage to 'Mechs that dedicate more space to JJ.

ETA: Oct 7th patch.

Jump Jet Turn Rate
While analyzing why certain players still enter combat with as little as 1-2 JJs, we discovered (or at least reminded ourselves) that the JJ turn rate while in the air was the same whether you had 1 JJ or 5+. This is obviously a huge disadvantage for 'Mechs such as the Summoner that have 5 fixed JJs for 5 tons. We are making an adjustment so that the turn rate while in the air while using JJs will increase with the number of JJs equipped. This means that a 'Mech such as the Summoner will have a more appropriate advantage in a brawling situation over a non-jump capable Heavy, or one utilizing far less JJs. This, in combination with the small change in JJ thrust, should mean 'Mechs such as the Summoner will have a more appropriate advantage for its tonnage spent on JJs.
ETA: Oct 7th or 21st patch.

0.0

As of right now Russ, my SDR's love you. This is the Jump Jet/fall damage tweak I've been holding out for. The last pass really put the heavy and assault mechs in their place, but this will hopefully make the jump capable mediums feel more durable and versatile, and make the lights really feel like they've slipped their leash.
Cant wait for next week if these changes go live then.

Question though regarding Quirks versus these changes; does this general pass on Jump Jets rule out some kind of Movement Quirk for Mechs renowned in lore for their Jump Jets and maneuverability vs other JJ capable mechs in their weight class (eg; Spider, Wolverine, Quickdraw, Highlander)?
I'm thinking of factors aside from the increased thrust and turn speed that you've mentioned above, such as; increased JJ cooldown speed, increased forward thrust generated/JJ equipped, decreased fall damage while thrusting upon landing. That kind of thing.

[Russ Bullock]

Remember these are weapon specific quirks - so although I may not be planning to increase the velocity of the PPC - a weapon specific quirk will.

The Awesome 8Q comes to mind with new PPC specific quirks on velocity, cooldown and heat.

[Alistair Winter]

Just saw the good news in this thread.

I'll be buying the Clan Invasian wave 2 pack now.

Keep up the good work.

[Zanathan]

Russ Bullock, on 29 September 2014 - 05:09 PM, said:

If you want to take out the AC 10 perhaps the Hunchback 4H is for you.

Again if we don't allow some particular load out to be the most specialized and effected by the Quirks then it becomes very hard to bring these mechs up from tier 5 to competitive without laying insane amounts of general quirks to absolutely everything. Which creates less diversity

Russ Bullock, on 29 September 2014 - 05:09 PM, said:

If you want to take out the AC 10 perhaps the Hunchback 4H is for you.

Again if we don't allow some particular load out to be the most specialized and effected by the Quirks then it becomes very hard to bring these mechs up from tier 5 to competitive without laying insane amounts of general quirks to absolutely everything. Which creates less diversity

Thanks for responding Russ. I see your point given the two variants are similar although this again doesn't cover it for those who wish to play with AC5/UAC5s for example. I'm going to assume the stacking buff aren't huge and not having them wouldn't be such a big deal.

Cheers =)

[DasSibby]

Love it. Love it. LOVE IT.

Each of these tweaks have been proposed or very heavily discussed by the community, and the Dev's proposed implementation shows that they're listening!

In order of happiness for me?

1. Fall damage. This will make lights MUCH more pilot-able.
2. Jump Jets. This will make jump jets more worthwhile, while still keeping pop-tart populations in check.
3. IS Mech quirks! This one I'm really exited for, but I have to wait to see how it's implemented... (It's gonna make matches SO MUCH FUN!)

[Zordicron]

Russ Bullock, on 29 September 2014 - 05:09 PM, said:

If you want to take out the AC 10 perhaps the Hunchback 4H is for you.

Again if we don't allow some particular load out to be the most specialized and effected by the Quirks then it becomes very hard to bring these mechs up from tier 5 to competitive without laying insane amounts of general quirks to absolutely everything. Which creates less diversity

I think the idea has a lot of merit. I also think you will see some resistance, as it looks like many players are afraid that their "favorite variant" and their "favorite loadout" wont be the ideal anymore for them. IMO this wont be the case in most of them, but do take into consideration hardpoint layout a little when you do these quirks, sometimes a favorite loadout benefits from HP location quite a bit.

As for those Dragons again, why do you consider Flame higher then the rest? Is it because long ago forumites said so? Since that time you guys added ghost heat to large lasers and nerfed PPC speeds a lot. I dont see the advantage anymore.

Can you comment as to why Fang and Flame have one less module slot available? Will this quirk pass allow that to be changed? For other mechs possibly too?

[Scratx]

Russ Bullock, on 29 September 2014 - 05:07 PM, said:

You stumped me - Hope I am not wrong but you then just have the 1 in the CT of the S variant.

Seems logical since the Prime and B don't have JJ hard points at all -



When I get closer and believe in them completely

Russ, on this one you should ask whoever is doing the implementation to get the story out of them.

If it's tied to the S Omnipod, and anywhere you use the S sidetorso Omnipod you get slapped with jumpjets, it's one thing. If the Timby S variant and ONLY that variant gets the fixed jumpjets regardless of omnipods on the side torsos...

Well, I think I won't be the only one facepalming.

[Sky Hawk]

Dear Russ!

I just hope, that your quirks-system won't kill my mostly "not-even-near-to-other-players" builds.. And it will not force me, for example to brawl or to any other playstyle, what really don't fit me, or what I really don't like... but, beside that...

I really want to thank you for this "October..." post, not just because you shared your infos/decisions with us, but that you take the time, and you shared the REASONS for them too... AND, that you made this post really BEFORE october...

I really hope, that this timely, informative and clear communication will be the norm in the future..


Russ, thank you very much!

[Wintersdark]

Russ Bullock, on 29 September 2014 - 05:09 PM, said:

If you want to take out the AC 10 perhaps the Hunchback 4H is for you.

Again if we don't allow some particular load out to be the most specialized and effected by the Quirks then it becomes very hard to bring these mechs up from tier 5 to competitive without laying insane amounts of general quirks to absolutely everything. Which creates less diversity

I'm definitely in favor of more specialized quirks. I really want to see different variants be better at specific things. Most importantly for those chassis with multiple but currently very similar variants, like the hunchback and awesome, for example.

It also means that other mechs in the future with only few very similar variants are much more viable for addition to MWO.

Yay diversity!

[Kain Demos]

E N E R G Y, on 29 September 2014 - 04:28 PM, said:

I'd rather (and the majority of the competitive community) have a speed/velocity buff to all PPCS. Somewhere in the middle,700-900 was a bit over-nerfed, nothing like it was pre-nerf but maybe 1000-1300 or somewhere in the middle.

Doing a full 15 damage is really irrelevant - if the shot fails to land, which it will 75% of the time due to how slow it is, even if it does 90 damage is null.

Speed is everything.

I would take that instead. Either would be ok in my book.

Its just that at first my PPC hit rate was terrible--somewhere in the low 40s. I've now boosted this to 60% and keep getting better so I started thinking that if they are dead set on keeping PPCs and Gauss de-linked I would certainly like to be rewarded for those tough shots with more pinpoint damage.