208 replies to this topic

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

Delas Ting Usee, on 10 October 2014 - 07:31 PM, said:

If that time window...takes into account the Americas, Europe and Asia prime playing time before it closes or changes, that would be awesome.

I would be really happy with 3-4 windows, each starting at different times of the day and running for 12 or 24 hours.

[Levon K]

Roadbeer, on 09 October 2014 - 07:39 AM, said:

This bothers me, a lot.
Since the beginning, Faction Warfare was one of the "pillars", and all along it has been treated as a 'Meh, we'll get to it", and now it's being treated like the private match system for the Esport crowd.

Is your game about the great Houses fighting each other, and the Clans, or not? You do realize that most of the people who have stuck with you, on and off, over the years have been waiting for CW?

CW should be your future focus, with all rewards and incentives drawing people to that. Not your rinse and repeat TDM that we've been playing for the last 2 years because we HAVE to, not because we WANT to.

Took me a while to get back to reading this thread, but this pretty much sums it up. I'm quoting this to highlight it as the most glaring issue with MWO right now. I'm glad Roadbeer is back and posting again.

[Hoax415]

Kilo 40, on 10 October 2014 - 01:49 AM, said:

Will CW2 see something like PGI run canon groups/units that will be able to participate in CW?

That was a system once upon a time and if eventually CW is iterated to the point where mercs and/or LNW play a vastly different style with different rewards and goals than Faction loyalists its a system that could return. But it certainly will not be making it into CW at the end of this year by all indications.

SKINLESS, on 10 October 2014 - 01:59 AM, said:

Is there any plans for a Solaris Arena/Deathmatch option?

To what end? At this time they plan for CW to not run 24/7. Public Queues are deathmatch for the most part. If you mean small-scale like 1v1 or 2v2 style stuff you have private lobbies which could use a lot more support certainly. But there are no short term plans for something like this.

Rufus Ingram, on 10 October 2014 - 02:31 PM, said:

A concern/question is that it seems ELo is not a factor in CW matchmaking. Can that be clarified? It seems to depend on who queues up for the attack and defense rather than ELo. That said, on the assumption 12-man groups will focus on CW is there a way to address how 12-man's give the attacking side a distinct advantage

As of the latest update on the subject there is no Elo matching of any kind in CW. As for 12-man groups. Two things:
1) There is no longer a 12-man group requirement to attack, so there is no game system reason for more 12-man attacking groups than 12-man defending groups.

2) The system works differently in CW. Even if you queue solo you will be put onto a "team" with the normal group window, group chat, while the system adds players to your "team" until you have 12 and then you can drop. It will not be the system where you hit drop and you don't know who your teammates will even be until you have loaded the game.

Delas Ting Usee, on 10 October 2014 - 07:31 PM, said:

If that time window...takes into account the Americas, Europe and Asia prime playing time before it closes or changes

The idea is to have multiple windows. That open and close. It has been confirmed that there will be at least 3:
-North America
-EU/Germany
-Australia

Details very much subject to change. PGI has yet to commit to how long per day they want/expect CW to be available. 8 hours? 10? 12? More?

[Cimarb]

Solomon Ward, on 09 October 2014 - 10:13 PM, said:

PvE in 2015 ? Ugh - Please DON`T.

I rather wish you would focus on Solaris VII instead and reevaluate implementing collision for melee /death from above.
Or a more complex Skill system for the mech pilot with real choices ; you can respec for money or C-Bills.
( Yes i admit i played the tabletop game combined with Mechwarrior RPG )
or..or..or

Edit : I know you think $$$ because you can sell those PvE campaigns - easy revenue

but i would gladly pay for Solaris VII.A lot.

Not so easy tho because Solaris is not Solaris when you can´t ram your hatchet into someone else`s cockpit or finish someone of with a last desperate attempt in death from above because you lost all your weapons.

There are lots of ways they could do Solaris, and it is VERY monetizable I agree, but PvE is not necessarily what you are thinking it is.

PvE is already in the game through the turret system in Assault. That is you (the Player) vs. the turret (the Environment, aka computer controlled NPC). The dropship planned for Phase 2 is also going to be PvE, as it is not controlled by a player either. Hopefully, it will eventually also include convoys of armor and supply vehicles (aka escort mission) and even better assault missions where we have to attack a dropship or other heavily fortified facility.

PvE does NOT necessarily mean single-player missions, and generally does not, if that is what you are worried about.

JediMechwarrior, on 10 October 2014 - 05:25 AM, said:

If we mercenaries aren't going to be represented, why do we log onto mwomercs.com? shouldn't the website name reflect this? mwowarrior.com maybe? just a suggestion...

Mercenaries are being represented just fine. While I would prefer the URL to put an emphasis on ALL factions myself, that is just because I really could care less about mercenaries

Kageru Ikazuchi, on 10 October 2014 - 09:59 PM, said:

I would be really happy with 3-4 windows, each starting at different times of the day and running for 12 or 24 hours.

So you just want 24/7 windows? Russ said it is all about player participation, so if enough people are playing, you will get your wish and we will all be happy with how strong the game is getting!

[Rufus Ingram]

Hoax415, on 11 October 2014 - 08:10 AM, said:

As of the latest update on the subject there is no Elo matching of any kind in CW. As for 12-man groups. Two things:
1) There is no longer a 12-man group requirement to attack, so there is no game system reason for more 12-man attacking groups than 12-man defending groups.

2) The system works differently in CW. Even if you queue solo you will be put onto a "team" with the normal group window, group chat, while the system adds players to your "team" until you have 12 and then you can drop. It will not be the system where you hit drop and you don't know who your teammates will even be until you have loaded the game.

1)There is the incentive reason to attack as at least the 5 million to attack/2 million to defend numbers thrown out favor attacking. We don't have a full picture of cost-benefit to defend and attack, but if they are unbalanced one will draw the more organized groups/ 12-man premades imo.

2) I understand, but being able to chat before match is different from practicing together for weeks/months. It's just something I am aware of as a solo player. I'm not losing sleep over it. This is going to be fun.

[MadLibrarian]

@Solomon, did you ever play MW4:Mercs? That Solaris mode is awesome. 15 players in a deathmatch gets crazy fast, but the maps are big enough it won't be a big deal. It also provides opportunities for individuals to gain a reputation, and have an actual league system they might just win.

As far as code is concerned, it shouldn't require hefty modifications for the gameplay, but the databasing would be more complex. Given that stats are already connected to the web, I doubt that would be too hard. If they ever opened it up to the community, I'd donate at least a few hours a week working on that bit.

Just imagine, fighting for something!

[Azerius Mezinar]

Is there any way you could increase the drop ship's weight limit so that those of us (like me) who hate playing light mechs will not be forced to do so? 240 tons is a bit too light for my tastes, as I won't touch ANYTHING lighter than a heavy mech, and I usually play with either a Dire Wolf, or an Atlas. In order to use four decent mechs that won't blow up in a heartbeat, I would need to drop down to mediums, which I am not terribly good at playing. Is the 120-240 limit a product of the lore, and if not, can we set it so that we have the option of taking 4 assaults, or 2 assaults and two heavies?

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

Cimarb, on 11 October 2014 - 09:24 AM, said:

So you just want 24/7 windows? Russ said it is all about player participation, so if enough people are playing, you will get your wish and we will all be happy with how strong the game is getting!

Basically, yes ... I want each planetary assault to start at around the middle of (X region) prime time and then progress for 12 or 24 hours, giving mechwarriors around the world the opportunity to influence the fight, and different fights would start at different times (some may start in NA prime time, then others in Asia-Pacific-Oceania prime time, then others in EU).

They could even scale the number of planets being contested at any one time to the projected player population.

[Triordinant]

Azerius Mezinar, on 11 October 2014 - 02:10 PM, said:

Is there any way you could increase the drop ship's weight limit so that those of us (like me) who hate playing light mechs will not be forced to do so? 240 tons is a bit too light for my tastes, as I won't touch ANYTHING lighter than a heavy mech, and I usually play with either a Dire Wolf, or an Atlas. In order to use four decent mechs that won't blow up in a heartbeat, I would need to drop down to mediums, which I am not terribly good at playing. Is the 120-240 limit a product of the lore, and if not, can we set it so that we have the option of taking 4 assaults, or 2 assaults and two heavies?

They chose 240 tons because the minimum 'mech tonnage is 20 and the max is 100, making the average 60. Therefore, 60 x 4 = 240. My planned default dropdeck has 3 heavies and 1 medium. Assaults are supposed to be very rare on the battlefield.

Edited by Triordinant, 11 October 2014 - 03:21 PM.

[Prussian Havoc]

140 to 240 tons, with a hard requirement for each player to bring 4 Mechs is ideal IMHO.

There are a number of forcing functions in all this. Some are monetization based, selling more Mechs, Mech Bays and one heck of a lot more modules! I for one used to move that solitary Seismic Sensor module to which ever Mech I had in the fight at the moment. Now I'll need multiples of numerous modules.

But I still can not argue with attempts at increased monetization... it is my estimation that all the money from those 70,000-plus Founder's Packages, 30,000-plus Phoenix Packages and 50,000-plus Clan I and II packages exited MWO with IGP. As a matter of fact I believe that PGI still owes compensation of some manner to IGP. So all these new packages and all the CW game mechanics that drive future monetization are all that stands between MWO / PGI and what has happened to my Founder's Investment in MWT. Yes, IGP has managed to sully both games... and yeah, I am being unreasonably optimistic in calling MWT a "game" at this point.

https://www.mwtactics.com

But I digress...

"Jump Tanking" has long been a reality for Tank Commanders the world over. Having a CW mechanism where I as the owner of multiple Mechs can get back to one of my other Mechs and then return to battle has a president in reality, and I applaud that. (The use of the term rspawning is not a problem for me.)

I also find comfort in the fact that it takes a certain amount of fellow gamer investment in the game in order to participate in CW. Someone can't just take one Mech, drop for their single entry in combat next to me, die and then leave our team short by the remaining three Mechs. Buying sufficient Mechs, outfitting them with upgrades, Engines (or Omnipods if you prefer) and modules sufficient to bring 4@140-240 implies a certain seriousness in fully involving ones' self in a CW drop. Plus a team of 12 will surely benefit greatly from a full 36-Mech reinforsment... while player skill varies greatly across the various roles of Mech Warfare, just bring able to pug along with the group in my ECM Ravens will no doubt help to a small degree after my chosen BattleMaster 1S's are destroyed.

And finally I find the tonnage window to be very generous... a good case could be made for the window be 80-220. Nothing wrong IMHO if the four Mechs a gamer prefers happens to be Locusts. Why make him chose his three Locusts and then force him to take at least an 80-tonner? Plus I find it objectionable to allow the Clanners the eventual ability to bring 4 Mad Dogs each!!! If we adjust downward the tonnage by 20 tons, the average Mech would be a Medium and thus much closer to Lore and individual Mech Class availability.


Just some thoughts IMHO on this topic and subsequent posts.

[Angel of Annihilation]

slide, on 08 October 2014 - 09:24 PM, said:

I understand that, but you cannot expect units to pay some sort of fee to drop and then get nothing back. Can you you imagine the outrage when a unit leader turns around and asks all it members to donate again so they can go and do it all again. Even rich players and units will get sick of that real quick. You have to at least have the potential of coming out even or in front of where you as a player or as a unit were before you started, otherwise no one will play.

I agree with you here. CW can't be a C-bill sink, there has to be a reason to win and that reason should be resources. Basically if you take part in the battle and your side wins then you should get a big reward of some type that more than offsets the cost of the operation. If you lose however, then yeah your stuck with having the eat the cost of the operation.

Prussian Havoc, on 11 October 2014 - 05:14 PM, said:

I for one used to move that solitary Seismic Sensor module to which ever Mech I had in the fight at the moment. Now I'll need multiples of numerous modules.

Yeah this is one thing I don't really like. I usually run Seismic and Radar Dep and that is a 9 million investment or the cost of a good battlemech and we aren't even considering weapons modules which brings that cost up to around 15 million per mech. That is like buying 4 additional Dire Wolves just to fully outfit yourself for CW.

That is going to hurt and hurt alot especially when I still want to eventually buy all the Clan mechs (Still need 3 of the Summoner, Adder, Warhawk, Mad Dog and Gargoyle) plus I am going to likely want to round out my three for the free Atlas, Centurion and King Crab I am getting, plus I still want to own about 10-12 IS mechs I haven't had the chance to play yet.

Anyway, this comes back to the fact I disagree that modules should be considered end game content. Personally I have always felt they should be treated more like adding a PPC to the mech instead and be just another slot you always ended up buying a piece of equipment for on every new mech you purchase rather than some holy grail device that costs you as much as a mech to own.

Edited by Viktor Drake, 11 October 2014 - 07:42 PM.

[Monsoon]

1) VTAL? Hasn't this always been known as VTOL?

2) "Is dropship mode the only mode available for CW? Will there be any way for people who do not want to play respawn mode to not play respawn mode, and still take part in CW?

As stated last time, Drop Ship mode is slated for CW use only."

- I think the question was read incorrectly; I believe the question is: Will there be other modes of play like Conquest/Assault/Skirmish...etc, also available for CW? So that those participating in CW can choose not to do Dropship mode.

Just my interpretation.

3) "Is the design goal of planetary conquest to give a match based more on objectives than taking out the enemy forces? To give an exampe, Conquest mode as it exists currently is still primarily focused on taking out the entire enemy team as opposed to winning on capping. Capping is the secondary objective and is the least likely victory condition.

MWO is an online multiplayer game that is always going to be focussed on the PVP aspect of a battle. PVE campaigns have been talked about and will be investigated in the new year."

- I think the questioner might mean that it isn't enough to simply kill all the enemy mechs, but that you 'the attacker' would also need to capture the base (or whatever is the objective). For example, think 'Assault mode', but still being required to fight past the turrets to capture base even though all enemies are eliminated. After all, why have objectives if it's simply easier to kill the enemy forces to achieve victory (as is often the case with Conquest)?

- Caveat, not my opinion, I'm just trying to capture the feel of the original question.

Edited by Monsoon, 11 October 2014 - 08:03 PM.

[Kidd Sykes]

So, a while back when the mechlab was rearranged, I went on a big rant about how it was somewhat disappointing for me. Well, i gave it time and patience and seeing what cw has brought, and the latest touches to clean it up a bit, I see its usefullness.

That being said, maybe somewhere down the road, you devs might put in a spot for favorite selected mechs in there? I liked that part back in beta...

[Draven Darkshadow]

i can't say the 240 ton limit is feasible for the current clan mechs atm since there is only a limited amount of mix and match 1 can do with them
the current layout is
kitfox 30 stormcrow 55 maddog 60 warhawk 85 direwolf 100
adder 35 nova 50 summoner 70 timberwolf 75

while there is a multitude of options for the IS mechs

the 1/1/1/1 approach might be fairer until there is another extra 10+ clan mechs to mix and match with

[Prussian Havoc]

Draven Darkshadow, on 12 October 2014 - 03:41 PM, said:

i can't say the 240 ton limit is feasible for the current clan mechs atm since there is only a limited amount of mix and match 1 can do with them
the current layout is
kitfox 30 stormcrow 55 maddog 60 warhawk 85 direwolf 100
adder 35 nova 50 summoner 70 timberwolf 75

while there is a multitude of options for the IS mechs

the 1/1/1/1 approach might be fairer until there is another extra 10+ clan mechs to mix and match with

As an IS Gamer I like the artificial constraint on the Clan ability to bring multiple Direwolves per Clan gamer. Whereas I can bring 2 Atlas DDC's and two Locusts, there is currently no Clan 20-ton Mech to permit 4 Clan Mech to be brought under the 240 ton restriction.

I am not saying it is fair, but if our 12-man Mech Companies are forced to combat Clan Binaries "plus Two" then I'll take whatever advantages I can compel from PGI's CW mechanisms.

Thank you very much for this admittedly significant factor in our advantage PGI!

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

Draven Darkshadow, on 12 October 2014 - 03:41 PM, said:

...

Since they've said more recently that we will not be limited to 1/1/1/1, you don't really have to worry ... with the Clan 'mechs that will be available by mid-December (pre-ordered, mid-March for C-Bills), there are no less that 45 combinations that add up to exactly 240 tons (this does not include combinations that add up to less than 240 tons).

As an IS pilot, I'm most concerned with a well-coordinated TBR, TBR, SCR, KFX (235 tons) drop deck equipped with nothing but ERLLs, and able to focus fire 400+ points of damage out to 700+ meters every five seconds under the cover of ECM.

Edited by Kageru Ikazuchi, 12 October 2014 - 09:04 PM.

[Karl Marlow]

Aside from turning the map our factions color. How does taking a planet benefit us?

[Draven Darkshadow]

C-ERLL isn't that op, plus if you haven't notice they need to stay on target for almost double the duration from the IS tech.
I hardly ever use erll on the clan mechs.
I have mastered 25 mechs plus 2 centurions and 1 stalker i sold.
I only have the kitfox/summoner/direwolf out of that 25, they do have more weapon slots but its more the pilot skills than the is/clan tech.

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

Draven Darkshadow, on 12 October 2014 - 11:36 PM, said:

C-ERLL isn't that op, plus if you haven't notice they need to stay on target for almost double the duration from the IS tech.
I hardly ever use erll on the clan mechs.
I have mastered 25 mechs plus 2 centurions and 1 stalker i sold.
I only have the kitfox/summoner/direwolf out of that 25, they do have more weapon slots but its more the pilot skills than the is/clan tech.

Over 70 'mechs mastered, and those are just the ones in my mechbays ... I've probably sold more than a dozen, but that has nothing to do with the conversation.

ERLL on a few 'mechs out of twelve, you're right, they're not OP. However, get 12 guys on comms with a good firing line and a choke point or strategic node of the map and an open area that gives them 1000+ meters of line of sight or room to retreat and kite, and it will be a dominant tactic. It will depend a lot on the map design and the game mode.

I'm looking forward to the glorious brawls that can be part of CW, but not the possibility that one team could just camp one strategic point on the map and prevent victory.

[Hoax415]

Kageru Ikazuchi, on 12 October 2014 - 08:59 PM, said:

there are no less that 45 combinations that add up to exactly 240 tons (this does not include combinations that add up to less than 240 tons).

The clans will only be missing 4/17 tonnage values at CW launch and other than 40t mediums they are all at the very extreme ends of the scale: 20t, 40t, 90t and 95t.

This makes the 40t Dragonfly and 90t Kingfisher obvious choices for a third Clan Pack. It will all work itself out.

Edited by Hoax415, 13 October 2014 - 06:39 AM.