67 replies to this topic

[Alistair Winter]

May we have some fluff?

You know, a little bit of background text? We already lost the ISN reports, which were very cool, but I guess there's no time for that stuff any more. But could we not have a bit more focus on the Battletech background, to make this feel more like a rich, living universe with books upon books upon books to draw inspiration from?

Perfect example, the new Resistance pack.

This would have been a great chance to really spin a great story. It's a fantastic name, it gives players an idea of what may be going on. There was an Invasion and now there's Resistance. Inner Sphere vs Clans. Beautiful. Except no one would know any of that, unless they already played the old Mechwarrior games, or Tabletop, or did a wiki search.

Basically, there's a huge sale and all the information out there is: "We made some new mechs. You can buy them. Buy all the mechs now and get extra rewards. kkthx bye."

Why not tell a story of what's going on? Why not even make a tiny little teaser video to give some indication of the story unfolding in the game? The Clans invaded, but the Inner Sphere is fighting back. Reinforcements are coming in from all over the Inner Sphere, and lines are being bolstered by Enforcers, Panthers, Grasshoppers and Zeus assault mechs. After all, the background is very important to all the old time fans. This isn't just any old mech game, it's Battletech.

I know that IGP rushed a lot of things, and you didn't get a chance to do things properly the first time around. The Clan Invasion teaser left a lot to be desired, frankly. Even if you compare it to the old MW2 intro video from 1995. But there's no need to stay on the same path and just keep pumping out new mechs without any sort of fanfare. Write up some background texts, keep the players informed of what's going on in the universe. Most of the players don't even know what year it's supposed to be.

TL;DR: I think PGI would profit from putting more effort into promoting the Battletech background and putting big events into context with written articles, videos, etc. Each mech pack should have a defined context and represent an event or era in the universe, so it feels more significant than just a sale.

EDIT: Bumping this now that we have a new community manager. Maybe some progress can be made through the community?

Edited by Alistair Winter, 06 March 2015 - 11:14 PM.

[stjobe]

Not only that, there's literally metric arse-loads of fluff that could and should be added to the game itself; things like 'mech chassis and variant history, weapon manufacturers, hell, weapon statistics...

There's 30 years of fluff to pick from - put an intern on it if you have to, but get some of that rich, wonderful BattleTech Universe into MWO, please.

[Asmudius Heng]

Fluff = better NPE also - gives context

This is desperatly needed

[Alistair Winter]

Asmudius Heng, on 22 October 2014 - 04:39 PM, said:

Fluff = better NPE also - gives context

This is desperatly needed

Absolutely. I've never seen a game that relied so much on its website to bring across the setting, the factions involved, etc. I wonder if the UI 2.0 already has an easy way to incorporate news articles, background text for each mech.

A player's choice of faction should really be done in the game's UI, with rich information about each faction.

[Elizander]

Would be nice if the mechs had some text you can view in game about their background/story even if it's re-written to better fit their role in MWO.

[Sgt Greyhawk]

I agree, especially with the community warfare coming, please add some fluuuuuffffffffff.

[Walluh]

WTB sweet, delicious fluff excessively coating my mechs.

[Karl Streiger]

Not only Fluff - but also camo pattern - though i would die by heart stroke when i realized the Camo on the Zeus.

15th Arcturan Guards - they have history - those that read the novels even when they are in the future know about the Arcturan Guards.... 11th - or 15th were "main characters" in the books about the Civil War.

[Alistair Winter]

Karl Streiger, on 23 October 2014 - 12:20 AM, said:

Not only Fluff - but also camo pattern - though i would die by heart stroke when i realized the Camo on the Zeus.
15th Arcturan Guards - they have history - those that read the novels even when they are in the future know about the Arcturan Guards.... 11th - or 15th were "main characters" in the books about the Civil War.

I was surprised to see the new colours introduced for each faction content. Rashalhague gets red, blue and yellow instead of the cyan everyone's been using. I'm not familiar with BT lore, but I think it would be really cool if I could identify different factions on the battlefield, based on their colours. Nobody adheres to color schemes at the moment, probably because only a small minority actually knows what colours the different regiments and factions are supposed to be using

I imagine that some sort of guide in the UI would improve color sales as well. More people would be encouraged to use the colours of famous regiments, etc, instead of just picking colours at random.

[Joseph Mallan]

Alistair Winter, on 22 October 2014 - 03:57 PM, said:

May we have some fluff?

Are you asking the DEVs for a Fluffer?

[Alistair Winter]

Joseph Mallan, on 23 October 2014 - 03:51 AM, said:

Are you asking the DEVs for a Fluffer?

Kind of. I am asking for something to keep me excited.

[Joseph Mallan]

Alistair Winter, on 23 October 2014 - 03:53 AM, said:

Kind of. I am asking for something to keep me excited.

I'm also looking for something to keep me excited as well!

[Artgathan]

stjobe, on 22 October 2014 - 04:28 PM, said:

Not only that, there's literally metric arse-loads of fluff that could and should be added to the game itself; things like 'mech chassis and variant history, weapon manufacturers, hell, weapon statistics...

There's 30 years of fluff to pick from - put an intern on it if you have to, but get some of that rich, wonderful BattleTech Universe into MWO, please.

Do you mean something like this? I create a new one every week for the members of the Robinson Rangers Brigade (check out our front page, rrb.enjin.com, to see the most current one) who submit their builds to me.

[Operation Broken Arrow was a 3-month long event I ran. Players had the opportunity to pilot a 'named' mech during the event. If they did, I include it's accomplishments from the Operation in its description. It's a fun bit of lore-building for the unit.]

Centurion CN9 "Flash"

Beginning life in 3048 as a CN9-A, Arthur Dent's personal battlemech has had a long history within the Robinson Rangers Brigade. When it first rolled off the production line the battlemech - then an experimental variant dubbed the CN9-AX - Flash sported a smaller standard engine, a Mydron Excel LB-10X Autocannon and a trio of streak SRM2 missile launchers in place of the current PPC and SRM6 launchers. While this build performed admirably at the time, the increasing prevalence of ECM suites in 3049 forced the mech to swap the SSRM2 launchers for a trio of Holly-4 SRM Launchers.

While the AX boasted considerable firepower for a mech of its size (bearing an alpha strike potential of 44 damage), and strong armor coverage, it lacked maneuverability. The AX proved to be deadly in a brawl, especially when accompanied by Heavy and Assault battlemechs, as the power of the LB-10X became amplified once targets began to lose their armor. Using the Centurion's signature "shield arm", the AX could take considerable damage before being put down in a fight, making it a frightening opponent at short range.

Eventually Dent opted to upgrade Flash's original engine, a Nissan 200 Standard, to a Magna 250 Extralight, salvaged from a destroyed Kuritan Trebuchet. This afforded the AX a 25% increase in speed, greatly reducing the mech's mobility issues at the expense of its survivability. Unfortunately, the reduced durability of the AX proved to be an issue on Royal when the Robinson Ranger's Brigade began its campaign to reclaim the world in early 3050. During a skirmish with DCMS forces in early April, Dent's battlemech sustained critical damage. At the time, amply supplies existed to keep Flash in good repair. However, the mech's heavy reliance on ammunition and the use of the exotic LB-10X Autocannon and extralight engine strained supply lines as supply parts began to dwindle.

In response to this, Flash underwent significant refits. The trio of Holly-4 SRM Launchers were traded for a pair of Kuritan Harpoon-6 SRM Launchers, complete with Artemis IV FCS, looted from a DCMS supply convoy. Furthermore the Magna Extralight Engine was swapped for a Standard of the same rating, while the LB-10X was removed in place of a Lord's Light PPC torn from the arm of a DCMS Panther. At the end of all this the Flash more closely resembled a CN9-AL than it's original CN9-A. Fortunately these changes are likely to put less of a logistical strain on the RRB as the fighting on Royal continues to unfold. All told, Flash is still Dent's premiere battlemech and he hopes to have it restored to its previous functionality once the Old City Offensive on Royal has concluded.

[Karl Streiger]

Alistair Winter, on 23 October 2014 - 03:50 AM, said:

I was surprised to see the new colours introduced for each faction content. Rashalhague gets red, blue and yellow instead of the cyan everyone's been using. I'm not familiar with BT lore, but I think it would be really cool if I could identify different factions on the battlefield, based on their colours. Nobody adheres to color schemes at the moment, probably because only a small minority actually knows what colours the different regiments and factions are supposed to be using

I imagine that some sort of guide in the UI would improve color sales as well. More people would be encouraged to use the colours of famous regiments, etc, instead of just picking colours at random.

made currently some cross checking...

the FRR colors are perfect example of canon colors- maybe from Camospecs?
Dark Blue -1st Tyr + flame pattern for 3rd Drakons
while the cyan is the "flag color"

same could be said for davion
Davion Brigade of Guards colors

sometimes flag and house color are equal:
Marik - the purple for 1st Marik Milita - green for Oriente

Red for Combine - maybe white/green for Dieron Regulars or Ghost Regiments

and sometimes the color are off:
semi off - for Steiner - Blue...wana be a gold color orange? - but why the light blue? White of course, red yeah, black of course...but light blue? Don't know a single representive unit with Light Blue

complete off: Liao
its 100% flag color
while representative units have gold, bronze, red and white colors

[Triordinant]

Joseph Mallan, on 23 October 2014 - 03:56 AM, said:

I'm also looking for something to keep me excited as well!

That's what my ex-wife offered back in the day, but it turned out to be an evil scheme to lure me away from the computer altogether...

[Haakon Magnusson]

Karl Streiger, on 23 October 2014 - 04:10 AM, said:

made currently some cross checking...

the FRR colors are perfect example of canon colors- maybe from Camospecs?
Dark Blue -1st Tyr + flame pattern for 3rd Drakons
while the cyan is the "flag color"

Yeah, steer clear of cyan, that is reserved for those of esteemed positions.
Did I mention I am a descendant of norse kings of old...


PS: I was slightly surprised myself, but as you mentioned it certainly can be said to be fluff appropiate for certain units, besides I already have cyan

[Lucky Noob]

[Livewyr]

Fluff would go a long way. A long long way.

[GRiPSViGiL]

As long as it involves nothing more than just copy pasting some BS I am all for it. I won't read none of it because fluff in games like cut scenes are pointless. Just give me good gameplay over fluff any day of the week.

[MonkeyCheese]

Alistair Winter, on 22 October 2014 - 04:52 PM, said:

Absolutely. I've never seen a game that relied so much on its website to bring across the setting, the factions involved, etc.

destiny grimoire cards...