I'd really love to talk about population balance issues and fixes. Or ask for more details on time windows, planetary battlefield settings that are in-play, ammo resupply mechanics in invasion mode. I'd very much like to try to get Paul to give us more insight into what is going on with the current crop of maps and Skirmish/Conquest/Assault in CW (crazy to have 100% invasion imho).
Most importantly I'd like to try to induce Paul to respond to questions about using 100% FIFO matchmaking only in CW for all games. Because while I think that CW is no place for strict elo or solo queue games 100% FIFO and that's it is not fun maximizing for anyone and will result in a very small playerbase for CW.
But instead of any of that I feel obligated to try to bore down on "the merc issue" because until that is settled more every one of these threads gets derailed by people crying and crying and crying some more about it. Proof I suppose that people care more about rewards than gameplay.
Lets start with some simple questions:
Q: Are you even allowed to "pick" LNW as a faction for CW? Or is it only Merc and Dagger-Star + The 10 faction-Factions that are available?
Q: Do you even select a faction anymore? Or is it more you're a blank slate as a player and you (or your unit) take a contract of some kind but when it ends you go back to your default/neutral state and need to take another contract before you can fight more?
Q: Assuming some players can still declare they are Merc players and then they take a faction contract on top of their merc status: Do such Merc players have the option of taking a contract with ANY faction (including clans) or only the six IS factions?
Q: What are the penalties if a player leaves their unit while the unit is mid-contract?
Q: What are the penalties if a player signs up for a contract as a solo player and then joins a unit (obviously taking on whatever the unit's contract is).
Ok so there's some basic stuff that we need cleared up badly.
Now lets get into some details. The main "issue" everyone is having so far on the IS side (the clans are having their lore disrespected so often by this system I don't want to get into it) is that "Faction Players" seem to function identically to "Merc Players".
Faction Player: Individually selects Kurita when he joins CW. Joins a Kurita unit on a Kurita 4-month contract.
Merc Player: Individually selects Merc when he joins CW. Joins a "Merc" unit. The Merc unit takes a Kurita 4-month contract.
From there on (according to what we think we know) the two are functionally the same in the game's eyes. They are fighting for exactly the same "motivations" gain Kurita LP, maintain or expand Kurita territory controls, defeat Kurita enemies. In fact I'm led to believe that they would be earning Kurita LP at the exact same rate because they both are on "4-month Kurita contracts" at the unit level.
This I believe is the crux of the issue.
Q: Why is there no "Merc LP" with mercs having their own pool of rewards?
Q: Shouldn't "temporary" contracts only exist for Merc units? I guess I'm saying why would a player who picks Davion as his personal faction and then joins a unit that is made up of Davion players and is a Davion unit even have the option of being on a 2-month contract with Davion?
Q: What are the "high-end" (think impossible to gain unless you are a permanent faction contract player for months) rewards that would differentiate "Faction Player" from Merc player?
Q: What about LP "sinks"? Is there nothing you can "spend" LP on? Because if there isn't, what's the point of fighting for one faction only forever at some point you "max" LP and then you are done?
Q: Faction ranks/skins/flags have been described as being given out to merc players. Then taken away if (like mercs) they go work for someone else later. Are we missing something else mercs get?
Another big "merc issue" is cbills. And the fact that they are never mentioned. Has there been consideration towards making "merc-Faction Contracts" much different from the faction player/unit contracts.
i.e. A merc player fighting for Davion would get a higher cbill bonus but a much lower LP bonus for his time and efforts.
Here is the worst case scenario that I think its all too easy to imagine based off what we know. This post is my attempt to get some answers that will lead us away from worrying about this kind of scenario:
Storied merc unit The XY Mercs who have played for 2 years with the merc icon next to their name has always cared primarily about CW. They join CW -as a merc unit- but in order to participate they must sign on with a faction. Even if they take a 1-month contract with FRR, their in-game icons become FRR, they are rewarded with FRR ranks, FRR skins, FRR colos, FRR mech discounts, FRR cockpit items. Those items are unlocked by gaining FRR LP. At the end of the 1-month because they are so elite they all have high ranking FRR military titles and can make their mechs look like FRR mechs.
If you saw them in-game and they were utilizing the fruits of their labors they don't look like a merc unit at all. They look like a FRR military unit.
RIP Merc life.
I don't think this is how you want CW to be for mercs and I don't think this is how you plan CW to feel or play out for mercs. Can you please tell us why this isn't the way it'll go down?
Thanks for your time and updates, its much appreciated.
Edited by Hoax415, 09 November 2014 - 08:21 AM.
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Dirk Le Daring, on 06 November 2014 - 04:05 PM, said:
But I was thinking, is there going to be a new intro or something also?????? New title screen?
