9 replies to this topic

[Xeren KelDar]

So I know we have seperate factions, Steiner and Davion, and the FedCom isn't really "official" until Victor takes the throne, but in 3049 the merging had begun. I'm curious how it will work in CW, apologies if I missed it somewhere.

Are Davion and Steiner going to be able to drop together as a team?

Are they going to be locked out from attacking each other?

Can Davion respond to a Steiner distress and vice versa?

Granted that could give a numbers advantage to the two factions against some of the other Successor States, but I think I'd like to seem some sort of indication of the FedCom.

[Prussian Havoc]

That is the beauty of PGI's game design for MWO - it is up to aggregate collections of Steiner and Davion MechWarriors to either band together in mutual defense or in the best traditions of Lore and the Successor Wars, to tear into each other with wild abandon in pursuit of National Pride and dreams of Glory and Victory.


Don't look to PGI to put in artificial restraints and restrictions.

Lend your voice on these forums and during in-game chats, but more importantly to third-party House Unit website forums and convince your Davion and Steiner Brothers and Sisters in Arms to Band together of their own free will.

The future of MWO CW is unwritten by PGI or Lore...


...and THAT is a wondrous early Christmas gift from PGI!

[Xeren KelDar]

Prussian Havoc, on 07 December 2014 - 09:10 AM, said:

That is the beauty of PGI's game design for MWO - it is up to aggregate collections of Steiner and Davion MechWarriors to either band together in mutual defense or in the best traditions of Lore and the Successor Wars, to tear into each other with wild abandon in pursuit of National Pride and dreams of Glory and Victory.


Don't look to PGI to put in artificial restraints and restrictions.

Lend your voice on these forums and during in-game chats, but more importantly to third-party House Unit website forums and convince your Davion and Steiner Brothers and Sisters in Arms to Band together of their own free will.

The future of MWO CW is unwritten by PGI or Lore...


...and THAT is a wondrous early Christmas gift from PGI!

I get that, I do, but all the forum and VOIP rallying won't mean squat if a Davion can't drop to defend a Steiner world for instance. I doubt this will be much of a problem for Clan battles, as it sounds like it'll be full on Clan vs IS for those and thus any house/clan can join the match.

Just wondering how the FedCom will be handled in game if at all. Lore has its place after all, its the basis for the whole game. Guess its just a waiting game to get some hands on CW time though.

[Durant Carlyle]

Devs have stated this is an independent BattleTech universe.

There is no FedCom in this universe. Pick one or the other and go with it.

[Prussian Havoc]

Gamer populations (based on a review of the results from the last few challenges) just won't support a "Super-Faction" FEDCOM.

Lore-lovers (as some of us still are!) would break Community Warfare if right out of the gate we convinced PGI to combined the two largest Inner Sphere Factions into one mutually-supporting, dominating force. I for one do not want to see MWO so grossly unbalanced.

Lore is fun, when I want it I'll go read a BattleTech novel.

MWO CW puts 3049 completely in the hands of us gamers, and THAT is just as it should be.

If the combined leadership of Houses Davion and Steiner decide to align then so be it but it was OUR decision and not PGI artificially trying to keep anemic pace with Lore.



Love Lore... but from 16DEC on it will be up to us to decide the fate of this particular BattleTech incarnation.

What if House Kurita manages to attract the cream of the Merc Corps and Lone Wolf populations to itself and goes on a draconian tear through Clans Jade Falcon and Smoke Jaguar? Would we want PGI to invalidate this gamer success and reset the borders because it wasn't lore-based?

I say no, let the gamers claim their own and their House's or Clan's destiny. In this same way the FEDCOM can't be inflicted on us by PGI, our own Davion and Steiner Units and Lone Wolves will have to decided the question of the FEDCOM for themselves.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Xeren KelDar, on 07 December 2014 - 08:11 AM, said:

So I know we have seperate factions, Steiner and Davion, and the FedCom isn't really "official" until Victor takes the throne, but in 3049 the merging had begun. I'm curious how it will work in CW, apologies if I missed it somewhere.

Are Davion and Steiner going to be able to drop together as a team?

Are they going to be locked out from attacking each other?

Can Davion respond to a Steiner distress and vice versa?

Granted that could give a numbers advantage to the two factions against some of the other Successor States, but I think I'd like to seem some sort of indication of the FedCom.

There really is alot of issues with the timeline and the faction system. I mean for example, Liao and Marik units didn't fight the Clan's in 3049. In fact they didn't fight much of anyone so those players should be pretty much excluded from CW. Also as the OP mention, Davion units would have to fight in Lyran Alliance territories in order to engage the Clan which of course they did.

That being the case, I think what we have in MWO isn't actually set in the Battletech universe, rather it is in a, to borrow a Star Trek term, Mirror universe that parallels the Battletech universe. However in this universe, the Clans don't have a technological edge and because of that they aren't the massive threat they were in Lore so the Houses aren't going to be coming together to oppose them. Hell even the Federated Commonwealth and the Lyran Alliance are separate and will likely be fighting each other.

That being said despite if this is a alternative universe or whatever, unless a whole hell of alot of territory changes hands this is the match ups

• Marik vs Liao and Steiner (IS vs IS only) - 2 enemies
  
• Liao vs Marik and Davion (IS vs IS only) - 2 enemies
  
• Davion vs Liao, Kurita and Steiner (IS vs IS only) - 3 enemies
  
• Kruita vs FRR and Davion - (IS vs IS only) - 2 enemies
  
• Steiner vs Marik, FRR, Davion, Kruita, Clan Smoke Jaguar and Clan Wolf - 6 enemies
  
• FRR vs Clan Wolf, Clan Smoke Jaguar, Clan Ghost Bear, Krutia and Steiner - 5 enemies
  
• Clan Jade Falcon vs Steiner and Clan Wolf - 2 enemies
  
• Clan Wolf vs FRR, Clan Ghost Bear and Clan Jade Falcon - 3 enemies
  
• Clan Ghost Bear vs Clan Wolf, Clan Smoke Jaguar and FRR - 3 enemies
  
• Clan Smoke Jaguar vs FRR and Clan Ghost Bear - 2 enemies

This is according the the starting map in MWO anyway. Obviously some of the factions are going to have a fairly large advantage based on their starting points and it will be interesting to see how things pan out for factions like poor Steiner and FRR bordered by 6 and 5 different factions respectively. Also again depending on how they do it, it is a whole hell of alot of IS vs IS only potential match ups and unless alot of territory changes hands, Davion, Liao and Marik will never see a Clan battle.

Also the Clans only have a very minor foothold right now and without that superior tech to punch a massive hole and gain lots of territory I am not sure how they are suppose to compete. I mean I guess if they make it so Clans never have to defend their starting points and can only lose planets they have previously captured from the IS then it might work but they have only 7 starting planets in the IS between all 4 factions.

[Prussian Havoc]

IMHO PGI will permit any Inner Sphere Faction to drop against any Clan Faction, though territory continuity will be observed so even if a Marik Unit predominately wins an attack on a Clanner world, the newly liberated world will go to Faction that originally owned it or to the House with boundary contiguity who placed highest in attack contributions.


There can be no way PGI will permit Marik, Laio and Davion House Units and their Mercenaries from being frozen out of Clan battles... it would be wrong to do so.

The precedent has been set in Lore for this. Davion dropped in support of Steiner in the Commonwealth's defense of her home planets against the Clans. In out "Mirror" BattleTech game, who can deny that any House would indeed drop in defense of any other world? Yes, there will be all manner of non-canon shenanigans and goings on!

Edited by Prussian Havoc, 07 December 2014 - 01:15 PM.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Prussian Havoc, on 07 December 2014 - 01:12 PM, said:

IMHO PGI will permit any Inner Sphere Faction to drop against any Clan Faction, though territory continuity will be observed so even if a Marik Unit predominately wins an attack on a Clanner world, the newly liberated world will go to Faction that originally owned it or to the House with boundary contiguity who placed highest in attack contributions.


There can be no way PGI will permit Marik, Laio and Davion House Units and their Mercenaries from being frozen out of Clan battles... it would be wrong to do so.

The precedent has been set in Lore for this. Davion dropped in support of Steiner in the Commonwealth's defense of her home planets against the Clans. In out "Mirror" BattleTech game, who can deny that any House would indeed drop in defense of any other world? Yes, there will be all manner of non-canon shenanigans and goings on!

However if your faction couldn't actually control the world, what would be the point of dropping on it? I mean if I am not mistaken I did read that owning the world actually confers some sort of LP bonus right?

[Prussian Havoc]

Viktor Drake, on 07 December 2014 - 01:30 PM, said:

However if your faction couldn't actually control the world, what would be the point of dropping on it? I mean if I am not mistaken I did read that owning the world actually confers some sort of LP bonus right?

I have read nothing about Loyalty Point Bonuses being tied to worlds.

That is why if gamers are concerned about planet acquisition, they will fight along borders their House actually has. It will ensure that a significant number of Marik, Liao and Davion attacks are directed against their neighboring Inner Sphere rivals. Which means Steiner, Kurita and the FRR will have to maintain defensive action capability on their Inner Sphere border worlds that are at risk each day/week.

It will make for quite an enjoyable degree of suspicion, trust, betrayal and conquest.

Edited by Prussian Havoc, 07 December 2014 - 02:19 PM.

[SuomiWarder]

Somewhere I recall reading that CW will allow all House factions to battle Clan forces, but that House v House options will vary and shift over various months. Clan v Clan is also offered but no word I recall if it is limited by time or if all of them can attack each other.

Of course despite the Clan apologist that insist the two sides are "roughly equal", if we see IS players not signing on to battle the Clan after getting tired of the superior firepower and XL use then I guess PGI might have to stop allowing House v House so that the Clanners have someone to fight in CW other than themselves.