84 replies to this topic

[Brody319]

MauttyKoray, on 31 January 2015 - 11:30 AM, said:

The skill system was supposed to be entirely reworked to become an actual tree requiring a pilot to decide how they wanted to play the mech, gaining better attributes at one thing in trade off for not being better at something else, or a general jack of all trades mech that's slightly better at everything but not great at anything. This change never came and we still have the place holder skill system.

well then they can restrict some weapons to specific trees. if they have a sniper tree, then it would hold cooldown and range for PPCs, Large lasers, and Gauss rifles. while brawler for example would have SRMs and medium lasers.

[Scyther]

Devs will look at this from the 'dev' perspective, not the players.

Devs want more people playing, they want a C-Bill sink so you have a reason to grind C-bills, hence get premium time and Hero/Champion mechs, etc.

They want a 'progression' of player capability so you have a long slope ahead of getting better gear, better mechs, unlocking items, gaining skill and abilities etc. Long progression means more playtime, which you might want to shorten with $$ purchases.

To my mind, the module pricing system works AGAINST this.

Each time I look at a module priced at 3, 4 or (usually) 6 million, I have to think:

-I could buy a Thunderbolt or Cataphract level mech for this
-I could purchase 1 or 2 top end engines with this
-I could fully DHS/Endo/Ferro 2-3 mechs with this

and also:

-This module cost me a full weeks game income
-This module fits on one mech

If I want to use this module across more than one mech, after every single mech I use, I have to:
( * = click and wait for screen update)

*Mechlab, *Configure, ***Drag 1 to 5 times to remove modules
*Save, *Confirm, *Back, *Back
*Configure (new mech)
*Modules
(Scroll through list, remember which modules I want on this mech, select from a many-item list)
***Drag 1-5 modules into mech
*Save, *Confirm

BEFORE I can click "Play now". 15-20 clicks and screen updates to change mechs!

That is ridiculous and laughable. Yes, I can make a routine of this, yes, it takes only 2 minutes, yes, if I only played 3 of my 40+ mechs it would be much easier. That isn't the point.

It is a clunky, irrationally priced system that only leads to player frustration and/or wasted time. In many cases, it means players are getting beat on by LRMS or not getting as much out of their weapons as people who DO use this system, simply because they don't have the 6 mill to spare, or would rather use it to buy a mech, or (like me) refuse to use a system that is so horribly out of whack on a time/value/player respect basis.

They can make modules a 'pool' that load automatically as long as there is one free (not in-match) in inventory. They could price modules so a full set costs 1-3 million PER MECH, then people might buy a set for EVERY mech they play, spend more time playing and less wrestling with an outmoded interface.

At the VERY LEAST, they could allow you to save and load a 'mech module config, so I could strip and load all modules from a mech with 1 click at a higher level in the menu.

Do those things, you have happier players who spend more, play more, and don't curse the devs as much. Which should make both sides happier.

I respect PGI's programming and development efforts, enough to send hundreds of dollars their way. Please respect my time and convenience as well.

Edited by MadBadger, 31 January 2015 - 01:37 PM.

[SURUBAMAN]

I agree with MadBadger. The current setup is very frustrating. I can see it turning away new players when they realize how intricate the module process is. I restate that PGI needs people's money. So P2W isn't some sort of sin. You can get to the same benefits if you have time to grind for CBills, but I would like to see an ability to bypass the grind and by modules in bulk for MCs.

[vettie]

I apologize up front, i usually read all the posts before posting, but i didnt this time.

I had a brief idea and felt the need to put it down before I forgot or lost my train of thought... (yeah I am old)

I get it that modules are end game items. I get it. And remember under the current system, you still need the GXP to UNLOCK each one prior to buying it, I am ok with that too...

PGI COULD do the modules similar to the way they make us do mechs. As it is right now, you need 3 of a chassis to take any one of that chassis beyond Basics.

How does that relate to modules? Same principal (relate it to CAMO Permanent Unlock). You need 3 variants of a chassis to expend the GXP and the CBills to buy a module. However, once you buy that module, you receive enough of that module (3 in this case) to equip it on each variant of that chassis. The drawback is you could only use that module for that chassis. Multiples would still be needed for each chassis type, but you would receive whatever module you bought for that Chassis type for each variant you own or buy (when you buy a new variant or Hero or Champ, you get the modules with it you have already bought). If you owned 3 variants of a chassis, then the real cost of a 6mil Module, would be only 2mil because you would get 3 modules when you bought it (if you own more of that chassis then you would get more of that module).

The way I see it is that each chassis has multiple variants, but, for the most part the variants are mostly pretty similar. Look at the Stalkers for example. AS they come stock, they are pretty similar, they dont really change until WE modify them as we want them....

Just another idea

[Xetelian]

Just another way the space poor stay space poor.

[Weeny Machine]

I do not mind to pay the price once. However, imagine you have 10 mechs and want to have at least 1 module in each at an average price of, let's say, 4,5M...that's 45 million. And that's totally nuts even with premium time.

Either the module should be free for the other mechs or the consecutive purchases of the same module should get a big discount.

[Torgun]

Still waiting for the ability to automatically remove the module from one mech when you want to equip it on another. But I guess having to search through all your mechs to find your modules is also a CBill sink huh.

[Vassago Rain]

I seem to recall making a 100+ page thread about this not even a month before CW hit, and the forum said I was overreacting, so the thread got dumped into k-town.

It was the most viewed and most active thread in GD's history.

You guys enjoying your 40 hour x 3 grind for daishis, then another 20 hours for a single set of modules?

Edited by Vassago Rain, 31 January 2015 - 03:57 PM.

[Mycrus]

No escapes paulconomy™

[Macster16]

I do remember when I was a newbie and I got my first module (adv zoom) - grinding out 15k gxp took long enough, but then I had to buy it for 6mil? And then it was only one item I could use on one mech at once? I almost fell off my chair and I'm sure other new players have felt the same when unlocking their first module. It's a pretty illogical skill system to have and like nothing I've seen in any other game with a skill system.

[Burktross]

Escef, on 31 January 2015 - 09:22 AM, said:

C-bills are available for MC. However, I think someone worked out the prices and found that the most efficient way to turn MC into c-bills is to buy and sell off a Champion Jenner.

Wasn't it the cicada?

[Zolaz]

Do you have 6 or 7 complete set of modules? I think I am at about that much for brawlers/snipers and then another set of 4 or 5 for missile boats. I feel like I need 6 or so for CW and then another 2 or 3 for grinding c-bills and mechs.

[DjPush]

Tarogato, on 31 January 2015 - 09:01 AM, said:

As a completely free to play guy (I haven't spent a penny on the game yet), I have absolutely no complaints with the pricing for the modules. I own 19 mechs and I have enough modules to have 5 or 6 mechs completely kitted out at any one time.

BUT... we need the little window in the UI that pops out to show the mech loadout... we need that to show equipped modules as well. Plain and simple. (and that pop-out needs to appear faster... it's so bloody slow!)

I own 100+ mechs in my mech bay. For me to outfit every one of them with the appropriate modules would cost me 1.2 BILLION C-bills!! I spent 120 Million C-bills outfitting the ones I use for CW. That was all the money I had earned in 3 months with the 90 days of premium time from the Phoenix package I paid for. Soooo.... the cost of modules is ridiculous! A siesmic sensor costs more than any of the light mechs. How does that work?

[Chuanhao]

I am okay with paying for custom upgrades (modules) to a mech. Being able to switch around provides flexibility. So for pug games, all it takes is a little mechbay work each time. I only have two fully viable mechs at any one time cause thats all you need. The rest of my 30 mechs are in a stripped mode so I always have everything in inventory.

CW changes all that though. Now you really have to think about getting those 4 radar dep.

weapon modules and the high cost of which psychologically affects game play. One would want to be able to explore as many different weapons as possible without that feeling that is 12% weaker that it could have been. So making modules cheaper than commandos would help.

However, what is 12% in pug matches? Just enjoy the game and do without.

[Tarogato]

DjPush, on 31 January 2015 - 07:03 PM, said:

I own 100+ mechs in my mech bay. For me to outfit every one of them with the appropriate modules would cost me 1.2 BILLION C-bills!! I spent 120 Million C-bills outfitting the ones I use for CW.

120 million is actually about the average you need to spend to get a CW dropdeck fully kitted out and ready to roll. You can do fine with only those four mechs, so long as they work in all situations, but you can expand from anywhere between 5 and 7 mechs fully mod'd, so that you can rotate them in and out for attack vs defense, long range vs brawly, etc. It's the most you'll ever need, seriously, maybe even overkill, because having that amount of variety available is really a hardcore 'endgame' goal. Given how much it does cost, I feel it's rather appropriately balanced. If I were to agree that modules were too expensive, I'd say they only need reduced by about 10%. I definitely think would be enough. You need to have a C-Bill sink somewhere, or else the f2p platform doesn't hold up well.

[DaZur]

Just for clarity... There is one (1) essential module and that is radar derp.

As such the premise that modules are a requisite to play, be competitive (especially in CW) is tenuous at best. The rest of the modules provide at best marginal improvement and some would argue the intrinsic value of those modules do not come close to matching their cost.

Modules are a fools boondoggle... The top-tier players will continue to convince the easily influenced that they are "must haves" to be competitive and continue to red herring the modules as proof that the rest of MW:O's economy is broken.

Save derp... modules are little more than psychological security blankets for players who are afraid they will not be competitive if they don't keep up with the Jones'

What's that... Do I own modules? Yup... every one of my mechs has modules. Never said I wasn't a fool...

Edited by DaZur, 31 January 2015 - 08:57 PM.

[Nothing Whatsoever]

What I'd like to see with Modules (if the UI being worked on more or less stays the same) is:

Continue to require GXP to unlock, and keep the one time 3 to 6 million cost, but as a one time unlock and a single module.

Then add in the ability to buy additional Modules at a significantly lower price, say ranging from 150,000 to 600,000 C-Bills for example, basically prices closer to other equipment, once a module type is fully unlocked.

[Sorbic]

I'd be happy enough if they simply lowered the cost of a particular type of module after you buy your first one. First Target Info costs 3 million, all subsequent Target Info modules cost say about 40% less.

[Nothing Whatsoever]

40% of 6,000,000 is 2,400,000 for example.

I'd rather pay much less than that!

[Insects]

If they were cheaper then all the opposition would have them too so there would be no advantage.
But then people would run out of things to buy with stockpiling C-bills so more upgrade levels would have to be added to each module.
And then people would complain about level 34 modules costing too much...