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1) Rumors of War:
I think the existing ISN system should start having occassional posts about strange attacks in the periphery very soon. Just rumors and small bits of info, since the Inner Sphere didn't worry much about those on the edge of known space... but something to give folks (especially those not educated in the timeline) a little idea of what is coming. Such posts can become more common as the invasion approaches the great house's territory as well.
2) Selection of Clan Forces:
At this time there is not an AI system implemented for player vs computer interaction, and I don't think there is time to develop such a system in the few months before the invasion will take place. There are also not enough developers at PGI to play the full invasion force themselves. At the same time, the invasion should be a 'surprise' to the Inner Sphere players, and not come with any sort of warning on a big scale (no patch notes about it, no open beta testing, etc).
What I would propose, then, is that PGI be watching the player stats during the initial months of the game, and then when they are about a month out from the invasion they can privately email 500-1000 of the best players in the game. Not all of the absolute best, but a mix of those who 1) play the game a lot, and 2) have some of the better personal records (despite how teams they are on fared). Recruit a secret group, under NDA, and give then the ability to start practicing with Clan mechs and technology against eachother.
3) Initial Invasion:
When the time comes, these players would start to be dropped into games in small groups - but *during* an existing fight. I would suggest that 12v12 battles see a binary (10 mechs) of clan players dropped in about 2-3 minutes into the game, with a global chat announcement of their commander's batchall (clan challenge). For smaller battles, if there are any, maybe a single star of 5 mechs instead.
These battles would be at random, and with a focus mostly along the areas where the invasion was to take place (battles along the FRR, Kurita, and Steiner borders - and potentially merc company vs company battles too). If there are any completely random battles (WoT style, where sides don't matter) they could happen there too. The IS players would become merged into one team against the invaders, and the outcome of the battle would be based on their performance against the clan players.
4) Continuing the Invasion:
As time goes by, say 1-2 weeks into the event, each clan player would be given the ability to select an enemy they defeated in battle (someone whose mech was destroyed in a battle the clan side won) and offer for them to become bondsmen. This would switch their allegiance from whatever house or merc company they were with over to the clan that the inviting player was from. This would allow the clan ranks to grow *slowly* and in a controlled manner. They would be bring their existing mechs over to their new faction, and would then have access to clan weapons, mechs, etc.
Eventually, after about a month, the form of battle would change to one where there would be clan vs IS battles along the borders of the invasion. This would bring the battle mechanic back into the norm for the game, and enable the slow fall of IS planets to clan control (so as to follow canon). At some point the clan factions would be opened to other IS players - either as a payed option to join or simply a faction they could switch allegience to. Mercs would *not* be able to fight on the clan side of battles, though, and switching allegience in this way would sever any ties and reputation gained with any of the IS factions.
5) Balancing Clan Tech and Battles:
In the first phase of the invasion, balance would be purely about numbers: the IS would have up to 24 mechs vs 10 for the clans. Granted, a few minutes into a battle the IS may have already lost a few mechs and had others damaged, but the numbers would still be in their favor. The clan tech would be better, though, and of course the idea would be to have their players (at first) be more skilled on average as well. This should simulate the 'real' invasion closely.
By the time that the battles become IS vs Clan the numerical advantage would be lower (12 vs 10), but still in the IS's favor. This could further be balanced by giving the clans lower tonnage (even lower than the 12:10 ratio implied by the number of mechs). That won't be enough for ever, though, so I would further implement a couple of systems during the invasion:
Salvage - There would be a chance that, upon an IS victory over the clan players, an IS player could 'salvage' a weapon from one of the defeated clan mechs. There might also be an even smaller chance to salave an entire enemy mech; if this was the case it would only happen once per player / account. The salavaged mech or weapon would *not* be taken away from the clan player, it would simply be added to the inventory of the IS player. It would also be expensive to repair for an IS player, and it would only be able to mount clan weapons (so limiting the customization for IS players with clan mechs, at least for a time).
Clan Honor System - The Clans were known for their unique style of combat, which focused on single combat. This could be implemented in-game by making a substantial portion of the XP and credits* (more on this later) earned by clan players dependant on adhering to the main principles their society held to. Whereas IS players will gain XP for defeating enemies, causing damage, completing objectives, and winning the battle the clan players would be rewarded for only shooting at enemies that had shot at them or which they had called out as opponents - and perhaps even penalized for breaking those rules.
*[The clans didn't use 'cbills', so I'm not sure if they should split and have a different in-game credit system - or if for simplicity it would be better to keep the same monetary unit]
Omnitech - Clan mechs would be more flexible about weapon placement. I would have a hardpoint system like IS mechs, but where it was just a number: the type of weapon that could be mounted would not be restricted. Clan mechs would only be able to mount clan weapons, though, and both the weapons and mechs would cost more to field (purchase, repair, and reload - on par with IS Lostech). There could also be second-line clan mechs that are not Omni, and which would cost less.
Over time, clan weapons and mechs would also become purchasable to IS players. These would start out fairly expensive, and purchasable *only* with in-game currency (not with real money, to avoid claims of 'pay 2 win' mentality). As time goes on the prices would come down to be on-par with similar IS tech (lostech) and then would be open to purchase via real money as well. Once that happened, clans would still have a lower number of mechs in battles - but they would be brought up to a 12:10 ratio on tonnage or whatever other balancing system is in place for matchmaking.
6) Effects on Community Warfare
Over the first 2 1/2 years of the invasion, the IS would slowly lose ground to the clans - to keep with canon. I could see having some planets forced to fall, while others which were not critical to canon events might be able to be held by the IS if the players do well enough (similar to core worlds in the IS that couldn't change hands vs the ones that would go back and forth between houses depending on player activity). When the battle of Tukayid rolls around, it could be a week-long event (so that all players in the game who want to could play) and it would end the actual invasion itself. That would bring the forward motion of the clans to a halt, and at that point the clans with a presence in the IS would start to behave as houses do in the overall community warfare situation. For more on my thoughts about community warfare as a whole, please see this post: http://mwomercs.com/...warfare-pillar/
I hope that whatever the devs end up doing for the invasion is a great experience for all the players in MWO! This event has the potential to be immersive and introduce newer players to a rich history, as well as expand the playerbase with more factions to join and new toys to play with for everyone. Devs, please feel free to use any of the ideas here - or adapt them as needed to fit your vision
