108 replies to this topic

[Seddrik]

TLDR

MWO is tactical by its design. Focusing and teamwork required.


The major problems are a lack of teamwork in game, long waits for drops (especially in FP), PGI upping the FPS requirements of maps instead of just making new maps and finally the shrinking active player base.


Solutions:

Remove fluff from maps. Birds, FPS intensive terrain. We want to blow up mechs, not watch birds fly. Keeping the game focused on mech vs mech action keeps it playable for more people.

Merge the ques for FP. Too many battles in different planets, too many restrictions splitting clans from fighting together, Long Toms further splitting the ques so that people will not drop unless they have it or will not drop when the opposition has it, etc. People want PVP, not long waits and auto destruction of mechs.

Regarding the player base, make it more appealing to play. As it is, it takes new players a LONG time to figure out what is needed for this game - mech selection and builds and teamwork and skills. The competitive scene is shrinking because experienced people get burned out (for various reasons) and new blood takes so long to bring in, train, get the right mechs, etc. Solution? PGI has a right to make money (and I have put in my share), but at the same time mechs are very strong when first developed then nerfed, and the pricing is pretty high - almost prohibitive for the average player. It is very expensive to get into the more competitive level of MWO gaming.

Since it prohibits players from getting into more viable and competitive play, many find other games that cost less to play. So, PGI will have to consider the gains of having more players with increased paying customer base (but at lower prices) vs the gains of high prices and fewer/shrinking paying customer base. I've already paid into the game, and I won't feel cheated if they lowered prices so we can have more people playing MWO. It would be great to have more players IMO. I want more people to shoot. : P

Edited by Seddrik, 16 September 2016 - 06:08 AM.

[Serpentbane]

Added images showing how radars could work, with passive, active and advanced sensors. Press spoiler buttons in the Radar and Sensors section. Did some changes in the multiple/asymetric drops section.

Edited by Serpentbane, 20 October 2016 - 05:34 AM.

[Serpentbane]

Added image showing triangulation of enemies using passive radars with advanced sensors and image showing usage of the TAG laser.

Edited by Serpentbane, 21 October 2016 - 01:04 AM.

[Dex Spero]

Just wanted to say I loved your idea for asymmetrical drops. I've often wonder what it would be like to play with 3 IS lances (4 mechs each) against 2 Clan Stars (5 mechs each) if both teams had the same drop weight, or other variations in team makeup (I admit that 12v10 is probably too much in favour of the IS team but you get my point regarding new, challenging drop combinations).

I'd also love to see randomization of drop locations. Imagine quick play where you didn't know exactly where Charlie lance would drop (it could be one of several places, etc). Each game would be slightly different even on the same map and even in the same game mode...

[ShaneoftheDead]

I once wrote a lengthy post about this topic elsewhere that I shall not paste here. It will NOT happen until there is a complete engine and game re-write for Faction Play.

The TL;DR is:

• Keep Quick Play as is to represent a perfect world with pilots in perfect Mechs. This is where the Tournaments happen.
  
• Alter Faction so it is an imperfect world. A Hard Core world with not only re-arm and repair of weapons and engines, but of Mech parts themselves (If you can even get them) with an economic algorithm to balance cash income and cash sinks to control prices.
  
  • Mechs only have Chassis quirks where needed to balance according to weight.
    
  • Individual items (weapons, engines, etc.) would have varying bonuses giving them a rarity, which can be degraded when repaired.
    
  • Players can join a Loyalist Unit, Mercenary Company, or be a Lone Wolf and their play styles will vary greatly. Some have a base pay and access to parts, while others only get what they can pay for. You can become Dispossessed in certain circumstances which gives you only a few options to continue depending on your location on the Map.
    
  • Units in different IS Factions will handle rank promotion differently
    
  • Clans handle rank promotion based on a zellbrigen system of honor.
    
  • Lone Wolves have a reputation
    
  • Battle salvage is handed out by rank
    
  • Mercs and LW take contracts for a duration.
    
  • Battles do not have to be even numbered and most will likely not be. And in game you will have no way of knowing. (Tab screen shows your forces, but not enemy forces until detected)
    
  • There will be an extraction point on each map and if you can get your Mech to it you can call in a drop ship that will extract you and save your Mech.
    
  • No maps, but procedurally generated worlds for a vast variety of battle fields.
    
  • plus more...

[Serpentbane]

Changed the LL video with a newer one showing the map landscape and layout better. As well as weapon effects and explosions that couls be cooler in MWO as well.

The map layout and scale is the biggest problem with MWO alongside fixed 12 vs 12 drops, and the main reason PGI need to nerf and buff mechs to a point where we get the paper, rock scissors combat mechanics, and at the same time loses to much of the role based tactical gameplay. This is not just a problem related to solo drop players the game is not made for tactical role based team play as it is now.

[Viperion]

hmm so basically ye think in line like Battlefield 1? huge map where we attacker had to conquer a piece of land before we move on to next and defender had to defend based on amount of mechs or time? well that would be awesome. it even can incorporate a lorebased storyline in that map. and see small humans (soldiers) runs here and there as a small add to immersion..

[Tesunie]

Okay, I have to admit I've only skimmed over your post here, but...
(PS: A lot of your image links seem to be broken. They all say "posted image" to me...)

Serpentbane, on 17 April 2015 - 12:45 PM, said:

Larger map size and new game mode with selectable drop zones that can be captured.


Multiple drops per round, and asymetric drop numbers.


Active and passive radar, Sensors, and how they could work.


Environmental hazards and weather

Large Maps:
We have people complaining that our current maps are too large as it is... As much as I might agree with you that large maps can be a lot of fun, it will just cause more complaints. We also have to deal with people who will hide and shut down on what few "large maps" we do have when it's skirmish...

Select-able drop zones/capture-able drop zones:
My brother and myself have long though that the entire game could benefit from a drop deck like CW/FW has. QP matches should be limited to just two slots rather than four.
Select-able zones would be good to prevent the enemy from just spawn camping a single spawn to kill a lance of mechs over and over again till they run out of mechs.
With enough spawn points to select from, capturing drop zones could make for a good objective in a new game mode. It could even make a good secondary objective in a FP mode. Would need drastic reworking or creation of new maps for this to be effective.

Multi-drops:
Not a bad overall idea, but instead of tonnage related, it could be "EP" related solely. Those EP points could possibly be automated (with the proper script, which probably would take a while) that could take each mech's performance in live combat to produce a rating for the mech, taken across all live games. Then, you could drop with a max of 8 drops, minimum of probably 3, that can't exceed the EP total value. So, if King Crabs are being a poor performer, taking one of them isn't going to cost as much as taking a Mad Cat MKII.

Probably would still need to have the drop deck either fully selected before combat, or have some kind of slection limiter (as in you can select only from your favorites list you marked before the battle). Otherwise, some people might have to dig through 100+ mechs when they die, and that delay could become a problem.

Our best bet here is to observe the current drop deck system already in the game, and leave it at that.

Active/Passive Sensors:
This has been mentioned a lot of times. I personally feel it's an unneeded extra layer on top of the sensors, but I also can see the value of "blinding yourself" to be able to sneak up onto opponents.
For this to work, it would need to be a 360 degree sensor, otherwise everyone (except for new players and people who need missile locks) will just turn it off and leave it off. I think this would need to be delicately done if it was to work correctly, and then there is far to much chance people will just leave them turned off forever and count on skills already learned from playing the current game.

Environmental Hazards:
If this was to go into the game, then some hot maps in particular would become either nearly unplayable or be even less liked than they are now. It would require Tarra Therma to be reworked to permit more paths around lava, as well as easier ways out of lava.

Mind, I'm not actually against your concept, and I do think Lava should be more dangerous than it currently is. In this game, most people don't care about the lava and only avoid it to avoid the heat it generates on themselves. Meanwhile, in BT lore, we should be avoiding lava and other dangerous areas like the plague. High cliffs should also be getting avoided, as falling down one of those could destroy legs and wreck actuators (wrench and ankle or knee out of alignment, impairing the leg functions).

Sadly, this one too would probably be decried by the community if it was implimented and everyone would "hate" PGI... oh wait, a lot of people already do...



Overall, I think a lot of good ideas reside here. The problem would be to convince the player population that these could all be good for the game to make it more realistic... but too many people seem to want this to be more like an arcade game, or just want to drop in, kill stuff, leave. (AKA: The reason Skirmish is played so often, and the reason nearly every game mode is played exactly like Skirmish.)

[Serpentbane]

Tesunie, on 26 October 2018 - 08:07 AM, said:

snipp

Thnx for reading it and replying, It's long, but hard to shorten.

I just realized the images showing examples of how radars could work are broken, I placed the images on a webserver that I later discontinued. To bad the forums do not let us upload images. I'll find a new webserver and upload shortly.

I know larger maps would not benefit the game under the current premises of the gameplay. To apply the changes I suggest, the maps need to be larger. Nobody complains about large maps in BF. Making the maps larger alone would be a bad idea.

I'm very aware my suggestions would destroy the 10 minutes drop and shoot skirmish arcade mech game that I personally find to be a shallow, easy, repetitive and not longer all that entertaining game, and hopefully replace it with something more rewarding. The people complaining the most might not represent the main user base. Remember, people rarely log in to make a post about how great everything is.

And, naturally, my post is merely a suggestion, my key point is to make the game more a more tactical team based battle tech game, then just the other mech game.

Edited by Serpentbane, 29 October 2018 - 02:49 AM.