54 replies to this topic

[Shiroi Tsuki]

When I signed up back in April 2013, I had this expectation that MWO is gonna be this Mech combat simulator that involves really complex strategies and tactics, a very diverse gameplay where each match feels different from another.

I imagined that the combat would be somewhat realistic. I imagined battles where there would be a sniper team set up in a cliff in the distance, providing sniper support (from far away) while the assault team moves up. Or a commando unit designates targets behind enemy lines, so LRMs set up at base could provide artillery support. (And yes, I do think that it's rather OP for LRMs to be able to hit enemies from across the map, but I thought it was possible before I started playing)

I was expecting a heavy emphasis on Lance based team work, where each Lance has their own objectives issued out by the Company Command. I have always expected that the Company Command would always have their Battlegrids open, monitoring the entire company, and issuing out orders, and at the same time, providing some LRM support or something.

I know that the things I've described doesn't really make sense, or is stupid if we are to use it in MWO today. What I've described is pretty much the opposite of what MWO is

The gameplay right now feels like an arena (which is horrible in my opinion). Little to no tactics needed in regular drops, and every match feels the same. Two death balls with pretty much with the same Mechs on both sides, slugging it out in this one section of the map, and the rest are ignored. (Or hiding spots, if the last surviving light decides to play hide and seek)

Split off from the death ball, and either you die, or the death ball dies. (and you end up being the last one alive in your team). Again, there's little to no strategy. It's always: go to that one section of the map, and if there's actual "strategy" involved, the most complex one I've seen is: "Flank left"

I'm not crying and complaining. MWO right now I guess is fun, but there are certainly lots of improvements that could be done. They could start with the gameplay, and making it feel less like an arena, and more of a "Thinking man's shooter" and the map designs. (I swear, every map needs a big overhaul if you ask me)


Oh, I should probably mention that the other BT thing I've played in the past are MW3 campaign, and MW4 Mercs (but kinda stopped half way through mission 1 and after some custom battles against AI)

What were your expectations like before you signed up for MWO?

[HoundOfCullan]

It's a free game. I had no real expections.

You should make that game you described and give it to all of us for free.

[Rampancy]

Joined in Oct 2013. Got exactly what I expected. It's a little better, in fact. Much more balanced than any of the previous MW titles.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

HoundOfCullan, on 06 June 2015 - 06:59 PM, said:

It's a free game. I had no real expections.

You should make that game you described and give it to all of us for free.

Huh.... You know what?
I might start on it after the semester ends c: Great idea lol

[Stelar 7]

I expected giant stompy robots to kill and maim each other. PGI delivered that in spades. If you want tactics, get into organized groups, that is where I find more of the kind of strategy you wanted. PUG life is the death ball, but if you take a fast mech you can still be the spotter, flanker, back shooting jerk-o-Tron that I enjoy being from time to time. Be sure to have ECM and Radar Dep.

[Elizander]

I'm happy that this game does not take too long to play for the solo queue. Decent wait times and 8-12 minute matches are just about the right duration for me. Making the game focus on 30 minutes of scouting just makes it pretty boring for the 8 other mechs that move slow while everyone looks for each other.

What I do think is that there needs to be some continuity between the maps. Small maps that look part of a bigger map might help in this case. PGI can design a really huge map, cut it up and use it for smaller maps and make a progressive game experience by chaining these small maps in sequence to make it feel like you're getting somewhere, especially in CW.

You can even make it work in the solo queue where losers get pushed into a different part of the large map and winners move to another. The maps don't have to provide an advantage to one side over the other but for example losers fight on the outskirts of a base that is intact while winners fight inside a damaged base for their next maps to make it look like something happened.

Edited by Elizander, 06 June 2015 - 07:24 PM.

[Alistair Winter]

It's kind of hard to remember, because it's so long ago. But I think I expected something like a mix between MW2:Mercs and MechCommander.

• We had repair and rearm, which I loved. It reminded me of MW2:Mercs, which is probably my favourite MW game ever. I really loved the idea of having to repair and rearm my mech after each battle. UI 1.0 left a lot to be desired, but it made me fantasize about standing in my mechbay after the battle was over, and watching technicians go to work on my mech. It wasn't just an endless series of random encounters - the repairs and rearm between battles gave a sense of continuity.
  
  I expected the game to have a real economy, like MW2:Mercs had. Not necessarily as advanced as what Star Citizen is going to have, but I definitely expected C-bills to be a balancing factor to stop power creep, arms race and mech inflation.
  
  
  
• I expected CW to be really advanced. It's weird to think about now, but I actually switched from Davion to FRR because I kind of expected that FRR would get early access to Clan equipment on account of the lore. Imagine that! Imagine how much I overestimated MWO's complexity and connection to Battletech lore, like they would actually give factions different lore-based characteristics.
  
• I expected the battle for planets in CW to be a really big deal. Mech factories, weapon industries, all of that. Taking over a planet would be a huge deal because it may result in cheaper mechs or special weapon variants, like large pulse lasers with extra range or AC20s with extra projectile speed. Again, this comes back to the real economy. The idea that conquering a planet would give everyone belonging to a certain faction a 10% C-bill discount on Commandos, for example, seems completely ludicrous at this point. It would almost be a pointless feature.
  
• I expected the Clan Invasion to be a big deal. Remember the speculation about whether PGI would just slip Clan mechs in MWO without telling anyone? Like you'd just see PGI employees in-game (which is extremely unlikely in itself, these days) running Clan mechs, before anyone else had encountered them. And they would just tear up all the unsuspecting Inner Sphere players.
  
• I expected Clan mechs to be... good. I expected 12 vs 10 or some other balancing factor to account for the fact that Clan mechs would just be monstrously powerful.
  
• I expected role warfare. I really did. And every time PGI added new features like modules, consumables, or the team commander / lance commander function, it made me sad because I realized they had abandoned role warfare and replaced it with a cheap surrogate.

I'll stop there. I'm sad now. MWO is still one of the best games I've played, but... this game could have been so much more.

[GreyNovember]

the vast majority of my Mechwarrior was spent in MW4 instant actions.

As far as I'm concerned, this is better than that because I now have a valid reason to take lighter weapons and mechs out, as opposed to a Gauss/PPC Dire.

[DaZur]

You can thank the e-sport'esk minded members / players who's continued clamoring for all things necessary to de-evolve this game into a mindless shooter because anything that would resemble higher-level simulation, tactical application and god forbid involve a little role-playing would get in their way of pew-pew-pew and uber e-peen stroking...

[HoundOfCullan]

Shiroi Tsuki, on 06 June 2015 - 07:07 PM, said:

Huh.... You know what?
I might start on it after the semester ends c: Great idea lol

You'll do great! A one man team can easily make the game you described, no problems at all. Download Unity, crack Maya and that's it. The game will be done in no time at all.

What other titles have you worked on? If this is your first game then I'm doubly sure you'll finish it and have it on Steam before the summer is out.

[IronLichRich]

I expected world of tanks with mechs

[Elizander]

IronLichRich, on 06 June 2015 - 07:54 PM, said:

I expected world of tanks with mechs

Bounce bounce!

[Bobzilla]

HoundOfCullan, why so buthurt?

[Axeface]

Honestly I think PGI originally promised one thing, delivered something completely different, and slowly improved it enough for people to accept it. Yet, it still isn't battletech.

[TerminatorII]

I was a part of pre-planned gaming that went on with certain PGI employees looking at the prospects of possibly doing 12 v 10 or some other number, and the consensus from PGI was that it was too difficult to have a balanced game if they were to go down that route. (and a month later we had the quirk system to buff IS) Also in the drops we did unless IS was down 100 tons IS stomped clan in a 12 v 10 and in a 12 v 12 IS got wrecked. That's why the IS quirks are here, to make IS mechs, on average, equal to clan mechs. (or at least that's my take on what happened.)

[sycocys]

A lot of the strategy went away in the wind with 12v12 and split queues. It actually used to be quite a lot better and especially with R&R/collisions and such that actually kept the TTK's in check and promoted far more tactical gameplay.

Unfortunately it did go the arcade route, PGI I'm sure blames the publisher but it also has a fair bit to do with Russ's e-sport dream. Could even have been a great e-sport with its own niche of heavy reliance on tactical play but alas they went with the lcd route and now here we are.

[Axeface]

sycocys, on 06 June 2015 - 08:15 PM, said:

Unfortunately it did go the arcade route, PGI I'm sure blames the publisher but it also has a fair bit to do with Russ's e-sport dream. Could even have been a great e-sport with its own niche of heavy reliance on tactical play but alas they went with the lcd route and now here we are.

If this game was more 'Battletech', as in more tactical it could still be an e-sport. Tactical play is popular. I often hear the 'Niche' argument - that battletech isn't popular enough. I don't really agree with this, Battletech is a very interesting and cool franchise, the only reason it isn't hugely popular is firmly in the hands of the devs. Huge walking machines 'slogging it out' (Battletech, not MWO) has appeal - and a lot of it (and I think MWO is more successful than PGI would want us to know).

Edited by Axeface, 06 June 2015 - 08:22 PM.

[Johnny Z]

Good topic. This is a calm before the storm I really think. I have nearly no reason to be sure of that and only time will tell. I think before during and after the Steam launch things will get alot more interesting.


4 v 4 will bring lance level combat to Mechwarrior. Have to take from that the direction the game is going and that the Galaxy map will be alot more than it is now. Much like Mass Effect joins their zones together to form an entire game I think Mechwarrior is doing the same. Great combat and game play in both titles even if Mechwarrior is still really weak at the moment.

Edited by Johnny Z, 06 June 2015 - 08:44 PM.

[MechaBattler]

The game is trying to be like World of Tanks. Trying to reach for the same success. But MWO has a higher learning curve in terms of what to know and how to play. It has way too many barriers in the way of a new player. If this wasn't a Battletech game. It would have died. Because of all the stumbling they did in the early development of this game.

PGI isn't ambitious enough to see a fully realized Battletech game. And they've yet to show signs of wanting to be a Mechwarrior game in the vain of it's predecessors. As in PvE content. I know they said they were interested, but saying and actually doing, are two different things.

They would rather this be more like World of Tanks. And keep to a development similar to that. But this isn't WW2 Tank game. There's a whole damn universe. There are distinct factions with die hard fans of those factions. And all we have is CW. Which is a map with names and flags.

Rather than make new variants or items that you can earn from a specific faction. They would rather give us frivolous titles, C-bills, and the occasional mechbay. And rather put new variants behind a paywall for a while. Hell they could still do that, but make it available as a faction reward. But it doesn't seem to interest them.

If it were up to me. I'd add PvE as part of CW. And make it more about the pug queue. Have modes like "Convoy Hunt" where they have to hunt down some convoys that are on a large map. But they're well protected, by tanks and vehicles, so you can't just roll all lights. But you would still want lights to find the things. Tie the outcomes into some kind of resource system that affects CW.

Honestly I could go on with ideas. But it's all a pipe dream as I don't have any say in the game's direction.

[STEF_]

Russ: