5 replies to this topic

[Morenu]

Make the ready button useful and mech drop realistic at the same time.

So, I get a mission but no one tells me the planet I am taking my mech to? Sounds fishy to me. I understand you cant pick your mech once teams are picked for balance purposes. BUT, I doubt your balancing of teams looks at the the mech loadout, right? it looks at the pilot and the mech chassis and clan/IS I assume.

If this is a correct assumption, could you please let us change varients (NOT SETUPS, actual mechs we own already setup) once we team up. So I could make the varients I own good for certain maps then pick the best one - like - Hot map, cold map, balanced, ECM, jumpjets, bigger motor, brawler, sniper... And then switch By clicking a "Ready this varient" button. This makes the ready button useful, it makes the mech drop more believable (no more Energy weapon boats in mordor), It should be just as fast (no choice = keep what ya got). it will make matches better by not having a useless mech on a map and it may even encourage people to buy extra chasis (and bays) so they can have all varietiies available at all times. If no ready button is clicked then you drop with your originally selected mech (just like now).

good things
-It should not effect the team balance in a negative way.
-it is more realistic
-it relieves frustration of having the wrong mech on a randomized map
-it encourages more mech purchases
-it should help make for better battle experience.
-It gives us the feeling of having some control

bad things:
-might be too many LRM boats on certain maps (or other weapon loadouts).
-gives a slight advantage to paying players that have lots of mechbays (not sure that is really a bad thing honestly)
-may reduce balanced mech builds and encourage narrow design builds (again not sure if thats bad)

Please comment your thoughts.

crossing my fingers that I will someday not drop my heat boat into mordor ever again.

Edited by Morenu, 28 September 2014 - 04:18 PM.

[Eddrick]

Try adding a poll. Any post in this section gets a lot more votes on polls, them comments.

[MilesTeg1982]

Morenu, on 24 September 2014 - 05:20 AM, said:

So I could make the varients I own good for certain maps then pick the best one - like - Hot map, cold map, balanced, ECM, jumpjets, bigger motor, brawler, sniper... And then switch By clicking a "Ready this varient" button.

that is exactly the problem - if people could use map-specific builds - then for sure they will. As a result there won't be any "allround" build left cause these won't be able to compete. Also the build would get really boring - espeacially on open maps with little cover (you mentioned yourself that too much LRMs might become an issue on these maps).

Another problem you mentioned is the advantage for people with many mechbays - with the free 4 mechbays you would be very limited and thus forced to buy additional mechbays.

These problems outweight by far the advantage (honestly I don't see any and I can not see how you made up your points)

[Morenu]

MIlesteg,

in a PUG universe only, balanced builds are a must, you have no real team mates that make up for your mech build's deficiencies. So a good PUG build thats low heat should still be balanced IMO. personally, I dont play this game for those matches (although I do play them some and have fun), I find the unit grouping and team speak abilities add a ton to the fun and stratagy of the game. I would like the option to play the best build for my team. what does a real army do? they have specialists as well as all around units.

from the standpoint of paying for mechbays or people with more options because they spent real money. Games are made by people that have to make a living. Good games balance the free play and the pay players in a way that does not give the major money spenders an unbalanced advantage DURING play. I do not see how someone that has more mechs to choose from is an unbalancing issue. builds all have things that make them vulnerable. I do not see an issue with single focused builds. when they work, they are great, but when that light mech beats your a$$ cause you are too slow, have no good close range defense and no help, it goes horribly wrong. and thats ok. change your stratagies.

I honestly just dont like the stupidity of dropping into a Extreme heat world with a build that is strategically wrong. Or a super slow mech in an extremely big map. it hurts your team and makes people ***** about certain maps (of course that wont change either way, people are people).

Its only truly unbalancing IMO if only some people can do it. and being unwilling to put in $20 toward the game for a few extra mech bays is not an excuse to me. Nor is free play takes so long to fill those mech bays and such. thats the negatives of playing without spending money.

I dont want a free to play only game. I want it to last, so it will need an income. I honestly do not know how anyone has any long term fun with only 4 mech bays, but thats up to them.

Edited by Morenu, 05 October 2014 - 04:55 PM.

[MilesTeg1982]

Morenu, on 05 October 2014 - 04:50 PM, said:

I dont want a free to play only game. I want it to last, so it will need an income. I honestly do not know how anyone has any long term fun with only 4 mech bays, but thats up to them.

You won't make the game last any longer by rasing the allready high barrier for new players - imagine a new player in a trial mech has to fight against a high specialized build for a specific map - that will be really fustrating. You can say what you want - map specific mech builds in a Pug are a really bad idea.

And yes ... I know that on certain maps some builds are much more effective than others - however - a build which won't work on TT because it overheats won't be very effective on any other map either because you can overheat there as well. The speed of mechs does not really have an influence on that (remember you wanted to change withing a mech class - so these will have more or less the same speed usually) - also even on Big-Maps I don't have any problems with my DWF - its very rare that a team pushes so fast that I can't keep up - in many cases I reach the enemie in my DWF even by walking the long way around at the flanks before the majority of the team. The only real problem is River City which is actually TOO SMALL (the tactics are very limited on this map)

Don't understand me wrong - I have no complains about private matches - I could even imagine players setting up their own rules regarding tonage and loadouts for private matches. Just keep it out of Pugs

[Morenu]

MilesTeg1982, on 06 October 2014 - 08:42 AM, said:

You won't make the game last any longer by rasing the allready high barrier for new players - imagine a new player in a trial mech has to fight against a high specialized build for a specific map - that will be really fustrating. You can say what you want - map specific mech builds in a Pug are a really bad idea.

[skipped text]

.... Just keep it out of Pugs

If overpowering new players is a concern (not PUGs in general) I would agree thats a possible issue. theoretically, the ELO system should help there. But experienced players fighting solo? no issue IMO.

But this is where I gave the option of yes DEPENDING... in the poll. perhaps it is only offered in Unit play 6 or higher grouped up, or only if the overall ELO of the groups are high... but I again would not like to see MWO play down to the free play group.

FYI, I think that what they offer new players is still pretty low, BUT the additional MC bonuses for the first 20 or whatever matches helps (I started without that benefit and no money until all bays filled and maxed and I am still here). I personally would give them a light mech for free so they can use the mechlab early on.