ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
Alright here goes...
How come the UI isn't integrated into the actual cockpit? Is there an option I'm missing?
Because it's integrated into the neurohelmet which lets your brain control the mech's balance.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
How come the self status or the enemy status UI isn't customized per mech?
file:///C:\Users\CHRIST~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.png
Because it requires less developer time to do this. In universe a simple paper doll model provides an easy to understand quick reference in the heat of battle while a bunch of bars or a complex 3D model doesn't.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
No self destruct or eject buttons? I keep finding places to get stuck on waiting to be killed.
You can just disconnect, or ask someone on your team to give you a quick pump. Currently when 2 mechs collide the back end of the game moves them slightly which is enough to unstick you a lot of times. This is a remnant from the closed beta knock down system that had to be removed because the fall location of the mechs didn't sync up on everyone's game. That and one of the devs got trolled by the goons.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
Why does the forest colony map feel tiny? I feels like it should be 6v6, I always feel crowded on that map.
It was a quickly done map designed for testing purposes in closed beta. Back then weapon ranges didn't extend as far past what is now their optimal ranges, there weren't as many long range weapons (no Gauss, no ERLL, no ERPPC), and battles were 8v8.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
Where are the destructibles?
Cry engine's net code is all client side authenticated so to prevent cheating PGI had to write their own server side authenticated net code from scratch. They underestimated how hard that’d be to get working. Hell, they only now got hit reg working, so it's safe to say that writing the code for destructible buildings/terrain has been a lower priority. I suspect that PGI is using the tree knock down to work on the back end code for mech knock down, melee combat (atlas punch puny warhawk face in) and possibly destructible/deformable terrain.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
Why are the weapon models for lights and other classes so different? An AC/10 or an AC/20 look like snub sausages on my Urbanmech whilst on other mechs they look like ship guns.
It's a balance thing mostly. Personally I'd be fine with my AC20 raven having a properly sized gun.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
Why are flamers garbage? I've tried a flamer loadout on the "firestarter", found an AFK commando and I couldn't take him down....
PGI doesn't want flamers to be able to disable mechs to prevent trolling. So... their primary niche was removed and no new role was created for them. Frankly it's probably just a low priority thing to work on.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
None of the maps feel objective based... at all, every match is just a Team vs Team deathmatch unless they can't kill the last remaining enemy mech for whatever reason.
Correct. It's something I've been harping about forever. Partially the maps are too small and partially killing people is what the player base likes. There is however one exception to the everyone death blob rule. That is Terra Therma Conquest. It is the only map that has the cap points spread out enough that ignoring them will cause you to lose even if you kill most of their team. Alpine used to be the same way but they changed it because people didn't like it. How dare you make us have to consider the objective! The changes do however force you to avoid fighting on the hill which is nice.
Additionally a lot of the maps are kind of small (Forest Colony, Frozen City, and old River City) so there aren't a lot of places to place the kind of objectives that would force teams to split up to attack/defend them.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
I keep reading about some kind of timeline on the forums that dictates what mechs and mech weapons we can have, some people want to time skip, and apparently there's some kind of "Cave dwelling ancients" that hiss and scream whenever that's suggested?
The game is currently in year 3050 for community warfare purposes. This is because the clan invasion is one of the most interesting times in battletech lore. We're technically in 3052 for tech/mechs according to a twitter feed. Anyways, the big reason we don't just skip ahead is because community warfare isn't done yet. Once that's complete I suspect we'll restart the clan invasion which is the biggest event in battletech lore. After we do Tukkayid again, we'll probably skip ahead a bit. Possibly to 3058 for task force bull dog and task force serpent (eliminating the smoke jaguar clan) which would introduce a number of popular mechs (bushwacker, Sunderer, Pillager, etc).
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
Honestly Mechwarrior online is the only mech game that I've played where it feels realistic (none of that weird anime sparkle time), simplistic, and fun. But it's very simplistic to a fault.
Getting past the eyesore that is the UI, the game becomes simple with specific options and builds.
The game is less simple when you have 2 organized teams fighting each other. But... even then more tactically complex moves often fall to good old fashioned massed fire. Part of this is the high amounts of alpha mechs can put out. This is partially due to the heat curve and the pin point accuracy of weapons. However, I gave up on a lower heat ceiling, longer cool downs on hard hitting weapons, and adding a small amount of randomness (a degree or two at most) to weapons fire. As such, you see the prevalence of weapons boats to get maximum alpha damage out with minimal face time. Combine with relatively high acceleration of heavy and assault mechs for ridge humping or corner poking and well you end up where we are.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
I'm really hating these "preorders", why do they have them? If it's to bring in revenue, fine, but why not mech skins, or letting people rent private servers (with not C-Bill or xp gain), weapon cosmetics?
Because it's a huge source of profit from the whales (people who spend hundreds on this game). This works better in MWO than in a lot of F2P games because a huge swath of the player base either grew up on the table top game or played mechwarrior 2 as a kid. As such the average player age and disposable income is quite high compared to most F2P games.
PGI does allow you to create your own matches. If you want to run fewer than 12 players per team you need to have premium time.
PGI also let's people do camo. However... I think they made a mistake when deciding on pricing. The one shot camos are cheap which encourages people to acquire a few MC and then when they're almost out they decide they want more MC. This is fine. Where they went wrong is not making camos unlock for all mechs when you purchase the unlock for 10x the one shot price. Someone who already has enough mechs that it makes sense to buy an account wide unlock of a pattern is also likely to buy more than one pattern. Heck they might buy 4 or 5 patterns since they can apply them to all mechs. As is, no one buys the unlock option except new players who think it's an account wide unlock which makes it a lost profit opportunity and a source of frustration in the community.
The reason for not having say different laser colors and the like is that it provides a tangible in game bonus. I identify what kind of laser vomit I'm dealing with based on color. By changing the cosmetics of the weapons fire you affect everyone's ability to determine what's being shot at them.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
Why is there such a gap between veteran players and new players? I'm talking about the consumable/module/upgrade gap? Older players can fart recon drones, have the ability to disappear from radar lock, have the ability to lower their heat, and rain fire from the sky with artillery and mortars... That doesn't seem very fair. I can understand when an older player beats a new one with skill, and with gaming logic you can provide skill substitutes to level the playing field, but when you give these tools to players that are already far advanced, and farther skilled... what is the logic?~
Modules are the end game content. It gives you something to grind for once you master your mechs. Personally I don't even run modules on a lot of my mechs, no real need to. Most players however, run seismic and radar deprivation because they're super useful. Seismic negates light flanking pretty much outright if you're even half awake. Light pilots complained bitterly when it came out and we did manage to get a slight range decrease on detection range but it wasn't enough frankly.
Consumables came later and again a good chunk of the player base complained bitterly but in the end to keep up at high ELO levels you often need them. Personally I use a UAV as a light since I don't need the cbills but not everyone is so lucky. Frankly every light mech should probably get a free UAV each match to help with scouting in magic jesus box land.
ComradeHavoc, on 11 July 2015 - 04:34 AM, said:
~I've tried to bring in other friends(3) to play mechwarrior, but they found themselves outmatched, outgunned, and feeling pretty useless. They played maybe 7 or 8 matches before giving up on the game.
Hell the only reason I even tried the game is because one of my friends forced me, then eventually invested me by purchasing a mech package for me, it was only after 40 or so games that I actually became nominal and enjoyed the game a bit. Which begs the last question.
Why does this game treat new players like garbage?
Ah the new player experience. This game has one hell of a steep learning curve and no real tutorial. The pace of movement is slower so mistakes are often fatal, the controls are different from a generic FPS, and to really tap a mech's potential you need to elite 3 of a chassis.
The champion trial mechs, however, are generally quite good so new players aren't too badly out gunned (10-15% with modules). The bigger problem is constantly getting that damage on the target while minimizing damage taken through movement and torso twisting. These things just take time to get down and there really isn't a good way to teach them except by having someone privately teach you.
Another problem with bringing friends into the game is that if you want to play together you have to play in group queue where people tend to be more organized and of a higher skill level. The only way I was able to get my friends up to speed quickly was by giving them a lot of tips (turn mouse sensitivity all the way down, put back against wall when fighting lights, etc) and personally training them in a private match (I have premium) while using raidcall/teamspeak. For someone who starts out without a friend who knows the game and is honestly pretty good at it (46th/400+ in oxide tournament) this game just isn't approachable without some serious determination.
What can be done? Well... I'd eliminate the current mech skill and module system and replace it with something like borderlands' bad ass ranks (get XP and then get a very small upgrade to one of the various in game things). I'd also give new players a free mech of their choice (from a selection of good mechs) preconfigured into a good build after completing their cadet bonus. A more in depth series of tutorials that cover tactics (ridge humping, pop tarting, effective JJ use, shooting moving targets, how to fight lights, etc) would be excellent as well. Give people who complete the tutorial a couple million cbils and we're in business.
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