59 replies to this topic

[Maledictor]

I've apparently had my thoughts run on a track different than yours.
I've loved BT since I was a kid, have spent money on the tabletop and videogame varieties of the game, and will continue to do so. This game represents the gleeful fruition of many years of what it's and if paying $120 sight unseen to support a company making a BT game helps that company, I'm all for it.
I will gleefully dump sums of money right into their pockets as fast as I can get away with it, because BT has always been an enjoyable hobby of mine, and something that my wife and children have come to enjoy as well. I honestly don't care about market valuation of my investment, so long as they make a fun game that let's me stomp around in a pretend mech and blast the heck out of other mechs for a little bit.

[Terror Teddy]

Bodha, on 05 July 2012 - 06:29 PM, said:

biggest thing to me is that you will have 1 mech in each weight class that has the c-bill boost. So you can keep the c-bill boost while still changing pace and role.

That was basically my take on it as well. I can be more flexible and not just ***** out my cash cow mech.

BTW...will there be variants to the founder mechs as well (i.e they rank up just like normal)

[Radman]

I don't get the hand wringing over this. As others have stated for $60 you can get $80 worth of in-game credit and a mech that gives a lifetime c-bill boost. Quite frankly it doesn't matter if other mechs with c-bill boosts will be available later on or not. If you truly intend on never paying a dime to play the game then don't! For anyone who plans to support the game monetarily the founders packages are a no brainer if you have the $ available now. It would have been worth it just for the $20 additional bonus.

I'm pretty sure I read that the $80 of in-game currency can't be used to buy additional "premium" subscription months. I don't really care about that but understand why others would like it.

There's no bad business or mistreatment going on! They've given plenty of info regarding what the different packages get you. My birthday is in 6 days. If I get a little cash from that you can bet I'll be upgrading to legendary. I won't feel ripped off, foolish, or anything else other than elated. For my $120 investment I'll get 4 mechs each with an additional mech bay AND a lifetime c-bill booster, $80 worth of in-game currency, and 4 months of premium subscription! That's incredibly simple and easy to understand. Some of you keep looking for more and I can't figure out why. This actually seems fairly generous to me.

[jeebers34]

Terror Teddy, on 06 July 2012 - 12:38 AM, said:

BTW...will there be variants to the founder mechs as well (i.e they rank up just like normal)

Pretty damn sure that the founders mechs are treated as the 'prime' variant of the mech, so yes you do 'rank' it up in the same way that you would another mech.

[OJ191]

I just hope mech slots are cheap, I'd rather they go for cosmetic options than limiting how many mechs we can have. Having limited mech slots just makes me want to ignore costumisation (yes intentional) and buy as many slots as I can. League of Legends did it right, it takes something like 30-40 hours of play (depending on win rate) to earn a single 6300 IP champion, then you have runes and rune pages to sink IP Into as well (see: mechlab customisation and pilot modules), but you can just pay $10 to earn it instantly.

While $10 is rather arbitrary, when you consider that even minimum wage it is taking you like 3% of the time to get the champ as by grinding IP. So it's all down to whether you have a job or not, whether you have income left over after bills and other luxuries or not, and whether or not you are actually willing to pay for a "free" game.

I'd personally say with the amount of mechs to be potentially added, slots should only be around $5

[Radman]

The thing is this game has to be profitable, period, or it won't be here for long. They'll have to find that balance of what to charge vs how many are willing to pay for it. If they build a killer game, people will pay more for anything that supports their experience. I understand everyone wants this to be the greatest MW game ever but it will have to come at a cost to some people. They have the not so enviable task of trying to entice people to pay for the game without alienating those who wish to play for free. Both groups are needed as F2P has the potential to bring in a large player base which will enhance the experience for everyone. But they have to find a way to encourage many, if not most, of us to spend SOME money on the game.

[RoyalWave]

Radman, on 06 July 2012 - 12:58 AM, said:

I'm pretty sure I read that the $80 of in-game currency can't be used to buy additional "premium" subscription months. I don't really care about that but understand why others would like it.

Me, well I bought the founders package planning to do this, so I hope it's in. I like actually unlocking stuff, not buying it straight out as I like the "upgrade" feeling. Also if 1 month of premium doesn't unlock at least 1-2 extra mechs a month, something is wrong so I think it will be a longer term value vs the short term burst of unlocks.

[Radman]

RoyalWave, on 06 July 2012 - 03:23 AM, said:

Me, well I bought the founders package planning to do this, so I hope it's in. I like actually unlocking stuff, not buying it straight out as I like the "upgrade" feeling. Also if 1 month of premium doesn't unlock at least 1-2 extra mechs a month, something is wrong so I think it will be a longer term value vs the short term burst of unlocks.

I'll probably buy a mech fairly quickly to fill whatever role my unit needs me to. After that I'll be hoarding it until we have a better idea of value and necessity. I can respect the desire to "earn" stuff rather than buying it. I simply don't expect to have the time.

[Grayson T Carlyle]

I only can speak for myself on that, i do not really do the math what goes in and what comes out! i bought that because i think it is more than time - to bring back battletech mechs into an new era. i do not know if this game will last longer than a normal gamelifecycle, but if it is done right and with an persistant and growing timeline, features and options, it will! that`s why i put a bit money in it...and i hope i see a good game at the end...than i hopefully see the most of you on Tukayyid!

[Lorchan]

I paid my hard earned $120 for three reasons:
To be a part of MW:O's beginning because the original game was so much fun I have complained for years that it was wasted by folks that did not understand its scope and potential.
To help in any way to assure the Developers that this is a Game worth the time and effort that they have already given and will give to continue producing good content while expanding MWO.
To get 4 Mechs, the $80 value, and 25% in game bonus for life.

Buy or Don't Buy, but stop trying to blame the Developer's for not giving you enough "value" for the dollar. They have more important things to apply their time to accomplish...getting this game done right for those that appreciate what they are doing.

[CW Roy]

"WoT"

[BigJim]

I don't have a clue what that dog contributes to the discussion but it scares the hell outta me.. It's like those eyes can see all my innermost thoughts and has deemed me unworthy of life...

Edited by BigJim, 06 July 2012 - 05:01 AM.

[Schtirlitz]

Yep. No problems with paying for me.
I want to contribute to the game that may be very good for me.
And i want to get some premium features

[MeiSooHaityu]

CCC Dober, on 05 July 2012 - 09:34 AM, said:

Keep one thing in mind here gents. The Founder's Mechs are decidedly more valuable than other Mechs for one single reason: +25% C-Bill bonus. I can't tell how to rate that right now, but it's worth to keep that in mind when you make more educated guesses.

That is why, if you think you will play this game, at the least an Elite Founders Pack will probably be worth it. With the C-Bill booster on a Founders Mech, it makes grinding a lot easier. Even if you aren't per-se crazy about any of the Founder Mechs, you can still get what ever Mech you want, and when C-Bills gets tight, grind with your Founders Mech to boost your income faster.

I purchased the Legendary mostly because I wanted a Founder Mech in each class. This way I can grind in any class (If I find I like one class over an other).

[Radman]

I'm not positive why some are saying unequivocally that there will be no "grinding". The dev's have stated that heavier mechs will cost significantly more in upkeep than lights. I can see situations where people need to spend time, or "grind", in a lighter mech to support playing in the heavier one. I don't think this will be the norm but it's entirely possible. The difference between this and WoT(I've never played WoT so going solely on what I've read) is that a lighter mech is not nerfed in any way compared to heavier mechs. There will be no bouncing of shots. An AC-10 on a medium mech does the same damage as that on an assault. Even more important is that once role warfare is effectively implemented there should be many of us that actually prefer to pilot lighter mechs.

I really think people should wait on passing judgement on the game until they've played it.

As for the founder pack, if you don't see value then don't buy it. I'd rather see a bunch of posts stating how people wish they would have bought it rather than a bunch saying they think they were ripped off because this one feature didn't work the way they think it should. For me, it's worth the risk.

Edited by Radman, 06 July 2012 - 06:46 AM.

[Namikaze]

I think the math is pretty easy. $60 gets me $80 of in game currency, Premium time and a mech that gets more in game currency per battle. How is that not a good deal? And if it helps developers as well, very good.

[MeiSooHaityu]

Besides, since when is grinding a bad thing? Grinding is playing the game. Everyone plans on doing that anyway, that is the point of the game in the first place

I just think that I'd rather have the reward come 25% faster

[BigJim]

Radman, on 06 July 2012 - 06:46 AM, said:

I'm not positive why some are saying unequivocally that there will be no "grinding".

I'm not saying there will not be grinding, I'm saying I dislike grinding.
To me, grinding is the polar opposite of playing a game for fun.

By definition, grinding is the act of going through the motions in order to win easy money/gold/xp/etc.. in order to obtain the "thing" you actually wanted in the first place.

How is that any different to a day-job?

As someone who cut his teeth on UT99, Quake 2, etc.. I have a simple mind(set).
You found a server, jumped in-game and killed dudes.
You didn't enter a game because you wanted something *other* than the game in-hand, you entered the game because you wanted to be in that game, right then, right there.


To add injury to insult, the whole idea of grinding-type games is that you're constantly chasing that next cool thing, as soon as you obtain your Lvl-9 armour, you're no longer interested in it, you want that Lvl-10 armour - It's a crack habit mentality, except without the wild parties & easy women that go with it. (j/k ).


*EDIT* Just to make sure I'm totally clear; I don't actually believe MWO will fall into the above trap, and I've paid an awful lot of attention to how progression works, how maintaining your mech works, etc..

Edited by BigJim, 06 July 2012 - 08:13 AM.

[Radman]

BigJim, on 06 July 2012 - 08:02 AM, said:

I'm not saying there will not be grinding, I'm saying I dislike grinding.
To me, grinding is the polar opposite of playing a game for fun.

By definition, grinding is the act of going through the motions in order to win easy money/gold/xp/etc.. in order to obtain the "thing" you actually wanted in the first place.

How is that any different to a day-job?

As someone who cut his teeth on UT99, Quake 2, etc.. I have a simple mind(set).
You found a server, jumped in-game and killed dudes.
You didn't enter a game because you wanted something *other* than the game in-hand, you entered the game because you wanted to be in that game, right then, right there.


To add injury to insult, the whole idea of grinding-type games is that you're constantly chasing that next cool thing, as soon as you obtain your Lvl-9 armour, you're no longer interested in it, you want that Lvl-10 armour - It's a crack habit mentality, except without the wild parties & easy women that go with it. (j/k ).


*EDIT* Just to make sure I'm totally clear; I don't actually believe MWO will fall into the above trap, and I've paid an awful lot of attention to how progression works, how maintaining your mech works, etc..

I absolutely understand where you're coming from. I'm not setting expectations though other than I expect great game play. PGI has to make money somehow though and as long as the game play is there I really don't care how it's done. I for one refuse to waste my time so I'll be a paying member anyway. But if everything in the game is easy to get there will be no incentive for people to pay for anything and the game will wither I fear. I just don't see PGI making it easy to get whatever people want thereby removing any incentive to pay. Maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised by a new business model that finds other ways to encourage us to spend $ beyond early access to the beta and a special mech or 4.

Those early games you speak of were extremely simple compared to MWO. No persistent univers(though MWO will come post launch), weapons were added via on map power ups rather than bought in a meta game, and there was no real benefit or punishment to winning or losing.

I think where "grinding" in MWO could be different is that the gameplay would be superior to other "grind" games. I watched a friend play WoW one night and he and others kept doing the same stuff over and over. Every "event" went down almost the exact same way. Not fun IMO. Grinding in WoT's sounds terrible too with the possibility of running into tanks that you aren't even capable of damaging.

If grinding is present in MWO at least even the lowly Commando can affect the outcome of the game. It can get behind larger mechs and wreak havoc on their rear torso. Or it can finish off a damaged medium or heavy that's been softened up by indirect fire. To me, that's not grinding, that's playing!

[BigJim]

I like your way of thinking, and pretty much agree with all of the above post - I accept that simply having different types of mech will ensure a certain small amount of grindage, it's more the mindset of (certain) devs & players I object to when it comes to the kind of repetitive gameplay you so aptly describe above.
A game that's well balanced in all it's aspects shouldn't require such long periods of boring gameplay just to let you have a few good games every now & again (we use the phrase "Daily Grind" to describe our jobs for a good reason), and I do think PGI have got the balance about right (of course with the caveat that we can't be sure of this until the 7th).


*If* you're going to have a grind, it should be to open up new options, *not* simply to keep up with everyone else.
(this is why the commando example is very appropriate)

Edited by BigJim, 06 July 2012 - 09:12 AM.