35 replies to this topic

[Dawnstealer]

Check out this map from Battletech 3050:



Pre-invasion, this is what the Inner Sphere looked like (sans weird coloring job on Steiner/Davion space - MWO got this right: Davion space goes to the dark line shooting off of Terra).

Look at all those blobs around the outside of the Inner Sphere. That's called "The Periphery." So with these two ideas, I'm not sure how'd you'd implement the Periphery correctly. To do it right, you'd have to control the population and probably have them run stock mechs, or something. Not something I'd want to juggle as a game-designer, so I don't blame MWO from dodging it.

But...if you look between Davion and Liao space, you'll see a sky-blue blob. That blob is the St. Ives Compact.

As opposed to the Periphery, the St Ives Compact wouldn't be hard to implement and would give the southern powers one more thing to fight and another interesting dynamic. The problem in the south is that there's not enough borders to make it interesting.

St. Ives is canon, so why not just chuck it in there?

[Scoops Kerensky]

Because this game has a tiny population already sharded off into 10 different factions when really popular games have 2 or 3, making even more divisions will kill activity levels even more.

[Brimbooze]

You could have lone wolves and merc units which don't currently hold a contract with a house/clan represent the periphery.

[Chef Kerensky]

Scoops Kerensky, on 07 May 2015 - 07:55 AM, said:

Because this game has a tiny population already sharded off into 10 different factions when really popular games have 2 or 3, making even more divisions will kill activity levels even more.

Unfortunately I think you're right, even though I think a few periphery fronts would make southern house CW participation a lot more enticing to players.

[crustydog]

Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, is the area known as the Taurian Concordat lying alongside the Davion Border. This area remained relatively unaddressed by the lore as of 3050. However, few people realize that during the events that led up to the destruction of the Star League, the Star League Defense Force was engaged in a massive and truly devastating military confrontation with the forces of the Taurian Concordat. They were not exactly winning this war at the time... and this war was never fully prosecuted.

Since then, the Taurian's have managed to keep their heads down and a state of relative peacefulness has been maintained between the Concordat and the Davion State throughout the period known as the Succession Wars. While the Taurian's clearly like to keep to themselves, and everyone believes that their state has fallen to a tech level just above barbarism.... the truth is nobody really knows the true condition of the Taurian forces, or just how much of their military technology they have been able to preserve since the sudden end of their conflict with the Star League. They did go head to head against the Star League, and they did inflict massive casualties on the Star League forces during their short involvement prior to the Exodus.

Look at what Comstar was able to preserve without anyone the wiser for all of those centuries. Most people in the Inner Sphere simply have no idea yet. Does anybody else here believe the Taurian's are really what they are pretending to be?

I believe not one word of it. The Taurian's had a substantial space fleet - and it wasn't lost during the Succession Wars - so where are those ships now? The Taurian's had also recovered all of the Star League salvage after Kerensky's forces did an about face, not to mention all of the Star League stuff simply left behind in the confusion of those days. The Taurian's have been harvesting the remains of all of those lost Star League vessels... and no doubt a great deal of that technology has made it's way into their own forces.

Who knows what was simply given to them in exchange for their participation in this war? There is plenty of evidence to suggest that they had well infiltrated both the Star League Defense Forces, and the Davion High Command for many years prior to the commencement of this war. When they agreed to participate, they knew exactly what was coming, and they proved beyond any doubt that they were indeed well prepared for it.

No my friends - there are many many questions that remain unanswered about that seemingly now peaceful Cluster - with a well known history of totally rabid violence.

I tell you they are not to be trusted.

[martian]

Dawnstealer, on 07 May 2015 - 07:44 AM, said:

St. Ives is canon, so why not just chuck it in there?

Not enough players, that's why.

[Dawnstealer]

martian, on 07 May 2015 - 09:20 AM, said:

Not enough players, that's why.

You don't need that many to make it a viable power. The real problem is that so much of the population is tied up in a transitory merc population. So on that point, I agree with you in principle: the loyalist groups are too few to justify a new house, probably. I'd still like to see St Ives. It would be nice if every faction had at least two hostile fronts to keep things interesting.

That said, that's one of the main reasons why the Periphery wouldn't work for now, in addition to the issues in my OP.

[Maxwell Albritten]

crustydog, on 07 May 2015 - 09:02 AM, said:

Stuff about the Taurian Concordat.

The Concordat held off the combined might of the SLDF and AFFS for nineteen years. Before the savages of the Star League slaughtered the citizens of the Concordat by the millions they were on par or even stronger than many of the major Houses. People around here like to pretend the Star League was something great, but it was built with bricks made from the bodies of millions (billions?!) of innocent people and the mortar was nothing but lies.

Even in the modern era the Taurians have the highest literacy rate in the Inner Sphere.

So yea, if any new group is formed it should be the mighty TC!

But in reality, the population base really is too small to handle another group.

Edited by Maxwell Albritten, 07 May 2015 - 09:29 AM.

[Bigbacon]

suggest this when the game has 5000+ players in CW at any given time.

[Revis Volek]

Dawnstealer, on 07 May 2015 - 09:26 AM, said:

...The real problem is that so much of the population is tied up in a transitory merc population.....

This guy gets it....

No reason to be loyal to a House or Faction other then "you want to".

Give me a reason....like something real.

[Colonel Morgan Kell]

We Need St. Ives.. Put it in the game Please!!

[AztecD]

it would make sense if CW had a RAID or Bandit Drop or something other than full planetary assault, that's what periphery/bandit kingdoms did, just be a pan the butt of the bigger houses

Edited by AztecD, 14 July 2015 - 12:14 PM.

[Red Legs Greaves]

My unit is a periphery unit and we would love to see the non-innersphere factions in the game. However as stated before there's just not enough people left to do it. Also with the advent of CW it seems unit background doesn't matter any more. Just making money and putting your name on planets that don't matter.

[_Comrade_]

No to St Ives but yes to a clan wolf in exile

imagine a IS group where they are ALLOWED to use clan mechs. Wolf in Exile can provide that to players

[Red Legs Greaves]

Grimwill, on 20 July 2015 - 02:10 PM, said:

No to St Ives but yes to a clan wolf in exile

imagine a IS group where they are ALLOWED to use clan mechs. Wolf in Exile can provide that to players

The clans can already attack each other and don't. Who would the exiles fight? They're loyal to the Lyrans and clan players have already shown that they won't attack each other.

[Lucity]

I would love the chance to go play for the Outworlds Alliance again, but there is no player base to support this sadly.

[HerHareHair]

How to fix population without too much work:

• Drop the number of sides to 2: IS and Clans - everybody in IS can group up with IS, same for Clans, for both attacks and defenses, no IS vs IS and Clan vs Clan anymore
  
• Adjust the way planetary ownership works - the Unit's that won the planet gives it to its Faction (since different factions can now compete over a planet)
  
• Dynamically open and close attack lanes based on population queuing
  
• Leave all 10 factions or introduce new ones if needed but fix rewards to two achievements lines (IS and Clan)
  
• Add more ranks, adjust LP points required and spread current rewards (from 20 ranks among 10 Factions to, for example, 100 ranks among 2 sides)
  
• As an extra, add an IS, Clan, and Merc pilot profiles; everybody can be a Loyalist to a chosen IS and Clan Faction, and can play a Mercenary if needed

Edited by HerHareHair, 28 July 2015 - 03:49 AM.

[Red-Mattila]

Lucity, on 26 July 2015 - 04:49 PM, said:

I would love the chance to go play for the Outworlds Alliance again, but there is no player base to support this sadly.

There's a few of us who are Alliance loyalists around, but you're right there aren't enough players. I'd like to see the Taurians and Canopus in the game too.

[Kin3ticX]

we need to reduce down to like 5 factions, not add more

[Jarl Dane]

Kin3ticX, on 28 July 2015 - 07:52 AM, said:

we need to reduce down to like 5 factions, not add more

THIS IS A ***** $%#ING FACT YO.

WE NEED LIKE 3 FACTIONS MAX.

SO SAITH THE JARL.