6 replies to this topic

[Rando Slim]

So I applaud the efforts of the PTS rebalance, I really do. But one poster made a comment that got me to thinking: "This new system relies on the assumption that all 4 quadrants of the diamond are of inherently equal value to the mechwarrior". And this is a good point not only on its face, but because of one huge, not to be overlooked fact: information warfare really doesn't matter too much because ALL THE MAPS ARE PLAYED THE SAME EVERY TIME. What do I care if my mech can sense them from 50 percent farther away? I already know where the show is ultimately gonna happen at pretty much every time anyway. Until we can find some way to force players to use the whole map, I just don't quite see how we can truly make information warfare pertinent. Please don't take this as a rant or being toxic, I'm just being honest here.

[Kira Onime]

Rando Slim, on 01 October 2015 - 01:54 PM, said:

information warfare really doesn't matter too much because

Because you don't need a paper doll or even a lock *unless using lock required weapons* to shoot at something.

I see enemy? I shoot. MK I eyeball > infotech

[Triordinant]

Rando Slim, on 01 October 2015 - 01:54 PM, said:

Until we can find some way to force players to use the whole map, I just don't quite see how we can truly make information warfare pertinent.

Orbital battle between warships forces 'mechs to use orbital insertion Drop Pods instead of dropships and they're scattered randomly all over the battlefield!

[Skarlock]

Triordinant, on 01 October 2015 - 04:05 PM, said:

Orbital battle between warships forces 'mechs to use orbital insertion Drop Pods instead of dropships and they're scattered randomly all over the battlefield!

While I do find that idea interesting, the problem is it could easily lead to gross match imbalance. Imagine your assault lance spawning way off in the middle of nowhere and having your lance spawn in between the enemy assaults and heavies. If the enemy has any clue whatsoever the result would be a very quick and decisive massacre many times. RNG shouldn't decide who wins or who loses. There would need to be a lot of safeguards and tuning done to ensure the random drops don't get out of control. The semi-randomized nature of spawn points on the maps we have can already lead to some extremely bad situations. I would say PGI should consider some alternate spawn points, sure, but they need to do it intelligently and implement dynamic systems to be able to fix issues as they get reported by players.

[Nik Reaper]

Also in other threads it was found that the most likely way to make infotech relevant is to tie it up to damage dealt , something like 5~10% more damage when a full scan is completed ... it's targeting computer magic as far as justification goes, but nothing else can truly be done in an arena shooter that we have going on here.

[DivineEvil]

Well, Info-Tech itself is one of the things, that can make using the map worthwhile. With observed changes, flanking and spotting will work much better for anyone who'd up for the task. The game will not reveal everythign instantly as soon as someone sees it, and that uncovers lots of possible applications for mechs with different sensor modifiers.

It is not about "I see, I shoot" anyhow.
It is about "I've flanked you, and until your sensors would pick me, you're on you own here"
It is about "I'm spotting you for our LRMs, and until you'd actually see me, you cannot shove me off"
It is about "If your sensors suck, don't wonder why your team's Lights aren't instantly trying to chase me down"
It is information warfare, so it's not about your personal performance, but about the performance of your crew as a team.

Edited by DivineEvil, 02 October 2015 - 07:42 AM.

[xWiredx]

Skarlock, on 01 October 2015 - 06:23 PM, said:

While I do find that idea interesting, the problem is it could easily lead to gross match imbalance. Imagine your assault lance spawning way off in the middle of nowhere and having your lance spawn in between the enemy assaults and heavies. If the enemy has any clue whatsoever the result would be a very quick and decisive massacre many times. RNG shouldn't decide who wins or who loses. There would need to be a lot of safeguards and tuning done to ensure the random drops don't get out of control. The semi-randomized nature of spawn points on the maps we have can already lead to some extremely bad situations. I would say PGI should consider some alternate spawn points, sure, but they need to do it intelligently and implement dynamic systems to be able to fix issues as they get reported by players.

A more mature form of this idea might be that instead of being really tightly grouped, and the matchmaker automatically sorting players into lances based on speed+weight, the grouping is much more loose and peppered across nearly half the map per team and it drops in a 1/1/1/1 fashion. This kind of solves the problem of forcing wider map usage AND not randomly putting your mediums near their heavies (something that happpens now anyway).