So, in doing some further research and listening to the recent town hall meeting ( 3+ hrs of mostly "selected" questions being vaguely answered if at all by Russ ) the notable bit is at about the 2hr mark through to 2hrs 15 mins if you'd all like to have a listen to the relevant sound bite. (if someone can link the youtube / whatever thingy, im just an avid gamer, not a net nerd, that would be appreciated )
basically summed up, its due to declining player base causing issues for the match maker, and thus was done to ensure matches can be had. Now think for a moment, how low does the player base need to be for match maker to be broken to such a stage they needed to do this ???
Surely it would have to be at around 100 people or so playing in the public ques at any one time, helz even 100 people in the ques shouldn't be a problem, so is it potentially less than that ??? I, and im sure many others have played online games have many servers in many regions having a regional server that has a higher population than the entire base for MWO public ques.
Now further research into twitter etc, shows plainly that Russ is using the released game as a secondary PTS, at the expense of the already limited player base that's in decline. He has stated that he's happy to " let things sit for a week or so.." ( read his twitter feed ) on these and other issues, being plainly aware that he's upsetting people without remorse. I have to give it when i see it, this guy has titanium balz, and to be the devils advocate, he probably does cop a fair amount of **** too.
The convoluted ownership of the IP is probably preventing anyone with a brain going anywhere near this project that should have stayed in open beta, at least then Russ would have a semi-legitimate excuse for using the public released game as a PTS. PGI are looking for staff, notably a Customer Service Rep, could anyone here say they would take that job ??? no matter what it paid ???
But if this is the path he is going to continue with ( i did note when reading that he has a loooooooong history of treating the player base like this ), the player base will continue to decline even further if thats at all possible, or perhaps he's just working on the fact there is always some fool waiting to be parted from their money.
The following is an extract from an article by James Murff, on the gamefront site
" PGI promised a vision of Mechwarrior that led to the game’s funding through fans and founder’s packs, then changed its mind and failed to provide an explanation satisfactory to the majority of involved fans as to why it did so. The developer has stated it’s no longer concerned with pleasing existing fans — many of whom have dumped hundreds of dollars into Mechwarrior Online based on the promises PGI made them — and that its goal is to instead seek out new players.
Many players are comparing PGI’s practices to the infamous Star Wars Galaxies”new game enhancement“ fiasco, and others are saying they want Mechwarrior Online to die so that another developer, such as the Mechwarrior: Living Legends mod team, can grab the intellectual property rights and craft the game players want.
Mechwarrior Online’s road to launch is a cautionary consumer tale, fraught with anger and betrayal. It shows how a company can take a fan base dedicated to an old IP and completely alienate it through lack of communication, unpopular features, and oathbreaking. It shows how players need to be cautious of supporting a project based solely on the IP backing it.
Most depressingly, it shows how you can’t always trust a developer to keep its promises."
and this was back in 2013, August 30th .....
TL:DR
Which ever it is, the long story short, forced match modes are very likely here to stay unless there is a massive shift in attitudes from the few people making the decisions ( i was trying to be kind there but everything seems to point to the more likely 1 person pulling all the strings ). A declining player base mixed with a hostile attitude towards THEIR CUSTOMERS and a "i will do what i please" mood ever present, the game is destined for failure.
P.S - yesterday I lowered myself to a standard i didn't think possible, and started repeat burn grinding the forced match modes, for that i do sincerely apologize to all who experienced it, I hit boiling point and took it out on the fellow community players which is never acceptable.
I'll be attempting to fill my time for the next 4 days with some non-skirmish ( aka mindless deathball ) until Fallout 4 comes out, but i will still long for a thinking man shooter. Perhaps if MWO does finally die and the IP hasn't been too damaged by Russ, a decent Developer may pick it up and make the game we have all been longing for, delivered in a manner that is befitting of the title. I will actually enjoy uninstalling MWO knowing im not funding Russ's ego any further,
To all i wish farewell and good hunting.
edit note : typos removed, though there are likely more
Edited by Bonger Bob, 04 November 2015 - 07:00 PM.