17 replies to this topic

[TotalN00B]

New to game ( got it on steam release but please read on )

After about a 5 days/ 63 hours of play and $115 on mechs I'm getting a very mixed view of the game or more specifically its users.

I had the good fortune to be picked up by a decent size clan and when I play with them one of the most important things I find is the level of communication required to properly fight. Now when playing with them we use TS however I find that when I'm playing with randoms there seems to be very little (if any) communication and anyone trying to communicate often gets ignored or even worse answered with abuse or sarcasm turning most matches into a coin toss in terms of winning.


Am I missing something here as I do a mic check in game lobby and often get a response but in the game its very rare to have any coms at all.

[GreyNovember]

No. No you've got it basically right.

Any kind of random is, technically a team. It is effectively however, every man for himself. Humans on the internet really.

Consider setting an objective that isn't winning the match if you drop solo. Not everyone is going to understand, or want to follow your plan.

I mean I probably wouldn't follow someone who tries to lead with a reasonable, often used plan, because I'd be bored of the routine and would want to try something idiotic and high risk.

[TotalN00B]

Cheers mate, I think ill look for an English speaking EU group to play with during afternoons as the clan I'm currently playing with is NA and during the day for me they are not on.

[Rogue Jedi]

you are essentialy playing with 2 diferant groups of people, the group queue is for people who want to work together, there is almost always a degree of orginization and coordination.

the Solo queue is completely different,some, although thankfully not many, of the players seem to think that they are the best player in history despite the fact that they are only tier 4 or 5, and that it is there teams fault for not backing them up if they do a suicide charge into an enemy firing line in the fastest Mech on their team, I have also been in a match where someone (who I always report) thinks that swearing at and insulting the team is a good way to encourage the team to follow his (usualy suicidal) plan.

I am not a high tier player but am experienced and prepared to work with the team, I rarely see the id10t type player in the EU primetime when I usualy play, so ether those on while you are tend to be less mature than the UK/EU crowd or you are getting very unlucky with who you are being matched with,

NuTotalNoob, on 18 December 2015 - 05:53 AM, said:

Cheers mate, I think ill look for an English speaking EU group to play with during afternoons as the clan I'm currently playing with is NA and during the day for me they are not on.

I am part of a large international unit, we are a Merc unit playing both Clan and IS, for CW we usualy take 2 week contracts, Clan then IS which the whole unit votes on, but we currently have 3 weeks left on a contract with Davion.
we have an EU/UK batalion of about 50 people at the moment (it has been growing fast since the Steam launch), we are usualy on in the UK evening times, but there are almost always at least a few players online.

if you are interested check out the link in my signature for further details

edit: or else make a post in the Clan section of the community warfare forum, http://mwomercs.com/...factions-clans/
and you will probably receive several invites, I suggest visiting the units website or asking a few questions first to make sure you do not get another bad fit

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 18 December 2015 - 07:02 AM.

[Scyther]

It's a feature of PUGLandia, unfortunately. Lots of solo players aren't really used to teamwork and see the match as more of a 'FPS rack up kill count by myself' sorta thing. Lots of solo players are just there for some bang-and-clang thrillride and haven't really worked on increasing their effectiveness per-mech and per-map. Nothing wrong with that, I say! (Mostly because that is pretty much my play style, though I do try to be a good team player)

On the other hand, a lot of players have had poor experiences with mini-Rommels barking orders and expecting everyone to hop-to, and so they take the next guy giving orders with several boxes of salt. And maybe some nails.

Finally, most of us have experienced the guy who steps in, sounds reasonable, gives a few calls, then says "Aw crap that didn't work, sorry guys I have no idea what I'm doing here, just thought it was worth a try".

It all tends to mean that getting a confident, reasonable caller with some map experience isn't at all common, and so people tend not to be ready for that option.

Personally, I find comms are used rarely, but I almost never have a bad experience with them. Usually some hellos, have funs, mechs in E7, got a LRMboat back in D3, things like that. Rarely, someone calls, usually simple stuff, and people listen, and we win, and you think, "Wow, why don't people do that more often?"

Edited by MadBadger, 18 December 2015 - 06:06 AM.

[TotalN00B]

So if i want a game with teamwork avoid quick play?

[Rogue Jedi]

NuTotalNoob, on 18 December 2015 - 08:14 AM, said:

So if i want a game with teamwork avoid quick play?

yes, group play tends to involve far more teamwork

occasionally a solo queue drop will all come together ^{(generaly when you have several people on comms who are willing to work together)} but it is pure luck when it happens

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Yeah. There simply is NO teamwork to be found in the vast majority of quick play matches.

a.) Not everyone has, or even WANTS, a microphone.
b.) Many that DO have a mic, don't care to USE it for this game.
c.) Some of the other players are possibly using their own TeamSpeak, Ventrilo (is that still a thing?), or other third-party voice comms.
d.) Trying to organize PUGs is like trying to herd cats. Only, the cats can type, and will mostly think you're some tryhard out to prove something at their expense.
e.) Stopping what you're doing long enough to type? <exceptional_sarcarsm_level>That won't get you killed...</exceptional_sarcasm_level>
f.) And INTERNET. Like 4chan and somethngawful, we seem to attract trolls.
g.) Finally, language barriers exist. Some folks won't communicate because they only speak German and Hungarian, and maybe a little Polish. Or, most of the gazllion different Chinese languages. Something like that. They'd communicate with you if they could.

Sorry about your luck there. You've already read the best advice from previous posters above. Welcome, though, and good hunting!

Edited by TheRAbbi, 18 December 2015 - 04:14 PM.

[Rogue Jedi]

TheRAbbi, on 18 December 2015 - 08:28 AM, said:

e.) Stopping what you're doing long enough to type? That won't get you killed...

when I used to try to call positions in text chat typing something frequently did get me killed while piloting a Spider before ingame VOIP, I ended figuring out that all I could really do was type 4@f7 instead or as7+2stk&tbr f7 heading for f6, these days is is so much easier to report back my findings, without putting me in serious danger

[Legion173]

The only thing I find really annoying is after the drop. right when you can finally move people fire in front of them for no reason. Having a your back armor stripped 3 seconds into the match just trying to pass them so you can scout ahead, for them, really sucks. Im not even going to complain about the hits while running & gunnin because people are learning.

I guess I have been lucky and have only come across one disrespectable player on the MIC, he just played music and talked destiny while in a match. There has been some typers that blame someone for their deaths but it is barely noticeable.

otherwise this community has been great. Im one who stays away from MMOs because of the keyboard warriors and internet bad***. Im hooked here though......first post of many....

[Koniving]

NuTotalNoob, on 18 December 2015 - 05:45 AM, said:

Am I missing something here as I do a mic check in game lobby and often get a response but in the game its very rare to have any coms at all.

There are a few things to keep in mind. When playing with the group... well first we need to clear this up before you confuse people.

("Clan" is an inappropriate term, you're Inner Sphere and therefore you're either a Merc Unit or a Faction Unit aka with the army in a division. Clans are the vat-born and free-born invaders trying to subjugate you. The only group that should ever call the Davions a 'clan' are the Kurita also known as the Draconis Combine, but that is because they refer to houses as 'clans' (Lower case, not upper case) and therefore you are clan Davion, cowardly pigs who love autocannons, fight without honor, and giver of the witty retort. But ONLY to Kurita are you considered 'clan', and still not The Clans.)

There. Now when playing in a group/unit/faction/whatever, you are among peers fighting peers. It is an entirely different setup in the group queue than in the solo queue. By yourself you are in the solo queue. There's something called "match making" which occurs in the solo queue that isn't really there in the group queue. It tries to arrange you, as a new player, with other new players, who probably aren't equipped with mics or good typing skills. With steam, we're bound to have a lot more kids than usual, too. This has both good and bad affects on gameplay. These people are too busy learning the game to hold a conversation. Also when you first join MWO, "All chat," is Disabled. If I'm not mistaken, so is Team Chat (or was it Lance Chat). This means most probably can't even hear you scream let alone respond to you.

Try to communicate, and understand that they may not be able to communicate back to you.

Personally, I use the Battlegrid. I jump on, ask if anyone minds, then take it and place out orders. Attack / hold commands around enemy positions. Move/flank commands to get them to help out on dealing with enemies. It has mixed results. Sometimes it works good. Sometimes they're absolutely clueless. The point is... someone is trying, and it'll never change unless we try.

Welcome to MWO. If you have any questions, we're here.

[HelBound]

Yup you have it right.

Quick play is for stompy robot fun. If your team works together, good luck.
For me quick play is exactly that 'I have a few minutes to burn, or want to take a break' so I drop a few times here and there.

I've had only a hand full of games in 2 years where in game comm's were used effectively by most on the team, less where the chat window was used effectively.

Outside of that, I'm on TS dropping with familiar units. Its 2 very different games.

Edited by HelBound, 18 December 2015 - 09:16 AM.

[Koniving]

(If you're wondering about the "Giver of the witty retort" reference...)

Quote

ULTIMATUM AND DEFIANCE
Communications Log:

To the Officer Commanding the Federated Sun~ Forces on
Kasai
Sir:
As you will observe, I have positioned my forces in such a
manner that you are now completely surrounded. To avoid
unnecessary loss of life, I respectfully suggest an immediate
surrender. I will accord you two hours from receipt of this communication
In which to reply. ~
V.G. lshllkoff, General of the Army,
Knight of the Dragon
--------------
To General V.G. lshilkoff,
Commander, Draconis Combine Forces on Kasai
General:
I have received your recent communication concerning an
immediate surrender. I am terribly sorry, but we don't have
enough food to take you all prisoner. Perhaps next time.
Respectfully.
K. Mandon, Acting-Commander,
1st Syrtis Fusiliers

----

To Commander K. Mandon,
1st Syrtis Fusiliers
Sir.
I request the immediate surrender of your troops, not mine.
V.G. lshilkoff, Commanding,
Draconis 7th Sword of Light

---------

To General V.G. lshilkoff,
Commander. Draconis 7th Sword of Light
General:
Thank you very much for your kind offer. I'm afraid, however,
I find my position perfectly maintainable. So sorry to disappoint
you. Should the general desire to have this rock, he can come
and get it.
Respectlully,
K. Mandon

Thus, giver of the witty retort.

[Caballo]

Pugs ingame tend to either stand in the background with large lazors-LRMs, and wait for the rest of the team to do the work (And therefore be stomped), or simply do whatever they want without looking at what's happening on the minimap.

It takes a lot of effort to lead a group of pugs, but when you get a good bunch of them who try to get involved in the scheme, it is glorious.

[Koniving]

Legion173, on 18 December 2015 - 08:52 AM, said:

otherwise this community has been great. Im one who stays away from MMOs because of the keyboard warriors and internet bad***. Im hooked here though......first post of many....

Welcome to MWO. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts. If you need to know anything, don't hesitate to ask around. Better to ask here than in game, too much going on at once during the action and too little time in between. But here, there's all the time in the world.

[M0rdresh]

I'm new too and I find there's more communication then the average online game I played.
I also noticed people on the US servers talk more.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Rogue Jedi, on 18 December 2015 - 08:40 AM, said:

when I used to try to call positions in text chat typing something frequently did get me killed while piloting a Spider before ingame VOIP, I ended figuring out that all I could really do was type 4@f7 instead or as7+2stk&tbr f7 heading for f6, these days is is so much easier to report back my findings, without putting me in serious danger

Sorry, maybe I should have added the HTML <much_sarcasm></much_sarcasm> tags to that.

I keep forgetting, seriously, that some things really DO NOT translate well to plain text. By "That won't get you killed ...", I mean, "That will get you killed, and probably your whole team, and their families, their friends, their baristas, EVERYONE THEY'VE EVER MET WILL DIE SCREAMING!"

Something like that.

Stopping to type a warning to my team, as a scout, has gotten me killed more than once. VOIP FTW!

[Johny Rocket]

Its much easier to get your lance to work with you. Simply asking "what do you guys want to do?" in lance chat on the drop screen will get you there. Usually the other team is just as messed so 1 lance with a loose plan can make the difference.

Once you start playing in higher tiers, teamwork happens without coms. Everyone knows their job and how to keep an eye on what the team is doing as a whole. You will find more people using coms though the team is not going to fall in line like CW.

Pug Life. Welcome to the Underhive.

Off to murder Pugs for the goodies, gotta love events.

Edited by Tractor Joe, 18 December 2015 - 04:39 PM.