522 replies to this topic

[NextGame]

There should be faction joining caps based on active player population in last 30 days, and as a merc group you shouldnt be allowed to join a faction that has 10% advantage over its neighbours on the map.

Problem solved

The other thing they should do is have someone control the politics for each faction and "hire" units, and a way to actually manage which planets a faction is attacking etc as this could balance things out and make it a bit more interesting.

That said, davion and marik are both pretty pathetic and it is fun taking planets away from them , and the people who want peace treaties etc can eat sand.

Edited by NextGame, 30 December 2015 - 01:30 AM.

[Zolaz]

PGI the masters of balancing and coding saying that it is the player's fault for playing the game. The problem is that playing loyal units gets you nothing over being a merc. That in lore there were a lot of reasons that merc companies folded, none of them are in the game. (Perhaps PGI could hire someone who has read the lore, tech manuals and most of the 64 Battletech novels?)

Oh well, Russ will Tweet something. Paul will come up with a new Ghost or nerf mechanic that will save the day. AND ... more Unseen mech packs, get em while they are hot.

[Kin3ticX]

Zolaz, on 30 December 2015 - 02:25 AM, said:

PGI the masters of balancing and coding saying that it is the player's fault for playing the game. The problem is that playing loyal units gets you nothing over being a merc. That in lore there were a lot of reasons that merc companies folded, none of them are in the game. (Perhaps PGI could hire someone who has read the lore, tech manuals and most of the 64 Battletech novels?)

Oh well, Russ will Tweet something. Paul will come up with a new Ghost or nerf mechanic that will save the day. AND ... more Unseen mech packs, get em while they are hot.

Ryan Boulanger is apparently the one designing CW full-time per Russ
https://twitter.com/...422922419003392
He doesn't appear to post in the CW section of the forums so I can only assume he lurks maybe, question mark?

As for ending the big bad evil merc units, I will believe it when I see it.

There is a history of extremely large units, bigger than Mercstar even, that are not having Mercstar like implact or any impact at all on CW. There is also a history of smaller units like Kcom having an impressive impact for their size on CW. So what system is going to deal with a) large inactive units, b)large active units, and c)small super active units....?

I tend to see the problem completely different, the lack of active and effective units and the lack of unit management features. If there were more units and more unit structure features to help people form and maintain effective units(get to an effective size quickly and stay that way), some of that problem would be alleviated this way. In other words, allow the startup units to get bigger faster by absorbing other startups rather than recruiting 1 by 1(as all units face the same turnover rates more or less). Yes, I am talking about super unit support aka conglomerates/alliances. This is essentially what Antonius Rex does except without in game software support.

I noticed in the phase 3 teaser that they are planning a unit queue which I assume also entails a solo queue. I like this and this is what some of us have asked for save for a potential problem. If they don't succeed in making the unit play active enough in CW, then units will give up and either go to the solo queue or just quit.

Edited by Kin3ticX, 30 December 2015 - 06:12 AM.

[Zibmo]

Kin3ticX, on 30 December 2015 - 05:55 AM, said:

Ryan Boulanger is apparently the one designing CW full-time per Russ
https://twitter.com/...422922419003392
He doesn't appear to post in the CW section of the forums so I can only assume he lurks maybe, question mark?

As for ending the big bad evil merc units, I will believe it when I see it.

There is a history of extremely large units, bigger than Mercstar even, that are not having Mercstar like implact or any impact at all on CW. There is also a history of smaller units like Kcom having an impressive impact for their size on CW. So what system is going to deal with a) large inactive units, b)large active units, and c)small super active units....?

I tend to see the problem completely different, the lack of active and effective units and the lack of unit management features. If there were more units and more unit structure features to help people form and maintain effective units(get to an effective size quickly and stay that way), some of that problem would be alleviated this way. In other words, allow the startup units to get bigger faster by absorbing other startups rather than recruiting 1 by 1(as all units face the same turnover rates more or less). Yes, I am talking about super unit support aka conglomerates/alliances. This is essentially what Antonius Rex does except without in game software support.

I noticed in the phase 3 teaser that they are planning a unit queue which I assume also entails a solo queue. I like this and this is what some of us have asked for save for a potential problem. If they don't succeed in making the unit play active enough in CW, then units will give up and either go to the solo queue or just quit.

I think they could <maybe> come up with a system where there are quotas by side, not by faction, for numbers of units based on group PSR rankings over the Tukayyid events. So you could not have 228 and MS on the IS side until there was an equal and opposite unit on the Clams. Complicated and perhaps not worth the effort.

But the 'lite making sure they never have to fight each other while coming on the forums and extolling their virtues, "We don't LIKE seal clubbing" as they ensure that seal clubbing is precisely the game du jour is getting old.

[Tom Sawyer]

I have read that twitter between Russ and Galaxy. So MS and K-COM are hopping around to avoid each other??? REALLY?? I drop command sometimes in CW. If I see a mix of pugs I try to tell them to read the many guides, consider using Team Speak, and just TALK to the units. What I CAN NOT do is determine what team we will face. So again as in other threads:

1) Lobbies. Have it so you can create a "room" in which a group of players can form up. Everyone will see WHO is in that room. That room commander then will announce we are going to attack planet Y. Defenders can then form up in that "room" to defend it. Everyone one then can see who is attacking and defending. This leads to.....

2) PLANETS- Rank them- core world, industrial, fringe, rural ect ect. Core worlds should have HEAVY defenses. Lots of turrets, AI tanks. Make the value to attack the core worlds really high to attack the big 12 man units. The rural planets should have low value and even a negative if too many members of the same unit choose to attack.

3) Mercs vs Loyalists. Mercs should have to select a home planet for their main base. From that base they have to pay for EVERYTHING. Jumpships, fuel, repair, wages. The Big Houses and against Lore even the Clans can offer contracts to attack a specific world. Core world? Massive contract that will require multiple teams of a merc unit to attack and defend. Same for defense. Rural worlds can have smaller contracts.

Perhaps the contract terms could include fuel cost, repair. BID FOR IT.

Ok enough rant. Go ahead break up the big units. Drive off those still willing to play. Make MWO a quick fly by night game where new players spend some money, get bored, move on. Maybe that is the goal.

[Joe Decker]

Look at how EVE online is doing it with a much larger and much less predictable Starmap. There are Alliances and they got the Power - but there is not one big Alliance, there is a Bunch of them. There are War Declarations, there is Economics, there are Transition Times you need - so you cannot hop from A to B to C. Faction hopping is also more unlikely as you set up your Ships for a Faction in there - playing Gallente Warships with Drones don't help you much when switching over to Caldari Faction.

So what is needed to give more Consistency to the CW Game is :

- A real Difference between Loyalist, Merc, Freelancer - but all these Options need to feel unique (maybe we get that soon)
- Faction Mechs, Faction Characteristika - like Difference in Tech, Teamplay, and other Stuff+Fluff
- Transition Times, Jump Routes, Systems that are strategically important as they offer many Jumproutes for Example
- War Declarations and Rules of War. This cannot be left in the Roleplayers Hands - it needs to become official. Faction War Declaration or maybe a Merc Unit declares War at another Merc Unit or a Faction
- make sure that Factions got more Players than a single Merc Unit
- A complete Starmap with Planets that are a bit more than only Dots with different Names - Planet specific Maps
- Economics (very big Field indeed)
- more and better Recruitment Possibilities - Forum and ingame Chat are weak Tools to do Recruitment - make sure most Players are in Units to stop the PUG slaughter
- every Unit needs to declare a Homeplanet where their Base is located - if you take that out they will suffer massive Disadvantages

and so on

Edited by Joe Decker, 30 December 2015 - 07:09 AM.

[NextGame]

Kin3ticX, on 30 December 2015 - 05:55 AM, said:

Ryan Boulanger is apparently the one designing CW full-time per Russ
https://twitter.com/...422922419003392
He doesn't appear to post in the CW section of the forums so I can only assume he lurks maybe, question mark?

Probably a job requirement at PGI that you pay as little attention as possible to anything related to whatever you are working on.

[Hotthedd]

Why not just let mercs be mercs? Clan units be clan units? House units be house units?

A mercenary could decide to take any I.S. contract out there (Clans do NOT employ mercs). They could do this individually or as groups. HOWEVER, if you have ever noticed, there is a "negative reputation" stat (already in the game) that currently serves no purpose. Why not use it? Racking up kills against Kuritans would damage both the pilot's personal reputation with Kurita AND the unit's reputation. The higher the reputation the better pay for the contract, and the lower reputation the worse pay. If your reputation goes low enough, missions for a certain house could become completely unavailable.

Couple that with a MRBC rating for each unit, only affected by wins and losses. That rating would also affect pay and availability of contracts.

Players (and units) that choose to be affiliated exclusively to one House or Clan could get benefits for their loyalty. Of course, like now, they could always break their contracts, but doing so would make that unit a mercenary unit for a set period of time.

Then, do not allow House or Clan units to defend any worlds other than their own House or Clan. This is one of the worst lore-breaking offense in all of CW.

[GI Journalist]

Everyone playing CW wants short wait times and matches against live opponents. The "Call to Arms" was an attempt to address this problem, using the existing faction populations. At present, faction population limits the capability of the game to match opponents.

In my opinion, what the game needs is a "Contract" mechanic, that offers opportunities to attack or defend a planet to independent mercenaries. When these contracts appear, teams of independent mercenaries and lone wolves would have the opportunity to launch on the planet, where an attacker or defender is already waiting.

Large teams that are looking for games would benefit from being independent mercenaries rather than belonging to a faction, because they have the opportunity to get into more games, faster than anyone else. Use these players to fill the matches, without giving them access to the planetary attack map, so they don't control where they get to fight...just like independent mercenaries. Meanwhile, loyalists choose which planets to attack and defend, preparing the battlefield for the mercenaries who will follow.

[Zolaz]

NextGame, on 30 December 2015 - 07:51 AM, said:

Probably a job requirement at PGI that you pay as little attention as possible to anything related to whatever you are working on.

Well, he was a Day Manager at a restaurant and loves Magic the Gathering, should be a great fit over at PGI. Looking forward to CW in 90 days.

[Jman5]

Question to people playing with or against Wolf. Are their big loyalist units, SWOL and CWI, even contesting any planets? They were super active while MS and 228 were with them, but seemed to have just disappeared. Tukayyid 2 stats puts them at 100+ players participating and matches played around what 228 had.

Edit: I'm not sure if SWOL is technically a loyalist. I see they have an alt-unit SWOL and SW0L and one is in FRR.

Edited by Jman5, 30 December 2015 - 09:48 AM.

[Deathlike]

Kin3ticX, on 30 December 2015 - 05:55 AM, said:

Ryan Boulanger is apparently the one designing CW full-time per Russ
https://twitter.com/...422922419003392
He doesn't appear to post in the CW section of the forums so I can only assume he lurks maybe, question mark?

As for ending the big bad evil merc units, I will believe it when I see it.

There is a history of extremely large units, bigger than Mercstar even, that are not having Mercstar like implact or any impact at all on CW. There is also a history of smaller units like Kcom having an impressive impact for their size on CW. So what system is going to deal with a) large inactive units, b)large active units, and c)small super active units....?

I tend to see the problem completely different, the lack of active and effective units and the lack of unit management features. If there were more units and more unit structure features to help people form and maintain effective units(get to an effective size quickly and stay that way), some of that problem would be alleviated this way. In other words, allow the startup units to get bigger faster by absorbing other startups rather than recruiting 1 by 1(as all units face the same turnover rates more or less). Yes, I am talking about super unit support aka conglomerates/alliances. This is essentially what Antonius Rex does except without in game software support.

I noticed in the phase 3 teaser that they are planning a unit queue which I assume also entails a solo queue. I like this and this is what some of us have asked for save for a potential problem. If they don't succeed in making the unit play active enough in CW, then units will give up and either go to the solo queue or just quit.

I'm guessing they are going to be funneled for the 4v4 matches.. in which somehow they will almost treat it like a solo pub queue match than what it is. What will inevitably happen is that other players will intentionally funnel themselves in there to influence the attack direction... farming the 4-player PUG group.

Jman5, on 30 December 2015 - 09:28 AM, said:

Question to people playing with or against Wolf. Are their big loyalist units, SWOL and CWI, even contesting any planets? They were super active while MS and 228 were with them, but seemed to have just disappeared. Tukayyid 2 stats puts them at 100+ players participating and matches played around what 228 had.

To be fair, any map reset kills activity.... not just the winning factions.

[Kasumi Yashiro]

Deathlike, on 30 December 2015 - 09:33 AM, said:

I'm guessing they are going to be funneled for the 4v4 matches.. in which somehow they will almost treat it like a solo pub queue match than what it is. What will inevitably happen is that other players will intentionally funnel themselves in there to influence the attack direction... farming the 4-player PUG group.



To be fair, any map reset kills activity.... not just the winning factions.

Last I saw SWOL left to FRR

[Tesunie]

Hotthedd, on 30 December 2015 - 08:16 AM, said:

Then, do not allow House or Clan units to defend any worlds other than their own House or Clan. This is one of the worst lore-breaking offense in all of CW.

Actually, the Houses did start helping one another as the Clan war progressed. Davion sent a lot of units up to help Steiner and the Combine, even though they were enemies before hand with the Combine.

It's not as lore breaking as one might think...

[Hotthedd]

Tesunie, on 30 December 2015 - 10:28 AM, said:

Actually, the Houses did start helping one another as the Clan war progressed. Davion sent a lot of units up to help Steiner and the Combine, even though they were enemies before hand with the Combine.

It's not as lore breaking as one might think...

The clans had their own attack lanes, they did not mix units during the invasion.

And although Davion sent troops, I am referring to the common practice in CW of seeing an assortment of several houses defending other houses' planets nearly every drop. Steiner (although under the same ruler as Davion in 3050, did not send units to defend in Kuritan or Rasalhaguian space, nor vice versa)

[Tesunie]

Hotthedd, on 30 December 2015 - 12:02 PM, said:

The clans had their own attack lanes, they did not mix units during the invasion.

And although Davion sent troops, I am referring to the common practice in CW of seeing an assortment of several houses defending other houses' planets nearly every drop. Steiner (although under the same ruler as Davion in 3050, did not send units to defend in Kuritan or Rasalhaguian space, nor vice versa)

There was a reason I specified Houses.

The combined defense on the Clan and IS front is to help facilitate Clan vs IS combat, as well as to hasten match drop frequency. Without that combined option, I think CW would be in an even more difficult position. My opinion of course.

[TWIAFU]

Mystere, on 29 December 2015 - 05:39 PM, said:

I seem to recall quite a number of people crying that 12x12 is too much for them.

Just like teamwork.

[Metus regem]

Mystere, on 29 December 2015 - 02:48 PM, said:

Is there any change in MWO that did not get triggered by crying?

And how many of those changes were for the better overall long term health of MWO, rather than short term gains....

[Necromantion]

TL:DR

Russ is a moron as usual

[SmithMPBT]

Joe Decker, on 30 December 2015 - 07:07 AM, said:

Look at how EVE online is doing it with a much larger and much less predictable Starmap. There are Alliances and they got the Power - but there is not one big Alliance, there is a Bunch of them. There are War Declarations, there is Economics, there are Transition Times you need - so you cannot hop from A to B to C. Faction hopping is also more unlikely as you set up your Ships for a Faction in there - playing Gallente Warships with Drones don't help you much when switching over to Caldari Faction.

So what is needed to give more Consistency to the CW Game is :

- A real Difference between Loyalist, Merc, Freelancer - but all these Options need to feel unique (maybe we get that soon)
- Faction Mechs, Faction Characteristika - like Difference in Tech, Teamplay, and other Stuff+Fluff
- Transition Times, Jump Routes, Systems that are strategically important as they offer many Jumproutes for Example
- War Declarations and Rules of War. This cannot be left in the Roleplayers Hands - it needs to become official. Faction War Declaration or maybe a Merc Unit declares War at another Merc Unit or a Faction
- make sure that Factions got more Players than a single Merc Unit
- A complete Starmap with Planets that are a bit more than only Dots with different Names - Planet specific Maps
- Economics (very big Field indeed)
- more and better Recruitment Possibilities - Forum and ingame Chat are weak Tools to do Recruitment - make sure most Players are in Units to stop the PUG slaughter
- every Unit needs to declare a Homeplanet where their Base is located - if you take that out they will suffer massive Disadvantages

and so on

So many good ideas in this post. These would really flesh out the game and make it feel more like a Mech Combat/RPG with a living universe rather than a MOBA.