Today was my first contact with Community Warfare. This is simply a feedback thread, describing my experiences, while they're fresh. My intention here is merely to convey my experience. I have finished something like 6-8 CW drops, so disregard or take interest as you will.
I first played MWO in late 2012, I think. I recently reinstalled it, to see how it's evolved. Previously, I'd lost interest due to the lack of gameplay around the arena - I like purpose, goals, and immersion in games, personally. I also jumped ship at the time because I was bummed that the game went straight to the clan conflict, instead of exploring the Succession Wars - I felt the succession wars setting holds far more potential for interesting, varied, player-driven gameplay and narrative. But that's just me.
When I reinstalled some 4 days ago, I was pleased to see that CW was implemented. Good looking map, lots of star systems, great music, It looks exciting, it looks like unfolding possibility. But before trying it out, I did some forum reading on the topic, because I'm the careful sort. Therefore, I was of course prepared to have a potentially unpleasant time if I queued solo right off the bat. Things like teamwork(or more precisely, leadership) makes a vast difference, and I could reasonably see a number of reasons why jumping in could have been problematic. Also, I read that not every mech and loadout that's otherwise viable in quick play is as useful in CW. So apparently, I ought to set up an appropriate mechbay(seemingly on the heavier, poke-oriented side), one that's much different from the mechbay I wanted to pilot: lights and mediums that can tangle.
So for prep, I spent a few days in quick match to make sure my skills were up to snuff. Got my first 1,000 damage match in my new Blackjacks, and mastered them on top of my prior mastered mechs, so I think I'm ready. Today I took the plunge, signed on to a faction contract, randomly.
Well, I suppose that 'randomly' comment deserves an aside: I read through each faction, and could find no clear difference between them. Jade Falcon appears to be functionally the same faction as Ghost Bear. Davion is Liao. Etc. Now, if there are differences to be seen from the playerbase that's dedicated to a faction, somehow changing the experience in a significant way, that wouldn't be apparent. And if there's different goals or gameplay styles that could vary by changing faction, I didn't catch it. On considering what criterion would lead a player merc unit to choose to commit to one faction over the others, I could not identify a reason why. And I could not identify a reason for loyalty, either. In terms of my own decision-making at this point, the only thing I know is which banner looks prettier, and that I can get a free mech bay by changing factions until I've fought a little for them all. After that, it doesn't matter which banner gets my time.
That bummed me out.
But backing up. My time in quick play matches was pretty good. The game showed good, varied play potential across the maps and modes. The core action has improved a little from what I remember(which was great to begin with). In any match, if I wanted to play a certain style, I could basically do it, if I leveraged it right. I was not bound by an overbearing meta, I could pilot what I wanted, usefully, provided I was competitive in executing it's intended niche.
However, when I made the jump to CW, it's pretty apparent that the meta is quite over-bearing here. I don't believe that a meta is innately a badwrong thing - I'm a fan and veteran of player-driven, emergent gameplay - but the strength and impact of CW's meta really hits hard, and had me in shock. I have not yet experienced anything other than heavy & poke, and while I'll readily consider my inexperience here, I'm having a hard time imagining that I'll see many significant variations from match to match. Nor do I imagine I'll see a naturally shifting meta, just those prompted by mechanical changes. This is also a bummer.
My first few CW matches were as a solo player. I did not want to go through the hassle and social elements of joining a unit(and I still don't, in their present form). So with that handicap in place, my expectations were pretty low. Still, I was stunned to see just how little fun the game was when a disorganized pickup defends against an organized group. I was certain that I would lose going in, but I was also prepared to have some fun doing it. That did not happen, and it was a massive bummer.
After a few of these, I realized I had to compromise, so I got on my faction voice comms and joined some organized drops. Thus, the amount of 'casual' in my gameplay experience just took a hit, something I wasn't keen on, but whatever. However, these drops were un-contested. Alarmed, I started asking some questions, and found that this is a frequent experience, and therefore a significant portion of one's gameplay time. A fight against real opponents(let alone competitive opponents) is not something that receives a lot of your gaming time.
So I ask: What about defending, doesn't that get fights? And I'm answered: It makes more sense for organized groups to attack, since pub's can't do it in a practical manner.
This statement has implications. That not only will I be basically wasting a ton of my gaming time on no-opponent drops and wait queues, but that the minority of the time when I'm fighting people, I'd probably be mashing groups the way I was previously mashed in the solo queue.
And my level of bummed out starts getting measured on the Richter Scale.
It was at that point that I decided to eject out of CW, and back to the quick-queue. But now that's tainted too. Not only was my mood sour, but I realized that much of the reason I was even playing quick-queues was in anticipation for CW. I was anticipating quick-play's quality of combat, but tougher, and with more tactical nuance, as well as some added purpose and context for each fight. But the reality, while similar, is different enough that the resultant experience is incredibly not-fun.
I am not a game designer, but it seems to me that this is a result of misfired incentive systems. I understand that what I'm looking for is actually quite difficult to deliver, and a difficult target to hit. But I feel as if this isn't an impossible set of desires to address, either. I'm very interested in what the next phase of CW offers, but I'm also quite worried because I have not read anything from the developers that appears to broadly address the experience I've had today.
So this is my feedback, with the honest desire that it might not be just some blowhard on the internet, but something of may be of some limited use. Because I really love much of what MWO offers, and I want to see it get even better. I've got a sour taste in my mouth at the moment, but I don't give up too quick, and I'm full of hope.
And that's all I've got to say, I guess.
unfortunately, as CW stands in its current form, it's near impossible to channel players and explain the complicated messes that are the CW queues, maps, IS map, etc.
Phase 3 is supposed to have a lot of tools to help that, but one of their main objectives seems to be splitting the CW queue so that anyone not in a unit (with a specific unit tag, not faction affiliation) will not be able to drop with anyone in a unit. It's jsut going to create even more headaches, but we don't know anything else on Phase 3, well not much anyhow. There's a townhall supposed to be coming up soon where Russ has said he'll talk in-depth about some of this stuff.
3
Richter Kerensky, on 22 January 2016 - 10:34 AM, said:
