285 replies to this topic

[Randy Poffo]

Commander A9, on 23 May 2016 - 06:48 PM, said:

No, the issue is that people blame MercStar and the big teams for problems with the game-problems that are developer-created and entirely out of our control.

Here's another issue. PGI doesn't listen to the big teams because they aren't the majority customer. They prioritize catering to the random solo player because there's more of them than teams and he's the one who puts up money-he buys one pack, gets his fill, then leaves, which makes way for the next random solo player who buys a hyped-up mech pack.

The problem is that the solo player drops in Community Warfare, gets plastered, then leaves, calling the game mode stacked, slanted, broken, and cursing the name of the team that beat him.

Whereas the major teams actually stick with the game mode even when they lose. And yet PGI dismisses what the big teams have to say because PGI's already made their money off the big team players.

Instead of going to pugs and randoms first, PGI ought to take the value of the voice of the major teams because these are the guys who are going to stick with the game come win, loss, or new game mode style.

The truth is...pugs need the big teams to keep the Community Warfare mode alive...and the big teams need the pugs to fill gaps in their lines because they can't fight on every sector at once.

This is the biggest crock of horse manure I have ever heard on these boards. This game mode is miserable for solo players and Russ flat out told solo players openly in the TOWN HALL that "this is not the game for you".

And good lord, since you're all being so salty about this today, let's be open and honest for just a minute here. This "issue" you're talking about where pugs get plastered and leave exists precisely because y'all want it that way. That is how you get your drops. That is how you get your wins in such satisfyingly high numbers. If this weren't true you wouldn't get groups dodging each other with such predictable regularity. If this weren't true you wouldn't vehemently oppose any form of matchmaking that would put you into the more competitive matches that you claim you want to have. If this weren't true we would have people trying to spread out to get matches rather than all getting together to pile into one faction and then complain that there are no meaningful matches to be had, as if that were someone else's fault.

And so, friend, it looks to me like PGI *is* listening to you. They're listening way too much, in fact, because what you collectively want is a broken system.

[Armando]

Khereg, on 23 May 2016 - 03:58 PM, said:

Armando probably didn't speak as clearly as he could have. It definitely takes both a sizable active player base and enough skill to win most of the time to have the kind of influence -MS- does in FP.

I agree with all of Khereg's point save one... "...and enough skill to win most of the time.."

I am living proof that it doesn't take skill to win most of the time. To me when someone says 'skill' I think universe granted gift, cough*cough*Dr Marie Delacrox*cough*cough*Hans Davion*cough*cough, that a pilot is 'born with' (out of reach).

I am FAR from 'skilled' at anything, this game included, and the only reason I do as well as I do is Training and Practice. When I loaded this game I didn't know shi@t about field of view, or mouse sensitivity....hell I couldn't even walk without running into EVERYTHING. Skilled....me.....that is a joke that isn't even funny (I was, and at times still am....HORRIBLE).

This game has a STEEP learning curve, and I'm not the brightest bulb in the box if you know what I'm saying....it took me 5 months being a "solo" player (not just talking about queuing alone....I really didn't know just how much I 'isolated' myself from a team I couldn't easily communicate with because PGI had NO tools for in game communication at the time) before I wised up, found a unit, and got training (my K/D HAD to be sub .3, while my win% was around .5 when I became part of a team, instead of trying to be a 'Solo Rambo")

Long story short...

I was Tier 5 before there was a Tier 5, I am NOT 'skilled', but through Training and Practice I have clawed my way up to 'Scrub' level (Tier 2) and I am SLOWLY making the climb up the Tier 1. (Sometime in 2020?)

Full circle back to the point: If you don't have 'skill'....get Training, then Practice, Practice, Practice. This is as true for Factions, and as true for Units, as it is individual pilots.

Edited by Armando, 23 May 2016 - 07:27 PM.

[Commander A9]

Randy Poffo, on 23 May 2016 - 07:15 PM, said:

This is the biggest crock of horse manure I have ever heard on these boards. This game mode is miserable for solo players and Russ flat out told solo players openly in the TOWN HALL that "this is not the game for you".

And good lord, since you're all being so salty about this today, let's be open and honest for just a minute here. This "issue" you're talking about where pugs get plastered and leave exists precisely because y'all want it that way. That is how you get your drops. That is how you get your wins in such satisfyingly high numbers. If this weren't true you wouldn't get groups dodging each other with such predictable regularity. If this weren't true you wouldn't vehemently oppose any form of matchmaking that would put you into the more competitive matches that you claim you want to have. If this weren't true we would have people trying to spread out to get matches rather than all getting together to pile into one faction and then complain that there are no meaningful matches to be had, as if that were someone else's fault.

And so, friend, it looks to me like PGI *is* listening to you. They're listening way too much, in fact, because what you collectively want is a broken system.

We get our drops when people choose to pick the planet we're on. You think we have some way of controlling who we fight? Why don't you visit our Teamspeak and drop with us to learn what we're all about?

We opposed the cue split because we knew it was going to kill the rate of games we'd get to play. Because the majority player in Community Warfare is the pug, not the unit player, we knew we'd have a helluva time trying to get people to cue up who could actually fight a tagged team. And look what happened when the cue split took effect: players made one-man units to get out of the freelance cue en masse. And nothing changed as a result. The only difference was the pugs had tags.

If no one drops, no games exist, and the game mode dies.

No, people losing then leaving benefits nobody. It's better for people to stay and play-that way, everyone has someone to fight.

And no, PGI isn't listening to us because they haven't exactly contacted our membership to ask what we think. Or taken into account our vehement resistance to the changes which led to the problems we have in Phase 3 today.

Either way, if we win the planet, then so be it-mission accomplished, regardless of who we fight, or how often, or how little. Even with the restrictions, we're still taking whole swathes of territory.

Would you like us to be "less good" at what we do?

Edited by Commander A9, 23 May 2016 - 07:56 PM.

[Randy Poffo]

Commander A9, on 23 May 2016 - 07:39 PM, said:

We get our drops when people choose to pick the planet we're on. You think we have some way of controlling who we fight? Why don't you visit our Teamspeak and drop with us to learn what we're all about?

We opposed the cue split because we knew it was going to kill the rate of games we'd get to play. Because the majority player in Community Warfare is the pug, not the unit player, we knew we'd have a helluva time trying to get people to cue up who could actually fight a tagged team. And look what happened when the cue split took effect: players made one-man units to get out of the freelance cue en masse. And nothing changed as a result. The only difference was the pugs had tags.

If no one drops, no games exist, and the game mode dies.

No, people losing then leaving benefits nobody. It's better for people to stay and play-that way, everyone has someone to fight.

And no, PGI isn't listening to us because they haven't exactly contacted our membership to ask what we think. Or taken into account our vehement resistance to the changes which led to the problems we have in Phase 3 today.

Either way, if we win the planet, then so be it-mission accomplished, regardless of who we fight, or how often, or how little. Even with the restrictions, we're still taking whole swathes of territory.

Would you like us to be "less good" at what we do?

You can't talk for two sentences without contradicting yourself. Out of one side of your face comes the idea that if solo players are removed from your Q it would "kill the rate of the games you're able to play". Out of the other you claim that players "losing and leaving benefits nobody". But no - so long as they lose some games before they leave, it does benefit you - because it doesn't "kill" your "rate of games".

Of course you would be correct that in the long term it isn't a real benefit. But since when do you guys care about long term? Your "rate of games" is a short term goal, and that's first and foremost the terms which almost all of you frame your desires. And that shouldn't be a surprise, it's general human nature to prioritize short term gain at the expense of long term. Hell, your whole screed earlier reflects a basic perspective on the situation that embodies exactly that. The teams (or more particularly you) are what's important, and who cares about the solo players or new people coming in (who are by default solo) because they'll be gone tomorrow anyway... which ignores the fact that if the game is to actually survive til "tomorrow" it needs to be a priority to give those players a reason to stay. And you could argue about what it would take to do that, but disregarding them entirely on the assumption that they'll leave is a great form of self-fulfilling prophecy, and it's working like a charm.

I actually don't care if you continue to do what you do well or not. What you're doing doesn't actually sound fun to me. Taking planets under the current circumstances feels meaningless and what I really enjoy in a game is competitive matches, which don't seem to be what FW is about. Just for God's sake if you're going to make the active decision to make it so there are no meaningful matches as quickly as humanly possible, get your other members up to speed that this is the goal so that they can stop complaining about the lack of meaningful matches as if this were some tragedy that were foisted on them from the outside.

[Crockdaddy]

Hello from one of the more successful units in CW ... we don't really give two S h ... 1 t ... s about it. We have about 12 hard core FP memembers and 12 casual and 90 who cares ... this is stupid. Really PGI blew it. It's time for them to go as a publisher and see what someone else can do.

Community Warfare ... left to dangle for over a year.
MWC scheduling announcement bungled.
Increased cost of mech packs ... once 80$ bought 4 sizes of mechs ... now it buys variants of a single mech.
Steam numbers keep falling month over month.
No advertising on front page for steam ... no real sales
Milks the living F* out of its whales.


This game ... I resisted for so long but I just don't see it continuing. It's disappointing.

Player led leagues == fun. PGI should open up this game to modding and see what some creativity could do.

[Saint Scarlett Johan]

Crockdaddy, on 23 May 2016 - 08:44 PM, said:

Hello from one of the more successful units in CW ... we don't really give two S h ... 1 t ... s about it. We have about 12 hard core FP memembers and 12 casual and 90 who cares ... this is stupid. Really PGI blew it. It's time for them to go as a publisher and see what someone else can do.

Community Warfare ... left to dangle for over a year.
MWC scheduling announcement bungled.
Increased cost of mech packs ... once 80$ bought 4 sizes of mechs ... now it buys variants of a single mech.
Steam numbers keep falling month over month.
No advertising on front page for steam ... no real sales
Milks the living F* out of its whales.


This game ... I resisted for so long but I just don't see it continuing. It's disappointing.

Player led leagues == fun. PGI should open up this game to modding and see what some creativity could do.

PGI aren't true devs, they're an art studio peddling interactive art.

[Randy Poffo]

Crockdaddy, on 23 May 2016 - 08:44 PM, said:

Player led leagues == fun. PGI should open up this game to modding and see what some creativity could do.

This is likely what I would have done frankly. Build the basic map assets and game mode, then let people pay a monthly fee to run their own leagues on it, allow them to run scheduled matches instead of on-demand queues if they prefer which drastically lowers the number of active people you need to make things run healthy and eliminates worries about "splitting queues".

People like Mack used to run amazing leagues without any of these additional tools. All you need to maintain the different leagues is some database assets and (at most) the ability to impose customized rulesets (size of unit, drop deck tonnage, drop sizes, etc). And charging people a modest amount to use it would turn it into a revenue stream instead of a drain, with minimal maintenance.

But hey, that ship has probably sailed.

[Mechwarrior1441491]

gimmie, on 20 May 2016 - 02:43 PM, said:

Have to agree with a lot of the points made above, MWO seems to be dying a slow death, and the only ones who see it are those who have been here long enough to realize PGI is the cancer at the heart of this game.

As the leader of a smaller unit of mercenaries I have watched my players fall out of the game, one by one, as they realized that the only things that change in this game is which faction is getting shafted by "Balance" and which mechpack is next in the queue.

PGI constantly wonders "why are we losing players" and "why dont people try out our game" this is mainly because there is no "new player experience" and the few who stick around realize that the devs are so far out of touch with their playerbase that they may as well be absent.

I for one will be moving over to the next StompyRobotSimulator™ that drops onto the market.

Heavy Gear online.

That will be heads over tail better than MWO. Even the Alpha shows how awesome it will be .

[Bud Crue]

GAGONMYlOCK, on 23 May 2016 - 10:05 PM, said:

Heavy Gear online.

That will be heads over tail better than MWO. Even the Alpha shows how awesome it will be .

I know nothing of Heavy Gear other than the trailer, but honestly between PGI's laser like focus on making the game into an "e-sport" and seemingly avoiding at all costs the idea of adding any aspect of BT/MW immersive-ness into the game (or even a mechanism to encourage folks to bother with the FP mode in the first place), I honestly have to wonder why some, if not a substantial majority, of the current MWO players won't just go play Heavy Gear rather than this. I mean based on that trailer it looks awfully similar, and might even have more immersive universe in which we can run wild in, and, heaven forbid, actually feel like we are a part of and capable of influencing.

In MWO there is no lore in this game other than the mechs themselves, so the "universe" isn't going to keep people playing for long. Based on this thread and observed game play, the game mechanics and FP play isn't going to keep people playing for long. That just leaves those folks with an invested financial or emotional tie to the game. Even for these folks it is apparent that the only way a player can influence anything is to join a unit, and then that unit (loyalist or merc) needs a dedicated team of multiple dedicated players or 12 mans to influence anything on the planetary map. Anyone with less dedication than that, or simply time available to play, may as well not bother...as is self evident from this thread and the apparent playing population of FP...bringing us full circle.

Heavy Gear is sounding more appealing the more I think about it.

So, who's excited for the Phoenix Hawk?

Edited by Bud Crue, 24 May 2016 - 04:33 AM.

[VorpalAnvil]

Kin3ticX, on 21 May 2016 - 08:35 AM, said:

INFOWARS HEADLINE: FRONT GROUP ORGANIZATION CALLED MERCSTAR IS FUNDING RESEARCH INTO MS AND IS ALSO CONNECTED TO MERCURY IN THE VACCINES, GMO CROPS, FLUORIDE IN THE WATER, AND GEORGE SOROS

BUY SUPER MALE VITALITY TODAY

[Crockdaddy]

I really hate being a negative nancy and I've still spent money in this game but other than MRBC I haven't care much about MWO and now due to the MWC clusterF* we get to wait 4/5 months for that (MRBC Season 8).

Community Warfare was essentially why I invested into MWOMERCS. As an Arena shooter MWO is amazing for Stompy Robots. Nothing really compares to be honest, but I've been playing Arena shooter for Stompy Robots now since early closed beta. I need a deeper game play. CW/FP was supposed to be it. Night's Scorn went balls deep into CW then burned out as CW never changed. CW / FP phase 3 was the beginning of the promise land. I was skeptical but hopeful. After the first two weeks of Ghost drops and incredibly annoying and frustrating bugs I decided Oh well, we have the tournament coming and competitive play has been an awesome experience our unit has coalesced around. Then the stupidly short sighted MWC schedule is released (yes I know it will be adjusted but I've lost faith in this development team completely at this point).

I never thought I would out right begin to dislike PGI. I have a software / IT background. I get it, it's hard to do this type of stuff and their team isn't big ...but the design behind many of the game elements just blow my mind at how not very good it is.

Sorry for the rant ... and being mostly negative but I think this team (PGI) would honestly benefit from opening up their game to the players to develop (modding). It needs fresh creativity and to leverage its community. We can still pay for crap too to keep the game going but the best part of MWO right now is its player run leagues. Imagine what we might get if players created Faction Play maps Solaris Arenas ... alternate game modes ... and add deeper role play elements that make us care. I want this to succeed beyond our wildest dreams but I have lost much faith in it getting done anymore.

Edited by Crockdaddy, 24 May 2016 - 10:35 AM.

[Mechwarrior1441491]

Crockdaddy, on 23 May 2016 - 08:44 PM, said:

Hello from one of the more successful units in CW ... we don't really give two S h ... 1 t ... s about it. We have about 12 hard core FP memembers and 12 casual and 90 who cares ... this is stupid. Really PGI blew it. It's time for them to go as a publisher and see what someone else can do.

Community Warfare ... left to dangle for over a year.
MWC scheduling announcement bungled.
Increased cost of mech packs ... once 80$ bought 4 sizes of mechs ... now it buys variants of a single mech.
Steam numbers keep falling month over month.
No advertising on front page for steam ... no real sales
Milks the living F* out of its whales.


This game ... I resisted for so long but I just don't see it continuing. It's disappointing.

Player led leagues == fun. PGI should open up this game to modding and see what some creativity could do.

"E-Sports"

[Adamski]

Bud Crue, on 24 May 2016 - 03:51 AM, said:

I know nothing of Heavy Gear other than the trailer, but honestly between PGI's laser like focus on making the game into an "e-sport" and seemingly avoiding at all costs the idea of adding any aspect of BT/MW immersive-ness into the game (or even a mechanism to encourage folks to bother with the FP mode in the first place), I honestly have to wonder why some, if not a substantial majority, of the current MWO players won't just go play Heavy Gear rather than this. I mean based on that trailer it looks awfully similar, and might even have more immersive universe in which we can run wild in, and, heaven forbid, actually feel like we are a part of and capable of influencing.

In MWO there is no lore in this game other than the mechs themselves, so the "universe" isn't going to keep people playing for long. Based on this thread and observed game play, the game mechanics and FP play isn't going to keep people playing for long. That just leaves those folks with an invested financial or emotional tie to the game. Even for these folks it is apparent that the only way a player can influence anything is to join a unit, and then that unit (loyalist or merc) needs a dedicated team of multiple dedicated players or 12 mans to influence anything on the planetary map. Anyone with less dedication than that, or simply time available to play, may as well not bother...as is self evident from this thread and the apparent playing population of FP...bringing us full circle.

Heavy Gear is sounding more appealing the more I think about it.

So, who's excited for the Phoenix Hawk?

I am greatly amused that PGI wants to focus on the "competitive" aspect of MWO, but refuses to have a dedicated balance team or even person.

[MischiefSC]

Crockdaddy, on 24 May 2016 - 08:46 AM, said:

I really hate being a negative nancy and I've still spent money in this game but other than MRBC I haven't care much about MWO and now due to the MWC clusterF* we get to wait 4/5 months for that (MRBC Season 8).

Community Warfare was essentially why I invested into MWOMERCS. As an Arena shooter MWO is amazing for Stompy Robots. Nothing really compares to be honest, but I've been playing Arena shooter for Stompy Robots now since early closed beta. I need a deeper game play. CW/FP was supposed to be it. Night's Scorn went balls deep into CW then burned out as CW never changed. CW / FP phase 3 was the beginning of the promise land. I was skeptical but hopeful. After the first two weeks of Ghost drops and incredibly annoying and frustrating bugs I decided Oh well, we have the tournament coming and competitive play has been an awesome experience our unit has coalesced around. Then the stupidly short sighted MWC schedule is released (yes I know it will be adjusted but I've lost faith in this development team completely at this point).

I never thought I would out right begin to dislike PGI. I have a software / IT background. I get it, it's hard to do this type of stuff and their team isn't big ...but the design behind many of the game elements just blow my mind at how not very good it is.

Sorry for the rant ... and being mostly negative but I think this team (PGI) would honestly benefit from opening up their game to the players to develop (modding). It needs fresh creativity and to leverage its community. We can still pay for crap too to keep the game going but the best part of MWO right now is its player run leagues. Imagine what we might get if players created Faction Play maps Solaris Arenas ... alternate game modes ... and add deeper role play elements that make us care. I want this to succeed beyond our wildest dreams but I have lost much faith in it getting done anymore.

Pretty much all this.

I used to white knight hardcore for PGI. I support a lot of software projects at my job and I'm very familiar with the challenges inherent in taking an idea to execution in software development. However I go to work, day in and day out and watch small teams of PGIs size or smaller tackle and succeed, I watch games on Steam Greenlight struggle and then succeed (while others certainly do fail dramatically) and I have to come to the conclusion that PGI can not and will not take the concept of FW to a real execution.

They've quit on it. Given up. Shown that there was no basis for faith in them to complete it in any real viable form and now the best possible option is for either someone who is willing to do the work to complete it and make a good game out of it to take over or that it gets turned over to players to mod into something good.

Because the FW they created is pretty much ****. They know it and have decided to abandon it. There is nothing positive to take out of that.

Edited by MischiefSC, 24 May 2016 - 12:23 PM.

[crustydog]

JaxRiot, on 23 May 2016 - 01:02 PM, said:

Ok so wait...

You admit that you need those huge numbers in order to field 3 drops. And you also admit that being able to field 3 drops is how you are able to take planets..

You also admit that other good Units like KCOM can give you a run for your money and even stop you, but hopefully the other 2 drops will be winning against lesser skilled Units or Pugs allowing you to take planets by sheer numbers..

But then you go on to say that Unit size doesnt matter and its all about skill?

And then you even go on to say that its all about how many drops a Unit can field regularly?

Which is it?

Numbers dont matter but yet numbers are how you win?

Hey look, you want to be in a large Unit then fine. CW is what it is. I cant change it and chances are its not going to change any time soon.

But it looks like youre all over the map in that post.

To clarify the point for the public - the point is that MS, like most larger units, has a substantial player base that does NOT play FW. MS is not only FW in MWO - MS is a large unit, with lots of people doing lots of different things.... in and out of MWO. There is also league play, group queue, private matches, training sessions, other games, etc. A good many of these players were playing Mechwarrior long before there ever was an MWO.

The same is true for the other large units - so the unit is huge, so what, how many are playing FW? And how good are these FW people? And how much do they play? These are the factors that impact FW, not unit size.

FW daily participation at MS averages about 8%, unless there is a serious contest on, in which case that can increase - like the first battle for Tukkayid where we hit 33% at certain times. That doesn't mean that each player plays FW 8% of the time. The MS FW players, like myself, play FW probably 90% of their time, excluding events - and some do so exclusively.

Size of the unit does not indicate success, or even participation, in FW. The unit size argument is absolute Bunk!

What matters is the number and skill of the FW teams you put on the field, and doing so in any combination that can take and hold a planet.

Go look at the team stats on the leaderboards. You will see a good number of units who are very good units, who have performed thousands of FW drops, with excellent win rates, who have never taken a planet.

They play the game very well. Very skilled players that we have lost to on many occasions. The difference between them and us is we focus on taking the planets, where they very clearly do not.

From those same stats you can see that we put in a lot more time end effort into FW (as a unit) than pretty much any other unit. Dedicated FW players see MS doing this, and some of them subsequently join MS precisely because we are dropping FW - all the time. That means they can get a game with a team. It's convenient for the dedicated player.

As far as skills go, the average MS FW player ranges from the 50 - 75% of MWO skill levels. That means an average of 4 kills and 1000 - 1200 damage per FW match. MS does have it's collection of Elite uber killers, KCOM caliber type players, but these players are usually not playing FW so much these days. They mostly do other stuff. Our FW players are pretty much a collection of average players, with some new recruits and some veterans thrown into the mix. That's it.

I myself am currently nowhere near KCOM quality. Maybe in a few years from now, we will see. I currently average about the 60 - 65% mark.

But then again, I don't have to be the best player to win planets with our 12% above average troops. I do have to lead or follow the lead of the team, operate in a team like manner, participate and drop with the team, coordinate my own contribution with that of the team, and subordinate my own goals to those of the team and the unit.

I do this with a similarly dedicated handful of other players who also do this, and together we win.

Anybody who is not winning is not doing this.

Elite units are wonderful, highly skilled units, filled with uber killers that pretty much win all the time. Their only weakness is that there are simply not so many players of this caliber to go around. Thus, these units remain small as a fact of nature. They are the real 1%.

MS is Elite in a different way - MS is Elite in how we train, deploy and win with our average players in such a manner that the objectives are achieved. We focus on the wedges, and that means, if the planet outcome is in doubt, and ceasefire is approaching, we will dunk the gens to flip the wedges QUICKLY. We also focus on earnings, for we are MERCS first and foremost. We employ drop discipline to maximize our matches - not wasting time in the mechlab or the store while holding up the entire team. We are kind of strict about things like that. We maximize our income. We may not have the best skills, but we probably have nearly the best unit efficiency when it comes to time management.

Furthermore, and for the record, any slightly above average player in MWO, who is willing to work in a group environment without behaving like a freak to the detriment of the team, and is willing to work towards improving their own skills, is welcome to join with MS. Our doors are always open, and our drops are publicly accessible.

If you want to see what we are, for real, with your own eyes, then come and drop with us and see it all for yourself. Then you will learn the whole story.

That's what I did. I was invited to see it, and I went there and saw for myself exactly what is going on.

I'm old, and I've been around the block a few times, and I know a damned good thing when I see it.

That's why I joined MS when the time came.

I am now a Mercstar Officer, I am in the best of company, and it is both my honor and a privilege to serve in this very finest of units.

[RustyBolts]

I just sat in LFG for MS for 40 mins without getting a drop. Guess what? There was (1) 12 Man team dropping. There were about 20 more people in TS. When I checked the unit tab, of those 20, only 8 were logged into the game other than the (1) 12 Man. Yes MS has over 300 members. No they are not all on all the time.

Edited by RustyBolts, 24 May 2016 - 01:03 PM.

[Cy Mitchell]

Commander A9, on 23 May 2016 - 07:39 PM, said:

We opposed the cue split because we knew it was going to kill the rate of games we'd get to play. Because the majority player in Community Warfare is the pug, not the unit player, we knew we'd have a helluva time trying to get people to cue up who could actually fight a tagged team. And look what happened when the cue split took effect: players made one-man units to get out of the freelance cue en masse. And nothing changed as a result. The only difference was the pugs had tags.

Yes, the big units opposed the queue split because is was going to kill rate of games. but the end result is games of piss poor quality and a population that continues to decline because very few new players that try FP and get stomped by the units bother to stay.

The solo players made one man units for two reasons. First the solo queue was set up in a way as to make finding a game as a freelancer nearly impossible. Second, (and this contributes to the first problem) was that there were virtually no rewards for playing as a freelancer. You could get no Loyalty awards. You could get no Mercenary rewards. The solution to both of those was making a one man unit but then you could not participate in the solo queue any more.

The whole thing was designed to fail and it did. The big units got their baby seals back and PGI got to say, "Oh, we tried that and it did not work." in response to the people who had requested a easier transition method into FP in the form of a solo queue.

[crustydog]

Randy Poffo, on 23 May 2016 - 06:33 PM, said:

Wait. Are you actually saying this while at the same time this all started with a cryfest about how MS can't get matches any more because they win too quickly?

Cmon now you crusty ol' dawg, if you think the way you're playing is a good mesh for the system - how it's intended to be played - then a thread like this shouldn't have been started in the first place.

But on a more serious note, there is an aspect of this that is NO DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER GAME. And that is, if you win too much, too quickly and too easily, you don't get to play as much - whether your winning was fair or not. Y'all need to make a choice between playing with the organization you have on the one hand or having more matches to play on the other. And then wipe the salt from your own sweet eyes and don't complain about the results of that decision.

I don't know, does MS have a legitimate complaint?

( side note: I don't just play for Mercstar, these effects are similarly impacting players elsewhere:)

As MS, we often took two or more planets during the NA phase during CW phase 1 & 2. Some nights we took 4 planets in a single phase. Sure we dominated the game. We won a bucket-load of battles to make all that happen. Some nights we fought well over 100 battles, on multiple fronts. There were games for a couple of thousand player drops on some nights, half for us, half for our opponents, involving several hundreds of players. A veritable hive of gaming activity.

Now we only get to fight on one planet, for the entire faction, which lasts two to three hours, 13 to 30 battles max, involving sometimes less than 100 total players over the entire phase. Then the game is finished, over, Kaputski. We have nights where there are ZERO planets to defend - one attack planet only, that's it. Guess it's a good thing only 8% of MS are trying to play FW these days.

You don't have to worry about MS beating up on poor puglings anymore, because MS can no longer play the game at all. Your faction dominance, unit size and seal harvesting woes are so phase 2 - they are now completely out of style.

I guess that is fair. I guess other games get more time and money now as well.

Maybe players will leave MS and go to other units, just to find more games? Maybe, but I doubt it. All units are just as restricted for match availability as MS is. More likely, they will play more league play, more group queue, more harvesting in solo queue, and definitely more time in other games.

This is still PGI's game, and if they want to screw it up this badly, well, they can. I feel sad for what happened to FW in phase three, and especially sad for the hundreds, or perhaps even thousands of players out there who can now no longer get a full night of drops all because of PGI incompetence and a degree of willful neglect. They sabotaged their own game, and at least part of that was done deliberately.

We old timers used to call that "bite off your nose to spite your face." It is the act of fools.

Not exactly the kind of thing to inspire investor confidence in the company.

PGI promised to develop this game - it sure sounded great in promotion - but they have so far failed to follow through on their promise. They talked a good game, but in the end it looks like it was mostly just that. It now appears to many experienced programmers here that they simply do not have what it takes to make this vision into a reality.

I wanted to learn from the best and the brightest players here, but that is becoming harder and harder to do, because the best players are leaving - oh they still have their accounts and all, but they just don't show up like they used to. Pugs will always be pugs and whiners will always be whiners, and the best players will always rise to the top, in any environment, regardless of the challenge. It is as true in games as it is in life.

But veteran players here are now using words like "exodus." PGI may have been more right than they know when they labeled CW / FW "End Game content." Many veterans are still sticking around, just to see if PGI is going to fix this, but you can rest assured they already have one foot firmly out the door.

On the bright side, Battletech and Mechwarrior have been around for a very long time, something like 30 years, in one form or another. MWO is merely the latest incarnation, and if it should fall, I've no doubt something new, and probably better, will appear before long.

Case in point, that new Battletech game didn't have any problems raising starter funds from the whales over here. A healthy cash boost to get that ball rolling. Perhaps what PGI has failed to realize all along is it is they who need us. The same is not exactly true the other way around. IBM made that mistake in the 1980's, and it nearly cost them their empire.

I've run my share of companies over the years, some more successfully than others. I built them and broken them, so I understand fully both sides of the equation. I have ridden several of these horses.

Based on decades of prior experience I can now tell you something with absolute certainty. If this was my company, and I cared about the future of this company, you can be absolutely sure that if the leading player unit of my primary show home product is screaming at the top of their lungs that there is a massively serious problem, you can be damned sure I would be listening just as closely as I can.

If they are not listening now, it means they have already abandoned the product, that they have written it off.

The proverbial ball, at this point, is very much in PGI's court.

[Mechwarrior1441491]

Make the pirate worlds a newb Faction Play area. You can opt in like a contract. It auto ejects you from your unit and are locked in there for the full time. Tier 3-4-5?

It's not really splitting the que population since the whelps aren't having a great time being rolled on. Let them loose on each other.

[crustydog]

Contrex, on 23 May 2016 - 01:05 PM, said:

So you realy mean that MS is nearly as strong as KCom? :-)

Did I not just say Mercstar is substantially stronger than KCOM?

We are.


KCOM has much better skills.

None can deny it.

They are an Elite battalion.

Think Zeta Battalion from Wolf's Dragoons.


MS is a multi regimental mixture of Regular, Veteran and Elite forces - equivalent to a battlemech Division.

Think the Eridani Light Horse



Lots of units have better skills than MS.

Being the best horse in the race does mean you win you the race.

Any horse gambler can tell you that:)



You see KCOM, think Henry Fonda.

You see Mercstar, think The Wild Bunch.

Apples and Oranges, completely different approaches, both very effective.