9 replies to this topic

[Moldur]

The newest Faction Warfare event ended a little while ago, and much like most of the previous CW and FW events, there was at least some amount of activity in FW.

Now that it is over, FW is back to normal (barren.) I wonder: If having these additional rewards is what it takes for people to play the mode, then why not make such rewards a permanent part of FW?

• Would it dilute the game with so many people with stuff on their account? Maybe, I don't know.

• Is it going further down the rabbit hole and solidifying FW in its current state rather than actually improving it into something people want to play rather than making it into an unusual form of torture compensated by good prizes? Maybe, not sure.

• Will it make more people play FW? Probably. I feel that this is the prime consideration.

Community/Faction Warfare has been a pariah for much of the playerbase. Not only is activity low, but whatever little feedback there is, is only contributed to by a small portion (the FW-active portion) of the playerbase. The result is this: the amount of feedback is low, PGI's data gathering is slow, and the decisions to update the mode is only informed by small samples of regularly active players, or erratic surges of players from events.

Not only would adding more prizes incentivize players and populate FW, but it would also provide PGI with a better sample size of data and feedback to inform the way they change FW.

Edited by Moldur, 21 May 2016 - 12:28 PM.

[Randy Poffo]

Many people will tell you, though, that it's not a matter of the rewards. And honestly this game mode can't be sustained purely on the strength of people grinding for c-bills. You reach a point where you do not need the c-bills or xp and the only thing left to play for is the game itself - and that means that the game mode has to be fun. For a lot of people it's not right now - and no number of bonus c-bills will get them to set foot in that shitpile. And there's a second problem - one that makes things like the event, or increased rewards, counter-productive. And this is that if you're incentivizing large numbers of people to come into the mode without incentivizing them to come into it in a way that can be fun for them, the resulting grind will only push those players away from *ever* giving the mode a chance again no matter how you fix it later.

And what makes it un-fun are conceptual decisions that aren't really data driven. There is more than enough data to have a pretty clear picture of the major problems involved.

[Appogee]

PGI burn out people by requiring high play hours to achieve the top reward tier. We then prefer to do something else for a while as we rebuild our appetite to play FP again.

If FP was inherently fun, this wouldn't be an issue. But the complete absence of matchmaking, the way the mode enables large merc groups to farm their way from one of the galaxy to the other, then switch sides and farm their way back again, the wait times, some of the lop-sided maps, etc, make FP an unfulfilling pastime in its present form, unfortunately.

I still play FP more than QP. But some nights, I wish I hadn't bothered.

Moldur, on 21 May 2016 - 12:28 PM, said:

...whatever little feedback there is, is only contributed to by a small portion (the FW-active portion) of the playerbase. The result is this: the amount of feedback is low, PGI's data gathering is slow, and the decisions to update the mode is only informed by small samples of regularly active players, or erratic surges of players from events.

You misunderstand the problem.

The slow updating is not due to a lack of feedback or ideas from a broad spectrum of players, it's symptomatic of PGI's lack of investment in coding resources, and general lack of concern for product quality and advancement. This has been an endemic issue for the whole game - FP isn't any different.

PGI have been provided with tons of feedback and ideas. They're just not interested enough to read or act on them. They don't bother to read most of what's expressed in these forums, and those ideas passed on via the preferred channels of Twitter or at Town Hall rarely receive more than lip service in between promises of a brighter future and commercials for the next Mech Pack.

PGI's focus is on putting out Mech Packs and milking the minimally viable cash cow they created. The saddest thing is that they could have made much more money if they'd focused on designing a great game which attracted a much broader player base, due to its inherent fun and replayability.

Edited by Appogee, 21 May 2016 - 01:53 PM.

[Chagatay]

Well I suppose. Bribery has worked thus far to keep some interest in FW.

[Tangelis]

I've seen plenty of games that have "Daily missions" resulting in boosted rewards or items as incentives to play modes or classes etc....

I don't think it would be hard to implement here and far from game breaking.
"Win 5 scouting missions" 500,000 c-bill reward for example.

I like FW a lot actually... but there really is no incentive to participate regularly for much of the playerbase outside of events or serious Units.

[Willard Phule]

Rewards? Here's some ideas for some MUCH NEEDED rewards.

How's about you give us some loyalty points for hanging around for 20 minutes, waiting for a team to form...then another 20 minutes for a ghost drop or pugstomp?

Sort of a "we're thankful you're hanging in there and supporting us" sort of thing. How's about we get LP or Cbills every time it "transfers pilot and mechs" for 15 minutes, before dumping you into an empty queue?

Or, better yet, since new players get a "cadet bonus," no matter where they play....FW or Quick Play...how's about you give us a "trainer bonus" every time we have to drop with a T5 or T4 in our team? Give us some incentive to teach them how to play besides some stupid "quick tip?"

[KinLuu]

Buying people is not what will rescue CW.

CW needs to be fun on its own.

CW needs a better gamemode and better maps.

[Iron Buccaneer]

KinLuu, on 22 May 2016 - 08:00 AM, said:

Buying people is not what will rescue CW.

CW needs to be fun on its own.

CW needs a better gamemode and better maps.

Both actually. The biggest rewards should come from FP and also it should be the most fun and immersive to play. QP should be for grinding mech XP mostly.

Edited by Iron Buccaneer, 22 May 2016 - 08:43 AM.

[Moldur]

Appogee, on 21 May 2016 - 01:40 PM, said:

PGI's focus is on putting out Mech Packs and milking the minimally viable cash cow they created. The saddest thing is that they could have made much more money if they'd focused on designing a great game which attracted a much broader player base, due to its inherent fun and replayability.

The rest of what you said may very well be true, but if this were the case, then I would think that PGI would have dropped CW/FW long ago once it was clear that it had failed instead of continuing to support the gigantic sunk cost that it has become.

[Zolaz]

The reason why ... It is the Paulaconomy, surat.