Bombadil, on 22 July 2016 - 07:05 PM, said:
Everything posted here will be read by me, and relayed to those involved if deemed appropriate.
Thank you. So, if I may, I'm going to talk for a little bit.
Faction Play has next to none of the characteristics that make it battletech.
What it does have are planets from the lore.
-Not even half of them have their brief lore description.
What it does have are the Factions
-There are no differences between them; nothing that makes them unique, nothing that makes them what they are from battletech.
What it does have is a game mode that feels like an invading army vs a defending force.
-Though it feels like the unit defending, with the defences it has, doesn't really care about the base. Some LL turrets aren't really good defence against 4 companies of mechs. (Give turret/defence upgrade and turret placement options for the owning unit please!) Maps are also narrow, single strategy, and there arent enough of them.
What this game needs is:
1) Unique, semi-significant differences between the factions that can appeal to players in some way or another.
2) A reason for small units and individual players to play.
3) Lore lore lore. The best thing about this kind of game is the universe behind it. Battletech in so intruiging and really draws players into it. Without lore this game is just a semi-unique FPS that, sorry to be honest, isn't really the best in any field except maybe at making cool looking models, and even then not the greatest, but admittedly pretty good. Without lore, that is all that you have that draws people in and makes them stay, and that's not enough to really gain popularity. Lore will be the key.
4) Planets that matter. Each planet should be important in some way, some more than others. Giving people MC doesn't build interest and make people want to tell their friends about it. Like in ROME II Total War, some cities have important resources. Say that gets your unit a 1 time discount on a mech or something or a free mech that would be made by the factories on that planet. That's more unique than just MC. That mech can be given to a unit member or something by the unit leader. Even more so, taking a planet should have a permanent effect on the unit. Say something as small as a discount on a chassis, or if you wanted to get more serious and in depth, a different type of medium laser or other weapon that has different stats. Also maybe a certain decal that belonged to the lore unit on that planet. Rewards can vary per planet, but must include some aspect of lore.
Basically, Mechwarrior Online FP needs uniqueness and focus on faction play. It needs to flaunt the most powerful resource available to it, which is the lore. That's why there are still fans today, because they loved it so much. I fell in love with it the day I played MechWarrior IV and Mechcommnader 2. That's, at least as I see, the only way to get more people involved. Stompy robots can bring people in, sure, but the lore makes them stay.
Also, on other points, there is no tutorial for faction play. Please bring that in. New players get smashed everyday by large units, and that turns them off of the game. A tutorial would help new player understand how it's supposed to work, and once you build a larger community from the above suggestions of lore, you might even be able to separate FP queues for newer players.
Edited by NightStalker97, 19 August 2016 - 01:10 AM.
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