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I am a firm believer that if a game has healthy and satisfying gameplay the game's population will be self-sustaining. In other words, buckets are not the problem. Population decline is a symptom of bad gameplay. Addressing the problem of a declining playerbase by decreasing the size or number of buckets those players are spread out in is using a Bandaid to try to cure cancer.
That cancer, PGI, is in your gameplay.
Now there are those who will immediately post below defending the game and saying that is perfectly fine and satisfying. Here's the weird thing: They are not entirely wrong.
If you have heard of the Bartle Taxonomy of Player Types before, I apologize for repeating old info. If you have never heard of this study, continue reading and you should have a 'eureka' moment.
According to the Bartle Taxonomy of Player Types, you have 4 overall categories that players fall into. They are Killers, Explorers, Achievers, and Socializers. Each of these players enjoys a game for different reasons. For a game like Mechwarror Online that is continually being funded in order to stay active, it is essential to appeal to as broad a playerbase as possible. That means incorporating elements that appeal to all 4 player types. And that is where the game is failing and why I had my recent ragequit thread. I just didn't see it before.
Let me break it down for you.
Killers like... killing things. The more ways they can dish out death, destruction, and misery the better. They revel in grinding the opposition beneath their boot heel until they sob with pain. These are the players who will jump to the game's defense because to them, it really is satisfying. They are able to do exactly what they want; deal death in multiple flavors. Why would this game need anything more?
Explorers like roaming around the world of a game looking for secrets or trying out experimental combinations of gear to see what works best. Because MWO is an arena-based game, there isn't much world to explore. BUT there is a Mechlab. Explorers can spend hours equipping a mech and comparing stats to see if they can make or break a meta. Why do you think Smurfy's Mechlab is so popular?
Here's the unfortunate part, and where the cancer starts to show. Because the primary way for Explorers to enjoy this game is in customization, the fact that a player starts out with only 3 Mechbays is a serious blow. Is it possible to win some for free? Yes. But that doesn't change the fact that they are a premium item. I'll come back to this a little bit later.
But perhaps the biggest thing about Explorers is the game's backstory. They don't just explore the map, they delve deep into a game's lore and devour it. And that is, sadly, where the Explorers are starving. This game has tons and tons of backstory, going all the way back to its Table-Top roots. But very little of it is actually in the game. And that leaves the experience very flat and two-dimensional for Explorers.
Achievers like earning accolades, leaderboard ranks, achievements, and fluff. They absolutely love stats that tell them where they rank among the elite and how awesome they are. They like collecting things in a set or hoarding rare items. Now the cancer is getting serious.
Nobody really knows what the current rank system means. There are Tiers and XP and K/D ratios, but they are all over the place and there is no explanation to be found anywhere. That's bad. If an Achiever doesn't feel like they are making progress, they eventually leave. Sure, there are some scattered Achievements here and there. But they are few and far between. Achievers need milestones. Marks on the map to show how far along they are in their journey, and where they should be trying to get. This is where I ended up blowing up about a lack of recognition from the game for Mastering the Hunchback chassis. Apparently I am an achiever.
Now on to the last group. Socializers like playing games with people. They like contributing to a community, feeling like they belong, and helping others make progress in the game. The fact that Faction Warfare is floundering right now is not helping the Socializers at all, as it was supposed to be the big social battleground. Most of the Socializers here are primarily happy that they have discovered a community of fellow Table-Top enthusiasts who share their passion. It's hard to have a detailed conversation with other people who don't get it. But while that helps keep them content, the lack of a social battlefield, any sort of mentoring system, and very few ways to contribute in a meaningful way means your Socializers are not happy.
And that is very, very bad because your Socializers are free advertising. They are the ones who will bring their friends into the game. A discontent Socializer will not recommend this game to others, and in the worst case scenario, will tell their friends to avoid it entirely.
So now you understand why I say that MWO's gameplay sucks. But how to fix it? These are just my opinions, and hopefully others have even better ideas. BUT it all starts with making the gameplay appeal to as many of the 4 gamer types as possible.
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TL;DR
For the Killers:
You need a vast and diverse population of players for them to kill, or they get bored and leave. Which means you need to attract more of the other 3 player types.
For the Explorers:
You need to make it easier to experiment with weapons and equipment. You need to show more stats and how they interact. You really need to make mech storage space bigger. Why? Because 3 slots isn't anywhere near enough for an Explorer. Why shouldn't you charge real money for this? Well, you can, it's just that 3 slots aren't enough to begin with.
Think of it this way: The killers enjoy the game for the death they can cause and never have to pay a single dime. The Achievers can rank up and grind forward without paying a dime, or they can pay to speed up the process. But usually Achievers would rather do things the hard way for bragging rights. For the Socializers, just playing the game with friends is rewarding, and they don't have to pay a dime either. So if you charge real money for mechbays like you have been doing, while limiting the storage space so severely, you are gimping your Explorer population. And the fatal blow is the severe lack of lore present in the game. If Explorers do not have sufficient backstory to explore and the game feels flat, they will get bored and leave.
For the Achievers:
You really, really need a leaderboard system. You need some form of ranked competitive play that lets them compare themselves to their fellow players. I've said it before and I'll say it again. You really need to consider adding the Solaris VII competitive mech circuit to this game. As in, 10-man matches of 5 minutes max, limited by chassis weight. Free-for-All, Team Deathmatch, CTF, and King-of-the-Hill. Think MechWarrior Online meets Rocket League. Maybe even go so far as to make THAT the Quick Play option, and beef up Faction Play with the current 12-man team games. Oh, and please, please, please, start putting it more milestones with rewards that let the Achievers know they are doing a good job. There is a lot of empty wasteland that isn't filled with anything. It gets old really fast when you have no idea where you are on the game-progression map.
For the Socializers:
You need to figure out a way to let them contribute more to the game. And you really need to figure out Faction Play, as that is THEIR game mode. It needs to be more social, more interactive, and more rewarding for playing together. As I said above, take the 12-man stuff out of Quick Play and replace it with the Solaris VII arenas. Having two separate but identical queues for 12-man action is causing players to go for the easier of the two. Hence, Quick Play is stealing from Faction Play. Make the two modes drastically different, and suddenly players who want a team-oriented battlefield experience will start participating in Faction Play.
Here's a crazy idea. Give Socializers the option to host their own custom Solaris VII Arena matches and tournaments, where they get to decide the rules and restrictions for the lobby AND give them the option to go with default C-bill rewards for the winners OR they can buy premium items from the store with their MC to put up as prizes for the winners!
But perhaps most importantly, Faction Warfare needs to have a sense of depth and permanence that it currently does not have. Players need to feel like their actions can shape the game without everything being reset in 6 months because they might break something. Let them flesh out their own universe and only use the big red reset button as a last resort; not as a game feature.
Anyway, just my crazy thoughts. Please feel free to offer your own ideas on how to cater to the 4 different player types. Fix this problem, and you fix the bucket problem.
Edited by Dredger, 04 August 2016 - 02:36 AM.
