180 replies to this topic

[Douglas Reichel]

TizZ, on 18 July 2012 - 07:47 AM, said:

This is a simulation but before that its a game people , There is no way they can stick rigidly to the timeline/lore and to actual months and years in real life , please use your heads a little .

They will bring timelines forward as expansions or something close , Its Fine reading books and Lore because a single book might jump 10 years plus ..... However in real life they are not going to wait 10 years for things to happen in the timeline/lore .

Initially when the game starts and online it will move as planned but dont expect it to move one year in the timeline/lore and 1 year in real life .... They have license to move things forward as they please .

Just enjoy the game and what hapens happens , no point in thinking omg clan mechs we want em / dont want em .... they are part of battletech so they will arrive sooner or later .

Ah...but see...we WILL be waiting to move the timeline forward. You seem to think they'll be including everything from beginning to end. While everything thus far indicates they're going to be focusing quite heavily only on the early stages of the clan invasion era. There won't be any jumps in time or any such thing if current trends are any indication. And we have precisely zero reason to think they'll deviate from that trend. If MWO lasts for 10 years, then that's how far along the timeline will have moved. Sure, they could change their minds or already be planning to make such jumps through expansions, but they haven't given even the slightest indication of such intent, while mentioning repeatedly that they intend to follow the timeline as-is. You could be right, I could be wrong. And while neither of our positions holds terribly well, yours has no foundation at all.

Now as for the original topic...of course they shouldn't postpone it, that's absurd. I'm in favor of slow introduction though. Just because the clans arrive doesn't mean we'll have immediate access to all the spiffiness right away (it disturbs me that "spiffiness" is a word recognized and accepted by the spell-check). It'll pop up piece by piece, more and more often in the shop, and once it's commonly available, Clans will open up as potential factions for players.

Additionally, balancing Clan 'mechs against IS 'mechs isn't that big a deal. The Clan 'mechs are better most of all because of their universal hardpoint capacity as omnimechs. But not all Clan mechs are omnimechs, and if you're in a Clan, you can't just "buy" 'mechs with money. They're granted as rewards for success, or as prizes through the spoils of war. Clan gear is somewhat better than IS gear, but the truth is, adjusting it all so that it's not broken in comparison isn't a problem. I'd rather have slightly less powerful Clans if it keeps the game running smoothly anyway. And more important than anything else...the real advantage of the Clans is that their pilots were simply better, in every way. If an IS pilot is in a Clan 'mech against a Clanner, one-on-one, each with equal battle experience...the advantage is overwhelmingly the Clanner's. That doesn't mean he'll win for sure, but it sure makes it unlikely that he won't. Clanners were BRED for war. IS pilots just kind of pick up the family career, at best.

Balance is simply not going to be a problem.

Rixx, on 18 July 2012 - 09:09 AM, said:

So my post was completely overlooked?

I love the fact that we have a timeline, and I want PGI to stick to it, but the game isn't ready for a clan invasion!!!

They admitted that the territory control system won't be in place at launch. That will take extra time to develop. By forcing the clan invasion on us in March, they basically have to stop map/mech production at the release of the game and work only on clan stuff to get it ready in time. This would be BAD.

Then, by the time the clan invasion launched, we still wouldn't have a fully operational game, and the invasion would further delay the development of it.

Heck, at this rate, the clan invasion wouldn't even be an event, just different factions we could join and use the mechs.

Sure, this could happen, and we could have access to the content, but how boring would it be?

The territory control thing is HUGE and gives the dynamic appeal to the game that it needs to keep people interested.

With PGI's original launch schedule, the clan invasion happening on time would be ok, but everything's been pushed back. They need to reset the clock so to speak. Let us duke out pointless matches for XP for awhile, then launch the territory system, let us fight for territory and then have the clan invasion happen and be meaningful.

Don't RUSH the clan stuff at the expense of the game. I'd prefer a solid year of IS only with ongoing additions of new mechs, new maps, enw game modes, and the territorial control system prior to the implimentation of the clans. Rushing the clan content and letting the game go stale with limited mechs, maps, game modes for 6 months just so they can give us clan tech would be pointless.

This, I can agree with.

[Kyle Lewis]

I can see where knowing the future is something we all would prefer. I am sure poland would have loved to have been in the position to eagerly await the arrival of the nazi's. However this "debate" is only about one thing, having the better mechs that the clans promise, not a desire to immulate the clans way of life.

[Maximilian Cromwell]

Personally I wish they had set the game farther back in the time line. I would set it in the middle of the 4th succession war. But of course we know the devs eventually want to introduce the clans, and I don't think any of us feel like waiting around another 20 years for that expansion.

[Xantha]

Who says the invasion will happen? Technically, they have already altered history since there is no Federated Commonwealth. None of us really knows what they will do in a year.

[PANZERBUNNY]

NextGame, on 18 July 2012 - 05:12 AM, said:

yeah i would like there to be a few months of gameplay to enable the IS to get balanced etc before adding clan stuff into the mix and giving people new stuff to play for, maybe not a year perhaps, but 6 months maybe?

We'll have more than a few months.

[Kell Draygo]

PANZERBUNNY, on 18 July 2012 - 09:49 AM, said:

We'll have more than a few months.

I don't believe we have that much time between the game launch and canonical clan invasion time period.

[Deathspore]

Nope....sorry the Clans are coming.

Coming to an Freebirth world near you....

It's CLANFEST 3050!!!

In all seriousness though...

Operations against the Inner Sphere do not take place till 3050. At the moment it's 3049. If the devs keep to the timeline in real time, then in 1 year the invasion takes place. Whether that will be in April or August - that's a toss up. That should be enough time I would think to stablize the game, and add the features they need to, and gives us all plenty of time to get use to controlling mechs.

I saw a mention of Clans introduced as AI. There was another thread about Clans being only AI controlled. Tossing a thought out...this would be extremely bad. *If* (and imo I doubt this will happen) the devs thought about and instituted this, then Spheroids would be in a lot of trouble. Remember especially in the beginning, the Clans pwnd Spheroid units due to superior tech and skills. The Mechwarrior caste of Clansmen were trained for warfare. It would be a slaughter. I think some players would just give up on the game at that point. This is not something that anyone wants. Better to have Clan units in the hands of real players.

Another mention was that of everyone running to the Clan side when they are introduced. Imo, no I do not see it happening like that. Granted there will be some defection, but there will be as many players staying on the I.S. side as there will be going to Clans. I think you will see alot of defecting back and forth regardless. Face it, there are those who will remain loyal to the I.S. and those faithful to the Clans.

[Lokust]

From a gameplay standpoint I think i'd be happiest if we got at least a year or two of IS vs IS play before introducing the clans, but who knows what will actually happen?

[Sean von Steinike]

Kell Draygo, on 18 July 2012 - 05:04 AM, said:

Maybe I am the odd duck but anyone else feel like the Clan invasion should be pushed back since the game is not suppose to follow the canonical timeline. This is more for game balance than anything else, in my opinion, since Clanner mechs will more or less slaughter Inner Sphere mechs, you would have a lot more players flooding the over powered side to reap the benefits of technology.

So for me, I almost wish that the Clan invasion actually didn't happen for a year so we can have our fun duking it out between Houses and whatnot. What's everyone else's thoughts on this?

Sure, but maybe if they are playable they will always start outnumbered like 6 to 4 or something like that or have vastly more expensive repair costs to balance it out.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

There are some things that everyone seems to be ignoring about the Clans.
1) we know that they exist and everyone knows all the mechs capabilities.
2) The IS pilots will be using min/maxed mechs with as much level 2 tech as possible rather than the standard level 1 mechs that the Clans faced until Tukkayid.
3) PGI have until March to tweak and tune the matchmaker.

[Kolja]

Lord Cochrane, on 18 July 2012 - 05:41 AM, said:

I always thought the history of the succession wars and the whole civilisation in decline created around it was great, but to me the clan invasion and all the rubbish that followed it was just meh.
So I for one would not be bothered at all by a delay in the timeline.

I agree.
Clans are boring to me and I wouldn't mind if they never showed up.

[Rejarial Galatan]

Guys, its like this, the time line is 1 day IRL is 1 day in BTU. PERIOD. We are about a month away real time from the vanishing of Phelan Kell and the appearance of the video that shows the mysterious Timber Wolf, which as we know, is dubbed MAD-CAT thanks to the computer in Kell's mech not knowing what it was. We are only a few months from the invasion, it is coming, and coming fast. deal with it. this is your time to prepare your self mentally for it, and if your a founder, you start physically quote unquote preparing for it then on 7 August. I have waited far too long for this, and every time I hear: make the clanners wait more by pushing it back, breaks my heart. you are asking for a breach in canon and lore, and this game is striving according to PGI to follow canon/lore as closely as they can. The truth to all this is, this game would NOT exist today, and i mean BATTLETECH as a WHOLE with out the clans. love them or hate them, they are a part, a HUGE part of what makes the universe worth having. Purists disagree, but, the franchise would not have had such staying power w/out them. It is like Batman w/out the joker, or Superman with out Lex Luthor, or G.I. Joe w/out COBRA. Use only IS gear if it fits your tastes, but stop begging them to harm a HUGE chunk of the player base because you do not like the clans. They are coming. They are in the periphery. They are marching for us as we SPEAK.

[Khobai]

Quote

It has also been stated that MWO will follow TT/canon rules only as far as relates to good gameplay, so do you really think the clan mechs are going to be uber OP, because I do not. This subject has been beat to death already.

If clan mechs arnt superior to IS mechs it defeats the whole point of introducing clan mechs.

[Rejarial Galatan]

Fact of the matter is, Clan weapons and mech technology IS superior, in just about every way. Longer ranges, lighter weights, and, this wonderful thing called: OMNI. They cannot be dumbed down because you think they should be, they are designed in lore/canon to be far superior.

[Pika]

You know what I think would be very interesting? Hold off the introduction of the Clans as a PLAYABLE faction for over a year AFTER they invade.

Could add a co-op game mode playing as IS forces in a Horde\Wave style game mode? Would rope in the none competitive players too!

...
...

Ahh who am I kidding, they'll add Clan right away probably, C-Bills only probably and cost a bomb to field\repair.

[Khobai]

Theres different ways to balance it... like clan tech could be about 20% better than IS tech but then clans can only deploy 10 mechs (2 stars) instead of the 12 mechs (3 lances) that IS can have. So clan mechs will be superior 1v1 but 10v12 will still be roughly balanced.

Edited by Khobai, 18 July 2012 - 06:47 PM.

[Mantis]

I've baked cookies, and I'll be damned if their trip is delayed and they go cold before clans arrive.

[Rejarial Galatan]

Pika, on 18 July 2012 - 06:45 PM, said:

You know what I think would be very interesting? Hold off the introduction of the Clans as a PLAYABLE faction for over a year AFTER they invade.

Could add a co-op game mode playing as IS forces in a Horde\Wave style game mode? Would rope in the none competitive players too!

...
...

Ahh who am I kidding, they'll add Clan right away probably, C-Bills only probably and cost a bomb to field\repair.

oh HELL NO. Bad enough we are going to probably wait a month after the invasion. I have waited since the end of GHOST BEAR'S LEGACY. DO not make me and the rest of us DIE HARD CLANNERS wait longer than we have. It is UNCONSCIONABLE.

Khobai, on 18 July 2012 - 06:46 PM, said:

Theres way to balance it... like clan tech could be 20% better than IS tech but then clans can only have 10 mechs in a company (2 stars)

um iirc 1 clan heavy is like = to 2-3 ASSAULT class IS mechs, by virtue of how superior the technology the Clans can field. Longer ranges, lighter weight, etc. more weapons on a lighter frame = superior firepower to an equal weighted IS mech. Hell, the Timber Wolf is KNOWN for making Assault class IS pilots back off from a fight because they did not want to die to the 75 ton T-Wolf.

[Insidious Johnson]

What, if like house players are constrained by LP earned by team play roles, clan players are constrained by HP, or honor points. They get honor by following zellbrigen for 1v1 combat. They lose honor by not or for other dezgra acts. So yeah, they can bust their rules all the time and be honorless clans, ripe for trials of abjuration or absorption to the strong with high HP as a clan opponents. Let's see if this type of faction structure is solid.

[Rejarial Galatan]

I like your idea Insidious, BUT, theres a problem, The IS tactics are usually considered dishonorable by Clan standards and thus the Zell is cast aside, and rendered moot.