152 replies to this topic

[Rampancy]

Maqi, on 16 October 2016 - 12:36 AM, said:

this game is called Mechwarrior Online.
and has always been and still currently is advertised as a Battletech game.
therefore i expect the game to be as close as possible to other Mechwarrior and Battletech games.
if PGI cant into Mechwarrior and Battletech lore, then they should give back the license to Microsoft and let someone else more competent and devoted to the franchise develop and release Mechwarrior games, and rename this to Stompy Generic Robots Online and see how many players will still be here to play this after PGI has shat all over Battletech lore by implementing garbage like Energy Draw.

The hilarious part of this little rant is that MWO is the best-balanced, closest-to-BT Mechwarrior multiplayer implementation to date. There's also a lore/fluff basis for the power draw mechanic, even if you don't like its implementation

[Maqi]

RampancyTW, on 16 October 2016 - 12:59 AM, said:

MWO is the best-balanced, closest-to-BT Mechwarrior multiplayer implementation to date.

PFAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

do you work for PGI or something?
do they pay you in mechpacks™ to spread these lies?

[Rampancy]

Maqi, on 16 October 2016 - 01:02 AM, said:

PFAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA

do you work for PGI or something?
do they pay you in mechpacks™ to spread these lies?

Not sure what else to tell you. MW3 had easily-abused construction rules and instagib legging. MW4 was chock full of non-BT mechanics and was Poptartier and PPFLDer than even MWO was.

Did MWO's predecessors have awesome single player campaigns? Absolutely. But to pretend that their multiplayer experiences were more true to BT or even remotely balanced is a hilarious joke.

[Ruccus]

This thread has actually gotten me thinking; I wonder how hard or easy it would be to implement a 'BattleTech Skirmish' to throw in to the mix (alongside Assault, Skirmish, Domination, and Conquest) in which they simply try to implement the rules as they were written. 10 second cycle times on all the weapons, no double armour, jump jets that can launch a light mech into orbit, hitting anywhere on a mech would randomly determine where on the mech the damage registers, etc.

They could throw it in for the April 1, 2017 weekend (maybe along with some weird challenges) and see how it goes. Maybe it would be awesome, or maybe it would be a 'be careful what you wish for...'.

[Bud Crue]

All I know is that rarely does a month go by where there are not at least a few threads of folks complaining about poor wait times. Often time these posts originate from most ardent "I don't care about MW or BT, I just want to shoot stuff" type of at players.

Now as much as these folks love to play this game -and yet often mock the IP, and those of us playing this game for that IP- even these folks must recognize that us loretards, BT fans, TT fans or whatever you wish to call us dregs of the game, we dregs undoubtedly make up a good chunk of the playing population. Also note that many of us dregs are or were whales.

Now, assuming even a portion of the "dregs" population leaves to go play HBS's Battletech, what do ya suppose that is going to do for your wait times? If it is intolerable now for the twitch crowd to have to wait a minute or two between matches, what is it going to be like if...lets be conservative here...20% or the current population leaves?

TLDR:
HBS's BT game may not outright kill MWO, but it is going to draw off some portion of the population. That is going to impact wait times, and diversity of play. That then is going to have an affect on those who do remain, and negatively impact their ability to play. This will lead to even some of the most ardent members of the "I could care less about BT, I just want a robot shooter" crowd to leave the game as well. This downward spiral is inevitable, unless you really and truly believe that no one is playing MWO because of its association with the BattleTech IP.

Edited by Bud Crue, 16 October 2016 - 05:58 AM.

[Ghogiel]

BLOOD WOLF, on 15 October 2016 - 04:17 PM, said:

So some people think that when HBS battltech game comes out there will be some great migration?

HBS games to date don't have any longevity after a play through or 2, so if it does it'll probably be short lived. I can't imagine that game eating up FPS multiplayer types (which is MWOs demographic) either.

[topgun505]

BLOOD WOLF, on 15 October 2016 - 04:17 PM, said:

So some people think that when HBS battltech game comes out there will be some great migration?

Well, as someone else put it (grabbed from another thread):

martian, on 16 October 2016 - 01:18 AM, said:

I guess I will play both, but I expect HBS BattleTech to become my primary game, while MWO will probably be sidelined. MWO offers nothing but repetetive deathmatch, while HBS is going to offer much more:

• Combined Arms - tanks, hovertanks, helicopters maybe, etc. - all those things mising in MWO
  
• Expanded Mission Objectives - Attack, Defend, Capture, Escort, etc. - the majority of MWO games is "Kill the entire enemy team" with occassional variation "Kill the entire enemy team and then stand in the square"
  
• Managing the finances and logistics of my mercenary outfit - from the modifications and loadout of your 'Mechs, to the salaries and skill growth of your MechWarriors - the only thing I am managing in MWO is "Do I have enough C-Bills to buy DHS and ES upgrades?"
  
• Open-Ended Campaign with Procedurally-generated Contracts included
  
• Battlefield Salvage - missing in MWO
  
• Character Origin - the only "character" I see in MWO is headless body in 'Mech cockpit
  
• George "Duncan Fisher" Ledoux - "Whoa! That kid was on fire down there. Of course, now he's literally on fire."
  
• Duane Loose - painter who illustrated first BattleTech 'Mech and vehicle TROs and practically defined the visual aspect of the game. Now he is cooperating on HBS BattleTech.
  
• Argo Dropship - finally a home base that is more than a few Mechlab screens
  
• Hiring 'Mech Aces such as Grayson Carlyle, Natasha Kerensky or Morgan Kell
  
• Solaris 7 with Tournaments, Leagues and Leaderboards, or just with casual PvP games
  
• Meeting and Fighting Various Elite House and Mercenary Units such as Sword of Light, Eridani Light Horse or Black Widow Company
  
• Physical Attacks - Jordan Weisman's favorite 'Mech is the Hatchetman and he said that "You can't have a proper BattleTech game without physical attacks."

So ... yes ... HBS version will have a LOT to offer that MWO just does not. Does that mean people can't play both? No. People still will. But whales in particular, tend to go all-in on something ... and whatever that something is WILL take a majority of their play time. So while you may not see a huge reduction in the NUMBER of people playing, you will see a big reduction in the amount of TIME and MONEY that those people spend on MWO. Neither of which is good for a game with the limited player-base that it already has.

[The Lobsters]

Battletech is Sean Connery Bond. Mechwarrior is Pierce Brosnan Bond.

..and MWO is Goldeneye on the nintendo.

[Chuanhao]

Why is MWO not Battletech.

I have had a lot of fun just piloting the different mechs in their unique cockpits which are all customized to the specific area of where the head is supposed to be.

And is MWO4 any better in the LORE sense? SInce they felt it necessary to invent many new mechs like Uziel etc when there was already a very extensive back catalogue?

Sure PGI took some liberties. Nothing stopping players from "sticking" to LORE mechs instead of meta-ing them.

Did Mech Assault "steal" a lot of the audience from MWO? HBS and MWO are so different in the game play. So yes, player numbers will drop a bit. but between live action and "turn-based" duels in HBS, I prefer the former.

[BattleBunny]

I never had any affinity with BT , I just like the mechwarrior PC games. Life is simpler without baggage

[Motroid]

The Lobsters, on 16 October 2016 - 07:12 AM, said:

Battletech is Sean Connery Bond. Mechwarrior is Pierce Brosnan Bond.

..and MWO is Goldeneye on the nintendo.

You do know that Rares Goldeneye on Nintendo 64 is one of the most successful FPS EVER created? (I think it's about 7 millions copies sold iirc, easy to dig this up)
So the comparison of MWO and Goldeneye on N64 boggles my mind...

[Angel of Annihilation]

I am late to the party, but I said way back in closed beta that this game wasn't Mechwarrior, rather it is called Robowars Online and that they were plagiarizing the names and general look of the mechs used in Battletech and Mechwarrior and that about sums it up.

I mean seriously, how can anyone feel this is Battletech or Mechwarrior, when Clan Omnimechs are less customizable than IS battlemechs and Clan 2nd line Battlemechs are more powerful that 1st Line Omnimechs.

[dervishx5]

Like when you're spending time with your extended family it's good to pretend MWO is something else. I put on the Timothy Seals, down a beer (or six), and pretend I'm an evil Clanner destroying the farm of an inbred freebirth:

Eventually reality comes back, I realize what I've done, and I violently smash my computer to stop it from happening ever again.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

dervishx5, on 16 October 2016 - 09:33 AM, said:

Like when you're spending time with your extended family it's good to pretend MWO is something else. I put on the Timothy Seals, down a beer (or six), and pretend I'm an evil Clanner destroying the farm of an inbred freebirth:

Eventually reality comes back, I realize what I've done, and I violently smash my computer to stop it from happening ever again.

Dont feel bad... Those ostrich had it coming!

[Spheroid]

@Viktor: Before the decision to collapse all the buckets I worked out a good self balancing logistics system that I felt would have dealt with that problem.

All factions have a combination of great mechs and lemons with define their character. If people are in any way motivated by money they would be affected by this system. The payout for taking a Kodiak would be subject to a "dishonor" penalty since it is not the preferred mech choice over an Omni. There would also be a faction penalty as it is the Bear's ride exclusively. However in lore it is described as a garrison mech, so perhaps the penalty would be lifted while on defense. Omni mechs could further have a pod penalty the further you deviate from that faction's preferred 8/8 loadout.

The power balance would not be equal but as more of a factions terriority is lost the payout for continuing to attack would approach zero as a percentage of initial territory gained or lost. It doesn't matter if the interfaction power balance is off, it only affects how soon you reach an attack/counter attack equilibrium where most of battles are against rainbow pugs and your equipment choice matters little.

This system could work in place of population balance or in hand with it depending on how severe the modifiers are made.


Clan signature mechs

Wolf
Adder
Ice Ferret
Nova
Timber Wolf
Gargoyle
Orion IIC
Direwolf

Jade Falcon
Kit Fox
Hellbringer
Summoner
Night Gyr

Smoke Jaguars
Mist Lynx
Shadowcat
Huntsman
Stormcrow
Mad Dog
Ebon Jaguar
Warhawk
Direwolf

Ghostbear
Viper
Nova-C?
Mad Dog-C
Executioner
Kodiak

Kurita
Spider
Jenner
Panther
Phoenixhawk-K
Wolverine-K
Shadowhawk-K
Kintaro
Dragon
Victor-K
Mauler
Atlas-K

Davion
Locust-1E
Blackjack
Centurion
Trebuchet?
Enforcer
Shadowhawk
Wolverine-D
Jagermech
Rifleman
Warhammer-7D
Marauder-5D
Victor
Atlas

Liao
Locust
Raven
Urbanmech
Vindicator
Quickdraw
Catapult
Cataphract
Highlander

Marik
Locust-1M/3M
Cicada
Trebuchet
Shadowhawk
Griffin-3M
Quickdraw?
Grasshopper
Marauder-5M
Orion
Awesome
Stalker
Banshee

Steiner
Commando
Firerstarter
Wolfhound
Phoenix Hawk-S
Griffin
Zeus
Banshee
Atlas

I.S. General
all others
heroes = revenue modifier neutral per faction

Edited by Spheroid, 16 October 2016 - 10:28 AM.

[Ghogiel]

The Lobsters, on 16 October 2016 - 07:12 AM, said:

..and MWO is Goldeneye on the nintendo.

No way. Goldeneye was one of the best mid 90s era game.

[dervishx5]

Ghogiel, on 16 October 2016 - 09:42 AM, said:

No way. Goldeneye was one of the best mid 90s era game.

Only because we had nothing else like it. Take off your nostalgia goggles. Go back and play it again. It didn't age nearly as well as something like Mario Kart 64 which is still just as fun.

Still... be sure to walk through that door I placed all those proximity mines on. Or would you prefer slappers only?

Edited by dervishx5, 16 October 2016 - 09:45 AM.

[Weeny Machine]

Novakaine, on 15 October 2016 - 04:14 PM, said:

Why?
So this can turn into just another online shooter.
Which by the way it's not to far from it now.
However PGI is in it's own world right now and has no need to look beyond it.
That is until 2017 and the great whale migration begins.
I'd imagine then and only then will they wake up.
And probably to late.
Just plain sad.

Haven't they woken up already? I think that is a fair question because (that is just now my opinion):

• it seems they just try to milk the game as much as possible (mechpack after mechpack) without adding really anything
  
• they seem to work on a new project/game

In a way, they seem to realize that they dropped the ball and move on to greener pastures.

[DAYLEET]

Green Mamba, on 15 October 2016 - 04:03 PM, said:

Agreed its not

http://www.sarna.net...hWarrior_Online


[color=#000000]MWO does not meet the current criteria for [/color]canon[color=#000000] for the BattleTech universe. As an official product with a valid license, it can be regarded as [/color]apocryphal[color=#000000].[/color]

"However, in 2016 then-Line Developer Randall N. Bills overruled this to an extent when he expressly stated^[2] that the fluff provided for MWO's Hero 'Mechs was fully canonical for BattleTech. Mind that this technically only applies to the text, not to the visual appearance or game stats."

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

dervishx5, on 16 October 2016 - 09:45 AM, said:

Only because we had nothing else like it. Take off your nostalgia goggles. Go back and play it again. It didn't age nearly as well as something like Mario Kart 64 which is still just as fun.

Still... be sure to walk through that door I placed all those proximity mines on. Or would you prefer slappers only?

Ok... Who picked Oddjob??? And stop using sticky mines!!! Thats just rude!