5 replies to this topic

[I_AM_ZUUL]

I came up with idea yesterday in what was unquestionably the worst day of playing Mechwarrior I've ever experienced. I fully expect to be banned at 10:05 Pacific time, so I call well over 90% of the games I play (and I play way too much everyday.)

While there's a Report button for people to use on me when I give a running commentary about why the team is going to lose & then talk **** when they do (which I probably shouldn't do but I love "I told you so" too much), there's no Upvote button for people who like me calling the match to victory. Right now, I just gets lots of Thanks & Friend Requests but that doesn't counter all the people who report me when I call them terrible and explain in excruciating detail why their play is bad. So... During a day that I'm certain is going to get me banned I also received the most friend requests from other players I have in a single day. I usually expect 2-4 friend requests a day but yesterday I got over 10 throughout the day.

What I noticed is that when I was in a team of pugs with someone who has dropped with me before and would support my calls with encouragement, those teams predominantly followed them and we easily won. Which allowed me to realize that there needs to be some kind of Feature that can function in a similar manner, a demonstration that my words should be trusted because others have shown that they trusted my words.

This is a team based game... and the game as no mechanisms for showing that. It is not a First Person Shooter, Its a strategic game about movement. It's chess with the added fun of the pieces shooting at each other, not Call of Duty or Titanfall 2. People need to function as Team not independently with others that are nominally on the same side but are fundamentally irrelevant how each player interacts with his/her teammates.

Course this could just be a selfish idea so I don't get banned in comparison to all the good that I do since there's only a Report button for people to use which I find to be very unfair. Look forward to reading your comments on this topic.

Nathan

[Mister Bob Dobalina]

To rephrase it, so I get it right:

• You are a very good and skilled player.
  
• You feel like a lot of people don't get how good you are.
  
• Nevertheless a lot of people admire you and ask for your friendship and to play under your guidance.
  
• Some people don't follow your guidance, a fact you comment on immediatly and thoroughly.
  
• You remind those people intensively, upon their expected failure, that you were right all along.
  
• You really like commenting and reminding and do it extensively
  
• You feel treated unfair, because they can easily sanction you by reporting you for something you feel is perfectly ok and is your right to do so, because you actually are always right.
  
• You want to have some kind of marking that shows you as of superior commanding skill and therefore to be followed and trusted by default.
  
• You want this marking to elevate you from reportability.

It has quite the element of upvote/downvote in it: If I have enough upvotes, I could counter the downvotes.

I don't know what happened in the mentioned match that you think you might get banned, but I always was under the impression that it must be really really bad that they would ban you just because of one game (racism etc.). By my estimate PGI would rather look into the history of multiple reportings of multiple matches.

To be honest, I am **** at the wheel of a Mech. I don't aim for parts, I am happy if I hit it at all. I try to listen what someone tells me, but if 2 or 3 are giving contradicting commands, I am usually in "on my own" mode. If they start to discuss if they go left, right, middle or not at all for 4 (!) min, I am out (day before yesterday, Frozen City). To win me over, you would have to lead by example, give clear, tight and precise commands, listen to incoming reports and guide respectively. Just today I made a post in the german forums about one in my unit that I really admire for his style. Yes, he tears me a new one when I **** up. But he is never disrespectfull, in fact he is right. And I kick my own *** for it. Imho, a leader who can convince those not already following him/her in droves, is a great leader. You don't have to kiss their asses. If they frag up, tell them.

French saying: C'est le temps qui fait la musique. (It's the tone that makes the music)
German saying: Wie Du in den Wald schreist, so schallt es hinaus. (They way you scream into the woods, it's gonna scream back)

Sorry for the long post.
Here's potato chips:

[I_AM_ZUUL]

I am very good at moving the pieces around the board since I've been doing it for 2 decades. In MWO the boards are all the same and I've played them all extensively, it's still a strategic table top game at its core even if we are playing dynamically in our independent mechs. The game is won or lost within the first two minutes of the matches inat least 80% of games, this is a very simple game tactically. But none of that is made clear to new players, they seem to think that its a FPS & the game actually rewards people who play what I consider cancer mechs (Raven-3L, ACH-P, CDA-3M, Poke Bears) all these techs that are totally irrelevant to the the team. That's a completely seperate issue (just deleted 2 paragraphs of that rant.)

I would like a way for people who know how to move the pieces around the board to get credit for doing that, making it better for everyone playing. I personally love it when someone takes charge and calls the game, that way I can just shoot mechs and have fun. But "being good" at shooting just means lucky dice rolls to me, since very rarely is a game of Battletech won solely off dice rolls. MWO is the same thing, it's not very relevant how "good" you are until you get to high level competitive play. For new players and PUGs in general, teamwork itself is OP. Helping people realize that is what I'm suggesting.

[Mister Bob Dobalina]

I think that a commanding position might need much more tools to overview the battlefield during a game and not just a few gadgets more on the command wheel. I was thinking of something like this:

• there would be a incentive for successfull command actions (when the command role has been aquired of course), just like e.g. "Lights protected" etc.
  
• if you collect a certain amount on this "command counter", you could flag your account as "Leader". Such a leader would enter a drop as the 13th man, being able to hop into every cockpit as observer, being able to talk to an individual, lance or company.
  
• he would have a more detailed map and more tools to mark and direct indivual pilots.
  
• all in all he would be a Mech Commander.

At a certain point the direct involvement of a company commander directly into battle will affect his ability to keep oversight and act as strategically as you would like to do so.

As I said, just a proposal.

Being aware of what's happening (base is captured and no one reacts, a light sneaking up to a fellow teammate and nobody cares or warnes etc.) is mandatory for everyone. We all were noobs (or still are ;-) ) so I would like to see many good players cutting them some slack. I've witnessed quite often self proclaimed "masters" ranting down on new players for making mistakes instead of empowering them with tips and calm explanation. If we can motivate them to want to do it better, we have better teammates. If I am constantly being yelled at, my motivation to follow such pilots sinks to zero. Luckily, ever so often, I see the other side as well. And, as I have said before, I am very lucky to have such dudes in my unit.

[BigScwerl]

When you're pugging, you're pugging. Nobody wants to listen to someone whining about how much they know and complaining about losing. I've played two games with you and they were both excruciating, profanity filled whine-rants from a dude in a ACH that spent the whole match hiding and poking (that was you, champ). Either you take the time to teach a MW academy to every nerb that downloads the game, or you don't get to complain.

I guess the tier system is what it is - PGI isn't making any bold changes or adding any pieces about tactics in the tutorial. Sometimes you get stuck with a bunch of new players. If you want a good team drop, link up with your Unit, or all of the friends you supposedly have.

I only expect to have good team drops when I play with my unit or with players I know. Otherwise, you are rolling the dice.... some of the pugs might not even speak English or have speakers.

I don't normally make a habit of trolling players on forums on Friday nights, but I am sick with the flu and your incredibly irritating and non-constructive behavior tonight really got me going.

[I_AM_ZUUL]

BigScwerl, on 02 December 2016 - 11:21 PM, said:

When you're pugging, you're pugging. Nobody wants to listen to someone whining about how much they know and complaining about losing. I've played two games with you and they were both excruciating, profanity filled whine-rants from a dude in a ACH that spent the whole match hiding and poking (that was you, champ). Either you take the time to teach a MW academy to every nerb that downloads the game, or you don't get to complain.

I guess the tier system is what it is - PGI isn't making any bold changes or adding any pieces about tactics in the tutorial. Sometimes you get stuck with a bunch of new players. If you want a good team drop, link up with your Unit, or all of the friends you supposedly have.

I only expect to have good team drops when I play with my unit or with players I know. Otherwise, you are rolling the dice.... some of the pugs might not even speak English or have speakers.

I don't normally make a habit of trolling players on forums on Friday nights, but I am sick with the flu and your incredibly irritating and non-constructive behavior tonight really got me going.

have to master even the Mechs i dont like... still playing cheetahs with 3 MPL and staying with the Group not being ERLL run off in corner cancer. then you can attest that i gave very clear orders on what to do At The Very Beginning of the match for each Lance.... and if was so horrible then just as clearly, none of my commands were followed, the team scattered, and we got roll stomped as i detailed what everyone did wrong to cause the TEAM to lose. Acceptance is the first step in getting better... there are plenty of matches which are lost entirely off the basis that Charlie Lance goes the wrong way around an obstacle at the spawn point and wastes 45 seconds. but no one else seems to be talking about things that fundamentally basic... that giving up your opening 3 moves can create such a strategic advantage for the enemy team that it becomes insurmountable unless the enemy also does really bad positioning.