s0da72, on 25 November 2016 - 10:02 AM, said:
They've talked about a new turn based game coming out that uses mech's from this game, but I don't see how that's going to improve mechwarrior online. If it was a real time stategy game like mech commander I might be interested, but not really in a turn based game.
That's a completely different game being developed by a completely different developer.
http://battletechgame.com/
s0da72, on 25 November 2016 - 10:02 AM, said:
What is everyones expectations for this upcomming mechcon? I see a lot of comments mentioning that it is a make or break for them. I only know of a couple things PGI has mentioned over the last 6 months, maybe I've missed something. They mentioned something about a new skill system being added. I expect them to give dates as well as detailed info on changes. They also talked about adding 'buckets' to FW, basically updating the queue system. A year and a half late, but ok sounds like a step in the right direction although there are still many issues that go beyond that. What else? They mentioned something about a change to the assualt game mode in QP. This one has my attention, I'm hoping they are going share some information on this. If I hear they are adding new and improved turrets back in, I must say I will be disappointed. Am I missing anything?
Well never say never, but I think anyone that is expecting some big change to be announced at mechcon is going to come away disappointed.
I agree. Anybody that expected to be uplifted by Mechcon is going to come away disappointed. What could they possibly announce?
New mechs? Even if Russ comes out and straight up says he was wrong about quads, and they announce a pair of quad mechs, which have completely new movement characteristics from other mechs, something which is quite an undertaking for the programmers and animators involved, it's basically the most new and innovative thing they could bring to the game in terms of mechs... even then, they're still just mechs. Anything less than quads... are still just mechs. So mechs isn't the answer here.
New tech? Timeline skip? Sure, but we still have the Balance Overlord at the top, who has the development cycle of a slug freeze-dried in salt water. So any new tech is just potentially a balancing back-ache that will remain a problem for months upon months before it gets adjusted, and then in the wrong direction.
New maps? Sure, that would be lovely, but we know PGI's mapping schedule. Approximately one every two months on average. So there can't be very many in the works. So if it's maps, it's going to have to be a great departure from the norm. Perhaps two or three CW maps that aren't just funnel through the gates and fight at the hotspots around the orbital gun. Perhaps four or five Solaris maps, in similar vein to the 1v1, 2v2, and 4v4 TestMaps, but finished and polished. So that would be nice, but it's still just maps. We'll need more than that to come out of MechCon not thinking MehCon.
New gamemodes? That's nothing to be excited about. We know PGI's playtesting is bottom of the barrel. Any game mode they develop will likely be very flawed. Remember the introduction of Domination? And the decision to have Conquest only win on cap timeout? Or the idea floating around the Assault mode wasn't over until the base is capped? Adding turrets and towers to Assault mode so that people just avoid the bases and play it like Skirmish anyways? Remove the turrets from Assault mode so that people just whine about cap races? Invasion mode where the best way to win is to ignore mechs and just bumrush the generators... to the point where PGI had to move all the generators to be right next to each other thus turning the whole gamemode into essentially Domination with a 30 minute timer? Counter-Attack where the field base basically doesn't matter? 4v4 Scouting where the only mechs worth taking are the heaviest ones available, and people who take lights to try to play the objective get ridiculed for being no skill cowards that refuse to fight? Yeah, gamemodes aren't PGI's strong suit, so there's nothing new at Mechcon they could announce that would be really worth getting excited for.
New engine? Sure, they could announce that they're working on the next Cryengine version, or rebuilding on Unreal, but that doesn't mean the game is going to get any better. It's still going to be the same maps, same mechs, same gamemodes, same queue times, same imbalances... so that's not worth getting excited for. Especially when you consider that the move robs PGI of time to develop actual *new* features.
Reworked CW logistics? Moving dropships around the Innersphere, garrisoning planets with mechs, each unit getting it's own territory to build from, like it is in World of Tanks (or NetBattleTech or MWO:Proxis), unit vs. unit scheduled battles, MRBC rated units (the lore MRBC, not the 3rd party league), very competitive atmosphere. That all sounds great. But it would be a lot of the same stuff that we already heard from Bryan Eckman in 2013, so... not really new. And we don't even have faith anymore in PGI to accomplish something with this much sophistication and make people happy, so... no, this can't be what's worth being excited for.
Solaris? Well, rumours are floating around that Solaris is getting pushed back and ain't happening any time soon. But sure, it could be Solaris. But how are they gonna do it? 1v1 only? FFA-only? 8v8 only? If it's only a single one of those options, then it will flop. If it's all of those, without also adding too many buckets, then it has promise. But how long will it take? If it's not happening soon, then it's nothing really worth being excited for.
VR? Meh. This isn't a space game. It doesn't work that well here, it's just a gimmick - one that's already wearing off.
AI, possibly Co-op vs AI, or single-player campaign? We'll be excited for it when development is complete and it's all working. But they would really need to show us that it's going to be expansive and engaging. No PGI, I didn't say expensive and enraging.
I guess we're in a world where nobody knows what a rabbit is, and we're all just collectively waiting for PGI to pull a rabbit out of its hat. So I guess no... there's not really any expectations. That's the only good thing Mechcon has going for it... because at least it can't disappoint us if we're not expecting much out of the announcements.
Now if PGI announced that they hired a new team of
experienced, successful, and acknowledged programmers and designers to lead the team from henceforth, that would turn some heads in a positive direction. But we know the folks at PGI are too egotistical to back down and let a new team have the reins. Lot of good guys 'n gals working at PGI, but a lot of poor direction at the top. Changing that status quo is the only thing that would excite me at this point.
Edited by Tarogato, 25 November 2016 - 11:06 AM.
9
but this may be why he does not post on the forums for a primarily USA audience.
