12 replies to this topic

[Big Tin Man]

We went from having mechs unlock some level of aptitude for free to needing a c-bill sink to do it.

Why not make purchasing unlock nodes a tiered cost?

Adjust the numbers as you will, this is simply an example:
0-10 100XP/ea
10-20 300XP/ea
20-30 800XP/ea
30-40 1,200XP/ea
40-50 2,000XP/ea + 100,000k cbills
50-60 3,000XP/ea + 150,000k cbills
etc

Balance it so it's still the same overall amount of XP and cbills to unlock all 91 points. This would keep many things the same as we currently have and allow people to experiment with different builds early while they're still feeling out a mech without costing them a lot of cbills. By the time you're hitting the last 30 points, you should know what role you want the mech to fill.

Leave respec alone at 25k per redo. That sounds fair for now.

Edited by Big Tin Man, 08 February 2017 - 09:46 PM.

[Kuaron]

I like the general idea!

At least introducing such sort of progression for the CB part would be much closer to what difference we have now between playing with skills only and with expensive modules in addition.

[Ori Disciple]

I'm cool with having the skill unlocks having different costs for each "tier" of unlock.

[Big Tin Man]

yeah.... I get that the "Rule of 3" for mech purchase is gone, but to force new players to spend an additional 5,000,000 on a mech just to make it functional is awful for new players. The first 50 unlocks need to be XP only.

[Admiral Brad]

I agree this would be nice, the three mech system cost me 22 million to get my first three Hunchback IICs and master them(no modules). Making the Early levels 'free' would allow you to do similar, but with any three chassis you want, while still forcing you to pay for the full maxed out model.

Although I do feel making the old modules and the weapon trees cost money, say a quarter or half million depending on the node, with the rest free would do the same. You could theoretically get all free nodes and then pay to respec for pay-nodes as cbills allow. It would also encourage changing configs more as cost would be manageable.

[GenJack]

This is a good idea.

[Sarsaparilla Kid]

My thought in another thread was that Mech XP previously earned should not have a C-bill cost just to reapply the same XP to purchase skill points. Your idea accomplishes that for the first so many points and then ratchets up after that. I'd be okay with that too...I just don't think it's right to charge C-bills for something we had already earned and applied to our mechs previously.

[Big Tin Man]

Sarsaparilla Kid, on 08 February 2017 - 10:46 PM, said:

My thought in another thread was that Mech XP previously earned should not have a C-bill cost just to reapply the same XP to purchase skill points. Your idea accomplishes that for the first so many points and then ratchets up after that. I'd be okay with that too...I just don't think it's right to charge C-bills for something we had already earned and applied to our mechs previously.

This doesn't help out the new players. There should be a number of unlocks that could (in theory) provide the same benefit of the old basics + elite on a mech, and that many nodes should unlock with XP only. Beyond that, you're pushing into module territory and that's where cbills should kick in.

I tossed out 40 as a guess at where that point was at. 9.1 million feels fine for overall cost of getting everything, as that is far less than a mech with radar derp, seismic, and 2 weapon modules (16 million, but you can move them).

[Luscious Dan]

Good point for new accounts, having to spend their meager C-bills on skill increases when they can't afford the necessary equipment upgrades is just an additional burden.

And having a PTS account loaded with MC/C-bills you might miss this problem.

[Taliesen Nightshade]

What if you got some skills unlocked (along with C-Bills) for completing courses in the training grounds, that way New players could get skills along with C-Bills and the training grounds will now mean something instead of just an after thought.

[Flashover23]

This is a GOOD START on fixing the rat f**k the tree is.

I am wondering how to get CLOSE to what I have for a SDR-5D build, because 91 SP won't get me the current Mastered Skill Unlocks I have, plus Radar Dep, Seismic, and MPL modules.

My mech is going to have an extra Jump Jet hole in its rear CT after getting screwed this hard.

Edited by Flashover23, 09 February 2017 - 11:41 AM.

[Sarsaparilla Kid]

Big Tin Man, on 09 February 2017 - 08:40 AM, said:

This doesn't help out the new players. There should be a number of unlocks that could (in theory) provide the same benefit of the old basics + elite on a mech, and that many nodes should unlock with XP only. Beyond that, you're pushing into module territory and that's where cbills should kick in.

I tossed out 40 as a guess at where that point was at. 9.1 million feels fine for overall cost of getting everything, as that is far less than a mech with radar derp, seismic, and 2 weapon modules (16 million, but you can move them).

After going through clicking all the nodes for the heat, speed and other mobility skills that we got under the current basic/elite skill tree, it's about 60 nodes that we would need to get those skills back. Beyond that, you'd have 31 left to focus on pilot/module type skills. So, 40 is a bit low, in my opinion, as it only gets us 2/3rds of the way back to where we were before the skill tree changes.

[Big Tin Man]

Sarsaparilla Kid, on 09 February 2017 - 08:31 PM, said:

After going through clicking all the nodes for the heat, speed and other mobility skills that we got under the current basic/elite skill tree, it's about 60 nodes that we would need to get those skills back. Beyond that, you'd have 31 left to focus on pilot/module type skills. So, 40 is a bit low, in my opinion, as it only gets us 2/3rds of the way back to where we were before the skill tree changes.

Starting the charges about 2/3rds of the way through might be about right. There is a savings from not needing to buy 2 additional mechs to hit the old elite tier, so asking for 2 million (6 across 3 chassis) to unlock the 'elite' level doesn't sound that bad from a high level cbill standpoint.