22 replies to this topic

[Alex Morgaine]

I will agree quirks can't just be removed.
But.... There needs to be since way to readjust stats closer to tt values for when 3055+ tech stats trickling in, or we'll have erml with 4 heat and... 5 heat erml :/, cause no one will grab standard ml outside desperation.

[I_AM_ZUUL]

fat4eyes, on 14 April 2017 - 05:46 PM, said:

Change for the sake of change is not an inherently bad thing, because the world outside MWO is constantly changing. New games cone out, expected graphical standard go up, new gameplay mechanics come out. MWO has to compete in this ever-changing environment, and staying still is a more certain way to fail than taking a chance and changing something. And there's the novelty factor too. You have to keep things fresh to keep people interested, because if you don't other online games will be happy to provide an alternative.

The clan advantage with the skill system is valid, but that can be fixed with faction specific skill values (eg defense for IS gives larger bonuses than clan). There's always a way to fix things, but if you don't even try we'll never find out.

You are like a pen without a point, that is the VERY REASON that change for the sake of change is a garbage concept. Is the graphical quality going up... Nope! Is the game going to be more optimized... Nope! Is it going to get unto a better game engine like Unreal... Nope! Is the tech imbalances going to be addressed... Nope & Clan gets even stronger while IS gets nerfed!!!!!!!!

The Skill Maze was atrociously implemented and poorly thought out, all the failures of InfoWar implementation (that is something that should be brought back to be tested properly with full detailed explanations beforehand) & all the poorly thought out changes that Energy Draw had to the effect upon the game (Skill Maze is so bad that I think that Energy Draw would have been better.) The "cost" was the least offensive and least important part of the utter failure that the Skill Maze was going to do... maybe they improved it but since it is being released for testing in a week instead of 2 months then any meaningful change is far too highly unlikely for me to have any faith that version 3 will be any better than the past 2 dumpster fires have been.

[Insanity09]

Having not seen it, I cannot comment directly, however...

It worries me that folks are calling it the "Skill Maze", that makes it sound overly complicated. Complex can be a good thing, but more often it is just obtuse.

Part 1. Quirks and the Un-quirkening?
Theoretically, quirks were added to shore up weak mechs. (Correct me if I'm wrong.)
The benefit to a quirked mech was that it was immediately more competitive (in some cases, overly so). To outright remove those quirks is an obvious mistake.
Even if the new skill system gives some sort of benefit to mechs that were previously quirked up, it is a benefit that must be gradually bought. This is, maybe, fine for mechs on which you have lots of xp floating around (previously mastered, etc.), but for skilling up a new mech? Or for new players? Hell. (I submit that a goal of this game, any game, should be to be approachable and attractive to new players. What I've been seeing described in this aspect is not.)

Part 2. What is the skill system for anyhow?
So, I've not seen an authoritative goal statement on this from PGI, if someone can point me to one I'd be grateful.
From what little bits and blurbs I have seen, it seems the intent is dual, though related.
One, shore up certain facets of the mech that you want, individualizing it to your tastes. So, if you want a tankier mech, you spec for that giving extra armor/structure. You want more mobility or speed, you put points into that. And so forth. To some degree, this is setting up each of your mechs for a specific role.
Two, specialization of build as far as weapon load out, i.e. enhancing the performance of whatever weapons you specifically want to use. The second part is all about the offense.

Basically, many of the things the current skills do, combined with the current quirks.
So, the question I have for those who have actually seen and/or played with the new skill method is simply whether it achieves those two goals?
If yes, even if it does it poorly, it is just a matter of tweaking, tuning, and streamlining.
If no, then foundational changes are clearly called for in the proposed system.
(If I've misconstrued the goals, then... well, that depends on how)