104 replies to this topic

[Reza Malin]

No more rule of 3, no more module swapping, tailoring mechs to play to their strengths.

Loving it.

The more i play it, the less i see any downsides.

Thoughts? (beyond, "waaah, i have to reskill 100 mechs", because so do i)

[Kaptain]

Agreed. I have also found that I am able to buff ok Mechs to be play better to their strengths also. The only thing I don't like is that near useless modules like hill climb and speed retention were not buffed before becoming part of skill tree.

[LordNothing]

the game is better for the tree and im putting this down as one of the more positive changes pgi has made.

[El Bandito]

Right, and despite some people had dramatically declared to leave the game, the population did not see any noticeable decrease in the first 10 days after the ST change (pre-current event).

https://steamdb.info.../342200/graphs/

Edited by El Bandito, 29 May 2017 - 11:30 AM.

[Imperius]

100 ton assaults are in a bad spot because of torso twist... let's not forget.

[Foxfire kadrpg]

Wasn't the skill tree itself that made it 'bad', but the confusing, clunky, UI that introduced it without proper explaination. PGI is doing well on game performance, but they... really... ought to try and get someone to work on their interfaces.

[ForceUser]

Foxfire kadrpg, on 29 May 2017 - 11:59 AM, said:

Wasn't the skill tree itself that made it 'bad', but the confusing, clunky, UI that introduced it without proper explaination. PGI is doing well on game performance, but they... really... ought to try and get someone to work on their interfaces.

Their patch notes was very well put out and very clear and accurate. It is not PGI's fault people can't be arsed to read the patch notes.

[JC Daxion]

Imperius, on 29 May 2017 - 11:38 AM, said:

100 ton assaults are in a bad spot because of torso twist... let's not forget.

have you played an atlas? I've never done better in them. They tank like champs.

[Spheroid]

Really you can't think of any downsides? How about reduced mech variety on the battlefield. Given enough time only about half a dozen mech variants out of three hundred will be seen at all.

Also I would argue that the new business model is harmful to the bottom line. What exactly is going to make up the difference in revenue? Clan heroes? LOL. I predict fewer mechbay sales as well.

Server costs are real, office rental and taxes are real. Reducing the ability to meet these expenses brings the end of the game sooner had the three mech model system remained. As they are a privately held company though the owners can do as they see fit sadly.

Edited by Spheroid, 29 May 2017 - 12:10 PM.

[Scyther]

I agree that they need to keep an eye on the bottom line and ensure that there are still decent monetization options since no more 'rule of 3' means potentially less interest in the same types of mech packs they have been selling. In fact I've been saying for years that they need more and better monetization options, period, but oh well.

As for how the changes have felt, mostly positive. The skill tree gives me a bit more to do other than drop endlessly into 'team deathmatch' (which gets pretty old frankly after 3,000 drops or so). At least until everything is skilled out it does. It also means that I can try an experiment or two I would never have considered before by setting up specific mechs with niche builds supported by the skill tree.

On the other hand, I had acquired a KDK-3 a month or so ago, and had just started to see what it could do when engine de-sync chopped its' speed and twist very significantly. It was looking like a fun mech before, it's very very low on my list of mechs to play now. I suppose someday I will find a role for it - yet another slow tanky mech just wasn't what I bought it for (I have plenty of those).

It may well have been OP before and needed the agility taken from it, not saying it was a wrong move. Just that not all mechs are coming up roses and sunshine with the new tree.

And of course as others have pointed out, 'more new stuff' does tend to highlight the fact that whoever handles PGI's UI design could use a bit more inspiration or dev-hours or an actual desk to work at or something...

Edited by MadBadger, 29 May 2017 - 12:18 PM.

[Skanderborg]

Im enjoying the laser duation reductions for my clan weapons. The ER-LS is a lot more usable now even with just .15 seconds taken off , and the ER-M is under a second now. I've noticed a lot more meaningful damage being put out than before.

I seem to be enjoying my dire wolf more to , any extra quirk helps where it had none before. It drives the same with the engine de-sync and im used to driving 100 tonners anyway.

Edited by Skanderborg, 29 May 2017 - 12:29 PM.

[Tarogato]

I spent three hours last night skilling mechs and double-checking and fixing some of the mechs I skilled the first day it launched because I did some of them incorrectly. By the time I was done, I hadn't played a single match, and I didn't want to play the game anymore.

So no...

I'm not enjoying it. And I never will. It's an annoying min-maxing time sink. Actually 100% a waste of time.

Edited by Tarogato, 29 May 2017 - 12:36 PM.

[Bud Crue]

Tarogato, on 29 May 2017 - 12:34 PM, said:

I spent three hours last night skilling mechs and double-checking and fixing some of the mechs I skilled the first day it launch because I did some of them incorrectly. By the time I was done, I hadn't played a single match, and I didn't want to play the game anymore.

So no...

I'm not enjoying it. And I never will.

I lack the skill for most of the node choices to really affect me unless I max just a few attributes. So what do I do...exactly that, everytime. To me the ST is just a means to make me and other terribads spend time and effort on an aspect of the game that is largely irrelevant. It is a mechanism that interferes with play. It is chore to engage in because we convince ourselves it matters. And it is an awful UI.

[Burke IV]

I think its terrible. It belongs in civilization not a first person shooter.

[Ted Wayz]

Reza Malin, on 29 May 2017 - 11:08 AM, said:

No more rule of 3, no more module swapping, tailoring mechs to play to their strengths.

Loving it.

The more i play it, the less i see any downsides.

Thoughts? (beyond, "waaah, i have to reskill 100 mechs", because so do i)

Well it seems other see downsides.

But tell me, do you think the game is funded by good feelings? People hate the rule of three but it helped fund the game.

I like playing the game where I shoot robots, not where is that skill I want and how do I get to it. Especially to end up exactly where my mech was before the tree.

But you can fund the game for us. I mean you like it so much you will spend more right?

Edited by Ted Wayz, 29 May 2017 - 03:16 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Reza Malin, on 29 May 2017 - 11:08 AM, said:

No more rule of 3, no more module swapping, tailoring mechs to play to their strengths.

Loving it.

The more i play it, the less i see any downsides.

Thoughts? (beyond, "waaah, i have to reskill 100 mechs", because so do i)

I fully agree.

I won't deny, especially for those who skipped the PTS, or weren't paying attention and got caught unawares.... this is probably pretty overwhelming. I can sympathize with that.... and I admit, re-skilling several hundred mechs? Not fun, overall.

Thing is.... how many of those mechs are we actually using? So why be in a rush to Skill them? I found by simply focusing on the mechs I do plan on using immediately, or on mechs I had a build idea to try out on.... it's no big deal. And once you actually stest and skill a couple mechs, I find I can usually knock out the full 91 in 5-10 minutes.

On top of that... I get to tweak and customize my mechs for different roles, and am seeing several under performers from yore actually show new life. Mind you, am also finding some to be pretty harshly neutered (Spirit Bear, Summoner, are two I've encountered so far), so it ain't perfect, but on the whole, I'd mark it as a win.

[PurplePuke]

Skill tree is quick and easy to use. Clickety-clickety-click! Mech done, off to play.

Whiners gonna whine.

Gain a few more xp, click click, mech done, off to play.

Whiners gonna whine.

Fun specing my mechs the way I want.

Whiners gonna whine, only now some of them are whining that the Skill Tree is bad because they're concerned about PGI's bottom line. ( !!! )

Whiners gonna whine. Forever and ever more, whiners will whine.

[Foxfire kadrpg]

ForceUser, on 29 May 2017 - 12:01 PM, said:

Their patch notes was very well put out and very clear and accurate. It is not PGI's fault people can't be arsed to read the patch notes.

This is a solid point, and its always good to be updated on changes. However, as time continues on, 'how to use the skill point system' is not going to be a constant page and a half in every subsequent patch note. This means [hopefully] new players are going to be trying to wrap their heads around the UI in the game, rather than having it explained to them in an external link.

[Mechteric]

Mostly agree, just wish they had gone with 50 skill points to master (with appropriate increase in per node %) rather than a whopping 91.

[Ruar]

Played a bunch over the weekend finally since I was out of town for nearly a month and couldn't play.

I'm still undecided on how I feel about the tree effects in game. I absolutely dislike the web design of the tree and I think there are much better ways to implement a tree design, but that's not really what you are asking.

I like that rule of three is gone, but that's also not tied to the new tree.

I like that I don't have to module swap. I didn't realize just how annoying that was until I don't have to do it anymore.

I don't like that I have to start a mech without radar dep when before I could throw it right on. Yes there is GXP but I don't like using that for any new mech I decide to play.

I can customize my mechs some, but I feel like there are certain skills that are a requirement still and I have to take them in order to be competitive. Radar dep, speed tweak, and the bulk of the mobility tree are getting unlocked on all of my mechs. In the end I have about 20 or so free skill points I can spend to actually customize. Laser duration or range? Firepower or survival? Does spending 20 points in either really have a significant effect on my mech?


Honestly I just feel kind of blah now when I log off each night. There are skills I would like to add but I can't get them because they aren't as beneficial as other skills. Seeing a 2 or 3% change to a skill isn't enough to really care about. I'm just not as interested in the game simply because of the way they handled implementing the skill tree. I'm not spending money on the game anymore and I've lost a lot of my passion for the game.

While I think going to a new skill tree design is going to benefit the game in the long run I think they've also permanently damaged their relations with the player base which is going to hurt the game significantly over time.