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[Letalis13]

Letalis13’s Campaign Mode
What makes a good game is giving you a reason to care when someone dies. Strategy, progression, chance, challenge and the will to beat your last score. MWO really doesn't consistently give you a lot of these things, even in Faction Warfare. I think it survives because of a dedicated fanbase and decent core gameplay. Competitive has promise, but it is very new and it remains to be seen how much of the community will form teams and invest that kind of time. What about the people who like the idea of some form of singleplayer "campaign mode" challenge in MWO? What about the idea of storing the results of the campaigns so players can attempt to best their last score?

Well, I took the cheesy (but personally obligated) step of creating just such a thing to challenge myself with in order to enhance the solid, but limited gameplay of MWO. I am rather enjoying the results and I’m starting my second tour after a grinding defeat on the initial go. I've typed this up guessing others out there might enjoy the challenge as well.

In my opinion, something like this should already be in the game, but I'm "werid" like that. So, on the chance you get some enjoyment from this, (or a variation of it) here’s my “Campaign Mode.” Who knows, maybe it’ll generate a little momentum for inclusion in the game? (<-Average-sized question mark)

We can’t expect PGI to make a decent singleplayer campaign from scratch. But,thanks to relatively modest coding requirements, PGI could add a mode that easily morphs the existing quickplay mode into something a little more strategic and rewarding. But until then...


Part I: What you will need:

• A little imagination and a desire for continuity and challenge beyond the current modes.
  
• 40-50 hours of gameplay time to complete a campaign successfully, "assuming your unit is up to it."
  
• A MWO account with at least 40 playable mechs available.
  
• A number ID for each of your mechs you intend to play with. My mechs are named using a callsign convention, e.g. “Gadget 02”, “Moneybags 05”, “Howler 06” etc.
  
• A random number generator. (Random.org) When you “receive a random mech,” you will use the random number generator to determine which numbered mech from your inventory is the random mech assigned to your unit. You will use the first randomly generated number that is not associated with a mech already in your unit.
  
• A notebook and pen/pencil. You will have to track certain metrics during each TOD. Info to be captured includes: unit mech roster, mech used in each battle, kills, losses, victories, defeats and number of mechs unsalvageable/destroyed.
  
• One or more dice. Every time you have a “1 in 3” or “1 in 6” chance at something, it will be determined by a roll of the dice.
  
• Honor the ruling of the dice. Nope. Don't do it. Don't reroll the dice when you don't like the result. No. Respect the ruling of the dice. Respect the ruling of fate itself!

Part II: Campaign Mode Concept of Operations

Commander,
You are to take your assigned mechs to the front and participate in the arranged 12v12 battles. You must prevail against the enemy. As with Tukayyid, the outcome of these engagements will shape the futures of those you leave at home. This Campaign will be long. Unless it judges otherwise, Command requires 10 Tours of Duty from you, each lasting 6 months. Each Tour of Duty (TOD) consists of twenty 12v12 engagements with the enemy.
Your unit, the _________is to commence operations at the full strength of one Company. That is 3 Lances worth (12) of mechs randomly assigned to you from Command's Reserves (AKA your account’s mech bays). You are to designate one of your randomly-assigned mechs as your Command mech. This mech will represent you and your command throughout the campaign. Command mech status is permanent and cannot be transferred to another mech. The command mech you select for the upcoming campaign will undergo extensive (and expensive) modification so as to make it more salvageable than average, but that doesn’t mean you should be taking it into battle too often. It, and you, must survive the campaign.

Part III: Basic Gameplay Rules:

• All your assigned mech start each TOD in acceptable combat-worthy condition, these are known as “fresh” mechs.
  
• When it is time for battle, choose one of your unit’s mechs and send it into battle via the Quick Play button.
  
• Record the number of kills your mech earns during the match and whether or not your mech fell during the action.
  
• A mech that falls in action is known as a “downed mech.” A downed mech counts as a kill for someone, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the chassis is permanently unsalvageable. Because of the skill of your support infrastructure, there is only a 1 in 3 chance that a downed mech is unsalvageable. Thanks to special modifications, a fresh command mech only has a 1 in 6 chance of being unsalvageable when downed.
  
• Any mech that is rendered unsalvageable is considered destroyed and removed from your unit mech roster.
  
• If a mech is salvageable, it enters “repair status” until the next TOD begins.
  
• If there are no fresh mechs remaining in your unit during a TOD, the first mech that entered repair status in that TOD will be pressed into action until destroyed or the TOD ends, even if it happens to be your command mech.
  
• Any time a “repair status” mech is downed in action, it is most certainly destroyed. The unsalvageable mech will be removed from your unit’s mech roster. (This means that if you track your unit mechs via favorites, the mech gets un-favorited and goes "bye-bye" till resurrection by random number generator in the context of reinforcements or mercs)
  
• If all unit mechs are destroyed during a TOD, or your command mech is destroyed at any point, the campaign ends. You do not want to fight from a command mech that is in repair status unless you have no other choice!
  
• If you only prevail in 35% (7 or less) of a Tour’s engagements, Command considers it an operational disaster and you will be relieved of command, ending the campaign.
  
• If your unit ends a TOD with less than 4 mechs, it is considered combat ineffective and your unit’s mechs will be absorbed into other units. Your time as commander will be over. This ends the campaign.
  
• If your unit has more than 4 mechs remaining after the last (20^th) engagement in a TOD, your combat reports are used by Command to conduct a Commander Merit Review (CMR).
  
• The primary metrics Command looks at during a CMR are wins, losses and the number of unsalvageable mechs accrued in the last TOD. If any commander is found to have accrued more than 20 unsalvageable mechs during his career, standard Command procedure is to reassign him to a non-combat position. Accruing 20+ unsalvageable mechs ends the campaign.
  
• Regarding wins and losses, current CMR policy is to transfer mechs from poorly commanded units to well commanded units in order to maximize their efficiency. If you had a 10-10 record in the last TOD, Command will take no action for or against you. For every win above 10, Command will reinforce your unit by transferring a random mech into your unit for the next deployment. For every loss beyond 10, Command will transfer a random, non-command mech away from your unit.
  
• If a transfer penalty from the CMR puts your unit below 6 mechs, it will be absorbed into other units and the campaign ends.
  
• If the CMR puts your unit below 8 mechs, you will be offered the option of resigning instead of deploying into what is probably a losing effort. Resignation ends the campaign.
  
• If your unit has 9 or more mechs after the CMR is complete, your unit will automatically progress to the next TOD.

Part IV: Pre-Deployment Course of Action

Before you deploy on your first TOD, and following each subsequent TOD, you will have a precious few weeks to prepare for the upcoming deployment. During that time, you will have the ability to allocate discretionary resources and choose from several courses of action to bolster your odds of success in the field. How you balance the risks and benefits below will make or break your campaign!

a. Basic Reinforcement Request: (This option is not available until after the first TOD) It’s never enough, but this is usually how it’s done. You hire additional logistics officers to see that your reinforcement requests are approved. These officers are provided with enough funds to ensure that the right palms are greased. RESULT: Command provides 2 new, random reinforcement mechs to your unit in addition to (or helping offset) whatever the results of the last CMR were, if any. Also, selecting this course of action allows a 1/3 chance that you will have enough funds and resources remaining to pursue a second course of action before you deploy.

b. Specialized Maintenance and Repair Facility: Normally mechs stay in repair status till the next TOD. You find this unacceptable and arrange for construction of a small, enhanced maintenance and repair facility as close as possible to the front. RESULT: Downed mechs are returned to fresh status after sitting out just 5 engagements. In addition, because the mechs are kept in such good condition between missions, they have just a 1/6 chance of being unsalvageable when downed instead of the normal 1/3 chance.

c. Salvage Specialists: You track down the best in the business and hire them on to your unit. These technicians don’t specialize in repair so much as field recovery operations. They are able to cannibalize enemy mechs in order to allow repairs to be made to otherwise unsalvageable friendly mechs. On occasion, they even salvage enough to restore enemy mechs! RESULT: The normal 1/3 chance that a downed mech is unsalvageable is reduced to 1/6. Also, for every 10 enemy mechs destroyed during the TOD, you will receive a random reinforcement mech for the next TOD.

d. Mercenary Contracts: You use discretionary funds to legally hire a Lance of Mercenaries to augment your own forces for the next TOD. RESULT: 4 Merc mechs are added to your command for the duration of the tour, however their contract states that they will simply “observe and orient” until after the 4th battle of the Tour. To make matters worse, Command’s contract approval process for these mercs is always in flux and money is often diverted away from unit merc contracts with little or no warning. There is a 1/6 chance that the contracts will not be approved by Command, leaving you high and dry.

e. Black Market Trader: You don’t want to do it, but times are desperate enough to consider it. You know somebody willing to get you in touch with “a guy who works the black market.” This trader apparently is willing to support your effort in his own way. If you agree to funnel battlefield spoils to this trader (and pay him well enough) he will sell spoils on the black market and provide a handsome return. For your part, you will spend the money on replacement mechs. RESULT: For every victory in a TOD, there is a 1/3 chance that you will have enough returns to purchase a random mech from the black market. Black market mechs are permanently assigned to your unit and can be used in the very next battle if necessary! The obvious downside is that such activity is highly illegal. There is also a 1/3 chance that you will be caught and relieved of command following any TOD in which you use the black market.

f. PR Blitz: You hire several PR officers and allow embedded journalists into your unit. Your analysis shows that the journalists are a security risk but that successful, high-visibility units get preferential treatment from Command in order to keep things looking good for the cameras. RESULT: For every battle in which one of your mechs scores 3+ kills, there is a 1/3 chance that Command will reinforce your unit with a full Lance of 4 mechs. These mechs can be available for the very next engagement! The downside is that the journalists reporting details of your actions leave you open to sabotage or worse. For every 3+ kill engagement there is also a 1/6 chance you will lose one random mech to sabotage from your roster – and that random mech from your roster just might be your command mech!

g. Personal Reinforcement Request: (Note: This course of action can only be selected once during the campaign) You don’t think you will have enough mechs to make it through the upcoming tour. You pull all the favors you possibly can from Command and even burn a few bridges along the way. RESULT: You lose a huge amount of prestige and dignity in the process of groveling for resources. You will receive 4 mechs of your choosing from Command’s stock of reserves OR 6 random mechs, but you will never be promoted regardless of how well you handle your unit on the battlefield. (The “Future General” achievement is locked out with this action.) Because you are in such ill favor, Command will not authorize Basic Reinforcement Request, Specialized Maintenance and Repair Facility, Salvage Specialists, or Mercenary Contracts for the remainder of the campaign!

h. Garrison Loan: The local government in the conflict zone is fighting desperately to protect its people and infrastructure, but don’t currently have enough resources to adequately do so. They are aggressively trying to borrow mechs from anyone they can to use for garrison duty at key locations. They have nothing to pay you back with at present, but if you are able to hold the line during your TOD, they surely will. RESULT: For every mech you place on loan to local garrisons, there is a 1/3 chance it will be destroyed. However, if you succeed in achieving 10 wins during the TOD, the local government will not only return the surviving mechs you loaned them, they will gift you twice the number of mechs that were loaned for your next TOD. The downside here is that if you don’t achieve a minimum of 10 wins, all bets are off. The government collapses and you won’t even get back the mechs that were loaned.

i. Espionage Plot: (This action can only be selected once and it is not available until the second TOD) You hatch a plan to place one of your pilots in the ranks of the enemy. The plan calls for three carefully selected mechs from your unit to go on patrol in an area known to be under enemy surveillance. Once in the area, the “defecting” pilot will turn her weapons on the other two mechs in the patrol. The attack will intentionally leave both “victim” pilots alive, but their mechs will have to be left in an unsalvageable state in order to guarantee authenticity. The defecting pilot will then leave the area and immediately defect to the enemy with a story that can easily be verified. If successful, this will create a significant amount of intelligence, but there is only a 2/3 chance the plan will work. RESULT: If the operation succeeds, you will lose all three mechs permanently, but you will have the information necessary to intercept and steal enemy reinforcements, including enemy mechs. You will gain a 2/3 chance to gain one bonus reinforcement mech for each subsequent tour for the rest of the campaign. The info you provide will also have earned special favor in some very high places. Command will grant you immunity from negative CMR boards for the remainder of the campaign. If you had a losing record in the last TOD, you will not lose a mech to a Command-directed transfer. If the operation fails, Command will simply be informed that three mechs were lost while on patrol “without inflicting any apparent losses to the enemy.”

j. Total Aggression Strategy: Command is interested in finding units to ops test recent analysis that shows that the enemy is significantly more likely to break under the unrelenting pressure of a blistering ops tempo, but hitting that hard and that fast will require some drastic measures. There will be only required mech maintenance and there will be no major field repair equipment on hand. Mech salvage operations will also be minimal. You agree to let your unit be a testbed for Command’s new “Total Aggression Strategy” and prepare for an all-out effort. Due to ops tempo, all efforts will be focused on mobility and resupply. Either the enemy will fall or you will! You expect your mechs will drop likes flies, but they will do a lot of damage along the way. Command will be pleased by the pace you rack up victories, but it will only be truly successful if you actually have an overall winning record. RESULT: Command will give you 4 reinforcement mechs to help offset your higher losses for the next TOD. Command will also double the rate of incoming transfers if you have a positive CMR for all remaining tours. (For example if you had 12 victories you would receive 4 mechs, not 2) During this Tour, downed mechs only have a 50% chance of being salvageable. Also, due to the absence of major repairs, you will be unable to press repair status units into service if they are needed. Make sure you have enough fresh mechs and proceed with caution.

k. Non-Fiction Expose’: (This course of action is only available after your first tour of duty) You decide to put your experiences with the war into a book. Many of the higher-ups will be more than a little agitated, but people should know the truth about why and how their sons and daughters are dying. There’s a very real chance Command will relieve you,but the press will ensure more efficient processes and better-equipped units in the future, at least for a while. RESULTS: There is a 1/3 chance that you will be relieved of command. If your career survives the storm, you can will receive the benefits of “Specialized Maintenance and Repair” for the next 5 tours.


PART V: ENDGAME TRIGGERS

Victory Conditions
-Your unit completes a TOD with 36+ enemy mechs downed and over 50% of battles won. The enemy is forced to negotiate a cease-fire. Command hails you as the hero that broke the enemy’s back. REWARDS: 15M C-Bills, Title: “Tactical Genius”
-Complete a Tour of Duty with 24 or more mechs under your command. You may or may not have managed to win over 50% of your battles, but you’ve shown plenty of promise. Command has finally realized that you are meant for greater things. You sir, are promoted! REWARDS: 10M C-Bills, Title: "Future General"
-Finish campaign with at least 50% of engagements won and at least one Lance (4 mechs) still under your command. REWARDS: 5M C-Bills, Title: "Distinguished Commander"
-Finish the 10^th TOD with at least 50% of engagements won and at least 1 mech still under your command. REWARDS: 1M C-Bills, Title: “Barely Adequate Commander”

Defeat Conditions
-Complete the campaign with less than 50% of engagements won. REWARDS: 500,000 C-Bills, Title: "Mediocre Commander"
-20 mechs under your command have been rendered unsalvageable before you completed your 10^th Tour. Despite your successes, Command will not give continued support to anyone who creates losses at such a rate. You are hereby transferred to a desk! REWARDS: 0 C-Bills, Title: "Sloppy Tactician"
-You were victorious in 7 or fewer engagements during a Tour of Duty or your conduct was deemed unsatisfactory due to actions taken while away from the battlefield. Command relieves you of your post and recalls you for a reprimand. REWARDS: 0 C-Bills, Title: “Reprimanded Officer”
-You have 3 or fewer mechs remaining under your command. Through a combination of administrative faithlessness and battlefield attrition, you have less than a single Lance left to fight with. Command decides your unit is no longer combat effective and pulls it from the front. The campaign is a failure, and you are relieved of Command. REWARDS: 0 C-Bills Title: "Combat Ineffective"
-Your mech was destroyed in combat and you were killed. It was an honorable death…for the most part. REWARDS: 0 C-Bills, Title: “KIA Commander”


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fin

Edited by Letalis13, 24 June 2017 - 10:27 AM.

[SilentScreamer]

Do you know PGI is developing MECHWARRIOR 5 MERCENARIES as a seperate single player game?

See http://mw5mercs.com

Development of single player content for MWO like you are talking about is unlikely.

EDIT

Okay, after reading further into your post I see what you are proposing is not actually a "gameplay feature" but more of a personal challenge to yourself. Would probably be better suited to "general discussion" topics.

PGI has always pitched the word "economy" as part of MWO, but it has not materialized in my opinion. Coding some of what you mentioned doing "on paper" in your post into the actual Mwo game (specifically faction play) is something many players dream of.

Nice thoughts, sort of like reading one of those "choose your path" books in between quick drop missions. But I am here to watch mechs explode...logging my matches in a personal journal doesn't thrill me.

Edited by SilentScreamer, 24 June 2017 - 02:50 AM.

[Peace2U]

Just wanted to thank you for the time & effort you put into this.
Don't be disappointed if PGI doesn't pick up on it though.
Your campaign concept is sound, but due to the dedication it would require, our current player base would not fit the bill.
This is the reason almost every match d-evolves into some kind of skirmish. (start match, pull trigger, bump into fellow mechs, pull trigger, find enemy, pull trigger, ignore mission requirements, pull trigger, kill or die, REPEAT)

I played the original mechwarrior back in '89', and was hooked immediately.
That was a game that had depth.
There was hero development, starting with a young mechwarrior-in-training, structured AI (both enemy and friendly), character interaction, which led to different paths in the game, and total freedom to choose who and where you would fight.
The economy required you to purchase, maintain, and arm your mech lance, as well as hire lance mates of various skill levels. You choose who to fight for, what contracts to take, and how much you will get paid. Based upon your success on the battlefield you also got various 'salvage' benefits.
A complete story arc culminating in either victory and redemption for your dishonored family, or defeat (the bad guys get to rule).
You got to play thru a comic book style rendered story where the decisions you made took you to different places, people, and conflicts.
The actual fighting was rendered on newly developed EGA video and 1st person perspective drawn with 3D polygon graphics.
And to throw some gas on the fire, you were given only 5 (game)years to catch AND defeat the bad guys (yes - they were the elite of the elite with the biggest, baddest mechs money could buy). Believe me when I tell you, you will NEVER get to the endgame with equal forces. (I know, as I played the game many times and was always the underdog at the end - It is designed that way so that your skills and decisions would be the path to victory)
And here's the kicker - the entire game fit on a 720k Double Density floppy disk. (slight poke at current programmers and there multi gigabyte coding)NOTE: the game NEVER CRASHED, or kicked you out of the server (1989 - what's a server?).

The good news for you is you won't have to wait too long for a fresh single player mechwarrior game.
Here's an article about the upcoming MW5:
http://www.pcgamer.com/mechwarrior-5/

Peace-out