207 replies to this topic

[Crockdaddy]

Ripper X, on 05 July 2017 - 12:45 PM, said:

2 queues. 1 just for solo players. 1 for group and solo players. Solo players should have the option to select solo and/or group play. Such changes should happen during a large event to see how it goes.

FW needs more RPG features.

I believe this idea is DOA, BUT if you want to try it during a major event ... I have no problem playing more PuBG while you experiment. Better yet, just kick group queue to the curb for a major event and lets see how a heavily incentivised solo ONLY system works.

Maybe we can just do away with QP or integrate QP into the FP system. Then slowly build up some metagame around FP which makese this all more interesting than it currently is.

[justcallme A S H]

100% DOA. It wouldn't stick post event.

[naterist]

Rpg elements for both the unit AND the individual player.

[MW Waldorf Statler]

FW is only Groupplay with Quickplay+Respawn ...real FW seeing other Games is here nothing

[FallingAce]

You need:

• A vision
  
• A plan
  
• Team to execute the plan

PGI lacks all 3

[MW Waldorf Statler]

FallingAce, on 06 July 2017 - 08:57 PM, said:

You need:

• A vision
  
• A plan
  
• Team to execute the plan

PGI lacks all 3

A gaming Factory in 2017 to made City Maps is to difficult !!!!!!!!!!! thats 20 Years after MW4 , MWLL with Citymaps and GTA...PGI wait better with MW5 to Time , who it Give a Engine thats can Create procedual City Maps ...in 10 or 15 Years

Edited by Old MW4 Ranger, 06 July 2017 - 10:54 PM.

[TWIAFU]

Ripper X, on 06 July 2017 - 09:46 AM, said:

I have done research and what I have found was the Solo/Unit split queues. I am talking about Solo/Group. For group play the queue would be the exact way it is now. Made up of groups and solo players who want to be there. Solo players that do not want to face organized groups would be in the Solo Only queue.

And prevent solo only players from getting any, ANY, rewards from CW since they are not there to participate in CW.

Only rewards open to solo in CW are those they get from being bribed to play, aka Events.

Let's do that and see how many of these solo players will not play.

[justcallme A S H]

The comments and ideas just get dumber by the month.

[Bud Crue]

Will9761, on 06 July 2017 - 10:43 AM, said:

I agree with you to a point. While it would be good to bribe people to play Faction Play, people would just get tired and want something much more than just rewards or "food pellets" as Oldbob called them. Some of those "lore tards" you called, just want to have the RP experience to mean something instead of being in the CoD mentality of this game. Faction play should have some type of immersion to make it different from Quick Play. So if you want a mode where you can goof off and have fun without committing much time to this game, then Quick Play for you. If you want something much more worth your time and have factions actually mean something, there's Faction Play. I personally wouldn't mind have a Captain Adams-like NPC for factions, even if the dialogue is either cheesy or laughable. It is a way better alternative than having a wall of text explaining what each faction is about. So while bribery is good in a sense to get people playing faction play, it needs much more depth than just giving out rewards.

Of course it should have immersion. It should also have a point ( a larger over all goal to drive the mode). It should also be competitive and team based. It should be all the things it was originally advertised as.

But it isn't. It never will be. And after three years, it is time to accept that this mode is nothing more than the extended arena shooter we all know from QP, with respawns and a "planetary map" that has no meaning other than to give us a pretense of the game having something to do with what PGI calls "the rich BattleTech Universe". Hell at least in phase 2 it had at least the feel of an attacker and defender of a set piece. Now it is random maps and modes, no real "sides" or even factions, just a bucket; and the "immersion"within that "rich Battletech Universe" is further away than ever.

Nope. The idea of immersion is dead. Accept that. And look at the mode we have. It is at least still an area for more dedicated teams to play with a bit more focus than in mere QP. So approach it from that perspective. Do what is necessary to draw in new players so that they first give it a chance and then even if they are not so great at it, that they remain nevertheless motivated to stick around for the long haul. If they can't provide that motivation with intriguing and enticing game play, or an immersive experience or a mode that actually give's its participants a sense of long term accomplishement; then that leaves them with what? Positive reinforcement via the rewards structure: aka bribery. Make the mode so rewarding that despite all its flaws, people -good and bad, loretards and tryhards a like have a reason to play it. And that is by increasing the rewards.

I came to this mode because I am one of those loretards. It's all I played for the first year. They killed it with phase 3 and diluted it to a form of QP with Phase 4.whatever. That is where we are, and I don't see it changing. You want to increase player participation in that mode, then suck it up and either rebuild the mode from scratch to what it was supposed to be or accept what we have and entice folks with rewards they can't refuse. Look no further than the Tuk-3 level of rewards that were needed to get folks in here. That is what is needed in this mode. It aint a fix, just a consequence of the reality of what this mode is.

Edited by Bud Crue, 07 July 2017 - 03:22 AM.

[Marquis De Lafayette]

Bud Crue, on 07 July 2017 - 03:22 AM, said:

Of course it should have immersion. It should also have a point ( a larger over all goal to drive the mode). It should also be competitive and team based. It should be all the things it was originally advertised as.

But it isn't. It never will be. And after three years, it is time to accept that this mode is nothing more than the extended arena shooter we all know from QP, with respawns and a "planetary map" that has no meaning other than to give us a pretense of the game having something to do with what PGI calls "the rich BattleTech Universe". Hell at least in phase 2 it had at least the feel of an attacker and defender of a set piece. Now it is random maps and modes, no real "sides" or even factions, just a bucket; and the "immersion"within that "rich Battletech Universe" is further away than ever.

Nope. The idea of immersion is dead. Accept that. And look at the mode we have. It is at least still an area for more dedicated teams to play with a bit more focus than in mere QP. So approach it from that perspective. Do what is necessary to draw in new players so that they first give it a chance and then even if they are not so great at it, that they remain nevertheless motivated to stick around for the long haul. If they can't provide that motivation with intriguing and enticing game play, or an immersive experience or a mode that actually give's its participants a sense of long term accomplishement; then that leaves them with what? Positive reinforcement via the rewards structure: aka bribery. Make the mode so rewarding that despite all its flaws, people -good and bad, loretards and tryhards a like have a reason to play it. And that is by increasing the rewards.

I came to this mode because I am one of those loretards. It's all I played for the first year. They killed it with phase 3 and diluted it to a form of QP with Phase 4.whatever. That is where we are, and I don't see it changing. You want to increase player participation in that mode, then suck it up and either rebuild the mode from scratch to what it was supposed to be or accept what we have and entice folks with rewards they can't refuse. Look no further than the Tuk-3 level of rewards that were needed to get folks in here. That is what is needed in this mode. It aint a fix, just a consequence of the reality of what this mode is.

The fact that I totally agree with you Bud makes me sadder than anything. So, many things should be better than they are...but they just aren't. FW should be more immersive than it is, but unless PGI changes course it's not going to be. Some things wouldn't even be that hard, like doing a one-day FW event fighting over the IS homeworlds when the Clans closed in....they could have done a mini-event for the Lore-hards who want to defend their capital planet to the last breath (mini Tuk-3 style)...but nope, they fell just like any other planet did in a cycle. No drama...

However, extra free stuff (even small amounts) does seem to work to get people to play.

One easy fix to increasing rewards that they could implement now would kill 2 birds with one stone. Remove the 10 probationary matches and the loyalist defector penalty. I guess you might need to keep the cool-down period to prevent too much flipping during events....idk.

The idea of mech-bay tours was once a thing for new players to the mode and they did have to put work in to pull it off. PGI has been Liberal with the mechbay and MC giveaways lately. So, they apparently aren't opposed to giving away a bunch of stuff to regular players who put time in.

Doing this would also eliminate one of the biggest loyalist gripes/disadvantages. I.e...we are stuck.

[FreeFragUK]

There is a lot of room for improvement with Faction Warfare, the question is largely a case of where to begin. As it stands Faction Warfare offers very little to the player or the unit's involved. I'd argue that, while the basics are in place, the entire system is in need of an overhaul. Unfortunately (as shown with the skill system) significant change is likely to be met with substantial resistance.

1.) Implement a meaningful Faction & Campaign system. This has been mentioned numerous times to put it mildly but as it stands Faction Warfare fails to instil two elements which should be core values of the system (in my opinion anyway).

Factions. There is a complete lack of identity between the Factions, it's largely inconsequential who you side with which is further exacerbated by the Mercenary system (Merc's shouldn't be allowed to align themselves with The Clans). The lack of faction identity is further compounded by a "reward" system which runs out of steam at Rank 20, an issue possibly contributed to by the titles associated with each rank. The most obvious solution would be to expand the rankings/loyalty levels to allow for greater progression and offer faction relevant rewards, this could come in the form of discounts for certain pieces of equipment or mech's which are strongly tied/associated with said faction along with an array of other options. This identity could further be reinforced by increased bonuses relating to c-bills and xp for using mech's associated with said faction.

Campaign system. This is a little harder to address but as it stands there is little beyond voting for planet x, y or z and then having at it. As it stands I feel as though Naterist and Sedmeister are running along the right lines.

2.) Additional maps and content. This is the life blood of any game when it comes to longevity but in order for Faction Warfare to continue and for it appeal to more players content and maps are in dire need. Content needs to come in the form of more varied game modes, Faction Warfare is meant to be about completing objectives relating to a larger war front and as such the game modes and maps need to reflect this.

Add in map briefings, give these combat zones a meaning. For example Polar Highlands could be Capture & Hold under a briefing where the attacker is attempting to secure a Landing Zone for a larger planetary invasion force and in contrast to this the defenders are working to prevent this. This could be extended into an evolving front where if the attackers are then successful the follow up could be another map which represents a neighbouring territory where the defenders from the previous map are attempting to set up air/planetary defence systems to prevent further reinforcements landing.

Faction Warfare offers a much wider array of options than Quick Play and it needs to in order to attract long term players. QP is great if you have 15 minutes to an hour to kill and you just want to hammer out some quick games but for those of us with a passion for both the Battletech universe and the Mechwarrior franchise in its various forms, this is what PGI needs to tap into.

I'm sure this idea has been mentioned before but it is perhaps worth raising again, it may be worth PGI considering submissions from the community when it comes to maps in general. Perhaps a submissions process would greatly help this game. There is a passionate community here and this may help free up resources for other forms of content/fixes etc.

3.) Units. As it stands Faction Warfare is focused around Units, this is and of itself isn't an issue but stronger unit management, recruitment and community interaction options would greatly help the game on the whole, not just Faction Warfare. Naterist does a fantastic job of covering this in his/her post on page 1 of this thread. For reference purposes the recruitment tabs which hosted corporation (guilds/units/clans) advertisements in stations within Eve Online may serve as a good basis.

[Bud Crue]

Marquis De Lafayette, on 07 July 2017 - 05:35 AM, said:

The fact that I totally agree with you Bud makes me sadder than anything. So, many things should be better than they are...but they just aren't.
...

Yup. I'm just done with the pie in the sky hopeful nonsense that we all would like to see (regadless of tha fact that PGI once promised a lot of that pie in the sky nonsense) and think we need to work with what we have because PGI has shown us time and time again that what we have is essentially all that they are capable of. So lets work with that.

My "up the rewards" perspective comes from the everyday reality of when I try and talk my unit mates into playing FP, more often than not it isn't the historical flaws that people focus on when they say they don't want to play, nor is it even the presumed likelihood of stomps by the usual suspects of superior teams. Rather it is simply the perceived lack of rewards for what is unquestionably a more time intensive match.

So, based on that, just up the rewards and at least those willing to consider playing FP as it is, will be enticed to play it more. If they ever give us campaigns, or even just the "frequent weekend faction specific events" or anything else that makes the mode more enticing to individual players, that would be great too; but increasing the rewards is a so-called "low hanging fruit" of an improvement that they can do right now with minimal effort, and has historical precedence of being an effective means of drawing in more population. Make those rewards faction specific and allow people to roam and you would have this mode flooded with activity.

[QueenBlade]

*a document I've been updating through the phases of CW*

INTRODUCTION
Faction Play takes place near the beginning of the 31st century, when the great dynasties of interstellar civilization are preparing to go to war to determine who will dominate human space.
Faction Play allows players to operate at the strategic level, where armies maneuver against armies, alliances are made and broken, and the object is not just to win an engagement, but to win the war.
Ten factions, each representing one of the five Houses of the Inner Sphere and the four Invading Clans, compete for domination. Each seeks to unite the others under themselves as either the First Lord of the new Star League (Inner Sphere Houses) or ilKhan of the ilClan. Faction Play is played in eight hour cycles, in which players may have the chance to direct their armies, attack, defend, and to perform other functions.
The first faction to control a majority of the capital's (Inner Sphere) or reaches Terra (Clans) will win the season.

HISTORY
By 2389, almost two hundred years after mankind began colonizing distant planets, ten separate states emerged in human space. At the center was the Terran Hegemony, based on the old home planet Earth, or Terra, with authority over more than 100 worlds. The Inner Sphere, which surrounded the Terran Hegemony, was divided among five powerful states: the Lyran Commonwealth (ruled by House Steiner), the Draconis Combine (House Kurita), the Capellan Confederation (House Liao), the Free Worlds League (House Marik), and the Federated Suns (House Davion). Four other states existed along the Periphery of the Inner Sphere: the Rift Republic (later known as the Rim Worlds Republic), the Outworlds Alliance, the Taurian Concordat, and the Magistracy of Canopus.
So many powerful states could not long coexist, and the 2400s ushered in the Age of War, lasting 150 years. The ten states struggled inconclusively among themselves for primacy. Taking the role of mediator in the mid-2500s, the Terran Hegemony weaved alliances among the rules of the Inner Sphere.
In 2571, the six states formed a coalition called the Star League. Ian Cameron, Director-General of the Terran Hegemony, became the First Lord of the Star League, and the rules of the five Houses of the Inner Sphere became the Lords of the High Council. Although, the four states of the Periphery were determined to keep their independence, a ferocious, 20-year campaign called the Unification War brought them into the Star League too.
The Star League ushered in a century and a half of peace, called “The Good Years.” The time of prosperity lasted until the middle of the 28th century, when the hereditary First Lordship fell to an eight-year-old boy, and the Lords of the Inner Sphere once again began to move for power.

CIVIL WAR
In 2751, First Lord of the Star League Simon Cameron died leaving his eight-year-old son Richard as sole heir. Aleksandr Kerensky, commander of the Regular Army, was named Richard’s Regent and Protector, but the Lords of the High Council immediately took advantage of the opportunity to seize control of the Star League.
By the time Richard Cameron was old enough to take over the duties of First Lord, the Council Leaders were firmly entrenched in their positions of power. As relations worsened between the Council and the First Lord, territories began to rebel in the Outworlds. General Kerensky dispatched the Regular Army to put down the rebellion.
In 2766, Stefan Amaris carried out a coup on Terra, which was weakened by the drain of military forces. After executing, Richard and his entire family, Amaris declared himself First Lord. When news of this reached Kerensky in 2767, he immediately declared war against Amaris. Both sides called upon the other Lords of the Star League for aid.
Eventually, Kerensky was victorious, but the cost was devastating. Communications with the Outworlds were severed, hundreds of millions were dead, and the administration of the League was severely disrupted. Matters only grew worse when the high Council reconvened and ordered Kerensky to disperse his troops to create garrisons for the member states. An attempt to select a new First Lord failed, as each of the five remaining Houses backed its own candidate.
The only thing the Council did successfully was to appoint Jerome Blake as Minister of Communications, charging him with restoring the League’s communication network. His creation of ComStar was an overwhelming success, but not quite in the way the Council had hoped.
In 2781, the Council disbanded. The Lords returned home, each preparing for war, each trying eagerly to buy the services of Kerensky and the Regular Army. In November of that year, after Kerensky had summoned his commanders to a secret meeting, almost three-fourths of the Regular Army troops abandoned rheir posts and joined the General at New Samakand. There, they boarded a fleet of ships, and the assembled armada jumped outward, disappearing beyond the boundaries of known space. No one ever saw them again.
With the Regular Army out of the picture, the only military forces remaining were House units and mercenaries. The five Houses of the Inner Sphere moved in and divided the worlds of the Terran Hegemony among themselves. ComStar used hired mercenaries to take the battle-torn planet of Terra of itself.


THE SUCCESSION WARS
The Lords of the Five Houses lost no time in going to war with each other. When Minoru Kurita, Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, declared himself First Lord of the Star League in 2786, the other Lords quickly followed suit. The First Succession War that followed was unparalleled in brutality. Cities were destroyed, millions of civilians were killed, and vast industrial centers were wiped out. Trade and commerce between all worlds were disrupted. By 2815, the warring States had lost most of their hyperspace shipbuilding capacity.
An exhausted interstellar civilization settled into an uneasy peace in 2821. The five remaining ruling Houses, Davion, Marik, Steiner, Kurita, and Liao, rebuilt their military might as best they could with their surviving scientists and crippled industries. War broke out again almost immediately.
The Second Succession War was every bit as deadly and destructive as the First. Technology sunk to a level barely above that of 20th-century Earth. Warlords cannibalized existing equipment to keep fighting. Tis war ended in 2863.
The Third Succession War began in 2866, and has never officially ended. By the present year, 3026, war has become a fact of everyday life for most people. Fortunately, the level of destruction has decreased. All Houses see clearly that the survival of humanity itself teeters on the brink. Though armies still fight over possession of industrial facilities, all sides are careful to preserve the facilities themselves. The premier instruments of war are the Battlemechs, the gigantic, manlike fighting machines first introduced in 2349. Major ‘Mech battles are fought in stages, with truces that allow Techs time to repair damaged machines. Mercenary ‘Mech units often surrender to superior forces, paying a ransom for offworld release. Every side recognizes the sanctity of JumpShips, strictly obeying the prohibition placed on attacking such craft, without which the war for supremacy could not be waged at all.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
The near-unimaginable conflict of the initial Clan invasion came at a time when the Inner Sphere was perched on the edge of another round of internecine Success Wars. Each of the six realms had recovered some measure of advanced technology from the Helm memory core, and each believed it had gained an advantage over the other. Three hundred years of experience were cast aside in favor of new weapons, new BattleMechs, and the lightning warfare of the Fourth Succession War.
The combat that came, of course, proved to every Inner Sphere leader that the advantage lay not with them, but with the invaders from beyond the Periphery’s borders.
The signs of the coming invasion were there for us to see. One can’t help but marvel at our hubris. The silence that echoed from the Periphery was not the silence of the cowed and the broken, but the silence of the coming night. Hauptmann General Frederic Anderson was quoted in February 3050 saying “Damn straight it’s quiet out there. Those pirates know damned well not to mess with us anymore.” A month later, Anderson was dead and the survivors of his Eighth Arcturan Guards were desperately falling back to Somerset. At the dawn of what would become known as the Clan Invasion only the Free Rasalhague Republic was taking the Periphery pirate threat with any kind of seriousness. Had the greater nations of the Inner Sphere not been so dismissive of the KungsArmé’s efforts, there may well have had more warning of the coming storm.

INVASION BEGINS
While March 3050 is considered by most the opening of the Clans’ invasion the opening shots were fired eight months earlier. Sweeping through the pirate nations of the coreward Periphery, the invading Clans met little to no appreciable opposition. Their superior technology and strict discipline overwhelmed one world after another with little or no resistance.
Having conquered the Periphery with no real challenge the Clans were able to strike in force in March 3050. Their first wave of attacks steamrolled over House Kurita, Free Rasalhague Republic and House Steiner worlds. More than thirty worlds fell in the first month of the invasion, destroying several highly-skilled units. Kerensky and Star League Defense Force had returned.

This sets the stage for the basic scenario of Faction Play.


REPAIR AND REFIT
Idea here is an attempt to cover many concerns that is keeping players and units away from Faction Play by giving Planet’s purpose, ownership of mechs as well as planets, reduction in “pug stomping”, as well as an increase in groups facing other groups, an attrition style of warfare along with a campaign style tug of war. More mech chassis and variants being used, as well as creating a deeper rank system, and more options for coffer use.
Values would need to be adjusted so that having a destroyed mech isn’t as punishing as it was back in the Closed Beta days when Repair/Refit was first used.
On top of the repair costs there should be ways to help lower costs / reward players for their play in Faction Play. Things like higher ranks giving bonus’ to higher pay (mercs) and cheaper repair bills/timers (loyalists)

A repair / refit mechanic could be used to create the "hard core" mode that Bryan Ekman sold the idea to us on back at the Launch event in 2013.

- A timer would be applied to a destroyed mech. The user can wait out the timer to use said mech again or they can pay a fee (that diminishes as the repair time reduces) to ready the mech for deployment.

- Planets could be given purpose by allowing bonus' like reductions on costs and timers for variants, chassis', and even weight classes.
-- extending off this idea, planets that are tagged by a unit could receive higher bonus' towards defending the planet as well as passive bonus' to repair / refit

- Based on faction populations contracts could be made out to cover the costs of repairs and/or refits.

- Ranking system could be used to decrease the cost, as well as increase your pay (Rank 1 should not make the same as a Rank 5, 10, 20 etc).

- Players would not be forced to pay to have your mechs repaired, but rather the mech would be placed on a timer until repairs are completed. Paying a cost would just make the mech immediately ready for deploy.

- Loyalists cost to repair / refit would be cheaper than mercs, but mercs would have higher payouts

The soloist, freelancers will be more important in this regard, as any mechs they destroy is one less that your faction-units(groups) will face in a group drop. Then eventually groups will drop against each other. More mech types will see action due to repair costs and bonuses. More varying drop decks will be used as frontline mechs are destroyed and put into repairs.

Logistics, economics, ownerships, a greater need to have successful freelancers, and unit-warfare... all coming from Repair and Refit.

I'm hopeful that the Call to Arms mechanic will be revamped so that groups that aren't 12 people that enter the queue will trigger the Call, instead of when the enemy has entered the queue. This way freelancers will know they are joining up with a group rather than the likelihood that they are joining up against a group.

Another interesting addition of a Repair / Refit system would be that if you don't have the cbills to repair your mechs, you can drop into Quick Play to earn money and come back with repaired mechs. Which will then be cheaper as time has been applied to your mechs, so the cost will be cheaper.
Thanks to the addition of the Quick Play modes and maps, Quick Play can now serve as a stepping block into Faction Play as well a connecting the two modes to support each other. Don’t have the funds to repair your mechs and thus wait for the timer? Go drop into Quick Play and earn some extra cbills. May be you’ll see someone using mechs that are in your drop deck with builds you want to try out in Faction Play, or meet up with other players looking to recruit for Faction Play.

And with a Repair / Refit system the “pug stomping” will be slowed down or lessen due to their ability to continue in the war effort. The efforts that groups put in to claim a planet will feel less wasted due to whichever side has more pugs. As it will more likely be that groups will meet up and face other groups.

A balance to the tech imbalance can be gained from the use of Repair / Refit. Clan tech COSTS more. A lot more, especially after a player has made modifications. It is quite possible to see a slow down in the Clan advance simply due to the fact that Clan tech costs much more than IS tech.
An added bonus to this effect is you will be able to see which mechs are being used more, used first, picked over from other mechs and can adjust their repair and refit costs as a means of supply and demand to balance their use in Faction Play. The timer could be something that reflects off of the cost as well. Idea being that light mechs would repair faster than assault mechs. (a good reference post for this paragraph by player 50 50 https://mwomercs.com...30#entry5605030)


PLAYER ROLES
LOYALISTS:
Can either be Solo or in a Unit.
Loyal to their faction
Can only fight for their sworn Faction and its allies.
Handles votes to determine planetary assaults
Reputation gains are increased
Cbills gains are based on reputation rank (rank 20 will make more than a rank 1) but are lower than Mercenary pay
House/Clan based Mechs repair/refit faster and cheaper than non-House/Clan based Mechs
Players can use reputation to cover repair/refit expenses or cbills or MC.
Breaking loyalty will reduce reputation gain. Must undergo a 5-match probation period before receiving full benefits.

MERCENARIES:
Must be in a Unit.
Must sign a Faction Contract.
Can only fight for their contracted Faction and its allies
Fighting for the highest bidder, does not vote (7 day contracts)
MRBC reputation gain stays normal (instead of ranks, use MRBC rankings A+, A, B, C, D, F)
Cbills gains and bonuses are increased and are based on reputation rank
Repair/Refit costs and timers are increased
Players can use reputation points to cover repair/refit expenses or cbills or MC.
Breaking of contracts are met with severe penalties. Reduction in contract bonus.

FREELANCERS:
Cannot be in a Unit.
No Faction Contract or allegiance is required.
Can only drop into matches by accepting an Urgent Call To Arms
Receives only standard cbill gains
Does not receive Faction Loyalty or MRBC reputation points.
Repair/Refit costs and timers are standardized

ATTACK TYPES
SCOUTING
4v4 Game Mode, where one team tries to steal/gather Intel, while the others try to stop them.
1 mech, 20 to 55 tons max

INVASION
12v12 Game Mode, Tug of War combat in an attempt to remove the enemy forces from the planet and take control for your faction.
Each battle can sway the capture percentage from two to five percent.

Crushing Victory - Win with more than 36 mechs difference for your side, 5% pull (kill score)
Clear Victory - Win with 35-24 mechs difference for your side, 4% pull
Average Victory - Win with 23-12 mechs difference for your side, 3% pull
Close Victory - Win with less than 12 mechs difference for your side, 2% pull

This would create a more dynamic approach to the battles. PGI and players would be able to clearly see the outcomes of each drop, which faction is getting more sway (whether it be from population, or quality of players, or maybe the matches are close?) and be able to set / offer contracts to better suit the faction that isn't doing as well.

For many, there will be the argument that is makes the main objective less. In that case, how about introducing cases for them as well.

Conquest:
750 - 1250 resource difference, 5% pull
749 - 550 resource difference, 4% pull
549 - 350 resource difference, 3% pull
349 - 1 resource difference, 2% pull

Assault: % of base bar remaining
75 - 100% difference, 5% pull
74 - 50% difference, 4% pull
49 - 25% difference, 3% pull
24 - 1% difference, 2% pull

Domination:
1:00 - 1:30 difference, 5% pull
:59 - :45 difference, 4% pull
:44 - :30 difference, 3% pull
:30 - :01 difference, 2% pull

Skirmish:
Use the formula at the top

LEAGUE MAP
Faction Play map shows the realm of space known as the Inner Sphere. It is here that the six ruling Houses and four invading Clans battle one another over control of worlds. The Inner Sphere is divided into realms controlled by each Faction at the beginning of the game. Each planet contributes to the costs of repairs towards your Mechs. As planets are lost and gained, repair costs and timers will increase or decrease. These planets are also connected by a lattice system that Loyalists can vote on as part of determining which Planets their faction will assault.

Lattice Map reference: http://iscs.teamspam...30.20020918.jpg

FACTION REPUTATION
LOYALISTS:
Rank 1 to 20 will increase pay from 0% to 20%, and decrease repair cost/timers. The attached rewards are given only once, ranks are reset after seasons.

*Change how Clan loyalist gain reputation. Rename to Honor.
Honor is gained by dropping with tonnage available (reducing their total drop deck tonnage by taking lighter mechs). The more tonnage available in their drop deck, the more honor that is gained. Honor can be increased further through victories.

MERCENARY:
Rank A+ through F (MRBC ranking system), will increase pay from 0% to 20%, and decrease repair cost/timers. The attached rewards are given only once, but ranks are reset after seasons.

Another idea: Using elo formula to determine a user’s rank. Something that can both increase and decrease based upon the user’s performance in Faction Play. Which can then also be used to reset player’s ranks with new seasons.

Formula: Using “algorithm of 400” / Chess rating

For each win, add your opponent's rating average plus 400,
For each loss, add your opponent's rating average minus 400,
And divide this sum by the number of played games.

(((Total of opponents rating/12) +/- 400 x (Wins - Loses)) / Total Games played)
2800 and above: Rank 20
2600–2799: Rank 19
2400–2599: Rank 18
2200–2399: Rank 17
2000–2199: Rank 16
1800–1999: Rank 15
1600–1799: Rank 14
1400–1599: Rank 13
1200–1399: Rank 12
1000–1199: Rank 11
900–999: Rank 10
800–899: Rank 9
700–799: Rank 8
600–699: Rank 7
500–599: Rank 6
400–499: Rank 5
300–399: Rank 4
200–299: Rank 3
100–199: Rank 2
0–100: Rank 1

*personal note - I’d like to try and get Match score into this formula to better represent a player’s contribution to the rest of the team.

FACTION POPULATION BALANCE
https://mwomercs.com...82#entry5131382

In some cases of extreme population percentage imbalance, a contract could cover the cost of Repairs and Refits in an attempt to give that faction a boost recovering lost planets.

Faction population % as of 2/7/2017 7:51 PM Pacific
IS - 56%
Clans - 44%

PLANETARY TYPES
With the addition of quickplay maps there posses an opportunity to make Planet types based on climate.

CW MAPS
Boreal Vault
Emerald Taiga
Grim Portico
Hellebore Springs
Sulfurous Rift
Vitric Forge
QP MAPS
Alpine Peaks
Canyon Network
Caustic Valley
Crimson Strait
Forest Colony
Frozen City
Grim Plexus
HPG Manifold
Polar Highlands
River City
Terra Therma
The Mining Collective
Tourmaline Desert
Viridian Bog

Examples:
COLD WORLD
CW map: Boreal Vault
QP maps: Alpine Peaks, Frozen City, Polar Highlands

HOT WORLD 1
CW map: Victric Forge
QP maps: Caustic Valley, Terra Therma, Viridian Bog

HOT WORLD 2
CW map: Sulfurous Rift
QP maps: Caustic Valley, Terra Therma, Viridian Bog

HOT WORLD 3
CW maps: Victric Forge, Sulfurous Rift
QP maps: Caustic Valley, Terra Therma, Viridian Bog

Idea here is that it would make building drop decks simpler and tuned towards Planet types instead of map

PLANETARY TONNAGES
To add a depth of drop deck tonnages, planets would no longer all be the same tonnage. Instead two ideas that could be used.

Planets close to a faction’s capital would have higher tonnage allowances than enemy factions. This would bring the idea that planets near your capital are easier to defend, versus planets farther away would be harder to capture.

Another idea would be that all planets would have varying tonnage limits from a set of tonnages instead of one value spread across all planets.

PLANETARY VALUE / LOGISTICS
By including the Repair/Refit system, planets can now be valued where they affect repair costs and timers. Factions that begin to lose planets, repair costs and timers would begin to increase but limited by a base value of 100% and can not increase beyond this value in hopes of preventing a snowball effect against the losing side.
Special planets (lore based?) can be labeled to affect the repairs towards specific mechs (variant or chassis) and/or specific weight classes as well. Encouraging factions to hold or take these planets.
MC can still be used as an added reward, keep costs similar to those that would cover repair costs for unit members.
Planets tagged by units could gain extra bonus’, further encouraging units to hold and take planets.

Mercenary:
Can tag a max of three planets for MC income, the planets tagged will be the three highest generating planets.
Loyalist:
Can tag a max of nine planets for MC income, the planets tagged will be the three highest generating planets.


END GAME OBJECTIVES / SEASON END / MAP RESET
Clans: Capture Terra
Houses: Capture majority of House capitals (3)

The idea here is that by sharing objectives this will encourage Clans and Houses to fight not only each other but themselves as well. Upon completing these objectives, the unit with the most impact towards a faction’s victory will receive rewards that they can show off next season.

If Clan win:
Loyalist
Leader: Title, Decal, and Camo - ilKhan
Unit members: Title, Decal, and Camo - ilClan
Mercenary
Leader: Title, Decal, and Camo - Colonel
Unit members: Title, Decal, and Camo - Wolf’s Dragoons

If House win:
Loyalist
Leader: Title, Decal, and Camo - First Lord
Unit members: Title, Decal, and Camo - Star League Defense Force
Mercenary
Leader: Title, Decal, and Camo - Colonel
Unit members: Title, Decal, and Camo - Wolf’s Dragoons

UNIT COFFERS (similar to World of Warcraft’s Banking system)
Currently the coffer’s cover the cost of recruitment.

Repair NPCs have a 'pay for repairs from guild funds' button based on guild permissions (up to withdraw limit). *World of Warcraft*

In MWO, based on rank that the Unit leader sets up, can allot a daily allowance that can be spent to cover repairs from the Unit coffer funds. Which could reset either by phases or daily, etc.


GAME MODES
Tug of War system that changes the mode based on Phases of 20% for each side of the line.
0-20% : Skirmish
21 - 40%: Conquest
41 - 60%: Domination
61 - 80%: Assault
81 - 100%: Invasion

Players have been requesting more randomization towards Game modes. If possible, I’m wondering if the engine could handle changing the value of a variable based on the changing of the tug of war bar. As the bar crosses into the different thresholds that would normally change the gamemode, how bout instead it would change the weights of the possible gamemode that would get picked.

Example: 0-20%: Skirmish = 1
Conquest = .8
Domination = .6
Assault = .4
Invasion = .2
21-40: S = .8
C = 1
D = .8
A = .6
I = .4
41-60: S = .6
C = .8
D = 1
A = .8
I = .6
61-80: S = .4
C = .6
D = .8
A = 1
I = .8
80-100: S = .2
C = .4
D = .6
A = .8
I = 1

[FallingAce]

Russ Bullock on rewards Sept 8 podcast

https://youtu.be/TqmK38kZSgY?t=1351

Russ Bullock on timeframe for revamped rewards system and special events windows

https://youtu.be/TqmK38kZSgY

"~2months ish" after the launch of 4.1

60-90 days

Soon™

Edited by FallingAce, 07 July 2017 - 10:57 AM.

[justcallme A S H]

FallingAce, on 07 July 2017 - 07:24 AM, said:

Russ Bullock on rewards Sept 8 podcast

https://youtu.be/TqmK38kZSgY?t=1351

Russ Bullock on timeframe for revamped rewards system and special events windows

https://youtu.be/TqmK38kZSgY

"~2months ish" after the launch of 4.1

60-90 days

Soon™

Apparently it's sometime before the end of the year.

Which means 2018.

It's just inexcusable. Anyone else this incompetent would be sacked.

[50 50]

QueenBlade, on 07 July 2017 - 07:03 AM, said:

*a document I've been updating through the phases of CW*

I'm just going to applaud you for your efforts and thought.

[Khobai]

Get rid of groups vs pugs for starters

if you cant have seperate queues for groups and pugs then just disallow large groups in FW and make the max group size 3 with a limit of one group per team. and if that group has players in a unit then matchmaker should prevent any players in the same unit that arnt in the group from dropping on the same team. that stops most sync dropping dead in its tracks.

"but FW is for large groups"

then why is it mostly played by pugs and not large groups? the reality is large groups cant sustain FW by themselves. only pugs have the numbers to sustain FW. so FW should be for pugs. and having large groups chase pugs away from playing FW is detrimental to the long term sustainability of FW. Its why many people prefer quickplay because they dont have to deal with stacked teams.

8v8 comp mode is for large groups now. go play that.

Edited by Khobai, 07 July 2017 - 04:49 PM.

[50 50]

Commander A9, on 06 July 2017 - 09:08 AM, said:

There should be a point to planets-a reason for a given side to value them so much other than the advance to Terra or to the Pentagon Worlds beyond the MC given to units and only units. In former variants of FW, taking a particular planet would open or deny attack lanes to you or your enemy.

C-Bills in unit coffers also need to be utilized once more for other than recruiting-in the old versions, units could spend C-Bills to give a planet more slots that an attacking force had to secure in order to take a planet.

Could capturing more planets lower the overall cost of a mech? A weapons system? An engine (probably not, because buying C-Bills is also an RMT procedure for PGI to rake in profits...so why lower prices?) But that's what they used to do with very early Community challenges-the more victories players would attain, the lower the prices of some weapons, mechs, and equipment).

Unfortunately, FW has changed so much that your choice House or Clan doesn't matter any more since all Clans or all Houses are all on the same side...they can no longer attack each other. You can't spend C-Bills in any capacity directly on Faction Warfare. The MC that you earn goes straight to your unit, and not to the individual unless given out by the appropriate unit officers.

So...as far as I can tell...the only thing that's going to bring people into Faction Warfare are events, unless they pump out new snazzy maps and game modes, but...

The only problem with giving specific planets specific bonuses will be that there is no action anywhere else in the galaxy and we have possible problems with one faction having planet X which gives them an advantage because Faction B doesn't have anything like it. etc.

I feel that for the planets to have a bonus, it needs to be for the players, not the actual faction and the easiest and most logical suggestion is to make it about 'land'.
That is, allow players and units to own bases and things that then we get a bonus from. Holdings.
Limit how much can be invested on a planet and limit how much a player and unit could own individually so it creates the need to capture more planets.
Not only does that create the desire to invade, but it also creates the reason to defend.

Now I know a few of your will say 'that's pie in the sky stuff' let me cut you off by saying I'm not suggesting we have bases we can wander about in first person view and hang out with our fellow players. That would be nice, maybe something to push for later.
But the implementation can start off very simple so it does not seem so unobtainable. At it's most basic level, consider this little idea:

Modules for planets

That's not to say we call them modules, but people recognise what it means for mechs so it's an easy comparison.
Let's call them holdings though.

• What if we had a simple slot system on each planet that allowed 3 unit holdings and say 5 player holdings.
  
• What if we use the map to pick a planet, pick a slot and purchase a holding for it.
  
• We can use our personal c-bills and we now have something extra for the unit coffers.
  
• These holdings are effectively our tag on the planet at both a unit and player level.
  
• The holdings provide a personal bonus and a unit bonus.
  
• We lose the planet, then we lose the holdings.

Keep in mind that we have the screens for this.


We have similar functionality in game and used before.

However, one suggestion also does not work without having to consider other areas of the game.
That is, to really make these holdings substantial, provide different options and create choice for us as players and for our units, we need a couple of extra features to actual direct the bonus of the holdings at.
New features that will add depth and purpose but can also start very simply.
So, consider options for things like repairs, logistics and so on.

HOWEVER, want to give these holdings a quick benefit without needing to do anything else? Straight up c-bill, xp, LP or even MC bonuses for playing the mode.

There are quite a lot of planets out there, it should not be too hard to think that having some planets with more slots would be possible. Capital planets etc. Can make those locations cost much more as well while frontier and border planets are cheaper.

So even at a basic level. does that actually sound that difficult or out of reach to anyone?

EDIT: Oh, and as a quick extra thought.
If we need a way to incentivise development in Faction Play, could you imagine sale weekends for planet holdings being a thing?

Edited by 50 50, 07 July 2017 - 05:10 PM.

[Oplix]

In my mind there isnt much wrong with CW. I would love to see more siege as I feel like I never get to play the maps designed for the mode much anymore but other then that the major issue as it has always been are people dont group up so alot of the time us units are facing PUGs we win easily.

The main issue is population if there were more CW focused units the mode would be much better overall I know we have had some great games when we come up against equal competition and im sure the other people in CW focused units would agree. PGI needs to have more events focued to push people unto the game mode to increase population.

Hopefully Civil War helps as im sure it will be back a lot of pilots wanting to check out the new tech. Also group based CW events might not be a bad idea as in order to get the rewards you have to drop as a 6+ man group.

Some type of in game unit recruitment system might not be a bad idea either as I'm sure 75% of the games population never comes on the forums if you could recruit for your units in game it might help newer players and solo players jump into an organized team simply because they are easier to find via an ingame integrated system.

[Maxxi]

I would like diferent drop zones for choose. That would be a fix for the meat grinder camp base. You can choose another drop zone in another side of the map so you can regroup and fight back.

A matchmaker that balance groups and solo players so they can use the sinergy. It's a bad match when you see a 12 player unit vs a bunch of random strangers. But if you have a matchmaker who select group vs group, pug vs pug, you are gonna get a interesting match. Separate pugs of the groups and you gonna have more time waiting for a match.