207 replies to this topic

[Spitfire 03]

I'd like a visual queue metric. Something showing how many solos and groups are currently queued up on your side, so you can get an idea on the wait times.

Also, it'd be nice to disassociate the planet capture rewards from the current sizable unit only system. Give it out as a small bonus to all involved in the win, or a lesser bonus in the result of a draw. I feel it's too late to pull it completely, though I feel they screwed up including it in the first place.

Lastly, more Invasion! although I feel the addition of Incursion was solid step in the right direction.

Edited by Spitfire 03, 05 July 2017 - 07:57 PM.

[justcallme A S H]

I haven't had an incursion game that was actually more "fun" than any other mode.

It's basically Assault but with a base that you can shoot/rush if you want. 9/10 times you chew through 48 mechs and then just drop a single point of damage on base to win where the other team once down a wave just hide in the base anyway.

Such a dynamic change in game play the mode brings.

[50 50]

justcallme A S H, on 05 July 2017 - 07:37 PM, said:

Had a number of these threads the past 12 months or so.

Sadly the vast majority of the ideas that come out from them are simply not viable for no other reason than, PGI. PGI are utterly incapable of delivering proper FP. Look at what was promised 3-4 years ago vs what we have. They are literally as opposite ends of the footy field.

Also most ideas are not "quick wins". They are in depth / pie-in-the-sky items that would be 6 months of solid work/testing and then potentially make things so complex it would actually stop people playing, not encourage.

To "FIX" FP, in that, get some quick wins

.
.
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I could go on all day, make a "top 20" of quick wins, but alas it'll go nowhere. Lots of the Town Halls people got carried away with Pie-In-The-Sky ideas when talking to PGI and as a result nothing truly meaningful really came out of the T/H's when there could've been some really solid stuff done rather than stupid band-aids.

Can't blame people for trying though.
I will point out that the reason we are with the single bucket and unified front is thanks to player requests and an attempt to get quick fixes which only resulted in short term gain.

Faction Play does need a solid investment of development time to really get it sorted.
There are a few bits that could be done quickly, but overall, it does need heavy focus and some larger scale changes to ensure the mode can continue.

[Bud Crue]

Massive rewards. Massive rewards for winners and losers. Make the mode so attractive, rewards-wise, that people want to play it even if they are getting stomped. Absent a MM to separate the good from the bad, absent any lore or immersion to attract the lore tards, absent any real sense of distinctive "progress" to attract the hardcore gamers; the only thing left to the mode that will attract all aspects of the playing population is outright bribery to get people to play.

[MW Waldorf Statler]

-real Garnision of mechs with Droptimes , Travellroutes ...we send 12 lights ,25 Hevays ,3 Assaults and 14 Mediums to Planet YX ...Time is 5 Days ..and have now for Defending Planet XZ 24 Lights, 29 Mediums ,12 Assaults udn 30 Heavys for defending
-Buyabel combined Garnision Troops(Tanks,Carrier,Infantry)

-Planets with Funtions :
Mining for Cbills,
Factorys for Ammo/Special Chassietypes-Failed Defense Limited Ammo of LRM/SRM/AC Ammunition for 1 Week-no Timberwolf or Highlander in Dropteams avaible ,or only 1 Assault in Team
Science Raids for Technologys to use ...susess=(now the Unit can use Level IV Jumpjets,MASC)
Garnisionplanets:failed=no bye Destroyer II Tanks, or only one Infantryplatoon.

-Planets with Mapsets (Tharkand -Ice/Industry/City)

Edited by Old MW4 Ranger, 06 July 2017 - 02:01 AM.

[TWIAFU]

Ripper X, on 05 July 2017 - 03:16 PM, said:

Far as I know this type of 2 queues wasn't tried. A solo player that does not want to go up against organized units can play in the solo only queue. I have had plenty of great games with a group of all solo players. Solo players that want to participate in the competitive side can join the group queue. A solo player that wants to do both can select both solo only and group.

Now I have done some seal clubbing rolling in a 12 man. Not fun either. No challenge. Solo players don't want to get rolled by a 12 man and a 12 man that wants a challenge doesn't want to roll over a bunch of seals. I see this as a win win.

Do this during a large FW event for a test run.

It has been tried, you should do some research. Same thing will happen again.

I agree 100% on the seal clubbing, most do. That's why units face units or units face groups first in CW, solo are left for fillers.

Sure, why not try a solo only queue again with NO CW Rewards. No LP, no bays. Let's test and see how many solo are really there to play CW and not pick up low hanging fruit....

Your solo queue will be dead and they all would be joining one man units to play solo with the untis, again.

[SteelMantis]

The best thing they could do would be to have a separate solo queue. My biggest issue with CW is that I suspect it is causing the game to lose players. Certainly there are unhappy players over in the General Forum every event that makes them want to try pugging CW.

The other thing would be rewards after rank 20 and better rewards for Loyalists. I`d like Loyalist to get something extremely good at rank 20, like a special drop deck of lore appropriate Special variants with C-bill bonus as long as they stay with the faction.

[Marquis De Lafayette]

As Ash and Bud mention more rewards (in particular token MC...as Ash mentioned) for playing FW (win or lose) would shift player-base towards FW more. We see it every, single FW event that offers anything...queues get full. I mean seriously. It doesn't even have to be a ton of MC. 200 games in FW would only be 200 MC max....if you won every single game. That takes a lot of time to even do. PGI has been doling out the MC with these last 2 events to keep population up....I will make more than 200 MC in the first 6 days of loot bags. Make FW kind of a running mini-event for MWO.

[Chagatay]

Marquis De Lafayette, on 06 July 2017 - 04:57 AM, said:

As Ash and Bud mention more rewards (in particular token MC...as Ash mentioned) for playing FW (win or lose) would shift player-base towards FW more. We see it every, single FW event that offers anything...queues get full. I mean seriously. It doesn't even have to be a ton of MC. 200 games in FW would only be 200 MC max....if you won every single game. That takes a lot of time to even do. PGI has been doling out the MC with these last 2 events to keep population up....I will make more than 200 MC in the first 6 days of loot bags. Make FW kind of a running mini-event for MWO.

That looks more like bribery rather than a fix. At least you are on the path to recovery my friend. You've already accepted that FaP is a shambling zombie and that PGI will not fix it.

Honest question though, do you really think that just one measly MC per game is enough?
I really don't think that will be enough. People can be bribed to do something short term if the bribes are high enough but if you think that is going to keep them playing long term...think again. People play games for fun and if FaP isn't people will not play it. It really is that simple.

[Marquis De Lafayette]

Chagatay, on 06 July 2017 - 05:11 AM, said:

That looks more like bribery rather than a fix. At least you are on the path to recovery my friend. You've already accepted that FaP is a shambling zombie and that PGI will not fix it.

Honest question though, do you really think that just one measly MC per game is enough?
I really don't think that will be enough. People can be bribed to do something short term if the bribes are high enough but if you think that is going to keep them playing long term...think again. People play games for fun and if FaP isn't people will not play it. It really is that simple.

The reality is that PGI has let the mode rot....the one bucket thing worked only in that it made queues work better. Aside from that (and removing long Tom) none of the core issues plaguing the mode have been really fixed. A lot of what Ash and others have said needs to be done is (to me) far more pressing and meaningful....however the fact is that bribery works in this game. PGI knows it...these current and last events are "keep you playing bribes". I am more in the 2 MC for a win 1 MC for a loss camp....and 1/2 that for scouting....and if they can't do 1/2 and MC....just do 1 MC for winning scouting.

[Husker Dude]

I suggested this on another thread, but force teams to have full 12 pilots before dropping, to promote partial teams picking up solo players to complete their groups and reduce the number of 12 solo pilot teams, and give new players a better introduction on what they are supposed to do in CW matches (or, if they prove incapable of team play, not get picked up).
This happened quite a bit during the big Tukayyid events, with groups filling out the spots so that they wouldn't get jumped in queue by another full 12, and it's been responsible for an influx of new pilots to existing units, which I think is generally a good thing.

Also, agree with other people calling for more classic siege matches, less QP modes.

[ScreamingSkull]

I'd disable the ability to use a players mechs in Faction Warfare (coming from someone with 200 mechs) and also not carry over experience from a players' mechs' skills. Every faction would have a selection of stock mechs that fit their faction's flavor and production capabilities (certain planets produce certain parts and certain mechs). Clanner omni pods would be switchable, but NOT customizable.

Faction leaders would be elected once a season through a voting system. Leaders would receive a limited quantity of fully unlocked and customizable mechs that they can give to loyalist unit leaders or mercenary unit leaders. Leaders would not be able to give more than a limited number to any one unit (including his/her own).The respawning mechanic is dumb and makes FW more cartoony than Quick Play, which is ludicrous. If you're dead, you're dead. Once a mech is destroyed, it's gone.

Skills are lost if your pilot dies :^)

That's a start anyway.

EDIT: Add in a bunch of simulation stuff from Old MW4 Ranger's post as well... I'd want procedurally generated maps for every planet... at least 1 or 2. This would give an advantage to defenders, or players using scouting and other new forms of intel properly.

tl;dr I want Mechwarrior MMORPG :<

Edited by ScreamingSkull, 06 July 2017 - 08:45 AM.

[Commander A9]

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...

Edited by Commander A9, 06 July 2017 - 09:39 AM.

[Ripper X]

TWIAFU, on 06 July 2017 - 03:08 AM, said:

It has been tried, you should do some research. Same thing will happen again.

I agree 100% on the seal clubbing, most do. That's why units face units or units face groups first in CW, solo are left for fillers.

Sure, why not try a solo only queue again with NO CW Rewards. No LP, no bays. Let's test and see how many solo are really there to play CW and not pick up low hanging fruit....

Your solo queue will be dead and they all would be joining one man units to play solo with the untis, again.

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.

Edited by Ripper X, 06 July 2017 - 09:52 AM.

[Will9761]

Bud Crue, on 06 July 2017 - 01:57 AM, said:

Massive rewards. Massive rewards for winners and losers. Make the mode so attractive, rewards-wise, that people want to play it even if they are getting stomped. Absent a MM to separate the good from the bad, absent any lore or immersion to attract the lore tards, absent any real sense of distinctive "progress" to attract the hardcore gamers; the only thing left to the mode that will attract all aspects of the playing population is outright bribery to get people to play.

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.

Edited by Will9761, 06 July 2017 - 10:58 AM.

[LordNothing]

population is everything. make the game more fun to more types of players and more people will play it.

[Sedmeister]

So we've had some good responses. Do you think we could make a compilation of the top ten changes players would like to see in FW that are relatively easy to code/implement and then make a poll? In addition, if there were some options there that could incorporate volunteer community time/contribution that might make the list a little more attractive?

On the one hand, there are those who would say "why bother, PGI don't listen etc etc".

However, we could do this, see what kind of votes we get and just maybe we can tweet the result to Russ or in some other way get the attention of the games developers to let them know there is intrest in FW and a desire for improvements with some community members numbers attached.

Anyone want to have a go at hacking together a list like this?

[justcallme A S H]

Chagatay, on 06 July 2017 - 05:11 AM, said:

Honest question though, do you really think that just one measly MC per game is enough?
I really don't think that will be enough. People can be bribed to do something short term if the bribes are high enough but if you think that is going to keep them playing long term...think again. People play games for fun and if FaP isn't people will not play it. It really is that simple.

The actual semantics (exact amount) are not really the point. It's more the idea. Until it gets passed that stage then semantics mean nothing.


FP3 is what killed FP the most. PGI's inaction on Long Tom, Single Attack lane - that basically was the exodus and many units both small and large died. Those units trained people in the art of MWO and "tactics" so that people did not have to solo/PUG. They actively recruited.

These days most active units are gone bar a handful in comparison to what it was circa 16 months ago. People don't recruit as much, train as much etc. PGI are to blame, no one else.

[LordNothing]

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.

nah i dont think a hard split is the right way to do it, a soft split would be better. say if you do a group drop with 6 or more players, you agree that you will wait for another group of 6 or more players and will never drop with skittles. solos and small groups may fill out the empty places. a 12vs6 can happen and would be the largest organizational disparity permitted in games.

the threshold value is not important. 6 represents a 50% organizational disparity as the maximum allowed. larger values are more fair to pugs and small groups, so it could be higher. in older posts i suggested a threshold around 8, but with the size of some of the units dropping lately, i think that would be a little too high. things are better for pugs, things are better for small casual groups, games are better for competitive unit players (assuming 'better' means more challenge and not more seals). if you are a unit engaging in planet capture, splitting your drops into more games might improve your capture rate. if i can have good games as a pug, an organized unit can have better games as a 5 man.

you could also have similar threshold rules for freelancers. like only being able to drop against teams which may only contain at most a 4-man group disparity. this would mean that new players would have slightly better odds. freelancer becomes a training ground for fp, or a place for casual players who are willing to wait longer for a more fair match. you can also do a modicum of gating by giving freelancers a skill tree. you would have to complete at least part of it to unlock career selection. also provide a mechanism to win mechs and build useful drop decks.

none of these create new buckets, a freelancer might find their way into an 11v12 match. there is still no skill matching (matchmaker would be a placebo at most, and its neither wise nor possible unless we see like a 10 fold population increase). but at least seal clubbing is greatly diminished. if people still feel seal clubbing is an issue they can drop to freelancer to get gud and if you are still getting seal clubed by 4 mans thats a you problem.

Edited by LordNothing, 06 July 2017 - 07:30 PM.

[LordNothing]

justcallme A S H, on 05 July 2017 - 07:55 PM, said:

Most of my friends that have/did play have stopped because of the lacking/poor development. I couldn't even keep my brother playing

also my cats are completely unwilling to play fp.