48 replies to this topic

[Mister Blastman]

I see lots of threads complaining about cowardice in MWO, and let's face it, it is a problem.

Arty and airstrikes were theoretically introduced to help curb this, to help players move or be blown to bits. In practice, however, they were introduced to burn through player cbills because they give folks easy match score and points, while creating an environment that is explosive and annoying because, well, press button, do massive damage. Whee!

I think arty and airstrike are boring. They aren't solving the problem.

So, Blastman, what do we do to fix this... cowardice?

Well, if you ask me--hell, don't ask me, ask Crazy Eddie!

So, Crazy Eddie, what do we do about cowardice? How do we make arty and airstrike fill their intended role?

Crazy Eddie Says: "Sandworms."

See, Eddie is a man of few words. Something about getting sued too many times in the 80s for false advertising. Whatever. Sandworms, he said.

And you know what? I agree. Sandworms are the answer.

Remove arty and airstrike. Replace with sandworms. Stand still too long and, well..

[Alcom Isst]

Yea, but I feel like we have a thematic issue here. Sandworms wouldn't be out of place in a desert like Tourmaline or some rocky environment like Grim Plexus, Caustic Valley, or even Terra Therma. However it would be weird having sandworms attack Frozen City or Veridian Bog. We will need like iceworns or swamp-worms to match the theme of the maps. Terra Therma could have lava-worms to better match its theme, too. I'm not sure what you would do for an urban or sci-fi environment like River City or HPG. Perhaps you could have an ordinary giant worm pop out of the concrete in River City, but they'll look out of place if they pop out of a building that a mech is camping on top of. HPG is especially challenging for the theme, as a great majority of combat occurs on Death Star terrain, not exactly the sort of substance you see worms crawling out of.

Edited by Alcom Isst, 14 July 2017 - 07:30 PM.

[Moadebe]

I approve of this...

[Gwahlur]

Do they come with thumpers? Can we ride them?

[Mister Blastman]

Hmm. Thumper strike. It might be OP...

Perhaps make them a single use weapon like rocket launchers? Gotta use crits to carry one. LCT preferred.

[LordNothing]

battletech lore is just a dumbed down dune ripoff anyway.

Edited by LordNothing, 14 July 2017 - 09:53 PM.

[RestosIII]

Better idea. If your mech stays in the same place too long, CDS gets notified and we tow your mech away as salvage. No parking allowed at any time, folks.

[Shifty McSwift]

What about painboxes? Can we get painboxes?



But seriously it could be nice to see some extra environmental effects/scenarios, they are basically all concerned with heat at the moment, and could be expanded quite far.

[Star Colonel Silver Surat]

I still don't understand why standing still and defending one well chosen location (with good cover) is any stupider of a tactic than continuous counter-clockwise NASCAR.

I know tryhard players have twitch-based ADHD and so have to be pushing the W button every second of a match to feel like their life has any meaning, but they often spell the death of the slower mechs on their team which inevitably get abandoned on both sides in the rush to start the mutual tail chasing.

The best way to get rid of cowardice is to add large c-bill rewards for first strike on an enemy mech, first component destroyed on an enemy mech etc.

[Battlemaster56]

I have better methods of dealing with parked mechs.



It always worked against rebels terrorist scum, so it should work on those parked monkeys.

[Shifty McSwift]

Star Colonel Silver Surat, on 14 July 2017 - 10:37 PM, said:

I still don't understand why standing still and defending one well chosen location (with good cover) is any stupider of a tactic than continuous counter-clockwise NASCAR.

In reality of course it isn't but if you focus too much on that in gaming, then the enjoyment side of things flees, as the most efficient and effective method will always be waiting for people to walk into your sights and not exposing yourself, which makes for long boring games with minimal action at the end scale.

The idea of area control weapons is simply to break up that idea as the most efficient, with proper area control, if you clump up and sit still, you all suffer for it, it could still win, but it becomes risky. This combined with the actual TTK mechanics of the game (rather than 1 shot kill of most FPS twitch shooters), creates a lot of interesting and in practice very fun combat tactics that actually work.

Also there are more tactics beyond camping and nascaring that can be applied, but in QP these are basically the easiest to do in a disorganised group.

Edited by Shifty McSwift, 14 July 2017 - 10:47 PM.

[kf envy]

Battlemaster56, on 14 July 2017 - 10:41 PM, said:

I have better methods of dealing with parked mechs.



It always worked against rebels terrorist scum, so it should work on those parked monkeys.

why not use a pick of battletech war ships??

[Battlemaster56]

kf envy, on 14 July 2017 - 10:59 PM, said:

why not use a pick of battletech war ships??

They're kinda rare when I tried to search them, also Star Wars have it's hold on me so it came naturally. But if I do find some I'll post a picture next time.

[Requiemking]

RestosIII, on 14 July 2017 - 09:59 PM, said:

Better idea. If your mech stays in the same place too long, CDS gets notified and we tow your mech away as salvage. No parking allowed at any time, folks.

And thats when we shoot down your ships and steal your stuff.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Alcom Isst, on 14 July 2017 - 07:30 PM, said:

HPG is especially challenging for the theme, as a great majority of combat occurs on Death Star terrain, not exactly the sort of substance you see worms crawling out of.

Technoworms

[Mister Blastman]

Star Colonel Silver Surat, on 14 July 2017 - 10:37 PM, said:

I still don't understand why standing still and defending one well chosen location (with good cover) is any stupider of a tactic than continuous counter-clockwise NASCAR.

I'll be the last to defend NASCAR(because it's stupid, too), but... not defending doesn't mean you're doing NASCAR.

Defense is a losing proposition. Wars can't be won with defense, as defense will always be beaten, given time. Offense is what wins, and in MWO, this still holds true. Those who defend ultimately open themselves up to being picked off from their weakest angle, then charged upon and they die. Failure is the result of the defending team.

[Luminis]

Mister Blastman, on 15 July 2017 - 05:53 AM, said:

I'll be the last to defend NASCAR(because it's stupid, too), but... not defending doesn't mean you're doing NASCAR.

Defense is a losing proposition. Wars can't be won with defense, as defense will always be beaten, given time. Offense is what wins, and in MWO, this still holds true. Those who defend ultimately open themselves up to being picked off from their weakest angle, then charged upon and they die. Failure is the result of the defending team.

Unless your team has a few players who're confusing stupidity and courage, charge full throttle into the enemy firing line and leave your team down 2-0.

[Mister Blastman]

Luminis, on 15 July 2017 - 05:59 AM, said:

Unless your team has a few players who're confusing stupidity and courage, charge full throttle into the enemy firing line and leave your team down 2-0.

That's a problem too. The fools that die in the first sixty seconds because... hell if I know. But they do!

Perhaps an automatic uninstall function. Play like a fool too many times in a row, game uninstalls with a message: "Nice try. Perhaps you should try a different game. This one is not for you."

[E1nh3rjar]

Maybe PGI should consider a new type of tactical consumable.
The one element that is lacking in this game, but has been seen in every other incarnation of MW are Planetary Defense Forces.
With this in mind, how hard would it be to include a Cavalry Strike to the consumables line up?

First off, the smaller hover tanks, attack choppers, and LRM launchers are no real match for any mech, and albiet are at best an annoyance but they are still dangerous to wounded mechs and can still play a better role in creating chaos in the enemy ranks as well as make players who like to sit and do absolutely nothing beneficial for the team dynamic.

I.e. a cpl of LRM launchers armed with Inferno LRMs would be far more effective at area control than Arties or Air strikes as the mechanics of the inferno LRM is one that does splash damage and generates considerable heat as the napalm cooks anything it hits.

And lets not forget the triple barreled PPC tanks as a viable sniper solution.
Make them timer based, meaning they fight for a few minutes, then leave the battlefield.
Create a visual area of effect indicator for the the mechwarrior to use to determine proper placement by say holding the key, and by releasing it, places the rally point for these forces to appear and either harass hostiles, or defend a strategic point.

[The_Dane]

"Usuul, we have worm sign the likes of which GOD has never seen!"