7 replies to this topic

[I c a r u s]

I wrote this for the creative team, what do you guys think of this idea?

TL;DR is to add a standalone game mode with unlimited respawns that can be joined and left at will, similar to how games like Team Fortress 2 work

"
This is a proposal for implementation of a game mode in MechWarrior: Online which has potential to attract new audiences, encourage skill development, and provide an environment where large skill gaps would have negligible impact on gameplay. The core mechanics of this game mode are already present in the Community Warfare system.

Through Community Warfare, attackers and defenders are able to reinforce their team, throughout the game, with a variety of chassis. Each match features a single map, with a decisive victor at the conclusion, where an objective has been achieved or the enemy team eliminated. All of the game modes in MechWarrior: Online contain an elimination element, wherein gameplay generally ends for any given player before the match conclusion.

Take in contrast, for example, Team Fortress 2. Many servers operate one set map or map rotation, and continue to refresh the map after each match, with players able to come and go as they choose. They can continue to play regardless of their skill level, without being eliminated from the game. This style of play is highly non-competitive, and allows players to reinforce their team constantly with a variety of tactical options through different classes which are selectable during a match.

MechWarrior: Online could benefit from a proprietary implementation of this style of gameplay. Two teams could fight for control of a single objective, as currently featured in Domination, or race to complete opposing objectives, as featured in Escort, Incursion, and Community Warfare. Until this objective is completed by a team, players have unlimited respawns, and can freely select from any of their ‘Mechs regardless of overall team composition. This allows fierce, dynamic battles, throughout which tactics, players, and team composition could widely vary.

New players can benefit from the field time and chassis variety offered by such a game mode. Additionally, new players will not find their opponents’ skill to be a barrier of entry to the game. This opens up tactics which are not viable in elimination-based game modes, while also relieving the pressure on inexperienced players to adhere to a team’s expectations.[

We feel this game mechanic is necessary to increase the scope of MechWarrior: Online’s potential for entertainment. Also, enabling such rapid variation of chassis for any given player encourages them to expand their collection of ‘Mechs, and the casual style will encourage more dynamic builds and testing of a player’s less-familiar chassis, which they may avoid deploying in the core game modes.
"

Edited by I c a r u s, 17 July 2017 - 12:29 PM.

[Kalimaster]

Yeah I could see it.

[Mechwarrior4670152]

One of the LAST things I want to see in this game is more respawns.

I see far FAR too many people who refuse to even try to learn the maps.
I see far FAR too many people who refuse to even try to work with their teams.

Let's not reward them more by giving them a mode that lets them keep doing that.

[I c a r u s]

Wence the Wanderer, on 17 July 2017 - 02:38 PM, said:

I see far FAR too many people who refuse to even try to learn the maps.
I see far FAR too many people who refuse to even try to work with their teams.

Let's not reward them more by giving them a mode that lets them keep doing that.

Playing the maps for longer periods of time without worrying about deaths = more learning the maps.

If this is how you feel, wouldn't you prefer people who don't want to work as a team to have access to this game mode, such that the core game modes have more of the tactically-involved players?

Edited by I c a r u s, 17 July 2017 - 02:57 PM.

[Mechwarrior4670152]

I c a r u s, on 17 July 2017 - 02:56 PM, said:

[color=#959595]Playing the maps for longer periods of time without worrying about deaths = more learning the maps.[/color]

I deal almost every game with people who do not WANT to learn the maps.
Skirmish fills the game mode que with people who claim it is better because it rewards outflanking....
But refuse to do anything but walk to the center of the map.

Giving them respawns will not fix that.

I c a r u s, on 17 July 2017 - 02:56 PM, said:

If this is how you feel, wouldn't you prefer people who don't want to work as a team ....

I stopped reading right there.
Because you are putting words into my mouth that I did not say.
I rarely bother reading past the point where people have proven themselves unwilling to actually read what I am writing.

And jackassery like that is part of why I do not want it.
Yes, jackassery. When you try to support your own arguments by claiming the other person said things they did not, things they did not even imply, that is jackassery

Skirmish is already the most popular game mode.
What does skirmish offer that the other modes do not?

Only less thinking.
Only less things to have to pay attention to.

We already have a mode for people who do not want to think.
I do not want to give them another.

I do not want to reward those who wine about other players cheating...
When they refuse to cap on conquest and thus get outcapped.

I do not want to reward those who whine about unfairness in Escort...
When they refuse to even try to capture the points, or even shoot at the escortee.

I do not want to get another mode for those who do not want to think.
We already have one of those.

[I c a r u s]

Wence the Wanderer, on 17 July 2017 - 02:38 PM, said:

people who refuse to even try to work with their teams.

I c a r u s, on 17 July 2017 - 02:56 PM, said:

people who don't want to work as a team

Wence the Wanderer, on 17 July 2017 - 03:40 PM, said:

you are putting words into my mouth that I did not say.
I rarely bother reading past the point where people have proven themselves unwilling to actually read what I am writing.

Woah man! You must be great at parties! This kind of cringy response is what makes this community so hit-and-miss.

[Mechwarrior4670152]

I c a r u s, on 17 July 2017 - 03:46 PM, said:

Who! I can comment on how rude you are, but how DARE you point out that I am doing the exact same thing!

Same to you buddy.

Of course, it is hard to have a community that is anything but hit or miss when so much of it outright refuses to actually discuss things.

I pointed out why I didn't want your suggestion.

You countered by claiming I said things I did not.

You responded by commenting that I was less than polite.

I am still waiting for an actual counter to my arguments.

[I c a r u s]

For the record, I have no idea when I put words in your mouth, but you did just fab a quote from me. Let's not do a flame thread. We put a lot of thought into this idea, so I'd like to genuinely, honestly discuss the benefits and drawbacks of it.

First of all, to be clear, this would be separate from the quick play queue. A menu option like "training grounds", separate from the core game modes. Nobody would ever end up in this mode without wanting to be.

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I see far FAR too many people who refuse to even try to learn the maps.

I don't see this, or I don't see it affecting gameplay at my level of play. This doesn't matter though, because I feel spending more time in a game allows people to learn the maps. This mode could also encourage using more of the map real estate.

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I see far FAR too many people who refuse to even try to work with their teams.

I really don't see this at my level of play, but lower tiers may suffer from this. My original reply was to suggest that these players may benefit from a standalone mode that takes the team pressure off of them. This is probably not a game mode for you, and that's fine, but if somebody doesn't care to be a team player, this would give them a place to play casually and not worry about that. This doesn't have to be considered "rewarding" any behavior as it is beneficial to tactical players as well to have less non-team-players in the main queue.

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Skirmish is already the most popular game mode.
What does skirmish offer that the other modes do not?

Only less thinking.
Only less things to have to pay attention to.

We already have a mode for people who do not want to think.
I do not want to give them another.

You're not wrong. This wouldn't be a core game mode though. It wouldn't be MWO games in the traditional sense. A separate free battle arena entirely. No thinking required at all. This may not be for you, but that gameplay style draws big crowds with other games. It's more of a party mode. It's not meant to be taken seriously, for sure.

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I do not want to reward those who wine about other players cheating...
When they refuse to cap on conquest and thus get outcapped.

I do not want to reward those who whine about unfairness in Escort...
When they refuse to even try to capture the points, or even shoot at the escortee.

Yeah, to hell with them though. That's not really a concern here. The players who make those comments will whine about any mode. This isn't a reward for them. If anything, it's a channel for them to get that out of their system, and learn skills which can be migrated to the core game modes.

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I do not want to get another mode for those who do not want to think.
We already have one of those.

To be honest, the only "thinking" in any game mode would be applied tactics, in my opinion. Topological tactics (from knowing the map) and coherent tactics (coordinating with your team) pretty much comprise the only thinking you need. So yeah, you could have games in this mode that are tactically barren and games that are thoroughly strategized.

Think about it this way: how often do you see objective games, like Escort and Conquest, end on elimination terms? Even Incursion games usually end with one team wiped before the objectives are destroyed. A Free Battle would require playing the objective to finish a round. Individual players play modes like this in other games with all levels of team coordination. I think it would honestly reduce the problems that you see in the core game modes.