19 replies to this topic

[Avathar]

How did this situation develop?
So many new players have absolutely NO idea of what faction warfare is.
They bring the wrong mechs, i saw an LRM Mad dog and ... an LRM Jenner in the last match??!!??
Which of course we lost without even a hope of a chance.

They go in one by one. Block passageways by standing in the narrowest part.
And best of all, when you try to direct the team and give simple pointers.. they get angry.

Tell me to "take it easy" and "you take things wayyy to seriously".

Something like calling targets, or setting out a tactic, is being considered "stupid".
When i get angry because they are robbing me of having a nice game. Because even if you lose but you played well, with good teamwork, you still have a good game.
But even if you win with such an incompetent poor bunch of quick play team members.... you know you only lost because the poor ******** on the other side were even worse.

its like wanting to plan for the clans in faction warfare... but you brought inner sphere mechs. jezus. PGI should do something about this.

Maybe a "how to play a faction warfare match, and be a help to your team" tutorial?

[Jep Jorgensson]

The event of course. Did you somehow not notice?

[Avathar]

No its more than that.
The event plays a part in it sure.
But its been going on last season and this one.

[Jun Watarase]

If you are referring to my mad dog, i had ATMs.

[Avathar]

Nope not yours the missiles had a high arc. Look im not convinced about ATM's yet. But they are an alternative for SRM's so they can be good. LRM's nope not good for faction warfare.

[Commander A9]

He's right. I've seen it firsthand. It's disturbing.

My answer?

Complacency: the spirit of "good enough."

This mindset traces itself back years into gaming, all the way back to 2004, when the industry shifted from catering to hardcore gamers who invested hours into a game, making pages of passwords, maps, strategies, and had to read actual books to really master the game...to catering to the casual gamer, who just wants to pick-up-and-play for an hour or so and be done with it.

It focuses on an individual's particular attitude regarding multiplayer gaming as a whole, which will determine their actions on the Mechwarrior field.

This industry shift highlighted two types of players: the casual and the hardcore. And for this discussion, we'll focus on those two types.

The hardcore player is typically your "unit" player: this pilot will join a unit, design mechs according to this unit's fighting style, and work towards improving his abilities. This pilot will often drop with his unit, almost exclusively. Why? Because this pilot has the attitude that winning is important-it gives him satisfaction. He likes to compete, and his happiness and satisfaction is determined by a win or loss.

The casual player doesn't care about any of that. He's only here to shoot stuff for a few hours, then move on with life, because that's all he's willing to invest. Typically, he will not bother to invest in building mechs for Faction Warfare because it gives him no satisfaction. His goal is to enjoy his game just blowing people up-winning is secondary.

It seems at this time, the game is being flooded with casual players due to the event.

[xXJ35T3RXx]

I couldn't even get the Nato alphabet in one match. The person on the mic insisted on calling targets by design, needless to say several team mates were blasted on accident. Myself in my Hunchie IIC and a friendly Jenner IIC both got it.

Friendly fire is also been an increasing problem. More and more players fail to take the time to position themselves correctly and will just blast a team mates arm off to shoot an enemy as if it was no big deal. There are not apologies also.

[Asym]

I should probably stay out of this conversation......

I am new to faction war. I joined a JF team and tried FW with them. We got stomped and it was so bad, we didn't go back and haven't been back as a unit.....

I've been dropping as an individual for this event several times a day and have written 2 forum pieces on the experience I've had. I played just under a hundred games.

I like FW. It is the MWO main story line that somehow, well before me, was corrupted..... Vicious stomps. Spawn killings. Dishonerable behavior of clansmen. Geeze.

As a new player, playing a game I love since its inception, what a mess FW really is........ Maybe a third of the games I've played could be classified as "fun". The rest, well, lets just say that I'm only still in MWO because of the team I play with. As an individual, I'd be an inactive account with maybe 5 games a month.

My articles were on new player retention. I find it amazing that a majority of the older player want to exclude solo players. Their mantra is "join a unit" and "after all, FW is a team activity".... Really? Get real...... All wars have units and new people who fill existing units in battle. If we treat the new guys so badly, they are leaving not only FW but the ENTIRE GAME!

I've talked to several new players after a vicious stomp and they will NEVER join a unit or play FW again. Several have quit MWO and left their accounts open and might be back much later. MWO has become "Plan C" for many others.

Look, I go to school at a major university and we have a "game room" where the LoL, WoT, WoW, Guild Wars, EliteDangerous teams all play..... No one gives a crap about MWO because of the hate they've witnessed when I'm on the "big screen" demonstrating what MWO is. Its been since Feb when I joined and I've not been able to recruit a single person. In fact, I've been recruited for an ED team........ If this doesn't set off some warning bells, well, maybe, we're already too far gone to make a difference....

I hope it gets better soon....................space is huge and they have thousands of maps and ships and missions.........you get the point.

[Avathar]

Yeah i feel your pain.
But i bet you arent one of those people that just laughs when a player tries to get a tactic, calls targets etc.

I bet you are one of the people that wants to get better at the game.
Do you know the site metamechs? and smurphy's? those will help with loadouts and heat simulation/management.

My rant is about the people that are new and dont want to learn, as well as the more experienced players that think its a good plan to use team mates as meat shields or sometimes even fire through team mates etc.

Fun fact: if you talk about this with support.... they will try to find dirt on you, and you get warned for not sticking to community guidelines. However they wont comment on the mess pgi has made of faction warfare.

I feel by making faction war just a longer version of quick plays, pgi has created the context for this decline.

[Asym]

They don't have to learn and that is intentional....that, my friend, is the point.

That notion supports PGI's micro-sales paradigm: make MWO a 2D brawling simulation where PGI will sell "relevant" fixes and sell you new, releveant mechs.... It's a cycle: oooh, new mech; what a game changer; oh, its too powerfull; Oooops, it's been nerfed; oh, geeze, its been nerfed again; and,it isn't nearly competitive; oh, here's a new mech line.......

The skill tree is step one in the de-evolution of the gamplay and battlespace degradation.... Weapons were degraded, mobility was degraded, ECM was degreaded, lethality was degraded, some armor was increased for the simple reason it extends the battlespace time, some entire mech lines were degraded and the skill tree can not fix them, etc, etc, etc.... Lights are now mini-assaults and just about impervious....... See where this is going? Now, you don't have to think. Don't need tactics.....

The entire community is oblivious....... Those of us who have programmed in this environment saw it immediately and many observant mech drivers are now asking "what happended to my x weapon? That wasn't nerfed....?" And yet, by secondary condition. it most assuradlywas and the community doesn't see it yet..............

Yes, I try. Yes, I am honorable to my enemies. Yes, I love this game..... But, at some point, after PGI finishes what it has in mind, the team the recruited be left after the skill tree and went to space........ The team I am playing on are now expolring that same game............. see what is happening..........

[xXJ35T3RXx]

Asym, on 01 August 2017 - 04:52 PM, said:

They don't have to learn and that is intentional....that, my friend, is the point.

That notion supports PGI's micro-sales paradigm: make MWO a 2D brawling simulation where PGI will sell "relevant" fixes and sell you new, releveant mechs.... It's a cycle: oooh, new mech; what a game changer; oh, its too powerfull; Oooops, it's been nerfed; oh, geeze, its been nerfed again; and,it isn't nearly competitive; oh, here's a new mech line.......

The skill tree is step one in the de-evolution of the gamplay and battlespace degradation.... Weapons were degraded, mobility was degraded, ECM was degreaded, lethality was degraded, some armor was increased for the simple reason it extends the battlespace time, some entire mech lines were degraded and the skill tree can not fix them, etc, etc, etc.... Lights are now mini-assaults and just about impervious....... See where this is going? Now, you don't have to think. Don't need tactics.....

The entire community is oblivious....... Those of us who have programmed in this environment saw it immediately and many observant mech drivers are now asking "what happended to my x weapon? That wasn't nerfed....?" And yet, by secondary condition. it most assuradlywas and the community doesn't see it yet..............

Yes, I try. Yes, I am honorable to my enemies. Yes, I love this game..... But, at some point, after PGI finishes what it has in mind, the team the recruited be left after the skill tree and went to space........ The team I am playing on are now expolring that same game............. see what is happening..........

Dude, you are tripping. I don't think anyone knows what you were saying in that last rambling paragraph.

[Asym]

To be honest, I'm not tripping..... I am concerned.

Everyone I was assuming would stay in MWO and talked me into playing in Jan/Feb of this year are gone..... An entire new team.

I play with a Falcon team and they are playing "other" games as well as MWO. More than MWO.

The people I've met along the way were playing all day long and now, only an hour or so.

We see more European and Asian server players on the North American server now than just 6 months ago. Where are all of the NA players gone?

Why? The answer may lay in that MWO is stale. CW isn't what many expected. FW isn't conducive to new player retention. And, PGI seems to many of us, headed in a simplier direction to boost profits and lower operating systems costs....

Tripping? No, I'm the last boy scout and I'n staying for a little while to see if what I think is happening is a game changin reality.

After that, well, I'll follow my friends and team mates, Who knows, maybe, Clan Jade Falcon needs a "space wing"?

[Avathar]

Well the skill tree in itself isnt a bad tool, if implemented well it serves to further customize. Which is the official stance.
But indeed the side effects are a nerf on everyone else, partly cancelled out by their own use of the skill tree. So what happens? Everyone goes for the armor tree as a primary.

About the introduction/nerf cycly yeah common tactic in MMO's and free to play games.

But the main problem in all of this is still the lack of imagination that PGI has. Instead of making everything better over time, they have just one answer nerf. Something good is out? Nerf it to bits.
It happened with the 4 uac combo of the kodiak (before that i believe to the 2 uac 20 combo) then with the introduction of the night gyer to the gaus/ppc combo. then to the small pulse laser (because of the arctic cheeta and linebacker).

PGI could have spent their time trying to make every combo good. Every weapon loadout great. But they dont they spend it trying to make them all suck. That kills a game, since a game has to be fun.

[General Solo]

I think its nothing new, rather the same ol cycle
Not like there never was seals and clubbers before.

[Heritor Asphodel]

i should have never read this, ignorance is truly bliss.

[The Basilisk]

Avathar, on 29 July 2017 - 12:04 PM, said:

How did this situation develop?
So many new players have absolutely NO idea of what faction warfare is.
They bring the wrong mechs, i saw an LRM Mad dog and ... an LRM Jenner in the last match??!!??
Which of course we lost without even a hope of a chance.

They go in one by one. Block passageways by standing in the narrowest part.
And best of all, when you try to direct the team and give simple pointers.. they get angry.

Tell me to "take it easy" and "you take things wayyy to seriously".

Something like calling targets, or setting out a tactic, is being considered "stupid".
When i get angry because they are robbing me of having a nice game. Because even if you lose but you played well, with good teamwork, you still have a good game.
But even if you win with such an incompetent poor bunch of quick play team members.... you know you only lost because the poor ******** on the other side were even worse.

its like wanting to plan for the clans in faction warfare... but you brought inner sphere mechs. jezus. PGI should do something about this.

Maybe a "how to play a faction warfare match, and be a help to your team" tutorial?

Huh makes me wonder if this is could be a legit strategy...change sides to the clans...annoy the hell out of those tryhard git gud supertech abusers that think there are "wrong mechs" you can bring...then change back to IS and have a blast while those guys commit mass teammurders and suizide afterwards when you ask them politely what the hell is meant by lock targets and why you shouldn't use those overpowered awsome blue LRMs and why everyone is getting mad when you try to use chat (while using allchat) to
communicate and organize. And why the hell is red smoke bad ? Its just smoke, it doesn't hurt you its all those cheaters and imba lurmers that hit you out of nowhere right....right?
Hey wait why did you disconnect....hello ?

Gnnnnnihihihihihi

Edited by The Basilisk, 07 August 2017 - 04:43 AM.

[Ssamout]

The Basilisk, on 07 August 2017 - 04:27 AM, said:

Huh makes me wonder if this is could be a legit strategy...change sides to the clans...annoy the hell out of those tryhard git gud supertech abusers that think there are "wrong mechs" you can bring...then change back to IS and have a blast while those guys commit mass teammurders and suizide afterwards when you ask them politely what the hell is meant by lock targets and why you shouldn't use those overpowered awsome blue LRMs and why everyone is getting mad when you try to use chat (while using allchat) to
communicate and organize. And why the hell is red smoke bad ? Its just smoke, it doesn't hurt you its all those cheaters and imba lurmers that hit you out of nowhere right....right?
Hey wait why did you disconnect....hello ?

Gnnnnnihihihihihi

Mr funny guy would be accidentally legged and stripped to bits so that some IS lrm-master can finish him off.

[Lord0fHats]

Why do you think incompetent people are only just now play FW?

[Mr Blonde]

Asym, on 01 August 2017 - 04:52 PM, said:

They don't have to learn and that is intentional....that, my friend, is the point.

That notion supports PGI's micro-sales paradigm: make MWO a 2D brawling simulation where PGI will sell "relevant" fixes and sell you new, releveant mechs.... It's a cycle: oooh, new mech; what a game changer; oh, its too powerfull; Oooops, it's been nerfed; oh, geeze, its been nerfed again; and,it isn't nearly competitive; oh, here's a new mech line.......

The skill tree is step one in the de-evolution of the gamplay and battlespace degradation.... Weapons were degraded, mobility was degraded, ECM was degreaded, lethality was degraded, some armor was increased for the simple reason it extends the battlespace time, some entire mech lines were degraded and the skill tree can not fix them, etc, etc, etc.... Lights are now mini-assaults and just about impervious....... See where this is going? Now, you don't have to think. Don't need tactics.....

The entire community is oblivious....... Those of us who have programmed in this environment saw it immediately and many observant mech drivers are now asking "what happended to my x weapon? That wasn't nerfed....?" And yet, by secondary condition. it most assuradlywas and the community doesn't see it yet..............

Yes, I try. Yes, I am honorable to my enemies. Yes, I love this game..... But, at some point, after PGI finishes what it has in mind, the team the recruited be left after the skill tree and went to space........ The team I am playing on are now expolring that same game............. see what is happening..........

Sounds like the Magic the Gathering model.

[G4ost]

If you noticed the event that alone would have answered the question, but the other more obvious fact is if you had looked at something like SteamCharts and noticed the decline of players then formulate the stagnate pool of players vs the average time it takes to get that same group of people again that you just played with. The game has lost 280+ avg players in the last month alone.

http://steamcharts.com/app/342200#1m

Compared to other games that are basically the same game philosphy that do much better with their player count like for instance "Warframe" That is completely free to play, while Yes it has micro-transactions you can still make the equivalent of MC INGAME F*******GAME BREAKING IDEA right there to not be entirely PAY TO WIN, which they release new content monthly and Do Not Require Anyone to purchase it to continue to be good, relevant, up to date or current.

Edited by G4ost, 26 August 2017 - 08:48 PM.