48 replies to this topic

[Nightbird]

I was going through all the divisions in Solaris 10 seconds before launch and adding up the numbers (multiplied by 3 to account for people in game) and comparing it to the FP War Log (24 multiplied by number of games in last 30 mins). I was surprised to see FP had a lot more people in it. Maybe others can check as well at different times of the day, the dead mode is not dead?

[El Bandito]

Solaris by design was gonna attract tiny part of the community that is even smaller than FP, something I pointed out even before its implementation--cause even casuals who brave FP are scared of 1v1 format. It didn't help that the initial division allocation was badly implemented, and prizes did not improve as you go up the ranks. As for population, I still get 1v1 drops during NA/EU prime time. 2v2 is dead though.

But that's supposed to change in the future. As long as Russ holds his end of the bargain and make the accolade levels worth grinding for in the next season, I am completely fine with current Solaris. Getting nice cosmetics while [Redacted] is a win-win for me.

Edited by draiocht, 28 June 2018 - 10:08 AM.
inappropriate reference

[meteorol]

Expected.

People screaming "muh big stompy robot feelz, i want to walk into a firing line of 10 mechs and survive for 5 minutes, ttk too low, ttk too low!" won't set a foot into 1v1/2v2 ranked mode. No chance.

There was no chance queues wouldn't dry out within a few days. It's somewhat mind boggling that PGI did put so much effort into it, because it was abundantly clear it would only ever attract the tiniest part of MWOs playerbase imaginable.

[Spheroid]

Nobody asked for Solaris. I don't recall ever voting on it.

[Imperius]

Spheroid, on 17 June 2018 - 10:15 AM, said:

Nobody asked for Solaris. I don't recall ever voting on it.

Exactly! Rarely saw it discussed too?

[Bishop Six]

Indeed FP is not dead. I play it daily and its the only mode i play (except events maybe).

In European Prime Time mostly we have no waiting times and instant drops. The same i felt on American Prime Time. In Asia Prime Time you can have problems sometimes, but in general if yu want to play FP, you can it easily without long waiting.

In non Prime Times it can be difficult sometimes. But i saw not only the usual veterans lately but also many new names, so i would say it grows instead it decreases.

[Alan Hicks]

I wouldn't play Solaris even if they gave free MC, not interested.

It is good people still play CW, FP or whatever you want to call it. Maybe PGI could improve it some day... maybe...

Years ago, it was the most interesting side of MWO.

[Madadh]

I played enough to get the first 'rank' and then stopped. It's not even a good mode. The entire format boils down to just abusing the most boring 'boat' you can create with the most DPS and armor because nothing else matters.

[arcana75]

Spheroid, on 17 June 2018 - 10:15 AM, said:

Nobody asked for Solaris. I don't recall ever voting on it.

I think the NGNGTV Masters Challenge went a long way towards influencing the decision.

Also I recall when they did the thread in Announcements, tons of people went hooray.

[El Bandito]

Madadh, on 17 June 2018 - 07:39 PM, said:

I played enough to get the first 'rank' and then stopped. It's not even a good mode. The entire format boils down to just abusing the most boring 'boat' you can create with the most DPS and armor because nothing else matters.

Then you should try the lower divisions. Plenty deadly light mechs running around where DPS is not the biggest concern.

[TLBFestus]

Nightbird, on 17 June 2018 - 09:07 AM, said:

I was going through all the divisions in Solaris 10 seconds before launch and adding up the numbers (multiplied by 3 to account for people in game) and comparing it to the FP War Log (24 multiplied by number of games in last 30 mins). I was surprised to see FP had a lot more people in it. Maybe others can check as well at different times of the day, the dead mode is not dead?

That question may as well be "Would you sleep with the dumb, ugly {insert personal sexual preference/gender here} or their homely stupid best friend?

Both represent large investments of time and resources that do not appeal to the majority of the community. They do however stroke Russ' eSport interest.

[Vellron2005]

I haven't playerd FP or Solaris for a while now.. always some QP event up..

[Asym]

Player count? Only PGI really knows and they'll never put an actual "player count" field on their screens like some other games do...

Why? It's not programming cost, it's just that in those other games, if the player count goes below a certain threshold, their MM operates on a "different" principle and that is stated in the patch notes..... Over 12,000 players and you get MM version 1 and under 12,000 players you get the "adapted" version 2 that is faster but can be a little bit skewed...

The important part is that you "know" before you select a game mode. You, have a choice, and you can let your "experiences" guide you game mode choice......or, even if you want to play or not want to play.

In MWO, good luck ! the key difference in MWO and these other games is that balance is by equipment and combat effectiveness of that equipment; and then, MM looks at people's skills to make match decisions..... That way, as an example, you're not fighting machine guns with bolt action rifles in open terrain without cover...... Simple stuff.

For FP, individual count isn't as viable a number.... Team size would be and could be broken down by groupings in Que.... If all of the top ten groups in que are 10-12, solo's would not find that too enjoyable.... Teams would find benefit in it because they want to fight teams.....

Nothing will happen. MW5 is the test bed and they will return to what PGI knows will work: single player story line games with < 5 player coop......... And, if that is successful.........well, it may get really interesting in MWO after that.

Edited by Asym, 18 June 2018 - 04:29 AM.

[Alexandra Hekmatyar]

If there would be a championship for Solaris I might jump into it just to promote the wonders of the Catapult K2 light gauss build.
Anyway I'm solely a faction player and faction play is busy enough though sometimes the waiting can be terrible.

[Teenage Mutant Ninja Urbie]

problem is: S7 and FW are two very different things. one is build around you soloing it out - the other is THE teammode in MWO.
while I like both, they are still very different, so you can't compare them really.

faction was full of life DESPITE what PGI did to it, time and again - till the 1 bucket / qp with respawn. took a real hit, but it's still there. hey, I won't give up on it and instead get new blood in all the time.

solaris.. *sigh* could have been great. the effort was kinda high (I guess) with new maps and all.. the very basic implementation and "time spend vs outcome / cbills" was bad from the start. with the wasteland it is now and the 3minute timer, even worse.


so I guess we addicts of fw will stay around beating that half-dead horse, while S7 is already decomposing

[Bud Crue]

I miss faction play enough that on the rare off-hours occasions that my group queue regulars friends and associates are not around I will drop a match as a soloist. While this is admittedly rare occurrence, I have been somewhat surprised that even when dropping alone and at an odd time of day or night, the wait for a match has been reasonable; so clearly there are people playing it.

That being said, the last couple of times I have played FP I have had the typical experience of dropping with a team of randos (many of whom refuse to listen to calls and/or clearly do not understand the mode...having to explain that shooting the gate is useless and rushing in by yourself never gets old, I find) against far more competent/organized groups.

Solaris, when I check its playability in those similar off-hours circumstances that I mentioned above, has no one playing, and I mean no one; zip, zero, nada, not a single person in any division dropping.

So while I don’t see FP as having a revival of the old guard returning in droves or anything of that nature, it does seem like the new folks coming into the game are at least trying FP rather than Solaris, and apparently doing so in sufficient numbers to populate the servers to give the folks who still regularly play something to drop against.

Man, just think...if PGI put some effort into making FP more rewarding and fun maybe they might retain some of those new players!? Crazy, I know.

Edited by Bud Crue, 18 June 2018 - 05:42 AM.

[Bishop Six]

Madadh, on 17 June 2018 - 07:39 PM, said:

I played enough to get the first 'rank' and then stopped. It's not even a good mode. The entire format boils down to just abusing the most boring 'boat' you can create with the most DPS and armor because nothing else matters.

Hahaha you mean my mighty 1 Small Pulse Laser Commando?

You are right, he is OP as ****

No man, you can play what you want in FP, main thing is to stick with the group, then your build is only 2nd priority.

Also, if you want to support me, i fight for FP right now:
https://mwomercs.com...o-august-and-fp

Edited by Bishop Six, 18 June 2018 - 05:48 AM.

[Sjorpha]

I think the main issue with solaris is that the rewards per invested minuter are lower than all other modes, that makes even the people who like it avoid it.

Solaris doesnt need a lot of players to funktion, if it was more profitable per minute than quickplay i bet there would be enough players for it to work fairly well. It would be thematic for solaris to be the most profitable mode tio.

[UnKnownPlayer]

I find the problem with Solaris is the total lack of depth.

In CW getting 12 buddies together and coming up with synergised builds and tactics then going out and winning is more satisfying than a quick 1 v 1 duel.

Sadly there is no real end game reason to fight anymore, we used to have arguments on the FW forums, we used to target each other's adopted home planets, we used to CARE.

Solaris is somewhat similar, who cares who is at the top? Is there a league for the non-most-meta-twitch-uber-gamers? No, so it makes it pointless for lower ability players to get involved, what do they actually get out of it? Is there a knock out league / cup? Is there a stock mech competition?

The problem with both modes is that they are extreme Meta centres, you win in FP if you get 12 guys with optimised builds and pre-arranged tactics, you win in Solaris if you have the absolute best meta build and play to it's strengths. It's no wonder that the largest part of the player base hangs around in QP because they don't need ot do their homework or put the effort in. That is not a criticism of them, after all, some people just want to log in and blow off steam, fair enough.
However, it does mean that the modes are less satisfying for those who DO put the time and effort in.

[JediPanther]

I don't play either mode. Each has their own meta op stuff. QP you can just do whatever and have fun in your own way. If pgi ever fixed fw to make it worth it and not do some asine long tom type derpy slag I'd go back to it. The unit I'm in just died with long tom and ever since. Now I've got no time for it much with multiple jobs and other commitments.