117 replies to this topic

[Gannycus]

InnerSphereNews, on 12 December 2018 - 04:46 PM, said:

Other changes:


-Removed Escort game mode from Quick Play.

Where are the official reasons for this? Why no explaination?

If we start to remove all the content people don't like next month there will be no Terra Therma, then no Polar Highlands.. In a year we will only play skirmish in a couple of maps.

[Belkor]

cougurt, on 13 December 2018 - 01:33 AM, said:

different =/= good. it isn't even all that different in practice. just like all the other modes, it still more or less plays out like skirmish, just with an additional victory condition that either goes completely ignored or results in an uneventful and unsatisfying match. the other modes are much more innocuous in their half-assedness, but escort really suffers because of it. it's a concept that requires far more development than PGI will give it.

Remember, you're basing 'good' on whether or not you like it. Accordingly, this mode can be good for some but not for others. We still don't have any official numbers. To say escort is like other modes is just false. If you don't actually escort the VIP, you lose. You generally don't want to nascar so the flow of the match is entirely different from the skirmish, assault and conquest. You also try to understate the objective when it makes all the difference. How exactly are the other modes more 'innocuous' in their half-assedness when skirmish, assault, and conquest are more similar to each other than escort?

cougurt, on 13 December 2018 - 01:33 AM, said:

MWO is an extremely niche game compared to something like CS:GO. most people who would have any interest in it have already tried it, and the few new players that may check it out are likely to be turned away by the following:

steep learning curve
bad new player experience
dated and constrained engine/bugs
lack of substantial content updates (shallow, poorly implemented game modes do not qualify)

i feel that a decline in players should be expected given all of these things, and i don't think there's much that can be done about it at this point.

With regards to niche, this is why I specifically ask about MWO being unable to reach near its own peak and not the peak of CS:GO's 850,000 players. The niche is not the factor preventing MWO from reaching its own peak (at its own scale) and there is evidence supporting this. On the release of Solaris, MWO reached a peak that they haven't seen in years. Solaris, however, is another whole can of worms with significant issues so players didn't stick around. If MWO was better designed with drastic fun new game modes, I wouldn't be surprised to see it reach its own peak. Ultimately, removing one of its more unique game modes in a limited pool of game modes is still a big step backwards.

Edited by Belkor, 13 December 2018 - 02:07 AM.

[MechTech Dragoon]

Ya forgot to fix the shugos second left arm ballistic hardpoint :/

[ZortPointNarf]

Skirmish, start your engines.
Conquest, start your engines.
Domination, run to the [Redacted], start your engines.
Invasion, start your engines.
Assault, start your engines.
Escort, hold up, hold up, where the [Redacted] is he going, stop your engines, no NASCAR today.
And that is why I love(d) the game mode.
Might as well buy bloody NASCAR stimulator and just play that now.
#sadday

Edited by draiocht, 13 December 2018 - 12:03 PM.
inappropriate language & reference

[Xeno Phalcon]

ZortPointNarf, on 13 December 2018 - 03:37 AM, said:

Escort, hold up, hold up, where the [Redacted] is he going, stop your engines, no NASCAR today.

*Nascars to the ECM pillars.*

Edited by draiocht, 13 December 2018 - 12:03 PM.
Quote Clean-up

[cougurt]

Belkor, on 13 December 2018 - 01:52 AM, said:

Remember, you're basing 'good' on whether or not you like it. Accordingly, this mode can be good for some but not for others. We still don't have any official numbers. To say escort is like other modes is just false. If you don't actually escort the VIP, you lose. You generally don't want to nascar so the flow of the match is entirely different from the skirmish, assault and conquest. You also try to understate the objective when it makes all the difference. How exactly are the other modes more 'innocuous' in their half-assedness when skirmish, assault, and conquest are more similar to each other than escort?

my experience with the mode, primarily in solo QP, is that the VIP either wanders off somewhere and both teams ignore him, or he charges straight into the enemy team and you flip a coin to see who wins (this is assuming he doesn't get stuck on something). in the first scenario, it basically plays out like a typical skirmish match but with the added annoyance of the stupid ECM towers. in the second, matches will frequently end prematurely because the VIP simply gets focused too hard. whether it's because the defenders did their job well enough or not is besides the point, as the result is still a boring and unsatisfying match for both sides.

the other modes don't have this problem as badly because getting an objective victory still necessitates outfighting the enemy team for the most part. what it comes down to is that mech combat is the fun part of this game, and escort matches can often end with very little of it. the other modes aren't necessarily the most interesting from a design standpoint, but they mostly ensure that i at least get to enjoy the core gameplay that i came for. i might like escort more if it truly was a radically different and unique experience, but as it is it just feels like a low-effort stand in for actual content.

Belkor, on 13 December 2018 - 01:52 AM, said:

With regards to niche, this is why I specifically ask about MWO being unable to reach near its own peak and not the peak of CS:GO's 850,000 players. The niche is not the factor preventing MWO from reaching its own peak (at its own scale) and there is evidence supporting this. On the release of Solaris, MWO reached a peak that they haven't seen in years. Solaris, however, is another whole can of worms with significant issues so players didn't stick around. If MWO was better designed with drastic fun new game modes, I wouldn't be surprised to see it reach its own peak. Ultimately, removing one of its limited number of game modes is still a step backwards.

maybe i'm alone on this, but i really don't care about game modes as long as they're not detrimental to the experience in some way. none of them are exciting enough to where i actively want to play them, they're just...there. if they want to spend the time and resources to improve escort and really flesh it out into something special, i'd be all for it. i don't have high hopes of that happening though.

[GweNTLeR]

Xeno Phalcon, on 13 December 2018 - 04:07 AM, said:

*Nascars to the ECM pillars.*

*Gets wreked by lurms trying to cap one of them*

[Dee Eight]

Hawk819, on 12 December 2018 - 05:56 PM, said:

Why was escort removed from Quick Play??

Because as a mode it SUCKS... players get more enjoyment from gacking their own VIP that trying to defend it.

[Dagonus]

InnerSphereNews, on 12 December 2018 - 04:46 PM, said:

-Removed Escort game mode from Quick Play.

Now what am I supposed to use to farm my multiplier up to prevent having to play incursion?

[Dee Eight]

[Redacted]

Edited by draiocht, 14 December 2018 - 12:08 PM.
unconstructive, replies removed

[Daggett]

Belkor, on 12 December 2018 - 07:25 PM, said:

I'd actually like to see the stats on that since certain modes are almost always going to be more or less popular than others.

I forgot that Incursion and Escort were added later, so there is nothing to see here.

Here you go:
https://mwomercs.com...stats?type=mode

Sure, those are skewed a bit because of your own choices, but since your vote is only 1 out of 24 this won't have much impact and it should be accurate enough to extrapolate your numbers on the whole community.

For reference i got the following stats over 4223 matches and more than 4,5 years:
Skirmish: 44,9%
Assault: 19,5%
Domination: 16,2%
Conquest: 15,9%
Incursion: 2,7%
Escort: 1,6%

I think this looks quite grim for both Incursion and Escort...

Edited by Daggett, 13 December 2018 - 07:21 AM.

[Xeno Phalcon]

GweNTLeR, on 13 December 2018 - 04:27 AM, said:

*Gets wreked by lurms trying to cap one of them*

If you were fighting over nodes within lurm range you deserve to get pounded, you take nodes early and hold them - making those same lurmwhales rage with impotence. Not that it matters either way now, eat it escort!

[Bwah Ha Ha]

Escort needed to go, but we should also receive something to take its place. So my question is will there be a replacement in the future?

[DAEDALOS513]

Bwah Ha Ha, on 13 December 2018 - 06:34 AM, said:

Escort needed to go, but we should also receive something to take its place. So my question is will there be a replacement in the future?

That's the sad part, there won't BE a replacement for a long time to come, if ever.. that's why it should not have been removed, but rather tweaked a little with each patch.

Edited by DAEDALOS513, 13 December 2018 - 06:42 AM.

[ZortPointNarf]

Daggett, on 13 December 2018 - 06:00 AM, said:

Here you go:
https://mwomercs.com...stats?type=mode

Sure, those are skewed a bit because of your own choices, but since your vote is only 1 out of 24 this won't have much impact and it should be accurate enough to extrapolate your numbers on the whole community.

For reference i got the following stats over 4223 matches and more than 4,5 years:
Skirmish: 44,9%
Assault: 19,5%
Domination: 16,2%
Conquest: 15,9%
Incursion: 2,7%
Escort: 1,6%

I think this looks quite grim for both Incursion and Escort...

Bit of an unfair comparison, should only really look at the times where all the game modes were available, normalise thy data

Escort needs two things to work, get rid of those stupid towers, and provide a VIP route on the escorting party battle/mini map so we can plan where to protect him. I will really miss this mode, would not mind the removal in Incursion at all as it is so similar to siege its not even funny.

[Daggett]

ZortPointNarf, on 13 December 2018 - 07:12 AM, said:

Bit of an unfair comparison, should only really look at the times where all the game modes were available, normalise thy data

Thanks, you are right. I forgot that both escort and incursion are relatively new... Shame on me.

Edited by Daggett, 13 December 2018 - 07:22 AM.

[KingCobra]

Sigh another great game mode bites the dust Escort just needed fixed to be viable but its back to a joke of a map and game mode vote system no one ever wanted and bored to death playing the same maps and game modes for what 3? 4 ? years?

PGI has ruined almost every aspect of MWO gameplay now except the mech packs they want you to buy to play the same same game modes and maps 24/7.

Glad I have pretty much moved on and put my money into better game developers.

[Cyrilis]

Removing Escort mode was not really a smart move... A lot of people have been crying about it, as they do not want to play objectives.
A better move would have been to pick up a few of the ALMOST COUNTLESS suggestions what to do with it.
unless it comes back the next patch with improvements... this is ducking in front of those who cry the loudest...

[Baron von ztreik]

Escort must go because over 50% of the players have chosen the mode when it comes? So when he comes the majority he wants to come, otherwise he was not played. If you call democracy.
In the German suggestion area over 10 different suggestions were made how it would get better.
PGI deletes all modes and maps except Canyon Network and Skirmish, but adds a race track to the right.

[Sevronis]

Was taken off guard by the removal of Escort. It wasn't a bad idea for a game mode, in fact I've run similar scenarios in private lobby. However, in the lobby case, the 'VIP' was able to defend themselves. Perhaps PGI is temporarily removing it to look into improving it. Adding a clear visual of the VIP path for the defenders is one, letting the VIP return fire is another. Just those two things could potentially vastly improve Escort and the opinions of it.