117 replies to this topic

[Geewiz 27]

Thanks PGI another positive patch(including the hotfixes) and thx for getting rid of Escort. Although I do agree with several other comments that we will need a replacement for it weather that be a completely over hauled escort or a new game mode all together variety is important to prevent stagnant game play.

[HammerMaster]

Dalatecht, on 13 December 2018 - 02:48 PM, said:

Good riddance with Escort. Very very rarely have a good game when that mode's chosen. More so than any other mode. It almost always ends up being a waste of time.

Not a waste of time if it changes the rotation when I'm sick of HPG, Mining, Rubellite non-stop.
Issue is we need return to full random.
End.
Of.
Story.

[Xeno Phalcon]

PraetorGix, on 13 December 2018 - 09:57 AM, said:

According to your logic you should hate skirmish then, or love Escort.

I'll have you keep your assumptions out of my logic thank you very much and what I love is between me and my wife - preferably while shes not at home.

[Bowelhacker]

Gannycus, on 13 December 2018 - 01:46 AM, said:

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.

If I never saw another domination match on Polar Highlands I'd be quite happy indeed.

[D V Devnull]

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

Other changes:

-Removed Escort game mode from Quick Play.

PGI, sorry to hear you ended up removing Escort Game Mode. It was kind of fun having a moving target as a Mission Objective Item for any Team to battle over. I hope you'll replace it with a version that has a VIP for both sides, instead of just one Team defending while the other Team attacks. I really do think that the Asymmetric Design was probably what killed the Mode for many people out there. Please don't let people who hate Objectives prevent you from bringing this Mode back in a better-laid format than what it was before.

~D. V. "Making a Symmetric Version of Escort would gravely improve it." Devnull

[HammerMaster]

Bowelhacker, on 13 December 2018 - 04:45 PM, said:

If I never saw another domination match on Polar Highlands I'd be quite happy indeed.

I don't mind polar. But if you make it domination you're a masochist.
Easily the worst way to live and die by Nascar.

[Akillius]

leony, on 13 December 2018 - 02:22 PM, said:

I have seen the enemy kills his own VIP mech because they hated this mode

Same, and was on a team were it was decided to leg the vip to slow it down on polar highlands where vip just runs screaming straight into the arms of red team.
In QP Solo NA, I've seen more people grump and disconnect within first 30 seconds of escort mode on any map, then any other mode or maps combined.

Dagonus, on 13 December 2018 - 05:46 AM, said:

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

MFZ, on 13 December 2018 - 02:11 PM, said:

:thumbsdown: The more variety, the better.

If PGI had changed voting screen to show 3 modes to vote on, then its likely escort and Incursion would be extremely rare and escort would still be a mode in game. However the VIP needed to be smarter, shoot back, take cover, or at least have AMS, and not start walking for 1 minute, and there was other problems that needed tuning.

Aidan Crenshaw, on 13 December 2018 - 01:04 AM, said:

I'd like to learn about the reason Escort gets removed.

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.

As you wish.
The data is outdated its from Feb/Mar 2018 and only has 372 entries from QP Solo matches on NA servers.
https://docs.google....#gid=1533360888


Frequency Mode Appears for voting:
18.9% Incursion
17.6% Assault
16.9% Domination
16.6% Conquest
15.6% Skirmish
14.3% Escort
--------------------
16.6% is an approximate average and any variation is accounted for by low amount of data at 372 entries.
(Math Reminder 100% divided by 6 modes = 16.666666666666666666666666666667%)

Frequency these two appear together for voting:
1.7% Incursion + Escort


Frequency Mode is actually Voted/Picked/Played:
25.0% Skirmish
24.4% Assault
23.9% Domination
14.5% Conquest
8.5% Incursion
3.7% Escort

Edited by Akillius, 13 December 2018 - 04:56 PM.

[HammerMaster]

D V Devnull, on 13 December 2018 - 04:51 PM, said:

PGI, sorry to hear you ended up removing Escort Game Mode. It was kind of fun having a moving target as a Mission Objective Item for any Team to battle over. I hope you'll replace it with a version that has a VIP for both sides, instead of just one Team defending while the other Team attacks. I really do think that the Asymmetric Design was probably what killed the Mode for many people out there. Please don't let people who hate Objectives prevent you from bringing this Mode back in a better-laid format than what it was before.

~D. V. "Making a Symmetric Version of Escort would gravely improve it." Devnull

I see what you're saying.
Accolades for a non flame post.
But asymmetrical is what we really do need.
It just needs to be done better.

[Major Major Catch 22]

HammerMaster, on 13 December 2018 - 04:53 PM, said:

I see what you're saying.
Accolades for a non flame post.
But asymmetrical is what we really do need.
It just needs to be done better.

I agree - "applauds"
nice to see game changes, looking forward to the next community led change.

btw, I am ready to be a tester for patches, reas0nable mc rates !!

ty

[DisasterTheory]

cougurt, on 12 December 2018 - 05:48 PM, said:

the patch somehow added an additional 2 energy to each side torso, which is being corrected.

This shouldn't have been changed... the Rifleman Loyalty mech sucks so the addition of 2 energy might have made it worth skilling up.

[Wild_Alaskan]

D V Devnull, on 13 December 2018 - 04:51 PM, said:

PGI, sorry to hear you ended up removing Escort Game Mode. It was kind of fun having a moving target as a Mission Objective Item for any Team to battle over.

I might agree with this if the VIP moved like a normal Atlas instead of a legged stock Urbanmech.

[DAEDALOS513]

Wild_Alaskan, on 13 December 2018 - 05:40 PM, said:

I might agree with this if the VIP moved like a normal Atlas instead of a legged stock Urbanmech.

What does it matter how fast he is, or if he can't shoot back.. the whole point of this game mode is that the team works AS a team and defends the fracken thing. Too bad PGI overestimated the skills of their player base...

Edited by DAEDALOS513, 13 December 2018 - 05:53 PM.

[The Gooch 1951]

I will start with I was never a fan of Escort. That being said, I am also not a fan of removing content. There are maps I dislike (HPG being the most loathed), BUT I do not want to see them removed. If the PGI overlords saw a problem with the game mode it should have been tweaked and fixed, not scrapped. Thats just lazy. Variety makes a game fun in the long haul, by removing content that is deficient instead of fixing the offending content PGI is stripping the game down. If the developers decide that something has just got to go, then it needs an immediate replacement. If its not adding a game mode then open up the FP maps into QP, do SOMETHING, ANYTHING to make up for limiting content. Eliminating Escort was a bad move.

[D V Devnull]

HammerMaster, on 13 December 2018 - 04:53 PM, said:

<<<snip>>>

I see what you're saying.
Accolades for a non flame post.
But asymmetrical is what we really do need.
It just needs to be done better.

Eh, it's perfectly okay to differ in opinion. All the input can be used by PGI to make something interesting. By the way, please make sure to read down below my quick reply to 'Wild_Alaskan'...


Also, to 'Wild_Alaskan'...

Wild_Alaskan, on 13 December 2018 - 05:40 PM, said:

<<<snip>>>

I might agree with this if the VIP moved like a normal Atlas instead of a legged stock Urbanmech.

Hi there... I was working on this thought in my post, but I took too long to post and you got here before me!



Anyway, to give the two of you (and others who read) some insight into my own thoughts... There was a Game Mode back when I used to play the original "Half-Life: Counter-Strike" more than a decade ago. In this particular mode, both sides had a Player-Controlled VIP which had more Armor/Health than a Normal Player would, albeit that their weapon options were a little more limited. I figured that PGI could sort of do that in MWO, but instead of making a Human Player the VIP, both sides could...

• have a slightly-faster-moving Atlas or other such Assault Mech (which I was thinking of before Wild_Alaskan's post appeared)
  
• preferably have the VIP Assault show their Team where they intend to go, including Updates about movement intent based on the battle's situation
  
• maybe give the VIP some minor firepower to make it harder to kill them, as well as some better-than-average aiming, but NOT that 'Godlike Aim' we see in the Testing Grounds and on various Turrets
  
• increase the Reverse Maximum Speed on the VIP to allow them to turn around and still battle without sacrificing momentum, so that they can better decide when to fight and when to run

...and yet I fear that would require PGI to manage to improve their A.I. Design a few levels beyond what others would suggest PGI is only capable of doing. One could hope that PGI could shock those people into doing a double-take, eh?


~D. V. "certain there will be many sides to ideas for bringing back Escort in a better format" Devnull




(p.s.: Started typing this some time back around 5:25 PM PST... I got interrupted about 10 times while typing this... So if anyone's seeing some random hole in my post, that's why.)




[One Edit by Post Author for a Missing Thought...]

Edited by D V Devnull, 13 December 2018 - 06:19 PM.

[C337Skymaster]

I hope that we'll see Escort back someday, and still asymmetrical, but with a specific twist: I've been thinking for awhile, now, that it would be especially fun and interesting to have the MechWarrior 3 Mobile Field Base put into the game (graphics to suit, but with full functionality as per that game).

The attacking team needs to destroy the MFB (rather than an impotent Atlas), and the defending team needs to reach the other side of the map so the MFB can leave the map area (obviously it'll move faster than the Atlas did). Only the person who takes Company Command can control the MFB and tell it where to go using the Command Interface (. When he dies, someone else will need to take Company Command before being able to issue instructions to the MFB.

The improvement to the mode (apart from being able to "steer" the MFB by giving it waypoints to travel to), is the ability to use the MFB to repair and rearm. All armor and ammo will be restored, but any structural damage (including weapon destruction and limb loss) is permanent.

The catch is that there should only be enough time to repair about 6 'mechs before the defending team has taken too long and can't reach the destination in time, so they have to carefully ration repairs.

I was thinking 64.8 kph for the MFB, but considering the quantity of 48.6 kph 'mechs in-game, I suspect that may be the necessary speed limit simply to enable Assault pilots to keep pace.

[Tina Benoit]

Hey guys!

We're aware of the current remaining issue with the unit member online status! Unfortunately this will have to be fixed in the January Patch.

[HammerMaster]

C337Skymaster, on 13 December 2018 - 06:17 PM, said:

I hope that we'll see Escort back someday, and still asymmetrical, but with a specific twist: I've been thinking for awhile, now, that it would be especially fun and interesting to have the MechWarrior 3 Mobile Field Base put into the game (graphics to suit, but with full functionality as per that game).

The attacking team needs to destroy the MFB (rather than an impotent Atlas), and the defending team needs to reach the other side of the map so the MFB can leave the map area (obviously it'll move faster than the Atlas did). Only the person who takes Company Command can control the MFB and tell it where to go using the Command Interface (. When he dies, someone else will need to take Company Command before being able to issue instructions to the MFB.

The improvement to the mode (apart from being able to "steer" the MFB by giving it waypoints to travel to), is the ability to use the MFB to repair and rearm. All armor and ammo will be restored, but any structural damage (including weapon destruction and limb loss) is permanent.

The catch is that there should only be enough time to repair about 6 'mechs before the defending team has taken too long and can't reach the destination in time, so they have to carefully ration repairs.

I was thinking 64.8 kph for the MFB, but considering the quantity of 48.6 kph 'mechs in-game, I suspect that may be the necessary speed limit simply to enable Assault pilots to keep pace.

Filthy "arcade" mechanic is an abomination. Has no place here or anywhere.

[DAEDALOS513]

Tina Benoit, on 13 December 2018 - 06:26 PM, said:

Hey guys!

We're aware of the current remaining issue with the unit member online status! Unfortunately this will have to be fixed in the January Patch.

Thanks for the update. Please also fix it so that those deployed show up underneath those not deployed, as before...

[D V Devnull]

Tina Benoit, on 13 December 2018 - 06:26 PM, said:

Hey guys!

We're aware of the current remaining issue with the unit member online status! Unfortunately this will have to be fixed in the January Patch.

I'll be throwing a '+Like' on your post... but I just wanted to ask (without it being either a nag or push) what's preventing it from being a Second HotFix during this Month? Maybe I'm crazy, but it might help for others to understand the Technical Limitations and such.

~D. V. "stating a question because of confusion on what's blocking" Devnull

[C337Skymaster]

HammerMaster, on 13 December 2018 - 06:28 PM, said:

Filthy "arcade" mechanic is an abomination. Has no place here or anywhere.

"Arcade"? Huh? It's the best part of MechWarrior 3, the best game in the franchise, and the part that everyone misses from that title. It also adds some control to the route, which makes the mode less predictable, but also adds constraints which require battlefield decision-making by the team leader.

In short, it makes the mode interesting, highly variable, and a lot more challenging, all of which are positive attributes. Part of what makes this game so frustrating is its predictability. Even with ostensibly intelligent human beings doing the driving, the games are as predictable as if the opponents were AI, most of the time. My suggestion has the potential to change at least some of that...