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[Rho Treska]

Hello folks,
Like about any other player I have opinions on how MWO could improve, and I decided to share some of them today. Hence I will suggest a few features, but limit myself to those which I see the software groundwork already existing for, and provide my train of thought for both inspiration and critique. Starting with the tamest, the escalation to lunacy will happen quickly enough.


Item #1: VOIP Mute All Button and Muted Speaker Activity Indicator

Q: What should it do?
A: Mute all VOIP in the match at once.
Q: What should it look like?
A: I imagine a button or toggle switch in the drop screen, right next to the “Take X Command” buttons.
Q: How is that different from deactivating VOIP in the settings?
A: Twofold: First, it shortens the way. Second and key, even a player who has muted all others for any reason should see if the team is talking and coordinating. This might counteract the frustration about PUGs and Nascar matches and inspire better communication and diversified play by all players.

I got this idea when I became more active in the VOIP recently. I had the habit of listening to audioblogs and the like in the background and did not get any notification when a player talked, and missed out on a lot of cues which could have improved the quality of my matches and my rate of success.


Item #2: Commander Mode

This is an adaption of Spectator Mode already found in private lobbies which allows a thirteenth player to join each team as a Commander. With access to only Cockpit Spectator mode, VOIP and a map, that player has to coordinate his team by placing order markers and marking priority targets.

I’ve come up with this when I found myself coordinating my team from the grave because I’m overburdened with doing both strategy and piloting (again,) and I imagine it’s the same for many other players. A full-time commander could drastically improve team coordination.

To reward the commander, proximity detection could be adapted. Right now players can already earn bonuses for Protection Proximities; utilizing the same mechanic to track if they’re close to the commander’s orders could earn the pilots a “followed orders” bonus which is also paid out to the commander. Ideally, he would also get extended markers to order Air/Artillery Strikes to certain areas.


Item #3: New Game Mode - Firebases/Tug Of War

This is a mode for very large maps, like Polar Highlands, Alpine Peaks, and Grim Plexus.
It could be seen as a crossover between Conquest, Escort, and Incursion.

Please hold your pitchforks for a moment.

In Firebases, each team gets two or three of these namesake installations built in shallow ditches or behind walls, just enough obstruction that they cannot directly target each other - but they are in range. Firebases work in a similar fashion as the capture points in Conquest, yet on a tug-of-war meter instead of counting to a maximum value.

-Each base is comprised of three or four Annihilator-tough turrets with a limited field of fire arranged around a small control node.

-To make the base a credible threat, each turret is equipped with one or two LRM launchers of yet to be determined size, and a number of ERML to ward off attackers who get close enough to gain line of sight.
-Turrets will fire on targets locked by players, prioritizing TAG and NARC locks. This includes hostile turrets.

-The rather soft node has to be destroyed so the base can be captured, with a friendly Leopard dropping a new node into the base. It behaves like a friendly, though AFK ‘mech sitting on the point to prevent capture by just walking in, and is a stand-in for defending infantry or similar assets which do not exist in MWO.

-Turrets should be arranged in a fashion that gives them overlapping fields of fire for at least two turrets in every direction except inwards, where they have their blind spot.

-The twist is that the turrets and nodes cannot counter ECM or Stealth Armor on their own - a sneaky ‘mech or group can take an undefended firebase with nary a shot.

-Likewise, the turrets can be destroyed by a concentrated effort and will not be replaced.

Yeah, that’s a hand full. Take your time to think about it.
I came up with this mode to create matches where MURDERBALL!ing or Nascar-ing are counterproductive, and specialized equipment and consumables provide additional benefits for tactics and strategy. Teams will have to spread out to defend their own bases, yet come together and focus to assault another. I imagine this will be very interesting.
Pitchforks free.

My belief is that this mode can be made with little alteration right now because the base mechanics are already in place. Flipping nodes and reaping the benefits is something already done with the ECM nodes in Escort, Turrets already exist and only have to be adapted. Dropships delivering reinforcements is also an existing game feature and would have to be only slightly tweaked in terms of pathing and conditions to facilitate the node delivery mentioned above.

I’m an absolute coding noob, but I believe this can be had.


Item #4: Weapon Spread.

We’re at full lunacy now.

As many have observed and bemoaned, the perfect accuracy of most weapons is the root of many evils in MWO, from the gimped Jump Jets to Ghost Heat. Yet I already see mechanics in the game and in place which can ruin that perfect accuracy: the spread cone mechanics of LBX autocannons and SRM launchers, which track each projectile individually. All that’s needed is to introduce that very cone to all other weapons, to provide an area in which the shot can err, and make it worse on the move which is a similar mechanic to the Jump Jet shake. That’s it, no more pinpoint perfection. No more reason to gimp JJs to prevent pinpoint poptarts. No more reason for Ghost Heat. Certain chassis with very few hardpoints could get a significant spread reduction quirk to compensate, fluffed as a targeting system that’s not overburdened.


Okay folks, that’s it. Discussion welcome, but the one post I’d really love to see is a blue “I’m stealing this” from the devs.

[Jearin Feldar]

#1 should be a given.

#2 sounds cool. I'd certainly support it.

#3: Anything to stop murderball and Nascar is great IMO.

#4: This worries me a bit. The idea sounds somewhat intriguing, but IMO pinpoint damage is fine because you have to have the skill to put the damage where you want. That's whats so great about aiming for certain mech parts, is having the pilot ability to snipe off enemy weapons.

Now I CAN see having a cone for your accuracy when moving top speed. I would say 50% speed and below should have no cone, where 50% and up the cone would increase, like hip firing in a FPS. I also support the quirks for mechs with less hard points having less of a cone. This whole cone system might just push the meta to close range play, unless you keep it so when at low speeds the cone doesn't exist to help snipers out.