16 replies to this topic

[Mister Glitchdragon]

I've always loved when new posters show up and lay out their meticulously overwrought schemes for whatever (balance, guided weapons, map fixes, matchmaker, cockpit design, social interface, heat reworks, etc. etc. We've seen it all.). It takes me back to when I started playing, and all the grand hopes I had for MW:O, and all the other great (and not so great) ideas others had and shared.

Of course, very little ever came of any of those ideas we shared, even in the game's development heyday. So even as I read and commented on other players ideas, there was this sort of "Oh, you sweet summer child" feeling, knowing that all those charts and graphs you included in your radical-yet-lore-friendly alternative to ghost-heat were for naught.

And now, with the game merely being "maintained," its fairly absurd to think anyone at PGI is going to take up your suggestion for a massive overhaul of LRM mechanics, or recode the matchmaker, or to fix the hitboxes on [insert mech here].

However, a quick look through the GD threads shows that people are still asking PGI to "please fix," or posting sweeping revamps, despite the fact that its never, ever, ever going to happen. I know they're futzing with CW still, and adjust a few values for "balance" with each patch, but beyond that, this cake is pretty much baked.

So, I was just wanting to ask the forum-going community the eponymous question, and also to look back on some of your favorite suggested reworks, whether they be legitimately good or so bad they managed comedic value.

My personal favorites were all the infrastructure and logistic schemes people used to post for CW, and for humor, all the "gosh-golly, PGI!" threads trying to get two-man sharks into the solo-queue koi pond.

[Nightbird]

Why do you bother creating this thread? To get it off your chest?

[HammerMaster]

I mean, like, reasons.
You're here too. Obviously.

[Vincent DIFrancesco]

Mister Glitchdragon, on 22 July 2019 - 07:34 AM, said:

...and for humor, all the "gosh-golly, PGI!" threads trying to get two-man sharks into the solo-queue koi pond.

Sharks need to eat too, man.

[John Bronco]

Vincent DIFrancesco, on 22 July 2019 - 08:24 AM, said:

Sharks need to eat too, man.

This would be the feast of a lifetime.

[Bud Crue]

Mister Glitchdragon, on 22 July 2019 - 07:34 AM, said:

My personal favorites were all the infrastructure and logistic schemes people used to post for CW, and for humor, all the "gosh-golly, PGI!" threads trying to get two-man sharks into the solo-queue koi pond.

My personal and sincere favorite proposals were:

Solahma’s Skill Tree proposal:
https://mwomercs.com...p-and-proposal/

And Tarogato et al’s
Community driven balance attempt:
https://mwomercs.com...balance-update/

Either/both of these could have potentially made the game both more fun, and I think, vastly improved the NPE. Oh well.

[JediPanther]

Because some people still give a dam about this game. And it works when WE keep fighting. The finest case example from mwo's history:

Started nov 5,2013 and ended june 22 2016:
WE WON after YEARS of fighting pgi.
https://mwomercs.com...1/page__st__580

[Mister Glitchdragon]

Nightbird, on 22 July 2019 - 07:48 AM, said:

Why do you bother creating this thread?

To ask the community the titular question? To ask the community to share suggested game improvements they've seen over the years that they feel are memorable? That's a TLDR of the OP, just for you!

Vincent DIFrancesco, on 22 July 2019 - 08:24 AM, said:

Sharks need to eat too, man.

BlaizerP, on 22 July 2019 - 08:35 AM, said:

This would be the feast of a lifetime.

Oh, it's coming. As the population declines, pulling the plug on the already-vacant group queue and throwing groups in with solos will bolster the numbers and reduce the wait times when the population numbers reach critical. I've railed against it in the past, because I remember how it was before they developed group queue (sucked for solos). But I've pretty much resigned myself to the inevitable. We'll just have to deal with it when it happens, enjoy it if you're a shark, or find something else to play.

[MechaBattler]

Ain't hurting nothing. Let them be optimistic. They'll figure it out eventually.

[Mister Glitchdragon]

JediPanther, on 22 July 2019 - 09:24 AM, said:

Because some people still give a dam about this game. And it works when WE keep fighting. The finest case example from mwo's history:

Started nov 5,2013 and ended june 22 2016:
WE WON after YEARS of fighting pgi.
https://mwomercs.com...1/page__st__580

Sometimes they listened and you wished they hadn't!
Then again, just this thread made me remember that groups were barred from solo pug over community pressure. TBF they did listen --for the better-- sometimes.

Bud Crue, on 22 July 2019 - 09:07 AM, said:

My personal and sincere favorite proposals were:

Solahma’s Skill Tree proposal:
https://mwomercs.com...p-and-proposal/

And Tarogato et al’s
Community driven balance attempt:
https://mwomercs.com...balance-update/

Either/both of these could have potentially made the game both more fun, and I think, vastly improved the NPE. Oh well.

There was a lot of good stuff in that balance attempt. And I second your "what might have been" sentiment.

MechaBattler, on 22 July 2019 - 09:52 AM, said:

Ain't hurting nothing. Let them be optimistic. They'll figure it out eventually.

Oh, I don't mean to say it's wrong, and I don't mean to discourage new players who haven't gotten the memo. You're right; they'll figure it out. It was more directed at experienced forum-warriors who know what's up.

I've come to take development-suggestion threads as hyper-esoteric fan fiction: "I know PGI will never do this, but wouldn't it be cool if..." And then a heated discussion ensues, sometimes for a dozen pages, with good points and bad ones, e-peens on parade, flame-outs and stat-shaming, and all the while all the participants (myself included) knowing full well that there's not a snowball's chance in hell that any of it will ever come to pass.

Edited for clarity and for grammar.

Edited by Mister Glitchdragon, 22 July 2019 - 12:43 PM.

[Armored Yokai]

I'm here because I want to read up on Mechwarrior 5 and Ideas. I am also here because I want to run crazy builds in QP and have some good silly fun while it lasts. MWO doesn't have much time left and the players are dropping by the minute. The players that are staying are most likely the super serious tryhard players or just die-hard fans.

[LordNothing]

people like to be arm chair game devs. its a lot easier than actually making a game.

of course when you actively deny modding and expect people to swallow the same helping of swill you keep serving up. people get pissy. if pgi did decide to let people mod the game, they would have the balance issue fixed in a couple days. of course with the varying ideas of how the balance is broke you will end up with 10 balance fix mods four of which would be just for lermers. at least with mods if you dont like the game or want to add something new you can mod it in rather than complain about it.

Edited by LordNothing, 22 July 2019 - 07:53 PM.

[Valdarion Silarius]

LordNothing, on 22 July 2019 - 07:24 PM, said:

people like to be arm chair game devs. its a lot easier than actually making a game.

Pretty much this. A majority of people that complain don't understand the time and resources that it takes to make a video game, let alone one that works and functions. Hell, I tried Doom 2 modding myself and couldn't wrap my head around the coding necessary to make things work for some of the mod ideas that I had.

I'm not boot licking PGI by any means, since there is still no excuse for some of the problems that are in MW:O (that could be fixed with a simple adjustment of numerical values for example). However, if people tried to take a crack at making their own video games and depending what engine it's running on, I think a majority of people who were once armchair warriors will change their opinions rather quickly once they see how difficult it is.

Edited by Arnold The Governator, 22 July 2019 - 08:38 PM.

[Pain G0D]

Pretty Sure Devs need feedback even if they are limited in what can be improved or not .

I do sort of object to some things not broken getting a fix .

And I ask myself if this so and so patch was implemented more to benefit PGI at the players expense . I am not blaming Devs who i am pretty sure know exactly what needs to be fixed , what players like yadda yadda .

I am talking about upper management or admin who dishes out orders and forcing changes to save a buck or whatever. Poor Devs caught between a rock and a hard place have to figure out a way to semi satisfy players over time while fully satisfying the top brass ASAP .

[Willard Phule]

Pain G0D, on 22 July 2019 - 11:10 PM, said:

Pretty Sure Devs need feedback even if they are limited in what can be improved or not . I do sort of object to some things not broken getting a fix . And I ask myself if this so and so patch was implemented more to benefit PGI at the players expense . I am not blaming Devs who i am pretty sure know exactly what needs to be fixed , what players like yadda yadda . I am talking about upper management or admin who dishes out orders and forcing changes to save a buck or whatever. Poor Devs caught between a rock and a hard place have to figure out a way to semi satisfy players over time while fully satisfying the top brass ASAP .

Not really sure it matters. The Devs have been given input since day 1 that they completely ignored. So...there's really no point in making suggestions. They do whatever they want anyway. Most of the time, it seems like they're trying to kill MWO as quickly as they can in hopes everyone will port over to MW5.

[LordNothing]

Arnold The Governator, on 22 July 2019 - 08:38 PM, said:

Pretty much this. A majority of people that complain don't understand the time and resources that it takes to make a video game, let alone one that works and functions. Hell, I tried Doom 2 modding myself and couldn't wrap my head around the coding necessary to make things work for some of the mod ideas that I had.

I'm not boot licking PGI by any means, since there is still no excuse for some of the problems that are in MW:O (that could be fixed with a simple adjustment of numerical values for example). However, if people tried to take a crack at making their own video games and depending what engine it's running on, I think a majority of people who were once armchair warriors will change their opinions rather quickly once they see how difficult it is.

i have a game engine that ive been working on for at least a decade, and its only has about 10% of the things needed to make a game out of. hardest part is finding time to work on it.

still there are some areas of development that are alarmingly slow. anything that is pretty much data entry. someone who wanted to fix say a small laser to make it useful would just need to key in the right values. something even the lowliest of interns should be able to do. which tells me that pgi has other internal issues impeding progress. bad management (as in too much micromanagement), too much bureaucracy (needing a 20 page study on increasing the small laser damage 5% before the change is approved by management, or needing to spend more time filling out tps reports than actually writing code). or it could just be a matter of arrogance, for example perceiving your work to be perfect and that everyone else's claims to the contrary are misinformed.

Edited by LordNothing, 23 July 2019 - 07:43 AM.

[MechaBattler]

Never know. Maybe someone will hit the lotto and buy PGI out.