12 replies to this topic

[martian]

I have a simple question: Why are we not allowed to scan friendly 'Mechs to see what armament and equipment they carry? It is completely ridiculous that I can scan enemy 'Mechs at will to check what they have, but I have no way of finding out if that friendly 'Mech next to me is a dedicated brawler or a pure LRM-boat.

Have the developers ever told us why this function that worked in previous MechWarrior and MechCommander games is blocked in MWO?

Surely it would improve the general teamplay in quick play since the players would know what they can expect from friendly 'Mechs.

[Vellron2005]

I wandered this also a long time ago, but then I realized you can tell by actually looking at the mech.. most of it's weapons have characteristic visuals, and you can see what they are when they are fired (in case of lasers), or even see them on the mech itself.. You can tell if it's SRM, LRM, ATM, MRM by the number of holes, and they all shoot characteristically different visually and sound-wise..

[Nesutizale]

Beside that you mostly see the same builds on every mech. Its mostly either Dakka, LRM assault, Laser Vomit or SRM brawler.
Rarely you something that is a mixed build where you are not sure what it is. That is at least my impression.

[PhoenixFire55]

martian, on 09 December 2019 - 01:43 AM, said:

Have the developers ever told us why this function that worked in previous MechWarrior and MechCommander games is blocked in MWO?

Minimally Viable Product^TM.

[FRAGTAST1C]

martian, on 09 December 2019 - 01:43 AM, said:

Surely it would improve the general teamplay in quick play since the players would know what they can expect from friendly 'Mechs.

It's come to a point where most players don't know what teamwork is, most don't use the mini-map at all 'cause it is LosTech and most of the players stand around doing nothing while one or two do most of the damage. I'd hope that knowing what some of my lance-mates are bringing to the battlefield would be a good thing but given what I've mentioned, it wouldn't do us any good. I mean, I've seen people who bring laser vomit builds do nothing and some people bring ERLL and keep firing beyond max range 'cause they don't want to get their paint scratched.

It's just best to aim for 500 damage minimum and 1 kill and the rest is a bonus if it works well.

[Ignatius Audene]

Minimap dlc in sale for 5000 mc

[FRAGTAST1C]

Ignatius Audene, on 09 December 2019 - 04:02 AM, said:

Minimap dlc in sale for 5000 mc

Wanna bet that people will buy it and not use it?

[Nesutizale]

Currently I am not using minimap that much either. Most of the time stuff happens in front of me and if there is damage from behind you have the damage indicator flashing. So most of the time I am not missing the minimap at the center. Quite contrary to MWO where its very helpfull to be big and centerstage.

I have a little hope that someone will mod the UI to be a bit more adjustable, like moveing things around and scaleing them.

What I am missing much more is the weapon group ready and range indicator around the HUD. Strangely in MWO it took me some time to get used to it and now I don't want to miss it.

[General Solo]

martian, on 09 December 2019 - 01:43 AM, said:

Surely it would improve the general teamplay in quick play

Kinda doubt it
cant turn a sow ear into a silk purse, we have VOip etc
and silk purses use telepathy and min map telepathy

[martian]

Vellron2005, on 09 December 2019 - 01:59 AM, said:

I wandered this also a long time ago, but then I realized you can tell by actually looking at the mech.. most of it's weapons have characteristic visuals, and you can see what they are when they are fired (in case of lasers), or even see them on the mech itself.. You can tell if it's SRM, LRM, ATM, MRM by the number of holes, and they all shoot characteristically different visually and sound-wise..

I am sorry, but I can not agree. Here are the reasons:

• I can not see two thirds of friendly 'Mechs, simply because they often spawn quite afar from me.
  
• Even if I would like to check friendly 'Mechs that spawn just next to me, I can not since their pilots are surely not going to wait until finish checking their 'Mechs.
  
• Many weapons have identical or almost identical visual appearances. See the Black Knight for example. Even after seeing the friendly BK face to face, you can not tell if he is armed for sniping with five ER Larges and three Smalls, or if your lancemate is dedicated brawler with a brace of MPLs.
  
• Many 'Mechs have weapon doors that cover their weapons - the Catapult, for example.
  
• Or the King Crab with its claws. When they are closed, I don't know if he carries a pair of AC-20 for brawling, or Gauss Rifles or six AC-2s for sniping.
  
• It is my fault, but I often can not at a glimpse spot the difference between 20 holes for LRMs, 20 holes for MRMs and 18-20 holes for SRMs.

Nesutizale, on 09 December 2019 - 02:07 AM, said:

Beside that you mostly see the same builds on every mech. Its mostly either Dakka, LRM assault, Laser Vomit or SRM brawler.
Rarely you something that is a mixed build where you are not sure what it is. That is at least my impression.

I am sorry, but I can not agree.
Many 'Mechs have different builds: SRM and LRM BattleMaster, AC-20 and GR King Crab, brawling and LRM Stalker, SRM and LRM Dervish, etc. Awesome can be both a dedicated Lurmer or brawling laser+SRM build.

On many maps the visibility is pretty bad anyway: Frozen City during snowstorm, Terra Therma, Viridian Bog during rainy night, etc.

PhoenixFire55, on 09 December 2019 - 02:15 AM, said:

Minimally Viable Product^TM.

What annoys me that it's obviously not a technical problem. If you can scan enemy 'Mechs, you should be able to scan friendlies, especially if they are standing next to each other.

I am pretty sure that this is a matter of some checkmark on PGI's end, nothing else.

FRAGTAST1C, on 09 December 2019 - 02:53 AM, said:

It's come to a point where most players don't know what teamwork is, most don't use the mini-map at all 'cause it is LosTech and most of the players stand around doing nothing while one or two do most of the damage. I'd hope that knowing what some of my lance-mates are bringing to the battlefield would be a good thing but given what I've mentioned, it wouldn't do us any good. I mean, I've seen people who bring laser vomit builds do nothing and some people bring ERLL and keep firing beyond max range 'cause they don't want to get their paint scratched.

It's just best to aim for 500 damage minimum and 1 kill and the rest is a bonus if it works well.

Sure, you are right, but this is not what I meant in my post. I don't expect them to play any better. But if nothing else, "I" would know what to expect from them.

OZHomerOZ, on 09 December 2019 - 06:45 AM, said:

martian, on 09 December 2019 - 01:43 AM, said:

Surely it would improve the general teamplay in quick play

Kinda doubt it
cant turn a sow ear into a silk purse, we have VOip etc
and silk purses use telepathy and min map telepathy

Look, when I see some lone friendly assault 'Mech trailing far behind our team, I often return back to him to escort him and protect him against enemy Lights or fast Mediums.

But that is not always possible.

Imagine that you are in the following situation:

• You see a lone friendly Heavy or Assault transmitting "Help" signal. Knowing what weapons he has is crucial. If he is a Lurmer, he is going to die in thirty seconds. There is no point in leaving the rest of the team to help him since he is going to die before I can get to him. Enemy 'Mechs will kill him and then they will kill me, halfway to his position. Staying with the core of the team is the right choice.
  
• However, if he is a brawler or mixed build and can hold on his own for a few moments, then it makes sense to help him, kill enemy 'Mechs together and then return to reinforce the rest of our team.

Being able to check his armament would be immensely helpful in this situation.

[Vorpal Puppy]

As I have learned the hard way, the lone assault lagging behind is rarely worth risking yourself to try to save unless it is one of a handful of good pilots who got DC'ed at the beginning and has reconnected. Even then, I can only think of one occasion where it made a significant impact on the match.

[JediPanther]

It's easy to tell by looking at the mech type. Catapult with boxes are missiles. Atlas with a barrel has a bfg. I'm more worried about how timid friendlies are once the shooting starts.

[Tordin]

Simple answer, well answers really.

Most propably to avoid griefing, trolling, team killing and shaming those who are not having the same fun/ l33t/ meta/ only allowed build in certain players eyes.
Sugar infused, edgy salt lords forbid you to dare even doing such horrible decicions..

Also, if one team bring non cutting edge build, surely the other team will rejoice in seemingly easy prey, so they shouldnt complain. Except a possibly short match that is.