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The Grand Unified Game Mode, What Would It Look Like?


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#1 LordNothing

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Posted 07 May 2020 - 05:36 PM

idea is simple, with the current queue merger, we have set precedent for the inevitable merger of all the things in the game into a single queue. so when we are crunched for players and all the modes are mostly ghost towns, what will the game look like. some theoretical outcomes:

let it rot - pgi decides putting time, effort and money into further changes is pointless and that it just lets entropy take over and do nothing more about it until the plug is pulled. alternatively doing the same thing with official closures of certain modes. either way its going to be where the players are what decides what the final outcome will be.

qp merge - everything goes to qp. keeping the one lance team rule in effect. drop decks might be refunded and bolt ons added to the qp supply cache system, as solaris and fp are closed and faction rep is by badge only.

fp merge - i thought we were going this way when we got the fp match maker and qp modes were added to fp. if this were to happen every game past and present would be available on a rotating basis. team players might have to accept group limits, but at least would still have access to siege. pugs will have to suck it up and get gud. probably the outcome most likely to cause a sweeping community backlash, but also the one most likely to save the most gameplay experiences. and i can see things like clocks getting cut dont to 15-20 minutes or decks being limited to 2 drops.

custom lobbies only - take the current custom game system, add a lobby browser so you can look what games are available and join up. all games on the browser would be public, but perhaps rent out private servers on a subscription bases to units or anyone that wants one. games could be set up with any game rules the host wants. things like player count, game time, map, mode, mode rules, tier restrictions, stock mode, whether to use decks or not, class restrictions, etc. this is another all modes available option. there is no match maker, players have to sort themselves out. will likely use the most dev time to develop the lobby browser and perhaps improve the custom game options. of course the light version is just closing all the modes and the only way to play is by lfg, but thats clunky and difficult for new players.

dynamic lobby size - everything stays as it is, but depending on current queue activity, the number of players per match may be reduced to 8v8 or even 4v4.

now for crazy mode concepts:

solaris merge. - everything closes but solaris, and a new 4v4 mode is made available. but hey at least you can make your robot loos stupid with bolt ons.

skirmish only - all modes but team skirmish are closed. maps are random and there is no mm. but at least the core game can continue to shine.

lobby simulator only - all modes remain open, but the actual game servers are taken down. you can still build mechs and join lobbies, but the thing just spins forever.

Edited by LordNothing, 08 May 2020 - 02:58 PM.


#2 Nearly Dead

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Posted 07 May 2020 - 06:09 PM

I believe they call it abandonware. Only with all the legal wrangling over the license, it would be more like doginmanger ware.

#3 FRAGTAST1C

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Posted 07 May 2020 - 06:22 PM

1. Fix the MM and let QP rot. It's going to happen anyway.

2. Fix the FW. It's high time already. Always have Siege mode in a conflict with 2 other random modes. Run Scouting in parallel to the main FW.

3. Fix the damned MM.

4. Fix the damned MM.

#4 Swamp Ass MkII

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Posted 07 May 2020 - 06:30 PM

You mentioned dedicated servers. Something we had in the Battlefield days... BF1942, Desert Storm (Mod of Battlefield 1942), Battelfield, Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, Call fo Duty 4: Modern Warfare... All of these were dedicated servers. 16 to 64 players in Battlefield...

All the maps in Battlefield, BF2, and 2142 were able to be sized Small, medium and large, with little moddification on the developers end. Honestly, seems people liked the 64 player maps, even on a 16 player server. Hell, if they would kick up dedicated servers, and add maps size selection, and free for all (it be fun, admitt it), I would defffinitly pick up a server... :P

#5 JediPanther

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Posted 07 May 2020 - 06:31 PM

Crap abandonware. Just more to add to the list of pgi shovel ware and another 10-20 years before someone else tries to bring bt/mw back from the dead.

#6 Swamp Ass MkII

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Posted 07 May 2020 - 08:08 PM

It seems it will always come back from the dead in one form or anoher... Honestly, I am still looking for Mech Warrior 2 that will work on winblows 10!

#7 Vellron2005

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 12:14 AM

I don't think it will ever come to that..

It's more likely MWO2 will be announced..

#8 Scout Derek

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 01:29 AM

Something that isn't what we currently have now, that's for sure.

#9 dario03

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 02:38 AM

I wouldn't mind a grand unified match maker... Ready up for any and all modes that you want and have a mech/dropdeck setup for and then the match maker just puts you where you are most needed. So if you are dropping solo and select all, then it just puts you in the best match for a game in either qp, fp (either side), scouting (either side), or solaris (any division). But also let you go in and unselect modes and sides that you don't want, and be able to set a preference for the mode you want most.

I think that could help with team balance, especially in the low pop modes.

#10 Anomalocaris

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 03:24 AM

View Postdario03, on 08 May 2020 - 02:38 AM, said:

I wouldn't mind a grand unified match maker... Ready up for any and all modes that you want and have a mech/dropdeck setup for and then the match maker just puts you where you are most needed. So if you are dropping solo and select all, then it just puts you in the best match for a game in either qp, fp (either side), scouting (either side), or solaris (any division). But also let you go in and unselect modes and sides that you don't want, and be able to set a preference for the mode you want most.

I think that could help with team balance, especially in the low pop modes.


But that would be logical, and apparently involve some coding, so yeah....PGI

#11 VonBruinwald

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 04:07 AM

View Postdario03, on 08 May 2020 - 02:38 AM, said:

I wouldn't mind a grand unified match maker... Ready up for any and all modes that you want and have a mech/dropdeck setup for and then the match maker just puts you where you are most needed. So if you are dropping solo and select all, then it just puts you in the best match for a game in either qp, fp (either side), scouting (either side), or solaris (any division). But also let you go in and unselect modes and sides that you don't want, and be able to set a preference for the mode you want most.

I think that could help with team balance, especially in the low pop modes.


Have suggested something similar in the past for QP:
  • Player has a 1/1/1/1 dropdeck for quickplay (no tonnage restrictions),
  • Player hits play
  • Matchmaker picks players mech to fill appropriate slot.

As for a unified matchmaker. I'd rather see control left in the players hand:

Streamline the gamemodes:
  • 1v1 Solaris maps
  • 4v4 Group
  • 8v8 Quickplay
  • 12v12 Siege
That's it! Matchmodes need a tweaking:
  • 1v1 Solaris is now lobby based, when joining the lobby you and your mech are displayed on the lobby screen along with everybody else’s. Each player has a "Challenge" button next to their name/mech, click it and they get a prompt, if they click "accept" the match launches. Has a chat function to facilitate players arranging matches. No tonnage restrictions and designed for the ePeen crowd.
  • 4v4 group is played as scouting and consists of a 1/1/1/1 arrangement. 4-man groups only. Clicking it takes you to the "looking for lance mates screen" if you're not already in a 4-man.
  • 8v8 is quickplay as is only 8v8 solos.
  • 12v12 Siege is basically faction play, mixed groups and solos with respawn. Aimed at big groups.
If population in insufficient merge 4v4 and 8v8 into 2/2/2/2 quickplay and scouting with 4-man groups.

#12 Dee Eight

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 04:29 AM

What difference does anything we say make. PGI will just ignore any logical suggestions and do the most *** backwards interpretation of whatever is suggested. Some folks asking for the ability to opt-in/drop in the group queue as solo players got us group queue forcibly merged into solo queue instead.

#13 VonBruinwald

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 04:36 AM

View PostDee Eight, on 08 May 2020 - 04:29 AM, said:

What difference does anything we say make. PGI will just ignore any logical suggestions and do the most *** backwards interpretation of whatever is suggested. Some folks asking for the ability to opt-in/drop in the group queue as solo players got us group queue forcibly merged into solo queue instead.


But I made a skeleton UI of the Solaris lobby for them, surely they can't get that wrong!

Posted Image

#14 D V Devnull

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 07:21 AM

Pardon my getting off-topic, but this NEEDS to be answered...




View PostSwamp *** MkII, on 07 May 2020 - 08:08 PM, said:

Honestly, I am still looking for Mech Warrior 2 that will work on winblows 10!

That's actually possible, if you own a Full-Legal Win95/DOS combo disc (or just a DOS-only disc version) of 'MechWarrior 2' that you purchased some long time ago. Search around online for instructions, and you can (anywhere from easily to some minor difficulty) set that up for yourself. However, I forewarn you that it will NOT be a "served on a silver platter" type of task, and you'll likely be using the DOS version in order to be able to play again. B)


EDIT :: By the way, the Forum censored your name while I was trying to post. There's nothing I can do about that, dangit. -_-

~Mr. D. V. "Good Luck, Ancient MechWarrior" Devnull



(p.s.: It makes me sad that corporate business and licensing causes good old titles like these to almost totally get thrown under the bus and left to die out with older operating systems!)

Edited by D V Devnull, 08 May 2020 - 07:23 AM.


#15 LordNothing

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 02:33 PM

View PostNearly Dead, on 07 May 2020 - 06:09 PM, said:

I believe they call it abandonware. Only with all the legal wrangling over the license, it would be more like doginmanger ware.


i believe that falls firmly into let it rot.

#16 LordNothing

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 02:42 PM

View PostSwamp *** MkII, on 07 May 2020 - 08:08 PM, said:

It seems it will always come back from the dead in one form or anoher... Honestly, I am still looking for Mech Warrior 2 that will work on winblows 10!


mechvm still seems to work on windows 7 (i have 2 old machines that run 7, one is my htpc and the other is my 3d printing rig). dont think i got it to work on anything newer without running some sort of virtualization (once did a win98se vm which worked ok, but was kind of wonky if you use your mouse, but i use a joystick so it worked out fine for me). common easy approach is running the dos version in dos box. at some point i had a glide version (titanium i think, which is supposedly the hardest version to get working) running in a glide wrapper and it looked great, but i dont remember how i got that to work.

Edited by LordNothing, 08 May 2020 - 02:54 PM.


#17 Warning incoming Humble Dexterer

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 06:33 PM

View PostFRAGTAST1C, on 07 May 2020 - 06:22 PM, said:

1. Fix the MM

3. Fix the damned MM.

4. Fix the damned MM.

I thought the quarantine would result in more FP players, but instead it resulted in more groups farming FP : You can skip two groups in a row on purpose and still land on a third one now.

I should make a compilation of how ridiculous it's become.

FP will end when the last FP group has finished farming the second last FP group out of MWO : 90% there.

I thought Epic Store and future Steam players would flock to FP after playing MW5, and maybe some do, but there's no room for them in FP, like no incentive for OP 12man groups to take some of them in their group, instead of just farming them to the last drop.

Edited by Warning incoming Humble Dexterer, 08 May 2020 - 08:30 PM.


#18 Swamp Ass MkII

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 08:22 PM

I've only got one cheap, old laptop in the truck! Not like I can put an attic in here! Gotta restart my phone, hopefully picking up a new tower! haha!

#19 Anjian

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Posted 08 May 2020 - 09:02 PM

You should only have a single main game queue. That's it. The queue or main game mode, randomly rotates around maps and arena modes such as domination which will have a few variations, and team death match.

Couple that with a feel free to practice team death match, where you can use to learn and practice your mech, test new configurations, test a new mech for refinement, or just be stupid and silly, and relax. This mode will not add or subtract to your stats, nor will it gain you xp or currency.

#20 LordNothing

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Posted 12 May 2020 - 09:07 PM

View PostVonBruinwald, on 08 May 2020 - 04:36 AM, said:


But I made a skeleton UI of the Solaris lobby for them, surely they can't get that wrong!

Posted Image


this is kind of the way fp should have gone. instead of players it would have been units. if direct challenges were to pay out more than farming pugs you would have also solved the pug problem and fp could have absorbed all the game modes like had been originally planned. pugs would have just been assigned to default units (house/clan militaries) when they picked their banners. all direct challenges would be fought on equal footing, but you could also attack, but with diminished tonnage as a function of jump distance (every unit, default and created would have a homeworld). so pugs pulling garrison duty on their homeworlds might actually stand a chance.

Edited by LordNothing, 12 May 2020 - 09:14 PM.






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