9 replies to this topic

[NoxMorbis]

In a word:

CONSOLIDATE!

Then build back slowly as needed. Currently, I feel like I need to go back to college to figure out what the heck is going on in this world, much less make sense of all the XP types and the skill tree.

• Skirmish - get rid of all other play - DONE! Convert all maps to Skirmish. This gets everyone on the same play page and groups can be easier to make and find for full groups.
  
• DISCORD! Please! It would be nice to have all clans/groups in a sub Channel that they can easily set up so we can easily find each other. Or, a dedicated web forum to find other Discord player made channels. Or both.
  
• Resolution Scalable Mech Bay/Options screens. It's the 21st century. 1440 is the word!
  
• Clean up Forums in the same way. (e.g., see #2)
  
• Skill tree = Hell. Get rid of it. It's not fun. No one likes it. Tie back mech performance to the mech. Skill tree is too far removed from the mechs themselves.
  
• Look back to 2012-13 for ideas on how to consolidate. Then rebuild slowly as necessary.
  
• Just clean it all up and take a breather! Everything is just too disconnected. Let's get back to fun. This game used to be SO much fun when it only had skirmishes. Totally addictive dropping with the same people and seeing other clans you know coming at you. Then jumping into a voice program and discussing the battle with other clans! So much fun. Lots of camaraderie and I think that is REALLY what is missing now.

One thing I think would make this game 100%, but for a future after the consolidation phase if finished:

Persistent planets that a group or "clan" controls, can set up bases and defensive weapons. Planets can be taken by other clans. This would be your "home" until you get your *** kicked, then back to normal dropping. In other MMMO.s Planets would be equal to a player made towns or keeps. something like you can only have 12 people attacking or defending any one planet (The "planet" would just be simply a very, very large map with normal boundaries). This would not encroach on doing skirmishes. It would be like a hybred "MMO like" with 12 v 12 instances of battles. Details would need to worked out for benefits of capturing a town, or having more than one planet.

Well, that's my 10 cents from a gamer who cut his teeth of DOOM I, way back in 1993, playing it on DOS in 1 v 1 mode.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Doom? Sheesh, kids these days.
Skill tree and XP are easy. Watch this: https://mwomercs.com...-tutorialvideo/. Or anything by Baradul on YouTube, he walks through the skill tree logic for each build. It’s pretty intuitive once you get used to it.

And I disagree on scrapping game modes other than Skirmish. Yes, conquest can be annoying when you bring a 53 kph dual heavy gauss monster, but that’s the POINT... a mech that is good for only one circumstance will be at a disadvantage in other circumstances.

More Discord would be nice, though. But Pre made groups and units kind of have this covered already.

[NoxMorbis]

ScrapIron Prime, on 06 March 2021 - 02:48 PM, said:

Doom? Sheesh, kids these days.
Skill tree and XP are easy. Watch this: https://mwomercs.com...-tutorialvideo/. Or anything by Baradul on YouTube, he walks through the skill tree logic for each build. It’s pretty intuitive once you get used to it.

And I disagree on scrapping game modes other than Skirmish. Yes, conquest can be annoying when you bring a 53 kph dual heavy gauss monster, but that’s the POINT... a mech that is good for only one circumstance will be at a disadvantage in other circumstances.

More Discord would be nice, though. But Pre made groups and units kind of have this covered already.

MODES:
It's not that one game mode is better than another, or that diff mechs for diff purposes, but getting back everyone on the same page. No one hates Skirmish mode. 12 vs 12 skirmishes were a blast. How's that 12 vs 12 working out these days?

I've heard from the community that most modes just turn into skirmishes anyway. The point is to get away from "premade" groups. Most people I know don't want t play whit strangers. They want a guild, clan, etc with people they can get to know and play on a regular basis. Camaraderie is a very real need for most gamers or just humans in particular.

MECH BAY:
No one should have to go to a Yuotube video to build a mech. It doesn't need to be like that. It wasn't in the beginning and it was fun building Mechs. The skill tree just seems like an extra step that doesn't need to be there.

This is a dying game and it needs a rethink to draw new people in. When you start a game, and it's so confusing right off the bat, that's going to turn a lot of people off. It was a really fun thing to build a mech and see live how it affected speed, mobility, etc. Having to go to a spread sheet, which is what the skill tree is, in order to finish off a mech is just unnecessary conflation. You can still have the same granularity a skill tree brings to the table without the skill tree itself. My preference would be to integrate the tree into the mech bay itself.

Okay, sure, you have many MMOs that require you to get involved with other players in order to initial figure out the game, or go through an extensive tutorial. For instance, EVE ONLINE. However, they have an EXTENSIVE player base with an amazing in game help channel and Discords, and everyone is in the same MODE.

I've talked to a LOT of people who also think the skill tree should be abandoned for a more mech oriented build system.

I still think MWO could use a really good clean up and restart to bring old players and new players back and in.

Edited by NoxMorbis, 06 March 2021 - 11:27 PM.

[ScrapIron Prime]

“Skill tree is complex.”
“Try watching this.”
”No.”

...

In all seriousness though, I hear what you’re saying. The original skill system was indeed simpler. But I’m my opinion it was deeply flawed.

The original system featured bolt-on modules. That is totally against lore. A pilot learns to be excellent with his machine, he doesn’t install special modules to allow him to maneuver better. The current system, while cumbersome, represents the genre better.

If someone could design and present a simpler system I’d be for it. But going back to bolt-on super tech would be a huge step backward.

[NoxMorbis]

ScrapIron Prime, on 07 March 2021 - 06:30 AM, said:

“Skill tree is complex.”
“Try watching this.”
”No.”

...

In all seriousness though, I hear what you’re saying. The original skill system was indeed simpler. But I’m my opinion it was deeply flawed.

The original system featured bolt-on modules. That is totally against lore. A pilot learns to be excellent with his machine, he doesn’t install special modules to allow him to maneuver better. The current system, while cumbersome, represents the genre better.

If someone could design and present a simpler system I’d be for it. But going back to bolt-on super tech would be a huge step backward.

What bolt on modules? You mean like a larger engine would make the mech more responsive? What do you mean by bolt-ons?

I don't think there was a skill system. It was just based on unlocking all of the mechs capabilities buy buying all mechs and outfitting them, but yeah, that was flawed.

The skill tree could still be integrated into the mech bay.

As far as lore goes, most people have no idea about that ( I don't). So a choice has to be made: Develop a game for tiny amount of people who remember Lore or build one that resembles it but incorporates other material to enhance game fun and interest. That is, increases play-ability.

Something needs to be done because this is a dying game. It has so much potential.

Like I said, a good starting point to turning it around is consolidation phase, and then incrementally building back. Everyone is too scattered now. We need to all get back on the same page, and not get lost in all of the details that can be figured out in the future.

There needs to be a clear, central place people can meet and greet (recruitment) and find clans or permanent homes with other like minded players. The forum could do that, but it needs a do over or a simple thread where people can talk about joining a clan or group or whatever you want to call the people you play with on a regular basis.

The forum isn't that right now. It could be. That's where you would initially meet people to join with, and then you could get their Discord. There is too much splintering. Until that is fixed, it's going nowhere.

In my opinion, the forum hierarchy should start with a dedicated thread to find people to play with (START HERE), a group of people.

In fact, a dedicated Discord probably really isn't needed if the web forum was more conducive to people forming clans / guilds. Everything could then flow from that thread.

For instance, every other game I've ever played has a forum with a thread something like:

Now Hiring; Guilds; Corporations (Eve); etc. It's such a simple concept, yet nothing here like that. Currently, it's a bewildering and confusing labyrinth of small splinters, each with its own small needs.

In short--GET US BACK ON THE SAME PAGE AND INCREASE PLAYER BASE IN DOING SO!

All the details can be done later..

Edited by NoxMorbis, 07 March 2021 - 10:29 AM.

[patoman]

I am not sure about the skill thing if it should stay or go. It kind of adds additional complexity but it also adds customization.

Comparing to other games, a skill thing is a standard thing, you level up a unit or character to make it gold stared, max level or whatever.

Otherwise people would just play the mech that can grind them the most creds, vs ones chosen to work together for faction warfare.

If skill points were gone, and it were credits I would just do dalie on my champion mechs dalie, and mabey some others I like if I want to burn more time.

And the dalie double is kind of handy thing to have, if its not SP then credits would be welcome.

I kind of agree with the other ideas but the game is not all doom and gloom and comparing say conquors blade, just having a single dalie win bonus on mechs and no crazy dalie quests or monthy quests and seasonal things are annoying time sink and money grab where you have to work for, I will sink a bunch of time in game but I dont want it to be a game job.

It is a MMO, with some mechanics of the others but it could be much, much worse.

Edited by patoman, 09 March 2021 - 09:48 PM.

[KursedVixen]

Unnerf clan mechs...

[NoxMorbis]

patoman, on 09 March 2021 - 09:46 PM, said:

I am not sure about the skill thing if it should stay or go. It kind of adds additional complexity but it also adds customization.

Comparing to other games, a skill thing is a standard thing, you level up a unit or character to make it gold stared, max level or whatever.

Otherwise people would just play the mech that can grind them the most creds, vs ones chosen to work together for faction warfare.

If skill points were gone, and it were credits I would just do dalie on my champion mechs dalie, and mabey some others I like if I want to burn more time.

And the dalie double is kind of handy thing to have, if its not SP then credits would be welcome.

I kind of agree with the other ideas but the game is not all doom and gloom and comparing say conquors blade, just having a single dalie win bonus on mechs and no crazy dalie quests or monthy quests and seasonal things are annoying time sink and money grab where you have to work for, I will sink a bunch of time in game but I dont want it to be a game job.

It is a MMO, with some mechanics of the others but it could be much, much worse.

The skill tree just seems redundant because you are always going to choose the best options for any mech, and so too are others. So, why not just incorporate that into the load out area and you can chose from there? You get x amount of bonus points to apply to your mechs, done.

[patoman]

Yea trying out current year skill tree is basically that, you do pick the same options for most mechs with exception being 4x.

And some of it is illogical to saying its 'skill' doing it it, just strait upgrades, how does skill make your guns reload faster, have harder armor, heat or even worse of all have a 4x magnification.

The skill tree seems to be moreso reflect twerks or customization to make you mech better then reflecting skill, a pilot doesn't make a autofiring AMS turret works better, thats some mech tech fiddling with it.

The main change I have noticed is its not shared across mechs with same hull, like all king crabs or hatamotos, and each special version has separate unlocks. I am for it being gone but it is ingrained in game for years so it might be tough sell.

Having skill system is worse for new players, I was refunded all of mine and sat on a large pool so I was able to max out a bunch of hatamotos I decided will be my new regular mech.

Edited by patoman, 13 March 2021 - 07:08 PM.

[NoxMorbis]

patoman, on 13 March 2021 - 07:07 PM, said:

Yea trying out current year skill tree is basically that, you do pick the same options for most mechs with exception being 4x.

And some of it is illogical to saying its 'skill' doing it it, just strait upgrades, how does skill make your guns reload faster, have harder armor, heat or even worse of all have a 4x magnification.

The skill tree seems to be moreso reflect twerks or customization to make you mech better then reflecting skill, a pilot doesn't make a autofiring AMS turret works better, thats some mech tech fiddling with it.

The main change I have noticed is its not shared across mechs with same hull, like all king crabs or hatamotos, and each special version has separate unlocks. I am for it being gone but it is ingrained in game for years so it might be tough sell.

Having skill system is worse for new players, I was refunded all of mine and sat on a large pool so I was able to max out a bunch of hatamotos I decided will be my new regular mech.

Pretty good summary. They could still put it in the load out section. Just show points available to apply to specific items and apply them that way. The skills application does allow you to tweak a mech more granularly, so maybe it should stay--just in a different form.