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If the player base enjoyed XYZ event(s) they will speak out and the obvious numbers and influx of player population will prove in itself what WE enjoy and will log in to play.
I want THREE very specific events as suggestions to allow you some insight in to what WILL work and WILL generate success in this modern gaming environment.
1st event is simply what we shoot... ammunition themed event.
SRMs should receive their Inferno ammunition load, as well as making flamers actually work as intended, an event centered around heat, overheating, using coolshots, and ultimately removing the "suicide" word in general from the point score screen should be the goal and improved experience of THE central system mechanic of the universe and game.
This could also look to include other various ammo types, such as slugs for LBX systems, Swarm LRM which the clans specifically recovered, and even IS rebuilt w/ Swarm-I for identifying friend or foe, to which would increase ECM meta game This content was incluided in MechCommander 2 in 2001... Microsoft's PGI is that far behind where we were at and heading toward going. It's that pathetic the most prominent and populated Mechwarrior game available hasn't made a single move in any innovated way since when? Literally name the last new weapon system or incumbent concept. Oh yeah, you remember that and not your grand mother's maiden name? And if so... how long ago was that change? Mm'hmm. Tangential, but this is a serious and valid stab at the current shortcomings of a game that has basically REMOVED more content than it has added in the recent 4+ years.
Other ammo types to consider--
(mind you these are all well within the timeline of MWO's features)
LRM and SRM alone have Acid (AX), Bola Pod (which could be as simple as a speed penalty), Fragmentation, Heat Seeking, Smoke, Tandem-Charge, Thunder LRM and Mine Clearance.
These are just missile loads.
There are many other weapon systems with varying options--
Imagine several NARC loads, one type: Nemesis - pulls ALL guidance-fired missiles on to the NARC'd target, friend or foe. Is this beyond the skill or talent of coders or a limit of the game engine?
AC's have an interesting limit of using special munitions on just AC2s and AC5s and would compliment assaults who enjoy 6+ AC builds.
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There are indeed specific armor types which partially or completely negate the above advantages: Reactive Armor, Hardened Armor, Clan Ferro-Lamellor Armor, Laser Reflective Armor, etc. that could be included to negotiate all this extra fun we could be having with tools that already exist in the universe in which this game is inspired by.
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2nd event could be based around varying player totals per team, 10v10 making it 2 stars, and 5v5 one star match ups should be easy to encode and would encourage dynamic and positive improvement of the lore and PGI's ability to netcode for future projects such as enormous clan v IS war games with 30 (6 stars) vs 32 (8 lances) or some variance on a one-shot map. Once the fun is done, the bugs and kinks of the map worked out, injected in the standard 12v12 rotation.
In a world where anything can happen, perhaps allowing the Solaris and Faction maps in to the 12v12 casual rotation is in itself a 2 week event idea and might encourage some players to try the dying Solaris or inclusive Faction modes, and new blood could be discovered by veterans as they play their familiar maps in the regular PVP mode.
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3rd event would be jump jets. PGI's "idea" of jump jets as slow, low vertical mobility totals, not generating heat, and a way to mitigate terrain due to the LACK OF MAP FUNDAMENTALS is an arrogant and featureless joke that has gone on for an insipid and uninspired amount of time to anyone who is invested in the real battletech and Mechwarrior lore.
I cite to you the example of the Turkina, a 95 ton mech with built-in jump jets that launches itself 90 meters. NINETY METERS. This is considered normal or average.
What PGI has presented is in false capacity of what the original function and purpose of jump jets are and a limited time event to allow us to explore and enjoy this feature would be fun.
The ICONIC death from above and landing on someone to do damage should be implemented for this event, and 1 kill by death from above for an event reward of a Highlander variant + Mechbay would be an amiable reward.
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All that said.
These don't even need events.
These ideas need competent and real fans and invested developers & programmers.
Many of these features could be left in the game after some balance and tweaks since that seems to be so important and of interest to the current devs with what they set out to do with Gauss and PPC recently. So we've got no shortage of misconceptions here.
If you're staff and working at PGI, reading this, and not inspired, then the guilt is not on me, as I spoke up with great knowledge and hope gained from sharing an interest in this universe with you. These ideas if implemented would easily earn revenue, create content, and generate interest in a title that is largely free and easy to access, meanwhile reaching an entire new generation of young would-be pilots by a team of invested and capable programmers who are invesTING pro-actively in their content they provide.
That is what wins the hearts and minds of the youth today. The every day zest and vibrance of new and exciting content. Is that so hard to understand? Not fiddling with small numbers to try and get a sense of balance after some nerd fragged you with some cheap af hill peak in faction.you couldn't reposition away from and his Gauss + PPC snipes were just too hot to handle.
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I've got a bonus idea if you made it this far:
If you have any idea of how Battletech and Mechwarrior designs are inspired, you know that the arms are supposed to be basically mobile and adjustable tank barrels.
They're built and intended to be "toggled" to move from a low to a forward or high position almost shoulder height pointing or above the mech so they can peak over hills and fire with the main body of the mech mostly protected. Think about the Dire Wolf, and why the joints were made with the design in mind to fire from hip, forward, and even high position. The LRM 10, the arms up, and the armored shell if imagined hiding behind a hill or long flat of land after it used its feet to dig a long length of trench only to wait by itself to deal with perhaps an entire lance was one exciting read in my youth. The enemies had problems seeing a 100 ton Daishi (great death) b/c of it's very low profile firing line design. Ya' dig? ;3
This game, if it is to EVER evolve, should look to find a way to "toggle" the arms from their hip height at rest to a high firing position. Every single one of us who knows the lore and cares about the history of this inspired universe knows this. And if you work at PGI and do not, this is your wake-up call for how boggled millions of people who've played this game are as to why this absolutely standard practice and function is not included in what was designed nearly 50 years ago to impart as a baseline for every single mech design.
It is beyond comprehension that the most basic feature of a direct fire "tank" barrel system was to keep a low profile, and the reason battlemechs became the superior unit in future wars was due to it's ability to create verticality for it's weapon systems. This for 40+ years has been the exacting and grand design for most of the arms of these mechs.
If this feature has escaped you, go back and look at every single mech now with your new found vision and lens of truth. This major function and feature has escaped the PGI team thus far and my heart simply couldn't take it any more and had to be mentioned.
Edited for grammar and to include a clever pilot's Dire Wolf story from one of the books and how a low profile in long range / trench warfare matters as this game attenuates to this style of combat.
Edited by Scythus Ulvske Fetladral, 23 March 2021 - 04:03 PM.
