225 replies to this topic

[C337Skymaster]

w0qj, on 25 February 2022 - 07:03 PM, said:

3) Annual (Loyalty) Rewards Programme 2022
***We need MWO assurance that:
3a) Similar format to that of 2019 & 2020 Annual (Loyalty) Rewards Programme:
http://mwomercs.com/...rewards-program
http://mwomercs.com/...rewards-program

3b ) ie: Previous Loyalty mechs would all be available to choose from again (eg: UM-R80(L), LBK-H(L), HBR-F(L), etc. etc. and there are many of them)

I, for one, and many others I'm sure, besides, look forward to the loyalty program every year for adding new variants of existing chassis (a process the booster packs have dramatically accelerated), and still look forward to that. I was extremely disappointed, and felt quite gipped, in 2019, when, instead of the eagerly anticipated new variants, the rewards program was just a "recycle", and all previous loyalty 'mechs lost their specialness in that instant. I waited, in 2020, to verify the rewards program before spending any money, and wound up not spending a cent when it was the same recycle program. Once I was able to see that the 2021 program was adding new variants again, I immediately ensured I qualified for the whole thing.

w0qj, on 25 February 2022 - 07:03 PM, said:

4) Please bring back Special Variants for USD Cash, from previous promotions that are currently unavailable!
Steam Performance Packs, MW5 Pre-Order mechs, etc.

4a) MW5 Pre-Order mechs: please bring back for USD Cash!
http://mwomercs.com/...o-mech-loadouts
Warhammer WHM-9D(S), for MWO in-game
Marauder MAD-9M(S), for MWO in-game
King Crab KGC-001(S), for MWO in-game
Catapult CPLT-C2(S), for MWO in-game

Once again, re-releasing limited editions of 'mechs removes their "special" status and nature, and digs at those who purchased/qualified for them in the first place. All of the loyalty and special 'mechs are available in-game for C-Bills (or MC if you want them THAT bad), with the same quirks, hardpoints, loadouts, etc. The only variations are the CB Boost, and the special camo (which is often painted over, anyway).

Curccu, on 26 February 2022 - 12:28 AM, said:

That software only accepts one push of a keyboard each day.

You jest, but my work computer is very close to that...

[TheCaptainJZ]

I think it's clear from what has been said in the past that MWO development is dead because it's not profitable. It hasn't been profitable for years. PGI put all their resources into developing MW5 and now that appears to be done and over with. Phil says in his video () that EG7 is using PGI to work on two games. I have to assume all talent that was working on MW5 has been reallocated to those games. And when that's over, they'll work on whatever other games EG7 assigns them next. EG7 tells them what to do now. At this point, no amount of investment into MWO would make financial sense anyway. The game is about a decade old, doesn't run the greatest on hardware, and has a small player pool. Most players have already bought all the content they've ever wanted to. Many have hundreds of mechs. The novelty wore off long ago. Even if they dumped significant resources into MWO, it's unlikely they would ever gain it back financially. So therefore it is dead.
The MWO flex team is nothing more than a spare couple of hours here or there that the engineers or developers might have in between other obligations. The reason they can't commit to anything is because those resources are not promised. They're not even committed to complete a project for MWO that they might start working on. That's how low priority MWO is to EG7 and PGI given their staffing and resources. I would guess they will not try to renew the license from Microsoft in 4 years and MWO will shut down thereafter.

[C337Skymaster]

(Edited to convert wall-of-text to bulleted list)

As for new maps: promising 4 FP maps converted to QP use by the end of the year depletes the entire inventory, and possibly over-promises. We already have:
- Grim Portico --> Grim Plexus, (and honestly I was expecting that type of map conversion when it was announced that Hellebore Springs was being converted, not a faint reskin of the existing map with all the existing borders and terrain contours remaining untouched).
- Hellebore Springs --> Hellebore Outpost
- Emerald Taiga --> ?

That leaves:
- Sulfurous Rift
- Vitric Forge
- Boreal Vault, (although I'd argue that Boreal and what passes for "New Polar" are essentially similar to the point where a conversion would be redundant beyond reminding FP fans that they're not playing FP anymore).

Edited by C337Skymaster, 27 February 2022 - 06:42 PM.

[Hawk819]

Here's a thought:

[Horseman]

The Chancelor, on 26 February 2022 - 05:44 AM, said:

okay, then it stays with pure MWO topics and trans rights.

Let's just stay with pure MWO topics, lest we get cancelled by someone who gets offended.
The incident you're referring is more complex than the comp team name debacle, and the TOS does not allow discussing the details here (at the very least due to the "name and shame" policy and discussing the context of actions taken by the moderation team); find out what sparked the conflict on a certain discord and how it was brought into the game, then make your own conclusions.

Roodkapje, on 26 February 2022 - 07:25 AM, said:

Seriously : How ?!

The image consists just of three shades of grey, all of them very dark, but you can fix that using the Levels tool in GIMP to change it so that the brightest shade becomes white: https://imgur.com/a/eebaJUi

Edited by Horseman, 26 February 2022 - 12:02 PM.

[Ronbo]

ScrapIron Prime, on 25 February 2022 - 08:49 PM, said:

Sneaky, sis, reaaaal sneaky.

as my sig suggests, I've been dying for this mech for years. The rest of the roadmap is disappointing, but if your flex team delivers on the Crusader, I'll be here to play it. With whoever is still here.

Ok, Ill bite. I briefly read the info on Sarna, whats so special about this mech?

[AnAnachronismAlive]

Ronbo, on 26 February 2022 - 12:15 PM, said:

Ok, Ill bite. I briefly read the info on Sarna, whats so special about this mech?

Simply one of the more iconic mechs of the good old 3025 past (including some resemblance in Battletech-Novels) and one of the unseen mechs (lawsuit with harmony gold - google if you're interested in details please). The possible loadouts likely won't add much to the game (except for weapon systems in the legs, that make his incorporation into MWO even more unlikely), that does not already exist to some extent via other mechs / variants. So it is some kind of remembrance of a romantic BT-past most of the older players around here share, that gives the possibility of an unseen-release (same goes for the valkyrie or stinger/wasp) a special aura at best.

But as mentioned before: if you compare the head / cockpit part of the secret picture via Sarna (lacks the unicorn-horn and the bullseye-cockpit glass nor does it share similarities with the updated artwork closer to a bigger chameleon-mech), it becomes unlikely that they will publish the Crusader. I am close to 99,9% sure they will utilize / finish former work done on the Phoenix Hawk IIC. Both mechs share some general parts of appearance, that may support wishful thinking IMHO.

Edited by AnAnachronismAlive, 26 February 2022 - 12:35 PM.

[HammerMaster]

"The Plan"

[Sereglach]

Well, if we're getting the Crusader or any other affiliated classics back then I hope there's some way to get them into MW5 planned. They certainly deserve to be there, even if it's something simple like a small paid DLC per mech that installs like a mod. I'd hope for the 2R, 3R, 3L, 5K, and 7L as solid variants (with some actual variety, just shove an extra AMS 3R to better differentiate it from the 2R).

As for anything for MWO . . . it'd take a flamer fix (although really I have the Flamers that I like in MW5 . . . even if their VFX are wonky) and a few small miracles to get me logging in again (let alone spending money). This "roadmap" really doesn't cut it. At the very least you should have mentioned whatever the top priority deliverables are, even if you don't have release dates. Say "Hey, this is what we're trying to get out first, and once that's done we'll talk about what the next priority is." Then you at least have SOMETHING that resembles the concept of a roadmap. However, what's posted isn't a development roadmap, it's an event and sale roadmap.

[LordNothing]

Extra Guac, on 26 February 2022 - 07:11 AM, said:

Game balance is reasonably good at this point, except for maybe IS ERLL's. Spending too much more time on balance passes is a waste of time imo.

The cauldron should shift their focus to improving & saving Faction Play. Experienced players aren't going to stick around just to play QP. If it's just going to be QP and nothing else, there are better games out there. Bringing more players into FP is more important than fine-tuning the maps or putting out new mech variants.

idk, the cauldron kind of does that work for free. actually putting balance in their hands frees up resources for other things. i think if pgi had to deal with balance issues, they would get a lot less done. if pgi wanted to do new weapons, the cauldron would probibly supply the balance numbers for those. i think of all the things pgi has done, the civil war pack did the most to breathe new life into the game.

fp and solaris were both flops that ended up serving the few. the only good thing that came out of either of those were new maps, and retrofitting them for qp is going to add much needed novelty to the game, especially for those who have not played fp. id prefer new maps that are suited to qp, but that might prove too expensive. i dont think there is any way to fix fp. people who enjoy it will still continue to play it as is, and would likely be opposed to another disruptive patch. if they do anything with it, i think regular tukayyid events would suffice and would introduce periods of increased activity. forget any match making upgrades, its a lost cause. mm cannot work without enough players, and qp doesn't even have that.

new mechs for the most part have been soulless content, unless they gave a capability that was not available (i dropped $25 on the ultraviolet the day it came available), or if it was a particularly iconic mech. that was maybe a 1 in 10 occurrence. something different like is omnis could help. mech building has always been my big draw, putting mech legos together to build a viable war machine. as with any plastic brick product, having a bigger variety of pieces leads to a more engaging experience. doing a small weapons/equipment pack, in concert with new iconic or unique mechs, would be a good way to drum up purchases. might be the only thing to make me open my wallet again.

Edited by LordNothing, 26 February 2022 - 04:26 PM.

[Danjo San]

Is this a joke?

[Big-G]

Abandonware... here we come...

[Zathul]

I hate to be like this, but what's the point of even posting a road map if it's literally just, "Hey, here are the copy/paste holiday events we've been doing for years and that's about it lol." Almost borderline intentionally aiming to disappoint people with this, and it's sad because I want to love the game like I used to so badly. Was really hoping there would at least be a new chassis or something. Against all odds the tabletop side of the franchise is exploding in popularity, meanwhile our games are falling behind.

Edited by Zathul, 26 February 2022 - 07:27 PM.

[Duke Hector]

you know PGI....AS A FOUNDER of this game from the VERY start.....i have to quote a certain red shirt man at blizzcon that asked a question when they were launching diablo immortal...

"Is this some out of season April fools joke??"

i have put up ALOT of PGI's slimy crap over the years.... you think i wouldn't forget your stupid $500 dollar pure gold mechs from the EFFING clan invasion?? a shameless CASH GRAB and from all those years i have never seen one... NOT ONE of those golden abominations in the game NOT A SINGLE ONE

and now this.... why would you even BOTHER to put out a roadmap at this point you would be better to cancel the license and transfer this game back to microsoft so they can just give it to a studio to actively develop it instead

there are TONS of things you could do... you could have advanced the timeline to the dark age and put in TONS of new weapons and mechs, but that must be too hard and complex....before you just abandoned this game for MW5 and then just up and ABANDONED that game too

i have two words and ONLY two words for PGI as a whole...that need to be said again after the garbage you all pulled at the clan invasion

PATHETIC and DISGRACEFUL

[ghost1e]

w0qj, on 25 February 2022 - 07:03 PM, said:

4a) MW5 Pre-Order mechs: please bring back for USD Cash!
http://mwomercs.com/...o-mech-loadouts
Warhammer WHM-9D(S), for MWO in-game
Marauder MAD-9M(S), for MWO in-game
King Crab KGC-001(S), for MWO in-game
Catapult CPLT-C2(S), for MWO in-game

I honestly don't think making stuff like Phoenix mechs, MW5 mechs, founders mechs available again is a good idea. they're a sign of being around in the game at a certain time, and if you make them available for $, they'll just fall to the level of normal (S) mechs, a sign of money.

[ghost1e]

Also personally, I'd really wish for the following:

Make FP great again. Atm it's simply another CB grind mode, not worth playing for me & many others. Bring sth like planet control back, to make playing in a group valuable.

Better spectator tools please?

And. Please. ASAP. Work on optimizing the performance of this game.

[johnnyq666]

TheUltimateGhost, on 26 February 2022 - 11:37 PM, said:

And. Please. ASAP. Work on optimizing the performance of this game.

ASAP ? PGI ? what a joke

[Areno]

I want 100% CB and XP with the booster for $5 for 30 days. You get far too little for your money.

Every week different mechs etc. on sale.

The old Mining Collective map.

A cost adjustment of the MC costs for the mechs etc. ~$35 for some mechs is way too expensive.

Always new events where there is something extra, even if it's just CB.
Do damage with any Atlas e.g., or with weapon XYZ...

Match the CB and MC reward to the game mode.
The goal of the game mode must always be treated as DMG doing, or kills, or even higher.

[JC Daxion]

Matt Newman, on 25 February 2022 - 11:34 PM, said:

Just a few notes,

Mechs - We will be delivering more mechs/variants than are on the road map. However, I don't have exact delivery dates as of now. so they are not on the road map. The road map will be updated when I have delivery dates. Mark N and others are very busy and we want to continue to deliver mechs that you guys enjoy! (We also want to make sure the Annual Rewards Program returns to its former glory)

Maps - We are committing to delivering 4 "New" QP maps this year. the first one coming next month. We will be talking with Francois about which map will be next in our next Dev log. We will also be addressing issues with other maps in between the new maps. It's worth saying Mark N also help Francois with Maps!

Gameplay - We are continuing to work with the Cauldron on quirks and weapon tuning and more! Indy has been doing a great job getting those changes in! Please forgive the lack of Cauldron updates mentioned on the Road Map. We have no intention of stopping that I just don't have details on what is next.

Game Features - This is where the Flex team comes in. We have a few designs that we have been working on with the cauldron while going back and forth with engineers at Piranha Games. I haven't put any of that work on the road map as of yet and I won't until I can confirm I have the right design, with the right resources, for the right amount of time to get the job done. Most work requires multiple engineers of different specialties, UI, Back end, Gameplay, Networking ETC. Once I have the pieces in place we will let you know what it is we are working on.

Events and Sales - As you know I have been doing events and sales for a while now. This year won't be any different!
I only listed the "traditional" stuff here but there will be more events more free mechs!

For those of you who were upset, we posted the frenzy Sale before the roadmap the reason is we had the sale ready and waiting and we had been waiting for the road map to go up before the sale. however, since the sale had already started in a few areas we chose to post it first.

Anyways I want to say understand if you are not thrilled with the road map as it currently looks. Last year's roadmap certainly looked better to start. This year we are trying to MAKE SURE we can deliver what we commit to. Last year we over-committed and underdelivered, This year I would rather under-commit and over-deliver.

Maybe that is an overcorrection but I can tell you this if it shows up on the road map it's going in the flipping game.

Matt can you guys post last years map in this same format with what you actually did and links to those patch notes each patch. It would be a really nice feature for people to see what was done last year, and what you are moving to this year. I don't want the things you didn't get to, just a map of what was done and when would be wonderful.


I really hope to see things keep improving.

[Extra Guac]

LordNothing, on 26 February 2022 - 04:23 PM, said:

fp and solaris were both flops that ended up serving the few.

FP wasn't a flop, it was great for many years.

QP is a flop - it's a pointless, boring, and overly simplistic game mode.

Game balance is fine right now, they don't need any more balance passes for the next year. Maybe it's not 100% perfect but it's close enough.

The Cauldron should focus on ways to fix FP without using too many resources from PGI. One option is simply reintroduce planetary conquests, exactly the way it was a few years ago.

It's not about matchmaker either. Just fix the actual game mode - make it more engaging, and people will show up to play.

Admittedly they also need a way to monetize the game if they're going to keep the lights on. Maybe create some FP-exclusive content, idk. Their new parent company is supposed to be the experts on monetization.

The acquisition announcement said that PGI has a 65-person development team. Not sure what they're doing all day.