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[InnerSphereNews]

NGNGtv PODCAST WITH MATT AND DAERON

Greetings MechWarriors!

Matt and Daeron sat down with Phil to discuss MechWarrior Online in 2023, rebranding, matchmaker, future projects and more!

As referenced in the podcast, here are the images of the two new Legendary 'Mechs, the Fafnir "Juggernaught" and the Mad Cat Mk II "Moonwalker", as well as the new map "Free Worlds Colliseum"!

[Reno Blade]

First!
great to see a new podcast ! thanks all

[RoyKilroy]

This is full of useful information. I think the legendary mechs will be a welcome addition. This does make me curious about what events are planned for this month.

[Buenaventura]

InnerSphereNews, on 10 March 2023 - 11:15 AM, said:

I'm sure there was some more information than just the pictures of 2 hero mechs and a new map. Would you be willing to add a "tl;dw" version with the important bits?

[Bud Crue]

Buenaventura, on 10 March 2023 - 11:38 AM, said:

I'm sure there was some more information than just the pictures of 2 hero mechs and a new map. Would you be willing to add a "tl;dw" version with the important bits?

I put it in Outreach (https://www.reddit.c..._w_daeron_matt/ ), but here it is again:


Summary:

• 
  
  No MM work yet, hoping for April. Reviewed MM issues but no engineering work yet.
  
• 
  
  No direct communication with Caldron (or community) in regard to how the MM works and no plans for this (Matt's take is that this is an engineering issue not one of Caldron input).
  
• 
  
  MM tries to balance weight class, groups and skill. Matt: best chance for a balanced match, select more regions.
  
• 
  
  Daeron: lets get an engineer to look at MM but he is skeptical that they will have any dramatic changes to how MM works. Nothing the MM can do to impact player behavior.
  
• 
  
  Phil: 8v8 GQ return? Daeron seems skeptical in terms of what it would do the QP. Matt wants engineers to look at drop deck selection for a QP form of event queue.
  
• 
  
  Daeron: use of drop decks in event queue has been the biggest praise from the community. Re-spawns in EQ is the most different thing we have done in a long time...bringing this to the masses (QP) might be just as popular there as it has been in EQ. Wants to have engineers look at this as a possibility.
  
• 
  
  At least one weekend every month will have EQ event. Wants to work with the B33f to do "wacky Wednesday" events too.
  
• 
  
  Phil: new weapons, etc.? Matt: maybe Q3-Q4, legendary mechs are the current priority. Moving hard points around, using proper models, etc. takes time and effort.
  
• 
  
  Rebranding discussion in re legendary mechs: "MWO Legends"
  
• 
  
  Shares screen shots of the Fafnir "Juggernaut" legendary mech (8 ballistics)(see at around 37 min mark) and the cauldron designed Moonwalker MK-II (6 ballistics?) (40:30 mark) which has a backwards speed bonus quirk.
  
• 
  
  Matt: thinking of splitting 30%xp boost on Champions to 15% xp and 15% c-bills. Might do something similar at some point with Legendary mechs which will be designated as special (hero) mechs at first.
  
• 
  
  New map shown at 42:40-ish. Purple hibernal/grim elements. Rolling hills. Map is called "Free Worlds Colosseum". Kraz's first map effort. Bigger than it looks. Coming in next patch? "Daeron: "will have a lot of fun in a couple of weeks".
  
• 
  
  Discussion of Vitric Station. Daeron says he gets most positive feedback from community about Vitric.
  
• 
  
  Crucible is getting more changes in upcoming patch.
  
• 
  
  Matt: "no comment on Stone Rhino". Phil: "I'm calling it now" Matt mentions that Russ dropped that tidbit on his podcast.
  
• 
  
  Discussion of what folks like Matt and Daeron can say and when vs. what Russ can say about game. What they say is true at the time but things change. Company is still dedicated to producing MW content. Phil tries to push discussion toward MWO2, all theoretical though Russ seems to have hinted that there is at least a potential there (though perhaps under a different name).
  
• 
  
  Matt returns to discussion/mention of future changes to game, Paraphrasing: perhaps adding drop decks to game would be a better use of resources than MM changes(!)
  
• 
  
  Brief discussion of skill tree and new player experience. Can't pre skill trial mechs as that would result in pre-skilling champions.
  
• 
  
  Battle pass discussion. Legendary mechs will be $15. Xp earned will unlock battlepass content. No time limit/constraint. 2 matches to unlock each tier for low-average skill player. 20 tiers. Matt thinks stuff to unlock is a great value. 2 mechs with next patch (see above). 1 mech per month thereafter or whatever cadence works for the designers, etc. (2 more ready to go, but not sure how they will be made available, depending on new mech release...Phil hints at Stone Rhino again).
  
• 
  
  Lucky charms and free mech event incoming.
  
• 
  
  Phil reiterates his view that he thinks there is value in sharing with caldron MM details.
  
• 
  
  Badges will get updated. Matt is planing on updating mech packs with new deckals.

Edited by Bud Crue, 10 March 2023 - 11:50 AM.

[AmbidXtrousGNOME]

I really like the drop deck idea for soupq. Like was mentioned, tonnage is a part of the queue logic so starting with a 20T mech and then dropping in a 100T mech could throw off the "balance" of the match. What about a weight drop deck? So instead of being able to have any mech you build a L,M,H,A deck and when you join QP as a single or group you pick a weight class? So if you join a game and pick your Medium DD, you can only pick from 40-55T mechs? Or have logic build in so you can only have a DD of mechs that are +5 tons from the lightest mech in the deck? this would help prevent huge tonnage shifts and the queue tonnage logic would still be applicable-ish

Not perfect but if it'll bring DD's to QP I'm all onboard for helping figure out a great system to help the community enjoy the game more.

PS. Phil, stop staring into my soul.......

Edited by AmbidXtrousGNOME, 10 March 2023 - 11:56 AM.

[Kodan Black]

I'm intrigued by the QP drop deck. Would maybe make sense to do 2 mech drops given it is QP?

Sounds like some positive stuff upcoming. I like this trend towards more interesting quirks like the backwards speed one. Gives mechs a little more variety and personality.

Vitric is a solid map and I've had many dynamic and unique experiences on it because of the varied ways you can play the map depending on mode.

While I know the MM is hampered by playerbase size, I think there should be upper/lower bounds involved. I've had matches with 1-2 assaults on one side and the other team has 6+. Assaults are big weapons platforms and parity should be the goal with a max of 1 difference between the teams. Ideally it would also get more into things like an Atlas and a Charger not being comparable, but I know that we can't put too many conditions in without wait times spiking.

[Rhaelcan]

Lockheed_, on 10 March 2023 - 11:57 AM, said:

All in all pretty disappointing.

Wrong priorities of legendary mechs over new weapons.
Drop decks in QP would be instant quit for me. One of the major reasons why I don't play EQ or FP
No cauldron involvement in the matchmaker seems like a really bad decision.
New map, unfortunately the trend seems to continue, looks terrible to me. Small, arena, little cover.
Legendary mechs feel disappointing, especially the choice of weight class and rather mediocre camo patterns, I was expecting them to look legendary.

They cant rush new weapons that quick.

[Dyex]

Lockheed_, on 10 March 2023 - 11:57 AM, said:

All in all pretty disappointing.
Wrong priorities of legendary mechs over new weapons.

Legendary is a revenue strategy forward for the game. Unless they make new weapons a micro transaction (nobody wants), this holds priority of the two.

[LordNothing]

need to have different psr/tier values for each weight class. perhasps have grouped psr tracked separately as well. for decked modes the total psr can be the sum of the class psr for each mech in the deck, divided by four. two lights a heavy and assaults would be (lpsr+lpsr+hpsr+apsr)/4.

my only suggestion for event queue is MOAR!

legends, dont overprice them and dont make the new variants unobtanium through other means. spent way to much money on this game already to have permalocked content.

like the new map.

Edited by LordNothing, 10 March 2023 - 02:11 PM.

[Dyex]

I don't understand a lot of this dancing around matchmaker balance that goes on.
The Devs ran 8v8 quickplay in the past with no trouble as a test, they can build events with test sizes to learn results.
Event que is a magic ticket, a special case where the Devs can do live testing without a beta branch.
That is a boon of a tool.

[BeCause]

If Matt didn't hear a peep about his stealth change, he either didn't ask or they didn't tell him. We noticed immediately and I very specifically sent support an email about the patch making matchmaker worse and longer. It was responded to by Patience, and she said she would pass it along.

[Rhaelcan]

LordNothing, on 10 March 2023 - 01:42 PM, said:

need to have different psr/tier values for each weight class. perhasps have grouped psr tracked separately as well. for decked modes the total psr can be the sum of the class psr for each mech in the deck, divided by four. two lights a heavy and assaults would be (lpsr+lpsr+hpsr+apsr)/4.

my only suggestion for event queue is MOAR!

legends, dont overprice them and dont make the new variants unobtanium through other means. spent way to much money on this game already to have permalocked content.

like the new map.

They are 15 dollars each. Quite cheap than I thought. Though I think the only way to get them will to buy them

[BLACKR0SE]

I hope the color maps will continue. I'm so bored of gray.

[LordNothing]

Rhaelcan, on 10 March 2023 - 04:22 PM, said:

They are 15 dollars each. Quite cheap than I thought. Though I think the only way to get them will to buy them

$15 is acceptable. $40 is not.

[smokefield]

just throwing my 2 cents here:

1. biggest issue: not allowing bigger groups in QP drove off a lot of my team. that was the fun while playing this game.

we need bigger groups back and here is an idea that can combine both drop decks and bigger groups. meaning define OR a total number of mechs available OR max tonnage in the dropship per that game.

Condition: 8 man max group for QP:

Case 1: Mech number limit: 24 total mechs per game per 12 man team(2 per player).

from the pool of 24 mechs you allocate a percentage based on how big the group is.

8 man - can field only 12 mechs. that means after the 1st round only 4 players from that team will drop again. make it random so all of them have mechs ready. it will add even a twist cause you never know who will be picked to drop.
the rest of 4 solo players will have the other 12 mechs - that means they can drop with 3 mechs in that game. Plenty of balance vs those in a bigger group.

Obviously the numbers can be adjusted.

Case 2: tonnage limit 2400 tons

8 man ca field only 1000 tons per game. apply the logic above but this time they can choose lighter mechs so all 8 can drop twice (with 2 mech per game max). the rest of tonnage - 1400 tons - goes to the 4 solo players split equally->350 tons per player. so each can drop as many mechs as they want in 350 tons. 3 x100 + 1x 50.

above numbers are not balanced at all, just to make my point.

[w0qj]

Very excited and look forward to the new upcoming changes to MWO

Legendary Mechs, new map, possible new mech chassis(!), new weapons being worked on, etc.

Good times

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Update:
There's a new (proposed) Fafnir-F that's understood would be the new Legendary Fafnir, with a proposed quirk preview (which may be subject to changes):
https://mwo.nav-alph...m/mechlab/fnr-j

I love the part about proposed +20% PPC Family Velocity, but it's only got 1x energy hardpoint in the head of the Fafnir. So what Inner Sphere PPC is 1-slot and can fit into this Legendary Fafnir ??

The new weapon plot thickens

Edited by w0qj, 11 March 2023 - 05:48 AM.

[smokefield]

the check engine light, on 10 March 2023 - 11:19 PM, said:

I'm not sticking around to pad out your group drops.

**** it. Requesting account termination. This isn't getting better.

dont let the door hit you, always safety first.

[Alreech]

smokefield, on 10 March 2023 - 10:40 PM, said:

just throwing my 2 cents here:

1. biggest issue: not allowing bigger groups in QP drove off a lot of my team. that was the fun while playing this game.

we need bigger groups back and here is an idea that can combine both drop decks and bigger groups. meaning define OR a total number of mechs available OR max tonnage in the dropship per that game.

Faction play has no group size limit AND drop deck.
So why didn't switch your team (unit?) to faction play?

Quote

Condition: 8 man max group for QP:

Case 1: Mech number limit: 24 total mechs per game per 12 man team(2 per player).

from the pool of 24 mechs you allocate a percentage based on how big the group is.

8 man - can field only 12 mechs. that means after the 1st round only 4 players from that team will drop again. make it random so all of them have mechs ready. it will add even a twist cause you never know who will be picked to drop.
the rest of 4 solo players will have the other 12 mechs - that means they can drop with 3 mechs in that game. Plenty of balance vs those in a bigger group.

Obviously the numbers can be adjusted.

Case 2: tonnage limit 2400 tons

8 man ca field only 1000 tons per game. apply the logic above but this time they can choose lighter mechs so all 8 can drop twice (with 2 mech per game max). the rest of tonnage - 1400 tons - goes to the 4 solo players split equally->350 tons per player. so each can drop as many mechs as they want in 350 tons. 3 x100 + 1x 50.

above numbers are not balanced at all, just to make my point.

So different rules for group and solo players, and to make that work PGI needs to rebuild the dropdeck system in a group & solo split.
Sounds like a great way to waste money AND to upset the die hard solo players that hate even 4 player groups because those cheat with private VOIPs and teamwork (a no go in any team based shooter).

IMHO it would be easier to creat some kind of "faction quickplay" with dropdecks and flexible matchmaking by using the already existing drop decks & faction play.

Players have to use dropdecks to remove mech weight from matchmaking
Drop decks follow the same tech rules as in faction play (no mix of clan and is mechs) to enhance the number of groups in the game aviable for a call to arms.

4 vs 4 / 8 vs 8 / 12 vs 12 matches depending on the number of players aviable
small maps for 4 vs 4, medium for 8 vs 8, large for 12 vs 12
make variants of the larger maps for 8 vs 8 & 4 vs 4 (Battlefield did that almost 20 years ago...).

4 player groups only, with 4 players min & 4 players max. Yes, that means group leaders have to invite players to fill their group.

"But I want to play with my 11 player friends group!!!!!" -> play normal faction play, or synchdrop as multiple 4 player groups.

[MarsThunder]

smokefield, on 10 March 2023 - 10:40 PM, said:

1. biggest issue: not allowing bigger groups in QP drove off a lot of my team. that was the fun while playing this game.

Yep, 12:0 is not enough! We want 12:-1