20 replies to this topic

[DeltaForce95]

Since I am very unaware of the lore behind Mechwarrior, I am staying as a neutral player. I might go look up the mercs after I figure out what I play best as. What are your thoughts?


BTW since I'm a former STALKER player I'm feeling an idea for a picture. There's a hillside, outside the limits of a war wrecked city, sitting in a powered down state or idle state, since I dont know any of the mechs Im just seeing a light one that you can see in the media section(the jenner), the cockpit is lowered(im assuming the legs fold up in a way to lower it? like i said I don't know anything about this series) and the pilot is laying down in front of the grating, back against the side that sticks out, piece of long grass in his mouth, feet atop the bulge on top the hull, just relaxing enjoying the relative calm out there away from the city, with fires and smoke showing up in hte distance in the city.

idk what you think of that pic? im a horrible drawing so i won't be able to o it xP

Anyway how many loners will there be?

[Durant Carlyle]

Repository of lore regarding the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere: http://www.sarna.net...ts/house_books/
Download the 'text only' files there. They're a good read, and go over the socioeconimic, political, and military preferences of each House. Even if you elect to stay a Lone Wolf, just having that background info can help you immerse yourself into the universe and the game.

By the way, I will not be a loner. My allegiance is to House Marik and the Free Worlds League.

Purple pride!
Fear the Eagle!

Edited by Durant Carlyle, 08 February 2012 - 10:37 AM.

[Jalkuranis]

Loners all the way!!! I do what I want!

[Brakkyn]

I don't have a group of real-life friends (or fake-life friends) who play BattleTech/MechWarrior. Nor do I currently belong to a league or unit online. I chose Lone Wolf because of this, and for no other reason.

I'll probably stay here, dropping with units who may have somebody out sick or they just need an extra hand [actuator], unless I can find a unit that is willing to accept new blood and their potential ineptitudes.

[Durant Carlyle]

Jalkuranis, on 08 February 2012 - 10:42 AM, said:

Loners all the way!!! I do what I want!

Just remember the consequences of this decision.

You may not drop as much as you like as a Lone Wolf. Those MechWarriors that have signed up with a House or a mercenary unit will always trust their peers and allies more than a stranger that has no allegiance. They will grudgingly accept you on their side only if it means they don't have to wait yet another 30 minutes for the last spot to be filled. If you drop with them a few times, that may change -- but then they'll wonder why you don't just join their faction. You'll be in a tricky spot for sure...

[Joanna Conners]

In unity there is strength.

MechWarrior isn't a "lone wolf" type of game, even if it allows for it. There's always going to be loners, but I'd suggest finding a good team.

[Opus]

Ronin is a much better word though...

until I find a group that wants to stick together, I figure; why bother?

Edited by Opus, 08 February 2012 - 11:18 AM.

[CobraFive]

Durant Carlyle, on 08 February 2012 - 10:49 AM, said:

Just remember the consequences of this decision.

You may not drop as much as you like as a Lone Wolf. Those MechWarriors that have signed up with a House or a mercenary unit will always trust their peers and allies more than a stranger that has no allegiance. They will grudgingly accept you on their side only if it means they don't have to wait yet another 30 minutes for the last spot to be filled. If you drop with them a few times, that may change -- but then they'll wonder why you don't just join their faction. You'll be in a tricky spot for sure...

Strictly thoerycraft :/

By my experience, more then likely lonewolfs will be able to get matches much faster, since they can be applied to any match. This is how it works in almost every game with such a matchmaker... think about how much longer it takes to get an arranged team/global map control match in World of Tanks, Global Agenda, League of Legends, hell even Spiral Knights Lockdown.

Compared to a lone wolf's "Quick Match -> Start".

I would also say that, while probably not among the players on the forums already (who are almost certainly already interested in the lore and/or community) the larger majority of players will be lonewolves once the game is live and marketing begins to spread.

That said, I'll be staying lone wolf almost for certain. My schedule doesn't permit regular playing at specific times, on top of the fact I don't really feel like finding a community of people worth playing with will be worth the effort at this stage. Sim games like this give me flashbacks of ArmA... augh... might join a merc guild if I can find a fun one to play with, though.

[Durant Carlyle]

Anybody will likely be able to do the "Quick Match -> Start" thing you described for matches that don't matter. But a good portion of Lone Wolves won't be happy just doing random matches. They'll want to start influencing the game beyond that.

Nobody has said that there are going to be arranged battles at certain times of the day. I'm thinking it'll be more like this...

Durant Carlyle, on 07 February 2012 - 07:44 PM, said:

Easy as pie.

You log into the game and are taken immediately to your unit's lobby/chat area. The server automatically notes how many members of each unit are available and generates various IA (Immediate Action) contracts. You look at the contracts and find one with good pay and/or benefits. You chat with your unit buddies and decide to play the defenders this time, so you hit Accept on the Defense side of the contract which reserves all the Defense spots for your unit or those allied with your unit. The rest of your buddies and/or allies hit Accept which fills up the Defense side. Non-allied units see that you are defending, so they Accept as attackers. Once both sides have the required numbers, the mission starts.

There will be XP, LP, C-Bills, and/or other benefits given directly to each member who dropped on the winning side. Each unit represented on the winning side would also get LP towards the House they fought for, but the units don't get anything else.

The units themselves don't have big stockpiles of weapons and/or equipment, and they don't have bank accounts either. Each member of a unit is responsible for earning their own way and having their own stuff to fight with. Any other way would only result in massive arguments over who earned what in the stockpile or account.

We'd all effectively be Lone Wolves, with some aligned with factions and some not. It won't be just Unit A versus Unit B ... it'll be Faction A and its allied units versus Faction B and their allied units. The pilots who haven't actually joined a faction will temporarily fight for whatever side they drop with and will gain Loyalty Points for that faction if they are on the winning side.

That way every pilot who wants to can at least attempt to make a difference.

...and yes, it is theorycraft like everything else about this game. But it's edumacated theorycraft.

Edited by Durant Carlyle, 08 February 2012 - 11:43 AM.

[Kasiagora]

Greetings Stalker! Allow my to strum a few chords on an old acoustic by the campfire – OH GOD! BLOODSUCKERS!!! >the clatter and flash of AK-47s lights up the night<

I've always been loyal to Davion (they seem to be less corrupt and oppressive towards their people (they really just don't seem to give them a thought one way or the other)), but the people that are choosing the Free Rasalhague Republic seem to be a fairly ruckus bunch, so that's pretty tempting this time around and I'd still get to attack the Draconis Combine for a few months.
But I love managing a merc company in games so like you, DF95, I'm still very much torn and I've been playing the game series since the early 90s. Maybe being a Lone Wolf starting out isn't bad. You make friends in game from doing a couple missions with them and join their faction.

[Opus]

Durant Carlyle, on 08 February 2012 - 11:40 AM, said:

Anybody will likely be able to do the "Quick Match -> Start" thing you described for matches that don't matter. But a good portion of Lone Wolves won't be happy just doing random matches. They'll want to start influencing the game beyond that.

Nobody has said that there are going to be arranged battles at certain times of the day. I'm thinking it'll be more like this...




We'd all effectively be Lone Wolves, with some aligned with factions and some not. It won't be just Unit A versus Unit B ... it'll be Faction A and its allied units versus Faction B and their allied units. The pilots who haven't actually joined a faction will temporarily fight for whatever side they drop with and will gain Loyalty Points for that faction if they are on the winning side.

That way every pilot who wants to can at least attempt to make a difference.

I'm sorry, sounds too much like Wow BG's; I can only hope they improve in someway the Layout & Payout

[Durant Carlyle]

Opus, on 08 February 2012 - 11:44 AM, said:

I'm sorry, sounds too much like Wow BG's; I can only hope they improve in someway the Layout & Payout

Really? I've never played it. But it sounds like a good and fair system to me.

What would you change about it?

[whiskey tango foxtrot]

Some choose to do battle with whom they want , when they want..........this does not mean they don't fight with skill and honor.

[Zimm Kotare]

For now I'm staying a loner, but that's only because I have some things going on that prevent me actually properly participating, unfortunately I likely won't be anywhere near a computer when MWO comes out, but when I get back from my great adventures I shall hopefully be asking the great Clan Smoke Jaguar to take me in!

[Cruiser]

I dont really have anyone IRL that is into mechwarrior and dont have much knowledge of the teams that are setting up in advance for MWO's release, so my plan is starting out as a lone-wolf and then prove to be so awesome that I will be recruited by someone that has the skills to back it up.

[armitage]

I would much rather have a group of players that I can rely on and trust than roll the dice and be subjected to the randomness of pubbers provided the role warfare pans out like it should. So whatever achieves that goal is what I will go with.

[ShoveI]

I was under the impression that even lone wolves would have to adhere to the loyalty points system. They will start off neutral to all the factions until they start dropping. Eventually, this will effect with what factions they can drop with as their loyalty drops or raises with the different factions. If you drop with Steiner forces a lot against Marik forces, then you won't be able to drop with Marik forces once your loyalty goes below a certain point.

[BarHaid]

Durant Carlyle, on 08 February 2012 - 11:40 AM, said:

Anybody will likely be able to do the "Quick Match -> Start" thing you described for matches that don't matter. But a good portion of Lone Wolves won't be happy just doing random matches. They'll want to start influencing the game beyond that.

If you want to influence the outcome of the game, pick a side and start swinging!

I'll be Lone Wolf in all but name, as I also have no ability to commit to the game with regularity. Ahh fatherhood...

[Opus]

Durant Carlyle, on 08 February 2012 - 11:48 AM, said:

Really? I've never played it. But it sounds like a good and fair system to me.

What would you change about it?

I dunno what I could change, perhaps a standing purpose to the battle grounds, where the game was progresive to actions during such battles....


Ok, I will try and explain wow BG's
1: in game you submit to go to a Battle ground, your either allaince or Horde

2: each faction fights for control of each BG every hour, or so..

3: Faction control and Honorable Kills gain you special "" Experience talents"" that you can spend at a vendor to buy in game weapons/armor/or basic ****

4: You have a waiting room till there are enough player to run a battle ground can range from 20 to 50 players

5: during the fighting all sorts of crap happens: people let members of their faction die because they don't know, or like them.. then they who are left usually are higher levels with better gear end up in the end with the most honor kills, and wins for their faction

This is a rough draft of how it works, I quit 4 years ago; too many whiny people, nobody plays with any sort of Esprit De Corps..

Some points of the game, were interesting, if you played the WOW 1 - 3 strategy versions; graphics are decent, but player guilds are a joke...

I ran on my own for much of the last year I played, I just got sick of it; very pointless it all became a search BBD (bigger better deal)

Edited by Opus, 08 February 2012 - 05:06 PM.

[Burned_Follower]

I'm going to start off as a lone wolf. I really want to be a contributing part of a unit really bad. But over the last six years i've been going through a vicious cycle of getting up on my feet financially, screwing up and moving back in with my family, moving out again and screwing it all up again. Ya'know, basically growing up, lol. I guess that's what happens when you move out on your own as early as 18 years old, lol.

But the unfortunate result is that from the MW community's general perspective i probably gave the impression that i was a guild hopper because i would join a MWL unit, get really super involved and show up to every practice session and even get involved in every 1v1 ladder that i could and then i would quickly go from gungho MechWarrior to dissapearing for several months due to screwing up and having to start over in RL.

But now that i'm finally rooted in a stable job and on my feet again for the zillionth time, i have decided to go lone wolf for a while. Since i'm finally on my feet and actually STABLE this time, i do plan on joining a unit and staying loyal with that specific unit. But i want to be a free lance Merc and play with every unit that i can for a little while before deciding to join one. Joining a unit in my opinion is making a big commitment. And nothing is worse than joining the wrong one. I joined a unit once in MWL and the leader of the unit accused other teams of cheating whenever our unit lost a match. His dishonor stained all the members in the unit including mine and i lost respect among the general community just for accociating myself with that unit. I left that unit to join another one only to have RL issues get in the way of me showing up on practice matches and as a result i ended up being more of a liability than an asset to the team. Although the second unit i joined was very honorable, i eventually left because due to RL issues i knew i simply could not contribute at that time and i hate being worthless to a unit.

But after i play MWO for a few months as a merc and i'm convinced i can actually contribute, i'll be joining a unit soon enough. Hopefully RPing as a Merc will allow me to "explore" different units before joining one so that i don't repeat my misfortunes when i used to compete in the MWL. Hopefully the Lone Wolf feature of MWO will grant me the opportunity to explore units without giving the impression of a guild hopper.