Ray Mason, on 06 March 2012 - 11:22 AM, said:
It’s a MOBA, they are very much comparable. If time and time again MW games suffered from bad balance then why make another one and make the same mistakes? The game is F2P, they can’t sell a 5 hour campaign to their niche audience and reap the benefits, they need various options and good core gameplay. And for the 100th time, I’m offering better options, more options, not saying “this is the only way you should ever play this game”. The potential for good gameplay is there… unless they wedge the metagame into a handful of compositions allowed for each and every skill level and scenario.
The biggest mistake I think you're making is assuming the fact 50 tonners are not equipped to single handedly match the firepower of a 100 ton 'mech is "bad balance." It's not; I think the majority of hardcore CBT and MechWarrior fans would honestly be quite upset if a medium that's oriented towards front line fighting was on par with an assault doing the same thing in a 4v4 scenario.
I'm OK with them having advantages, even non-canon ones, like improved turn rates and such; they can also fill some roles heavier 'mechs can't from speed, so the idea of "fast moving big punch guns" can work good in team games, but at the end of the day in a team on team scenario, the one with twice the weight SHOULD have a huge advantage.
In otherwords, what you're talking about as bad balancing is what the majority of fans
want. Balancing midrange assets based on the fact they are cheaper is good balance! In previous League play this offers tons of flexibility - one team might go with mostly mediums and some heavies, and the other might roll a couple assaults, some heavies, and a bunch of lights - both the same weight and value, but each tactic WILDLY different and giving both teams completely different characteristics. You have to start thinking of the team as a single entity, rather than each 'mech as one, to fully appreciate what I'm talking about. In a BV system (or even a weight system!) one person taking a terrible 'mech and making a sacrifice might win the day for the team, by allowing one of the best players to take something more expensive. It's a facinating mechanic.
PS: I added a new poll option, for a weight class "slot" system, similar to how some FPS games limit Sniper/Support/etc. positions, on a per mission basis. In otherwords the missions might have a randomized number of slots for both teams, which they can then fill - i.e. a mission might need 4 lights, 4 mediums, 2 heavies, 2 assaults and players can fill them (or down ton them). This would streamline the
drop process as I assume the matchmaking is a much faster pace and league style careful configurations might be too time consuming, even though it's not my preferred system.