246 replies to this topic

[infinite xaer0]

Morkani, on 03 March 2012 - 07:17 PM, said:

I know it's been mentioned that all mechs will be available at launch & you won't have to buy them or unlock them, but do you all agree this is the correct course for the game?

(My personal oppinion is there should be something to look forward too, otherwise the game will get booring)

you want the game to have unlockable mechs... because otherwise without some carrot to chase, you think the game's going to get boring?... ok... You know, there are other ways to captivate players than through unlocks, and I think the best way to do that is by laying the groundwork for a potentially very high skill ceiling. granted, how high that skill ceiling goes is entirely dependent on the people playing the game, but always having better people to play against, to try and beat, would be something that I would look forward to a lot more than unlocking some ****.. I mean, look at counter strike; that game has no unlocks, no leveling, is over a decade old, and yet still commands ~60,000 players a day.. so clearly there's something more to keeping people playing than trivial **** like leveling and unlocks.

[Scar]

I think there should be a freedom of choice. If you wish to have an Atlas - it's not a problem, you pay 50, 100 or even 200 bucks for C-Bills and you have it.

But if to say about myself, i'm not going to waste the hundreds of bucks to buy the top mech in the day of release - i love the small reconnaissance Mechs not less than Assaults and will be happy to start with Commando and move toward the Heavies, growing my own skill on the way to the Atlas.

Edited by Scar, 04 March 2012 - 09:05 AM.

[Ro Cin]

karish, on 04 March 2012 - 08:37 AM, said:

With out some kind of long term goal to work for this games life will be real short. yes I know there is pilot and mech XP but how long before you max that out? are they going to make better upgrades of what you have?? like Endo steel or light fusion engines?? go from standard weapons to pulse or er-weapons for upgrades. or work to a Variant upgrade for your mech . as much as i would love to start in a Spector or a Hussar for a fast sniper mech i dont see it happening at the start

Not every great game works on a unlock baises for instance take Heros Of Newerth all the heros are availible once you get enough cash through playing the game (much like they probly plan to do here) as each hero usefulness is dependent on the player rather then the Hero
now Hon reached its 100th update and its still going strong relying on a highly competative comunity to be better then the other guy allso its F2P

[Ian MacLeary]

karish, on 04 March 2012 - 08:37 AM, said:

With out some kind of long term goal to work for this games life will be real short. yes I know there is pilot and mech XP but how long before you max that out?

That's the question, isn't it? AFAIK, though, there is no 'pilot XP'. You earn XP for the 'mech you pilot, spend that to purchase the various efficiencies for the 'mech. At certain points in the tree, you earn a Pilot Point, which can then be spent on one of the Pilot Skill trees. Given that we have three of those to choose from, I'm guessing you'll need to max out at least 4 'mechs before you've filled out your skill trees. Possibly more.

Quote

are they going to make better upgrades of what you have?? like Endo steel or light fusion engines?? go from standard weapons to pulse or er-weapons for upgrades. or work to a Variant upgrade for your mech . as much as i would love to start in a Spector or a Hussar for a fast sniper mech i dont see it happening at the start

Some of the techs you mentioned are canonically available at the start of the game (3049). They're generally only available to Elite units of the Great Houses, but enough C-bills can get the manufacturers to let 'samples fall off the back of the truck'.

The Hussar HSR-300-D and HSR-350-D versions are available to the Inner Sphere. We probably won't see them at launch, although you never know (so far everything's been from the 3025 TRO, and the Hussar is in the 3039 TRO). According to canon, it's not impossible that a 200-D or 200-Db survived throughout the Succession Wars, but it's not too likely. EDIT: Okay, looked it up - the Hussar does show in the 3025 Revised TRO. So it's a toss-up as to whether it will be in at start or not.

The Spector, on the other hand, is only canonically rumored to be seen in two merc units at this time, McCarron's Armored Cavalry and Storm's Metal Thunder. Odds of getting your hands on one of these for the first few years of game-time are very slim.

Edited by Ian MacLeary, 04 March 2012 - 09:25 AM.

[Spiralcrisis]

I would probably start off in the high medium low heavy weight range. Good punch with enough go to support who needs help.

[Ghostrider45]

You guy are frugetting a lot of points win it comes to cost in C-Bill your all thinking cost of Mech ,cost of repairs, you've forgtten the trainsport fees, are the cost of a hot drop, then there how much dos a small laser cost, how much dos a PPC cost, witch has to be added in to the bills! think about it if spend all but ! million C-Bills on mechs then you have to get to the be battle and if it cost 2 Mill in C-Blls to you and all your mechs there then your not going because your out of money!

[Tryg]

The problem with a more linear mech unlock system wouldn't appear at launch, it would appear six to eight months after launch when all the launch day players are running about in any mech they want, and someone just starting the game with no concept of how to pilot (let alone fight) in his brand new soon-to-be scrap heap.

Ultimately, after getting blown to dust repeatedly and being unable to learn to fight cause he can never squeeze off more then a single shot, he gives up and drops the game. We want the game to be around a long time, you have to remember that the game needs to remain fair to new players throughout its lifetime, not just on launch day. Late in the game's life, new players are going to want those nice slow assaults so they can figure out what they're doing without getting wasted the first time they come across an enemy mech.

Yes, they'll still likely die a lot, cause all else being equal, the more skilled player has the solid edge. But, at least they get to fire off a few volleys before they go and feel like they can get him /next time/ if they keep at it. So yes, I understand the desire to not get plastered by an atlas rush on launch day... but the other consideration is that launch day comes once. New players will be joining through the entire life of the game.

[Jumbik]

Ghostrider45, on 04 March 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

You guy are frugetting a lot of points win it comes to cost in C-Bill your all thinking cost of Mech ,cost of repairs, you've forgtten the trainsport fees, are the cost of a hot drop, then there how much dos a small laser cost, how much dos a PPC cost, witch has to be added in to the bills! think about it if spend all but ! million C-Bills on mechs then you have to get to the be battle and if it cost 2 Mill in C-Blls to you and all your mechs there then your not going because your out of money!

My brain hurts from reading this.

I hope you meant to say something realy clever but I was lost after first three words.

[FinnMcKool]

Ok after reading a few posts here , Im seeing some other points.

Yes we know all weight / Class mechs will be available , but we dont know that all
Mechs will be .

as a matter of fact we do know that they will continue to release Mechs as the game
progresses .

so this will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

[ArchLurker Chad]

All four weight classes should be made available for the player at start!
The game is made to be played with a mixed team, with all the roles, for the most interesting and fun gameplay.
This is not like the previous games where you started out in lights only to grind up to assaults and then stick to them cause they were bigger and better. The roles back then weren't as important as now.

Not saying all the mechs should be available, but at least one of each weight class. Don't want another world of tanks where if you want to play a heavy tank you have to go through the lights and mediums first.

[Sears]

Ghostrider45, on 04 March 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

You guy are frugetting a lot of points win it comes to cost in C-Bill your all thinking cost of Mech ,cost of repairs, you've forgtten the trainsport fees, are the cost of a hot drop, then there how much dos a small laser cost, how much dos a PPC cost, witch has to be added in to the bills! think about it if spend all but ! million C-Bills on mechs then you have to get to the be battle and if it cost 2 Mill in C-Blls to you and all your mechs there then your not going because your out of money!

I can understand having to pay to refuel, repair and restock on ammunition if you're a lone wolf pilot, fair do's it's your Mech. I can't imagine that being the case when you're with a faction, they should pay for all those things and transportation, you're fighting for them. It would be like joining the army and having to pay to out of your pocket to refuel and restock the tank you've just used as well as pay to get it to the battlefield.

[GDL Germ]

Jumbik, on 04 March 2012 - 10:12 AM, said:

My brain hurts from reading this.

I hope you meant to say something realy clever but I was lost after first three words.

Seriously ***

[TheRulesLawyer]

Scar, on 04 March 2012 - 09:04 AM, said:

I think there should be a freedom of choice. If you wish to have an Atlas - it's not a problem, you pay 50, 100 or even 200 bucks for C-Bills and you have it.

Sweet Jebus, I hope they don't take that page from from WoT. A chassis shouldn't be more than $5-10 at most. It should be a collect em all price, not a "lets lock people into once chassis" price.

In any case we should be able to start as any weight class. Devs say they don't want people to have to grind forever to get to their favorite me.

[Psydotek]

If anything, maybe certain variants will be unavailable until a certain requirement is met, but every chassis and weight class should be available.

If role warfare is as important as they say it will be, then a lance of Atlases will should get beat by a lance with a proper mix of scouting and command.

[kameren]

and about there not being a diffrence between pilot and mech xp was clearly stated in one of the dev posts that the xp will be devided between the two areas.

[Draco Argentum]

Cyote13, on 04 March 2012 - 08:21 AM, said:

The Devs have said all mechs will be available to all players. Probably the first one will be free and only sell-able for the same price After that it will be a c-bill amount for each mech.

I predict you'll start with one of each weight class, that way you won't be grinding C-Bills to get the role you want. It'll also give new players a look at more of the gameplay rather than locking them in early.

TheRulesLawyer, on 04 March 2012 - 12:09 PM, said:

Sweet Jebus, I hope they don't take that page from from WoT. A chassis shouldn't be more than $5-10 at most. It should be a collect em all price, not a "lets lock people into once chassis" price.

One million percent agreed. Go LoL style and some people will buy a couple while others buy heaps. WoT pricing means a few people buy one or two.

[Dirk Le Daring]

i did not vote. it has been stated that ALL mechs WILL be available to ALL players at launch and thereafter.

[Zervziel]

I'm going with whatever assault mech or heavy if they have one I truly want. Usually prefer assaults, but if they managed to crowbar in the Marauder and it looks good, I'm willing to go a few tons lighter than usual

[TwitchTv Morkani]

Ian MacLeary, on 04 March 2012 - 09:22 AM, said:

The Hussar HSR-300-D and HSR-350-D versions are available to the Inner Sphere. We probably won't see them at launch, although you never know (so far everything's been from the 3025 TRO, and the Hussar is in the 3039 TRO). According to canon, it's not impossible that a 200-D or 200-Db survived throughout the Succession Wars, but it's not too likely. EDIT: Okay, looked it up - the Hussar does show in the 3025 Revised TRO. So it's a toss-up as to whether it will be in at start or not.

omg please, i loved the hussar

[Ian MacLeary]

Ian MacLeary, on 04 March 2012 - 09:22 AM, said:

That's the question, isn't it? AFAIK, though, there is no 'pilot XP'. You earn XP for the 'mech you pilot, spend that to purchase the various efficiencies for the 'mech. At certain points in the tree, you earn a Pilot Point, which can then be spent on one of the Pilot Skill trees. Given that we have three of those to choose from, I'm guessing you'll need to max out at least 4 'mechs before you've filled out your skill trees. Possibly more.

kameren, on 04 March 2012 - 02:07 PM, said:

and about there not being a diffrence between pilot and mech xp was clearly stated in one of the dev posts that the xp will be devided between the two areas.

(Yeah, self-quoting, just so people would know what was being responded to.)

Actually, what they said was this:

Quote

XP is a cumulative point system used to unlock BattleMech Efficiencies by performing in game actions correctly. All earned XP is divided by a percentage between General XP and BattleMech Chassis XP.

General XP can be spent on any BattleMech efficiency, while BattleMech Chassis XP can only be earned on the current active player BattleMech.

General XP is not Pilot XP. General XP is BattleMech Efficiency XP that can be spent on any chassis, not just the one it's earned on. Once you've unlocked enough efficiencies in one 'mech Efficiency tree, you earn a Pilot Point.