3 replies to this topic

[BlackWidow]

1. Death. How will this be handled? Will it be some very minor or temporary (ala WOW and most MMORPGs) such as 10 min timer before you can re-enter combat? Or will it be DEATH! Roll a new mechwarrior, (ala Diablo 2 Hardcore mode). Or will there be no death, and just simply....your mech is badly damaged. Please repair before entering combat. Which brings us to the next point.
2. Taxes (read: repairs) I am very interested to know how this will work. Will it be cheap to repair so as to keep the game fun and constantly playable? Or will it be costly thereby forcing you to grind out some cash by some other means? And what is the "other means"? Contracting out to a House and using their mechs where you arent responsible for repair costs, but you get a much smaller paycheck? This seems to make the most sense.

Break it down with me:

1. MWO will be persistance with ability to take and hold areas. But, it's still basically a FPS with mech battles and a lobby for queueing.
2. Since F2P will you have access to:
a. Whatever mech is assigned to you for the mission
b. A selection of mechs available from the contract providerm who provides repairs
c. You own mechs that you build up inventory through in game credits or RL online store?
3. Repairs on your own mechs. In game credits or RL money? Hear me out.

I personally think RL money for repairs could be a GREAT source of income for PGI. Rewards smart players for not making stupid suicidal moves since they know they can simply "respawn". Ugh. The term "respawn" and Mechwarrior do not sit well with me. Now, yes, those with lots of real world $$$ can get their mechs fixed faster...but would it really give them a "tactical advantage" for that particular skirmish? I mean, I suppose, you dont have to "die". You are just out of combat until it's resolved. Just like in the MW games. Well, you usually failed the scenario cause...well, everyone depended on you.

This, to me, would be a great solution. Not providing a "tactical" advantage, but providing another source of income to keep the game alive, while still providing other in-game options for earning money.

Thoughts?

[Woodstock]

I would like this to be connected to who wins the fight.

The owner of the field when the battle ends should get to keep all the mechs. So if you die but your team wins you get to pay to salvage your mech. If you lose ... well ... you lose!

and your back in your stock light mech to earn the c-bills to buy your heavy back.

[Halflight]

I was actually thinking of using real money for repairs last night, but ended up dissuaded because everyone takes *some* damage in mech engagements, unless you're very lucky or very cowardly. Having to pay actual cash for repairs would basically mean that the game isn't F2P. You would always have to be paying some sort of upkeep cost just to keep playing.

But I'm with you in disliking the idea of re-spawning. Something should be in place to discourage foolish "chimp" behaviour on the battlefield. I'm just not sure that a real money penalty is the best way to go about it.

[Spike Spiegel]

The economics of this could be very interesting.

Consider for a moment that each battle could not only resolve a temporary territorial dispute, but also gain the victors the salvage from the battlefield.

The salvage could be based upon the damage of all disabled Mechs in combat and piloting a Mech which gets disabled means you lose the Mech. Also, salvage could be component level to support repairs to the Mech inventory.

The value of salvage might be straight forward. However, contract terms could govern who gets the salvage after the battle: the sponsoring house, the mercenaries, a sponsoring industrial entity. A contract could promise a portion of the rewards to each participating party given the level of participation and support put forth for the battle.

Perhaps a sponsoring house has taken on a mercenary group with armaments and access to certain manufacturers, but for the price of a percentage of the salvage and the assertion that the mercs will fight only on their behalf in any operations involving the sponsoring house.