12 replies to this topic

[John Clavell]

So far we know that you will be able to align to one of the great houses, including FRR. From the limited info so far it seems you will have the option to form a merc Corporation that is aligned to a House very much like how MekWars Servers work for MegaMek, allowing you to attack planets of other Houses then you fight pilots / teams who are set to active in defence of their House.

I just wondered then how will the big, independent mercs like Northwind Highlanders, Wolf's Dragoons, Kell Hounds and such be handled? They all have their own independent planets, and in the case of the Dragoons, the hub of all merc activity.

Storyline in a persistent and evolving time line within the game is being planned as a big thing for MechWarrior Online. So far we have many people trying to take on the mantel of their beloved Merc units, However this presents problems, you can't have 5 Wolf's Dragoons, or 5 Northwind Highlanders, that kind of breaks the immersion and the time line.

How does everyone think this might work in the grander scheme of things? How do you feel Merc Corps will work?

Maybe, like in MechWarrior 4 - Mercs, you'll be able to align your merc unit to one of the big mercenary units, becoming sponsored by Wolf's Dragoons, or Northwind Highlanders lets say would give you a certain perk or access to certain equipment in much the same way I am sure being aligned to a House will.

Edited by John Clavell, 03 November 2011 - 06:11 AM.

[alaric]

I want to be periphery bandit scum

This is a valid question but if you look into the lore a bit you will see where Merc Companys offer their services to a house (and depending on the house they may or may not have an easy time changing houses) Many Merc Companys ended up basically becoming slaves to the house they were serving (Kurita did this a lot through things like a company store set up)

[John Clavell]

Yes totally true. Most merc units are basically house mercs and non independent. However the big Mercenary units have a profound place in the lore of Battletech. Wolf's Dragoons, Kell Hounds, not to have them represented would be a crime. I'm not really interested as much in House units as I am say the Wolf's Dragoons or Northwind Highlanders. Furthermore these units have independent planets, on which they produce Battlemechs.

I'd like to see an option to become either a sponsored Merc Corp with access to their Battlemechs or other special abilities just in the same way many people will join one of the Great Houses as non independent Merc Corps which will gain access to House specific Battlemechs, Weapons, and other bonuses.

[John Clavell]

/me swoons thinking about running a Merc Corp sponsored by Wolf's Dragoons giving you access to say Marauder Mk II or FireFly or an Annihilator or Imp.

[XxInfernoxX]

I think it would be very cool if entire Merc Corps were able to hop between Houses or Independent Merc units. It would be almost like a contractual timeline.

My thing is, upon creating an account and aligning with a House instantly shrinks my recruitment field. If/when Clans become available, what if I wanted our whole unit to switch over?

I think having some sort of contract system from the Houses to the Merc Corps could be a cool element, how it would be regulated I am not sure, but it would really make you feel like a Merc.

Is it clear whether you have to be in a Merc Corp, or can you simply be a House Mechwarrior?

[WhiteRabbit]

XxInfernoxX, on 03 November 2011 - 09:15 AM, said:

I think having some sort of contract system from the Houses to the Merc Corps could be a cool element, how it would be regulated I am not sure, but it would really make you feel like a Merc.

that plus some sort of economy linked to the units success/standing... like better pay if you won your last matches or have a long (positiv) history with that contractor (i.e. not bashing their heads in for the last five weeks straight)

[Darklord]

I believe the big Merc units in the storyline like The Dragoons and others with stay as NPC.

DL

[John Clavell]

A contract system would be nice. When I ran NWH in NBT many moons ago, I would have a contract setup which would run for a specific duration. Prices, salvage rights and percentages plus bonuses would be agreed upon for the duration of that contract. An increase or decrease in these variables as part of the contracts renewal was part of the contract, based on our combat performance, and mission objectives.

Being an independent mercenary force can be an advantage as much as a disadvantage, becoming a house mercenary can give you some big bonuses, but at the same time you risk becoming enveloped as part of the Houses standing force. Making and breaking your contract should mean something in very real terms, just switching between being independent and a house mercenary as you see fit, seems a bit like exploitation of the system, without hard repercussions. Leaders of Merc Corps should have to think long and hard about what they are doing, does this work to your advantage in the long run. Will you be burning your bridges, access to certain supplies or Battlemechs just for a few extra million C-Bills?

If there is a system where you can use C-Bills for purchase, I wonder if that might be in conjunction with supplies? If so, what's better to you and your Merc Corp? More C-Bills, or more supplies, and Battlemech Chassis? Negotiating over these terms would be interesting. However, it seems apparent that the Houses wont be player controllable, so it comes down to the game design. In this case I'll bet it will be relatively simple, and contracts wont be in place at all. That furthermore makes me wonder if becoming a house merc will be your only option, and units like Wolf's Dragoons will be playable, or intractable at all.

[Dantron]

My thoughts are that when a new player first signs up, they would join one of the NPC mercenaries groups (Wolf's Dragoons, Kell Hounds, etc) and it would be easier for the new player to find other players to get into matches with. Overtime, as the new player meets other players and makes friends, they would then have the option of forming their own merc corp or join one of the existing player run merc corps.

In more basic terms, for those that are familiar with EVE Online, the NPC merc corps would be like the NPC corps that EVE noobs join before joining player run corps in low sec or null sec.

Just a thought...

[John Clavell]

I see where your coming from. And it's pretty much what I'm suggesting. We know that when you join you will be by choice, or be forced to align yourself to one of the houses, from here you can just be an individual much in the same way the system works in EVE Online when you join one of the NPC factions. The matching system will allow you then to get combat alongside members of your faction affiliation, fighting towards a defined goal, but you wont need to be 'friends' or know them.

Forming a Merc Corp allows you to basically have a bunch of friends fight with you as a unit, and offers some other things and further management, customisation and stats. Like a mini-gaming clan of sorts (not one of the Clan factions). But what is not clear is what if your friends are all aligned to different houses? Do you have to be in the same house? Or will you be able to be an independent mercenary group?

The issues are however, if you want to be aligned to of even play as one of the major mercenary factions like Wolf's Dragoons, if even possible at all, how will this work? Having lots of individual groups all claiming to be the Wolf's Dragoons is stupid, and wrecks game immersion. All these people who love the Wolf's Dragoons or the Kell Hounds or the Northwind Highlanders as example, should have the chance to play under that banner on an equal base.

Setting these units up as minor factions might work, in the same way as being able to pick a house faction of alignment. Or you might be able to allow the bigger Merc units in canon to sponsor start-up Merc Corps.

[Hunter McGee]

I think most of this is pure speculation at the moment. But to be perfectly honest with everyone, it would break my little foamed aluminium heart if a bunch on Non-Role-Playing-Noobs got a hold of the Dragoons, Highlanders, G.D.L., Blackthorns, or one of the other old school regular units. I feel pretty confident that that the developers have this well in hand. At the moment I have all the faith and trust in them... Time will tell.

[Firefly]

I'm not gonna lie, I'm not big on roleplaying in video games. I'm also not big into ego-trips, especially when directed towards me. I play video games specifically to blow stuff up and have a good time with my teammates. And since I've been gaming under the banner of the Black Widow Company since 2001, I'm not inclined to play under another name or play with another group. I will find a way to put that name on my merc unit and use the same alias I've used for years. If people don't like it, oh well. Sorry you feel that way, not going to change my mentality. I'm here to pilot big stompy 'Mechs and blow as much stuff up as possible. Full stop.

[Hunter McGee]

Then I guess we should all pray to the "Mech gods" that the developers keep the Cannon Named units as NPC's, then you may act as you wish with whatever names are left. My philosophy is use your grey matter for something other than to set your neuro helmet on. Come up with something original, design your own rules and guidelines, make a set of unit by-laws to follow. Then start from the ground and work your way up to the top. Don't ride the coattails of those who have gone before you.