804 replies to this topic

[Felicitatem Parco]

Bryan Ekman, on 03 May 2012 - 11:18 AM, said:

Alright... long overdue, much distraction in between.

Players will NOT be able to claim canon units as their own. When it comes to Mercenary Units/Corps/Companies, these names will not be available during MC creation. Trying to circumvent the naming system will result in the Merc Corp being renamed/denied.

Faction units are being handled slightly different. When a player aligns themselves with one of the major factions, say House Kurita, they will have the opportunity to join famous house units as the rank up by earning loyalty points. Some house units will require additional feats of excellence and challenges to achieve before membership is granted. Since these units are not run by the players, and we can reserve/restrict access to very active/famous units for sake of preserving the BattleTech timeline.

Our general stance on player run merc units is simple - create your own legacy! It's very unfair for players to stake ownership over a canon unit, and creates a host of politic and pr issues. So we're avoiding the complexities and edge cases associate with players assuming the role of these units by encouraging you to forge your own destiny.

This is our launch POV. As always, we listen to your feedback and ways to improve the system.

Garth Erlam, on 03 May 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

One thing to help with all this:
Player made 'Clan Smoke Jaguar' would be:
ClanSmokeJaguar

In terms of canonical reference, the actual Clan Smoke Jaguar would be called thus.

So players can be clans and merc units from the universe, but they will be clearly marked as player made; IE. ClanJadeFalcon, etc.

Bryan Ekman, on 03 May 2012 - 11:38 AM, said:

Never trust a CM. He's dead wrong.. sorry guys.

Firefly, on 03 May 2012 - 11:40 AM, said:

Maybe they could do us a solid and - in addition to clarifying the whole circumvention thing with the most up-to-date policy (corrected via strikeout) - list which merc units are not available. There are a lot of merc units in Btech lore - are we to presume that each and every one, from the hugest down to a four-man merc unit, is off limits?

Bryan Ekman, on 03 May 2012 - 11:52 AM, said:

Unfortunately, no. Garth ate some bad food for lunch and spoke out of turn.

Garth Erlam, on 02 December 2011 - 09:03 AM, said:

Hey guys, so here's the deal - you've made an awesome website for your clan The Smiley Guys, but you want to get the word out. Where do you do it? Why here! Simply post a reply with with clans website linked, and we will check it out. If it's not goatce or Nickleback music, it'll be vetted and I'll make an official 'topic' here for it.

Standard Legal Statement:

Warning, this is an off site link. Piranha Games Inc. and its associates cannot be held responsible for content of off site webpages.

We can't wait to see your pages guys, we know they'll be great. UM-R60 jumpjets engage!

English:
1st Robinson Rangers
12th Vegan Rangers
304th Assault Cluster
Angels Of Death
Armageddon Unlimited
Atlas Hunters
TeamBanzai
Battle Magic
Black Widow Company
Browncoats and Independents
ClanJadeFalcon
ClanSmokeJaguar
ClanStomp
Dark Allegiance
DarkStar Alliance Mercenary Force
The Defiantz
Emerald Riders
Eridani Light Pony
Fever
GrayDeathLegion
HouseLiao
Iron Angels
TheKellHounds
Kimble's Terminators
Living Legends
MechWarrior BattleTech Online
Paladin's Legion
Red Corsairs
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Royal Terra Guard
Sea Wolves Mercenary Unit
Skjaldborg
SkyeRangers
Smoke Jaguar Reborn
Snords Irregulars
Vindicators
WAR HPG
WidowMakers
Wolf'sDragoon's - Alpha Regiment
Wolf Spiders


Russian:
Eridani Light Horse - SLDF [RU]
Russian Death Legion

German:
MWO - HQ
Tamar Jaeger
Wolf's Dragoner - Delta Regiment

Spanish:
Federación Española

more to come!...


PS. If you're curious why some canon names look odd, please read Paul's explanation: "Merc Corp names are registered names. Once it’s taken, it’s gone. As for canon protected faction/unit names, we will be locking out some of the key players in the BT timeline."

So, we can organize as Merc Units out-of-game, but we CAN NOT play as members of canon Merc Units. This should be noted...

Edited by Prosperity Park, 03 May 2012 - 01:19 PM.

[Carl Wrede]

Hartsblade, on 03 May 2012 - 01:09 PM, said:

Sounds like the best compromise, Canon Merc Groups as factions.

You would get to many factions that way. Better to incorporate the canon merc units into the house structure just as house units.

[SquareSphere]

People People, put down the pitch forks.

This thing is still in BETA meaning EVERYTHING is subject to change, never forget that.

Right now we need MORE information on how organized units, battle, and the planetary mode even WORK! Flinging stones at the devs isn't going to make them more forthcoming with information.

[wwiiogre]

Please explain this PGI Dev run topic:

http://mwomercs.com/...0323#entry50323

thanks

chris

[Opus]

Ah Hell, I still think you have match play for name rights.....

I'd pay to watch, as I mentioned before, it would be worth every dime . . . .

[StonedDead]

Just a thought here, but shouldn't this have been posted months ago when a merc corp recruiting thread was started? Why wait till now to decide this after people have named their merc units already and many people have joined? Why let people pick names and recruit just to kick their names out from under them? This just seems like very poor timing. I'm asking this to clarify for other users why you waited till now to announce this, and is not meant to be derogatory as my first post on this may have been when I had just found out.

[Seth]

I suppose better now than right as we register units for beta.

[Paul Inouye]

wwiiogre, on 03 May 2012 - 01:08 PM, said:

Please PGI explain this topic then:

http://mwomercs.com/...0323#entry50323

and the blanket approval of PGI to these names and then also posting outside links

Chris

I'll grab this one.

The thread you linked was for sharing the webpages of those in the community who had formed their own units. Some units called themselves Clan Smoke Jaguar. Since canon based units and such are reserved, we were simply compressing them so that there would be no confusion that a unit named Clan Smoke Jaguar had the right to use it in MWO. Hence, we were collapsing the names to ClanSmokeJaguar without spaces.

Again, that was a thread rule only and has nothing to do with the in-game proceedings of MWO.

[wwiiogre]

Paul that explains compression, but does not address the fact that PGI let this happen. Which in the end is the problem all of us are having at this point.

Chris

[Listless Nomad]

Paul Inouye, on 03 May 2012 - 01:34 PM, said:

I'll grab this one.

The thread you linked was for sharing the webpages of those in the community who had formed their own units. Some units called themselves Clan Smoke Jaguar. Since canon based units and such are reserved, we were simply compressing them so that there would be no confusion that a unit named Clan Smoke Jaguar had the right to use it in MWO. Hence, we were collapsing the names to ClanSmokeJaguar without spaces.

Again, that was a thread rule only and has nothing to do with the in-game proceedings of MWO.

I think Paul, the impression was that, that list was an official sanctioning of those unit names. I think that was more the explanation required than the compression of the names.

[Rnadmo]

wwiiogre, on 03 May 2012 - 01:35 PM, said:

Paul that explains compression, but does not address the fact that PGI let this happen. Which in the end is the problem all of us are having at this point.

Chris

"All of us". It was pretty clear to me that the topic in question was just a place to place your names and links to forums and such.

[Paul Inouye]

Hyperion Adama, on 03 May 2012 - 12:57 PM, said:

Please lets not forget that an MW 5 is in development as we speak involving a HUGE amount of MW4 Merc developers.

Oh really?

[jimsolo]

I by no means speak for my Outfit but I have no intention of playing the game with this rule in place.

Denying use of Merc Names is wrong. Period.
Major houses I can understand but at the very least a player created outfit should be able to play as:

1) Sub-units of the Major Houses with House logo's/colors.
2) Battletech Lore Merc Units or at minimum Sub-units there of.
Preventing copies is the only rule that need be in place.

If I cannot play under the "Black Widow Company" AND her current logo's then I wont play at all.

END OF STORY

"The Customer is ALWAYS right"

Edited by jimsolo, 03 May 2012 - 01:50 PM.

[Opus]

Paul Inouye, on 03 May 2012 - 01:38 PM, said:

Oh really?

Squish that bug now, quickly before it runs amok

[Korbyn McColl]

Bryan Ekman, on 03 May 2012 - 12:45 PM, said:

Northwind is just a word. So I would assume you could use it. Again, I leave the policy to the CSRs.

I'm assuming you guys will outrank the CSRs when it comes to making decisions in the game.

If we put Northwind in our name and a CSR tells us we can't use it, can we tell them we have your permission to use it.

If we're looking for alternate unit names, we'd like to be able to settle on one.

[rafgod]

Do you want to play with friends and people you know or is it more important to pretend you're Jaime Wolf's other kid?

I think the news is good. Any group of players can play as they like. Joining a House faction gives you the ability to lone wolf things, or for your buddies to fight together without a whole lot of larger responsibilities.

For those that must exert power on the interwebs, they can start a merc unit and set up more specific goals for their group.

And if you're really heartbroken, just start Lobo's Dragoons or The Highlanders of the Northern Winds or the Lou Vega Mambo #5s.

[Bryan Ekman]

Devil Man, on 03 May 2012 - 01:42 PM, said:

I'm assuming you guys will outrank the CSRs when it comes to making decisions in the game. If we put Northwind in our name and a CSR tells us we can't use it, can we tell them we have your permission to use it. If we're looking for alternate unit names, we'd like to be able to settle on one.

If you haven't noticed, I'm copping out. The final rules are not written yet. I promise to let you know when they're all drafted.

[Korbyn McColl]

Bryan Ekman, on 03 May 2012 - 01:46 PM, said:

If you haven't noticed, I'm copping out. The final rules are not written yet. I promise to let you know when they're all drafted.

lol

I kinda figured that, but you can't fault me for trying. ,-)

[Felicitatem Parco]

How are we suposed to advertise our Unit affiliations, though?
Are the current gamers who are "members" of the Northwind Highlanders supopsed to spend their time saying:

"We are the Super-Stellar People Unit, formerly known roughly as the Northwind Upperlandsmen" ?

Edited by Prosperity Park, 03 May 2012 - 01:49 PM.

[SquareSphere]

Rnadmo, on 03 May 2012 - 01:37 PM, said:

"All of us". It was pretty clear to me that the topic in question was just a place to place your names and links to forums and such.

THIS, I never assume that placing our page on that thread STAKED THE UNIT CLAIM for us. In fact my unit has been well aware that there have been other incaration of the 12thVR from other MW games and leagues even before MWO was announced. Since making a 12thVR thread in the merc section we've even talked to some of the "ole timey Rangers", as we loving refer to them, to work with them if they wanted to use the 12thVR name again.

Folks, what we need is new ideas to help create a compromise that hasn't been on the table yet IF being in control of NAMED units is that important.

The devs have already mentioned one compromise that they're in discusions about, allowing joinable Merc Faction, but players won't control the overall unit, much like house units.

Might have noticed that I mention compromise, accept the fact that players won't be able to have direct control of famous merc unit then work from there.