311 replies to this topic

[MrPenguin]

Someone once had the idea of giving someone a free mech. I actually really like this idea.
What if we only had trials as a way to test out other mechs with out buying them, but give new players one free *what ever weight would be best* mech with temporary free repair and re-arm cost?

They could also use this opportunity to teach the players the mechanics and importance of customizing there mech. \

IMO, showing them how customization works is FAR more important then showing them how to actually use it.

There should be a way for them to implement something that could show new users the gist of the customization system. Show them how to experiment and how to use the system.

[Taryys]

The devs had stated this was a possibility at one point early in development.

This suffers the same prob of the mortgaged mech, buyers remorse and not knowing what they are doing or getting.

Slightly modifiable trial mechs and being able to pay to trial a specific variant will solve all of those issues.
They will learn how to modify and the importance of heat, etc, and get to find the perfect mech for them, and may get them to purchase it outright instead of grinding it.

[MrPenguin]

Taryys, on 15 November 2012 - 09:45 AM, said:

The devs had stated this was a possibility at one point early in development.

This suffers the same prob of the mortgaged mech, buyers remorse and not knowing what they are doing or getting.

Slightly modifiable trial mechs and being able to pay to trial a specific variant will solve all of those issues.
They will learn how to modify and the importance of heat, etc, and get to find the perfect mech for them, and may get them to purchase it outright instead of grinding it.

Hmm, I don't know. What would be the customization limit of trials?
If you give too much, people won't even bother buying actual mechs. If you give too little, its pointless.

[Taryys]

Level 1 tech only from what I have in the OP.

no MPL, ER's, XLs, ES, FF, etc..

MrPenguin, on 15 November 2012 - 09:47 AM, said:

Hmm, I don't know. What would be the customization limit of trials?
If you give too much, people won't even bother buying actual mechs. If you give too little, its pointless.

[Martini Henrie]

Some good ideas in here, liking it a lot! How about instead of trial mechs you get a loaner Hunchie which you can only change the weapon load out on? You get the hunchie for completing some training mission or the like maybe? Make it quite clear that as soon as you get the funds to buy your own mech your 'sponsor' will take the Hunchie back less any upgrades made.

There are so many tips for newbies that would be good for loading screens and the like, plus adding the ability to not/have tool tips on.

Good thread!

Edited by Martini Henrie, 15 November 2012 - 09:57 AM.

[MrPenguin]

Taryys, on 15 November 2012 - 09:50 AM, said:

Level 1 tech only from what I have in the OP.

no MPL, ER's, XLs, ES, FF, etc..

I see, could work.
I still think adding some kind of tutorial for the mechbay would help regardless.
For example: Just a bit of voice over that briefly walks you through the system.

As it is, it doesn't really do a good job of explaining what does what...

[Taryys]

Yup, full tutorial is needed.
Agreed!

This is exactly what the trial are when we get the limited option to modify them. =)

Tips n loading screens is a great idea. Mass Effect and Borderlands has this.

Martini Henrie, on 15 November 2012 - 09:54 AM, said:

How about instead of trial mechs you get a loaner Hunchie which you can only change the weapon load out on? Make it quite clear that as soon as you get the funds to buy your own mech your 'sponsor' will take the Hunchie back less any upgrades made.

There are so many tips for newbies that would be good for loading screens and the like, plus adding the ability to not/have tool tips on.

[Wired]

Good Job, OP. I came here and expected a troll post based entirely around tired argument points. Instead I find a well thought out post. There are two things I disagree with, however.

Taryys, on 14 November 2012 - 12:35 PM, said:

... give access to MechLab: The primary thing that needs to be done to lessen the grindyness of the grind is to give them access to the mech lab. Allow trials access to mechlab and level 1 tech, and not be able to change the engine, and let them modify the mech based on what ever CBills they have, and when the trial mechs switch the players keep the stuff that they bought to outfit their next trial/purchased mech.

... adjust XP/CBill Rewards:

* have trial mechs alternate weekly
* remove the Win/Loss bonus
* balance out the XP/CBill rewards based on roles and weighted based on weight and role of mech; in mech lab allow mech to set the role that the mech will perform in (scout, brawler, Long range support, etc)

First, I don't believe giving them access to modifying Trial Mechs is a good idea, much for the same reason you don't want to give new players free C-bills. They won't know what they are doing, and they'll waste money on gear that won't work out for them.

A compromise is that instead, you get a few options based on roles for the trial mechs - not the best in the world, but enough to diversify and let them see how it works out. Even then, though, it might not work very well.

Furthermore, I mostly agree with your rewards section except for removing the win/loss bonus. Maybe just removing the loss bonus...

[MrPenguin]

A note about the wiki:

We technically already have one, but I can see why people would want a developer run one.

But heres the thing, its actually better if its the community who handles it. Having a community fueled wiki is far times more efficient and better then having a dev run one. It can be edited and added too on the fly and none of the developers have to spend actual time on it. Which means more time on the actual game itself.

And its an incredibly good way to the community to directly add to the game in a significant way.

Of course, ours is still young and missing info, but if we give it enough attention it will grow and become the wiki we want.

http://mwowiki.org/w...title=Main_Page

Edited by MrPenguin, 15 November 2012 - 10:02 AM.

[Reoh]

deputydog, on 15 November 2012 - 07:41 AM, said:

Text chat lobby
Week of premium time or change the trial mech penalty to be less.
Rotating trial mechs.
Integrated voice com in game for all..
Training ground

Free mc with 1 month premium time purchase. maybe 2000? new players only.

There actually is text chat in the game now. just double click on a friend to send them messages. As for the whole game, pretty sure there's a team chat as well I can't remember how to open it. probably in the group window or double clicking on someone in group. Most people don't know about them.

[Zynk]

myke, on 15 November 2012 - 07:16 AM, said:

Lessen the grinding (The days of grinding has long been dead,)
IMO everyone should be randomly assigned a mech at start with weight given to "House Mech's".

Add 3rd person view NEVER

(your skins are useless if you can't even see them)
You can see skins in mech bays but we should have a 360° view of mech.

Divide the maps into houses. (a player can join which house he wants, he can opt to be a lonewolf)
This is being done.

Allow creation of clans per houses. PGI will have a guild/clan system for Merc Corps and houses but not lonewolf (LW).

(FOUNDERS are the only ones allowed to lead a clan)
NO sorry but founders are not omnipotent no matter what a founder my tell you.

everyone starts as a ronin until hired. (and yes they are paid during weekly raids from defending to attacking)
That is a LW

Map can be taken from other clans during week end raids. (create a siege map where players can fight in large number and will allow winning side to take control of a normal map for a week.)
Not sure on time frame for holding a planet but that is how merc corps will work.

Raid will run for the entire weekend or until one house has no players left to send and the last house who is fighting to control that map wins. Each house can send troops on any map that can be sieged.
The battle runs on realtime. players are send on an hourly basis on the battlefield using dropships. A player can only join a weekend battle ONCE a week. If he died in battle his dead for that week. Players can shutdown their mech in the bases and comeback on the siege when they logged in again. Shutdown mechs can be destroyed if enemy reaches the base.
NO. Trying to dictate when someone has to play a game is not a good idea.

A bonus CBill for the clan leader would be a plus to cover payment for hired ronin MW.
NO this has abuse written all over it.

Create special weapons/Armors/mech variant/etc. for each houses.
NO but a reduced cost for "House Mech's" would be a good idea IMO.

Add color themes for clans, they can have uniform mech colors or banners.
They are adding different skins/colors and also adding the ability for House Faction players to wear house unit insignia on their mech.

The clan leader can have a very nice and stand out look on the mech and should have bonuses on both armor and damage.
NO no clan/guild leader is omnipotent no gold lasers or magic bullets.

Increase Roles and create mechs that is solely used for that purpose. Defense mechs.
That is what the MechLab is for configuring your mech for the role you want to play.


I believe it will give a lot of fun for players, and will give the founders a reason to stay as they are the elites who can only host a clan.
NO! I'm a founder and officer of the MWO chapter in my guild and can not disagree more with that statement. We have over 100 members in the MWO chapter of our guild because someone comes late to MWO is not a founder does not mean he/she would not be a good leader by the same token being a founder does not make you a good leader. The only factor that will make a good leader is their enthusiasm for the game, some leadership and organizational skills will help but enthusiasm is key IMO.

As for the OP I do agree.

Edited by Zynk, 15 November 2012 - 10:20 AM.

[Troggy]

I think a significant portion of the problem is the Trial Mechs offered. There is no indication of what rolls they are intended to play, or how you would make them effective in game. One example: For the past while, the Atlas K is the trial assault mech.

The Atlas K is a fragile, specialized, high heat mech best suited for dueling other mechs at distance. It requires 4! different weapons groups, and support from other players...to use effectively. It has ballistics, missiles, short and long range lasers. It is the absolute nightmare mech for a beginner. It will lose to almost anything else brawling, and even at range I am skeptical it would represent anything like a best choice for advanced players, let alone beginners.

The trial mechs don't *have* to be canonical, but could instead be known effective variants (e.g. Atlas K with gauss and 3 large (or ER large) lasers and a tonne of double HS), and could have a brief home page explanation of their roles in battle. That alone might help interested beginners learn how *they* want to approach the game. This applies to most beginner mechs.

Also, the weapons grouping should be set by default (if possible), to a maximum of 2 logical groups - so that players can intuitively begin weapons grouping from the start.

In short, less variety, more effectiveness from the trial mechs. Even if that just means 1 *effective* example of each chassis.

--
Troggy

[Taryys]

With this what weapons they buy they can keep and will not need to sell them. The loss is only a few hundred thousand at most, instead of a 3 - 10 million, so it is a an order of magnitude better an option, not only because of price, but because they can be reused.

Wired, on 15 November 2012 - 10:01 AM, said:

First, I don't believe giving them access to modifying Trial Mechs is a good idea, much for the same reason you don't want to give new players free C-bills. They won't know what they are doing, and they'll waste money on gear that won't work out for them.

I kind of waivered on removing the Win Bonus too, but I think that the win bonus can sort of be folded into the rebalancing of the xp/bill's based on role, etc..

Wired, on 15 November 2012 - 10:01 AM, said:

Furthermore, I mostly agree with your rewards section except for removing the win/loss bonus. Maybe just removing the loss bonus...

[MrPenguin]

Troggy, on 15 November 2012 - 10:18 AM, said:

I think a significant portion of the problem is the Trial Mechs offered. There is no indication of what rolls they are intended to play, or how you would make them effective in game. One example: For the past while, the Atlas K is the trial assault mech.

The Atlas K is a fragile, specialized, high heat mech best suited for dueling other mechs at distance. It requires 4! different weapons groups, and support from other players...to use effectively. It has ballistics, missiles, short and long range lasers. It is the absolute nightmare mech for a beginner. It will lose to almost anything else brawling, and even at range I am skeptical it would represent anything like a best choice for advanced players, let alone beginners.

The trial mechs don't *have* to be canonical, but could instead be known effective variants (e.g. Atlas K with gauss and 3 large (or ER large) lasers and a tonne of double HS), and could have a brief home page explanation of their roles in battle. That alone might help interested beginners learn how *they* want to approach the game. This applies to most beginner mechs.

Also, the weapons grouping should be set by default (if possible), to a maximum of 2 logical groups - so that players can intuitively begin weapons grouping from the start.

In short, less variety, more effectiveness from the trial mechs. Even if that just means 1 *effective* example of each chassis.

--
Troggy

At range, the atlas K trial can be a monster if the guy piloting it knows how to use it. But thats the thing, the guy piloting it needs to know how to use it. And most people piloting it probably won't.

Edited by MrPenguin, 15 November 2012 - 10:20 AM.

[Attalward]

These are very good ideas and suggestions. I hope someone in charge sees them.

[Taryys]

This is very true.
A comprehensive tutorial can go over the different classes and roles for mechs and this will fix that, especially if during the tutorial you have free range of the mechs you use.

Troggy, on 15 November 2012 - 10:18 AM, said:

I think a significant portion of the problem is the Trial Mechs offered. There is no indication of what rolls they are intended to play, or how you would make them effective in game. One example: For the past while, the Atlas K is the trial assault mech.

...

[Taryys]

It is not so much developer run, as being explicitly housed and run from their servers.
The devs would have easier access to it and be able to integrate data from it into the game.
The community would also have access to edit and modify.

MrPenguin, on 15 November 2012 - 10:02 AM, said:

A note about the wiki:

We technically already have one, but I can see why people would want a developer run one.

Yea, chat is there, but it is not intuitive nor easy to use.
I wrote this neat little guide covering it and other things:

[Guide] Playing with Friends, Groups, and Teams

A robust pregame lobby will be better and easier to use.

Reoh, on 15 November 2012 - 10:08 AM, said:

There actually is text chat in the game now. just double click on a friend to send them messages. As for the whole game, pretty sure there's a team chat as well I can't remember how to open it. probably in the group window or double clicking on someone in group. Most people don't know about them.

[Blackfire1]

Totally going to **** this out.

[Kraven Kor]

I'm pretty much with the OP here.

[Dagger6T6]

i support this thread...

the 1 week of premium time is a good addition also because here is my experience.

i've been playing alot of matches as a Founder due to the bonuses and the premium time, and it does give a nice boost. And so i had decided that when the button to activate the premium time does show up I had no plans to start my premium time until I see more to the game.

Well now i've gotten used to seeing that nice cbill bonus and so now i keep thinking how much i'm going to miss it... and that it is only a button click away.