311 replies to this topic

[Kotsuno]

+1. Devs take note!

[Alskari]

This is a great long term wish list. Devs need to remember to not bite off more than they can chew though.

[GeneralAtrox]

I haven't had a good experience so far,

I struggle & still do keeping interest in grinding C-Bills just so I can afford my own Mech (which is the best bit about Mech Warrior is fine tuning your Mech for battle, playing Trial/Stock is a tad boring)

I have had to play at least 20 matches before I could afford a Mech, even then your stuck with a Commando which as said around the forums is an extremely difficult choice for new players,

I can't see myself ever spending £15 to buy 1 in-game Item either (the Ilya as example),

Lucky I've had past experience with Mech Warrior games, so I kind of know what to look for in a decent Mech. Completely new players wouldn't survive in this game & could waste money easily.

I kinda agree on removing the C-Bill repair / reammo costs, I don't see any point to it, your always going to have enough C-Bills as you get plenty even for losing, so why bother making the game just a little more annoying? For new players who are constantly dying would slow down their progress to a new Mech and learning how to customize it.

*EDIT*

Also a good idea to possibly reward players, like 60 C-Bills per message they post during the game, this might encourage team work. You'd have to find a system to stop spam/people just "doing it for free money" and typing any old crap. Maybe mentioning the word plan, left, flank etc... could make the system work. I don't know.

I can't help but notice that the matchmaking is purely random and your luck lands in who you have on your team and what Mechs. I've managed to have a complete mech team before whilst the other players had the heavy tonage.

Edited by GeneralAtrox, 06 December 2012 - 03:20 PM.

[tokumboh]

personally as a newbie I'd just like somewhere to practice I'd even pay for somewhere to practice. I think that most of the newbie problems go away when there is somewhere to practice. After all this is supposed to be a skills based game so why can't you develop those skill and trial mechs I am actually sure that this would make it easier to get into the game

Many of the other things said OP are useful such as the better integration of VOIP based comms which I believe would help everybody with immersion and help vets keep newbies onside. Pre game and post game lobby would also be good you tend to have no preparation and then your in game.

I'll accept there will be bugs, even if it was gold there'll be patches, such is the life of software development

I said practice more times than an Iverson rant!!! ;-)

Edited by tokumboh, 07 December 2012 - 02:54 AM.

[Taryys]

Yea, the new player experience is kind of rough. A lot of the changes I suggest will make this better and more driving for new players.

removing R&R is not a good idea, since it is one of the ways that the economy is balanced. The only way they could realistically remove R&R is if they drastically reduced the rewards to like ~ 30k +/-

CBills per message would result in an incredible amount of spam for CBills, cluttering up the text chat window and hiding the useful messages.

The non- 8v8 matches are matched mech class for mech class, so for every light on your side there will be one on your opposing team. The other team may have a tonnage advantage, but it will not be too huge. In the 8v8 matches where their are not limitations at all, yea things are pretty crazy over their now.

GeneralAtrox, on 06 December 2012 - 02:57 PM, said:

I haven't had a good experience so far,

I struggle & still do keeping interest in grinding C-Bills just so I can afford my own Mech (which is the best bit about Mech Warrior is fine tuning your Mech for battle, playing Trial/Stock is a tad boring)

I have had to play at least 20 matches before I could afford a Mech, even then your stuck with a Commando which as said around the forums is an extremely difficult choice for new players,

I can't see myself ever spending £15 to buy 1 in-game Item either (the Ilya as example),

....

Agreed. A practice area would greatly help.

tokumboh, on 07 December 2012 - 02:48 AM, said:

personally as a newbie I'd just like somewhere to practice I'd even pay for somewhere to practice. I think that most of the newbie problems go away when there is somewhere to practice. After all this is supposed to be a skills based game so why can't you develop those skill and trial mechs I am actually sure that this would make it easier to get into the game

Many of the other things said OP are useful such as the better integration of VOIP based comms which I believe would help everybody with immersion and help vets keep newbies onside. Pre game and post game lobby would also be good you tend to have no preparation and then your in game.

I'll accept there will be bugs, even if it was gold there'll be patches, such is the life of software development

I said practice more times than an Iverson rant!!! ;-)

Edited by Taryys, 07 December 2012 - 06:14 AM.

[Erik Jast]

Signed. PGI should've made this a priority in closed beta. It is really disappointing and alarming they had no clue how to create a module for new players without regular players telling them how.

[Twuggy]

decent thread, lots of good ideas. all decently fleshed out.

[Taryys]

I just added a link to my new post: Ideas For A Robust Tutorial

[TalonOne]

I wholeheartedly agree. Im no new player, but I came back from a month or so abscence of MWO to my 'mechs gone, my CBills gone and starting from Zero.
The Trial mechs are still borderline useless, with 2/4 using primarily weapons with such a ridicioulous firing delay that makes them almost unplayable (Awesome and Cataphract) and the other two not being as bad but prone to overheating after two salvoes or so.
Its VERY unsatisfying knowing I have to grind through 20 to 25 Games just to afford a measly Raven. And that while probalby getting shot to pieces every damn game because my 'Mech overheats in seconds or cant hit an atlas at 300 meters because the triple PPCs keep missing 'cause of the gorram firing delay.
And then, adding insult to injury, barely scrape the armor.
Oh, and then overheat my Awesome.
Fantastic. *sigh*

Please note, this is no hatespeech. I desperately want to love this game. I played MW4 Mercenaries through my whole school time, i love BattleMechs and everything around them.
But...Its just no fun. And being a Beta is no excuse for that. Not anymore.

[Deathz Jester]

Signed, (cant remember if I already did sign lol)

[PANZERBUNNY]

Poor people having to "grind" through 20-25 games.

People who think this game is a grind are absolute tossers.

They COULD make this game appeal to a super wide range of new gamers if they simply did away with any economy and let people choose what they wanted, but thank GOD the devs have a vision and that vision isn't to cave in when the buckets of tears are left on their doorstep.

This game isn't a grind. It's called "playing the game".

All I know is that I don't start off with a pair of rugged boots and a rusty dagger and THAT'S IT!

Oh by the way, Darkfall 2.0 should be doing it's thing now. You wanna experience grind and full loot game play, try it out. You'll be back to checkers and Tetris in no time. (or back here and not complaining about grind in this game.)

[Taryys]

Yes and no.

Yea, 20+ games is not a lot, especially when compared to other games.
Other games have a significant level of graduation and achievements and have access to the core and most important features of the game. In MWO we do not have that at all. The core being access to the Mechlab and some level of customizability.

Even with a dagger and a torch situation like some RPGs, there is generally a relatively steady state of progress. Here is it flat and then skyrocket. My suggestions allow a level of graduation to a player's advancement that we do not currently have and is present in other games.

PANZERBUNNY, on 07 December 2012 - 12:53 PM, said:

Poor people having to "grind" through 20-25 games.

People who think this game is a grind are absolute tossers.

They COULD make this game appeal to a super wide range of new gamers if they simply did away with any economy and let people choose what they wanted, but thank GOD the devs have a vision and that vision isn't to cave in when the buckets of tears a

...

[Segoris]

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

... add a Battlvalue Based Match Making: balancing match making via battle value will also help so people with more tricked out rides will drop against each other. This may be more effective in balancing out teams then straight tonnage or weight class, although that should be taken into account at least a little bit.

As someone who isn't familiar with the TT rules/lingo/etc, I'm assuming BattleValue is striclty the cost of the mech and all it's components. If it is not, then ignore this as it goes deeper than I'm aware, otherwise, I have three possible edits to this piece. Either:
A) Suggest that this calculation be last in the matchmaking process. My first mech was around 11mil, the one I currently run cost something around 5mil. If this was one of the more prioritized figures in matchmaking, then with my newer more budget friendly mech I'd instantly be knocked down a tier and in a better position to make things less fun for new(er) players. It's a great idea when/if tied with weight per team, but still needs some work.
Ensure that it value is comparative to mech class (at the very least light/med/heavy/assault)
C) With BattleValue, include total experience earned as a cheaper but incredibly effective mech would still be weighed based on experience earned by the player

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

... add a pre-game/post-game lobby: A pre-game/post-game lobby will allow people to talk, chat, socialize, plan and share tactics, figure out what mechs to play, and so on, so that a group can better work together as a team. As well as form teams of people who want to play together.

So basically a chat windo? I hear "game lobby" and I think of a chat area for that specific match which would make getting into and out of matches take longer or be ignored completely. A functioning chat system, which isn't buried in the awful UI would be very welcome though.

[Taryys]

Yes and yes.

BV - you have the idea

I have not really thought about how to incorporate it into things beyond suggesting a stat and BV based match making, but you do raise some interesting thoughts.

Lobbies - The lobbies should be more than just glorified chat windows, but yes, something more functional, present, and robust would rock.

Segoris, on 07 December 2012 - 02:31 PM, said:

As someone who isn't familiar with the TT rules/lingo/etc, I'm assuming BattleValue is striclty the cost of the mech and all it's components. If it is not, then ignore this as it goes deeper than I'm aware, otherwise, I have three possible edits to this piece. Either:

A) Suggest that this calculation be last in the matchmaking process. My first mech was around 11mil, the one I currently run cost something around 5mil. If this was one of the more prioritized figures in matchmaking, then with my newer more budget friendly mech I'd instantly be knocked down a tier and in a better position to make things less fun for new(er) players. It's a great idea when/if tied with weight per team, but still needs some work.
Ensure that it value is comparative to mech class (at the very least light/med/heavy/assault)
C) With BattleValue, include total experience earned as a cheaper but incredibly effective mech would still be weighed based on experience earned by the player
[b]

So basically a chat windo? I hear "game lobby" and I think of a chat area for that specific match which would make getting into and out of matches take longer or be ignored completely. A functioning chat system, which isn't buried in the awful UI would be very welcome though.

[Orzorn]

Taryys, did you notice these two lines in the Feature Roadmap?

Quote

UI Breadcrumbs
Target Date: Early February
Status: In Design
Notes: Support new user flow by allowing us to lock out portions of the HUD.

New User Flow 1.0
Target Date: Early February
Status: In Design
Notes: Requires Matchmaking, Stats, Achievements, UI Breadcumbs

Seems they're setting up their systems to be able to create tutorials. Locking out portions of the HUD is likely required in these tutorials for removing elements of the HUD until they are required. In this manner, they're probably trying to reduce the HUD overload that new players often experience. They'll probably start out with just the minimap shown, then reveal the speed indicator, the weapons, heat scale, mech paperdoll, and enemy paperdoll, in that order, all while they tell you about their function.

Nice to see they're doing something.

[Taryys]

Yea, I am really excited and expecting it to not be a squee moment.
A good step forward, but not a sqee moment.

*fingers crossed*
Dec 18 will be a good day.

[Clideb50]

Sounds like a pretty solid start system, and readjustments to rewards.

[ollo]

Watchit, on 03 December 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

I disagree. The repair and rearm, among other things, is what makes this a Mechwarrior game, and makes it more immersive. It's what differentiates it from other so called "arean-shooters". Plus it rewards players for not running head first into the enemy without thinking, which unfortunately trail mechs don't give new players a feeling for.

But point of the game is to have mechs exploding. A lot. It doen't matter if you think or not, with better matchmaking more and more equally skilled players will be in the same game. Which means people will die more, after all the best matches are the ones with only 1 or 2 mechs standing. That's what we her for, we will kill, we will die, and we don't want to be punished for being the one that saves the win by going on a suicide mission.

[TalonOne]

Watchit, on 03 December 2012 - 09:40 AM, said:

I disagree. The repair and rearm, among other things, is what makes this a Mechwarrior game, and makes it more immersive. It's what differentiates it from other so called "arean-shooters". Plus it rewards players for not running head first into the enemy without thinking, which unfortunately trail mechs don't give new players a feeling for.

It's even worse. Trial mechs are encouraging players to run headfirst into the enemy without thinking. Me, too, I'm afraid.
The think is: IF I play smart, take long times between shots to not overheat in seconds, try to support my team.... I still get shred to pieces if somebody in a half-decend build decides to come after me.
And in C-Bills it doesn't make a big difference If my Mech survives or gets blasted to kingdom come.
Its about . what, 90.000 C-Bills for a really good round in a Trial? Something that is not very easy to accomblish and takes a lot of time.
Its about 60.000 for a loss, something you don't even have to participate the course of the game. You get that if you get killed in the first Minute and drop out of the game.

So actually the much easier, faster and less tedious way to get some Cash for the first Mech is just running blindly into the enemy, getting killed, leave game, pick the next trial Mech and jump into the next game. Rinse, repeat.
Sounds like fun, huh?
Tutorials are not gonna change that, I'm afraid.

The really bad thing about this: This senseless Grind has been around since before Open Beta.
And it still sucks out all the fun I want to have from this game.
Don't get me wrong, grinding for something you want is alright, but to grind for something that is essential to have fun with a game... just no.
I have better things to do with my precious time than that.

Edited by TalonOne, 08 December 2012 - 03:13 AM.

[tokumboh]

On the subject of the dreaded grind I think that the problem is that it is graduations for success to me to be hard to work out
I understand the whole damage stuff but the rest is mysterious to me and yes there'll be people whom will Cbill farm but you cannot stop people from making their choices. The XP for me is unfathomable but it hasn't stopped me playing.

I feel that the game's grind is about right and yes the game development is slow but it has come so far I'd keep playing it until they crash and burn or make it