58 replies to this topic

[Garth Erlam]

Hi everyone,
We've changed up the format of this slightly - each week we'll take the 1-2 'best' questions asked, and answer them at the end of the week. This one will be shorter due to time constraints, but follow with us here.

Simply ask us a question about MechWarrior Online, and we will do our best to answer it. This won't be the 1-2 sentence answers from before, this will be a longer, more in-depth answer. So please, ask away!

QUESTION: Can you give us a list of weapons and equipment you expect at launch? Or at least what you KNOW will make it as of today? -Sprouticus

ANSWER: The weapon list is every Inner Sphere weapon available in the time frame, and they should all be in for launch. The following is a list of the weapons and equipment available at the time.
Weapons
Ballistic:
AC/2, AC/5, AC/10, AC/20
LB 10-X AC
Ultra AC/5
Gauss Rifle
Machine Gun

Energy:
Flamer
Small Laser, Medium Laser, Large Laser
ER Large Laser
Small Pulse Laser, Medium Pulse Laser, Large Pulse Laser
PPC
ER PPC

Missile Weapons:
LRM 5, LRM 10, LRM 15, LRM 20
SRM 2, SRM 4, SRM 6
Streak SRM 2

Equipment:
Standard and Endo-Steel Internal Structures
Standard and XL Fusion Engines
Jump Jets
Standard and Double Heat Sinks
Standard and Ferro-Fibrous Armour
CASE

Obviously not all of this will be stock, and some things will be harder to get than others. The equipment list is everything that I can guarantee for launch, though we’re likely to also have most, if not all, of the following ready to go:

Artemis IV
Anti-Missile System
Active Probe
ECM Suite
Narc Beacon
TAG

Hope you guys enjoyed this, and we'll run another one of these soon!

[wwiiogre]

Why are Merc units excluded from association with the rich history of BT and House and Clan units are not? The very way BT canon/lore/history was written was designed to appeal to all sorts of people and make them feel like they belonged somewhere in the BT universe and this helped the game appeal to more people. Why would PGI feel the need to be exclusive to just one segment of the community Mercs, while at the same time allowing House and Clans to have the feeling of association?

Chris

[Adridos]

What can we do between matches? Besides remaking our favorite variants to dream machines in mechlab, of course. (i.e. in game news, looking at the map, chat, market, reading lore, or anthing like these minor activities)



Or what did you fight over in the game-mode we saw pictures of? How does that mode work?
Fighting over flags, important buildings, or something similar?

Edited by Adridos, 05 May 2012 - 06:57 AM.

[Vexgrave Lars]

"Can I have the icon in cornflower blue?"

wait.. to clarify.. can I get an installer and an icon for the app at all.. any color you want.

Edited by Vexgrave Lars, 04 May 2012 - 10:18 AM.

[Sarah Dalrymple]

What if a unit wanted to form a company that had no ties to a canon merc corp, but it has the same initials? For example, if Carson's Commadores is abbreviated CC, would that be too close to the abbreviation for Carlysle's Commandos?

[Opus]

Will there be a ""Training Area" aka for mapping gaming accessories (G940 an example), and test groupings

or are we going to be forced into live fire, with unknowns?

[Dihm]

Are SRMs dumbfire rockets, or are they guided missiles like they should be to be correct with lore?

[Aegis Kleais]

Q1 SENSOR PROBING. Can you go further into depth on how targeting works? ie. Do mechs become instantly targeted with a red arrow the moment they appear in your FOV and LOS? Does the player have to move their reticule over the target and signify a probe before the first stage of probing (red arrow) appears? Does the process of becoming targeted or progressing through the stages of probing information vary in speed depending on range (ie, longer range from the target takes longer to progress through probing stages on it)

Q2 JUMP JETS. How exactly do jumpjets work? Do they provide "faster than running" movement over the distance of the jump? Are they primarily 1-way directional? Is it possible to use the jets in 1 of 2 ways, ie, less distance, but more vertical thrust (to get up cliffsides) vs. less verticality and more distance in the jump? (I notice 2 directions of the jets in the screenshot, 1 looks like it pushes forward, the other looks like it pushes upwards) Are the jump jets designed in a way where you can add more (to a predefined max) for additional cost and performance? Is there a refresh time between fully using thrust and when they can be used again?

Edited by Aegis Kleaisâ„¢, 04 May 2012 - 10:22 AM.

[Monky]

What is the current stance on the in game market; are things like endo steel chassis or ER PPC or Double Heatsinks acquirable anywhere, do you have to go to a specific planet or planets or have connections via loyalty points to a vendor? Is there any associated cost increase coupled with the lore's in-game rarity of certain things?

Thanks

[Fresh Meat]

How will we house our extra mechs, will I simply buy extra storage space and not worry about it or will I be required to pay a monthly cbill fee? I want to collect them all, but do not want to worry about excessive commitments.

Will we be able to observe live games?

How will replays be handled?

Edited by Fresh_Meat, 06 May 2012 - 08:44 PM.

[Suzano]

there are many clans with a lot of players and 2 or more companies around here. Will be an special command-structrure, maybe like the old BF 2, implemented? or will be all of the Commanding orders send out from the Cockpit of an commanding mech (how it was in the MW series)? How is the comm system planned? will it be possible to talk ingame with enemys, other lances (of the same faction) or single players?
How will be the targets submitted? will the targets be visible on the map, the HUD, or both?

[Fomorian]

About how many people will be invited to open beta?

[Felicitatem Parco]

Fomorian, on 04 May 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

About how many people will be invited to open beta?

It should be Open to anyone who wants to join once the Public Announcement is made.


My question is: Will the Open Beta include testing aspects of the conquest-style Meta Game, or will it be more restricted to just combat actions, MechLab, and stuff?

Edited by Prosperity Park, 04 May 2012 - 11:05 AM.

[Runz]

Will we be able to customise elements of the HUD? For example where our weapon groups and damage indicators are positioned? Or perhaps the colour of the HUD?

In the future is it a possibility that user modifications/customisation to the visual appearance of the HUD might be allowed? Similar in concept to the way mods change the way hotbars are appear in MMORPGs etc etc.

Edited by Runz, 04 May 2012 - 02:04 PM.

[Sprouticus]

I am assuming the process for getting into a game will be something like:

Queue up (maybe with friends)
Be put in the 'lobby' with the rest of your drop mates
launch the drop
fight
post drop lobby?

How will the battle queue syetm work.

In particular:

1) Will we pick mechs before getting to the lobby.
2) Will we be able to modify mechs in the mechlab between when we queue and when we are put in the lobby
3) Will we be able to queue as a group
4) Will we need to select a role before getting to a lobby
5) How long will we get in the lobby before launch (I am assuming this is very flexible, just a rough idea)
6) IF we select mechs before we get to the lobby, will we be able to mod modules?
6a) IF we can queue with a role, can we select multiple roles to be flexible.
7) Will we be able to limit the types of drops we want to partake in before we queue up. (for instance if I hate a certain type of match, can I deselect it)
8) What kinds of matchmaking variables are you think about right now (also open for change, just want to get an idea of your thought process)
9) If someone drops or quits the lobby (or whatever pre-match system you use) before the match starts, what is the plan for replacing them.

Edited by Sprouticus, 04 May 2012 - 12:02 PM.

[Vexgrave Lars]

To the "Project Manager" are you planning a distibuted services setup, renting server space? or will we be playing on, and connecting to, MWO servers hosted at a colo? If the later, what are you planning for hardware?

[Sprouticus]

Those of us who have been following the development from the technical X's and O's side have been wondering what tech is going to be in at launch

Can you give us a list of weapons and equipment you expect at launch? Or at least what you KNOW will make it as of today?

How do you plan to deal with tech which effectively obsoletes other tech (DHS, LBX vs std AC's, etc)?

[Bullwerk]

you have previously discussed that there is an effort being made to balance weapon types (don't ask me to find where), my question is...

Is that effort proving successful in preventing the PPC from dominating the battlefield and in preventing energy based weapons from being far superior to ballistic weapons? Almost every iteration of MW in the past has fallen prey to these issues.

[Aegis Kleais]

Garth Erlam, on 04 May 2012 - 10:05 AM, said:

Hi everyone,
We've changed up the format of this slightly - each week we'll take the 1-2 'best' questions asked, and answer them at the end of the week. This one will be shorter due to time constraints, but follow with us here.

Simply ask us a question about MechWarrior Online, and we will do our best to answer it. This won't be the 1-2 sentence answers from before, this will be a longer, more in-depth answer. So please, ask away!

For clarification, since these are being answered at the "end of the week", since it's Friday, does that mean this "late to the party", but just as welcomed feature where we can ask the devs will be answered today?

[MaddMaxx]

Under the Dropship game mode on Launch day, how will the set of Mechs to be used in said dropped be selected?

From a Pool the Player can select from (with a weight restriction) or

from a Pool with an enforced balance of weight classes being required? ie: 1 Light, 1 Medium, 1 Heavy, 1 Assault...

Thank,

Maxx