Nighthound, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:
Nice thought ..... I just see one problem with that ... you as an individual would have exacltly zero control over with whom you drop.
This comes down to how the Lobby is going to work. Speculation is that we will hope to be able to form a group and drop as Lance- or Company-sized groups. Standing by for more details.
How this would apply to faction groups - Pre-mades would all have to be of the same faction and/or filled out with Lone Wolves. Since the House Factions and MercCorp factions (should this happen) are different I can't see a mixed group tho' some type of alliance system could be implemented down the road.
Nighthound, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:
Now if I understood you right.....
I would start as a graduate and I am being posted on one of the Borderworlds and are charged with protecting that World or attacking a few enemy Worlds within reach.
.... So far so good ..... who decides on which Planet I am stationed? What if I have a dozen friends and we are all over the place? What if I come late into the Game and there is no enemy to fight, because no new players are posted on the opposite side?
You're only choosing the unit. In a sense you are choosing a planet but you'll drop as a faction so think of it as you've been thrown together ad hoc with other players of the same faction for whatever reason one could imagine.
You only defend/attack a generic planet in that sense. The name will be fought over and a system in place to see who wins control but it's not as tho' one will chose a militia and parade up and down the square for months at a time.
Nighthound, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:
Now I have accumulated enough Points to advance into a Regional Corp.
.... What about my friends? Do I have to leave them behind or do I have to wait for them until they themselves have enough Points to advance? Again who decides in which Unit I advance into?
As above; same faction, same drop. No need to make this too complicated.
Advancement - You do. This could be real simple for the militia/green units - They need bodies and will take anyone. The drop down menu would list them all. As one looks to advance into the higher ranks a more complicated system of points based on k/d, damage done, ranks, awards and achievements could come increasingly into play cumulating into having to be the best of the best of the best (sir!) to unlock the menu choices for the Royal Guards, Wolf Dragoons, etc.
Nighthound, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:
After a long time I now am able to enlist in one of those prestigious Units.
..... Are there only Professional players in those? Where does the feeling of belonging come into things?
"Professional"? More like too much time on their hands.
Seriously, it's a "Gotta Get Them All" thing, much like filling up all your reputation bars in that big MMO. You're still in the faction you chose just accepting/choosing assignments to different units for the fun of it (should one wish to). Rising to the level to join the unit of your dreams is really the goal with this system. A feeling of accomplishment should be apparent when one finally sees their favorite unit unlocked and playable.
Nighthound, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:
I don't want to discredit your Ideas but I would modify them a bit because, although I and my friends want to play for a House we want to play together as often as it is possible.
I hope I addressed this in the earlier comments. Same faction, same drop (I am hoping).
Nighthound, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:
So how about the following Modification :
You start as a Lone Wolf, you get your first Mech and you get a List of Planets that need attacking or defending (there are dropseats to be filled). After that you would get another List, possibly a bit more restricted because you can not jump all the way from one border to the other, or with a bit of waiting time depending on the distance, or depending on how many times you attacked that faction (do you have enough LP to yoin one of their drops), or somesuch (do you get the idea?). You can do this all day Long for the rest of your MW:O career.
OR you and your buddies can decide to establish a Merc Company and from then on forward you are given Missions and shoot it out with the other Mercs out there.
OR you could decide to form a Militia Company and join one of the Houses. You would still be stationed randomly so there still is the chance that there are no enemys to fight although (and I hereby answer my own question from above) you could be able to jump around a bit.
Now advancing within this system would be a tat more complex because you have to take all players of that Unit into account, but it could be done.
It would appear that making a unit that is directly tied to a House is available - One can accumulate LP's by fulfilling contracts offered by a House. As the LPs add up certain perks open up. Should a MercCorp jump ship to another House those previous LPs erode and all accumulated House-specific perks disappear. At least this is I am am understanding the Dev Blogs.
Nighthound, on 06 May 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:
Individual Points would go into rank and would only be a kind of badge with no ingame consequences what so ever.
Total Unit Points together with amount of Players in your Unit decide if you are a Company or Battalion or Regiment and decides how far your influence radius is ... how many Planets you can defend/attack (how big is your List of targets). I include amount of Players in this because I don't think anyone would want a 4 Player Brigade.
Average Unit Points would or better could determine how prestigious the Unit you fight under is. Average here is important because it limits the amount of decay if one or two are on vacation.
How about it? Good? Bad?
At first glance this last point would look a bit complicated but for MercCorps this might have some advantages for the smaller units. The larger units would be active fairly often and this would balance out retrograde forsmaller less active units. This is a matter for a somewhat related but different thread concerning LPs and MercCorp units. Will be interesting to see how/if we can make a faction specific MercCorp that is seen as a "regular" unit and not a band of mercenaries.
Edited by Morashtak, 06 May 2012 - 09:27 AM.