11 replies to this topic

[BoomDog]

The current Grind is based around saving C-Bills and GXP. EXP is doled out like candy.

The problem that I see with this, as a relatively new player, is there's a huge wall after purchasing your first mech. For example, I bought a Centurion. If I want to try out different builds I need to save money. If I want to Elite some skills, I have to save money to buy the other variants. I've already got more EXP than I know what to do with. So, I need money, what do I do? Play Trial Mechs. Yeah, they stink, but I'm guaranteed a good chunk of change when the battle is over. No repair bills to ruin it for me.

The current system discourages experimenting with different builds, and weapons. It discourages trying new mechs. It even discourages you from playing your own mech!

Solution: EXP should be doled out at the same rate as GXP. C-Bills should be handed out like candy!

How does this make money for PGI? People will be having fun buying mechs.... lots and lots of mechs. They will need lots and lots of mechbays! The most hardcore fans will collect every single mech. Even casual players would be hard pressed to resist adding a few mechbays. This also encourages experimenting with builds, which is half the fun of MWO.

A great way to implement this would be to overhaul salvage so that people actually get leftovers from the mechs they helped kill. Maybe I helped kill someone that had a PPC on his mech, at the end of the battle, it would tell me I salvaged a PPC. I could keep it and tinker with using it, or I could sell it.

(Edited in)
Improved Battle salvage:
Lets say they not only allow salvage of weapons, but also the ability on rare occasions to salvage an entire mech. Now, why would you want to salvage this mech when you could just buy it with all of those C-Bills you're making? Simple, these mechs would be designated "Battle Salvaged". They're the same as a purchased mech, except, for each Battle Salvaged mech you own, you get a 5% bonus to EXP and GXP. Player response: Must buy Mechbays!!!

(Edit for clarity)
The person who was destroyed in battle, and his team lost, would not actually lose the item, a copy of it would be given to the team that won.

That's the idea. "Like" it if you think it'll work, or tell me why it's a bad idea

Edited by BoomDog, 25 November 2012 - 08:25 AM.

[AndyHill]

I agree with your assessment of the situation, just not so much with the solution. I think it would be simpler to just make the leveling of the variants three times slower (if the current total amount of grind can be considered a good baseline), but ditch the requirement for different variants. Even that wouldn't probably be a very interesting grind, however. Anyway, I think the grind would be more interesting if it would encourage you to drive different types of 'mechs (or rather not discourage you from doing so).

[focuspark]

Agree: overhaul salvage to actually get parts, so long as the losers lose the parts

Mech XP is of limited value unless you spend MC to convert it to GXP which is how PGI pays its bills. Remember that PGI needs people to buy a lot of MC to stay in business.

Edited by focuspark, 24 November 2012 - 10:09 AM.

[BoomDog]

focuspark, on 24 November 2012 - 10:09 AM, said:

Agree: overhaul salvage to actually get parts, so long as the losers lose the parts

Absolutely agree. How can you salvage anything if you're dead? This would also encourage correct play, in that people will try to win rather than charging to their deaths.

[BoomDog]

AndyHill, on 24 November 2012 - 10:04 AM, said:

I agree with your assessment of the situation, just not so much with the solution. I think it would be simpler to just make the leveling of the variants three times slower (if the current total amount of grind can be considered a good baseline), but ditch the requirement for different variants. Even that wouldn't probably be a very interesting grind, however. Anyway, I think the grind would be more interesting if it would encourage you to drive different types of 'mechs (or rather not discourage you from doing so).

I think that would work too, if it was coupled with the salvage idea. There's 3 reasons why new players get stomped. One, they aren't experienced yet. Their personal skill is pretty low. Two, they don't have Elited mechs. Three, they can't bling-bling their mechs with the latest tech until they've grind-ed out several million C-Bills. The extra money would quickly put them on a more level playing field. Which is really what every player should want.

But let's really look at the Salvage idea as a way of making money for PGI. In Battletech, salvage was the money maker, the contract money was just the icing on the cake. So it would add a more "Battletech-ish" feel to the game. However, what if, on rare occasions, you actually have a chance to salvage an entire mech? Wait a minute, you don't have enough mech bays to hold it! Just a second, there's an option in the afterbattle report to purchase another mechbay to salvage this mech. Ohhh, I gotta do it. Instant gratification is a hard thing to resist.

[GalaxyBluestar]

lose parts when they're destroyed? it would work if cbills grew on trees, if they didn't we'd be replacing hundreds of thousands of cbill parts after every match. can anyone afford that? not the free to play people anyway, that just sounds way to extreme as it stands.

[Cmdr Harabec]

I've always liked the salvage idea, but I think there should be stipulations.

You have to be the person who killed the other person, and it's a fairly low chance of it happening. The better condition he died in, the better chance of salvage. Cockpit shots and nothing else could mean about a 20% chance of salvaging at the very, very highest. Otherwise it'd be much lower.

You'd also have to be alive at the end of the round AND your team has to have won.

Players wouldn't lose their mech or parts.

To salvage weapons, you just have to destroy components. You can then have a chance at salvaging any item. Engine, heat sinks, whatever, you can nab it if you blow it up. Again, have to be alive and have won.

Salvaged mechs would come with nothing in them. No weapons, engine, heat sinks, nothing. Balance reasons for having just gotten a new mech. The standard chance of getting a salvaged mech would be very, very low, though, and Trials have a higher chance of getting a salvaged mech until they get one.

Just some rough ideas. At some point I want to write up a whole new idea for small tweaks and modifications to the whole new player system, but I have a feeling it'll just fall on deaf ears.

Also, one last thing. Mech salvage really might be too much. I suggest it here, but I could easily see why they don't want to do it. Engine/weapon/item salvage, though, really is a must. You SHOULD be able to get valuable components from a win. It's in the spirit of Mechwarrior, and looting a nice engine or something early on is a great bonus to a mechwarrior. More cbills will not hurt player interest, It'll only raise it... as long as the gameplay itself is enough to hook people. I think MWO needs more features put in, more maps, etc before it can really integrate such a system, but that's just me. It's good to think on anyways.

[QuickSpoon]

I like the idea. No for loosing your parts. Yes for gaining random components. Not sure about the free mech, if its a small chance plus some extra CBill cost for dragging it from the battlefield.

And a huge YES for bigger CBill pay. After 20 matches with trials to finaly get some money and buy a mech/new gear I just wanna turn off the game and not play some more with my owned one. So yeah that does mean that bugyin MC is the last thing Im thinking about right now.

[BoomDog]

GalaxyBluestar, on 25 November 2012 - 12:23 AM, said:

lose parts when they're destroyed? it would work if cbills grew on trees, if they didn't we'd be replacing hundreds of thousands of cbill parts after every match. can anyone afford that? not the free to play people anyway, that just sounds way to extreme as it stands.

Sorry, I should've clarified. I can now see why someone would make that assumption.

You'd only get salvage from a mech that your team destroyed. The salvaged item would have to be an item that wasn't destroyed. The person that was destroyed doesn't actually lose the item, he won't notice anything different. The team that killed him would just get copies of his items that survived the battle.

[BoomDog]

Cmdr Harabec, on 25 November 2012 - 01:19 AM, said:

I've always liked the salvage idea, but I think there should be stipulations.

You have to be the person who killed the other person, and it's a fairly low chance of it happening. The better condition he died in, the better chance of salvage. Cockpit shots and nothing else could mean about a 20% chance of salvaging at the very, very highest. Otherwise it'd be much lower.

You'd also have to be alive at the end of the round AND your team has to have won.

Players wouldn't lose their mech or parts.

To salvage weapons, you just have to destroy components. You can then have a chance at salvaging any item. Engine, heat sinks, whatever, you can nab it if you blow it up. Again, have to be alive and have won.

Salvaged mechs would come with nothing in them. No weapons, engine, heat sinks, nothing. Balance reasons for having just gotten a new mech. The standard chance of getting a salvaged mech would be very, very low, though, and Trials have a higher chance of getting a salvaged mech until they get one.

Just some rough ideas. At some point I want to write up a whole new idea for small tweaks and modifications to the whole new player system, but I have a feeling it'll just fall on deaf ears.

Also, one last thing. Mech salvage really might be too much. I suggest it here, but I could easily see why they don't want to do it. Engine/weapon/item salvage, though, really is a must. You SHOULD be able to get valuable components from a win. It's in the spirit of Mechwarrior, and looting a nice engine or something early on is a great bonus to a mechwarrior. More cbills will not hurt player interest, It'll only raise it... as long as the gameplay itself is enough to hook people. I think MWO needs more features put in, more maps, etc before it can really integrate such a system, but that's just me. It's good to think on anyways.

I agree with the idea that you should only get salvage if your team wins.

I don't think only giving it to the person who made the kill shot is though. Simply because it's a team based game. If you're focusing on an enemy with your team, then you all contributed equally to his death.

Also, I think that even if you die, you should get some salvage. Sometimes you have to die, to win the game (stalling a base camp).

[DeadlyNerd]

But but if you hand out CBills like candy PGI wont get their monneh for teh MCzs!

Joking aside, I support this, salvage priority to those who helped the most in gaining that particular salvage.

[BoomDog]

DeadlyNerd, on 25 November 2012 - 08:37 AM, said:

But but if you hand out CBills like candy PGI wont get their monneh for teh MCzs!

Joking aside, I support this, salvage priority to those who helped the most in gaining that particular salvage.

That's true, they're probably making money by getting people sick of grinding C-Bills.

I think they'd make more money in the long run if they did it this way. As a typical miser, I tend to not pay money unless there is some long term benefit. For instance, I love my CN9-AL, but I gotta grind out over 8 million c-bills to buy the CN9-D. I'm not going to pay money for a mech that I don't want to keep. So, I'm stuck with the grind.

Thanks for supporting the idea though!