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The Idea:
A locked down mechlab:
When I say allow new users to make "minor" changes to mechs I mean allowing them to make rudimentary and free changes to trial mechs inside a sort of locked down mech lab. To make this work I suggest allowing players to make changes to what I call the mechs "Secondary attributes" while retaining the mechs "Primary attributes". The reasoning for having the changes made free is to keep in line with the fact that the trial mechs themselves are also free, and have free repairs.
Primary Attributes: Primary Armament, Engine, Jump Jets, equipment such as ecm or artemis, Upgrades such as Endo or DHS.
Secondary Attributes: Secondary weapons, armor points, heatsinks, ammo (N.B. the locked down mech lab would have to prevent the new player from removing all ammo on accident.)
Lets take the stock trial Cataphract 1X as an example. Currently this trial has 16 heatsinks, a PPC, an AC10, 4 medium lasers, and 352/434 armor. The "Primary attributes" of this mech, the main armaments (the PPC and AC10) and the Standard 280 engine shall remain locked in, thus retaining the integrity of the stock build's intended loadout and function. The "secondary" attributes, the number of heatsinks, secondary weapons, ammo, and armor points shall be the only thing that can be traded out or changed in this locked down mechlab. The new player could then, for example, swap out 2 medium lasers for an extra ton of ac10 ammo and an extra heat sink, improving the trial mechs sustained fighting power at the cost of burst damage.
Decreasing the perception of the "Trial Grind"
Now all of these minor changes will not be automatically open for all new players, first they would need to earn it. A variety of simple achievments could be used on each type of mech chassis to allow new players access to the locked down mechlab. This would give new players somthing to do besides just grind for c-bills for an owned mech.
I know achievements are not in the game yet, but as I understand it they will be soon and this would be a great way to use them in my opinion.
For example:
To access Trial Light mech custimization the following must be achieved
- X Kills in a light mech
- Y Enemies spotted in a light mech
- Z Matches won in a light mech
To access Trial Medium mech custimization the following must be achieved
- X Kills in a medium mech
- Y Assists in a medium mech
- Z Matches won in a medium mech
To access Trial Heavy mech custimization the following must be achieved
- X Kills in a heavy mech
- Y Component destrucions in a heavy mech
- Z Matches won in a heavy mech
To access Trial Assault mech custimization the following must be achieved
- X Kills in an assault mech
- Y [Insert statistic here] in an assault mech
- Z Matches won in an assault mech
The Intended Effects
- Improve new user flow by giving them a taste of the mech lab and how to optimize a mechs loadout.
- Encourage users get an owned mech as soon as possible, thus increasing MC sales.
- Make the new user experience more enjoyable by giving them something more to work for rather than just grind for c-bills for an owned mech.
Edited by Watchit, 13 December 2012 - 01:39 PM.
