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I've been playing MWO for a couple days (though a LOT in those couple days), and I can't believe how much fun I've been having.
My favourite points:
- The gameplay seems largely inspired by Mechwarrior 2 - the best in that series, IMHO. the Mech's have a great feeling of mass and heft, it doesn't feel like a random FPS in Mech skins.
- The game balance is amazing. Piloting a Light Mech doesn't make me feel useless in a battle with a full range of chassis. I honestly expected the smaller mechs to be "starter" mechs, leading inevitably to everyone piloting assault mechs. This is definitely not the case - a wide variety of classes leads to much better gameplay.
- Weapons fire, like piloting, just *feels* good. It's hard to explain, but it feels... Real. Very well done!
Completely honestly, I absolutely love this game.
A little bit of critical feedback as well, to balance the rampant fanboyism:
The interface in the mech lab is in desperate need of tooltips. I want to be able to see weapon/gear stats while mousing over them, so I can make more informed decisions without needing to have a browser window open to a wiki. Basically, see any previous Mechwarrior game's mech lab.
Premium accounts. This is a great idea, I have no objection to paying for premium time to increase xp/cbill gain(though it took me a lot of searching to figure out what premium time even was): You've got to make a buck, and it's a fair enough way to do it. My complaint is in how difficult it is to learn about premium accounts, and moreso, how to buy premium time. The "Add Time" button in my launcher is - and has always been - disabled. I'm not sure, if I buy MC, will that activate the button? I don't know, and don't want to buy MC for that purpose just to find out it doesn't work that way. Like the above issue, it's just a user interface problem more than anything else. Basically: I want to give you my money, but you're making it confusing and difficult. Please make it easier for me to give you my money.
Now, I get that this is personal opinion, and I don't expect anything to change Just For Me, but the MC purchase amounts/Mech Chassis costs both don't sync up well and are (in my opinion) somewhat steep. A more granular method of purchasing it would be much appreciated.
The interface issues outside of actual gameplay are very frustrating for a new player. I see this a lot in Betas, where most players and the developers are very experienced with the system so they don't see the terrible user experience for new players. As with the first two points above, you really, desperately need a UX guy to improve the interface.
This game is extremely unfriendly for new players. I stuck it out, because I'm a huge fan, but the total lack of tutorial and basically being dropped into all out combat right off the bat makes your first few battles downright depressing. If I didn't have experience with this style of mech piloting, I'd have spent a lot of battles doing nothing but running into walls and buildings.
Even a "mech simulator" without proper art assets with a basic mech piloting tutorial would go a LONG ways to helping new player retention. Let them learn how to drive a mech before people are shooting at them. I've talked to lots of people who tried this, and dropped it like a rock because they had no idea what was going on. They'd start a game, run into a wall, then explode, having no idea what happened.
In a perfect world, this simulator could be extended to the Mech Lab, to allow players to test drive mechs in a simulator, and get a feel for how various weapons and loadouts work outside of combat.
All that said, though? This game is absolutely outstanding. Seriously, it's amazing. You guys absolutely rock.
Edited by Wintersdark, 15 December 2012 - 04:31 PM.
