4 replies to this topic

[Xiepher]

OK, so first off love mechwarrior ...anything.
This is BETA and the time to say things like I'm going to in this post.....

PRO: Game GFX great, cockpit view fantastic, battle detail and effects awesome, Mech detail superb, night vision/thermal option unmatched, variant options for mech's and xp design is logical and understandable, Hero class and premium vice free to play options on par with...(unsaid tanking game) and thats about all......unfortunately.

CONS: 1.)NO 3rd person view or obstruction avoidance option, that little arrow on the minimap showing leg direction or the tact on the 360 dial isn't significant enough in the heat of battle or even convient at any rate...
2.)Bunch of bugs loading into matches, I've had Yellow vision (screen) numerous times and Rshift+F11 (no HUD) is pretty much a players only option to fix it....,
3.)Limited hard point options for mech variants leave little for a creative mind to play with.
4.)Only 3-4 mech's with variants per class to choose from........really??? looks like they are planning to add 'one' more mech per armor class....wow......... out of all the awesome mech model's used in previous games, we have 4 per class to choose from....
5.)Of course I have to mention maps and faction options (it is BETA), need more!!!! This game has the potential for 'MMO' capability but needs a unique faction based world structure.
6.) Launch screen (mech HUB / garage) has limited versatility and should overwhelm a player with wonderful options....\
7.)Open chat and social interaction limited, out of matches.
8.)No new edition weapons.
9.)Mechwarrior back story and history only accessible via website.
10.) After 72 hours of play time, I'm looking for another game to play.

1st 72 hours:
Over all 1st impressions of the game were great, but for a new mechwarrior, I can see even getting to the first matches as an obstacle. The trial mech's are a good start, would upgrade the engine on the light raven though.... who drives a slow light mech??? or who would....
I even put in a few dollars to experience the Hero class and premium bonuses... not very significant to keep me dishing out dollars. Weapon balance is unchanged... the game is going to see tons of AC variants and the energy/missile based mech's will fade from the matches.
I love Mech's but for a 2013 edition game I expected more.
Thanks,
Xiepher

[Carbine666]

Odd only been a member for a day 24h= 1day, played for 72 hours i dont think so

[blinkin]

he liked his own post.

i will say i either disagree with or find major fault with most of what you have said here.

1. how is the 360 dial not convenient? it is in the middle of the screen. the only issue i have with it is the bland yellow coloring.

2. they have been eliminating bugs at a fairly rapid pace. this is still beta but from what i can tell this is a cleaner build than many full launch games i have seen.

3. most of the mech variants leave huge openings for customization, example: i run a brawling/assassin build catapult. it's ideal effective range is between 50m and 150m. it goes 86kph and hits for 60 damage per shot. it was originally a long range support mech with some lrm launchers that went 65kph. there is plenty you can do to customize mechs, but you also have to consider what variant you plan to customize.

4. they have been releasing mechs at a steady rate. i have heard that the plan is 2 mechs per month. right now the number is low because we just started.

5. pay attention to anything at all the developers have said. clan invasion and community warfare are one of the major selling points that they are going for in this game. and they also intend to release 1 map per month from what i understand.

6. this goes along with the bugs. they have been upgrading everything at a fairly steady pace.

7. i agree here the social system needs a makeover.

8. they are still releasing weapons as they can get them working. they are also following the timeline for the battletech universe in real time. we are at 3025, if something was invented in 3026 then we have to wait a year of real time. they are in this for the long haul.

9. most of us came to play a game not to read flavor text.

10. good luck and avoid beta testing, you will see more of what you saw here and much worse. this is the cleanest beta i have ever seen and is even less buggy than plenty of full launches like planetside 2 or battlefield 3 (ugh).

balistic weapons are not going to take over. first they all have flight times, so you must lead targets. second they have ammunition which by it's own nature is a limitation, but also is the risk of ammo being destroyed and the chances of ammo explosions. ammo explosions generally mean death for mechs. now those were the reasons why energy weapons are not at risk. let's look at missiles. balistics have no guidance and thus are all dumbfire. dumbfire weapons with instantaneous impact like all balistics are bad at hitting light mechs that move very fast. srm also suffer from all of these problems listed except they are far lighter. an srm6 with artemis is about as heavy as you get with 4 tons, and an AC2 is the lightest ballistic weapon at 6 tons(machine guns don't count they will never be a main weapon). ballistic weapons serve a purpose but will never rule the battlefield.

i pitty you for the extensive flaming you are about to recieve.

Edited by blinkin, 01 January 2013 - 10:45 PM.

[Straylight]

Xiepher, on 01 January 2013 - 08:53 PM, said:

1.)NO 3rd person view or obstruction avoidance option, that little arrow on the minimap showing leg direction or the tact on the 360 dial isn't significant enough in the heat of battle or even convient at any rate...

Discussed in a recent NGNG podcast. PGI is aware of the game's steep learning curve and that a BIG part of that is learning how 'mechs move. They agree that a third-person view will help with this, but also understand that merely implementing it as the game is now would give a massive awareness advantage to anyone using it (and **** off all the purists, like me, who would ragequit the game over it). They're discussing options for how to do this. One idea Garth mentioned was to lock the option in the matchmaker so that if you had 3PV enabled, you would only play against others who had 3PV enabled. Keep eyes on the dev corner for further information.

Personally, I don't find any of this to be a problem at all, but I've been playing MechWarrior games for nearly as long as there have been MechWarrior games. Piloting a battlemech is a skill like any other, it must be learned, practiced, and maintained. With time and experience, you get used to it.

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2.)Bunch of bugs loading into matches, I've had Yellow vision (screen) numerous times and Rshift+F11 (no HUD) is pretty much a players only option to fix it....,

Known issue.

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3.)Limited hard point options for mech variants leave little for a creative mind to play with.

This is a concession that straddles the line between maintaining balanced gameplay (no mechlab at all), and keeping the customization that's one of the franchise's trademarks. Some people will never be happy with the compromise, but a smart player will realize that this compromise is better for the game and for the players than either extreme.

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4.)Only 3-4 mech's with variants per class to choose from........really??? looks like they are planning to add 'one' more mech per armor class....wow......... out of all the awesome mech model's used in previous games, we have 4 per class to choose from....

Keep in mind when this game is set. A lot of the heavily-featured 'mechs from past games don't exist yet in-universe. Also keep in mind that a lot of the chassis variety in this era from TT are Unseen, which will most likely NOT be making an appearance in this game, ever.

(As an example of this, check your TROs or Sarna for Medium 'mechs that fulfill all of the following criteria: (1) is available in 3050, (2) is not Unseen, (3) is not Clan, (4) has at least three canonical, non-unique variants, and (5) does not already exist in MWO. How many did you find?)

Even so, right now we're looking at an eventual fifty seven different variants, at least. That's before Hero 'mechs or chassis with more than three variants are taken into account (currently the Hunchback has, what, five or six?). If you assume an average of only a dozen meaningfully discrete builds possible for each variant (and that's a completely arbitrary number; the reality is likely higher by orders of magnitude), you still end up with over 600 possible configurations.

How, by any possible argument, is that not enough variety?

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5.)Of course I have to mention maps and faction options (it is BETA), need more!!!! This game has the potential for 'MMO' capability but needs a unique faction based world structure.

Work in progress.

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6.) Launch screen (mech HUB / garage) has limited versatility and should overwhelm a player with wonderful options....\

Work in progress. Specifically, the current windowed launch screen is going to eventually be replaced by a full-screen system. I'm led to understand that this is a fairly low priority, though, since the current system works well enough and there are other things that need more attention.

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7.)Open chat and social interaction limited, out of matches.

Work in progress.

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8.)No new edition weapons.

Explain this. What "new edition" weapons? Again: remember that this game is set in 3050. A lot of LosTech and post-Invasion weapons and equipment won't be available for another ten or twenty years.

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9.)Mechwarrior back story and history only accessible via website.

...as opposed to what? Not sure what you're complaining about here. Frankly, we have the rest of the Internet for that, if we want it. Start with Sarna and the Master Unit List, and Google anything that those can't provide.

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10.) After 72 hours of play time, I'm looking for another game to play.

Uh... kthxbye? Nice knowin' ya. If you end up at Hawken, have fun driving a television.

[Xiepher]

Thanks Straylight,
For addressing each item. Your direction to timeline setting for alot of my gripes is very well noted, I apoloygize for my ignorance on Mech Lore. I have not read any of the Mech books and only followed the storylines from past games, but I do realize the Mech universe is massive and time setting would have a major role on mech's, weapon's, factions, etc. Maybe I should redirect those points more to #9 and emphasize the lack of time setting and storyline in the current [BETA] game. The news feed posts on the launch screen does have MECH year, right under actual date....

I figured "purists" would hate my #1 issue.... yes agreed, piloting a mech well, is a skill and is cultivated..... but denying 3rd person with the current clumsy physics in the game....well even in Vengence:MW4 mech's couldn't run through another mech like it appears in MWO, and I think I even remeber some kind of audible alarm when movement was constricted back then too. *shrug* I'll have to reinstall that game now to verify .... now where is that box

And I do recant my #10, I guess I should rephrase that also.... after 72 hours the 'new' feeling that all noobs get of nostalgic euphoria was already fading for me, it's not going to happen for everyone, but I was ......

I understood the flaming I'd recieve for this topic.... lol thats not going to stop me.....really. But thx anyways Blinkin...... and just for you I won't like my own comment since that's so relivant.

Edited by Xiepher, 02 January 2013 - 03:12 PM.