214 replies to this topic

[Death Mallet]

It's a tough game to learn to play. Certainly takes a lot more coordination and skill than most other games on the market.

I think I've got a little over 400 games in from jumping in and out at various times since closed beta. . . I'd say I'm definitely still learning basics.

That's just too steep a hill for new players to climb. I think there are going to have to be some changes if PGI really wants to get the player base to support this game revenue-wise.

That's why things like:

3rd person view
Non-throttle movement

and other unpopular features are probably going to become a reality at some point or another.

That's going to upset a lot of people, but the truth is many of those people will still come back. And the number of people they lose due to those decisions will be dwarfed by the size of the player base they gain.

I actually think it does a pretty good job of providing Battletech feel right now. Obviously a lot of work left to be done, but they're on the right track and light years beyond where they were when I first tried it out in closed beta.

I'd honestly rather see some 3rd person view just so I get to look at the mechs more. . . I feel you're so busy playing you don't really get to see much of the environment/models right now and that would be pretty cool to see.

Anyway. . . just a little future prediction.

[Jetfire]

Non-Throttle movement?! No way. 3rd Person maybe in a tutorial mission.

Really this is what we need for the beginners, the same tutorial mission from all the past MW games. 15 minute training session.

[Bromineberry]

You know what happens everytime, someone complains about MWO beeing soooo hard to learn because you have to play it in 1st person mode and because you have to coordinate legs and torso movements? I lose a little bit of confidence in the human race. Really.

Seriously: How hard can it be? How did I manage to pick it up when I was 14? Just because it is not like EVERY "other" FPS it's "too hard"? Sounds exactly like the people who complain about the buttons in a car, just because they're not in the exact same place with the exact same functions like in their own/in their favourite car.

[Wraith05]

The throttle is a key mechanic of the game. It is part of the mech experience and I can't think of playing the game without one.

3rd person I don't like due to wider perspective for everyone/lack of immersion but it wouldn't be the end of the world and would still play. Would much rather see a series of training missions against some pop up targerts/holographic mechs/computer controled bots that taught people about heat management, weapon grouping, movement, and armor/section damage.

[Lukoi Banacek]

Actually none of his suggestions are necessary for helping the learning curve.

Better idea would be lobby functions to chat easier, an offline mode against AI that could be set for particular maps/level of AI opponent to test builds, heat, weapon grouping etc....a tutorial mode...a way to build mechs IN-GAME before wasting c-bills potentially (as opposed to the outside game community options, which are great...but let's be realistic, no game should rely on its playerbase finding this stuff) and the list goes on.

[Mediator]

Hey OP, you ever play Eve?


Yeah.

[Thirdstar]

Lukoi, on 20 January 2013 - 08:56 PM, said:

Actually none of his suggestions are necessary for helping the learning curve.

Better idea would be lobby functions to chat easier, an offline mode against AI that could be set for particular maps/level of AI opponent to test builds, heat, weapon grouping etc....a tutorial mode...a way to build mechs IN-GAME before wasting c-bills potentially (as opposed to the outside game community options, which are great...but let's be realistic, no game should rely on its playerbase finding this stuff) and the list goes on.

This, not OP.

I would add player created chat channels.

Edited by Thirdstar, 20 January 2013 - 08:57 PM.

[Lord of Death]

I don't see how 3rd person view and non-throttle movement is going to help much.

The game just needs to be more interesting.

What I think it needs:

- Ladders

- Better stats

- Better interface

- More game modes, like a practice mode where you can do 1v1,2v2,1v3/whatever with your friends.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

yeh like the idea of people running here to QQ about weapons to get them broken/made useless rather than learn to deal with them in game. Like LRMs were before (the august patch and later ECM), and ECM will be now lol.

And this company falls apart in the face of such QQ so fast mechs are destroyed by the shrapnel in a 100 km radius

Mediator, on 20 January 2013 - 08:56 PM, said:

Hey OP, you ever play Eve?


Yeah.

I do; EVE doesnt compare to this. At all.
you cant define apples and oranges better than to try and compare this and that
or to try to compare PGI/IGP with CCP

Edited by Mechwarrior Buddah, 20 January 2013 - 09:05 PM.

[Thirdstar]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 20 January 2013 - 09:05 PM, said:

I do; EVE doesnt compare to this. At all.
you cant define apples and oranges better than to try and compare this and that
or to try to compare PGI/IGP with CCP

Indeed. If MWO had better SOME tutorials, lobby chat, player made chat, working netcode and a fair matchmaker then this would be one of the easiest games in the shooter space.

[Czardread]

I dont really think that 3rd person view and non throttle movement would convince many people to come back, but it would convince a LOT of people to leave, and considering tha many of those put cash in the game already and might ask for a refund, i think any of those would be more harm than good.

What this game need is a tutorial map. THAT would teach the new players how to play (would make many veterans quite happy too).

Sir Trent Howell, on 20 January 2013 - 08:47 PM, said:

Although I don't agree with the OP, his post is one of the few dissenting ones that isn't a whinefest posted by some 13-year-old moron who can't go a sentence without a half dozen expletives. There isn't any need to be a jerk to him.

What he said, let's respect people who can actually make a constructive argument.

Edited by Czardread, 20 January 2013 - 09:18 PM.

[80sGlamRockSensation David Bowie]

Death Mallet, on 20 January 2013 - 08:38 PM, said:

3rd person view

Will utterly kill the competitive scene of this game like it did in MW3 and MW4.

Sorry, this is a universally bad aspect of any mechwarrior game, like a cancer or an incurable virus.

[Mediator]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 20 January 2013 - 09:05 PM, said:

I do; EVE doesnt compare to this. At all.
you cant define apples and oranges better than to try and compare this and that
or to try to compare PGI/IGP with CCP

I'm not comparing them as far as game mechanics or developers. That would be silly. I'm just saying that both games have a steep learning curve (I personally had a lot harder time getting started in Eve than I did with MWO), but Eve is still reasonably successful and has a strong playerbase.

My point is, A game can be successful even if it has a tough learning curve. Once MWO get some real tutorials (not that I'm holding my breath for them), it'll be a lot easier for a wider range of people to pick up and play.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Mediator, on 20 January 2013 - 09:15 PM, said:

I'm not comparing them as far as game mechanics or developers. That would be silly. I'm just saying that both games have a steep learning curve (I personally had a lot harder time getting started in Eve than I did with MWO), but Eve is still reasonably successful and has a strong playerbase.

My point is, A game can be successful even if it has a tough learning curve. Once MWO get some real tutorials (not that I'm holding my breath for them), it'll be a lot easier for a wider range of people to pick up and play.

yeah cause comparing a ten plus year running released MMO with a ten plus year old established company behind it with a game still in beta and a young company to the MMO scene would be insane

[Mediator]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 20 January 2013 - 09:19 PM, said:

yeah cause comparing a ten plus year running released MMO with a ten plus year old established company behind it with a game still in beta and a young company to the MMO scene would be insane

I'm not even sure what you're getting at with that one.

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Mediator, on 20 January 2013 - 09:34 PM, said:

I'm not even sure what you're getting at with that one.

I was agreeing with you -.-
Didnt think it was that hard to follow

[Mediator]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 20 January 2013 - 09:36 PM, said:

I was agreeing with you -.-
Didnt think it was that hard to follow

The way I read it had a distinct twinge of sarcasm. I must have read it wrong.

[Imperius]

Mediator, on 20 January 2013 - 09:42 PM, said:

The way I read it had a distinct twinge of sarcasm. I must have read it wrong.

That's just your inner troll looking for a fight.

[Deamhan]

Mechwarrior Buddah, on 20 January 2013 - 09:19 PM, said:

yeah cause comparing a ten plus year running released MMO with a ten plus year old established company behind it with a game still in beta and a young company to the MMO scene would be insane

The fact that it is a 10 year old game that is still going strong despite its steep learning curve and its unforgiving nature speaks volumes to its worth.

When this game was described in PCGamer, I was honestly thinking null sec with regards to sovereignty except that the game takes place on the planets instead of in space. Instead we have an 8vs8 fps capture the flag with just 4 maps? Oh so they made some night and made a few small changes to one or two. That should only be a weeks worth of work, two tops. I made a map for DoD that took me 3. It was bigger, more interactive (working elevators, destructible walls, windows, etc.), and I was learning as I went along. These guys are supposedly professionals who take how long to produce maps that have no interaction/destructibility and no clipping when it comes to the trees?

I'd also recommend PGI out sourcing to CCP if possible. FPS bug, yellow screen, no map, pointer on screen, no UI....all these bugs have been around for far too long. When a bug is mentioned in the EVE forums, it is usually gone within a month. Mean while back at PGI the same bugs for months.

Oh but they're quick to turn out new mechs which can be bought with mc and more importantly hero mechs that can ONLY be bought with mc. Imagine that.

[Mediator]

Imperius, on 20 January 2013 - 09:47 PM, said:

That's just your inner troll looking for a fight.

It's hard to keep him locked down sometimes.