24 replies to this topic

[TseTse]

But bro, you say. "MWO is nothing like LoL and I like it that way!"

Just wait a second and indulge the incoming wall of text...

Truly, only select borrowed mechanics could make this game better. Perhaps, mechanics isn't the right word. Perhaps a better word is ethos. Yes... ethos is the word I'm looking for...

This isn't a rant about the real dollar cost of items, balance issues or anything like that, but rather a deep penetrating look into the objective based matches and how they are currently set up and played. Matchmaking is borked, and even when they fix it we will just be left with a shallow and uninspired concept.

But bro, you might say. "We don't know what wonders community warfare will bring!" This is true, and sadly my somber thought is that it will just bring more misery. Not just because it will be unbalanced, broken, and rushed, but also because the content delivered will be woefully underwhelming.

Dudes and dudette. I love the devs like one loves a drug addled child. I want them to succeed. I hope and I pray they will get it right. Unfortunately, I have learned to be pessimistic. Every time there seems to be cause for optimism, these drug addled children just break into my house and pawn my electronics.

Friends! Let me tell you this is the worst kind of love. I cannot let go. No matter how many times I am betrayed.

Sorry, I got de-railed there. In my own thread too...

This game needs to be fun for both solo players and organized units. This can happen! It should happen! IT WILL HAPPEN! (probably not)

To get to the matter at hand, the objectives in this game are too broadly defined. The types of mechs one can bring to a match should not be so unrestricted. Follow me know as a take on a journey of wonderment and imagination. Envision this, you log on, and your first order of business it to pick a weight class you would like to play. You hop in the solo queue and you are transported into a lobby with your PUG teammates. The map you are about to play is displayed. There are narrowly defined objectives you know must be completed, and you have a strong idea of how to do it, just by looking at the map. They are tiered and precise, but there are still multiple strategies to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women.

Your team starts to select their chassis, and load them out according to the niche roles they would like to play. The lobby UI will give you a snapshot of what everyone is up to. (some times this won't work well in PUGs cause you will inevitably have like 4 dudes that refuse to play anything else but their Gaussapults... But! You get the idea). You deck yourself out in the appropriate camo and click the ready button. Like LoL clearly defined strategies will form, players will like fulfilling certain roles, and a unified, if not lose strategy will be in place without spoken, or typed word. You will know what you must do, and you will have a strong idea of what your fellow mechwarriors are looking to do based on their chassis and loadout. (Unless of course, they are total melvins. Which is entirely possible.)

The system isn't perfect. I like to think its a helluva lot better than what we have right now though. I could literally write a thesis on how I think it would make the game better. How you might implement it with little change, but I think this thread is long enough.

I don't think it will ever happen, nor do I think anyone of importance will read the thread. I just like to hear myself type and think that I am smart. If you disagree I will battle you to the death within the confines of the forum.

Good day to you sirs!

[Thorn Hallis]

Sound idea, indeed.

[Ryvucz]

A long time ago, in a thread not so far away -

It's been brought up, but not quite like this. It would be nice to have this given a look at.

I used to be pessimistic just like you, until I almost died. True story, wasn't even an arrow to the knee.

[GalaxyBluestar]

ahhhhh... dreeeeeaaaaaammmmmssssss!

i wish i might i wish by light have this wish i wish tonight.

[TseTse]

I think it makes sense. Granted I have no concept of the inner workings of game design. I don't know if this is realistic cost wise, or logistically at this point. I also, know there would be many issues. They could be working out with thoughtful design though. That is for sure.

At the very least they should start working in this direction.

[Mr Mantis]

"Dudes and dudette."

At least he counted the one girl that plays .

[Dishevel]

Great post. Good idea.
Loving Devs like a drug addled child. Perfection.

[King Arthur IV]

i rikey what you saying.
mm is flawed with the current system because everything is random. you teammates are random, your team chassis are random, your team load outs are random, your team roles are random, your map is random and you are random in all those ways to them. a step in the right direction in the current system would be to implement ton balancing.

or

if there is a game lobby which shows you the map ahead of match and teams are allowed to choose their chassis, load out etc. then drop against the unknown. it would be alot more fun, strategic and evolving for the game and the game play.

now one may say "this is unbalanced" because as op said, you could end up going 8 assault vs 8 light but it is exactly opposite. it is balance to the most basic principle because it is OPEN. being open or free means the game is less restricted in your choices and decision making. the best form of balancing is in the form of open choice and decision making.

there is nothing stopping you from playing what you want or how you want. an implantation like this would only fuel competitiveness and if you haven't notice the most popular games are also very competitive.

[Team Leader]

You had me at the end of the 5th line!

[Haakon Magnusson]

TseTse, on 22 January 2013 - 10:51 PM, said:

...
you log on, and your first order of business it to pick a weight class you would like to play. You hop in the solo queue and you are transported into a lobby with your PUG teammates. The map you are about to play is displayed. There are narrowly defined objectives you know must be completed, and you have a strong idea of how to do it, just by looking at the map. They are tiered and precise, but there are still multiple strategies to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their women.

Your team starts to select their chassis, and load them out according to the niche roles they would like to play. The lobby UI will give you a snapshot of what everyone is up to. (some times this won't work well in PUGs cause you will inevitably have like 4 dudes that refuse to play anything else but their Gaussapults... But! You get the idea).

I like the idea of map and possibility for the commander to add in objectives and markers/short text in the lobby (Why not also enable players to suggest objectives and markers, but commander can toggle them not visible)

Also why not enable this at the moment somebody is designated as commander on the lobby and rest of they players are just being filled, so that he can start jotting down his (or hers as the case is unlikely to be) myriad objectives immediately.

Although seeing the loadouts will lead to inevitable "what a ******** loadout" style comments in pugs, but as long as it helps the team/commander to figure what's on the table, it's all good and even those "********" loadouts can be made usefull.
Changing mech might not work in pugs, with people trying to decide in a mob what to take while the poor commander is trying to figure out if L33tGamer is coming with a lrm boat or ecm raven which he's switching between and can't decide until 2s before drop. But in other games, invaluable for sure.

Once you drop, detailed plans in a pug via chat window isn't really happening...
Also, like has been suggested, the lobby (before and after) will inevitably lead to people finding other people to fight with. Which is a good thing ™

[Dr Killinger]

The first half of the post was a bit sensationalist, but the part that had an actual idea in it is quite good, because we need some sort of lobby, and pre-match chat. Personally, I'd say that you should select "Ready" without having to choose a mech, and you are transported to a ready room. You can chat with your new teammates, view their selections and loadouts, and make your own. When everyone is done, launch, and commence teamwork!

[TseTse]

Dr Killinger, on 23 January 2013 - 03:52 AM, said:

The first half of the post was a bit sensationalist, but the part that had an actual idea in it is quite good, because we need some sort of lobby, and pre-match chat. Personally, I'd say that you should select "Ready" without having to choose a mech, and you are transported to a ready room. You can chat with your new teammates, view their selections and loadouts, and make your own. When everyone is done, launch, and commence teamwork!

A lobby is definitely a step in the right direction. Picking your load out, and being able to see your teammates load out in said lobby would be great. Map objectives need to be waaaaaaaay more defined and complex. This is no secret. It really does a number of things for you. If the maps are set up so that the team knows we need x number of each weight class to complete these objectives. They will also know in general what they will be expected to do depending on the mech they choose. You wouldn't necessarily need a complex strat session in the lobby.

Although it would need to be more robust, just to illustrate my line of thinking as far as the maps are concerned I will give you a quick example. Light mechs on the blue team will go to the comm station and turret control to destroy that, The assaults and heaves will go to the compound on the hill to capture it. Medium mechs can be the rovers going where they are needed. The red team will have a similar list of objectives. The example is plain, but you get the idea.

I think it would make the game experience much more enjoyable and competitive.

[Congzilla]

World of Tanks is a much better game for MWO to model.

[TseTse]

Congzilla, on 23 January 2013 - 09:18 AM, said:

World of Tanks is a much better game for MWO to model.

I suppose you could be right. I have never played WoT. I have played LoL and they understand what made DoTA fun. They were able to capture the essence and make it accessible for everyone to enjoy. I really don't want to get too bogged down in technical aspects. I just wanted to share that I believe you can have a map with complex objectives and still have PUGs adhering to some level of strategy, because the map basically forces them to. Yet can still be unrestricted enough to allow for a lot of creativity. It's a fine line but it has been done before.

I think MWO can do it, but some changes will have to be made from the current mech selection process.

[Cerlin]

I liked Lol fine. But the base game play is essentially different. The monetization and management and balance are areas I think where they could get ideas however.

But I do think a similar lobby selection would be awesome. It does make even public LoL matches much more organized. The Lol matchmaking is also very robust which is nice, but it never fixes smurfing (playing on a low level account for practice/fun/less stress.)

[smokefield]

people ! lets pray to see the present flaws eliminated, then maybe a match making improved...then you can dream of the rest

[Tennex]

i don't know about game mechanics. but could defninately learn form their business model, community relations

Edited by Tennex, 23 January 2013 - 09:43 AM.

[Tabrias07]

LoL also bans people for playing outside the meta. Please don't make this anything like them.

Tennex, on 23 January 2013 - 09:43 AM, said:

could defninately learn form their business model

OH GOD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[TLD LARS]

If MVO should borrow the LOL prefight system, then please force the game to load the map, as soon as the map have been chosen.
In LOL there is alot of time wasted waiting for a countdown to finish, before the game loads the maps and characters.

As it is now, it is faster to start MVO and start fighting, then it is for LOL to finish countdown and load the map.

Please keep the fast lane open, for people wanting to test things out, before it gets serius.

[SpiralRazor]

Riot Games, simply put, is the bestF2P company ever. And also happens to be the most successful when the timeline of the game launch to where it is now is taken into consideration.


The only massively stupid thing that even the pro players hate, is the Tribunal rtard fest where you can be temp banned if you "dont communicate" and banned if you do communicate in any way.