Hi everybody, last month someone asked for an Overview of all the available Mechs, because sometimes it`s really difficult (not only for beginners) to make a decision whenever there is the need to buy a new but good mech while not knowing what exactly is good and what not, in the grand Machine Collection. Asking veteran players could maybe help, but sometimes that also would take some time. With such an Overview (Short Description of the Chassis, Stats Collection, Pros&Cons List, Rating by us Mechspecs-Staff) you would have a quick reference for your shopping activities. Afaik there is nowhere in the internet such a comprehensive Overview. Sarna.net has a good Collection of Lore-Info but no MWO Stats, mwo.smurfy-net.de has an immersive Collection of MWO Stats info, but no Shopping Guide Info like Pros&Cons or Ratings. We as a competent mechspecs community would create a good mix of both worlds (short description info to understand the Mechs and relevant Stats to understand the Power/Possibilities/Limits with each of the Chassis/Variants) and pull all the needed data into one single document - the Mechspecs Overview. However such an Overview would take some time to bring to completion. Afaik, we have 38 Mechs atm and alltogether 188 Variants! Imagine how many that is. But this also makes shopping for beginners extremely difficult. But before I start to invest any time+effort in this project, i want you to give me Feedback first. IF the Community Interest is big enough, I'd start pulling datas together and try get an Alpha-Version ready until end of this year (hopefully). This Version could be reviewed and finalized by suggestions for additional info etc. before we release it in the guide section. Staff Members could update the document in the future, whenever it is necessary. You won't need to pay for it. It would be a free gift from us passionate mechspecs veterans for the whole community. But IF you don`t need such a thing, then well, we would take our time to do something else, like playing MWO 36 Hrs a Day. So pls use the Poll Option to show your Interest and use this Discussion Thread to give us Feedback, what you personally would want to have in such an Overview. Voting Time till next Friday (17th Oct.) ! Thx in advance.. ***EDIT (20.10.2014): Ok the Results show me that A) More guys voted Yes than No, B) Only 12 Voters, so Interest is not pretty high. Since i already started the Draft, i will continue to work on it. Will inform when things are ready to publish here. For any questions simply pm me.
This sounds like an awesome idea. Appointing moderators for each chassis and making it their responsibility to keep the chassis notes and recommendations updated would probably ease some of the burden from you.
Exactly.. I provide the framework, the draft design and the Alpha Version, other interested members with edit rights keep it updated. To give you a first idea of how this Overview could look like, from the framework (our version could look a lot better formatted with pix & reference links, plus having a lot more relevant stats info etc etc.): http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/121659-80bit’s-review-of-all-mechs/ or http://wotlabs.net/articles/category/world-of-tanks/tank-reviews/
I can remember getting frustrated at the begining of my MWO experience, not knowing what to spend my c-bills on, spending them on what I thought was a good mech, and then have such a hard time grinding it with the stock config, I would end up selling it to buy another, rinse, repeat. Once I got tired of that I found this oasis. By then I had accumulated enough experience that I knew what I was looking for, and then used the site to find the min maxed build that fit my play style, bringing me from the pitts of scullpuggery to the mediocre Mech pilot I am today. Seriously though. If it is done, it should be advertised that it is there, so newbies will look at it first thing. On the surface it shouldn't have so much detail that it is hard to understand. It should define (breakdown) playstyles (roles). Maybe have a bit on how to determine what role your playstyle fits. It should probably have catergories, Best mechs for each playstyle and why. Easiest mech/varients to grind and why. Most efficient c-bill vs functionality (best bang for your buck)... just off the top of my head. I wouldn't include so much info that the guide will be invalidated the next time PGI decides to Nerf Something in game. You might even structure it in a way that it could be used as a guide for how to get the most out of MechSpecs. What to look for in the forums to find the present state of the game (nerfs, meta etc.) Just some thoughts, hope they are helpful.
That's sure would be very useful, and Mechspecs is the perfect place to provide such information. Don't make your "alpha version" too ambitious and complete, you don't need to do all the work yourself. We're a community after all and that kind of work will surely benefit from multiple contributors (to share the work as well as to gather multiple points of view). I can help with mechs I pilot the most and know kinda well like Jenners, BlackJacks, Centurions, etc... mostly light and medium IS mechs. PS: Skidog makes some good points I want to highlight: edit: I'll add it should be structured on a way it's easy to update.
I give you a small preview of my draft design. The first thing to ask ourselves is, what is the info a (new) player wants to know about a Mech to make a buy decision? I came up to 5 relevant contents, which i personally always wanted to know: Summary -> What is the backgroundinfo and the Gameplay/Roleplay of this Mech in a nutshell? Visuals -> How does this Mech look like? Ingame, from outside and maybe even inside in the Cockpit (The Mechlab Shop still doesn't have any Preview Function!?) Pros & Cons -> What are the Strengths and what the Weakness? (compared in the same Weight Class / compared against all Mechs) Mechspecs Advice -> A summarized Rating of competent Players & Mech Engineers (could be a rating scale from 1 to 5 just as we already have for every build) What are the Variants? The Differences? Their individual stats & pros & cons That's it. If the Chassis convinces me, then i want it. Then i need three Variants to Master it. So i look for the good Variants and pick one. We don't need indepth analysis for this Overview, nor for our Buy Decision. Just all the important info in a nutshell. To keep it compact for a good Overview simply use BBCode to hide details first. For Update Works: (For the Summary, we can pull data from Sarna.net or add our own description. But Updates won't change this part imo.) For the Visuals, simply make uptodate ingame screenshots, if necessary Pros & Cons is a List, simply update the List Elements The Mechspecs Advice (Rating & Reasoning) is something to discuss with the staff team together, if a Mech should be downrated or uprated and if then why? The Stats of the Variants are taken from Smurfy.net, Pros&Cons List can be updated just like the Chassis P&C List, but if the upcoming Quirks don't buff the Variants too strong, the general Points stay the same imo. So in general this Chassis/Variant Info Field is easy peasy to update by any Staff Member. If any Update Changes come in, just discuss it shortly with other Team Members and then change the Facts.
Another aspect to consider might be this bunch of starter packs released recently. There's some good value to be found - one of each Hero, Champion and regular version, usually including at least one suiting XL engine and some fully fleshed out builds. Good example: Centurions. Package comes with YLW, CN9-A(C) (playable from the start) and the CN9-D (bringing an XL 300 to the table). But maybe that's even a topic on it's own?
Exactly the purpose of this Document. Have a complete Overview AND the accumulated experience/rating of mechspecs.com for each Chassis/Variant UPTODATE keeping it easy for players to make a buy decision. Great Idea. I think new Members who are looking exactly for such infos would be grateful and love mechspecs.com from the beginning Yes, that should be summarized in the Summary Part on the Top. We could set Markers on special valuable Variants and a short Hint, why this one is special, like "Best Bang for your Buck", "Popular", "Easy Grinder" etc. Update Work due to Patch Changes explained in previous post.
I'm considering to release the document in several steps and forward those parts for early reviews by interested/competent guys (e.g. Weight Class Nerds). They finalize the infos and forward it to the Admin(s) for final check before Release. #1 Trial/Champion Mechs #2 Lights #3 Mediums #4 Heavies #5 Assaults #6 Heroes Then we won't need to wait until everything is complete. Would take too long to wait and maybe upcoming Patches will have so much impact that the document is outdated already.
Great idea... though strictly theres 39 chassis and 168 real variants as the champions and Sarah's mech don't have unique hardpoints/skilltrees etc and can be built on the parent variant. Yes I'm a picky bastard. Happy to help as I'll finish mastering my last mechs this weekend (I've deliberately been drawing it out).
Yes you are right. We don't have to count the Champions and Sarah's, but we could mention them as Special Versions with their Quirks. And glad to know you are ready to help. I'm considering to distribute the work to helpers to speed up the process, when the Framework is decided. Any wishes or ideas are welcome until next Friday.
