How is the game in 2018?

Thread in 'MechWarrior Online' started by Aramuside, Aug 7, 2018.

  1. Aramuside

    Aramuside Star Lord

    304
    55
    133
    Curious how the game is doing as I've been away a long time but have a hankering to restart.
     
  2. Dagonus

    Dagonus Moderator Staff Member

    453
    122
    156
    How long a time have you been away?
     
  3. The golden era before the skill tree?

    Before engine desync?

    Before the unfunning?
     
  4. Dagonus

    Dagonus Moderator Staff Member

    453
    122
    156
    :rolleyes: is all i have to say to that.
     
  5. krevLL

    krevLL Insane Fire Troll

    395
    126
    153
    The only golden era was the era before ghost heat. My kind thrived back in those days.
     
    Excalibaard likes this.
  6. IronEleven

    IronEleven Active Member

    89
    35
    17
    Rainy. Unless the agility PTS and the announced LRM rework both do really well we're looking at a Skill Tree/Engine Desync-level exodus of experienced players.
     
  7. Honestly, what the hell is going on with these weapon balance thoughts from PGI?

    I need to read up on the latest ones, but did I hear right that they are proposing nerfing Tag and Narc (the only information-ish warfare things we have going on)?

    And Re-Nerfing Artemis?

    Sorry, just got back from traveling for work and haven't got to see the latest "what flavor of crap do you like the best" balance video.

    Can anyone give me the condensed version on the proposed changes?
     
    Excalibaard likes this.
  8. IronEleven

    IronEleven Active Member

    89
    35
    17
    They're trying to do damage control after the LRM velocity, ammo, and heat buffs pissed a lot of people off. cLRM60+ is an obscene amount of sustained DPS right now.

    Edit: Thread here https://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/268099-balance-discussion-aug-2018-post-podcast-feedback/
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2018
  9. Or roll back the changes to the way it was before...?

    Maybe buff a few things while they are at it...?

    I feel like I am watching a three year old trying to figure out a Rubik's cube.

    PGI gets one side all the same color and thinks "yeah - balance won" and then is honestly shocked and surprised that when all the other sides get more messed up and people are getting more and more pissed off watching fewer and fewer builds and play styles remain viable.
     
    Excalibaard and IronEleven like this.
  10. Kurbeks

    Kurbeks Junior Member

    36
    10
    7
    Because if you get NARC'ed o on Polar you are dead, and they don't want to admit that polar is shit map. And of course recent LRM buffs have made NARC too good.
    Alternatively should make LURMs like in LL. Can't fire out of LoS unless target is NARCed or TAGed.
     
  11. Aylek

    Aylek Administrator Staff Member

    2,761
    528
    197
    Haven't played a match since nearly a month but am in touch with my unit. Sounds as if I didn't miss anything at all... might take a look at my PIRs for LRM boat hunting soon, though.
     
    Remover of Obstacles likes this.
  12. Excalibaard

    Excalibaard 101 010 Staff Member

    5,051
    1,107
    269
    @Remover of Obstacles that's a perfect analogy of the current balancing tactics. 'We want to focus on small parts instead of large overhaul changes'. The 'large' overhauls were making one side a single color, the new smaller changes are just moving a lot of same color squares to one side and not even bothering to make that side a single color.

    I'd understand if they'd leave balance be for a bit and then really take the time to work out the kinks. Think about the current reasons why certain weapons are powerful, popular, or exactly neither of those things; experiment with having better defined weapon roles (pulse lasers are still all over the place). Right now it's just angry mob pandering resulting in more angry mobs.


    That said, I'm still playing (though with slightly lower frequency due to studies and distraction by Dragon Age Inquisition) and we're still building. The reason why we're still playing because it's still the best/only MechWarrior customizable arena shooter/simulator on the market. It just that there is a lot of room for improvement in the management and game design understanding of PGI, it feels like they've learned almost nothing over the years this game has been active.
     
    Gun Tuv, Dagonus and Aylek like this.
  13. Dagonus

    Dagonus Moderator Staff Member

    453
    122
    156
    I don't mind the balance attempts. They're attempts at fixing it. Are they great attempts? not really, but they are attempts none the less.

    I like the skill tree.

    I don't have strong feeling on engine de-sync.

    I'm tired of events. I'm especially tired of bad events. I'm tired of daily style events. I'm tired of the FOMO format of events. I missed 2 week long events with broad objectives that I felt I didn't have to do RIGHT NOW TO GET THE COOKIE.

    The new mechs have been unimpressive. FNR and BAS were interesting and drew some crowds. Fleas got the memers excited, but they're running out of popular mechs to sell.
     
  14. Shock

    Shock Patron of the Underdog Staff Member

    870
    353
    171
    I definitely have mech pack fatigue. I've never heard of at least half the mechs released this year. And sooner or later, they're going to have to do something about the stale gameplay especially since Solaris is a complete flop.
     
  15. I like the idea of a skill tree (especially the Solahma version). But PGI has a better chance to maintain reasonable balance through the quirk system than with quirks and adding the variables, degrees of freedom, force multiplier of two hundred and some odd nodes. The garbage fire that was the transition to the skill tree speaks for itself. I mean, we just got the functionality to save and share trees.

    It promotes customization which is great, but it makes balancing harder.


    I am glad they are attempting and using the PTS.

    But the things that they are trying demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding of key game elements, mechanics and the goal experience for players. The ideas are very short sighted and seem to ignore how the game would be changed outside of the one little dps spread sheet that was being examined under 1,000x magnification.

    Maybe the idea/goal is to throw out bad ideas. Test them on the PTS. And draw the logical conclusion not to change anything.

    Hey, at least PGI posted to their own forum.

    [Redacted]

    [Redacted]

    [Redacted]
     
    Excalibaard and IronEleven like this.
  16. Kurbeks

    Kurbeks Junior Member

    36
    10
    7
    Solaris went same way as FP. Make broken mode than ignore for half a year and try to fix it. Sadly Solaris was super easy fix and there were many good suggestions in fourm but PGI as always go into ignore mode.
     
  17. Dagonus

    Dagonus Moderator Staff Member

    453
    122
    156
    That's a fair point, but I still find this system better than the set of 3. Making me play a med that I didn't enjoy and was only going to sell so that I could play a mech that I did enjoy better was an exercise in torturing me.


    That will be seen when they are done, but in any case, I'd rather them use the PTS for something than never do a public test. Maybe they'll get better at putting up more meaningful PTS experiments. I'm willing to entertain the possibilities for now.I've put a ton of money into the game, so I could probably justify being upset, but I'm too tired for that.

    I think they're too married to parts of lore that were designed for a tabletop game and not a mech arena simulator. Speaking of, they need to admit that's what the game is and stop believing that its a tactical warfare game.
     
  18. They could have just gotten rid of the Rule of Three...
    :)


    RE: Solaris

    Maybe we can get down to one bucket per weight class and an 8 person free for all.

    Will it be fair to all mechs? Hell no. But at least it would be playable... if the player base doesn't shrink any more.
     
    Excalibaard likes this.
  19. Excalibaard

    Excalibaard 101 010 Staff Member

    5,051
    1,107
    269
    8 people FFA is a must to get that old Solaris 7 from MW4 feel.

    I'd go as far as rebranding the current arcade-style quick play matches into 'S7 Team Brawl' with varying objectives, then incorporate S7 into the faction play rework:

    Play S7 (QP or 1v1(Battle) or FFA) for renown and c-bills as rewards, occasionally a cosmetic item. Use Solaris City aesthetic and the planet as a multi-faction 'hub' inside the FP star chart to have a reference point in the confusing-as-fuck UI.
    Play FP as a hired gladiator, mercenary group, or loyalist for high-value salvage up to and including fallen mechs as reward (selling value in C-Bills/playtime approximately same as QP/S7, but the absolute value can be higher even if it might not be exactly what you were looking for). Salvage might be affected by your renown, which is reset after a season or maybe after losing an FP match.

    In order to streamline the matches you drop in: you select a dropdeck of up to 4 mechs, you are automatically ruled out of matches you cannot participate in (no available mediums in drop deck = no medium 1v1s). Select in which queues you wish to participate in a dropdown menu (may be several or only one), or have the three modes as easily distinguished buttons. At the placement in a match you can choose which mech you would like to bring for the particular map. Dropdeck works the same as in FP to streamline the confusion there too.

    That makes both game instances interconnected and worthwhile to play, rather than trying to split the community over 25 queues in a single game and most people staying in QP because it's the most rewarding.


    About the Rule of 3 @Dagonus , the way it used to be implemented was horrible, but it could easily be turned into something good. Old system penalized your progression with one mech, because you'd need to pilot and skill out two other mechs before being able to continue. Take another 'rule-of-3' concept to turn the penalty into a boon: For each single mech you finish skilling, you get a free skill in the progression of two other mechs in the chassis. All negative associations disappear.

    In the current case of the skill tree, I really hate that it places the focus on 'get one best mech in a chassis and move on'. If people bought a mech pack or showed specific interest in a certain mech, that should be rewarded, and it makes logical sense that a pilot experienced in an ASN-21 is somewhat experienced in an ASN-27. Skill tree unlocks should be chassis-wide, and 'respec cost' reinstated for the first time you skill into an unlocked node on a new mech.
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2018
  20. Aramuside

    Aramuside Star Lord

    304
    55
    133
    I last played a bit after the skill tree came in... the sheer horror of needing to grind so many mechs I'd not finished and then the incoming new tech which would force me to change every fitting caused me to run for the hills screaming. ;)

    Sad thing is I carried on buying mech packs... so now the mountain of unfinished and old mechs is even larger.... :oops:
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2018
top-fast
top-fast
top-fast
top-fast