[News] CW Phase 2

I am guessing Merc's can bid on contracts to defend somehow. Lone Wolfs, dunno. Maybe as last pool but I honestly think they will be excluded from CW.

LW's have little part in CW (lore?) and might simply be in the regular pub games instead, IMHO.

But this is just me guessing.

 

No, they wont.
PGI has claimed time and time again, that gaming experience will NOT be splitted into unit and non-unit communities or playerbases. This means, that even a lonewolf can partake in defending "his homeworld" or at least contributing to a houses success.
Beeing a Lone Wolf doesn't mean u don't care about a certain house, it just means u have no interest in joining an army or a merc unit.

I must admit I have no clue, apart form the mentioned bidding system, how they will implement mercs and loners into CW... nor how long contracts are availbale (whole season? contractor issue?)

 

Going lonewolf again now. More playing options. Hate it cause I still prefer to go purple! (For those who have seen my mechs)

 

Traitor....I will stay blue and green

 

I might do this as well. I only went purple because that's where some of my friends went. But none of them play any more. I've always been partial to Kurita myself... but all my mechs are purple and I think I only have one red paint unlocked. :unsure:

 

I'm toying with the idea of an alt account but not sure if its worth it until we're closer.

 

I have posted the following comments and questions on the PGI Forum
http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/170755-community-warfare-phase-2-feedback/page__st__420__p__3712685#entry3712685

Maybe you will also find some ideas worth thinking about.

INTERACTIVE INNER-SPHERE MAP
It is still unclear if besides Clans and major houses also the minor periphery staes will be included as faction. I suggest to include minor periphery powerst o add further flavour tot he game.

PLANET DETAILS
Why should the Occupying Unit be shown (at least as long as it is not contested). If you include the possibility of a Recon attack you add a sense of strategy that units may first try to estimate the strength of a defender.

CONTESTED PLANETS
If contested planets are assignable only by the design team, player units have potentally limited strategic choice where to attack. Why do you restrict the assigment of contested planets tot he design team?

ENGAGING IN PLANETARY CONQUEST
If during peak player count times throughout the day only , planetary control matches will be kicked off players outside North America are potentially at a severe (time) disadvantage. It is not everybodies fun to play at 3 a.m. in the morning.

A PLAYER’S FACTION SELECTION
On the faction selection two points are important. Marik and Liao players will not have a chance to take part in the Clan versus IS battle. How are merceneries aligned to a faction? What ideas do you have on merc contracts?

PRIORITIZATION OF GROUPS
If more than one group is active in the attack ore defense of a given plant, who is reaping the benefits? What happens ifo ne unit wears down the enemy significantly but stilll is unable to finish the job and another unit next in queue finishest he job and gets the benefits?

DEFENDING TEAM QUEUE
The defending queue leads to a sginificant disadvante. When the attacker is always a team of 12 and the defender may even totally consist of lone wolfs. This disadvantages the defender.

CONTRACT DEFENDERS
The contract defender is at a disadvantage when the attacker can chose his attack and the contract defenders have only [2] minutes to respond


In addition I like to add some further suggestions in respect to CW that have not beeen mentioned so far and that I have already suggested elsewhere (http://mwomercs.com/...35#entry3346535):


Jump ships

Jump ships are needed for interstellar transport. A flexible jump ship fleet is an asset that allows for strategic interstellar mobility. I see several levels of jump ship availability: 1. made available (by house transport command), 2. rented (from jump ship operators / merchants); 3. owned. The different levels may see improving benefits, i.e. faster interstellar transport (more attacks, long distance strikes, ability to bring in reinforcements) with the ultimate tool being a very fast “pony express” jump ship system or the use of pirate points (surprise, strategic reserve of “hidden troops” (behind the far side of a moon) in a planetary attack).

Drop ships

Drop ships offer strategic mobility on a planetary scale. Drop ships can give the benefit of determining the battle zone (choice of map) depending on the mission type. They allow for a strategic surprise in connection with a jump ship using a pirate point. And they allow bringing reinforcements to the troops on the ground.

Aerospace fighters

Aerospace fighters might be able to establish space superiority together with drop ships. If space superiority is achieved a regular drop may be a potential benefit. In a regular drop a landing zone is secured and drop ships can actually land that carry certain auxiliary troops (tanks, infantry, support units, etc.). Otherwise if space superiority is not achieved only a combat drop can be made. In a combat drop only mechs could be used. As a consequence in a regular drop repair and rearm would be possible whereas in a combat drop repair & rearm would not be possible (as support troops could not be landed).
In addition aerospace fighters may be able to establish air superiority over a certain battlefield. A potential benefit of air superiority may be the ability to do strafing runs or to deny repair and rearm possibilities to the enemy (by harassing supply routes).
Drop ships and Aerospace Fighters may be available on a C-Bill basis but especially jump ships (with the very limited production facilities left in the inner sphere) should also require a certain prestige in order to be allowed to purchase such a ship.
The current setup of the game is mech focused. Thus establishing concepts of space superiority and air superiority over a certain battlefield may be a game approach different from MWO at the moment as it could only be statistical and or tactical with limited efforts put into their development. Building an aerospace fighter game that works seamlessly with MWO on the ground will probably be a long term effort.


Some strategic benefits on the supply side

Mercenaries may be able to purchase supplies from their employer. However Mercenaries doing so should have some vulnerability to the “company store syndrome”, i.e. that employer overcharge for supplies and try to run the mercenary unit into a debt. Upgrades to this could be independent house sourcing, or independent cross-house sourcing (which would however need some jump ship / merchant drop ship availability). With each step supply costs should be lower and the mercenary unit will get further away from a possible “company store syndrome”.

Shares in weapon producing companies

Mercenary units could own shares in certain weapon and or equipment producing companies earning them revenue and lower prices for goods produced by these companies. Shares could also give a benefit in reduced repair & rearm costs. Shares of mech producing companies may depend on the popularity of certain mech models in the game.

How to implement “Surprise”

Allow the party that achieves strategic surprise to move certain seconds earlier in an engagement and position them better, or to allow them to choose a spawn point.

How to implement “Strategic reserve”

Allow the party that is able to place a “strategic reserve” to add a number of mechs at the spawn point after battle has commenced.

Repair and Rearm

Repair and Rearm has definitely to find its way back into the game with community warfare. An amateur general thinks tactics, a professional general thinks logistics. A lot of military success depends on the ability to properly supply own forces and to deny supplies to enemy forces.

Benefits of special units

Special auxiliary units may be potential benefits that can be obtained. In a regular drop where these units can be brought to battle they could have the following effects.

Coolant trucks: Better heat dissipation
Repair facility: Allow repairs to varying degrees of damage (a small facility may only repair armor, whereas the high end repair facility may also be used to repair fusion engine hits). Logical consequences are different repair times for light and sever damage. Again this may be interesting in a sustained campaign, when the ability of a party to bring fresh troops into follow up battles may be decisive.
Ammunition truck: Ability to rearm
MASH: Ability to care for injured pilots. As a consequence a new status “injured” would be needed for mechs / pilots that suffered a cockpit hit.
Mobile HQ: Could have many possible advantages, e.g. the ability to relocate forces between different combat zones, advanced information warfare capabilities, etc.

Advanced economics

Instead of paying mercenary units on a C-Bill basis they could be paid on a House Bill basis (K-Bills, L-Bills, etc.) The value of the house currencies could depend on economic strength which itself would depend on some military successes (e.g. successfully defending valuable planets / production facilities). Thereby the economic success of a mercenary unit would also be indirectly tied to overall House success and not only its individual performance. This will include another element than just House prestige to the game.
The ownership of certain production facilities could have an impact on unit / equipment prices, e.g. a “Zeus” could be cheaper on the Lyran Commonwealth part of the Federated Commonwealth. The ownership of certain important planets / production facilities could also have an influence on repair and rearm costs. Maintaining a “Zeus” in Liao space is probably more expensive.

Difference between house and mercenary units

Obviously money is more important to mercenary units than to house units. However both rely on a certain prestige. Much of the monetary issues could also be implemented for house units (e.g. through a regimental budget) but the ability to get certain benefits may also be achieved in a different way by mercenary units (mainly money) and house units (mainly prestige).

Benefits of multiple mechs

Players with several personal mechs should have a certain benefit in a sustained community warfare campaign. They could be allowed to take part in multiple campaigns at the same time. They could be allowed to bring in fresh troops, if one of their other mechs is still in repair & rearm or its pilot is injured.

Sustained campaigns

Currently the game consists of single battles of mechs against each other with only some game modes which makes a perfectly fun and short game. However I could really find even more interest in a sustained campaign (e.g. for control of a planet). It would be interesting to have a system of deploying forces on a command scale to different battle areas. This could lead to uneven start positions in matches, making it necessary to withdraw, regroup, attack again. The campaign mode should take time and require rearming and maintenance. This will put some pressure on the pilots who spend all their ammunition in one battle (if cut off from rearmament…). A concept of attrition will probably also increase the value of cheaper units, when the commander has the possibility to deploy some of these cheaper forces in a sensible manner.

 

Impressive long post! Started dropping in what we knew then realised HOW long so will come back later. :blush:

INTERACTIVE INNER-SPHERE MAP
It is still unclear if besides Clans and major houses also the minor periphery staes will be included as faction. I suggest to include minor periphery powerst o add further flavour tot he game.

Agreed ... Caesar Victor for the lore buffs!

PLANET DETAILS
Why should the Occupying Unit be shown (at least as long as it is not contested). If you include the possibility of a Recon attack you add a sense of strategy that units may first try to estimate the strength of a defender.


Ummh the planet is owned by a faction - they're defending it.

CONTESTED PLANETS
If contested planets are assignable only by the design team, player units have potentally limited strategic choice where to attack. Why do you restrict the assigment of contested planets tot he design team?

Because there's no strategic advantage to any battlefield in this - same map same location and no logistics in wave 2.

ENGAGING IN PLANETARY CONQUEST
If during peak player count times throughout the day only , planetary control matches will be kicked off players outside North America are potentially at a severe (time) disadvantage. It is not everybodies fun to play at 3 a.m. in the morning.

Its each TZ's peak time.

A PLAYER’S FACTION SELECTION
On the faction selection two points are important. Marik and Liao players will not have a chance to take part in the Clan versus IS battle. How are merceneries aligned to a faction? What ideas do you have on merc contracts?

Good question on part 1 and all we know so far is they're "IS". The primary attacker and defender has to bid for that.


PRIORITIZATION OF GROUPS
If more than one group is active in the attack ore defense of a given plant, who is reaping the benefits? What happens ifo ne unit wears down the enemy significantly but stilll is unable to finish the job and another unit next in queue finishest he job and gets the benefits?


Its a series of separate battles over a few days. 12 peopel total in each with limited respawns.

DEFENDING TEAM QUEUE
The defending queue leads to a sginificant disadvante. When the attacker is always a team of 12 and the defender may even totally consist of lone wolfs. This disadvantages the defender.

Yeah this is my concern. Defender has base defences and gates though I guess. How valuable is that?

CONTRACT DEFENDERS
The contract defender is at a disadvantage when the attacker can chose his attack and the contract defenders have only [2] minutes to respond

Actually after 2 mins its open to others to fill the spots. This is really the same as the last question. Comes down to how long will you have to sit there waiting or will you wander off and miss the 2 minutes.

 

[member=1676]Quincy McAllister[/member]

RECON
Good thought there. Adding more stratetgy is always a nice idea.

CONTESTED PLANETS
This might be for testing first.. I think that, when the time comes that CW runs w/o any major issues, jumpships will be made available and units will be able to attack desired planets. We surely will be able to manage own travel in the future and attack planets of our own choice when the time comes.
I like your ideas on this matter.
My guess is, that this option is there to keep elite units like the lords at bay.

ENGAGING IN PLANETARY CONQUEST
PGI stated that the peaktimes will be set to PDT, EU and ASIAN standards. I expect such events to take place on weekeneds (3 days). So every timezone gets a window, I guess.

PRIORITIZATION OF GROUPS
Well that's the thing with the FIFO-Rule... I guess the teams that have the chance to fight more and truly make it count, will get the higher profits. Keep in mind that the contest goes on for 3 days.
So everybody involved will get a chance on getting rewards.

DEFENDING TEAM QUEUE
Right, but the attacker needs to overcome the defense mechanisms as well as the defending team. This might even the odds a bit.

DROPSHIPS
You read the part about engineers wanting to choke someone, right? They're onto it.

Aerospace fighters
Sadly the game is called MECHWARRIOR, not BATTLETECH Online. So we will not be able to pilot anything but Mechs in the near future. (Well, if Transverse goes KABOOM, they could use the reference data to implement it here and create a greater BT-Universe.)
I remind reading something about NPC-Vehicles waaaaay back in closed beta. Would like to see some Demolishers holding a navpoint or some Corsairs hunting down enemy lights.


SUPPLIES, R&R & CO.
There have been some responses on this issue: They have an eye on it, but it's not going to happen before 2015.

SUPPORT VEHICLES:
I really, really wish they would make this happen. Remember MW3? One of the best things was the ability to repair your Mech anywhere, as long as you had the ressources (Ammo, armor, etc.), and the zone was secure.

ADVANCED ECONOMICS
Too complicated. You will get loyalty points which will grant you access to certain tech only available to the referred faction and/or trade offs.

MULTIPLE MECH
No, they shouldn't. CW will probably already reward players that play a lot. Not everybody has the luxury of having a lot of time to spend playing, and even though this idea would include me with over 98 Mechs in store, I don't like it.
You choose a faction and stick with it for a season, period. It's your choice if you want to create a several accounts to particitpate in several campaigns at a time. My guess is, you will get trouble meeting the appointments then.

SUSTAINED CAMPAINGS
Planned....

 

AeroTech, or BattleSpace, or what it's called these days, would make a nice addition.

BT-Aerospace-Fighter-Combat certainly has more appeal (and possibly more community support) than some half-stewed generic Sci-Fi rip-off of other video games on the market or in development.

 

Problem is that the Battletech market is small and the aero versions of it are an even smaller market segment.

 

We're speculating on adding Aerospace and mechanized units IN the game... not make a new game about Aerotech.

 

Sort of my point.

Plus tbh being gunned down with a 1km+ a second target while I'm in my mech doesn't sound much fun.

 

Well, just suppose Aerospace units would be

a- very fast.... thus hard to target and hard to be targeted.
b- very fragile.... My guess is a dualgauss hit to a wingpoint could drastically accelerate the time a fighter needs to get back to the ground level....

 

Seperate games.

No shooting Mechs with Fighters.

Connection only in CW, as part of planetary invasion:

Get points in ground warfare, get points for air superiority.

Side with more points when both game modes are summarized, conquers or defends planet.

That's what was in my mind in my post above.

 

Suppose it works like Warthunder.....
U got the aerospace fighters that can target ground units as well but still have to counter the enemy's flightsquads. That, plus the option to search for games w/o flight support or even w/o Mechs.

 

SUPPLIES, R&R & CO. is probably CW only, in regular games it encourages farming alot and is extremely punishing to newbies.

AEROSPACE, while no piloting these guys, mybe there is a consumable module that calls on say , a giant copter (mammoth? or whatever it was called). Lock on and call out the consumable and you get a AI copter fighting by your side until destroyed.