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[king picollo]

Yeah i can't do that, unfortunately i'm really terrible at changing weapon groups in the heat of battle.

I found i'm much better if i load up my weapons into just two groups i can have them both as mouse buttons and it makes my life a lot easier.

Yes i am simple.

 

[Woorloog]

Yeah i can't do that, unfortunately i'm really terrible at changing weapon groups in the heat of battle.

I found i'm much better if i load up my weapons into just two groups i can have them both as mouse buttons and it makes my life a lot easier.

Yes i am simple.

Just two? No more button in your mouse?

I have 4 groups in use (and i think 5 and 6 are bound to such keys (E, R, T?) that i can use them relatively easily if i ever have to). Main weapons (medium lasers or large lasers) in Mouse 1, big guns in Mouse 2, secondary/tertiary weapons in Mouse 4 and 3 (rarely use, the wheel button is inconvenient), as needed.
Never bother with chain firing or weapon group switching, better and more effective to split weapons across multiple groups (especially if many of the same type).

 

[king picollo]

Pretty much two buttons yeah, i could use the wheel to click but don't really like it.

I tend to put the odd weapon in it's own group as well as a main one to fire with a key but mainly for ranged weapons when i have time to think about it.

It's not to bad really.

Met a team on Conquest last night with 5 lights, the team got split up and they were able to pick us off one by one, i tried to get in and help someone but after he dropped i was isolated and just couldn't take them down.

Lights are the bain of my existence on this game, as a medium they seem to take so much damage and deal more than i do, given there speed as well it's tough to stand up to one.

 

[No_Style]

Tried one match of 12 v 12 on River City. It worked out surprisingly well. People were much more cautious. Damage dealt was spread out evenly on both sides.

 

[king picollo]

Yeah it seems pretty good, but i played a lot of conquest games and not one was a resource win.

Cap times are increased and i'm not sure if they haven't reduced the rate that resources are gathered, because none of the matches even got close to 750.

 

[Llyranor]

Man, 12v12 is fun

 

[CTLance]

Heh, so I have some fights under my belt now. The ridiculous overheating problems on the Sarahmech and the rather lacklustre damage throughput and lockon requirement of my SSRMs have lead me to dump that annoying weapon system.
Instead, I got jumping jets, added a ton or armour to my legs, plugged another double heatsink to the engine and an Antimissile system to my RT. I noticed many LRMs on field, so I ripped out a Medium laser and instead plugged in a TAG. As a result my dps is rather crap, but at least heat management is far less of an issue now.

This actually kinda-sorta works for my playstyle. Zoom over to cap, lurk around and harass some baddies (which usually ends up with me exploding, as expected) or hang back with the big guys and provide anti missile & light mech support.

This is fun. And intense. And I still can't pilot worth shit.

Kinda wish the game wasn't fighting me the entire time, though. There's still so much to improve.
Particularly tweaking equipment is annoying. No strip all, no mouse-over quick reference/comparison, no easy way to take stock of all your belongings.... I kinda understand why there can't be presets (gotta sell those hangar slots), but everything else is just needlessly complicated. Damn you, public beta.

And dammit, why do the ads take me to the website instead of the shop page? That is nuts. Nuts!


Edit:

Another thing: I'm kinda hankering for a Medium Mech now. Thinking LRM's with a bit of close combat stuff to swat away Light Mechs when pressed.

Thinking TBT-7M or HBK-4SP. I know the Hunchback has problems with its huge head, but I don't really plan on getting hit, and those ML's look nice... I guess I'd take out the SL and replace it with a TAG. On the other hand, if I remove the useless CASE's on the Trebuchet I should get a bit of tonnage for my own tweaks back. Not so sure about the XL engine though. Plus, it already comes with Endo-steel structure (unlike the Hunchback), which means I might not have as much wriggle room as I want, considering crit slots and stuff.

Currently leaning towards the Hunchback despite the glaring weakness of the humongous cockpit that pretty much condemns it to the back row. I kinda like the design.

Any thoughts on those two from veterans? Better ideas are welcome, too.

 

[king picollo]

I have 3 hunchbacks and as long as you don't make yourself a primary target you can do really well, my best one is the 4G with the AC20 and 3 ML's.

Have they done something to Machine Guns, they've gone from doing nothing to doing nothing until your mech randomly blows apart?

 

[CTLance]

I have 3 hunchbacks and as long as you don't make yourself a primary target you can do really well, my best one is the 4G with the AC20 and 3 ML's.

Thanks for your answer.

I'm still wrestling with the controls and my egregious lack of skill, so hard-hitting slow-shooting "sniping" weapons will have to take a backseat for now. That's one of the reasons why I want to try experimenting with LRMs. Hide behind a rock, let others scout (like I do in my Sarah Mech) and pop out to blast those suckers. Will be a nice change from my Light mech duties, too. Mix up the gameplay a bit, y'know.

Spoiler

I'd rather build a noisy cricket (4xERPPC on light mech or similar) with that sort of weapon type. Sounds hilarious. Won't work with my current skills though. I severely lack the situational awareness, map knowledge and navigation skills to make that sort of ambush predator troll work out.

Besides, the 4S spreads the weapon hardpoints better than the 4G, methinks. The huge AC20 on a 4G will probably be the first thing an enemy attacks, and if that thing blows up you only have two energy weapons left, which isn't much of a threat unless you are a godlike pilot. Meanwhile the 4SP looks like it can stagger on even with one arm and shoulder missing: three energy weapons and a missile hardpoint should give you at least a fighting chance against a light mech, or make you a viable backup fighter.

Does that make sense? I have only played for a short amount of time, but that's how I'd imagine things would play out on the battlefield. I may be blowing things out of proportion.

Thing is, I only have this one mech besides my Jenner for a while. I'll have to make it count. I suspect the income situation will be rather meh once my cadet bonus runs out.

Have they done something to Machine Guns, they've gone from doing nothing to doing nothing until your mech randomly blows apart?

Haha, so you feel like that too? I can't count how often I have misjudged machine guns.

They sound harmless, they seem harmless, and then I suddenly go boom. So weird.

 

[TransTrender]

This wolf pack stuff is pretty lame.
Might as well make the game 4v4...

 

[Llyranor]

3 thoughts:

1) Love the paintjob/skin on those Project Phoenix mechs.

2) 12v12 is fuuuuun. Had a really good session today. Some good brawling and skirmishing, good maneuvering (no big balls of mech in one area only), and didn't really notice particularly cheese builds. Yeah, PPC/gausses are still around, but I never felt like I was being destroyed by particularly extreme alphas. Game seems to be in a good place, actually.

3) Everyone buy the cancer mech! Just 10 bucks to a good cause and you get a mech as a bonus too!

Besides, the 4S spreads the weapon hardpoints better than the 4G, methinks. The huge AC20 on a 4G will probably be the first thing an enemy attacks, and if that thing blows up you only have two energy weapons left, which isn't much of a threat unless you are a godlike pilot. Meanwhile the 4SP looks like it can stagger on even with one arm and shoulder missing: three energy weapons and a missile hardpoint should give you at least a fighting chance against a light mech, or make you a viable backup fighter.

Pretty different mechs. Yup, the right torso is a big 'shoot me' target, but as a hunchback you need to protect that part at all costs. Torso twist, use cover, hang out with other mechs that make you look like a less appetizing target, and flank flank flank.

I love my 4G. I usually bring it along with an allied assault or heavy, and just provide close range fire support, and let the other player tank, while I flank and dish out damage at vulnerable spots.

You're basically a walking AC20 (so don't do something reckless and get it blown off!), the lasers are just a bonus. I actually even only use 2 medlas, since the extra one is just extra heat that might mean I'd be able to shoot the AC20 less. An AC20 going nearly 90kph with speedtweak is not bad at all.

But yeah, the 4SP has better 'zombie' potential. Makes for some fun brawling.

----

But the way, if you're still wondering about the Treb, I find the XL makes it a much more effective mech. The extra speed (>100kph) goes a long way for its maneuverability (+ JJs).

 

[CTLance]

After all my hemming and hawing I .... bought the Trebuchet yesterday night. Kitted him out with Artemis & LRMs to the max, even ripping out the jump jets for one more ton of ammo.

The amount of XP and cash you get as a long range mech is ridiculous. I only need about 4k more mech XP and I have completed all of my basic optimisations. Sure, if I get caught by one of those pesky ECM spiders or other light mechs I have a hard time, and those ERPPC snipers can be dangerous, but otherwise it's an amazing mech. Just hang back and barf LRMs at highlighted targets. Rake in rewards for saviour kills, damage, assists, sheared off components and whatever else there is.

Again: Ridiculous.

Need to find a way to strap a beagle probe on that thing without affecting survivability.

Will buy the HBK-4G next. If I continue making mad monies like that I may even add a 4SP just because ... to test the waters. Also an ECM capable Spider. HATE those guys. Supremely effective as harrassers and all-around dickwads. And a Cicada. No mech should be able to withstand so much punishment and still be able to move at that speed. Jeebus.

I am soooo hooked.

 

[El'Kharn]

Don't get the 4G. Its an easy mech to disable and is seen as easy cbills/xp.
You'd most likely have more fun out of any of the Centurian variants due to the zombie factor if you are after survivability.

 

[king picollo]

I do alright but can get instagibbed at times. Each to their own i love the look of the hunchbacks so have always run with those.

 

[El'Kharn]

I'm a huge fan of the Hunchy. Piloted it almost exclusively during closed beta. I'm hoping that i'll be able to roll them out again.....one day.

 

[Lime]

This wolf pack stuff is pretty lame.
Might as well make the game 4v4...

Wolf pack?

 

[El'Kharn]

A group of mechs that run around focus firing and generally tearing shit up.

 

[Woorloog]

A group of mechs that run around focus firing and generally tearing shit up.

Very effective tactic. If one can't beat it, perhaps that person is doing something wrong. Or his or her team is.
Most certainly not a balance issue, for it is about team play...

 

[Vasilisk 2038]

This wolf pack stuff is pretty lame.
Might as well make the game 4v4...

Lol thats the point, a good team has it Lances coordinated and striking the same targets to take them down as fast as possible. This isn't COD..

 

[El'Kharn]

Very effective tactic. If one can't beat it, perhaps that person is doing something wrong. Or his or her team is.
Most certainly not a balance issue, for it is about team play...

Its not that he's doing anything wrong its all about team play. You can tell when theres a coordinated lance coming at you and if you aren't on comms and are just pure pugging then you have very little hope of surviving unless the pugs see it and react or you are in a lance on comms yourself. Sure you can type in whats going on and sometimes they listen but that doesn't really happen all that much really, particularly if you are unlucky enough to have some raw pilots on your team.

If any of the newer guys here are having any issues feel free to PM me. I have a TS server and enjoy helping new players out.

 

[CTLance]

Thanks for the 4G info. Getting mixed signals, but whatever.

I decided to plunk down the 60€ for the Phoenix pack. Had I known about this game in its kickstarter days I'd have pledged roughly that amount, I think. Plus, those mechs look awesome. Well, their color scheme does, at the very least.

That said, the game's starting to come apart at the seams. Honeymoon officially over, everything is horrible, etc. pp. Rant incoming.

Given the manageable amount of maps, getting stuck on things and then falling through the map upon death should not happen. Ever. Especially since it's supposed to "come out of beta" (lol) soon. This has happened to me far too often. I shudder to think how this must have been in the beginning, if the current state counts as "polished and ready for release".

No anti-idle mechanics, no reaction at all if people disconnect, this is pretty barebones stuff.

Matchmaking is hilarious. Complete crapshoot. Huge tonnage and ping differences and the resulting unbalanced fights make for a crappy experience sometimes. Actually talented players and people like me get pitched against each other at random, with little regard to the resulting slaughter. The endless repetition does not help. The same map four times in a row? Oh boy, sign me up!

Want to earn money? Core some mechs with ERPPCs and ERLLs for delicious salvage or at least sit back and barf LRMs at red circles. Damage dealing and its various subtypes (e.g. saviour kills) is far more profitable than capping, cap defense, spotting, shielding vulnerable mechs via AMS or stepping in harms way so they can gtfo - basically any tactical element.

Why can I type a message and hit enter on the lobby at the last second before the match starts and have my message show up on top and on the bottom of the chat log? Why can't I scroll through the chatlog to find a particularly helpful or annoying individual after the map - or even only for hints and friendly banter?

Why the flip did the game reset all my key bindings with the recent update?

Also, sneaky Lightmech capping bonanza is boring. Run run run, stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand sneeze stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand fart stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand stand, run run run, suicide against assault mech out of boredom. You win, get some tiny amount of XP and money. Yay. Seriously, it's a shoddy mechanic and a horrible payoff, and yet many good players do it e.g. on the lava map because everybody and their dog wants to brawl in the thunderbowl and neglects the base. I'd understand shooting the damn thing or dragging around big clumps of Germanium, but standing in a silly square around that stupid drilling platform doing nothing but pray a giant enemy Spider doesn't join you for tea and ECM crumpets is soooo boring.

Also, snipers are annoying. Stupid bastiches sit across the map and core my poor Jenner if I'm not constantly swerving around like an idiot. I can deal with that. However, once I draw near: lol ECM. Can't even put a TAG on them unless I'm really sneaky. That is, if they even stay in range of the LRMs. Which they do not. Can't do shit against them as a light mech, and no Missile boat wants to come "close" enough to pelt them since a squishy missile boat is exactly what the snipers want to see...​

Currently trying out a JR7-K, since I want to unlock more Jenner optimisations (which means model F will be next). The stock Medium Lasers and single heat sinks basically cook the mech if you so much as look at the trigger button even in chained mode - which has me wondering about its supposed role on the field since it's not particularly fast or well-armored either. Are all the stock mechs that crappy? It needed another 3 million in parts to stop it from melting down spontaneously whenever the breeze knocks a leaf against my cockpit. Gah. So useless.

 

[king picollo]

I've never fallen through the map before that's new to me.

I don't use lights so can't comment on tactics for those, but double heatsinks are a must they make a lot of difference in heat efficiency.

There is a skill matchmaking and you shouldn't get matched with anyone too good, but an organised team of average players will still walk all over a disorganised one.

Capping has been made to take to long i feel, it needs to be somewhere in between where it was and where it is now.

 

[El'Kharn]

So. Thoughts on 3PV and the fact that you are forced to play matches with it enabled and the chance that 'hardcore mode' has been scrapped due to 3PV having no impact vs 1PV players?

 

[ColonelSkills]

The fact that the hardcore button is there implies that they at least plan on rolling out proper view only playlists.

The fact that we have to endure this bullshit when they explicitly promised we wouldn't, twice, is pretty god damn bogus.

Once again, communication with PGI is fucked up beyond anything. Why they haven't made a statement clarifying this backtrack is beyond me, but maybe we'll see the community shit on them enough to force it, like we did with consumables.

I wonder if they're masochistic or just incompetent. It's hard to tell.

 

[El'Kharn]

http://http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/132422-where-are-those-queues/page__pid__2672566#entry2672566
This is why I think they will scrap split queue's.

 

[ColonelSkills]

Wow.

 

[El'Kharn]

But disgusting was a good word for it

 

[ColonelSkills]

Yeah.

I edited it out because I wasn't sure if it quite was the right reaction.

But it is. What a terrible bait and switch. Pretty god damn disgusting.

I dunno what they're trying to do here. Part of the reason I funded as a Founder was the mission statement about trying to keep this crap to a minimum.

They have systematically broken those statements one by one over the past year and a half. I honestly don't know what they are trying to do with this game, now.

 

[El'Kharn]

They seriously need to fire certain people. They are systematically wrecking MWO all the while thinking they are doing a great job. The sheer blind stupidity of these certain people boggle's the shitfuck out of my brain.

 

[ColonelSkills]

Yeah, some of the twitter chatter is pretty ridiculous. I want to know what they think the target audience for this game is, or what group they are attempting to appeal tr even what the design doc looks like these days.

A month from launch and this is the sort of shit we're getting stuck with. With CW nowhere to be seen, and proper, fixed collisions a pipe dream, I'm not sure why their priorities are specifically on ruining what makes the game unique in the first place.

 

[El'Kharn]

Addendum to Bryan's Post:

I've seen the screencap of the spider at the top of River City. I want to say thanks for finding a bug. If you go up there, you can tell it's a bug. If you look up slightly, or to the left or right slightly, the camera crashes back in and you can't see much at all.

To recreate, take a Spider in River City - Training Grounds. Get to that spot and jam your face directly into that corner (still doesn't happen yet). Now look down as far as the Spider can look. Bam! It happens. The raytrace for the camera is breaking through that particular spot in geometry. We are having an engineer look into why this is happening. Again. While there, look away in any direction just SLIGHTLY and the camera returns to the position it's supposed to be in. Very nice bug find and as mentioned, we will look into what's causing this.

Blatantly moronic. If these idiots even had a clue and actually got human beings to test instead of the mouth breathing imbecile monkeys bugs like this would never have made it into the game.

 

[Giolon]

I played 3-4 matches this evening and 3rd person just doesn't seem that big of a deal to me. Some of my clan mates complained about pop-tarting and now refuse to pay, but I didn't see any more than before the patch (which is not a lot). I'm not sure that the corner peeking is that big of a deal considering how aiming works. The drone w/ a blinky light is a good idea, but the light may need to be made brighter.

 

[El'Kharn]

I played 3-4 matches this evening and 3rd person just doesn't seem that big of a deal to me. Some of my clan mates complained about pop-tarting and now refuse to pay, but I didn't see any more than before the patch (which is not a lot). I'm not sure that the corner peeking is that big of a deal considering how aiming works. The drone w/ a blinky light is a good idea, but the light may need to be made brighter.

The drone really doesn't negate the fact that the guy peeking over cover can convey to the rest of his team information they wouldn't normally have.

 

[Giolon]

The drone really doesn't negate the fact that the guy peeking over cover can convey to the rest of his team information they wouldn't normally have.

And you get the information that mech was there, that they likely saw you, and you may want to adjust your tactics. Additionally, there's nothing stopping you from pressing that F4 button to launch the drone yourself. The advantages are available equally to everybody. I'm sure they'll continue to tweak view angles and such.

Edit: I mean I guess if someone's upset that it's no longer pure-sim, I can understand that, but it's not been pure-sim since they took repair and rearm out of the game like 6+ months ago. *shrug*

Edit 2: I've also tried to recreate some of the more egregious types of hill and corner peaking in other places, and what I see happens is the camera moves way in to the back of my mech so I can hardly see anything at all. I wonder if this is supposed to work like this in more places.

 

[El'Kharn]

And you get the information that mech was there, that they likely saw you, and you may want to adjust your tactics. Additionally, there's nothing stopping you from pressing that F4 button to launch the drone yourself. The advantages are available equally to everybody.

Edit: I mean I guess if someone's upset that it's no longer pure-sim, I can understand that, but it's not been pure-sim since they took repair and rearm out of the game like 6+ months ago. *shrug*

So you're fine with this? I know I'm not. When you are at a high elo generally you tend to play against pilots who are more knowledgeable about the games mechanics who can and will exploit this for all its worth.

I've already come across a metric butt ton of premades who've taken total advantage of it in situations like in the supplied screenshot> Not fun at all.

 

[Giolon]

So you're fine with this? I know I'm not. When you are at a high elo generally you tend to play against pilots who are more knowledgeable about the games mechanics who can and will exploit this for all its worth.

I've already come across a metric butt ton of premades who've taken total advantage of it in situations like in the supplied screenshot> Not fun at all.

Yeah, I'm fine with it. It's not like they can do it and you can't.

 

[ColonelSkills]

It's not that it gives pubbies much advantage, they have to go to text or something else to convey info and it's so slow it barely counts.

But I can attest that, running with a group of three or so, the intel's not trivial. It gives a group that's already got the tactical communication advantage an additional tactical information advantage. It can be used to plan routes and verbally call positions that it simply shouldn't.

It's concerning because it's another step in a direction they said they wouldn't go.

 

[Giolon]

It's not that it gives pubbies much advantage, they have to go to text or something else to convey info and it's so slow it barely counts.

But I can attest that, running with a group of three or so, the intel's not trivial. It gives a group that's already got the tactical communication advantage an additional tactical information advantage. It can be used to plan routes and verbally call positions that it simply shouldn't.

It's concerning because it's another step in a direction they said they wouldn't go.

Like I said, they abandoned the hard-core pure sim 6+ months ago when repair and re-arm was taken out b/c they realized that they're never going to hit the mass market numbers they wanted by catering to the hardcore only. I'm sure that's not the game everyone wants to play but them's the breaks.

 

[Lime]

Sim > arcade

It would be cool if it was possible to replay a match a la Starcraft 2, with all sorts of info and free camera. Sadly, such a massive feature would be too costly and intensive to implement.

 

[ColonelSkills]

What is their market, then? What's the design doc look like? They realize as much as anyone else that this is a sequel to a decade old game in a franchise that is popular with a fairly specific crowd.

Game will be niche. Unless they strip it of everything that makes it MechWarrior, it's not going to be World of Walking Tanks. Are they aiming for MechAssault fans? What's the end game here?

"Oh well, they strayed off course half a year ago" doesn't change the fact that they have broken another major tenet of their original design philosophy. The same original design philosophy that got me to buy into the Founder's program in the first place.

 

[El'Kharn]

Like I said, they abandoned the hard-core pure sim 6+ months ago when repair and re-arm was taken out b/c they realized that they're never going to hit the mass market numbers they wanted by catering to the hardcore only. I'm sure that's not the game everyone wants to play but them's the breaks.

Yea but that's not really relevant in this case i'm afraid. In the heat of a firefight do you think you can convey to the rest of your team that theres a mech using 3pv that's giving intel? No you cant because if you even stop for a moment to type you are going to be cored. This is game breaking.

 

[Giolon]

Yea but that's not really relevant in this case i'm afraid. In the heat of a firefight do you think you can convey to the rest of your team that theres a mech using 3pv that's giving intel? No you cant because if you even stop for a moment to type you are going to be cored. This is game breaking.

Actually, in the screenshot you showed, who am I? The guy behind the rock? Then yeah I'd be typing. If I were any of the other guys, I'd also be typing b/c the opposing guy is behind a rock. I type to my team A LOT. Even in the middle of a brawl. I type fast - comes from 15 years of MMO play and 10 years of raiding experience. There's also the option of voice chat. There's plenty of public ones to hop on to.

Also the ridge where those enemy mechs are standing, I'm pretty sure you can see them from nearly a kilometer away.

What is their market, then? What's the design doc look like? They realize as much as anyone else that this is a sequel to a decade old game in a franchise that is popular with a fairly specific crowd.

Game will be niche. Unless they strip it of everything that makes it MechWarrior, it's not going to be World of Walking Tanks. Are they aiming for MechAssault fans? What's the end game here?

"Oh well, they strayed off course half a year ago" doesn't change the fact that they have broken another major tenet of their original design philosophy. The same original design philosophy that got me to buy into the Founder's program in the first place.

It's a good question because I'm not really sure. They keep taking the hardcore sim elements and removing or dumbing them down because they need to make the game more "accessible and fun" for new players.

That's the thing about F2P business models - it's never about the hardcore or fans. It's all about trying to hook as many new people as possible and trying to psychologically bludgeon them into giving you as much money as possible before they realize the sham and abandon it. And the most hardcore will stay and take the abuse anyway.

I guess the difference for me is I never thought they would be going down the path I wanted from the moment I heard it was F2P so I figured they'd be going down this type of path for a very long time.

I just remembered another promise they broke - no coolant flush. At this point, just assume that anything they've ever said they'll "never" do, they will do it if they think it will make them more money. Next up, golden ammo/heatsinks. Just you wait.

At the moment, everybody has equal access to the additional info from 3rd person view - for free even. If you choose not to use it out of principle, that's on you.

And if you (a general you, aimed at no one in particular) would rather just not play over the issue, that's perfectly fine. I'll still be having my fun mech battles (at least when they don't turn into cap warrior online :-/)

 

[ColonelSkills]

It's a good question because I'm not really sure. They keep taking the hardcore sim elements and removing or dumbing them down because they need to make the game more "accessible and fun" for new players.

That's the thing about F2P business models - it's never about the hardcore or fans. It's all about trying to hook as many new people as possible and trying to psychologically bludgeon them into giving you as much money as possible before they realize the sham and abandon it. And the most hardcore will stay and take the abuse anyway.

I guess the difference for me is I never thought they would be going down the path I wanted from the moment I heard it was F2P so I figured they'd be going down this type of path for a very long time.

I just remembered another promise they broke - no coolant flush. At this point, just assume that anything they've ever said they'll "never" do, they will do it if they think it will make them more money. Next up, golden ammo/heatsinks. Just you wait.

At the moment, everybody has equal access to the additional info from 3rd person view - for free even. If you choose not to use it out of principle, that's on you.

And if you (a general you, aimed at no one in particular) would rather just not play over the issue, that's perfectly fine. I'll still be having my fun mech battles (at least when they don't turn into cap warrior online :-/)

Eh', I don't agree that F2P is inherently a sham. You can have a 'hardcore' game still work on those principles. Tribes is a good example. Resurrected an otherwise dead franchise. Paid it respect, integrated an F2P revenue stream into it without compromising the original vision.

What strikes me, here, is that they are indeed repeatedly 'dumbing it down'. But the product is still a niche product. It's still a mech sim. If that target audience is not sustainable or profitable (and it might not be), then bail out. No amount of trying to capture part of that audience and the small part of a wider one who is down for your still-relatively-complex-at-it's-core game is going to result in a product that both enjoy. It's a losing philosophy.

We are a year and some in, and if this market isn't sustainable now, it won't be when you go to 1.0 in a month.

I do agree that things will get worse before (if) they get better. All the core tenets laid out shortly after friends-and-family ended have pretty much been shattered. I expect premium systems, lostech, and a form of MC gambling on Clan systems, to be honest.

And I expect it all before CW is done.

Edit: As for not going down the path you wanted, you're a smarter man than I. I got suckered by the otherwise promising reveals. Naivete on my part, I guess.

 

[El'Kharn]

Actually, in the screenshot you showed, who am I? The guy behind the rock? Then yeah I'd be typing. If I were any of the other guys, I'd also be typing b/c the opposing guy is behind a rock. I type to my team A LOT. Even in the middle of a brawl. I type fast - comes from 15 years of MMO play and 10 years of raiding experience. There's also the option of voice chat. There's plenty of public ones to hop on to.

Also the ridge where those enemy mechs are standing, I'm pretty sure you can see them from nearly a kilometer away.

The area those mechs are in can not be seen from that far away.
As to who you are? Of course you'd be one of the guys that's about to be flanked and crushed. In mwo the situation can go from your team being in a strong position to being routed in mere seconds as the domino effect comes into play and all your experience in mmos and raids will do you very little good.
As for voice chat well how often are you going to manage to get all those pugs on comms? Unless you are in a full 12 man the most you'll have is the lance you are in.
Having advance knowledge of the opposing side's movement AND their composition is a massive advantage and allows for any number of tactical scenarios to come into play.
With the amount of drops I've had since the game went into open beta and before I can tell you with almost 100% certainty that that is how it plays out.

 

[Giolon]

Eh', I don't agree that F2P is inherently a sham. You can have a 'hardcore' game still work on those principles. Tribes is a good example. Resurrected an otherwise dead franchise. Paid it respect, integrated an F2P revenue stream into it without compromising the original vision.

What strikes me, here, is that they are indeed repeatedly 'dumbing it down'. But the product is still a niche product. It's still a mech sim. If that target audience is not sustainable or profitable (and it might not be), then bail out. No amount of trying to capture part of that audience and the small part of a wider one who is down for your still-relatively-complex-at-it's-core game is going to result in a product that both enjoy. It's a losing philosophy.

We are a year and some in, and if this market isn't sustainable now, it won't be when you go to 1.0 in a month.

I do agree that things will get worse before (if) they get better. All the core tenets laid out shortly after friends-and-family ended have pretty much been shattered. I expect premium systems, lostech, and a form of MC gambling on Clan systems, to be honest.

And I expect it all before CW is done.

Edit: As for not going down the path you wanted, you're a smarter man than I. I got suckered by the otherwise promising reveals. Naivete on my part, I guess.

You're right - Tribes Ascend did do F2P quite well. I had a lot of fun in that game w/o spending a dime. I think basically, the success of Hawken scared the pants off PGI, and everything they've done is a reaction. That and they want to be World of Tanks.

The area those mechs are in can not be seen from that far away.
As to who you are? Of course you'd be one of the guys that's about to be flanked and crushed. In mwo the situation can go from your team being in a strong position to being routed in mere seconds as the domino effect comes into play and all your experience in mmos and raids will do you very little good.
As for voice chat well how often are you going to manage to get all those pugs on comms? Unless you are in a full 12 man the most you'll have is the lance you are in.
Having advance knowledge of the opposing side's movement AND their composition is a massive advantage and allows for any number of tactical scenarios to come into play.
With the amount of drops I've had since the game went into open beta and before I can tell you with almost 100% certainty that that is how it plays out.

About that ridge...I've had sniper battles and missile fights across this space before. I didn't just start playing this game yesterday - I've been playing over a year. The scenario you laid out is but one way for it to play out. A single co-ordinated lance can carry a make a huge difference. I've seen it happen both on my team and the opposing, and I've done it with partners where there's no communication but typing. Voice chat isn't essential but it helps. Sometimes I play w/ a clan, but most of the time I pug.

 

[El'Kharn]

About that ridge...I've had sniper battles and missile fights across this space before. I didn't just start playing this game yesterday - I've been playing over a year. The scenario you laid out is but one way for it to play out. A single co-ordinated lance can carry a make a huge difference. I've seen it happen both on my team and the opposing, and I've done it with partners where there's no communication but typing. Voice chat isn't essential but it helps. Sometimes I play w/ a clan, but most of the time I pug.

My bad, forgot about that angle. The snarky comment in the first screenshot was uncalled for though.
So you seriously don't think this kind of advanced intel has any impact?

 

[Giolon]

My bad, forgot about that angle. The snarky comment in the first screenshot was uncalled for though.
So you seriously don't think this kind of advanced intel has any impact?

I'm sorry about the comment. I was thinking of the general chicken little attitude that's been taken towards 3PV and not at you specifically. (Edit: It was also as a respone towards the comment on the original image)

I do think it will have some impact, but I don't think it's the game breaking sky is falling change that people are treating it as. Everybody has access to it. It's free. And there are plenty of ways to mitigate it. I also expect PGI to tune it.

The one thing I think people have a legitimate gripe with is PGI going back on their word. But as I said before, this is like the 3rd or 4th time now, so it doesn't surprise me and I expected no more of them.

 

[El'Kharn]

I'm sorry about the comment. I was thinking of the general chicken little attitude that's been taken towards 3PV and not at you specifically.

I do think it will have some impact, but I don't think it's the game breaking sky is falling change that people are treating it as. Everybody has access to it. It's free. And there are plenty of ways to mitigate it. I also expect PGI to tune it.

The one thing I think people have a legitimate gripe with is PGI going back on their word. But as I said before, this is like the 3rd or 4th time now, so it doesn't surprise me and I expected no more of them.

All good.
Opinion respected

 

[CTLance]

Well, as a complete and utter noob to this thing 3PV seems like such an utter waste of manpower.

There are so many issues with this game that even I (as new and casual player of only a week or two) am completely aware of by now, and they added something at a huge cost of resources that will just exacerbate some already existing problems on top of introducing oodles of new bugs.

I'm scared of UI2.0 and the CW features, judging by the current state of the game after more than a year in beta this will probably end up pretty messy.

I wish I had known about this game when collisions and R&R were still in. Sounds like pure awesome (and would have probably bankrupted me in-game).

Spoiler

Also more monies per match would have been nice.

 

[Woorloog]

Wait, the fuck?
There ain't no Hardcore mode?
FUCK YOU PGI!
It coming later is not acceptable.
Fuckit, never should've bought the Founder pack...

EDIT i wonder if they would refund the Founder pack if i demanded it? I haven't used any of its MC or premium time yet so technically it is "unopened"... Most certainly what they're doing now is not what i signed up for.