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MechWarrior Online - News and Information Thread

HariKari

Member
Russ' post is up and it's a doozy

Next on the subject of the Gold `Mechs, obviously they have caused a fair bit of a stir. These are for the hard core collector who wants something that will live on forever as being extremely rare. It’s purely a collector’s item and we are certainly not the first game to try something like this. If the idea seems ridiculous to you, essentially you can ignore them entirely, they will have no bearing on gameplay, other than be extremely cool. In the world of free-to-play, the people who spend more are picking up the tab for those who spend nothing. Their contribution should be appreciated by the other players, rather than invoke friendly fire as some people have suggested. They really should not offend you the world is full of avid collectors, everyone reading this knows somebody with a $20,000 collection of Magic the gathering cards and single cards worth huge amounts.

With the Clan packages you are paying what equates to $30 per prime variant. But remember our pricing of MC in MWO has a relationship between MC and CB costs. Clan Technology is significantly more expensive, and is reflected in the package pricing.

Aaaaand I'm sad

As to commitment to the brand I have some news to share with the community that honestly we hadn’t decided yet on how or when we were going to announce it, so let me share it with you here now. On Nov 8th 2013 PGI and Microsoft finalized negotiations on an extension to PGI’s MechWarrior license. Whereas before our license ran out mid 2015 we are now ensured rights until mid-2018 and also if certain criteria is met will have until mid-2020 to continue to develop MechWarrior products including MWO. Needless to say this was something I had been working on for a very long time, Microsoft is very happy about how the MechWarrior brand is being re-invigorated with the new art work and gameplay advances.
 

Lime

Member
Wow @ the roadmap. I'm really stunned.

Imagine if we were told during Founder's sales and closed beta that Community Warfare wouldn't be ready until Fall 2014 at the earliest.

This year and the next one are so fucking empty. Where are the features? Where is the meta-game? Where are the modes beyond team deathmatch?
 

Lime

Member
Here's the roadmap description by the way. Looks like this game will stay the same for the next year or so:

Dec 17th – This patch you’re quite familiar with but it’s a pretty good one and the best in a while. New Skirmish game mode, release of Sabre `Mechs and the release of the Moon map HPG Manifold. I hope this will give players some interest during the holiday break.

Jan 21st – Cockpit Glass.

Feb 4th – UI 2.0 released. It will be a complete rework of the existing UI along with some new screens with the store and some others. A lot of feedback has been implemented to improve MechLab and future releases will include a lot of user feedback integration. Overall UI 2.0 on February 4th is an absolutely MASSIVE feature release, bigger than anything to date. I don’t say that purely based on functionality that UI 2.0 will introduce to MWO. The reason it is considered in my mind the biggest feature release to date is because of the bottlenecks it removes. Everything relied on its release and back end architecture to build off of.

Feb 4th – Tier 1 weapon modules – Further explanation forthcoming in a Command Chair post later this week.

Feb 4th – Assault mode refresh/improvements – Includes new Base model to replace the resource collector for a Forward Operating Base truck with the additions of turrets. Helps differentiate it from other modes like Conquest.

March 4th – DX11 – it has been complete essentially since the last Public test but we have waited to get the Christmas break and UI 2.0 behind us before releasing. Some further exploration into FPS concerns before release. It is possible upon release some will use DX 11 where others will stick with DX9 for frame rate concerns while we continue to optimize it.

March 18th – Achievement System.

April 1-April 15th – Launch Module – in depth description already in a command chair post.

June 17th – Clan Invasion.

First off the list above again does not even come close to discussing all of the content and features that will be released between now and the Clan injection June 17th 2014 but I think it mentions all of the features that you really care about. Next you can see that Feb 4th has a significant amount of content and you can begin to see how items were piling up behind UI 2.0 and will start to flood out at a much faster pace.

Next we should discuss a refresher on what Community Warfare really means, it has evolved to mean a lot of things, but for most it boils down into being able to compete directly with other units for possession of territory. This roadmap just shared with you does incorporate a significant amount of Community Warfare functionality in systems like UI 2.0, achievements, and the launch module. This will allow players to have any size groups 2-12 which are completely balanced via weight tonnage limits; including clan mechs balanced via both weapon design and tonnage restrictions. Players will also have the lobby like system and of course private matches allowing the first major layer of Community Warfare and competitive play. For many merc units out there in MWO land this is significant news that by the month of April they will be able to have competitive play with other merc units. We have prepared a new web tracker for Community Warfare here – www.mwomercs.com/theplan. You can see the approximate completion level of each of the major features within. More features may be added over time as we discover additional content needs.

The only items really remaining from the Community Warfare pillar are two items, although pretty big ones. They are what we can call “Association” which is further connecting factions and the idea of Loyalty points and “Inner Sphere Planetary Conquest” which of course is competing over territory. I have not listed off dates for these systems because we don’t have as precise of estimates quite yet. But we can for the first time based on the January-April development schedule provide a more accurate estimation then we have in the past. Below are some conservative estimates of the remaining Community Warfare features that I think we can probably beat.

Conservative Estimates:
- Association: July-Aug
- Planetary Conquest: Sept-Oct

Confidence is very high that worst case scenario is the completion of the entire Community Warfare feature set as we currently understand it by Early to Mid-fall.

I imagine of course this is not all great news, ideally you want these features, all of them, much sooner. The difference is, this time they are based upon the UI 2.0 bottleneck which was responsible for at least 80% of all schedule slips in 2013 being removed by Feb 4th.
 

HariKari

Member
More UI 2.0 is a huge bottleneck crap.

At least this fiasco is producing some great images

wWJKAPj.jpg
 

Lime

Member
To think what Harebrained Schemes achieved with 1.8 million dollars in the span of 1 1/2 years. Or other much smaller indie studios with less money.

Yet PGI got over 5 million for the Founder's packages, as well as whatever people have been paying them over the course of the game's launch time since closed beta. (Fuck, even DX11 was expected over a year ago, yet still isn't implemented)

And all they have to show for it is basically team deathmatch, while other devs manage to produce feature-rich games with plenty of modes in them.

For the money PGI got, we could've had something much more.
 

Lime

Member
Add to the fact that the Phoenix packages basically contained "bonuses" that aren't useable in the game until one year from now. So PGI just sold features that are useless for a long while.
 

HariKari

Member
For the money PGI got, we could've had something much more.

I think very little of the money is being reinvested into the game itself.

Remember the shitstorm EVE had over a $68 item? Now we're starting at $500 gold mechs and people are like "yeah, that's okay I guess." It's maddening. People have spent so much on Phoenix and Founders that they are just locked in and will defend PGI at all costs. They are quick to label anyone who doesn't like this flagrant disregard for common sense as someone who doesn't like Battletech.

I love the IP. That's why I won't give them a dollar. They don't deserve to be in charge of such a universe. Hopefully the license will revert to Microsoft whenever this game inevitably dies off. I don't see it recovering from this.
 

Lime

Member
PGI: "Here's the shadow of a textureless Mad Cat mesh in the same map you've been playing for years. Give us 210 dollars! We have no current idea about how Clan technology and preorder bonuses will be implemented, just take our word for it!"
 

Lime

Member
I think very little of the money is being reinvested into the game itself.

Where the fuck is all that money going? IGP? Microsoft licensing? Cryengine licensing?

I love the IP. That's why I won't give them a dollar. They don't deserve to be in charge of such a universe. Hopefully the license will revert to Microsoft whenever this game inevitably dies off. I don't see it recovering from this.

Unless something drastic happens to the game and PGI's planning/management/efficiency, I think the majority of players will leave this game completely. It'll be dead by next year.
 

El'Kharn

Member
Where the fuck is all that money going? IGP? Microsoft licensing? Cryengine licensing?



Unless something drastic happens to the game and PGI's planning/management/efficiency, I think the majority of players will leave this game completely. It'll be dead by next year.

Exactly. where the fuck is the money actually going?
 

Tzeentch

Member
Now we're starting at $500 gold mechs and people are like "yeah, that's okay I guess." It's maddening. People have spent so much on Phoenix and Founders that they are just locked in and will defend PGI at all costs.
Err. I think you need to take a look over on their forums. If even a portion of the vitriol translates into freezing purchase of microtransactions the company is going to 180 so fast on this that people's heads will spin.
 

HariKari

Member
Err. I think you need to take a look over on their forums. If even a portion of the vitriol translates into freezing purchase of microtransactions the company is going to 180 so fast on this that people's heads will spin.

I see plenty of people quitting, but just as many reinforcing PGI and defending them on this, especially now that "there's a roadmap!" Say anything negative on their subreddit and you'll be downvoted into oblivion. PGI's word is utterly useless. Something that's on the roadmap in March was promised five days ago by Russ as Lime pointed out.

It's just sad to see so many conflicted people unable to walk away. No one really wants to see the franchise go dark again and any game is better than no game. But what PGI is doing is just flat out wrong and exploitative. Plenty of people are going to throw lots of money at them for a chance to relive their childhood, not realizing that money could go to a better studio.
 

Wiktor

Member
Is their license an exclusive one? Or can other company also buy the license from Microsoft, the way Games Workshop is selling licenses to multiple devs these days?
 

HariKari

Member
Is their license an exclusive one? Or can other company also buy the license from Microsoft, the way Games Workshop is selling licenses to multiple devs these days?

It's exclusive because it includes the right to shutdown anything related to Mechwarrior. They sent a cease and desist letter to the Living Legends guys.
 

Tzeentch

Member
It's just sad to see so many conflicted people unable to walk away.
Weird. I love Battletech more than most (even helped playtest for the PnP game, and almost was a writer for an unreleased project when FASA disassembled itself). MWLL was a massive jankfest so never got into it. MWO has great art design and is pretty fun, but I have a hard time seeing why people would be that attached to it. Desperation for an action-based mecha game? Why aren't they playing Hawken? The BattleTech lore? MWO has almost NOTHING to do with the universe except for the names of stuff.
 

HariKari

Member
Desperation for an action-based mecha game? Why aren't they playing Hawken? The BattleTech lore? MWO has almost NOTHING to do with the universe except for the names of stuff.

The Battletech lore has a long history to it, including a table top game, like Warhammer 40k. You could play a violent sci fi game, but it wouldn't be the same as stomping around as a space marine, would it? It's the same with Battletech. The universe has been largely neglected in recent years for no real good reason, so people are eager for anything using the license to succeed, even if the guys in charge are total morons and the game actively squashes unique aspects of the lore.

These happen to be generally older individuals with lots of disposable income. The same type of people who remember the greatness of Freelancer and Wing Commander are the same types that played Mech Warrior 2. Mechcommander 1 and 2 were also solid PC titles. MW 3 and 4 were kind of a slide, but still good. Then nothing but an OG Xbox game + sequel. MWO is the first real meaningful attempt at a Battletech game in a long time. People are going to cling to it until the very end.

I'm not sure how they can keep the lights on if even 20% of the players walk away. The game isn't really healthy and hasn't been for a long while as it has stagnated.

Uq5tmP7.gif


People are overlooking this and buying Russ' post hook, line, and sinker. No joke. People who were previously outraged now consider... that a satisfactory explanation. I think this represents the dark side of free to play and how exploitative these games can be. "We will build you a great Mechwarrior game, just give us [insert rediculous price here]" every six months or so. People have already sunk a tremendous amount of money into this game, so they see no reason to get out or protest. The carrot is dangled close enough that they choose to not stop and see what is happening.

This post is a thing of brilliance. I dealt with PGI during the closed hush hush period and it was clear early on that Paul Inouye was the only one with chops or knew what they were doing.

PGI's credits include:
Bass Pro Shops: The Strike (Xbox 360, Wii, Windows)
Duke Nukem Forever (Windows, Xbox 360, PS3)
Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza (Windows)
EA Playground (Nintendo DS)
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 (PSP)
Need For Speed: Undercover (PSP)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Windows, Xbox 360, PS3)

Why did we expect more?
 

Mudkips

Banned
I keep hoping this game will get a big patch to make it worth installing again, and whenever I check this thread or their forums it's the same old shit. Say anything critical about the game on their forums and you'll be instantly set upon by the angry mob of Founder's Package badge-wielding zealots.

At this point I can only hope that shit continues as-is until the worm turns and they finish the fucking game or they drop it so I can give up hope and just dig out my old Mechwarrior discs and hope someone competent picks up the license in the future.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Why aren't they playing Hawken? The BattleTech lore? MWO has almost NOTHING to do with the universe except for the names of stuff.

Lore. Battletech setting is just so damn cool (and in general i like the visual design of MWO but not other mech game's). And the setting, even if it ain't really references in-game, is an important part for me (and i'm speaking only for myself, naturally). Names and stuff is enough (it is not like the setting is really important while playing the tabletop game, it's there just to add flavor, if players wish to utilize it).
No other mech game manages to be interesting.
Besides, i want first-person mech simulator, don't care for anything else, don't remember other mech games being that.

EDIT Mech Assault 2 was an exception. Damn fun game.
 

Lime

Member
It's hilarious to think that PGI is drawing upon so much rich lore, yet there is hardly any mention of anything meaningful in the actual game.

Like, they couldn't even be bothered to copy-paste some text on background info & history into the description of each mech. The only thing we got was some now-dead Twitter account, a short story of an announced mech on their website, and the mention of temperatures in the waiting screen on startup of the game.

There's zero sense of "storytelling" in this game.
 

akira28

Member
I want to see some glorious MWO account suicides at this point. I think we're about to cross over from anger into open hostility. PGI/IGP/PIG is the Comstar villain we deserve but don't need right now.
 
Things have been openly hostile for a while, and hemorraging players has been a thing for a while, especially since 3PV. It's only going to get worse.

At least we don't have to worry that the license will be their's until 2020. They will die long before that.
 

Lime

Member
lol the new game mode "Skirmish" is just team deathmatch.

I also like that their idea of a clan invasion is just a bunch of 3D models and textures.
 

HariKari

Member
Things have been openly hostile for a while, and hemorraging players has been a thing for a while, especially since 3PV. It's only going to get worse.

Always be wary when they take away the player counter feature. Russ claims 3PV saved the game, don't you know?

Someone posted this video from the GDC vault and it's prophetic. The same mistakes Age of Empires Online made, MWO is making. Too much of a focus on sellable content, and not enough on features that give the game depth to use that content. If this game is still purely an arena shooter six months from now, it will be dead. Russ said more than half the team was working on content, not features. Good luck with that.
 

CTLance

Member
I couldn't help myself, after seeing $500 mech skins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxBQ8b3XWj0
Every mech is gold now!
Shots fired.

( For those of lesser edumacation, this guy is behind the amazing M.A.V., a 'mech multiplayer deathmatch game where you build your own mechs. Not quite the same as this game, but watching this tiny project outpace the vastly better funded MWO is always entertaining.

Buyer beware: It's a true Alpha, so the game is still in flow, but you can already see the greatness taking shape.

Official Thread. )
 
I wouldn't have issue with gold mechs and other nonsense normally, as who cares who spends money on such silly things? But the issue of course is how slow they have been at giving us what we want. They may be right, the people who do these simple things to sell to the whales is done by other teams, but really doesn't fix the problem with how slow they are at giving us anything meaningful to the game. It took them how long to put in this "skirmish" mode, when its nothing but death match.... really you couldn't have put this in at launch when all you had to do was turn off the objectives in assault mode?

And then official game launch came and there was nothing new to go along with it?
 

Lime

Member
King of the Hill - designate an area of a given map with a few lines of visual coding and you pretty much have an entirely new mode that allows for many different non-deathmatch strategies. How hard can it be?
 
the issue seems to be, it's advertised as Clan Invasion, but invading what?

There's supposed to be some kind of galactic war we're fighting but until CW get's off the ground they're just dropping some new mechs, when everyone wants more features.

That's my opinion anyway.
 

Felsparrow

Neo Member
PGI has failed beyond roadmaps and more promises. Anyone can write a good looking document.

It's time for PGI to step up and deliver. Only once they do that, then keep doing that beyond their delayed promises, should anyone give them any money.

These efforts scream of being desperate for money. Well, they should work with what they got, and if they can't, well there's other places that will pickup if it fails.

And hey, Catalyst games might be able to license or purchase the designs if everything folds for the tabletop game.
 

HariKari

Member
Clan pack wasn't going very well

In a surprising announcement, Bullock mentioned that the team will be giving the $240.00 Masakari package for free to players who buy the $500.00 gold packages. That will essentially cut the $500.00 package in half and will be retroactive to those who have already bought a gold package. In fact, some players have already bought a gold package and a Masakari package as well!

And then just admits features will slip

While Bullock was clear that times can flex and that not everything on the timeline can be completed by the June 17th, 2014 Clan invasion,...

To many, said Bullock, the third-person cameras were mostly an assault on the feelings of MechWarrior purists. Bullock was aware that the way that many players attempt to get their way is to make a "hell of a lot of noise" and that there is some truth to the strategy.

Or, you know, more people were pissed with the simple fact that PGI lied to everyone when they said they'd never have a 3rd person camera. Or coolant.

Someone needs to remind these guys that the 'vocal minority' is the canary in the coal mine. Most customers just walk away if they have a bad experience. In service based industries, it's something like 95% of all customers don't bother to give you feedback. They just leave. So PGI had better pay attention when a 300 page+ shitstorm erupts on their official forums.

Mickey mouse operation, all the way round.
 

Lime

Member
They've updated the Clans thing with an à la carte kind of thing.

Now 1 mech with 3 variants costs $55, and 6 for $180 (presumably without any of the bonuses)
 

Lime

Member
Seriously, PGI has no idea about 'value'. I can't believe they're charging so much money for 3D models, when what is being offered on Steam and other services provide much more value pr. dollar. It's incredible.
 

HariKari

Member
Seriously, PGI has no idea about 'value'. I can't believe they're charging so much money for 3D models, when what is being offered on Steam and other services provide much more value pr. dollar. It's incredible.

Put Warthunder, a title made by a bunch of Russians with what was likely a similar budget, next to MWO and weep. Superior in every. single. way.

They could have done CW the quick and dirty way. Have everyone pledge allegiance like they have, have every public match they play tracked. Decide on how to weigh wins and losses, kills etc... and just put up a rudimentary leaderboard. Have a map of the IS that moves in conjunction with the results of the leaderboard. They could even be total assholes and sell consumables that double your faction score or whatever for X amount of time if they really wanted to.

That's something that could be done in a week, tops, if they had any chops. Homebrew Mech Commander leagues had more depth than that. People would huddle around in their faction forums and make friends to drop with in order to have bigger sway over their faction score on the map. EVE syndrome. It would keep everyone held over until a deeper system arrives.

Instead... another outstretched hand, asking for money to keep the lights on.
 

Giolon

Member
I'm now mostly satisfied w/ the A La Carte Options. I'd have liked to see them be a little cheaper (start at $40 / mech instead of $55), but now you don't have the most iconic of mechs locked away behind a $210 tier. I can get a Mad Cat for $55 out the door, which puts it at $18 / variant. Not terribly different from the MC cost of mechs in game already.

I'm fine with that. I just didn't want to be forced to make nearly a car payment for the mech I want and have that be "justified" by PGI saying "But look at the vaaaaalluuuueeeee! You're getting so much stuff!" - stuff that I don't want to pay for.
 

HariKari

Member
Proportions seem pretty off, especially on the Mad Cat. Nova gets torso twist, which is another missed opportunity to have a unique mech. Whole thing is one giant missed opportunity and what makes me disappointed the most. I could look past the prices and absurdity of it all if they made the clan invasion something unique, but it's not. It's just another cash grab with zero community warfare.
 
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