Mechwarrior: Online, Calling all Mechwarriors! (I know theres at least a few of us here Options

[Remnar]

Just before my computer crapped out I was trying to XP grind some catapults and had the... C1? rigged with missiles, 1 med laser and TAG. Long battle draws out and, naturally, I'm out of missiles, low on armor and down to one medium laser.

Damned if I didn't charge the last few mechs and managed to squeak out a kill and most of a kill before my teammates managed to back me up. Ended up with like 4 kills, missing almost all my armor and one leg. Probably one of my most fun matches of all since I was trying to take down mostly OK enemies with one dinky laser.

[Stahlseele]

somebody needs to kill the people who got their hands on the IP
http://mwomercs.com/clans
are they completely out of their fucking minds with these prices?

[Tanegar]

Didn't they say, at some point, that MWO wasn't going to be pay-to-win? I'm almost certain I saw that somewhere.

[Stahlseele]

they ALSO said no 3rd person.
look what happened.
they ALSO said no consumeables.
and yet, there we are.
they ALSO promised community warfare.
which, because of things like this, has not even started developement yet as far as i know.

basically, they have lied on most major things about this aside from one sadly very true statement;
This ain't your fathers Mechwarrior.

[CanRay]

they ALSO said no 3rd person.
look what happened.
they ALSO said no consumeables.
and yet, there we are.
they ALSO promised community warfare.
which, because of things like this, has not even started developement yet as far as i know.

basically, they have lied on most major things about this aside from one sadly very true statement;
This ain't your fathers Mechwarrior.

So... Why are we believing them any longer?

[Tanegar]

My ideal BattleTech video game is a straight port of the tabletop rules, in full 3D with high-res 'Mech and terrain art. Basically, MegaMek with awesome graphics. I cannot, for the very life of me, understand why no one is making this.

I stand by my earlier post. I don't know how big MegaMek's player base is, but there is clearly a substantial market for BattleTech on the PC.

[CanRay]

Why can't we get more Battle Pods like I saw at GenCon 2012?

[Stahlseele]

So... Why are we believing them any longer?

i have stopped doing so very long ago.
and i was one of the idiots who gave them 120$ for a founders package way back when <.<

I stand by my earlier post. I don't know how big MegaMek's player base is, but there is clearly a substantial market for BattleTech on the PC.

MegaMek has actually been asked to halt developement and has been offered to have their forums implemented into the MWO boards if i pieced this together correctly.
Same as what happened with the Crysis Warhead Mod MWLL - Mechwarrior: Living Legends.

Why can't we get more Battle Pods like I saw at GenCon 2012?

Because IGP/PGI ALSO stopped MekTek (who were mostly doing the developement on the MW4 Version of MechWarrior on which the BattlePods are based) from doing anything more with the IP as well, if i understood this one correctly.

There is something similar to MekTek in 3D, but it looks and plays horribly compared to MekTek.
And it has way less content than MekTek does as well.
here you go: https://www.mwtactics.com/landing/
i actually got into the closed beta before i got banned from the classic battletech boards.

Hell, i almost got banned from the mwo boards by one of the whize knight mods over there because, wait for it, on his screen my signature had one more line than allowed. A technicality, because he did not like my signature at all. And on MY screen, the signature was well within the rules still as well. I got official stink eye mod messages and all. And i solved it by being a ruleslawyer and used the idea of someone else unloved there and made a screenshot of my rules legal signature and cropped the picture and used that instead of actual written lines. Which is a loophole through and through but one where they could not even get me on a technicality anymore. I am using the rules by the letter instead of following the intent.

[Tanegar]

MegaMek has actually been asked to halt developement and has been offered to have their forums implemented into the MWO boards if i pieced this together correctly.
Same as what happened with the Crysis Warhead Mod MWLL - Mechwarrior: Living Legends.

There is something similar to MekTek in 3D, but it looks and plays horribly compared to MekTek.
And it has way less content than MekTek does as well.
here you go: https://www.mwtactics.com/landing/
i actually got into the closed beta before i got banned from the classic battletech boards.

Welcome to modern capitalism: because adding value is way more expensive than trampling on hobbyists with big, stompy lawyerboots.

[Sengir]

i have stopped doing so very long ago.
and i was one of the idiots who gave them 120$ for a founders package way back when <.<

Looking at what some people must have paid for the game, you're probably at the lower end...

[Stahlseele]

Looking at what some people must have paid for the game, you're probably at the lower end...

Well, the 120$ one was the biggest founders package available. So i guess i am about in the middle to lower third i guess.

[KarmaInferno]

somebody needs to kill the people who got their hands on the IP
http://mwomercs.com/clans
are they completely out of their fucking minds with these prices?

I would point out that most of that will be available for c-bills a bit later.

So folks buying are more or less paying for a few hero mechs which aren't much different than the other variants, and just early access to the others.

Also, chatter on the boards seems to be trending towards "the new clan mechs kinda suck".


-k

[Stahlseele]

The best thing?
In the Fluff the Clan Omni-Mechs are unparalleled in terms of customization.
In the Crunch? Nope, IS is far supreme here.
Wonder if they will actually implement it like that and wonder if people will realize that.
Technically, you are paying a premium for a mech that's worse in almost all aspects . .

[Remnar]

The best thing?
In the Fluff the Clan Omni-Mechs are unparalleled in terms of customization.
In the Crunch? Nope, IS is far supreme here.
Wonder if they will actually implement it like that and wonder if people will realize that.
Technically, you are paying a premium for a mech that's worse in almost all aspects . .

Project Phoenix kept me around for a while (I love me my Thunderbolts) and the Orion before that but, for whatever reason as soon as they announced the clan mechs I went from playing most nights at least a few drops to "meh" and haven't played. Maybe once CW gets out and if its not just a glorified grindfest (not holding my breath there) I might go back to a few drops a week or something.

At least they aren't making the clan mechs so OMFGOP like they were in TT.

[bannockburn]

So, after almost a year of silence here, some thoughts about the state of the game:

Contrary to some players who just ragequit and never touched the thing again, I've kept playing through it all. Sure, I've had a break of about 3 months of not even touching it, but that wasn't due to some imbalance with clan mechs or screwed up mechanics, but attributed more to a general lack of interest at the time. In hindsight, the 3rd person view disaster wasn't even a storm in the waterglass. In most matches you don't even see a single camera drone.

Since I've re-started playing, a lot of things have happened. For one thing, most clan mechs are now available for C-Bills, which is nice, since I've still not sunk any more money into the game than my initial 60$. I've even still got about 3000MC lying around from that one payment.
After a lot of balancing, clan and IS mechs aren't equals, but it's not an auto-loss if an Atlas meets a Direwolf. One of the main balancing features seems to be a total removal of the omnimechs' canonical strength, its versatility.
You cannot change the engine or leg layout of clan mechs, and omnipods are only available in so many variants. So, good thing: In theory you just need to have one mech bay to run all the variety of available omnipods of the variants, since you can just keep the omnipods and sell the chassis.
I currently own 3 Timberwolves, and I love them to pieces, even if I seem to be better at piloting IS mechs. Surprisingly, the Nova sucks hard.
Another balancing feature are quirks. These are great and mainly available for IS mechs (and a few clan mechs, that aren't as well received as others). For example, the standard Hunchback has a 25% bonus on AC20 range, reload time and projectile speed, which makes it a real hard hitter. A thunderbolt variant has a bonus to heat generation for ER-PPCs and can just spit the lightning balls of death on chainfire for basically forever, disabling ECM with each hit.
All these changes made the game far more dynamic than it ever was.
There are a ton of hero mechs now, which I generally ignore, and trial mechs are usually either community created IS loadouts (available for MC, with a C-Bill and Exp bonus) or clan mechs in their prime variants.
Behind the spoiler there's a list of (for C-Bills and MC) available chassis. There are other mechs already injected, but not yet available if you haven't bought them, such as the Hellbringer, Ice Ferret and Gargoyle. Hero and Community mechs are only available for MC, and come with a 30% bonus to Exp gained and C-Bills earned.

[ Spoiler ]

Light Mechs IS

• Locust - 20t
• Commando - 25t
• Spider - 30t
• Firestarter - 35t
• Jenner - 35t
• Raven - 35t

Light Mechs Clan

• Kit Fox - 30t
• Adder - 35t

Medium Mechs IS

• Cicada - 40t
• Blackjack - 45t
• Vindicator - 45t
• Centurion - 50t
• Hunchback - 50t
• Trebuchet - 50t
• Griffin - 55t
• Kintaro - 55t
• Shadow Hawk - 55t
• Wolverine - 55t

Medium Mechs Clan

• Nova - 50t
• Storm Crow - 55t

Heavy Mechs IS

• Dragon - 60t
• Quickdraw - 60t
• Catapult - 65t
• Jägermech - 65t
• Thunderbolt - 65t
• Cataphract - 70t
• Orion - 75t

Heavy Mechs Clan

• Mad Dog - 60t
• Summoner - 70t
• Timber Wolf - 75t

Assault Mechs IS

• Awesome - 80t
• Victor - 80t
• Battlemaster - 85t
• Stalker - 85t
• Highlander - 90t
• Banshee - 95t
• Atlas - 100t
• King Crab - 100t

Assault Mechs Clan

• Warhawk - 85t
• Dire Wolf - 100t

As you can see, a few of the previously Unseen mechs have made a comeback and they look, IMO, very fine indeed.
Since PGI has left their publisher IGP, the game has evolved quicker and better, and there's a very solid playerbase, judging from a few numbers in regularly held contests.
For those folks who haven't played in a while: Matches are available now on 15 different maps (2 of which are variants of others) in 3 different game modes. In each match two companies (12 mechs) fight against each other in different ways. You can win matches by killing all enemy mechs in every mode, but apart from Skirmish mode there are other ways to win available.
In Conquest mode there are five strategic points to capture. Once you hold at least one of these points, tickets count up and you win when they reach 750. The more points captured, the quicker the tickets accumulate.
In Assault mode, you can attack the enemy base, which is protected by LRM/Med-laser turrets that have a bit of a kick but are stationary. Once you've killed those (or avoided their lines of fire) you can capture the base.

In the higher mech count per map lies a problem, though: 12 mechs on small maps like River City make these maps, IMO, too small and they often quickly devolve into a brawl. In practice, most matches end with one side wiped out, but still, the strategic option is available and shouldn't be discounted.

There is now the option to form player units, and community warfare is implemented but still in beta.
CW requires you to commit to a house or clan and you gain loyalty points for this faction while you're running missions for them. Contracts are available in various lengths, such as 7 days, 30 days, or forever (if you want to play a faction-bound unit). The longer you commit to a contract, the more loyalty points are gained. For milestones, you gain extra C-Bills.
After choosing a faction, you cannot run CW matches (but still normal drops) in IS mechs if your faction is clan, or clan mechs if your faction is IS. You also need to have at least 4 different mechs (but you can fill up with trial mechs) between 160 to 240t.
CW matches are currently identical in game mode, on one of two different maps.
You need to either protect or destroy an orbital cannon after choosing a planet to fight on.
The cannon is protected by turrets with heavy lasers, gates that need to be opened by the attacker and generators. The attacker cannot enter the cannon area without having opened a gate first, by shooting a generator that's located behind the gates. Once the cannon generators are disabled, they can then start shooting the cannon itself.
In each match you define a drop of exactly 4 mechs, with at least 160t and up to 240t.

So, e.g. your unit is locked in a contract to Davion.
You cannot run missions for house Davion in a clan mech.
You decide to drop a Raven, an Atlas, a Shadow Hawk and a Centurion, totalling 240t.
You cannot drop 2 King Crabs (200t) and 1 Cicada, because you're below the required number of mechs.
You cannot drop 4 King Crabs, because you're over the weight limit.
You also cannot drop 4 Jenners, because then you're under the weight limit.

Paradoxically, Clan opponents are far better at defending with their ER lasers than they are at attacking. There's still a need to finetune this game mode.
To actually conquer a planet, you need to win a number of matches. On each attack cycle, there are 15 matches available. If the attacking team wins more matches, the planet falls to their faction, if the defenders win more matches, the planet stays with its faction. To make it easier to see where the action is at, there's a number displayed behind the planet's name, e.g. 20/34. This number signifies the number of attackers (20) and defenders (34) in matches or in queues on this planet.

Yes, the Mechlab-GUI is still bad, but it's getting better.

Overall, I'm still satisfied with my monetary value, and I still enjoy the game, even though there are recognizable flaws. At the moment far more than during beta. It's getting towards being grown up and it's still not P2W.

[Stahlseele]

Paradoxically, Clan opponents are far better at defending with their ER lasers than they are at attacking. There's still a need to finetune this game mode.

That i can explain quite simply.
Fluff and Mechanics do not work together.
Not since the clans were introduced to the universe.
They never have. Not even in the CBT Board Game.

It's always better move from cover to cover fast enough so the enemy gets bigger TN mods to hit you but still slow enough that your own TN mod does not go up as fast.
The Clans are supposed to be Stand and deliver or simply mindlessly charge or see a whole company of IS mechs as a star and demand a 1:1 combat each.
Which means 5 Clan mechs versus 12 IS mechs, meaning you will get realistically 2.4 Mechs shooting at each clanner the first round of actual combat and from then on.
This is the balancing mechanism that simply does not work, because it's a balancing mechanism based mostly on fluff and only in very minor ways in the actual crunch.
Kind of like the background count in SR is supposed to be the one major balancing factor to magic, but simply isn't used as such usually.
And then there is the point that clanners can actually simply ignore it. "They are honourless bandits, they do not get cellbriggen, our star of mechs will focus fire on their Assault Mechs first from well out of range of about 90% of the enemy weapons!"

[Starmage21]

Yup.

On TT, you had Zellbrigen for fluffyness, and Battle Value (v2) for an attempt to create balanced force engagements. There were also fan-created balancing systems like MunchFactor.
Tonnage used to be used back in the day when BV 1 didnt really work. It wasnt great.


In MWO, Clan mechs arent really all that better. Their LRMs are AMS bait because of the chain-firing effect. Since you cant adjust the armor on a clan. You can cut its torsos off of a dire wolf relatively easily. They do get a crapload of extra tonnage for guns, since cutting off a torso with an XL engine in it isnt instant death. So their alphas are going to be higher.

[bannockburn]

Since you cant adjust the armor on a clan.

You can.

As for the rest: Yeah, I'm aware that MWO and the TT haven't got much to do with each other anymore (if the games ever had). Generally I like where they diverted but it leads to weirdness like this.