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MechWarrior Online - News and Information Thread

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Hows everyone doing with the new PSR system?

I'm just glad I'm no lower than tier 3, since I see Lords and 228s in my pug matches, My pride couldn't take being a tier 5 scrublord

Now the team that VOIPs seems to massacre the other side. Lots of stomps abound for the uncoordinated side.
 

El'Kharn

Member
Its been a bit choppy for me, i'm maintaining my w/l but its hard work being restricted to the oceanic server due to my ping being 320+ to the NA server now and 350+ to the EU server.
 

Lime

Member
Marauder (reseen) coming to MWO

Marauder_Final.jpg


Marauder_Bounty_Hunter.JPG

This indicates that it'll come to the Battletech game as well.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Can i see how many games i've played since Jan 1st anywhere? I doubt i've played a hundred games this year.

And doesn't look like i'm going to be playing much either, my laptop gets too hot in the damn game menu. Something's wrong with this thing... More so than usually.
On the positive note, i might have money to spend on a gaming PC soon. On the other hand, i have very little to play so not sure i'll bother.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Marauder and Warhammer+!!!!!

PGI, my money is yours.

Can i see how many games i've played since Jan 1st anywhere? I doubt i've played a hundred games this year.

And doesn't look like i'm going to be playing much either, my laptop gets too hot in the damn game menu. Something's wrong with this thing... More so than usually.
On the positive note, i might have money to spend on a gaming PC soon. On the other hand, i have very little to play so not sure i'll bother.

Cleaned out the fans lately, or ever?
 

Woorloog

Banned
Every now and then, with canned air meant for that. Rarely has any effect though. I suspect the fan's busted somehow, not being as powerful as it should be. Or there's something else wrong, might open this thing and take a look, i think the warranty's run out already.

Probably should start putting together a list of components for a gaming PC...
Wouldn't mind being able to play MWO with prettier graphic and better performance though, i find it miracle i do as well as i do (which isn't that great) with the framerate i get.

EDIT The f's going on with the "rebalance"? Based on the reactions on MWO forum, it is a trainwreck. Once again.
Oh man, it is difficult not to laugh aloud.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Man I rage quit the PTS just looking around at the different IS mechs.

So many low-to-mid tier IS mechs have random negative quirks for no reason whatsoever. It's bullshit personified.

If they go live with this, I'll never spend another dime on MWO.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Anyone tried MWO with a joystick?

I recall that they didn't really work for it at first though apparently analog input support was added at some point.
Obviously they ain't competitive... but the question is, is it playable?

(I'm buying a joystick (probably Saitek X52 Pro) with a gaming PC, there are some sims i want to play. But i wouldn't mind trying MWO with one, if it is possible.)
 

Lime

Member
You'll handicap yourself, Woorloog. I have always played the MW games with joystick, but this game is too competitive to make yourself less efficient as a pilot.

It's fucking cool though to use a joystick. I also have the X52 Pro. I'll definitely use it if PvE gets introduced and I can chill a bit more.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Look, i suck at MWO really, at least going by K/D ratio (low enough i won't be posting it). I keep switching 'mechs before i learn them properly, i don't play meta builds, i don't buy modules, i rarely have efficiencies bought (i don't talk to teammates). All this sub-30FPS.
Once i get a gaming computer that allow me play with solid 60FPS with good visuals, i can improve... or i can afford to handicap myself. And if handcapping makes piloting more fun, i'll take it. I don't play MWO because of its competitive aspects, so i don't care. Competitive game must be far better balanced in my mind, and absolutely not have any kind of P2W (or pay-for-advantage). MWO isn't that, so i don't think about the competitive aspect. (I do miss playing a competitive game i could play solo, unfortunately Halo went to shit and i haven't found a replacement. Dota 2's great but requires friends.)

Wish someone made a proper BattleMech simulator. (Some other 'mech sim doesn't cut it, it must be Battletech for Battletech is the only thing where i actually like 'mechs.)
 

Giolon

Member
I think it can work really well to use a joystick for movement and a mouse for aiming. At the launch tournament a couple years ago, one of the winning teams had several people using joysticks.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Difficult to imagine using a joystick with left hand. Back when i had a joystick (some simple Sidewinder), it was right-hand only thanks to its shape. X52 seems to be ambidex though.

Any idea when they'll reveal the Warhammer, since they said they have concept for it. With the next Townhall? The next time they'll reveal a 'mech pack, whenever that may be?

Oh, and looks like it will take a bit longer to get my gaming PC than i thought, IRL stuff possibly forcing me to put it off. Oh, well.
 
Is this game worth getting back into? I have a founder package and played the beta a few years ago, but haven't done anything since. I think I used all my in-game currency at the time, not sure if it was ever reset.

My understanding is the game is kind of a money grab now, with the older mechs kind of worthless. Is that true? I don't want to jump back in if I need to drop another $50 or something.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Is this game worth getting back into? I have a founder package and played the beta a few years ago, but haven't done anything since. I think I used all my in-game currency at the time, not sure if it was ever reset.

My understanding is the game is kind of a money grab now, with the older mechs kind of worthless. Is that true? I don't want to jump back in if I need to drop another $50 or something.

Well, real money is not necessary, if you have the C-bills.
Not all older 'mechs are worthless, though many are not optimal. Depends how you play really.
Not to mention, there's a "balance-pass" coming so which 'mechs are good may be changing... honestly seems making everything even worse though...
 

Giolon

Member
Is this game worth getting back into? I have a founder package and played the beta a few years ago, but haven't done anything since. I think I used all my in-game currency at the time, not sure if it was ever reset.

My understanding is the game is kind of a money grab now, with the older mechs kind of worthless. Is that true? I don't want to jump back in if I need to drop another $50 or something.

Not at all, at least no more than it has ever been. Sure there are some new mechs that are better than some old mechs, but the opposite is also true. In general, mechs that fared worse received "quirks" that soup up some aspects of the mech to make it more competitive, usually by focusing on certain builds or types of builds for a chassis. The venerable old HBK-4G is a freaking murder machine with its 25% Rate of Fire, Projectile Speed, and Range increase on the AC20, along w/ significant extra armor and health for the giant shoulder hunch to help you keep it for longer.

These quirks, along with the introduction of Clans, has introduced some power creep into the game such that TTK is lower than it was at beta, but the overall inter-mech balance is about the best it's ever been (which isn't at all to say it's perfect - Clan mechs are still overall better than Inner Sphere, but the disparity isn't as big as it has been in other games in the past).

The game has also been getting new, bigger, better maps. Forest Colony (the first ever map) just got a pretty great revamp, and Caustic Valley is up next on Oct 6.

Not to mention, there's a "balance-pass" coming so which 'mechs are good may be changing... honestly seems making everything even worse though...

According to NGNG after the fact, the only thing PGI was intending to test on the PTS w/ that new balance system at that time was the change to Information Warfare/Targeting. Everything else was just placeholder. They did a piss poor job of communicating that didn't they?

Russ put up the October roadmap today with the note that the next balance PTS is coming in a week or two and they'll say what part of it they want us to look at ahead of time this time. :-/

Roadmap tl;dr - Crab & new Caustic Valley on Oct 6 + 2015 loyalty rewards (buy shit before Oct 1, get free shit)
Wolfhound + new group queue tonnage matching and camo/paint UI revamp on Oct 20
 

Woorloog

Banned
According to NGNG after the fact, the only thing PGI was intending to test on the PTS w/ that new balance system at that time was the change to Information Warfare/Targeting. Everything else was just placeholder. They did a piss poor job of communicating that didn't they?20

Uh-huh.
Why does that sound like they were actually going to get rid of the existing quirks but thanks to poor reception, they aren't?
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Warhammer art and hardpoint variation are making me sweat.

$20 + $15 for the add-on gone
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
I get the feeling that PGI has to fear Harmony Gold way more than Catalyst, so PGI will purposely make their art further away from the original Unseen mechs.
 

Woorloog

Banned
That's new art too, which I was shocked to see as no other catalyst art for these unseen have been that close to the originals, the new warhammers have looked dramatically different for years and now this?

Uh, you don't know? Catalyst has made new art for all the (original) unseen, though not all are revealed yet.

BattleMaster: http://41.media.tumblr.com/9812a2dfbd3b7bf261299aa5a6a11660/tumblr_inline_nvi1ljKNLC1s9c9hj_500.jpg
Locust:
http://40.media.tumblr.com/0f7c589f936726afceabf81ddbe866a5/tumblr_inline_nvg9ouF39j1s9c9hj_500.jpg
Shadow Hawk:
http://41.media.tumblr.com/5b055081012be3bb57a36694ad617131/tumblr_inline_nvfzqaIxiO1s9c9hj_500.jpg
Marauder: http://40.media.tumblr.com/76865e82c44c8ebe0bbd9d605258deb5/tumblr_inline_nusbxuDZI21s9c9hj_500.jpg


These replace the unseen. They do not replace Project Phoenix art, which exists in-universe from 3060s onward. But those Star League and Succession Wars era unseen are no longer unseen.

Upcoming Alpha Strike Box Set (not 100% confirmed though) is supposed to contain 12 plastic IS miniatures, all of them unseen, and 10 Clan 'mechs as well.
 

Lime

Member
Flying Debris is so amazing. I'm also so happy that PGI is so good-hearted that they lent out their designs and assets to HBS for the Battletech Kickstarter game.

I wonder how the game is doing financially. Is it even sustainable?
 

Woorloog

Banned
And Almeras (Reverse Disabled) made a new resin model (he's famous for his Raven, commando and Dragon models if you ever saw them)



Astonishing

3D printed?
The MWO Hunchback is probably the most faithful to the BT originals of MWO designs when it comes to style.

Also, what is the name of that color (shade)? Because it is the kind i will want to use for my minis at some point.
 

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
So the HBS kickstarter had me hankering for some Mechwarrior action so I finally dived into this. Kinda crazy to think that I backed the founder packages on this but then never ended up playing it outside of the super early beta.

Having fun so far, it's definitely a lot better then I remember.
 

Lime

Member
3D printed?
The MWO Hunchback is probably the most faithful to the BT originals of MWO designs when it comes to style.

Also, what is the name of that color (shade)? Because it is the kind i will want to use for my minis at some point.

yeah I think he is using a 3D printer for it. He uses the 3D assets of MWO.

No idea about the color/shading, but you could e-mail him if you want to.

So the HBS kickstarter had me hankering for some Mechwarrior action so I finally dived into this. Kinda crazy to think that I backed the founder packages on this but then never ended up playing it outside of the super early beta.

Having fun so far, it's definitely a lot better then I remember.

The core gameplay is decent and entertaining, but it feels very unproductive and monotone after a while. All you do is accrue more Cbills and fight on the same maps with the same tactics (stick together in a ball of death). It's cool to return to every once in a while, but after 5 or 10 matches I am reminded of why I didn't play it.

I come for the mechs, but I don't stay for the overall gameplay/-design.
 

Woorloog

Banned
The core gameplay is decent and entertaining, but it feels very unproductive and monotone after a while. All you do is accrue more Cbills and fight on the same maps with the same tactics (stick together in a ball of death). It's cool to return to every once in a while, but after 5 or 10 matches I am reminded of why I didn't play it.

I come for the mechs, but I don't stay for the overall gameplay/-design.

The major issue with MWO is that it isn't dynamic. It is always the same death blob again and again. And it is funny how no matter what PGI tweaks, the game doesn't change. It doesn't matter if the PPCs or lasers or LRMs are the king of weapons. There's something wrong with the very core of the game.

I don't think things like CW or unlocks are important. I (and no doubt many others) played Halo 3 for years despite there not being anything to unlock or greater metagame, simply because the game was so frigging good.
Heck, Starcraft (Brood War) is like the king of this, its last balance patch was in 2001 and it was played for ten years after that, because it was so dynamic game.
 

AlStrong

Member
Are they working on scenarios from Era 3052? I thought they'd at least have basic attack/defend objectives if not battles based on the era.

Straight up TDM sounds boring given the lore.


Yeah... think I prefer Catalyst art here. Marauder looks nice in MWO too.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Are they working on scenarios from Era 3052? I thought they'd at least have basic attack/defend objectives if not battles based on the era.

Straight up TDM sounds boring given the lore.

Ironically majority of Battletech table top games are just TDM.
(Simply adding forced withdrawal rules makes things more interesting though, so that one must seek to avoid total defeat...)
 

Lime

Member
New camo color selection looks ten times better

0e268764883a03c15a5aa128604d02c6.png


The major issue with MWO is that it isn't dynamic. It is always the same death blob again and again. And it is funny how no matter what PGI tweaks, the game doesn't change. It doesn't matter if the PPCs or lasers or LRMs are the king of weapons. There's something wrong with the very core of the game.

I don't think things like CW or unlocks are important. I (and no doubt many others) played Halo 3 for years despite there not being anything to unlock or greater metagame, simply because the game was so frigging good.
Heck, Starcraft (Brood War) is like the king of this, its last balance patch was in 2001 and it was played for ten years after that, because it was so dynamic game.

Very true.
 

Woorloog

Banned
So. Played a couple of games with this new computer.
Feels wonderful.
Ultra settings (minus AA), FreeSynced display, new precise mouse... I do much, much better than with my old laptop and sub-low settings with sub-30 FPS.

I'd apply AA but i don't know much about which one works how, which is a good option except that FXAA is a post-processing AA that causes some blurriness (IIRC).
 

Giolon

Member
Oh, and a couple of questions.

How good value are the Warhammer pack, and the Origins IIC pack (3-4 mech type ones)?

Well discounting the ancilliary add-ons, the Origins IIC packs are sold at $20 / 3, $6.66 ea, mech variants price, which matches IS mech pack prices making them the cheapest Clan mechs (typically $30 / 3, $10 ea, mech variants price).

The Warhammer/Marauder's Standard packs are also on par ($20 / 3 mech variants), however there's no special variant in these packs which makes them a little worse than the other tiered IS mech packs. The Collector Pack is a little bit more of a rip since you get a 4th special variant (duplicate of one of the other 3 but with a c-bill boost) making it $40 / 4, $10 ea, mech variants.

In short, roughly the same "deal" they've always offered. As usual, if you're going to buy it at all, better to buy when you get the Early Adopter bonus (in the Warhammer's case, 3 cockpit items (meh), Polygon camo (meh), PPC + Medium Laser Range Modules (worth like what 5 million c-bills though whether you'd buy them anyway is up in the air), Target Info Gathering and Advanced Zoom modules (worth I think 9 million c-bills?), and 6.5 million c-bills (YAY!) Early Adopter ends at 11:59 PDT on Halloween (tomorrow).
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Oh, and a couple of questions.

How good value are the Warhammer pack, and the Origins IIC pack (3-4 mech type ones)?

Nothing in the history of MWO has been as good a value as the IIC pack. IS mech flexibility with Clan tech might just blow the game open.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Unfortunately i've missed the IIC pack early adopter bonus... Oh, well. That means i've got ample time to think about it.

The Warhammer is attractive because it is probably my favorite 'mech. Yet... I honestly think MWO is kind of a poor game and still feel a bit bitter about the broken promises.
Yet i feel like i need to spend a bit more...
Sigh.

...

What i really want are the Marauder and Warhammer IICs. Best of both worlds, so to speak... What beautiful monsters those two are.

(In case someone doesn't know: Mad IIC has trio of PPCs and a bunch of medium pulse lasers and ER smalls for backup, while massing 85 tons with speed of 64 kph. The Whammy IIC has the same speed, ten tons to the original, sports twin ERPPCs and five medium pulse lasers and a SRM-6 pack. Both are terrifying.)
 

Woorloog

Banned
I laughed and then cried when i noticed someone saying "Won't come with long gun barrels" on the official forums.
I mean, that poster is so right... right? It will have teeny tiny guns and short laser, so that it doesn't actually look like a Rifleman...
 

Lime

Member
I laughed and then cried when i noticed someone saying "Won't come with long gun barrels" on the official forums.
I mean, that poster is so right... right? It will have teeny tiny guns and short laser, so that it doesn't actually look like a Rifleman...

So true.
 

Woorloog

Banned
I haven't played since the Spring. Aside from the new mechs, what's new?

I'm updating right now.

I'm trying to think what has really changed since the beta.
And honestly, beyond addition of CW (when was it added anyway? I forget), i don't think the game has fundamentally changed.

Pretty sure they've updated one or two maps since the spring. Meaning, they look good but deathball is still the most effective tactic so nothing's really changed.

/bitter
 

Lime

Member
I'm just surprised PGI are able to keep afloat. It doesn't seem like there are that many new players (I could imagine) and there's only so much players can do in terms of putting money into the experience. The only goal is more mechs and more cbills.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Rifleman pre-order is up.
https://mwomercs.com/rifleman

Nothing particularly special. The hero version is the Legend Killer (which does not have canonical stats). This version features quad-AC5s.

The Rifleman is one of my favorite 'mechs but i doubt it will be that great in MWO. The Jagermech is probably better overall, unless one wants arm-mounted energy hardpoints.

Too bad it doesn't have 300 max engine rating... (I still refuse to use engine ratings illegal in the tabletop game. 300 rating would be legal and it would be fun.)

My biggest fear is that the arms are going to look bad, with too short barrels. If they'd show us the model, i might be interest but...
 
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