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[wwm0nkey]

I dunno, 12v12 and non-gigantic maps gives me a bit of a World of Tanks vibe. That's not a bad thing, though, since I freakin' love WoT.

Oh no the battles do sound like World of Tanks but the actual out of game set up sounds like ChromeHounds.

 

[tranciful]

Baffles me how people can hate on FTP..

 

[Brannon]

Would be awesome if it used the Steel Battalion controller.

This is never going to happen officially, of course.

 

[Orayn]

Actually, if their joystick support is robust enough, you could easily do it. People have written drivers that allow you to assign all of the SB controller's buttons, joysticks, and pedals to a virtual joystick while maintaining full analog functionality where the original had it.

Such a setup would actually be pretty similar to the way BattleTech Tesla II pods work, with torso twist and pitch on a joystick, speed control on a throttle, mech turning on pedals, and everything else on various buttons and switches.

 

[Fireye]

Next battlemech has been announced. No surprise, it's the Catapult!
http://mwomercs.com/news/2011/12/70-battlemech-5-catapult

 

[BoobPhysics101]

Catapult this fucking game onto my hard drive because I'm READY.

 

[Lime]

Fuck yes! I like the design.

 

[Woorloog]

Fuck yes! I like the design.

I do like it aswell. Sleek. Missile-boat Catas are fun... hopefully MRM30/40 (4xMRM30 would be ideal) is in the game...

 

[Orayn]

Sexy map/environment concept art went up on the MWO Facebook page today.

Quoted to prevent huge-ness. Click on it for the full-sized picture.

Next battlemech has been announced. No surprise, it's the Catapult!
http://mwomercs.com/news/2011/12/70-battlemech-5-catapult

Gorgeous! I really like the chunkier, heavier design for most of these revamped 'Mechs.

 

[AngelSoldier]

Wow, My Dad is gonna be pissed.

He was really hoping for a proper story-driven reboot.

And I, was hoping they would keep their word on console releases.

 

[Orayn]

Wow, My Dad is gonna be pissed.

He was really hoping for a proper story-driven reboot.

And I, was hoping they would keep their word on console releases.

There will be an over-arching campaign driven by players, though. They plan on having major Clans and Inner Sphere houses as factions you can join, and the results of their battles will determine how the refreshed story plays out. (It's set just before the Clan Invasion.)

And console release sadly goes out the window because Microsoft and Sony aren't down with the F2P model. The prototype game that would have gotten a 360 release wasn't picked up by any publisher.

 

[Atomski]

Baffles me how people can hate on FTP..

They tend to be grindfest and quality wise typically aren't as good as paid games.

 

[Orayn]

They tend to be grindfest and quality wise typically aren't as good as paid games.

That's only the case if you're willfully ignorant of recent games like League of Legends and World of Tanks, in addition to upcoming ones like Tribes Ascend, FireFall, Planetside 2, and more.

 

[Sinatar]

They tend to be grindfest and quality wise typically aren't as good as paid games.

Not to mention that if you want the same content you'd get in a full priced game you often would pay upwards of $500.

They aren't free, not even a little bit.

 

[Orayn]

Not to mention that if you want the same content you'd get in a full priced game you often would pay upwards of $500.

They aren't free, not even a little bit.

They technically are if you can still unlock everything with standard in-game currency.

 

[teiresias]

My dad was absolutely in love with Mechwarrior 3 at the time, but I've never really gotten into these games much at all. Maybe I'll make a point of trying to get us playing this together though.

 

[Mechazawa]

They technically are if you can still unlock everything with standard in-game currency.

Well, that then becomes a question of what your time is worth...

But, in any case, assuming they pull out a really strong F2P economy where shit doesn't take to long to unlock, this could be the better path anyways since I doubt a retail MechWarrior release would even have a sizeable community that would live past a month.

 

[Orayn]

Well, that then becomes a question of what your time is worth...

But, in any case, assuming they pull out a really strong F2P economy where shit doesn't take to long to unlock, this could be the better path anyways since I doubt a retail MechWarrior release would even have a sizeable community that would live past a month.

Yeah, lowering the barrier to entry is integral to any attempt to revitalize what is essentially a dead franchise in a dead genre. Luckily, everything we've heard from Piranha about monetization has sounded very good, akin to a more reigned-in version of what World of Tanks is doing.

 

[Orayn]

New dev blog is up! Quoting some of the more important stuff.

BattleGrid

The core of information warfare is the BattleGrid, a combination of command center and dynamic battlefield map useable by players during gameplay. The BattleGrid is an extension of the HUD and allows players to quickly review the tactical situation at hand. Players will immediately recognize elements from other successful shooters and previous MechWarrior® products.

• A scalable battlefield top-down map.
• Object and waypoint markers.
• Friendly and Enemy Unit Markers
• Support Units
• Orders

Modules – A New Concept

In order to evolve the concept of MechWarrior®, we needed a new layer of customization. After several scrapped ideas, we settled on a module concept. Modules allow players to customize their BattleMech with functionality without having to deal with the existing slots and tonnage rules.

Each BattleMech will come with Module Board. Players can insert modules of their choice, provided they have space. Each module adds a layer of functionality. Modules are linked to the Pilot Tree and are unlocked by training various skills.
Modules are also a very important part of Role Warfare - a topic for a future blog.

Targeting Tweaks

We’ve changed how targeting has worked by layering and controlling what players see and know about the opposing force elements.

Target information is now exclusively Line of Sight/Detection (LOSD). Simply put, if you, a teammate or support unit can’t directly see or detect a target using a module, that target is invisible. Target information decays rapidly. This means if you lose LOSD, you will lose all knowledge that target’s position and current status.

Details about a target are not inclusive, and is now layered based on the type of modules and BattleMech you are piloting. The concept helps emphasizes using specific `Mech and Module combinations to gain and share enhanced targeting information.

Sharing of target information is also no longer inclusive and requires a Module or C3 Master/Slave unit.

Sounds like they're really playing up the "information warfare" elements.

 

[Krauser Kat]

this sounds sexy as hell. All we need is hats.

 

[Orayn]

this sounds sexy as hell. All we need is hats.

Custom paint jobs and emblems from the cash shop are no substitute for an 'Mech sized bowler.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Not to mention that if you want the same content you'd get in a full priced game you often would pay upwards of $500.

They aren't free, not even a little bit.

Depends on the game, many free games are enjoyable for the cost of ... nothing. How much you spend really depends on the game itself, some are real bad and basically nothing but money sucking machines yes, but some aren't.

 

[Sinatar]

After several scrapped ideas, we settled on a module concept. Modules allow players to customize their BattleMech with functionality without having to deal with the existing slots and tonnage rules.

I don't like the sound of that at all. I bet that's where the charges come into play.

 

[Ironmask]

I'm hyped, time to blow the dust off my old logitech joystick

 

[SapientWolf]

That's only the case if you're willfully ignorant of recent games like League of Legends and World of Tanks, in addition to upcoming ones like Tribes Ascend, FireFall, Planetside 2, and more.

Doesn't WoT start you off in a crap tank until you grind out something decent? And the F2P nature of Ascend kind of hamstrung team character balance.

 

[Orayn]

Doesn't WoT start you off in a crap tank until you grind out something decent? And the F2P nature of Ascend kind of hamstrung team character balance.

Yeah, but the matchmaker was suppoed to match you up with only other people in those same starter tanks. WoT's big problem wasn't that tanks got better as you progressed, but the relatively wide range of power levels that got matched up together.

I'm hyped, time to blow the dust off my old logitech joystick

My body is ready.

I don't like the sound of that at all. I bet that's where the charges come into play.

Modules sound more akin to smaller hardware components and software, rather than a freemium thing.

 

[Des0lar]

I don't like the sound of that at all. I bet that's where the charges come into play.

Have you played Tribes Ascend? It's like the perfect way to do F2P. You can pay to advance faster but there is nothing a paying player is better in than a non-paying.

I bet it will be the same here: XP advantage for paying players, plus custom paintjobs for your mech. Maybe paying players can have 3 different mechs available and others only 2.

As long as I feel like it's a fair fight I won't complain. The best part about f2p is probably that if you really like it, you can easily get your friends at least to try it.

 

[Orayn]

Have you played Tribes Ascend? It's like the perfect way to do F2P. You can pay to advance faster but there is nothing a paying player is better in than a non-paying.

I bet it will be the same here: XP advantage for paying players, plus custom paintjobs for your mech. Maybe paying players can have 3 different mechs available and others only 2.

God willing, this is what F2P will be like. No mechanical advantages available exclusively to people who pay, just conveniences, luxuries, and cosmetic stuff.

As long as I feel like it's a fair fight I won't complain. The best part about f2p is probably that if you really like it, you can easily get your friends at least to try it.

This is what MWO needs more than anything else. The mech genre is niche as hell, and lowering the barrier to entry is the only way for it to survive. Rather than compromise the depth of the gameplay, they're just making it available to everyone by tearing down the initial pay-wall. I hate to say it, but the game would almost certainly BOMBA if it were a $50 traditional release.

 

[FloppyDelux]

Next battlemech has been announced. No surprise, it's the Catapult!
http://mwomercs.com/news/2011/12/70-battlemech-5-catapult

Nice, cant wait for this.

 

[Orayn]

Looks like I missed a bit of icy concept art that went up on their Facebook page in celebration of making it onto RPS's Most Anticipated Games of 2012 list.

Flying Debris/Alex continues to impress!

 

[derFeef]

Those concepts are sweet, can't wait to see ingame shots.

 

[Orayn]

Developer Interview #3 went up today!

MWO: How is making a Free to Play game different from a ‘normal’ game?

[DAVID] There are a couple of different aspects that I like the best. The first is that, being a free game, there’s no barrier to entry for a new player. If someone wants to play it, all they have to do is create an account and download the game, so we have a chance to reach a really wide audience. The other aspect is that we can launch with a solid core game but then continually improve and add to it with regular updates. This allows us to not only get in new features or ’Mechs that we want to see, but we can respond to the needs of the community as well.

[PAUL] There are a few aspects that are key to the differences between developing a normal boxed game and a F2P title.
First off, the difference between a new F2P game and MechWarrior® Online™ is twofold. First and foremost, MechWarrior is an established franchise with a very deep and rich history. Second, MechWarrior® Online™ is one of the first titles to push the technology envelope by using CryENGINE 3™.
Next, we need to look at the wide audience we’re going to draw. The biggest benefit to developing a F2P title is that the game is (as the acronym suggests) free. If a game is free, why wouldn’t you give it a shot? After getting the first impression from a player, it’s very important to keep that player interested in your title. With F2P, the player who is playing for free has no invested interest in continuing to play if the quality and content of the game, as well as the community, isn’t up to their expectations. A player doesn’t have to pay to be invested into the game as long as they feel like they’re part of a community or league that has a lot of fun playing the game. In order to pull this off, we have to be sure that the game is solid, has the right features at launch, has a continual stream of new content and is accessible to the new and veteran player alike.
Does this mean we dumb the game down for the casual, new player? No it doesn’t. We just need to make sure the new player has an enjoyable time while they learn the ins and outs of the game as well as the intricacies of customizing a BattleMech.
Lastly, addressing the Pay-to-Win argument that plagues so many F2P communities is something that we keep at the front of our design discussions. What is purchased with real world currency and what is purchased with in-game currency is the question that is in the back of my mind when looking at any item put into the game.
There’s a fine line between Pay-to-Progress and Pay-to-Win. Obviously we don’t want the latter but the dangers are there for every item we look at. What you may think has no implication on gameplay can and will have an effect in one way or another when it comes to anything that alters the properties of a BattleMech. We even run into this situation dealing with Information Warfare and Role Warfare items. All we can do is make sure that we’ve covered our bases and watch how things fall into place during testing/public beta testing.

[BRYAN] Nothing much more to add here.

MWO: Which games were you influenced by for MechWarrior Online? Which features did they have that you liked?

[DAVID] Well, the obvious answer is all the past MechWarrior games. Some of their features have provided great templates, or at least starting points, for developing our own.

[PAUL] Battlefield 2 for the BattleGrid, RISK for the Inner Sphere conflict/border wars.

[BRYAN] EVE Online, Battlefield, Call of Duty, MechWarrior (1-4), BattleTech, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine, World of Tanks, and League of Legends.

MWO: How will different playstyles be encouraged in MechWarrior Online? (And what are your preferred playstyles?)

[DAVID] It’s a combination of making sure that the weapons and equipment that a player needs to suit their playstyle are available, as well as giving them the ability to unlock and install modules that will further enhance their role. We also need to reward actions and objectives beyond the standard “kill your enemy until he’s dead.”
In games I usually prefer a combat role, but one that I can use on the front lines to support my teammates. I’m happy [to] jump in the way of enemy fire if it means that my teammate can capture the flag or hill or whatever the objective is. (And this way I can also pass the blame on to them if the enemy captures it instead. ) So I’ll probably be playing a medium ’Mech that can get me to where my buddies need help, and then have enough fire power to at least distract our enemies and have them focus on me.

[PAUL] Information Warfare and Role Warfare are our 2 motivators to have mixed class BattleMechs on the battlefield. Everyone here at Piranha loves a good co-op feel when playing multiplayer titles. While we won’t be having co-op in MWO, we will have some really cool team based gameplay that will become apparent in the next few months.
Contrary to what my co-workers think (they think I’m a griefer due to my vulgar trash talking), when I play competitive online games outside of work, I’m more into the team play aspects rather than running and gunning trying to prove something. If you were to look at my BF2 stats, you’d see that my K/D ratio isn’t the greatest but I did a crazy amount of objective completions. I’m always the assault/support class pushing the frontline forward and I’m sure that’s how I’ll be playing in MWO. Probably a Medium or Heavy class Mech balanced between armor and weaponry. I’ll be the one capturing points, or defending a location, or defending the scout or commander class Mechs. I’ll be monitoring all communications to see where I can help out the team.

[BRYAN] I’m all about quick precision strikes. Get in, get out. I like to balance max speed, stealth, and damage, not unlike a Ninja.

MWO: Can you guys explain how the Battlegrid works?

[DAVID] The BattleGrid is essentially a version of the minimap that has expanded to fill your screen and provide you with the ultimate tactical view in the game. From here you’ll be able to see your location, the locations of your allies, the location and status of objectives, the location of enemies in your line of sight, etc. You’ll also see any information that’s being shared by your allies. The BattleGrid is going to be the commander’s best friend when it comes to planning tactics, issuing orders, and calling down artillery strikes.

[PAUL] Imagine looking at a map of the environment you’re in. The more information fed to you from scouts or the commander, the more you’re going to see. Scouts will be able to relay tactical information to the commander who then relays that information back to everyone else on the field. The commander has the ability to issue orders, call-in support fire and recon sweeps. The more information shared on the battlefield, the more prepared all players will be when approaching hot spots on the map. All players will have access to the BattleGrid but only the commander will have interactivity with it. It would be in your best interest to keep him protected at all times.

MWO: How does the Line Of Sight/Display work?

[DAVID] The basic rule is that if you don’t have line of sight on an enemy ’Mech, then it’s not going to be targetable or even show up on your radar. Now, there are exceptions to this rule. The first is that if you see an opponent and then they disappear behind a building, there will be a few seconds before their information decays and disappears. The other exception is that teammates will be capable of relaying their information to you, and vice versa. There’s also support units, such as UAVs, that can be deployed to act as spotters for your ’Mech. On the whole, this is meant to increase the value of tactical information as well as the role of scout ’Mechs on the battlefield.

 

[Orayn]

New developer Q&A went up today! Includes a lot of new information about modules and line of sight/detection.

Modules! We thought we'd answer all the modules questions (or at least most) in a single question, so here we go!

[PAUL] For every talent unlocked on the Pilot Skill Tree, the player unlocks a module. The player can now purchase the module in the Store. These modules are purchased with C-Bills, the in-game currency.
Every BattleMech will have a specific amount of slots available for modules. The number of slots will vary depending on the BattleMech chassis the player chooses to play with. The device that houses these modules is a small electronic device that has no effect on BattleMech weight or critical space.

The module designs are created by the design team as a way to augment the piloting skill of a BattleMech without affecting the firepower or base rules of how a BattleMech operates. As to what the skills are, we are currently testing them out in gameplay. We want to ensure that these modules do not throw gameplay out of balance before releasing details on exactly what they do. Trollollololololllolllollololooooo!

Okay okay… put the pitchforks away… here is a THEORETICAL EXAMPLE:

Module: Enhanced Night Vision Effect: Increases the detail of objects while in Night Vision Mode at the cost of reduced range. Cost: 4500 CB The player equips this module in their BattleMech. The module instantly takes effect and anytime the player switches to Night Vision, they will see more clearly but not as far as the default Night Vision mode.

As a pilot becomes more experienced, he is sure to learn a little bit more about controlling a BattleMech as well as what to look out for. Now imagine if we apply this to the pilot’s situational awareness. A module could be implemented that plays off of this notion and increases the range of the pilot’s Anti-Missile System because he’s more aware of what to look out for. It’s like his mental/physical skills are embedded into a circuit in the form of a module, so the neurohelmet interface can take over, allowing the pilot to concentrate on other things. Neat huh?

When we design a Module, we try to stay away from interfering with historical/canon abilities of the pilot/Mech but there are some cross over designs that may contradict this. An example would be what our modules may do that normally requires a C3 unit equipped to a BattleMech. Or maybe they won’t!

I think that covers most of the questions concerning the modules.

Does this mean that if I am in a Catapult and (an enemy) mech is detected behind a hill and I do NOT have direct LOS/D I can still launch LRMs at him and they would arc over the hill to hit him? –VanillaG

[DAVID] Yes, if you receive the target data from an ally, you’ll be able to lock on to that enemy and indirectly fire LRMs at it. Of course, you still have to allow a reasonable path for those missiles to travel. If you’re standing directly in front of the hill, those missiles aren’t going to have anywhere to go other than straight into the cliff face.

You state details on a target are not inclusive; does this mean that Mechs with particular modules will be able to better obtain detailed information regarding a target? If so, will they be able to propagate that data instantly to other teammates whom are carrying particular info-sharing modules? –Aegis Kleais

[DAVID] There will be various levels of detail when you target an enemy ’Mech. The levels that you can access will be determined by how long you target the ’Mech as well as which modules you have equipped on your own ’Mech. For example, you may be able to first just target and track the ’Mech, then after a couple of seconds your computer identifies it as an Atlas, and then you receive a report from your scanners about the ’Mech’s overall damage state. If you have a specific module equipped you would then receive a detailed damage breakdown of the ’Mech’s components.
This information will be shared to your lancemates as you gather it, but they may require their own modules or other equipment in order to receive some of the more advanced scans.

Besides passive actions such as blocking communications or inhibiting a target-lock, will there be more "aggressive" forms of electronic sabotage such as IFF-flipping, sending fraudulent transmissions to enemy units, or other kinds of overtly offensive acts? –Prosperity Park

[DAVID] Initially, the more aggressive forms of electronic warfare are likely to be limited to ways of countering and knocking out enemy’s own electronic warfare and communications equipment. Additionally there will be equipment like Narc Beacons and TAG systems which are harmless on their own but allow for more accurate missile attacks. As we go we’ll look into implementing some of the more covert sabotage-oriented attacks that you mentioned.

Will a satellite overview be a sort of "ping" on the map of all enemy targets that lasts the duration of the satellite or will you be able to hide from it? –Damocles

[DAVID] The satellite scan will be like a radar sweep of the map, revealing information about enemy positions, but this information will quickly decay. We have not yet decided if or how a ’Mech can escape detection (other than taking shelter in a covered area like a cave) but there will likely be methods of doing so. This is more likely to be true if we implement different kinds of satellite sweeps (i.e. thermal, magnetic, etc.).

 

[Zaptruder]

Oh man... this slow trickle of information is torture!

They'll probably wait till E3 to show off any footage/screens, and then it'll only be out by the end of the year.

 

[Sinatar]

Ok... so the modules act as a sort of CoD style perk system and not how you customize your actual mech. That's good.

 

[Dead Man]

Gah, stupid perks are getting into everything. Still interested to see what they manage though. Between this and Hawken, F2P looks like being the saviour of mech games. Hope they don't fuck it.

 

[kennah]

But managing power consumption and tonnage was one of my favourite parts of the game

 

[Orayn]

But managing power consumption and tonnage was one of my favourite parts of the game

This doesn't replace full 'Mech customization, it just supplements it by allowing for smaller modifications that you'll gradually gain access to as you progress through the skill trees.

Gah, stupid perks are getting into everything. Still interested to see what they manage though. Between this and Hawken, F2P looks like being the saviour of mech games. Hope they don't fuck it.

Eh, it's pretty justified in this case. The kind of stuff they're talking about sounds very much in line with customizations that actual MechWarriors would make, so it's not an unexplained power boost like CoD.

 

[Dead Man]

Eh, it's pretty justified in this case. The kind of stuff they're talking about sounds very much in line with customizations that actual MechWarriors would make, so it's not an unexplained power boost like CoD.

Oh, it's far from the end of the world, and it will be better implemented than Cod I'm sure. I guess I am still pining for a SP game where things like that accrue naturally, rather than 'Spend x mechbucks, get ability 3!'.

 

[Orayn]

New BattleMech revealed: Centurion

Excellent work from FlyingDebris, as always.

Here's the old version for comparison.

 

[mcp]

New BattleMech revealed: Centurion

Excellent work from FlyingDebris, as always.

Looks totally badass. I am really looking forward to this.

All the information warfare stuff sounds great. Hopefully they will actually get the balance right between the different weight classes of mechs.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

God I wish I still had my MW:2 cd. I would so throw that in the computer and rock that soundtrack out.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Torn...

Love the new design, but at the sametime dissapointed they are making the designs so different from the originals in some cases. The Atlas and Catapult were nice updates that kept the original. The dragon and centurion dont really look anything like the originals

 

[Orayn]

Looks totally badass. I am really looking forward to this.

All the information warfare stuff sounds great. Hopefully they will actually get the balance right between the different weight classes of mechs.

Yeah, I hope so too. If you combine whatbPiranha has daid about information warfare with how they want to keep every role important, I think it's reasonable to assume they'll put a heavy emphasis on scouting with light 'Mechs, if nothing else.

 

[daedalius]

I was in a clan during the Mercs days, I would say I am looking forward to this.

 

[Orayn]

I was in a clan during the Mercs days, I would say I am looking forward to this.

Do you mean a group of people who play together, or a bunch of barbarians who could never hope to overtake the Inner Sphere?

 

[daedalius]

Do you mean a group of people who play together, or a bunch of barbarians who could never hope to overtake the Inner Sphere?

Haha, if I remember correctly we were in a league where we played as Clans, but we were too busy warring with a different clan to actually take any territory in the Inner Sphere

Either I was in Steel Mist Jaguar, or we were fighting against them, I can't really remember (was like 9 years ago after all).

 

[Orayn]

I see. Only Inner Sphere houses and mercenary groups (Both original and created by players) will be available at launch, but I can see them incorporating the Clans in a large expansion akin to City of Villains.

 

[Quadratic]

I'm very excited for this. I'm not too big of the fan of the inner sphere mechs but I can learn to love them since it is a sim-like game. I want there to be "heft" and size to each mech. Was Axman announced as a playable mech? I assume it would be since it's pretty iconic.

 

[Orayn]

I'm very excited for this. I'm not too big of the fan of the inner sphere mechs but I can learn to love them since it is a sim-like game. I want there to be "heft" and size to each mech. Was Axman announced as a playable mech? I assume it would be since it's pretty iconic.

I agree about the heft, and feel that their concept artist has been doing a great job of making the 'Mechs feel heavier, more mechanically plausible, and more "real." On the subject of the Axman, they said they wanted to wait until melee combat was fully implemented before adding any 'Mechs that relied on it.