Mechwarrior Online

[Ironwood]

Wait, what ?

Are you saying you took 45 minutes from wondering to plonking down 120 ?

I was suddenly persuaded by some form of psychic connection to the mechwarrior ether.

Well, sure, I get it (I really do), but I'd have plonked down the least amount, tried it and then, you know, upgraded.

I'd like to make it clear to everyone in the thread that YOU CAN DO THAT.  STOP BEING MENTAL.

[Lantyssa]

I'll also mention that they sent out an e-mail that all founders should be in now, and new founders will be in as soon as their database can manage to activate the account.

[Pennilenko]

Well, sure, I get it (I really do), but I'd have plonked down the least amount, tried it and then, you know, upgraded.

I'd like to make it clear to everyone in the thread that YOU CAN DO THAT.  STOP BEING MENTAL.

I have no regrets.

[Falconeer]

Well, sure, I get it (I really do), but I'd have plonked down the least amount, tried it and then, you know, upgraded.

I'd like to make it clear to everyone in the thread that YOU CAN DO THAT.  STOP BEING MENTAL.

I have no regrets.

EXACTLY.

[angry.bob]

Unless you are a big fan of ... a spiffy paint job

That's all it took for me.

[Tmon]

Unless you are a big fan of ... a spiffy paint job

That's all it took for me.

When the subject of beta rewards for another game came up, that's actually what I suggested.  Some kind of beta tester only paint job that could be applied to any vehicle would be much more fun than some gimped premium vehicle that would most likely end up being sold as soon as you needed the space for something more useful.

[OandA]

I'll also mention that they sent out an e-mail that all founders should be in now, and new founders will be in as soon as their database can manage to activate the account.

Which is pretty fast, btw.

[Falconeer]

For the record, 120$ Legendary founders pack is only 97 Euros. Lovely.

[Ironwood]

Yeah, that's what sold the smallest pack for me - when you convert it, it's less than a half an hour drinky session and I don't really want to give any NDA breaking stuff away, but this game is well worth a half an hour drinky session.  Hell, I've had that much fun in the first ten minutes of the mech lab alone.

I really do want the NDA to drop though.  There's stuff I wish to share.  Loudly.

[Arthur_Parker]

I'm so tired, not getting enough sleep 

[Falconeer]

It's Gamespy, but this article says some things we can't say.

MechWarrior Online is Operating Outside of My Expectations (and Assumptions)


By Taylor Cocke | Jul 31, 2012
The journey from apprehension to excitement about MechWarrior Online.

As a newcomer to the series I didn't know what to expect from MechWarrior Online as I sat down in front of a computer at a recent MWO event, the mech selection screen staring me straight in the face. My friends informed me of all the great times they'd had with the MechWarrior games, particularly with 2 and 4. And here I was, getting ready to play the series' triumphant return and mere minutes away from playing my first MechWarrior game.


Witness the majestic Centurion in its natural habitat.

It took a round or two to get used to the tank-like controls, with a throttle & pivot system taking the place of your standard shooter layout, and I wasn't able to stop or go on a dime because acceleration or deceleration is needed. For many of you this may not sound like a huge difference, but for someone used to the gaming landscape in its twitch-oriented state as of late, it's huge. It became immediately apparent that MechWarrior Online was operating well outside of my expectations. This would require forethought, strategy, and an entirely different way of thinking than I'm used to. I couldn't stop ruminating over what I was going to try next.


There's a certain methodology that playing MechWarrior Online implants in you -- I found myself running through a mental checklist any time I had to make a decision. How's my speed? Can my heat sinks handle another barrage of laser fire without overheating and shutting down my mech? Do I use my jumpjets to get up on a ridge for a tactical advantage at the risk of revealing my location? The sheer amount of information that I had to process is unlike anything I've played in quite some time.



In one such situation my Centurion was damaged and struggling along with a single functioning leg. I knew the Awesome I had my sights on had been doing a lot of firing, so there was a good chance it would overheat if it unleashed its arsenal again. After checking on my mech's status, I stepped into the nearby river (water provide much-needed cooling), and fired away. Sure enough, I took a bit of damage from his Short Range Missiles before his mech overheated and I was able to land a finishing blow with my Medium Lasers.

During that brief, maybe 10 second altercation, I had put more thought into what I was doing than I had in months of playing shooters like Gears of War or Counter-Strike. I've become so accustomed to playing games on the balls of my feet, working with split-second reactions and going with my gut, I was happy to be thinking as much as I was about battle strategies and techniques.

Your Mech, Your Way

Ranging from the tiny and fast Jenner to the crushingly destructive (but slow as hell) Atlas, the huge variety of walking tanks invites a certain amount of commitment to a play style, but only after that style has been determined through experimentation. Sure, you could roll into battle with the pre-created mechs and have a good time, but where things get really interesting is the tremendous amount of customization that can happen before battle.


So many choices!

Looking over the parts list for the first time I was completely overwhelmed. And I found that putting weapons, heat sinks, engines, or whatever else into my mech was pretty simple that was nothing more than dragging and dropping gear into empty slots on the customization screen, but each addition had profound consequences. More weapons means not only more weight, but also creates a faster overheating mech. The heat problem can be taken care of with more heat sinks, but they'll slow the mech down with all that extra weight. It's all a balancing act.

I didn't exactly have time to toy around with all of the options that MechWarrior Online had laid out for me, but I was able to suss out a bit of how important it is to the way it's played. Whereas in most class-based multiplayer games you're stuck within a rigid playstyle, MWO allows you to carve out your own role on the battlefield. When faced with the option of dozens of mechs with thousands of customization choices, I'm not entirely sure what I'll like or what I'll do. But I am excited to find out.


MechWarrior Online has me in its grasps and now I find myself thinking about the style of mech I'd like to create (a speedy, scout-like class, in case you were wondering), and would love to toy with the customization options until I find exactly what I'm looking for. Where I used to see a slow-paced game, I now see a contemplative, complex multiplayer experience. In short, I'm a convert.

[Merusk]

One thing that's been very entertaining is reading the forum threads (non beta) whining about not having Omnimechs/ unlimited hardpoints.

"Sure, limit me to lasers only on this Jenner, but don't force me to only be able to install 4!  I should be able to pack as many as I have weight capacity for!  Just like MW3 let me do!"

Yes, because laser boats weren't ridiculous in MW3.

[Falconeer]

Yeah, I read that too. And it was followed by something like "I didn't know about hardpoints! I want my money back!".

I am not kidding, I think I was 15 years old, late 80s, when I banned full free customization from our high-school little Battletech League. Yeah, it takes a 15 years old person to realize that that shit doesn't make any sense.

[Lantyssa]

I allowed customization, but one had to make the technician rolls.  And have the parts available.  Seriously failing was not good for your 'mech.

But then the heaviest thing they acquired was a Trebuchet, and all 3025 tech.  They never got to a point of finding any Star League stuff.

[Ironwood]

"Ok, you've configured your 'Mech just how you want it, let's play"

"Right, battle starts, make a piloting roll.  I need to see 13 on 2d6."

"Whoops, no, you fall over.  Heat goes up by another 5.  Wanna try again ?"

"Yeah, that looks like a core meltdown.  Roll me 1 on 2d6."

"So, same time next week ?"

[Falconeer]

Brand New Atlas Video.

 

[Jherad]

I really do want the NDA to drop though.  There's stuff I wish to share.  Loudly.

[Pennilenko]

I really do want the NDA to drop though.  There's stuff I wish to share.  Loudly.

[Amaron]

I don't want the NDA to drop.  The more time they have for development the more stuff they can add.

[Merusk]

You do realize this is launching in like... 2 weeks.  The chances of them adding a whole lot aren't great unless you believe in miracle patches.

[Tmon]

Is it launching in two weeks or just going open beta?

[Falconeer]

In one week it is going in CLOSED beta. Wait, it already is in closed beta. Yeah, exactly. In two weeks not much is happening. Their roadmap is something along the lines of "paid beta" (closed) for a couple more months, then open beta around October. But they can push dates as much as they want. The only one they had to respect was August 7th, which is when all founders were supposed to be admitted to the closed beta. Since that already happened, Aug 7th is not gonna mean that much anymore.

[Falconeer]

To support what I said, last Official Devloper Update, June 15th.

Official Developer Update


by Piranha Games Jun 15, 2012 5:00 PM PDT
Hey MechWarrior fans,

As we head towards the Founder’s Program, I wanted to update our loyal fans on what exactly they are buying, the MWO beta timeline and what this means for you. A press release and email will go out on June 19th to launch the program, but for extra clarity I’ll go over some critical points here for you:

We will achieve our Closed Beta 1 status (measured by a goal of sending out 10,000 beta keys in total), in the next week or so. Our next step is introducing the Founder’s Program time-limited offer (which includes new details!), launching Tuesday June 19th which guarantees Closed Beta access on the Injection date.

On July 10th, we are scheduled to move to our production hardware, allowing many thousands of simultaneous players to enjoy the game, also known internally as the launch of Closed Beta 2. As we continue to ramp up the beta testers (drawn from those early purchasers of the Founder’s Program), the next milestone is the injection of the Founder’s Program assets on Aug. 7th.

Yes, this date has shifted from July 17th to Aug 7th simply due to some key production hardware being delayed in arriving at the data center – proper testing on the new production hardware, ensures confidence the system can handle the demands of the exclusive Founder’s Program, hence the shift.

Come Aug 7th when the patrons of the Founder’s Program gain access, the game will still be in Closed Beta 2, with on-going patches added every 2 weeks; therefore, not every feature we have discussed on the web site will be playable. We expect to have each of the features we have announced and discussed on the website (with one exception), in the game by the Open Beta date (which cannot yet be announced other than Summer 2012).

The one exception is the Community Warfare pillar which is a complex system but extremely important. In not wanting to delay the game, logic dictates it be added post-launch. Once fans are completely familiar with creating their 'Mech and pilot trees, the depth of Community Warfare will be added, with the core of the community experience projected to be in-game within 90 days of open beta.

Speaking of BattleMech’s – one should not assume that all of the announced-Mech’s are currently present in the beta or that all will be available come open beta. Mechs are added one at a time to closely reflect the way they are announced on the web site, with an expected target of 10 unique model types along with all their variants, making for a total of approximately 40 different chassis at open beta, with new variants added at a very regular pace.

[Trippy]

I really do want the NDA to drop though.  There's stuff I wish to share.  Loudly.

Cut it out, those of you playing the game right now.

[Amaron]

You do realize this is launching in like... 2 weeks.  The chances of them adding a whole lot aren't great unless you believe in miracle patches.

That's what I thought but no it's not launching soon.

[Merusk]

Well now I'm confused as to why I thought it was launching at the mid/ end of month.

[Lightstalker]

Probably because most games have a "paid beta" after release rather than prior to it.

[Evildrider]

Probably because most games have a "paid beta" after release rather than prior to it.

How is this a paid beta?  Actually, how is it any different than any game that ever offered beta access for preorders?  GW2 just did this with their prepurchase and get beta weekends deal.

Oh and we really need to add this to the smiley/icon's. 

[Lightstalker]

... Come Aug 7th when the patrons of the Founder’s Program gain access, the game will still be in Closed Beta 2 ...

Sure, some folks are in who haven't paid for founder's status, but this is a paid beta if ever there was one.  I suppose I haven't paid attention to recent games in beta very much, Diablo 3 had a more conventional 'paid beta' where everyone who bought the game at release got to deal with a game that was constantly changing - more to the classic "I paid for this but it is still in beta" version of paid beta.  Maybe these days every game fits that model?

[MahrinSkel]

Yeah, I read that too. And it was followed by something like "I didn't know about hardpoints! I want my money back!".

I am not kidding, I think I was 15 years old, late 80s, when I banned full free customization from our high-school little Battletech League. Yeah, it takes a 15 years old person to realize that that shit doesn't make any sense.

You mean I can't make a Shadow Hawk with 24 small lasers, all aimed backwards (one of my more...optimized munchkin designs)?

--Dave

[Ironwood]

 

[eldaec]

... Come Aug 7th when the patrons of the Founder’s Program gain access, the game will still be in Closed Beta 2 ...

Sure, some folks are in who haven't paid for founder's status, but this is a paid beta if ever there was one.  I suppose I haven't paid attention to recent games in beta very much, Diablo 3 had a more conventional 'paid beta' where everyone who bought the game at release got to deal with a game that was constantly changing - more to the classic "I paid for this but it is still in beta" version of paid beta.  Maybe these days every game fits that model?

Only in the same sense that pre-order beta is paid beta. Maybe that's what you mean. I don't really care.

[Falconeer]

Scavenged on the Internet. The Battletech Centers, circa 1992. 
I know it's ridiculous, but at the time that was the ONLY reason why I wanted to visit the United States.

"This is Player.. AGAINST PLAYER!"  (PaP)

[5150]

Scavenged on the Internet. The Battletech Centers, circa 1992. 
I know it's ridiculous, but at the time that was the ONLY reason why I wanted to visit the United States.

"This is Player.. AGAINST PLAYER!"  (PaP)

Apparently there was one in London for a while, I knew someon that claimed to have been there

[Falconeer]

I went to London in 1991, too early for Battletech, and at the arcade they mention in the video I managed to try >this< after hearing so much about it. I was severely underwhelmed, but that only enhanced my thirst for Battletech the next year.