Mechwarrior Online

[Merusk]

Yeah I swapped out everything on my Jenner for PPCs.. 2 PPCs on a Jenner is ridiculous.  My Catapults are all sporting PPCs now, too.  If I had the funds I'd be running them on all the Stalkers, too, but the LLs still work well.

[Ironwood]

And you don't think it's silly ?

[Falconeer]

It is super silly as it was silly with Gauss. What pisses me off is that they've been saying for a long time that Gauss wasn't OP, it's just that PPC needed a buff. No, fuck that. ALso, coolshots and all that stuff make PPCs even more viable. Gauss was annoyingly OP, even when LRM were dominating, and now we have two stupidly easy to use weapons instead of one.

I would say that what they need to do at this point is to give a _little_ buff back to LRMs, and a little debuff to long range weapons that hit in one spot. Because yeah that's another problem, not only these things hit hard and they all hit together in the same spot, but they don't need whoever fires them to keep their aim, so they are too good for fire-and-hide between cooldowns.

The balance has to be there somewhere, hidden between 0.1 more heat to a weapon and 0.1 more damage to another. Just find it already.

[Lantyssa]

I'd like them to go to a system where if you manage to line up the shot, it hits a random location.  Or add slower convergence and targeting.  I know it'd piss off most people, but the pinpoint accuracy and decent damage at such extreme ranges is what makes sniping viable.

The other problem is they keep messing with the table top rules to make more logical sense, but the balance there was because the weapons and heat were more strict.  You hit or you didn't.  All hits are a random location based on positioning.  Weapon ranges were set, and hitting at those longer ranges was a challenge.

Maybe they need to introduce a reticule bob or something, to make range matter.

[Ironwood]

Oddly, I was plinking away with my SSRM at a Cats back last night and I watched as they trailed off centre, then right, then left, then leg and I thought - that's kinda cool.

Not sure doing that for ballistics would be viable though.

Also, this whole AC20 hitting across the map is bullshit.  The bigger the AC, the more it should tail off after the range limit.  And I mean Exponentially here...

[Arthur_Parker]

PGI created this problem with the larger maps and missile nerfs, players have adjusted to a new style of play.  

The problem they now have is that players know that walking slowly in a line with sniper builds works and won't change tactics till it stops working.  But this always worked, we used to take 4-6 gauss cats before match making went in, for a laugh, as it's pretty hilarious for a few games to just instantly kill whatever appears.  We did it rarely though, because BORING.

Jump jets being so annoying is new though.

[Ironwood]

Yeah, the jumping Highlanders makes you laugh the first time you see it - but the humour palls quickly.

[Shannow]

PGI created this problem with the larger maps and missile nerfs, players have adjusted to a new style of play.  

The problem they now have is that players know that walking slowly in a line with sniper builds works and won't change tactics till it stops working.  But this always worked, we used to take 4-6 gauss cats before match making went in, for a laugh, as it's pretty hilarious for a few games to just instantly kill whatever appears.  We did it rarely though, because BORING.

Jump jets being so annoying is new though.

I remember in Btech MUX engaging JJ was the kiss of death. The entire other team would hold their fire until you landed and then CF the fuck out of you. Thats what MWO needs, you land and you cant move for a cpl of seconds.

And random hit locations.

[Merusk]

And you don't think it's silly ?

I didn't say that, I'm adapting is all.  What am I going to do, unsub?  I can't stop playing either as I activated my Founder's Premum time 20 days ago, before the patch that caused all the crashing and PPCinsanity.  I've got another 70 days of playing at least lest I waste that.

It is super silly as it was silly with Gauss. What pisses me off is that they've been saying for a long time that Gauss wasn't OP, it's just that PPC needed a buff. No, fuck that. ALso, coolshots and all that stuff make PPCs even more viable. Gauss was annoyingly OP, even when LRM were dominating, and now we have two stupidly easy to use weapons instead of one.

PPCs are far worse for the game than Gauss because they are 1/2 the weight and 1/2 the slots of a gauss but cause almost as much damage.  "But they cause heat!" isn't a problem when I can destroy shit in 3 volleys then run off to cool down or dump coolant if I don't have the opportunity to run.   40k isn't a cost barrier when I'm earning 180k+ per match and have nothing else to spend on but more PPCs.

[Arthur_Parker]

I can't stop playing either as I activated my Founder's Premum time 20 days ago, before the patch that caused all the crashing and PPCinsanity.  I've got another 70 days of playing at least lest I waste that.

They would likely pause your premium if you emailed them, not saying you should, it's just I was thinking of doing that.

[Lantyssa]

I would do so to make a point, but my time ran out... yesterday.

[Ironwood]

Interesting match today.

Cold map, bad visibility, Marmoset, fucked off with snipers, so decided to hit the tunnel.  By the time I get there,  Raven sitting there.  Get a shot into him and he turns and flees.

Fair enough, I think, he's clearly leading me into a trap, but hey ho - run down after him, quick peek at the Y junction, head towards his base when I see his wee fucking dome heading off down the tunnel.

As expected, following him and an Atlas pops out, fully bristling with weapons and threatening as fuck.  Wee Raven is doing a dance to celebrate having his Big Bro here to Chib me.

Fuck this, I thought, and just decide to unload the 3 UAC 5's.  In an unbelievable exchange, they didn't jam ONCE while I unloaded them into the chest of this Atlas who exploded quite merrily. I mean, seriously, it must have been about 100 rounds of non jamming action, blast after blast.  Quick twist to the asshole Raven, who appears to be just sitting there with his jaw open, and decapitated him.

Good times.

[Falconeer]

Update on Matchmaking Phase 4.

In my last post, I shared a statistic: That 74% of our matches were within “tolerable” weight balance. When we started matching with the blue curve, that number spiked to 88%. Beyond that, less than 2% of our matches now fall into the “horrendously bad” category we described earlier – that’s down from the over-7-percent number it was before. The difference in Elo for most matches produced is also is less than half of what it used to be.

We tried tuning the weight class tolerance down to further improve this, but got mixed results. The trade-off was between an improvement to average match quality (which has already changed with the Elo adjustment) and causing more of our outlying groups to fail to find matches entirely (specifically the 8-man queues). We’re not satisfied with the state of this, and have left the tolerance wide enough for 8-mans to continue to match while we work out a more complete solution. Note that our considerations include using tonnage as a direct factor to matchmaking, among other things.


IN SUMMARY

The result of all this is that we were able to cut down the number of unbalanced matches, but not eliminate them entirely. To summarize:
There’s better skill matching of teams in game.
Uneven weight balance matches occur less frequently.
Wait times are lower (thanks to a denser curve).

This is something that we are monitoring heavily and will continue to address over time. As always, we appreciate the discussion and comments.

[Falconeer]

New "Ask the Devs", #36.

Ask the Devs #36

Community Consolidated Questions/Concerns
CCQ1: There have been a number of community events, leagues, and competitions that do not conflict with official events. Are there plans to better support these events through additional in-game tools, promotion, stats, sponsorship, or participation?
A: We’re focused on getting Community Warfare out the door, along with more official events and leagues. At this time we have not decided how or if we plan to support any non-official competitions/events. I would expect us to examine this after CW goes live, late this year.

CCQ2 (as described by stjobe):
Q: Would you please reconsider buffing the MG's damage?
A: We are always looking at weapons. No plans to buff damage specifically.

CCQ3 (as worded by Slar): Will an "automatic reload" checkbox in the mechlab be available for consumables?
A: Yes with UI 2.0 improvements, although it is remotely possible someone sneaks in a an update for the current UI. We’ll see.

CCQ4: When will the temporary missile fix be adjusted?
A: We don’t have an ETA yet. Missiles are being actively tuned.

Community Warfare/Clans
Logan Doyle: Can I ask when Clans will be able to be a playable faction?
A: No official timeline has been announced for Clans yet. We plan to reveal more information after Launch in late Summer.

Pando: Do you have, or have you discussed plans to release (faction) battlemechs with permanent loyalty-point increases?
A: Yes we have discussed this, however we have not made any final decisions.

Gremlich Johns: When Community Warfare is launched, will the Clans be considered the same business model as the Mercs?
A: Clans will work more like Houses – not player run Merc Corps.

Sebesto: With release of CW/Clans coming many people talked about how they are "strictly" clanner based. If possible what would be the requirements to becoming a clanner and what are the advantages and limitations to being a clanner? From what I see, people just say they are part of Clan Wolf/Falcon/Ghost Bear/Ect just because Clans have the advantage of lighter/less heat weapons, better ferro/endo and omni capable mechs.
A: We’re not ready to discuss Clan details.

KuritaGuard: Will Comunity Warfare include a dynamic map where we can see border and occupation changes?
A: Yes!

Gods Wrath: Do you plan to give the game a “role-playing” aspect such as choosing different theaters of operation (when the clans invade), solaris, outreach, and actually having a character with skill sets that can affect different mech types
A: With regards to TOO, yes, players can battle over fronts and specific systems depending on whether they are part of a Faction or a Merc Corp. With regards to skill sets, Pilot Lab is the framework for customizing your character.

`Mech's and Mechbay
Geist Null: By the number of pink snordies I’ve seen in the field, I’d say the hero mech before c-bill variants was a success. do you plan on continuing that? Cause I would love to get a hero orion and hero hermes II to grind with the bonus before the c-bill models. When is hermes II coming out?
A: The next two Hero `Mechs will be designs from already released content. We may see a return to this model in Summer.

Viper69: Would you consider giving people a free mech bay with the purchase of a hero mech? It is a nice little touch to make people buy if you give a little you can get a lot.
A: Currently this is a technical limitation, we are unable to offer bundles. With the launch of UI 2.0, we plan to support bundles, bundle prices, etc..

Beadhanger: Is it possible for you to give us an option to toggle armlock in mechlab on certain mechs before dropping with introduction of UI 2.0?
A: Currently player can quickly toggle this on/off in the Front End or during gameplay. We can explore a per `Mech option possibly.

PanzerMagier: Will the Yen Lo Wang ever get it's claws/hatchet?
Source:http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Yen-Lo-Wang
A: When and/or if we do melee.

Phylum: Can the excess heat damage components inside the mech and reduce their capacity?
Ex: engine losing 10% power, 5% longer recharge times for weapons and so on.
A: It’s possible, however we do not have any immediate plans to support this.

Ghost Badger: Has PGI considered matching the armor values to the cosmetics, shape, size of the mechs? For example, more armor on the 'shield' arm of a centurion, or the shield shoulder/arms of an Awesome, or the finned/side torsos of a Jagermech? Conversely, less side torso armor on mechs with smaller side torsos, like Catapults and Stalkers?
A: No plans currently, as the armor values are derived initially from the table top rules.

Trucker: Currently there are only three item slots by which we can personalise our cockpit. While this is great it still leaves them feeling a little 'un lived' in. Are there are plans, or is there the possibiliy, of providing more customisation slots. Being able to add hanging wires, additional monitors or hot wired control panel modules etc. Also, when are we likely to see new banner items?
A: Yes, after launch.

Cockpit, HUD & Customizations

Maverick01: Would you guys consider adding the MechWarrior (pilot avatar) to the Mechlab, standing right next to the BattleMech? PGI could benefit financially by selling items such as uniforms, cooling vests, neurohelmets, etc.
A: Eventually, however the `Mech is the star of the show. We have more plans to improve/add cosmetic options for BattleMechs.

August55: How is the optimization going regarding the HUD? Turning off the HUD (Rightshift-F11) still puts me in 60fps in most situations while having it on bogs me down to an average of 35fps. Granted I'm using a C2D, but the fact that the HUD is eating up a large amount of fps is mind boggling. Can we get a scaled down HUD for the low spec people?
A: Work is ongoing.

Dan the Ice Man: With the decal system and custom decal system: will we be able to place them in predifined spots? or will we be able to scale/rotate or place them anywhere and any size on our mech’
A: There will be predefined spots/slots and scales for players to put the decals on.

Maps/Environment:

Splinters: What is a reasonable expectation of the number of maps (w/ or w/out variations) that will be available at the launch of CW?
A: 8 + variations.

Jetfire: I have been noticing the awesome lightning effect on the base rigs. Could we please see a severe storm weather mode with some heavy duty lightning as a map alternate? Would be a real challenge given that the thermal wouldn't work well due to the cold rain and the night vision should oversaturate on the lightning flashes. I am thinking Canyon would be amazing with this.
A: I’d love the art team to create a real stormy map. Stay tuned.

CutterWolf: Will we see destructible terrain and will terrain effect movement speed?
A: Terrain, no. Objects yes. And yes terrain will modify speed.

UntamedHawk: Will there be more map variants for existing maps released sometime soon? If so, are there plans to ever have 3 variants for the same map?
A: Currently we are focusing on getting the next two maps finished for Launch. Then we can revisit existing maps and develop alternates.

Jakob Knight: Are there future maps that will provide short-cut paths or terrain that jumping mechs can utilitze but non-jumping mechs cannot? Right now, non-jumping mechs can go just about any useful place jumping mechs can and terrain is such that there is almost no hinderence to ground movement, making the mounting of jump jets almost just a tonnage-heavy way of gaining a slight turn boost (even Alpine is engineered such that jump-capable mechs cannot overcome the mountains unless those mountains are small enough for a grounded mech to move up anyway). Having terrain and/or hazards that jump jets can overcome but non-jumping mechs could not ( such as a ravine a mech-width wide or lava flows with no bride across) would make jump jets a feature worth having rather than an expensive add-on with almost no functional use.
A: This will be prevalent in a map later this year.

Signal27: With the upcoming implementation of community warfare, will the players ever get to have an impact on the way the lines on the map of the Inner Sphere are drawn as they fight for their respective factions? Or will the map always strictly adhere to the canonical 3050s Inner Sphere maps published, with only published historical events (such as the Clan invasion) ever changing the way the lines are drawn?
A: Players will not be able to affect the borders directly. However players will be able to control a variety of fronts.

Weapons & Loadouts

Ozric: When can we expect the next phase of LRM balancing and/or how close are we to the LRM working as intended?
A: Over the next few patches.
Metafox: SSRMs and LRMs appear to share the same locking function, even to the point where Artemis benefits both indiscriminately. Are there any plans to decouple the two systems and tweak them individually?
A: No plans at the moment.

Riddler9884: Are there currently any new weapons or variations of weapons in the works?
A: Yes, we are adding all of the Clan weapons.

Palador: Will you be able to add mines to game? If they are laid by air strikes or artillery barrage it will give another use for the beagle active probe - mine detection!
A: We’re exploring ways to make consumable mines/drops.

ThinkTank: Are there any plans to add tonnage and critical space as a component of Cool Shot? If not, can you please explain the in-game mechanism that provides the temperature reduction? i.e. water or another liquid or a gas based temperature reduction device.
A: No plans. I’ll let David invent some “tech” description.

FrostCollar: In the past, you've mentioned the possibility of alternate ammunition types for certain weapons. Do you have any updates on any progress that has been made on that concept? Is that a feature that could potentially be ready around launch?
A: We’re not actively working on it and is not currently part of any launch plans.

Perspicatron: Do you have plans to implement active/passive sensors? I think that if every mech had a limited "stealth" mode there would be more use for TAG/BAP/Narc and it might balance the fact that only a select few mechs can mount ECM.
A: Yes. No ETA.

Edweird: Are there any plans in motion you can tell us about in regards to limited area of effect 'mech explosions when they get destroyed as in previous MechWarrior titles? Will this not deter going into the silly hugging fests and add a level of consideration as well as make flocks of light 'mechs swarming over a single one think twice before they commit? This might work well with knockdowns once they are implemented.
A: We’ve chosen not to go the route of exploding cores.

White Bear 84: When will addition abilities be give to the PPC such as distruption of HUD, target locks or minimap to enhance the viability of this weapon?
A: No ETA.

Tesunie: Are we to expect any kind of special ammo for weapon systems? In particular, I'm asking about Thunder LRM ammo. I think it'd be nice to predict enemy movements and blind fire these Thunder LRMs to set up a quick mine field on the ground.
A: No ETA.

Snowseth: Are there any plans to introduce unspotted LRM targeting and firing? Where instead of locking on to a target, a point on the map is targeted and fired at, with the missiles taking a very steep arc (and reducing the ground range).
A: No plans to support this. The effect is essentially artillery, which is supported via consumables.

Noktoo: Is it planned to introduce different damage types for energy and ballistic weapons and correspondive armor types like reactive and reflectiven or other armor types like hardned armor?
A: No plans.

Matchmaking/ELO/Server

irony1999: How do you see the Play button working with the launch of CW? Will the players be routed into one of several dozen queues, or will the 1st/3rd person and match type preferences be set in the lobby to keep the split to a more manageable level?
A: We’re still deciding the final execution, early thoughts are to make all matches Faction matches A vs B, with each team being made of up Faction players + solo or small groups (2-4) merc corps and/or lone wolves who have pledge allegiance to a faction.

Matta: Can you please explain in detail main reasons for limiting player account to certain server region (when it comes to that) ?
A: It’s a potential requirement of regional partners.

Thomas Covenant: Would you please reconsider not showing ELO score or go in more depth why you choose not too? I feel it's atleast as valuable as Kill-to-Death ratio(if not more). I would like to see it, even if it was private just to me.
A: For a variety of reasons we have chosen not to make this visible. It’s not something players can directly control, it’s used by an internal matchmaking service, and it can be gamed or manipulated to create artificial matchmaking scenarios.

Syllogy: Any details on the Public Test Server that you mentioned in NGNG Podcast #68?
A: Very soon 30-60 days.

Vadim Krasvanya: Why did PGI think MechWarrior Online needed Elo, that is, the Elo ranking system specifically and not another form of "skill based" matchmaking?
A: Elo provides a good skill based foundation for ranking and matching players together.

Helsynge: Will we be getting a european server any time soon during open beta?
A: Nothing official to report yet.

KinLuu: Are there any plans to implement some kind of ranking system/ladder? Maybe similar to LoLs or Starcraft 2s league systems? (Ceterum censeo, Elo esse repraesentatum)
A: Leaderboards are incoming.

Gameplay/Game modes/Issues

Butane9000: Can you post in detail how you plan for groups to work when you launch
the 12 v 12 functionality?
A: Exactly as they work now, except pre-made 8 player groups will require 12 players.

Cyberassassin: To create some competition among less formal groups, groups that play when they can actually get together or smaller groups, when can we have Lance(4) vs Lance(4)?
A: Since the cost of a running a dedicated servers is the same whether there is 1 or 24 players, we currently are not planning to allow matches to kick off without the maximum number of players.

Chylde: There has been a lot of talk in anticipation of the 12v12 matches that are to come. I would love it if we could also get an 8v8v8 option to change up the dynamic of the battles. is there anything planned for 3 team combat in the future?
A: This would require significant work to the UI, dedicated servers, game modes, and matchmaker. It’s not impossible, but not likely anytime in the near future.

Teralitha: You said that your against segmenting the player base further. What then, are you going to do to improve the current 2 modes we have to bring back players who have quit BECAUSE there is a lack of more game modes?
A: We’re reviewing the existing modes and will be balancing

Arcaist: Is there a chance you will implement defensive turrets/fortifications, whicht would spice up capping quite a bit?
A: Yes with CW modes.

Flying Fox 333: Are you considering allowing a battlemech reactor to overload? Either manually or by other factors
A: No plans.

Jarvis Lancaster: When the game is moved out of beta, will the players still have all their mechs and other items they purchased?
A: Yes.

Big Giant Head: Have you considered introducing crouch mode? And if so, are there going to be limitations of mechs that can crouch, or it has to be an upgrade like endo-steel and artemis or module (gyro module)?
A: It has been discussed internally, however no formal design work has been done.

Fishhawk: Are there plans to implement a "Retreat" button in the situation that your mech loses all weaponry?
A: No.

General
Teir Dasande: When will the next batch of 'Mech concept art drop?
A: We’re changing up how we handle BattleMech concept art. Expect some new content very soon.

Damocles: Will you be adding new vision modes? Example: MAD (Magnetic Anomaly Detector) and what is the ETA on vision modes being displayed on the cockpit glass?
A: No ETA on either. They have been designed and will be worked on at some future date.

carl Kerensky: How soon will we see Direct X 11 implementation? Would it be possible to see some screenshots on the visual improvements?
A: It’s almost done and in final QA testing. No screenshots available. DX11 isn’t a huge graphical improvement out of the box. Most of the bells and whistles require us to invest time in adding new features to the engine.

Utzelbrutz: Are there plans of showing the enemy mech chassis in the TAB menu after they have been identified/hit?
A: Possibly.

Team Leader: When will we get rid of the current "placeholder" (-Paul, many months ago) XP system and go back to the pilot roles and mech tech trees that are included in the Dev blog? I think many players prefer the system described in the dev blog to what we have now.
A: Trees evolved into the current design. We have plans to add more content to the existing system.

BitMonger505: Are there any plans to release a native 64 bit executable?
A: Possibly.

PaladinXIII: Will there be a Medium mech build contest soon?
A: We plan to do at least one contest per quarter. Next up – Assaults.

Karma Police: why not give us the abilty to shoot down LRMs with MGs and lasers?
A: Possibly.

Nihilo9: Do you have plans to implement a system that pushes players to form bonds? This is a very social game. Are there plans to put a system in place that brings players together?
A: Community Warfare will allow players to band together into more formal structures. UI 2.0 will see an improvement in chat and grouping mechanics.

Prosperity Park: Will the Heat mechanism be changed in the future such that Overheating to greater than, lets say 150%, would result in inescapable, guaranteed Heat Damage regardless if your Mech is Powered Down?
A: We’re happy with the existing system, so I don’t see this being added anytime soon.

Pinselborste: Is it possible to add full support for the xbox 360 controller, cryengine sdk has it included so it should not be a problem to inlcude it.
A: Yes in time.

Viperion: Can we get a pause button for premium time?
A: No plans to add this functionality.

Pakidis79: It has been mentioned before that around the time of the Highlander's release that collisions would be turned back on. Since the introduction of Heavy Metal, is there a more definitive time for collisions now?
A: Not sure who said that. Collisions will come after Launch.

TwigTech: Lately there's been a lot of love for optimizing the game for lower-end PCs. Are there any plans to provide further optimizations / options for higher end PCs? For example, will high-end PCs eventually have an option for even greater draw distances than they do now?
A: I expect we’ll start looking at higher end PCs when we release DX11.

DocBach: Are there any plans of increasing the function of other information warfare tools such as Beagle Active Probe or the Narc Beacon?
A: Yes, we are reviewing them now.

Ardlen: Can we get a method to bind zoom to the mousewheel scroll?
A: Sure.

Belorion: Will we get the ability to record log files so that we can do post match analysis on our matches?
A: No plans.

zhajin: What is the status of C3 and voice comms? This is a key communication feature in any modern, team based FPS. And continues to give a big advantage to groups over pugs.
A: Post launch.

Forum/Website/Sales:

Spirit of the Wolf: Will there ever be a 'planned schedule' of special bonus periods or sales so that players know in advance to be on during certain periods, such as a list of upcoming double XP bonus periods, or CB bonus weekends, etc? (More specifically, will there be a special event, or series of events, to commemorate the full launch, whether it happens in the Fall, or later, that will be announced ahead of time?)
A: In general terms, yes. (no specific details about each sale, just the date).

Lukoi: Any chance we'll be able to sort our stats page in ascending/descending/alphabetical order in the future? My Mechs don't always group together (Jenners are all over the place on the list etc.) and it would be nice to use an excel/spreadsheet style function to look over the data on occasion.
A: Eventually yes.

Ratiborus: Is it possible to implement the C-bills and/or MC transfer between the players?
A: No plans to allow transfer of any items or money between accounts.

Seth: Will we see a mobile version for the forums or a theme that is a little easier on our mobile devices and will we see a search tool bar that has the same functionality as the one from the closed beta version of the site?
A: Yes.
Rizzelbizzeg: Would you consider adding a little flavor text/lore behind each of the hero mechs to the mwomercs website?
A: Yes.

MurderFist: You guys have had a bunch of double xp events recently, will you ever have any double earnings events, where you would gain twice the amount, or at least certain percentage more c-bills than normally?
A: Possibly.

[Merusk]

Q/As are always amusing as you pick-out the subtle ways players are trying to get their favorite mechs buffed.   


On another topic:  I learned this weekend that Ultra AC5s have a macro that players are using to keep them from jamming.  Its' easy to find and PGI has said they won't ban you for using it.  Go forth and wreck shit with ultra-imbalanced ballistic projectiles.*

* I was bitching about 2000m snipers in team chat Friday evening and my team thought I was 'stupid.'  Because, "there's RL projectiles that travel farther. This is totally realistic and balanced."  When I pointed out if they wanted realism we should have missiles that are Fire and Forget, or use image identification and blow you away without seeing the boat firing them I was told to "shut up and play." 

[Ironwood]

Yeah, that little nugget has been out for quite some time, but despite my Marmoset like, I've never managed to bring myself to use it.

It FEELS like cheating.

[Arthur_Parker]

Roleplay buying your mech tech a few beers for reprogramming the firing computer for the UAC5, so they don't jam when you get all excited and hold the fire button down too long.  It slows the rate of fire, slows the rate of fire, if you are lucky it's hurting you, is the way to look at it.

[Ironwood]

I dunno.  Maybe.

I honestly think my Atlas kill wouldn't have felt so EPIC if I'd had the macro on.

[Falconeer]

Roleplay buying your mech tech a few beers for reprogramming the firing computer for the UAC5, so they don't jam when you get all excited and hold the fire button down too long.  It slows the rate of fire, slows the rate of fire, if you are lucky it's hurting you, is the way to look at it.

Seriously? Does it really slow down the rate of fire?

[Arthur_Parker]

If you fire the UAC5 too fast it has a 10% chance of jamming (or something).  A script or mouse macro can be created that would restrict firing to just below the "too fast" threshold, this would give you maximum and predictable DPS versus the more randomised unmodified behaviour.

Though as 10% jamming is very high, very rarely would you do better without the script/macro.

[Llyse]

GXP is granted at a terrible ratio to encourage you to buy MC and convert it from your other mechs that are maxed out.  1mc = 16gxp

1 mc = 25 gxp, but point is still rigth - the rate at which it is normally earned is shitty and encouraging for MC purchases. I've told this to some people before - but if you ever see them doing a double conversion promotion again then take advantage of it. 50gxp per 1mc saved shitloads of time for unlocking modules. Actually, I found a PM I sent about this, and still feel the same way -

Edit: holy shit the tip I gave in the spoiler reads in such an awful way, but the message should still be understandable
[/quote]

It's 50 mech exp for 1 GXP, is it worth it still?

[Shannow]

Had a 400+ damage round with a 4 MPL Cicada last night. 3 kills, including an Atlas. Basically I stuck with the ECM Raven and we ran around in the water on Forest Colony confusing the crap out of people. Then I got owned by an ECM Commando.

First time I've actually liked that Cicada.

[Ironwood]

Not a mech I've tried yet, but to be honest, If I'm battling speedy mechs, it's the one I'd rather be fighting.  It's got a very boxy torso that's just easy to hit.

[Falconeer]

Llyse I think it's worth it, yes. Without paying real money it will take you ages to unlock modules. With this "doubling" offer, you get to spend a reasonable amount to save yourself a lot of trouble. That said, of course, you can spend nothing and eventually you'll unlock that stuff anyway so it's up to you.

[Segoris]

It's 50 mech exp for 1 GXP, is it worth it still?

Short answer - Yes. As Falc said and what I had said in my spoiler in your quote - yes.

[Lantyssa]

Other than the extra targeting range, none of the modules really interest me.  (Plus I'd rather buy more 'mechs than modules.)

You can do fine without them if you want.

[Merusk]

Coolant flush takes a module slot, and that's all I really care about.  The rest are useless to me.

[Jasper]

Do you guys ever run organized 8 mech teams?  Or just 4 mech pugging?

I've been playing most solo or occasionally with a buddy, but playing a lot (22 mechs -- don't judge me!  ).

I'm considering being a bit more organized about in the hopes of having fewer matches determined by one side or the other being green, but am kind of leery of randomly applying for teams on the MWO forums.  I only know you guys a bit through blood bowl, but you seem a pretty reasonable lot.

[schpain]

Do you guys ever run organized 8 mech teams?  Or just 4 mech pugging?

I've been playing most solo or occasionally with a buddy, but playing a lot (22 mechs -- don't judge me!  ).

I'm considering being a bit more organized about in the hopes of having fewer matches determined by one side or the other being green, but am kind of leery of randomly applying for teams on the MWO forums.  I only know you guys a bit through blood bowl, but you seem a pretty reasonable lot.

heh, judging you for having 22 mechs.  You obviously didn't see Arthur's post with his pilot trees. 

Slayerik's mumble channel is the closest thing to organised MWO at the mo, i think the details for his mumble server are in the sticky. Most of the f13'ers who want to play organised check in there to group up; or you can friend up everyone in the rollcall sticky.  Usually there's 2-4 people online from this community at most times. 

[Falconeer]

I know this sounds very lazy, but I mostly play solo due to the terrible social interface. Since I pop in and out for a game at random times, the UI wall presents such an an annoyance that I accepted I am mostly going to play by myself until they introduce UI 2.0. I know that others have been grouping pretty steadily here, but my point is that it all still feels "so beta". So until they polish the UI, and even though I absolutely love the game, I can't even take it too seriously when it comes to winning or losing.

[Ironwood]

I'm in the same boat here :  I'm usually online, but hardly ever group anymore because the Social Tools are shocking.

If you're on and you can get me, I will group up.  I also hang around the Mumble when I'm grouped because, you know, tactics and whatnot.

However, this game is still bull buggeringly bad socially and it needs to get better.  I want to be able to set my status so that you KNOW that I need to duck out the next match to put Elena to bed.  (bear in mind I'm usually never in the same timezone as anyone).

[Llyse]

I just converted 34750 Founder Atlas costing me 695 MC...

It's nice to have so much GXP lying around 

[Slayerik]

I've been out for a while due to some external influences, but I see myself coming back in stride soon. I'd like to try to get more towards an 8 man. Def feel free to log into the mumble listed.

[Jasper]

Same, just converted 60k of Hunchback H to GXP.  Been waiting for a "sale" on it for a while, though I do always wonder if maybe they'll eventually add something I'll wish I kept the MC for, since buying MC straight now is a much worse deal than you got as a Founder.

No idea what I'm going to spend it on though, as the only modules I'm missing are ones I don't much want.

[Llyse]

I think for communication purposes we should create an f13 MWO steam group, that's the easiest

Finally finished Basic mastery on my Hunchback so it was finally time to dust off my favourite Founder's HBK-4G. No tweaks besides an engine upgrade and I had a lot of fun for a simple chassis. My favourite moment was on the snow Conquest map where I was capping points and their whole team of heavies headed to Epsilon.

We were winning the cap war but slowly but surely losing our mechs. Our last Atlas my capping partner mentioned he was "going with god" to stall while we edged to 600 victory points. His sacrificed gave me more time as the lone survivor to make way behind a lone Dragon sniper where I sneakily backstabbed with my AC20 and Medium lasers for a low 61 damage all located in the Rear CT.

Extremely satisfying.