Mechwarrior Online

[Sno]

So the long-anticipated series reboot has been revealed as a "free-to-play" MMO.

Not really what i was hoping for.

A lot of it actually sounds quite nice, but the idea of the game embracing a freemium model worries me.

[Orv]

I've gotten a lot of play out of World of Tanks, and if that happens in the MechWarrior universe, I would be incredibly happy.

[Sno]

I've gotten a lot of play out of World of Tanks, and if that happens in the MechWarrior universe, I would be incredibly happy.

Battletech, it's the Battletech universe.

I mean, and i'm not opposed to a Mechwarrior MMO, there have already been many Battletech MMO's based around a factional match-making meta-game. Certainly many other mech games have been built around that kind of structure too, It's a good formula.

It's the freemium part of it that concerns me. I have no interest in playing a game where people can buy victories. As somebody who has wanted for years to see a new Mechwarrior game, it's a little frustrating to see it happening in a way that would be so easy to screw up.

In the provided article, they were quoted as saying the have no plans to sell anything that can interfere with the competitive balance, but i am skeptical of those claims.

Edited October 31, 2011 by Sno

[Sno]

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This looks awesome.

Holy shit, i am impressed.

[Lu]

Someone had some media training. The game looks pretty great though.

[Wrestlevania]

Some very nice eye candy in there, particularly the heat scoring from laser fire.

Glad the Big Stampy Shooty Things genre is back in full swing, finally.

[Henroid]

It's kinda killing me inside that the game is going to play out the timeline of the Clan Invasion in real time. We have to wait like a year or two before clans are put into the game.

Not that I'm knowledgeable on whatever lore there is to Battletech, but Mechwarrior 2 left a huge impression on me.

Plus, Timberwolf is a cooler name for a mech than "Mad Cat."

[Wrestlevania]

It's kinda killing me inside that the game is going to play out the timeline of the Clan Invasion in real time. We have to wait like a year or two before clans are put into the game.

Holy sheeeeeeeit!! I had no idea this was going back to the Clan Wars--that's funking amazeballs!

[Orv]

Actually, they've been talking (I'm admittedly not up on BattleTech lore like I'd like) like the Clan Invasion will start near the end of this year.

That said, after the GDC stuff, I'm all over this. It looks like it could be incredible.

[Henroid]

Here's another thing.

Makes me feel old thinking back to the HUD and presentation of Mechwarrior 2, and now in this game everything is just detailed as all can be, the HUD looks amazing, the sound of your mech getting hit by explosives... it's just great.

[Orv]

Take my money, sold, I'm throwing it at the screen but nothing's happening, etc.

[brkl]

Take my money, sold

But it's free to play!

[Orv]

But it's free to play!

But my Jenner needs to be hot pink!

E: Idly musing over some MechWarrior: Living Legends matches, I decided to go digging for some old Battletech novels of mine. I found them, and then realized that Michael A. Stackpole pretty much owns that universe. Not sure how I feel about that, but I'm going to give reading them a shot.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Orvidos

[Henroid]

I haven't looked into the optional pay stuff, if any. I know people are throwing around the term "pay to win" in a manner of drumming up fear, but it's a misused term for... well, everything. Though I imagine there have been past examples of it being the case.

[Sno]

The generally vague details i've been hearing about MWO suggest a fairly inoffensive freemium scheme. I've become fairly hopeful that they'll handle it well.

I mean, and really truly awful pay schemes definitely still exist. There is some utterly disgusting, villainous shit happening in the smartphone space.

The stigma shouldn't just apply to games that are explicitly free, but any game that is trying to bleed money out of an invested user.

For a particularly egregious and current retail example, look to Street Fighter X Tekken. (A game where you can augment your character with new abilities and advantages through a system of "gems", but the best gems are uniformly the ones that were in the collector's edition or have to be purchased separately. Also, that game has twelve DLC characters finished and locked on disc. Way to go, Capcom.)

[Orv]

So beta signups are out there.

[Yalk]

Rise thread rise from your sleep.

 

 

Just to update this, You can buy Clan packs now starting at the low low price of $120. 4 Cbill boosted mechs + regular variants....You can also still purchase the last mech pack for the incredibly reasonable price of $240 or something. Oh, if you buy the top tier from the last pack and the top tier from the this pack `$340 you get a free MadDog (one of the more popular mechs locked behind a insurmountable pay wall). ALSO! you can buy a gold skinned Clan mech of your choice for $500, this does come with the top tier clan pack as well. 

 

 

The last Clan pack was announced with no fan fair after their last IS mech pack last year for $120. 

 

 

Currently you play mixed tech, but they are looking to do Clan vs IS. 

 

 

Community warfare is still not implemented. and will probably be uninspiring when it is finally implemented, if ever. 

 

UI 2.0 (the mechlab) is a piece of junk compared to the old UI

 

3pv (which is useless but...)

 

Heat scale has been upturned by Ghost heat (artificial heat added to multiple weapons fire)

 

Convergence is still problematic (meaning instant into specific locations causing mechs to die quickly) 

 

Jump jets are nigh useless now

 

 

BUT PGI (developer) is no longer under the thumb of IGP. we will see how this changes things, from what I've seen, not much. 

 

Oh, (I'm not on Reddit but) apparently PGI tried to launch a new game and posted adverts for it in a subforum, thus their entire staff is perma banned now.  

 

 

 

I think that just about updates this thread from the last entry in 2012. 

[Dewar]

*sigh* Both this and Mechwarrior Tactics had such potential but managed to be so boring.