MechWarrior Online Hub

Mechwarrior Online Open Beta Launch - 29th October 2012

2012-10-29T15:06:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the long-awaited Open Beta release of Mechwarrior Online! This is the day we've all been waiting for. At long last there will be no more wipes, everything we do from here on out will be 'live'.

There wasn't a client patch deployed, but it seems some things have changed server-side. Repair bills have fallen and the cbills received at the end of each match appear to have increased. This makes the initial grind to buy a mech much more manageable.

I've played about eight matches so far, and the servers are full of founders and trial mechs, with the occasional Yen-Lo-Wang thrown in for good measure. The general theme of the day seems to be an endless rain of LRMs which threatens to blot out the sun. Truly we are fighting in the shade!

If you fancy trying your hand in Open Beta, head on over to the official site, sign up for a free account an get downloading! If you're new to the game, you will want to check out these tutorial videos before launching so you can familiarise yourself with the operation of the game before launching in game.

I shall leave you with a video of the first game played alongside the cReddit Merc Corps immediately after the servers went up.

Mechwarrior Online Patch Notes - 25th October 2012

2012-10-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Rejoice! For the change log for the long-awaited MWO patch has been released! The forums are currently down, but I the update email has arrived so I can bring you the patch notes hot off the press.

MechWarrior Online BETA Update

Build Version 1.0.134 (That's right.. Version 1.0!!!)

Patch Date - Thursday Oct. 25th @ 10AM – 1:30PM PDT

UPDATE

Another push towards Open Beta and we’ve been very busy.

Not only are there numerous fixes and improvements on existing systems, we’ve also added the Cicada (CDA) to the BattleMech lineup as well as 3 more variants of existing Mechs. On top of all of that, we’ve added new upgrades. Ferro Fibrous armor, Endo-Steel Internal Structure and Double Heat Sinks are now in the game!

Ferro Fibrous armor is going to give you a bit more survivability on the battlefield; it is a little lighter, but at the cost of critical space. Endo-Steel Internal Structure frees up tonnage on your Mech at the cost of critical space. This is an advantage for the heavier Mechs in the Mech line-up. Double Heat Sinks will double the heat dissipation at the same tonnage cost, but take up 3 times the amount of critical space.

To accommodate these new additions in MechLab, there is a new flow that has been introduced in terms of interface. Check out the new tabs just under the MechLab tab when you enter. While you’re here, you may also want to check in on your PilotLab Modules. There’s a new module there that will give you a new aiming system to play with. Just remember, you press “V” to activate it.

We've also made changes to the economy of the game. Firstly, we standardized MC to C-Bill pricing. Secondly, we've lowered engine prices and item prices have been increased. This all adds up to, Mech costs being the sum of it's parts. While it doesn't follow the canon pricing, it is close.

Graph of Mech Prices, from Light to Assault

As you can see, the average MC cost now (green line), is much lower than previous (dashed red line). Now, you get more value for your MC, as an Atlas AS7-D, for example, is not the same cost as an Atlas AS7-K. This helps reflect the fact that many variants have more sophisticated equipment, and thus are worth more. So to sum up: Average MC cost for Mechs is much lower, and there are spikes in MC cost for Mechs with advanced equipment.

The rest of the changes are in the patch notes below and we hope to see you take advantage of the new features in combat. Now get out there and pop a Jenner!

P.S. Those of you who have purchased the December issue of PC Gamer will now have your Mech Skin and Coconut Monkey Bobblehead!

Change Log

GENERAL

User Data:

We will be resetting:

BattleMech Inventory
Item Inventory
C-Bills AND MechWarrior Credits (MC)
Premium Account Time
Mech XP and all Mech Trees (Efficiencies)
Pilot Trees (Modules)

We then credit:

Founder’s Packages
MC Purchases
75% of your C-Bills earned since Sept 18,2012
Mech XP earned since Sept 18,2012

We won't be resetting:

User accounts, friends lists

NEW BATTLEMECHS:

Jenner JR7-K
Raven RVN-3L
Cicada CDA-2A
Cicada CDA-2B
Cicada CDA-3C
Cicada CDA-3M
Awesome AWS-9M

NOTE: The Centurion CN9-D will be appearing on November 6th. We understand that you will not be able to elite the Centurion line until then. We apologize for the delay as the CN9-D is reliant on the Artemis guidance system.

FRONT END

New flow in MechLab:

Configure button is now removed. Configuration is now done through the section tabs
The section tabs (Loadout, Modules, etc.) are now directly accessible after selection of your ‘Mech
The section tabs can now only be accessed one at a time (you must save or cancel to go to another tab)

Engine heat sinks

Engines with a rating of 275 or greater can contain one or more heat sinks inside of them without taking up critical slots.
There is now a mechanism to add/remove these heat sinks (previously these heat sinks were fixed within the engine). The number of spots available and the number of spots taken are shown in the equipped engine
When removing an engine, any heat sinks within the engine are also removed
The number of heat sinks the engine is capable of holding is the same regardless of whether the ‘Mech uses single or double heat sinks

New Upgrades tab - upgrades are options that affect the ‘Mech as a whole, there are currently three upgrade types to choose from:

Armor (currently selectable are Standard and Ferro-Fibrous)
Changing your armor type automatically replaces all of your armor with the new type
Cost of the upgrade is a fixed price for the conversion (based on max tonnage of the ‘Mech) plus the cost of whatever armor of the new type you need to buy. Having an amount of armor of the proper type in your inventory will therefore reduce the cost of the upgrade
Armor types other than Standard take up critical slots (14 for Ferro-Fibrous). These slots will be floating (see below)

Structure (currently selectable are Standard and Endo-Steel)

Cost of the upgrade is a fixed price based on max tonnage of the ‘Mech
Structure affects tonnage of the ‘Mech (Endo-Steel is lighter)
Armor types other than Standard take up critical slots (14 for Endo-Steel). These slots will be floating (see below)

Heat sinks (select between single and double)

Selects whether your ‘Mech may use single or double heat sinks. Only one type of heat sink may be used on a ‘Mech at a time
Cost of the upgrade is a fixed price
Engines are also automatically upgraded to double the heat sink capability
When heat sink type is changed, all heat sinks are removed from the ‘Mech and new heat sinks of the proper type must be installed (and bought if necessary)

Floating slots

Some upgrades take up critical slots. These slots are auto-flowed into available empty slots
If a floating slot appears in white, other items can be dragged on to it and it will be moved to an available slot somewhere else on the ‘Mech
If a floating slot appears in yellow, then there is no open empty slot that it can be moved to and so can not be used for other items
Floating slots are ignored in the critical hit system

GAMEPLAY

Running into another Mech will no longer knock it down.
Line of sight check now higher on Mech so targeting can occur when only 25% of the mech is visible over a hill instead of 50%
Explosions explode on the surface of the water and spawn water explosion effects
AC/Gauss/PPC type weapons now pass through water and deal a reduced amount of damage depending on depth of the hit
Laser water hit effects spawn at the correct location on the surface of the water and deal a reduced amount of damage depending on depth of the hit
Added Picture in Picture Zoom module. (Default mapped key for advanced zoom is 'V')
Added Current active Vision mode status in HUD
Extend range finder to 2500m( was 1500m )
Cockpit light will now flicker after taking hard hits

MOVEMENT IMPROVEMENTS:

Animation shaking under various circumstances
‘smoother’ jump jetting behavior
Weapon hit detection more in-line with where you see the mech on your screen (don’t have to shoot infront of your mech so much) especially at lower frame rates were the problem was the worst.

BUG FIXES

Two AMS on a Mech (AS7-K) now correctly destroy double the missiles
PPC’s will no longer cross at extreme ranges
Players are no longer able to zoom or change vision modes when a Mech is shut down
Zoom and Vision modes are tuned off when a Mech shuts down
Target hit indication for missiles now correctly only goes off when explosion damage is dealt
Users can no longer specify an FOV less than 60.0 degrees in the user.cfg

Mechwarrior Online Tutorial Videos

2012-10-25T11:14:00.001-07:00

Well the servers have been taken down and a patch is incoming that will hopefully bring with it the transition to Open Beta. There will be a large influx of new players over the coming weeks, and KageKaze from the official forums has produced a series of tutorial videos to help the new player make their first steps in the world of MWO.

Edit: Open Beta has launched, sign up here.

Original thread here.

MechWarrior Online Tutorial Part 1 - Getting Started and Instant Action

Learn how to get started with the game and what menu options you have available as a new MechWarrior pilot. Includes how to set your options, select your Battlemech, and preview your 'Mech capabilities.

MechWarrior Online Tutorial part 2 - Heads Up Display and Targeting Information

Learn what the parts of your 'Mech's Heads Up Display (HUD) do and how to decipher the information given to you at a glance. This video will give you a very brief overview on nearly everything you will need to know in order to get started in battle and how to interpret the data to make better combat decisions.

MechWarrior Online Tutorial part 3 - How to set up Firing Groups, Chain Fire, and Link Fire

Learn how to configure your firing groups and how to set up both Chain and Link fire modes. Learn the best methods for optimizing your targeting efficiency as well as prevent an unexpected buildup of heat. This tutorial will help you separate your Torso weapons from your Arm weapons in order to prevent wasted ammo and energy on shots that will not hit your target.

Mechwarrior Online Heat Maps

2012-10-24T10:48:00.002-07:00

A while ago Bryan Ekman posted a set of heat maps on the beta forums. They've plotted points on each map using data harvested in game to show graphically where players have been moving and where they have been dying. The points are colour-coded based on the frequency with which they appear, going from dark blue to red. With the former being rarely travelled and the latter being heavily travelled.

They are rather interesting to look at, and really show off the choke points on each map. Perhaps they can assist you in developing strategies to enable you to pop up where the enemy least expects it? I found it interesting that you can pick out the precise spawn locations on each team on the maps, there look to be 12 for each team on each map, I guess the exact one is chosen at random when you spawn.

You can click the images to view them full-size.

Forest Colony

Movement

Kills

Caustic Valley

Movement

Kills

Frozen City

Movement

Kills

River City

Movement

Kills

Inner Sphere News Round-up - Week of 8th Oct. 3049

2012-10-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the weekly round-up of news from the Inner Sphere, for the week of 8th October 3049.

Mon, Oct 8, 3049:
Brotherhood of Cincinnatus cleared of alleged threats against Archon; Brotherhood claims still under illegal surveillance.

My Comment: Bit of a quiet week on the fluff front, I'm guessing everyone is too busy getting the game polished and ready to head to open beta. So here's a couple of older posts from the MercNet by Jacob Hardenson.

Age Doesn’t Equal Stability

(13th August 3049)

I’m havin’ a hard time knocking this one out. I keep laughin’ so hard it’s fouling up my typing. Just saw this on the latest newsfeeds off Atreus: “‘Architectural Spotlight: House of Government’; Buildings in Continual Use Since Free Worlds League Founded in 2271.”

Now don’t spin me wrong, gents. By any reckonin’, that’s mighty impressive. After all, we’re marching towards eight centuries of blowhards yellin’ at each other in that purple room of theirs. So I’m not badmouthing the builders…those blue-collars knew what they were about. Thinking they had some serious Roman-blood pumpin’ in their veins.

Yet the vibe of the article (okay, I admit it, got a soft spot for ancient buildings) is one of pride. “See, our government building is the oldest such building in use across the entire Inner Sphere. So that must make us great.”

That’s where the lip twitchin’ comes in. ‘Cause the only thing making them great is that the empire is still in one piece despite how many times they’ve been at each other’s throats with knives, pitchforks and barrels of boilin’ oil. Come on, in the 31st century alone they’ve had Anton Marik’s Civil War and the Andurien Secession!

Now why am I talkin’ architecture to mercs? ‘Cause longevity doesn’t mean squat. Look at Wilson’s Hussars…no sorrier lot of misfits around, yet they keep scraping out a living and making every C-bill scream.

So if you’re gonna take a job with the League, don’t believe their hype about them being the very first Great House…they crack easier than any façade. They just happen to have some mighty fine stucco to slather on the faults to keep it sputtering along…but don’t be surprised if you get plastered along the way. (Oh, I know…shut up!).

Keep it locked and loaded, gents.

—Jacob Hardenson, MercNet

The Perks of Nobility

(31th May 3049)

So the rumor mills be spillin’ swill for the last while, gents. Accordin’ to the latest putrid kernel of ill-wisdom, the AFFC High Command is chompin’ at the bit to strip Duke Stephenson of his twin Ivaarsen Chasseurs regiments. After all, House Davion’s arrangement with the Duke of New Ivaarsen is that one regiment will always be posted on-world…that’s ‘so’ annoying…how dare a duke tell the mightiest army since old Aleks Kerensky vamoosed into the dark what to do, right?

Now don’t get me wrong. There’s a half lyr-of-a-chance that someone with a whiff of pull in the AFFC might be trying to bark up that tree. But let me tell ya, gents, that’s all it is... ‘Cause no one with a lick of sense believes that idea’s gonna catch traction. Let me lay down the stripes.

1. The upkeep for those twin regiments comes from the duke and his world. The AFFC doesn’t pay a dime…and when has any bureaucrat turned down free, right?

2. It’s not like New Ivaarsen is buried in the FedRat Outback…it’s smack dab along the border with the Combine. Hell, I don’t know ‘how’ many Snake and FedRat bones are buried ‘neath the loam. So the duke gets to know his homeboys are stomping the fences while he warms his feet by the fire, instead of some strangers? It still provides a punch-in-your-face regiment to cut off any heads peeking any where near that world, which is what the AFFC needs anyways.

3. Let’s not forget, ladies and gents, our existence is ruled by nobility…thank you very much, Michael Cameron, sir. And since the rise of monarchies millennia ago, what’s the cardinal rule of nobility? Don’t make the institution look bad. You defeat ‘em, you lock ‘em up, you bury ‘em in the darkest dungeon, but you never, ever, ‘ever’ set in motion anything that’ll throw dung on the nobility cloth. And after a century of sterling service, stripping a standing duke of his military…hot damn, gents, that’s not tossing on some dung, that’s grabbing the AgroMech and going to town.

4. Ol’ Duke Stephenson has served faithfully for a lot of years, now…but you think he’s gonna sit around waiting for the axe to fall if things start gettin’ serious? Not only would the AFFC likely have to dig out an entrenched regiment on New Ivaarsen, but the second regiment’s likely to go on a rampage… ‘course, I’d ‘love’ to see that.

The current set-up is a win, win, win for the duke and for House Davion. That belly-achin’ you’re hearing is the green monster of the meanest commoner sheathed in bureaucracy a meter thick and forgettin’ how the Inner Sphere turns.

Keep it locked and loaded, gents.

—Jacob Hardenson, MercNet

Official Response to Community Concerns

2012-10-15T12:45:00.001-07:00

Following the AMA on reddit last week and the number of issues that came to light after switching to the latest version of the CryEngine (though a number graphical issues have been hotpatched), the community felt like there had been a lack in communications from the Devs over a number of serious issues.

Thankfully, PG have not been ignoring the community on these matter, and Paul Inouye has posted the below on the official forums.

A response to the major concerns of the community.

We would like to let you all know that we DO listen and DO carefully follow the forums, Facebook, Tweets, PMs and support tickets. We have a team of committed staff whose entire job is to tell us these things.

Game development is similar to trying to steer a very large ship. To make changes in direction takes time and accurate judgement calls. Even after the decision to change direction has been made, it takes a lot of time to make sure the change is working and the direction is valid. A lot of the feedback on the forums specifically are in the **** for implementation, but again it comes down to time to get them ready and tested before sending it out to you folks on the live servers.

That being said, we’d like to address the concerns and worries that many of you have regarding Open Beta, Match Making, Founder’s Premiums, Game Balance, New User Flow and the future of Community Warfare.

Open Beta:

We have decided to push Open Beta back. We agree that the game's current state of stability is not allowing us to get the latest experience across to new and veteran players alike. This is a short push back on the date and will depend on the stability and playability of the build.

Current Gameplay Issue:

The instability (lag to completely dead FPS) has been identified and we will put out a fix tonight. We also want to make sure this fix works on the Live game servers so you will get a new patch very soon.

Match Making:

The developers at PGI are all veteran game players. Many of us were or still are competitive gamers and truly know the feeling of a great match played between two equally matched teams.

The next 3 stages of planned releases for Match Making involve the following:

Phase 1:

Reduce the maximum # of players in a group to 4. This means when players form a group, they will only be able to add 3 people. When that group launches, they will be put in a bucket. The match maker will then fill the rest of the 8 player team with 4 PUGs or any partial groups that are looking for a match at that moment. The same will happen for the other team. Matches will still be 8v8 but instead of playing against 8 people in an organized premade, you will see a max of 4.

Now before you light your pitchforks, we know that this does not address all the issues and that 8-player groups are the mainstay of community and organized team-play. This is why we move to Phase 2 VERY soon after Phase 1.

Phase 2:

Players will be able to convert their 4-player group to an 8-player group similarly to how World of Warcraft’s group to raid conversion works. With a click of a button, a group leader can convert a 4-player group to 8-players and invite 4 more players to the group. There is a limitation to this however. If the group leader decides to convert to an 8-player group, they MUST have 8 players in order to launch. (i.e. you cannot launch a game with 5,6 or 7 players). In addition to that, your 8-player group will be matched to another 8-player group ONLY. This does reduce the change of finding a match quickly but at the same time 8-players teams will finally be matched to other 8-player teams exclusively.

At some future date we will also want to include the ability to challenge a specific 8-player team to a match in a competitive/eSport manner. But as stated, this will be coming at a later date.

Phase 3:

We have been examining the various ranking systems in other games/structured tournament play etc. This includes ELO, TrueSkill and others. Our current plan is to use a hybrid system that uses the mentality of ELO with a weighting system that we’ve determined that drives down to player effectiveness/skill in a match. In order for this to work properly, we will need to do heavy pre-release testing before it goes live to the community and hence the amount of time to get it implemented.

We currently cannot go into detail as to how this system will work because we are not going to over-promise something that may change during implementation. We will try to keep you as up to date on this as possible.

Founder’s Premium Account Status:

We have heard your cries and we are responding to them…

On the date of Open Beta, your Premium Account timer WILL start ticking. Around Open Beta, a button will appear that will allow YOU the Founder’s account holder to decide when the timer starts to tick down. At the same time as this button appearing, your used Premium Account time will be reset to its full value. At that point, you can click the button to start your timer but you cannot stop it. It will be up to you to decide when the Premium Account starts to tick.

Please note that this only applies to Founder’s Premium Account Bonus. Founder’s Mechs behave as planned from Open Beta onward.

Players who purchase a Premium Account AFTER Open Beta will have their timers start immediately upon purchase.

Game Balance:

The game is fairly close to where we want it but the last few items are finally coming into play in terms of Mech on-board systems and items such as Double Heat Sinks, Ferro Fibrous Armor which directly relate to weapon balance and combat experience. Now that those systems are in place, we will be looking into balancing factors such as heat and damage/damage over time etc.

For more information about where weapons are going, check out this link.

New User Experience:

We are adding a lot of tutorials for new players, and we believe this will help greatly. We’re also tightening the UI to make the flow easier to understand. In general, we’re adding a lot in the coming days, and we do understand this is needed to help new players the various complexities of MechWarrior Online.

Videos of every aspect of Mech Warfare will be coming soon, including moving your Mech, arming your Mech and tactics with your Mech.

Community Warfare:

Let’s start off by re-quoting the original Community Warfare Pillar from our game description:

Community Warfare:
MechWarrior® in all of its incarnations has always had a loyal following of players in one of the strongest on-line communities in gaming history. Piranha-Games hopes to bring this community together in a friendly conflict of universal control. This may sound a little odd, but it is the fun competitiveness that will keep the game alive and kicking for years to come. Utilizing the BattleTech® Inner Sphere, we plan to have skirmishes amongst the Great Houses in BattleTech® lore. Allowing the player to have an active part in this conflict is one of our key directives in designing this game. Players will be able to create, manage and customize their Merc Corp's player base and appearance, while banding together to really delve into the Inner Sphere conflict where House alignment reigns supreme. Merc Corp leaders will bid and fight for occupation rights to some of the most valuable planets across the Inner Sphere and challenge other Merc Corps for control of planets reaping large rewards.

Nothing has changed from this original vision of where we want to take Community Warfare. The thing about Community Warfare the decision to push it out further post Open Beta, is the sheer size of the feature and the amount of time to implement. Right now we want the dev team to focus on getting the current game feature set into the live build and then stabilize the build as people join us through the first few weeks of Open Beta. Soon after, a large segment of the entire team will shift over to getting Community Warfare coded and implemented so we can get this into the hands of internal/early beta tester’s hands so we can launch the feature in the future. Because of the sheer workload of this feature we cannot give you an accurate timeline for delivery for this but we will start rolling out information as we begin development of Community Warfare.

After this big gameplay injection, we will look at the plan for the Clan Invasion.

- The MechWarrior™ Online® Team

My Comment: This is exactly what we've been needing if I'm honest. The beta boards have been overflowing with criticsm this last week or so. The Tuesday patch last week introduced a lot of graphical and lag issues, which the devs had not responded to. They've not been posting much of late, which has resulted in a lot of the community feeling as though they were being ignored.

Thankfully, it looks as though all the threads in the forums have suceeded in bringing attention to these issues. Following a hotfix patch late last week many of the issues have been quashed, and the fact they are delaying the open beta launch is a godsend. It has not been announced just how long they will be delaying it, but it gives us all time to try out builds before our credits, MC and XP are reset.

Personally I'm glad they have come out and addressed the issues, the forums were a very volatile place until the above was posted. Granted, there are still a number of problems present, but it is reassuring to hear that Pirahana Games have taken on board what the community has been saying, and are going to be taking these problems seriously.

Ask the Devs Part 20

2012-10-15T11:15:00.003-07:00

The questions and answers from the twentieth round of 'Ask the Devs' have been posted:

Q: Is there any idea when death from above will be implemented? [Atayu]
A: It's already there in it's bare form, but we'll be improving it over time. Can't say exactly when, but it'll be there. [Garth]

Q: Have you ever eaten at the Red Wagon in East Van? If so, which do you prefer, pulled pork pancakes or the pork bellies? [whiskey tango foxtrot]
A: I haven't, but regardless of eating there the answer is pulled pork sandwiches. [Garth]

Q: Are there any plans to actually knock down trees instead of simply clipping through them? [bunk3rk1ng]
A: It will be added but we do not have a solid date yet. [Garth]

Q: The 55 ton mech you are planing to add will be an IS? [Odanan]
A: We will be adding a 55 ton Inner Sphere Mech at some point, yes. [Garth]

Q: Are there any plans to add penalties to the heat scale before the ultimate shutdown, such as reduced movement speed, reduced weapon accuracy, etc.? [pesco]
A: There has been talk on it but no concrete plans. It'll depend a lot on testing. [Garth]

Q: Is it decided yet if there will be the option to have a changeable Clan-tag attached to your name so we don't have to rename every time we join other units? [RedDragon]
A: I actually answer this question here, but to reiterate - this will not be added until Clan Warfare is 'live'. [Garth]

Q: I still want to know what style crust the PGI team prefers when you guys all order pizza. [Gun Bear]
A: The entire team? No idea. Me? I get 'original' because I am not tolerant of lactose in any form. [Garth]

Q: There have been rumors floating and even a thread made at the suggestion of making the "Somethingawful Goons" the clan forces when they are implemented. Is this the case? [Shibas]
A: No, that is not the case. A goon told you that, didn't they? [Garth]

Q: Can you tell us what a "Hero Mech" will be? [Redshift2k5]
A: We'll answer this in a future post. [Garth]

Q: Is it possible to make a head shot at a mech if you are at his back? (of course only if his head/cockpit is high enough so that you can see it?) [Nash]
A: Yes - I've done this to Catapults while in a Jenner. Jump jet over top, fire down, headshot. [Garth]

Q: Since we've all seen the picture, and the NDA is gone, can you guys comment on what Highlander variants might be added?[Norris J Packard]
A: I can only confirm the HGN 732, sadly. [Garth]

Q: Will you add some life to the maps (driving cars..wind that effect trees, random rain, maybe some airplanes chasing each other in the air? Maybe sounds of MG and artillery fire from far away? and so on)? [Virisken]
A: We actually already have this - if you look in the background of River City, you can see and hear machine gun fire as well as explosions. So, yes. [Garth]

Q: Why did the Urbanmech cross the road? [AC Rimak]
A: To get to the curb for pickup? [Garth]

Q: Will there be changing weather conditions? For example, On the ice map you can occasionally have blizzards or on the forest a heavy rainstorm...etc...caustic map has acid rain... [Bakra]
A: There already are! In Frozen City, there are occasional blizzards that blow through, making it really tough to see. [Garth]

Via the Official Forums

My Comment: Not much new info this week, but confirmation that they will be adding more to the DFA (Death From Above) mechanic is good news. I've been DFA'd a few times by Streakapults in the past week, and to be honest it doesn't really do much damage at the moment.

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 1st Oct. 3049

2012-10-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Inner Sphere News weekly roundup for the week of 1st October 3049.

Mon. Oct 1, 3049:
“Amaris The Misunderstood” publishes to boycotts on a dozen worlds; one transformed into a riot, dozens arrested.

Tue. Oct 2, 3049:
Irian Technologies proudly displays new GLT-5M during live-fire test; testament to their refurbished plant investment.

Wed. Oct 3, 3049:
“Lost To History” chronicles New Delos’ continued collapse into anarchy, decades after the end of Anton Marik’s revolt.

Thur. Oct 4, 3049:
A small group of advocates celebrate the 211th anniversary of the defense of Carver V by the much-maligned UrbanMech.

Fri. Oct 5, 3049:
Praxton Fusion Products security kill interloper; Alliance government’s refusal to prosecute underlines company’s power.

Sat. Oct 6, 3049:
Rhonda Snord refuses corporate sponsorship to upgrade Highlander to new ’Mech; “4 centuries old and it still kicks it.”

Sun. Oct 7, 3049:
Fourth largest supplier of ores in Federated Commonwealth, Basantapur Fine Metals appoints new CEO, Innebeth Hiccs.

My Comment: Hmmmm so a GLT-5M (Guillotine) has been displayed in a live fire test? Could this be our next thus- far unannounced mech? It has an endo-steel chassis so could be a good example mech for when ES reaches the live game. Interesting that there is a mention of the UrbanMech and Highlander. We already know the Highlander is coming soon, and the UrbanMech has always been a fan favourite (though I must confess I don't get what people see in it).

Mechwarrior Online Open Beta Date Announced

2012-10-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

Good news everybody! Via an article by Bryan Ekman and Russ Bullock on the official site, we have confirmation that MWO will be going into open beta on 16th October, alongside a huge patch full of new goodies.

The expected content coming in the 16th October patch is as follows:

New BattleTech Gameplay Features:

Endo Steel
Double Heat Sinks
Ferro-Fibrous Armor
Artemis FCS

New MechLab Features:

PIP Zoome Module and Pilot Skill

Next BattleMechs:

Cicada
A Hero Mech (Likely to be the Highlander)

Personally I can't wait for the 'hero mech'. Concept art for the Highlander HGN-732 was shown in the December issue of PC Gamer, and as that's the only mech that hasn't been officially announced, it seems likely that this will be our

I suspect you'll need to buy it using MC, so it will be interesting to see what kind of price point it has.

MWO Gameplay with Hoplite Lance - Dragon Pile

2012-10-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Memory, the commander of cReddit's Hoplite Lance recorded the below video of our drop into Frozen City last night. With the upgrade to the latest version of CryEngine, the whole game has got a new look to it, and the Frozen City map is no exception.

Stay tuned for a full lance of Dragons jumping off a ledge onto the head of an enemy Catapult, resulting some rather odd teleporting.

MWO with Carole Ruggier's MW2 Voiceover

2012-10-11T00:40:00.000-07:00

Many people have mentioned that one of the key things missing from MWO is the robotic voice in the cockpit that chimed in to keep you abreast of actions on the battlefield that was a staple of Mechwarrior 2 and 3. Personally I will never forget the first thing everyone heard upon launching a mission in Mechwarrior 3: "Reactor: online. Weapons: online. Sensors: online. All systems nominal", hell I still have it as the startup sound in windows!

1ceTr0n from the official forums evidentially felt the same way, and had the excellent idea of taking a gameplay video from MWO and adding the original Mechwarrior 2 voice clips as performed by Carole Ruggier.

The original post on the forums can be viewed here.

Patch Notes Tuesday 9th October

2012-10-10T13:35:00.001-07:00

The patch notes for the 9th October have been posted:

Change Log
________________________________________

To the MechWarrior™ Online® Community:

We are pleased to announce the latest engine drop of CryENGINE 3.41. This was a large undertaking and has helped us address many of the game’s issues and bump up performance and rendering capabilities.

What does this mean to you? The game looks significantly better. All of the maps have had their lighting tuned and you’ll now see a lot more detail in the environment. Minimum spec PC players should notice a fairly good improvement in performance with tuning still on-going and will be coming down the pipe as we optimize the game on our way to Open Beta.

DirectX 11 and 3D Vision support are currently disabled while we resolve the remaining few issues. These will come on-line in an upcoming patch.

We have also taken this opportunity to add some new pathing in River City for you to explore which adds some more gameplay strategies when approaching enemy bases.

GENERAL

User Data:
We will NOT be resetting any user data this patch. (i.e. you keep all your Mechs, XP, CB, MC as is).

CryEngine 3.41
· All levels have had a lighting pass done for 3.41
· Performance improvements (both client side and server side)
· DirectX 11 disabled for now
· 3D Vision disabled for now

FRONT END
· Dummy equipable items for Open Beta : Cockpit Command Console, Beagle Active Probe, Guardian ECM Suite
o Please note that these items do not yet affect gameplay; their functionality will be coming soon in a future patch
· Added minimal support for equipping skins and cockpit items to support the PC Gamer Skin and the Coconut Monkey.
· Fixed Error dialog message visibility.
· Launch mode retained when returning from match
· Ready Button exposed to Chat-Group interface
· Restrict PostMSAA to either on or off (fixes jitter)
· Prevent duplicate bindings on same control. Also prevent invalid rebind data from being saved.
· Added Info button to Advanced Options

NEW TRIAL MECH ROTATION:
· Raven RVN-2X
· Centurion CN9-AL
· Dragon DRG-1N
· Awesome AWS-8T

GAMEPLAY
· Weapon particle effect updates
· Holding “Q” will show the known targeting information of all visible targets.
· Default weapon groups system enabled
· Powered down Mechs no longer relay target information
· LRM15 and LRM20 have a reduced chance of hitting the ground when fired at a near target
· Target will no longer be lost when target Mech shuts down due to overheating
· Can no longer target Mechs when you are shut down
· Autocannon 2,5,10s have had their rate of fire increased.
· All Autocannons have had their ammunition count increased.
· LBX/10 has had its grouping tightened slightly.
· Night Vision effect updated

BUG FIXES
· Allied units on the minimap will no longer sometimes behave like enemy markers
· Thermal should now appear on variant textures
· Enabling Chain-fire on a Mech with no weapons will no longer soft lock the game
· Destroying components after a teammate disconnects no longer rewards XP
· Chain fire will no longer hiccup when trying to fire disabled weapons
· LRMs no longer lose tracking when fired just off of a close locked target
· Cooldown bar will no longer jump around after firing during high ping/lag situations
· AMS will no longer keep firing when the fire button remains held
· Suicide will provide no end of match rewards.
· Internal structure will show proper damage levels on the paper doll at round start
· Reinstating the Founder’s Mechs front page.
· Reset Launch Mode when logging out
· AutoRepair/Rearm doesn't reset when options do
· Fix resolution switch after login
· Terminate Friends-List on logout & Connection Loss
· Fixed inactivity timer
· Fixed Match Summary layout

PC Gamer Exclusive MechWarrior Online Items

2012-10-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

The December issue of the US edition of PC Gamer hit the shelves yesterday, and brings with it two exclusive items: a unique black and red skin, and a Coconut Monkey bobblehead cockpit decoration.

These are available from both the print and digital editions of the magazine. For the print edition, take the code from the third to last page and head on over to http://mwomercs.com/pcgamer and enter the code. If you have the digital edition of the magazine you need to head on over to https://promo.pcgamer.com/pcgmechwarrior/ where you will be asked to answer a question about the digital edition of the magazine, then you can register your details to complete the process.

These items will be added to the game on the 16th October, and by registering you will also get access to the closed beta.

Personally I can't wait to see what the red and black skin looks like on my Dragon.

Hitler Reacts to the Mechwarrior Online Beta

2012-10-09T10:54:00.001-07:00

Okay so if you've been anywhere on the internets over the last few years you have doubtless stumbled upon one of the 'Hitler Reacts to x' parody videos. They show one of the scenes from the film 'Der Untergang' (released in English as 'Downfall')

They've covered everything from getting banned from X-Box Live to the release of the iPad, and now it seems they have spread to Mechwarrior Online!

I thought this one was actually rather well done, especially the references to not being able to play as House Steiner in the beta! A lot of these videos don't actually reference what they are actually saying, and this is the first one I've seen mention the districts of Berlin near the start, definitely created by someone who speaks German!

MWO cReddit Merc Corps Gameplay Videos

2012-10-09T05:32:00.000-07:00

Now that the NDA has been lifted, plenty of gameplay videos are hitting YouTube. The set below were all recorded by Defekt from DefektiveGaming, dropping with the cReddit Merc Corp. Each is available in 1080p resolution, so crank up the res, sit back and enjoy!

The first of these features a fantastic mid-air kill by Memory, CO of Hoplite Lance in his Dragon.

Hands On: Mechwarrior Online

2012-10-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

Jim Rossignol from the formidable Rock Paper Shotgun has been playing MWO for the last couple of days and this is what he thinks:

The Mechwarrior Online closed beta has been stomping around in the back of my mind for a while now. It’s perhaps rude of me to admit it, but there have been even bigger games blasting away at the heavy armour of my limited attention. The past couple of days, though, I gave it my full focus, and found myself pleasantly surprised. The Mechs, it seems, are quite good.

Head over to Rock , Paper, Shotgun for the full article.

Ask the Devs Part 19

2012-10-05T17:49:00.000-07:00

The questions and answers from the nineteenth round of 'Ask the Devs' have been posted:

Q: Higher Blood pressure , Paul or Fox ? [Helmer]
A: Paul. [Garth]

Q: What about Hula Girl Physics™? Did Matt forget about his promise? [Adridos]
A: We're hoping to add Advanced Hula Girl Physics [Garth]

Q: Will there be an in-game place for friends to stumble into instead of finding each other externally in TS? Basically a meeting place of sorts. [Kilgore]
A: The in-game friends list would work for that, I think. [Garth]

Q: Second question: If Battlemech 16 was supposed to be saved for something special why was it just randomly announced?[Butane9000]
A: The Flea is our official 16th Mech. 'A Mech' had a special reveal, but BattleMech 17 will be something different again. [Garth]

Q: With the idea of role warfare we have been given a selection of mechs designated to specific roles by lore and actual function (speed/armor/guns/etc). Is it the development team's vision and expectation that players would deploy these mechs in like fashion or can we feel free to take what we know (beta or non-beta) about the mechs and their implementation and redefine them (within the hardpoint limitations) to suit our own ideas of the role and fuction of a given mech? [KitK]
A: The system is pretty flexible. Lights, for example, can scout, or they can skirmish. The Dragon can scout too, or it can brawl. So yeah, we try to make them as capable of multiple roles as we can. [Garth]

Q: When will we see some more sexy desktops of events happening in River City? We get a lot of images from the map Frozen City, but I don't think we have yet to see River City aside from Desktop WP #9. [Cattra Kell]
A: Well now that people are actually asking, much sooner [Garth]

Q: Is there something more powerful than a young boy's wish? [Nash]
A: Time And Relative Dimension In Space. [Garth]

Q: I've read some compelling forum posts on how tripling the weapon fire rate has been somewhat harmful to the utility of high-heat weapons. For instance, the classic 3-PPC awesome was a fairly heat efficient 'mech in TT, but not in MWO. Do you have any plans to look at heat generated by weapons or dissipated by heat sinks? [Comassion]
A: These things change quite often with each patch, so by the time I've answered it we may have already changed it. [Garth]

Q: The PC Gamer announcement got me wondering: what magazines/blogs/forums does the dev team rely on to stay up to date on gaming technology? [Dracol]
A: Name it and someone here probably reads it. [Garth]

Q: Will new maps be created at a much greater pace eventually? [Sturmspetz]
A: I can't guarantee anything, but once more of the core systems are complete and in place I imagine they will come out faster.[Garth]

Q: What fuels your sadistic behaviour, for not bringing the ZEUS? [Ens]
A: Your tears fuel us. [Garth]

Q: Will AMS's be limited per mech, or will we be able to put an AMS in every missile slot on the mech? Will there be modules to increase AMS effectiveness? Maybe a module that lets you put AMS into missile slots? [Rathe]
A: Mechs have a minimum of 1 AMS slot, though some may have more. [Garth]

Q: Is this question easy to answer? [Joe3142]
A: Yes. [Garth]

Q: What variants are planned for the Jagermech, Spider, Flea? [Redshift2k5]
A: Spider: SDR-5V, SDR-5k, SDR-5D. JagerMech: JM6-DD, JM6-S, JM6-A. I don't have the Flea variants handy, sorry [Garth]

Q: Please, sir, will there ever be a jump capable medium mech? [Watchit]
A: Sure. ("The 5J variant of the Trebuchet is a tradeoff that sacrifices firepower for mobility. One of the two LRM-15 launchers have been removed and replaced with five jump jets, giving the Trebuchet a jumping distance of one hundred and fifty meters. Additionally, the armor has been increased by half a ton and five heat sinks have been added to the design.") [Garth]

Q: Are there any plans to implement the option to show damage in the HTAL format? [Thontor]
A: We're considering it as an option, yes [Garth]

Via the Official Forums

My Comment: Thanks to Garth for spilling the beans on the Spider and Jagermech variants we'll be seeing in the new future! Personally I'm looking forward to having a bash with the JM6-DD, two UAC-5s and a pair of AC-2s sounds like a lot of fun for someone who likes sniping mechs.

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 24th Sept. 3049

2012-10-04T05:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the weekly roundup of news from the Inner Sphere, for the week of 24th September 3049.

Mon. Sept 24, 3049:

NAIS attempts to reengineer KTO-20 Kintaro from captured down-graded Combine model; a ComStar “gift” from War of 3039.

Wed. Sept 26, 3049:

An investigation of the explosion at Maskirovka installation on Courage naval base at Ward ruled accidental.

Thur. Sept 27, 3049:

Un-covered communications to 8th Arcturan Guards on Here instructs commander to investigate pirate activity drop.

Fri. Sept 28, 3049:

“The Great Interdiction” explores Charles Marik’s ill-fated war against ComStar; cementing the Order’s place of power.

Sat. Sept 29, 3049:

Rumors of lostech cache—from the defunct Commonwealth Mining Corporation, on C.M.O. 26 surface.

Sun. Sept 30, 3049:

Group arrested on Capella after accusations against government of revisionist history for non-Liao Chancellors.

My Comment: A lostech cache has been found!? Perhaps this hints at something shiny being added to the beta in the near future?

NDA Lifted!

2012-10-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

Good news everybody! The Mechwarrior Online NDA has finally been lifted! This is a great relief to us beta testers that have been under the yoke of the NDA for so long, finally we can tell you exactly what we think about MWO. I will be posting a series of new player guides over the next few days, so when Open Beta hits everyone can be well prepared.

I expect a lot of player-made content will now start hitting YouTube soon, and I've heard tell people have begun streaming MWO on twitch.tv, so there will be plenty of news to post!

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 17th Sept. 3049

2012-09-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the weekly roundup of news from the Inner Sphere, for the week of 17th September 3049.

Mon. Sept 17, 3049:
Wangker Aerospace announced work on a “Banshee fighter prototype”; a test bed for numerous, new technologies.

Tue. Sept 18, 3049:
Elena Kubayshev ascends to Blessed Leader role in the Exituri faith on Shiloh.

Wed. Sept 19, 3049:
An architectural wonder, Pinard Protectorates’ facilities scattered across four islands, is a Taurian success story.

Thu. Sept 20, 3049:
Charges allege Duchess Candace Liao-appointed judges for St. Ives Book Expo castigate “uncomfortable” materials.

Fri. Sept 21, 3049:
“Of Merc Love”, ribald bestseller set in Archon Elizabeth Steiner’s reign, historically accurate on Lyran/Merc relations.

Sat. Sept 22, 3049:
Scarborough, Ltd., manufacturer of the Scimitar medium hover tank, begins testing of Target Acquisition Gear.

Sun. Sept 23, 3049:
Lyran Free Traders Association—only merchants able/willing to deal with Oberon Confederation—reports missing JumpShip

My Comment: TAG is here at last! Time to get working on a Raven build...

Ask the Devs Part 17

2012-09-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

The questions and answers from the seventeenth round of 'Ask the Devs' have been posted:

Q: Have you guys ever considered making customization more akin to refit kits in Strat Ops? See page 188 for what I mean.[Stormwolf]
A: Yes, and we feel our system is the best mix of tabletop, past MechWarrior games, and our own spin. It allows customizability without compromising the idea and purpose behind the weapon, chassis, etc. [Garth]

Q: Will alternate ammunition like Inferno missiles be available for missile systems and autocannons? [Solis Obscuri]
A: I believe this is the third time I'll have answered this, but yes, there will be alternate ammunition sources at some point, though they'll be later in development. [Garth]

Q: When's the UrbanMech coming? [DrnkJawa]
A: Later. [Garth]

Q: Are there plans for MechWarrior Online to eventually (post-launch) include some of the more rarely-seen weapons and equipment items? [Strum Wealh]
A: I think we might consider these AFTER we've added the more prevalent things. We'd need to have a need for the items though, and not just to add them because they're there. Would they get used? Then probably. [Garth]

Q: Can you provide a list of variants for mechs currently in beta? [Redshift2k5]
A: Once the NDA is lifted, yes. [Garth]

Q: Is there any plans to locate servers anywhere but USA? [Vovochka404]
A: Yes, but I can't say when (because I have no idea.) Suffice to say we're planning on it. [Garth]

Q: Will be there bigger Matches with 12 - 32 - 64 Players? [Ic3Dog]
A: We plan to launch with 12 versus 12 matches. If possible, we'd love to add larger matches later, but that will be up to the engineers. [Garth]

Q: OK now here's a question will the environments and environment structures like gas tanks and such be destructible and cause damage to near by mechs? [GunLocked]
A: Can I say maybe? Does that work? 'Similar things are planned,' how's that? [Garth]

Q: For my question. Are there any plans to have random map generation? [Rhyshealkan]
A: No. Despite what people think, the work involved and likelihood of horrifically balanced maps is very high. [Garth]

Q: What do you have against Cthulhu? [Butane9000]
A: Nothing, though he is merely a sub-deity; petty compared to Shub'Niggurath. [Garth]

Q: Où sont les Neigedens d'antan? [Solis Obscuri]
A: Voulez-vous dire 'neiges'? (Changement climatique). [Garth]

Via the Offical Forums

My Comment: While the idea for changing the way we customise mechs is a solid one, it is unlikely to happen this far into the development cycle. I like the idea of alternative munitions becoming a reality, and I can't wait for a larger number of mechs on each side. The current limit of 8 vs 8 works to an extent but never has the truly epic feeling you get with a massive battle. I suspect we'll need some new larger maps before we see this feature though.

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 10th Sept. 3049

2012-09-16T10:11:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the weekly roundup of news from the Inner Sphere, for the week of 10th September 3049.

Mon. Sept 10, 3049:
Independence Weaponry publishes 1,000 page report it states “proves VTR-9K Endo Steel chassis has no defects”.

Mon. Sept 10, 3049:
Due to unexpected interference in the Periphery, weekend news reports blocked.

Tue. Sept 11, 3049:
“Furillo: A World’s Wealth” discusses its vast mineral wealth, production capacity, and its importance House Steiner.

Wed Sept 12, 3049:
Explosion at Courage naval base at Ward has Maskirovka installation on full alert in case of sabotage.

Thu. Sept 13, 3049:
On the island continent of Simla on Aitutaki renovations of massive exercise grounds and live-fire ranges complete.

Fri. Sept 14, 3049:
“Rander: Star League Legacy” discusses one of the few corporate successes to thrive through the Succession Wars.

Sat. Sept 15, 3049:
Colonel Cynthia Evans of the Chasseurs à Cheval receives the Fist of Raventhir from the Magestrix’s hand today.

Sun. Sept 16, 3049:
Released military communiqué from 8th Arcturan Guards on Here, coreward Periphery, notes apparent pirate activity drop.

My Comment: So it looks like the Devs are hinting that Endo Steel internal structure will be coming to the beta soon, perhaps with some sort of tutorial mode (ref: live-fire ranges).

Fan-Made MWO Closed Beta Trailer

2012-09-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Trawling through YouTube today I stumbled upon the below fan-made trailer for the MWO closed beta. It has been done in the manner of a lot of 'top frag' videos from CS:GO and the like, being a montage of ingame footage spliced together in time to a soundtrack.

This may be the first of it's kind but I bet it will not be the last. To be honest I'm looking forward to the time when we see the first professional quality community-produced videos, though I suspect this won't be until a while after open beta hits.

Senior Gameplay Engineer Thomas Dziegielewski Chat Transcript

2012-09-13T14:02:00.001-07:00

Last night the MWO devs hosted a chat with Senior Gameplay Engineer Thomas Dziegielewski, the transcript of which can be found below the jump.

Thomas Dziegielewski: Hi Mechwarriors my name is Thomas Dziegielewski and I'm the Senior Gameplay Engineer at Piranha Games. I am primary on the weapon system, damage effects, heat system, upcoming info tech stuff but have my hands in everything gameplay. I hope I can shed light on a few things here today.

IGP_Mike: Aeronerd Asks: When you test the game play, do you do so against other beta testers or do you use a separate server?

Thomas Dziegielewski: In some cases I have to do both. When confirmed bugs we have found it's advantageous to play against players in real situations and see how and when they occur.

IGP_Mike: Amadeaus asks: will they change the AMS system to only shoot at missles targeting your mech vs any incoming missle friendly or enemy?

Thomas Dziegielewski: Right now the ones targeting you are primary for the AMS, after that it goes after any enemy missiles. I am unaware of any plans wanting to take down friendly missiles.

IGP_Mike: Kennoir asks: When will using multiple jump jets make a difference? How will they affect the jump mechanism?

Thomas Dziegielewski: Oh very soon, I've been bugging Omid for weeks! Sadly it is not on my plate to deal with, but I can't really give you a timeline for it...Priorities.

IGP_Mike: [SoR]Fluffypinkbunny asks: do heatsinks in the same location as the weapons, reduce heat more or less than those who arent. example, medium laser in the arm, heat sink in the arm. or laser in arm, and heat sink in torso, any difference?

Thomas Dziegielewski: Currently they do not. The only things that help heatsinks right now are ambient temperature and volumes like water or the craters which heats things up. I'd also like to add that the deeper you are in the water the more they will cool down.

IGP_Mike: MagnificentBastard asks: What is your standard work day like? What exactly do you do?

Thomas Dziegielewski: Get in check our software for the latest bugs in my bin and get cracking. Nag designers for new features which I love putting in. I refuse to take an hour lunch as I consider them to be a waste of time usually. During the day I'll play a few games on the beta server to relax.

IGP_Mike: Amechwarrior asks: Have they considered expanding upon weapon effects to embrace the background flavor while differentiating between weapon types? For example, the PPC disrupting electronic or targeting systems, various autocannons having differing fire rates and impact effects.

Thomas Dziegielewski: I've built the system to allow for all this. Our effects artists Ryan Van Vliet has done an awesome job thus far. It is just bandwidth he doesn't have right now to iterate upon the effects you describe. I'm also pushing for different effects in different temperatures but design has to agree first

IGP_Mike: adrienne_vorton asks: did you guy think about giving the gauss a little disadvantage, like the delay similar to ppc´s? because the accuracy it has is something that is an advantage never possible in the tabletop... the weight seems not to make all the advantages up...

Thomas Dziegielewski: ah yes the famous GaussCat debate. The designers are still balancing the issue. One disadvantage which doesn't really help with the GaussCat is that the weapon explodes (or should soon) when the component goes.

IGP_Mike: VengantMjolnir asks: Are there plans to tweak the PPC to be more effective? Or alternatively can you confirm that the PPC has issues with its hit mechanics as it stands?

Thomas Dziegielewski: The only issue I was aware of was the problem with the PPC visual effect. The PPC is essentially the same system as the Autocannon or Gauss so it would exist in them as well. PPC also has a min range before which the PPC does barely any damage which some people see as a bug.

IGP_Mike: ElwoodBlues asks: Are there any plans to scale the time it takes for a mech to get up based on weight, engine size or presence of arms?

Thomas Dziegielewski: I would love to answer yes, but nothing is yet planned for it.

IGP_Mike: Megafisto asks: What is your favorite mech/mech variant right now?

Thomas Dziegielewski: CPLT-C1 4 medium pulse 2 streaks srm. 91 kmph

IGP_Mike: Pilot3604 asks: how NARC going to improve LRMs? i mean today i've seen AWS-8T with 4xLRM20 (136 potential dmg). what is expected impact of one such salvo.

Thomas Dziegielewski: Current Implementation of the NARC beacon is basic and only allows faster lock-on time for yourself and teammates on the NARC'd target and lock loss.

IGP_Mike: Aeronerd asks: the fastest mechs "teleport" quite often given the current netcode of the game, making them artificially more difficult to hit. Are there improvements to this netcode planned? or is it something inherent to the engine?

Thomas Dziegielewski: It is an ongoing process. We will not stop improving the system. That also goes for the firing delay for projectile weapons.

IGP_Mike: [DHB]Voss asks: Are all weapons being tracked across the board to pinpoint which ones are possibly too effective as well as those that may be lacking?

Thomas Dziegielewski: We are receiving telemetry data from all the games being played. It is a great asset to the designer and is information they'll use to address any issues plaguing the game.

IGP_Mike: Thanks Thomas! Great Q&A! A transcript will be made available on the forums shortly.

Thomas Dziegielewski: Thank you! Hope to see you all on the battlefield!

MechWarrior Online Hub

Mechwarrior Online Open Beta Launch - 29th October 2012

Mechwarrior Online Patch Notes - 25th October 2012

Mechwarrior Online Tutorial Videos

MechWarrior Online Tutorial Part 1 - Getting Started and Instant Action

MechWarrior Online Tutorial part 2 - Heads Up Display and Targeting Information

MechWarrior Online Tutorial part 3 - How to set up Firing Groups, Chain Fire, and Link Fire

Mechwarrior Online Heat Maps

Forest Colony

Movement

Kills

Caustic Valley

Movement

Kills

Frozen City

Movement

Kills

River City

Movement

Kills

More MWO cReddit Merc Corps Gameplay Videos

Inner Sphere News Round-up - Week of 8th Oct. 3049

Age Doesn’t Equal Stability

The Perks of Nobility

Official Response to Community Concerns

A response to the major concerns of the community.

Open Beta:

Current Gameplay Issue:

Match Making:

Phase 1:

Phase 2:

Phase 3:

Founder’s Premium Account Status:

Game Balance:

New User Experience:

Community Warfare:

Ask the Devs Part 20

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 1st Oct. 3049

Mechwarrior Online Open Beta Date Announced

MWO Gameplay with Hoplite Lance - Dragon Pile

MWO with Carole Ruggier's MW2 Voiceover

Patch Notes Tuesday 9th October

PC Gamer Exclusive MechWarrior Online Items

Hitler Reacts to the Mechwarrior Online Beta

MWO cReddit Merc Corps Gameplay Videos

Hands On: Mechwarrior Online

Ask the Devs Part 19

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 24th Sept. 3049

NDA Lifted!

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 17th Sept. 3049

Ask the Devs Part 17

Inner Sphere News Roundup - Week of 10th Sept. 3049

Fan-Made MWO Closed Beta Trailer

Senior Gameplay Engineer Thomas Dziegielewski Chat Transcript