Mercs is Out! - Don't bother :(

GlasgowCelts · Post by **GlasgowCelts** » 18 Nov 2002, 10:56

BB, an acceptable alternative would be what i said in my post: MW4 when i first started playing it. At least with laserboats they were generally fired in Alphas so you had a chance to get your shot off also. Now, it is simply a case of mechs standing armed to the teeth with RAC and piling shot after shot at its target. The rocking this causes is unreal. And not every mech will carry advanced gyro, whereas very few mechs CANNOT carry rac.

Bio, i understand where you are coming from with regards to jumping snipers. However, that is exactly what would happen if this game was played for real. Even now, long gone are the days when soldiers dug themselves in to trenches 100 metres apart and then charged at each other. Weaponry advancement has meant that there is no longer any need for that tactic, and i believe this would carry over in to mechy. Also, i would point out that most of the better teams in MW play in this manner, especially in no respawn games where longevity is the most important thing. There is a large degree of skill involved in jump-sniping in a gaussboat, i cant say the same about filling a 60 ton mech with rac and doing the dance of death with an opponent with longer range weapons. There is no doubt it is MUCH more prevalent now than it has ever been in the game since i began playing 18 months ago.

I just feel like it has now been completely marketed towards school kids, with the bright coloured graphics and arcade feel to it. And if you don't want to brawl, dont bother turning up. Possibly when the maps get better (there is some really nice maps in there, like Jungle, but tiny) then we will see a change in the way the game is played. I just wish i had realised it was going to be like this when i bought and i might have waited til it hit the bargain bin or something.

Glas

Quick edit: 2 games stuck out in my mind yesterday. One was on a public server, my first try at the game. Every time i hit, the damage registered. My main reason for chucking the game last night was not because i was so pissed off with the rac mechs, it was simply that NO shots whatsoever that i was firing was causing any damage. Possibly a one-off problem with that server, but NDB is definitely still there and when it hits, it seems much worse.

Biobod · Post by **Biobod** » 18 Nov 2002, 13:30

I agree with you Glas, the game def is marketed towards kids with cortoon graphics and all. I also agree with you in the jump/snipe tactic...it takes skill and practice to used it well and it makes sence...maximun damage low exposure. I was not bugging you for it

...just saying that the RAC(wich i dont use) seems to be the balance for the J/S tactic(althou it creates other problems...like lame playes).

GlasgowCelts · Post by **GlasgowCelts** » 18 Nov 2002, 14:30

Bio sorry if it sounded like i was having a go or anything, i didnt mean it that way mate. I agree with you that there probably was a necessity to counter what was becoming the ONLY tactic used in the game. Just like M$ not to have the ability to keep a balance in the game, eh? ;)

Ob, i agree with you there is more weapons variety available now in the game which, in theory, should make the game better. It seems obvious tho that they have weighted the balance of all those new weapons heavily in favour of one particular one. Hopefully in time it will settle itself down, id hate to think last night's experiences were the shape of things to come.

Regardless, ive paid my £30, im off for another game

Glas

BlackHawk*K · Post by **BlackHawk*K** » 18 Nov 2002, 16:23

well i hate to mention this, but i think at this point and well, probably all along, the game and the enjoyment of the game will probably be dictated by the players playing it. the reason i say this is again thinking back to mw2 days... there WERE teams out there that went for legs etc in games becuse it was an easy way to kill a mech, i know we have hashed this issue a few times in mw4, im just useing it as an example here... from what i noticed, in the group of players that i played the game with. legging, in general was unpopular. and alot of teams who used the tactic got buged about it till they either stoped, or no one played them. in alot of ways it has been the same for mw3 and mw4 but as time goes on i see more tolorance towards things as the LRM boats, the laser boats and now RAC boats. however on some servers, there does tend to be ppl who pick on those who decided to use such configs in games. so some of this tolorance is not as prevelant as it was before. now with Mercs, the Rac boats are a pain, yes i had one, mainly to see what it was like. to be honest i thought 4 rac 5s should of kicked hte hell out of a mech with 5 RAC 2s but it didnt. why i cant tell ya. but i probably wont use that config much again. i found it a bit boreing and a pain in the butt to use actualy. i had alot more fun with my duel c-gauss duel ERPPC BK mech hehe. i have to agree that perhaps with time some of these things will subside to some degree as ppl start experimenting with normal cofigs. as to the game itself, i try very hard to look past these boaters and take it as a challange to figure out new ways to overcome these mechs that at times show to have an advantage. just as i have in mw4, and BK. Sometimes, shakeing up our usual defenses can prove usefull. specialy if it forces us as warriors to come up with new stratagies to destroy these new pesky mech configs that may dominate the mw4 mercs community for a short time.

as to the NDB. well i seen that too alot. and specificly LAG! too... now take note though, it seemed worse for me in a game with ppl piloting RAC MECHS! i wounder if there isnt some type of graphic overload going on due to the awsome ammounts of gun fire graphics produced by a RAC mech similar to the cluster bombs some ppl have had lag issues over.

just a thought.

Justicebringer · Post by **Justicebringer** » 18 Nov 2002, 16:35

Has anyone noticed the electric spin sound of the RAC's. Like the miniguns used on the Little Birds in Blackhawk Down. Just wondering thought it added to the game.

Featherhorse · Post by **Featherhorse** » 18 Nov 2002, 20:19

Reasons to not buy Mercs:

I hear everybody goin on about how balanced the weaps are now. Should that not have been handled in a point release? Would you really pay $50 for a patch?
Oooohhhh new 'Mechs. They coulda put those in a Mercs X-Pak. A $50 X-Pak? Yeah Right!
New Maps! Uh yeah, and how many maps have they already handed out for free on the M$ site? Why buy the cow...?
Improved Graphics? I'm just seeing more on this end, not better.
Better connectivity? I can't, but I hear NDB is still livin large in da house.
Even the "Strategy Guide" was a rip-off. I got mine free with the game, and figured I'd at least get a cool poster. Nope
So, I guess what it boils down to for me, was that I paid $50 to command an extra lance. Whoopee!
That and get bent over by MicroShaft.

Friends don't let friend buy Mercs.
Fethr

Malin · Post by **Malin** » 19 Nov 2002, 08:12

I think Fethr is tight in some respects, Mercs is just basically a large Expansion pack.

Some new mechs, some new maps (Quake maps to be sure), and Some new weapons (RAC & Arrow) and last but not least a new Gagdet, the Advanced Gyro.

All of the above are exactly the same as the X Packs.

There is however two additional things in Mercs.

1. Single player missions.

2. Reworked Graphics, not just in the HUD and Mechlab but also in the weapons. I like the PPC now when it hits, you get all ghostly blue crap sparkling over your screen, and now if you get head shot it totally messes up your HUD till you die.

Bad points, same engine, same bugs, especially NDB.

I'm not convinced about the price but how many of us have brought sequels of games and films, and how many of them have actually been better than the original.

Malin

Hammer · Post by **Hammer** » 19 Nov 2002, 08:52

I think the pricing is about $15-$20 too high...

Ghost Recon - 49.99
Desert Siege - 19.99
Island Thunder - 19.99 (I think)

So paying 49.99 for an expansion after paying 12.99 for two previous expansions is a bit much if you ask me. But M$ knows that the price is not really going to stop folks from buying it. Once you are hooked, you are hooked.

NDB is going to exist - period. It is caused by lag, and while playing over the internet you are going to have lag. If they optimize the net code it will be minimized, but there is always going to be a modem user (or two or more) that you are going to have problems hitting. It happens in GR as well - folks say they hit the target but no effect... If you want to test it, do a LAN game and see if you get it...

I just got Mercs (traded 4 games for it), have not loaded it yet due to the reactions in this thread. I am not sure if I want to open it or return it (although I got it at E.B. so I have 30 days to return it anyway...).

Feather,
Come on bro! Play with us. The BT universe has been changed and it will never go back...nothing we can do about it except quit playing altogether (Don't even think about it!). I think the best thing that can be done is to figure out ways around all the shortcomings one sees and play the game in your flavor...no matter what others do or the designers intended.

Justicebringer · Post by **Justicebringer** » 19 Nov 2002, 11:16

Ok this is all getting ridiculous. IMO Mercs is way better than Mw4, graphics, sound hell the HUD is 10 times better. Yes its cartoony but not that much more than Vengeance, its a video game its animated.

Also the RACs have their place just ask BB about my Templar. I used dual RACs to keep my target off balance until my ppcs could recharge.

We cannot change this game so we have to adapt and overcome. M$ is about making money so they design games that way. Like it or not this stuff sells.

Also the mission play inmultiplayer is really cool also, beats doing TA matches all the time.

Ok Im off my rant, everyone is entitled to their opinion including me :gulp:

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 19 Nov 2002, 11:45

Ok, I have stayed out of this ill now but I feel I need to throw in my 2 nickels...........

Mercs is to be sure very over priced for what we got. 50$ US for a SP campaign and a as of now sucky MP. Yes the maps are mostly arena style boxing rings and about as big too. But....some of the maps are really nice and big. The map editor will be out in Dec. (DEV teams said about a month after reliease) so once it is out the map makers in the MW4 community will figure out how to port the old maps into Mercs, hell Mektek says they will be able to do a lot of stuff when the editor comes out....LIKE GET RID OF THAT F'ING HORN!!!!.....oh...sorry did I yell that at the top of my lungs?

Rebalence:

ERLL has been put in it's place. It is still one hell of a weap but now it has the heat it should (although it should do 10 damage and 12 heat) as it is supposed to be heat in-effectent. You can still boat them but the heat is going to get you faster and harder.

ISLL they both made it better and worse. Better range and heat but they incresed the recycle time to 6 (I think....verify), weight is the sameand it is nasty now...a good IS weap.

PPC/ERPPC...welcome back PPC's....we missed you. The Coupe d' Ville of the beam class. They made it faster, stronger and longer. By faster I mean it gets to where you shoot it very quickly. They do hella damage and I really like them.

ERLPL/ISLPL are Hot...Hot...Hot! The now do damage! They are worth actually putting on a mech. Just dont put more than 2 on or your in trouble heat wise unless you go for a boat then go for 6-7 and alpha twice and vent.....but this is going to be a hard congig to do.

A4..TB/Cluster. Uber too strong, but a nice counter to the RAC2 toting gun wagons. You can put 3 on a kodiak with JJ...ouch!

RAC's...well love them or hate them they are here and we have to deal with them. Best D agaist a RAC wagon.....MOVE! Cross the T and make him chase you with his shot....when he has to let off or jam...close and hammer him....I did this all last night in a 3 LBX20 Glad with JJ, and was like 16-18 for 6-8. Although a RAC5 and some XPL's on a Scat make for a neat infighter.

Ballistic Weaps: all are very nice, my fav is the CLBX10 got a range increase and damn it hits hard, try 3 CLBX10's on a thor and chain them...your score will like you.

The dreaded NDB: I have seen very little of it and when I do it usually involves a Flea at close range. I hit a flea at 900m on Manorhouse as he was running 130+kph perp. to me with 4 ERPPCs....try that in BK.

I only see NDB when someone is ghostig around with crapy pings (Benn!

...) Make sure you have your connection set the closest speed listed for your modem type...not like the bad old days of setting your connection speed to 14.4k on your cable modem. There will always be lag as we play over the internet and other people are D/L'ing porn. I damage what I hit 98% of the time and thats about all we can expect folks.

Aside of the maps and that DAMN HORN!, I like what I see in Mercs and feel while it is priced too high, it is a worthy Mechy game to extend the series.

Venom · Post by **Venom** » 20 Nov 2002, 06:23

Personally I got interested in BT when I watched the animated series on TV. After a while I bought MW2 Mercs, and have been hooked ever since. I always found a way to find the silver lining in a grey cloud in MW games. The only thing that means more to me than my MONEY is MECHWARRIOR. I am a diehard MW fan. And M$ doesn't seem to care about the long time fans.

Falker · Post by **Falker** » 21 Nov 2002, 20:42

Even with all the mixed reviews , I'll still go ahead and buy it because I forgot what it was like to pilot a Mech , and I never did try out them expansion packs , so I'm sure I'll like it better then MW4. Alot of other ppl are pretty much saying the same things about it at other forums I visited. One topic was titled Taste Great , Less Filling , heh , I thought Fethr should have came up with that one first

If anyone else needs more closure on this with other opinions ~~>

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/editorial/re ... _id=224148

Falker............

Featherhorse · Post by **Featherhorse** » 22 Nov 2002, 06:52

Falker wrote:Taste Great , Less Filling , heh , I thought Fethr should have came up with that one first

Arrrrgghhhhh! Oh well, I haven't been well.

Still Haven't dropped in a server yet, but I'm tryin.
It is quite nice to be able to tell 7 lancemates to "Sick em". So nothing's hopeless.

Hammer · Post by **Hammer** » 22 Nov 2002, 08:46

Darkhorse,
There have ALWAYS been uses for light and medium mechs... You must open your mind, grasshopper... :lol:

ELH~Lancer · Post by **ELH~Lancer** » 22 Nov 2002, 15:40

After a week of playing Mercs, interlaced with PC freezes, it just seems like another expansion pack with a bit of Mech Commander thrown in. Can't say I was that impressed! Zonematch seems filled with Assaults and bots

Is there a way that the 'Checking for Updates' can be turned off? I average one 'freeze' per 3 connection attempts.

Falker · Post by **Falker** » 23 Nov 2002, 02:36

Just kidding around Fethr

I know your an ace pilot and all , I really enjoyed going up against ya when I was with NWD as Bretie. Us old timers have our honor and it seems thats about it these days . I wont sabotage your post or try to make you look bad like some others.
Untill next time mate.

Falker................

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 23 Nov 2002, 09:29

Lancer,

Yes the pub servers are filled with RAC'd Landpigs and the like. But try this for a refreashing taste........!SSL Stock server. Yes its stock, but they put some tonnage limits in so it is real interesting. I'm not sure how the zonematch traffic is for you (the 6 hour difference and all) but a few servers have set some limits on stuff. Also try the servers doing mission play. It's a lot like the seige assault thing but....and not sure why but it is way more injoyable. I think it's the wave respawn thing. you have 10 min. to take down the objectives. Very cool.

Once the map editor come out, (DEV's say in about 2 weeks or so) then you will see larger maps with spawn points that are not on top of wach other. MekTek and others say they can do a lot of stuff once the editor comes out (like port all the old maps in) and the DEV's say official maps will be on the way. So there is hope on the horizon.

Buffalo Six · Post by **Buffalo Six** » 23 Nov 2002, 09:34

Damn I missed this in Lancers post.

Lancer if it freezes during the "checking for updates" screen, I found that it's my firewall, I think it freezes because my fire wall is asking me if I want to open a port but the screen wone let me minimize Mercs to see the port message. I just shut down the firewall and since then I have had no freezes during the "checking" screen.

"Your Milage May Vary"

Firemane · Post by **Firemane** » 23 Nov 2002, 09:51

DH- that's a good question about the Flea. It would make sense for them to have JJs, but even the ones in BattleTech don't have them.

Featherhorse · Post by **Featherhorse** » 25 Nov 2002, 07:05

Prob Nolemo, Falker. I was just irked to be out smart-assed.

Fethr

RLGaming.com

RLGaming's Forums

Mercs is Out! - Don't bother :(

Mercs Debate...where do you stand?