Friday, October 12, 2012

Open Beta Survival Guide: Preparation

Welcome prospective MechWarriors! As we are all aware, this upcoming week marks the launch of Open Beta, and hopefully an influx of new blood into the game. This post is designed as a bit of a guide for those who are gearing up to be entering into the game for the first time on Tuesday, however I welcome all players to read, and comment and add your input.
This edition of the guide will be mostly about the preparation for, and the experience of, your first few days of MW:O. I hope to provide further guides as things that need to be discussed pop up. I have split it up into “Before Tuesday” things to do to prepare, and “Your first day”. Each is split into do’s and don’ts and are discussed a bit in detail. So let’s get started.

Before Tuesday:

Do’s
  • Read Guides and Stickies: It is unfortunate that many of the best information are still locked behind forums that non-closed beta players cannot access, however there are some that have filtered out, and hopefully I can get permission to post some of the most useful ones here. Otherwise I hope to post links to useful guides. That being said the information is out there, even if you can’t read all the stickied guides now, this can be deferred to be a “Your first day” sort of thing. Either way, reading the information that has been collected by diligent players before you will make a world of difference.
      Edit: Several people have been providing me with guides, tutorials, and video's, I will try to maintain a handy list at the end of this post
  •    Ignore the hate on the forums: There is a lot of controversy on the forums at the moment, and sadly some of that is spilling into the public forums. While a lot of the concerns are valid, much of it is being addressed, and honestly reading about how miserable you will be won’t help anything. Bottom line is, if you’re excited for the game, great! Allowing others negativity to ruin your experience before you even get started is no good for anyone.
  •    Read up on the lore: The MechWarrior fan base knows their stuff when it comes to the story, and a lot of discussions will deal with the authentic cannon in which MechWarrior takes place in. There are good places to read up about the history, and mechs on MechWarrior. So, if you have time, it can’t hurt to brush up. (A good example would be http://battletech.wikia.com/wiki/History_of_the_BattleTech_universe, by the way MW:O takes place on a 1:1 time scale starting in 3049)
  • Make sure your video drivers are up to date: A lot of people have been having problem with the new engine, and honestly a lot of those problems could be solved with good drivers. Might as well update them now.
Don’t
  •  Go out and buy a joystick: Honestly, with such a highly competitive game as MW:O, having a joystick, especially with the current limited support for them, is a hindrance.

  • Take time off work: It is a beta, chances are Tuesday will be largely unplayable. Don’t set yourself up for failure.
  • Wait to get Founders: I believe today is the last day to pick up the cool mech’s/status for your profile. If that is something you want, now is the time to get it (the founders mechs represent a permanent increase to CBills while using them, but requires the $60 or $120 version of the program).
Your first day:

Do’s
  •  Watch the tutorials: The game is fairly complicated, and while there are plenty of good guides on the forums/elsewhere, PGI has said tutorial videos will be available on Tuesday. Hopefully these end up being good. Otherwise, keep reading the guides on the forums.
  • Be patient: Launches are rough, especially if the game is being successful. Hopefully all goes well, but if not, don’t be surprised if there is lag, servers brought down for maintenance, and not a lot of news from the staff as they panic to keep the hamsters running. Sad to say, this is pretty much normal in this industry.
  •   Find people to hang out with: I am unsure what the state of the unofficial TS server will be in Open Beta, but if it is available USE IT. Talking with others and finding people to play with is probably the single biggest thing you can do to ensure your success.
  •   Have fun: if you find yourself looking at the game as work, or a grind. Take some time off. (and post your level headed feedback on the forums)

Don’t
  •  Expect MechLab right away: One of the cool things about MechWarrior is the ability to customize your mechs. However, as a new player you will need to play some games with your Trial Mechs. These mechs are not customizable, and based on Table Top templates. They swapped out which mechs were the Trial Mechs a week ago, so it’s anyone’s guess which will be the mechs for next week. In general expect Trial mechs to run hot, and have weapon systems that cover several different ranges (non-specialized).
  •  Be afraid of loss: The one big advantage of Trial Mechs is no cost to rearm/repair. So focus on tactics, and supporting your team. It doesn’t really matter if you deplete your ammo, or if you get cored, so if you want to do your buddies a favor you can be the guy to peek around the corner, soaking up damage that otherwise would have to be paid for in the end.
  •  Be a hero: MW:O is a team game. It is not Call of Duty, it is not a single player game. You cannot single handedly take on the enemy. The lance that sticks together… sticks together. You may see scouts run off on their own, that doesn’t mean your Awesome should chase after them. Which brings me to...
  • Chase the Squirrel: Light Mechs are fast, agile, and still can do a fair bit of damage. A common tactic is to be spotted by the enemy and then lure a few of the more tunnel vision infected enemies into an ambush, or clean out of bounds. Don’t be that guy.

All in all you should be excited to get into MW:O, and we are excited to have you! I hope to see you on the battle field. As I said before, any additional advice/warnings, please leave in the comments.

Tutorials/Guides

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bykz9kUNBTI - Seems very good for basic controls, and mech piloting. Excellent for those who may never have played a MechWarrior game before. - Thank RedShift2K5

UPDATE: The Open Beta has been delayed. We do not have a new date for the Open Beta, I will keep you updated as I can.

2 comments:

  1. Excellent write up. Glad to see you put such a high priority on the fun of the experience!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent article. As I read this I realize I'm wearing the same Thundercats T-Shirt you have on in your pic. Awesome!

    But seriously, very good post.

    ReplyDelete