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Force of Arms News - An Interview with Wardog Studios
Posted by Jon Wood on Sep 26, 2007 | 44 comments in our forums
Recently, Staff Writer Joe Iuliani had the opportunity to sit down and ask ten questions of the guys down at Wardog Studios, the company that's making the Mech-based MMORPG, Force of Arms. Patrick Hamilton and Jeff Newcomb take the time to provide the answers.
MMORPG.com:
What level of cooperative play will there be in FOA?
Jeff “Tex-Mechs” Newcomb:Phase I of Force of Arms is being developed mostly as a PvP system, and as with most PvP, even if a game isn’t explicitly designed for cooperative play, we recognized early on that players will normally band together to defeat the other side. We don’t plan to shackle players together (like in WoW or FotR, to name a few). Instead, we’ll give them some fairly powerful tools to implement the most effective strategy for themselves. There should be target links, playcards, command overview, satellite recon, and few more that we’d like to talk about, but then we’d have to lock you in a trunk until we release…
Read the whole interview here.
I like the attitude of these folks. It seems to me they're going to be more responsive to players without forsaking their common sense. I can't wait to try the game myself.
I just want a mech based MMO. I loved BattleTech growing up and had a blast with Mw2 straight on through to Mw4: Mercs. I loved the MechCommanders as well. I was pretty disappointed when EA canceled Kesmai's MPBT: 3025.
With Mw5 canceled Battleech's outlook on the PC is pretty bleak. While FOA isn't BattleTech per se it seems to be very close and a match in spirit. It's either this or Mechwarrior: Living Legends. Ain't no other options.
It's very exciting to hear the possibility of user generated content in an mmorpg. I've felt for years now that that is definitely a huge step up in terms of immersion. I can't wait to design a mech model. :)
I've never heard of the Hero System to be honest. However, with 20 years of continued use it sounds as though it will be a well balanced, and reliable skill based advancement system.
The only mmorpg I know of that offers terraforming to date is WURM, and maybe Second Life, but I don't think you can terraform in that. So that is another feather in FoA's cap imo.
A strong PvP focus with extensive clan/guild features sounds awesome. I'm definitely looking forward to this title now. :)
Patrick and Jeff are very enthusiastic about thier game, make sure you tell all your friends and build some hype on this game. They have tasked themselves with makeing something truly great, and I for one can't wait until they finish thier game.
Sounds great--certainly one to watch.
Beautiful replies by these guys. I sincerely hope that they pull this one off!
Good luck and can't wait to see this game growing :)
I've been excited about FoA as well, but since it's going to be heavy PvP early, I'll unfortunately be passing on this one.
I'll be following it's developement though.
Cant wait to see more about this game I just have one negative Comment.
:( Why Multiverse Platform There are so many good ones out there why oh why :(.
That said I'd play it anyways atleast during the 30 day trial Long ways to go.
AWESOME article!!! this is why I love this site. Thank you for putting a spotlight on this title. I used to check them out all the time but lately forgot! I really love Hamilton's (wardog studios) blogs he puts up here.
I will now get back on track with this game. I admit i am not crazy bout Mechs but I havew heard of HERO system before. what a great idea, all their ideas are very good. btw I thought u had to pay for HERO system if anyone from wardog can anwser.
I'll make sure I follow these guys more cloesly. great interview
well u dont have to pay upfront to use Multiverse system is one advantage but it depoends on their arrangement with them
I would like to thank all of the above posters; Ladyattis, Lkavadas, Antioche, 0over0, Ponico, and Vajuras for your comments.
They do help with providing us confidence and moral to know where going on the right track.
@ Ragemore, thanks for the comments and if you're up for another podcast, we're ready.
@ Kimo, yeah sorry about that. Not much PvE to be expected in the early stages, but give time PvE will be implemented. I'm glad you will be keeping tabs on us and hopefully when the PvE element has been added, it will be to your liking for you to join in.
@ Merxion, Why the Multiverse Platform?
Well, there are a number of reasons, some of which I'll explain in my Blog, here at MMORPG.Com. Actually the next thread I will provide information about researching MMO platforms and engines. I would have to say it is due to four primary reasons:
- The Multiverse System can provide the capabilities that we would like in our title, as mentioned in the interview.
- Receiving support by the company for our title and even been in some Press Releases, as well as being involved with conventions.
- Good management and advisory board, with solid long term plans.
- You can't beat the licensing.
You guys are welcome on the show anytime, I'll jump on your forums and we can plan another grand appearance of Wardog Studios on the Wife Aggro Show.
Seth still gushes about you guys giving us a real insiders look at Indy developement, and those episodes are fan favorites.
Wonderful.
I had gotten my hopes up with a Mech game, then they are dashed with the knowledge that its gona be a PvP game.
Thanks alot.
And no, im not comforted with the knowledge that you will be adding PvE "soon".
With PvP being the first part being introduced, that will most likely remain the primary focus of the game.
No thanks.
And another game destroyed by Devs that wrongly think PvP players are the predominant playerbase in MMORPGs.
/sigh.
@ Ragemore; Look forward to it.
@ Silverstable; let me add this, there cannot be an RPG element without a PvE element. So to support a RPG, we'll need a PvE system in place.
I know the Phased Approach Method is an unorthodox way of doing things, but that is the goal.
I agree, those wanting PvE will be disappointed with Phase 1 as it is primary for PvP, conquest and arena bouts. They should wait it out until Phase 2 is released.
Phase 2 is the RPG environment, thus having PvE.
Then there is Phase 3 and Phase 4, but that will be provided later. Maybe in a podcast.
And a side note: I have taken note from the FOA forums to never use the word, "soon".
"a karma system combined with non-lossless death that should have quite an effect on the motivations of players"
At first I thought that this game looked awesome, but then I read this.
EVE focused on PVP and still going strong. I dont think you'll be missed but rather you'll miss out on history in the making
also look at planetside, 100% PVP still going strong. I dont think PVE'ers are necessary. better to dedicate 100% server load to the huge wars we will be waging haha
Hey, I'm TexMechs, and I wanted to weigh in here on some of the PvE vs PvP concerns. Sorry it's a little long winded, but we like to give our future customers as much information as possible so they can make an informed choice with their hard earned gaming dollars.
As Hamilton mentioned earlier, developing a game as an Indie represents certain challenges. If you don't have millions of $$ to make the game you want to make, you make the game you can make, in phases. For Wardog Studios, we wanted to make sure that combat was solid as we rolled into the RPG game for one specific reason: If you can perfect combat and balance a game for PvP first, it is very easy to balance the PvE later, which most of our research indicates as the primary desire of PvE players. Make no mistake, no AI monster will ever try to exploit your system, and you will never learn the boundaries of your system without letting real people put it to the test. First. :-) Doing it later only forces you to constantly nerf and buff people until they get mad.
I'm the Crafter Advocate on our team, btw. In SWG, I was an architect/armorsmith with 507 harvesters and billions of credits at retirement. That was unbalanced. In WoW, I was an herbalist/enchanter with an alt miner/engineer. I didn't make billions of gold, because the system was very limited, I.E., nothing was really worth making because most green loot had better stats. And in WoW, you cannot possibly imbalance the classes more than they currently are, unless you raise the level cap to 80... *cough*
As for PvP:
You can tell when the developers are getting fat and lazy when they stop making content and start pushing PvP. What better way to say "Screw You" than with the gift of an arena, when all anyone wanted was a new 10 man dungeon or two to explore with their friends? How do you keep a guild active and immersed, running the same instances over and over again, and then have the developer come along and introduce solo content that draws down the player base, forcing canceled raids, broken guilds, and dissatisfied players who don't feel they're getting their $$ worth anymore?
Much better to start off with an arena, perfect it, then continuously add satisfying content that drives the story line, immerses the players, and gives them a bigger, better universe to play in. That goes for crafters, collectors, turtlers, soldiers, producers, and pilots....
So far it sounds like a nice change of pace. My question is will you only be able to play as a Mech? Much like Eve or the now defunct Auto Assault?
Or will you actually be a toon independant of your Mech, with the ability to fight outside of it regardless of your inneficiency or lack of firepower? The ability to "park" your Mech and enter a seedy bar some place.
I wanted mostly to weigh in on the PvP comments. ( but then mostly talked about guilds vs soloing issues---edit) doh!
The things that ruin MMO's for me to the greater degree are (A. PvE in mmo's is mind numbingly repetitive (B. soloers are either non viable or punished.
I know alot of people's first game was\is World of warcraft and they have not gotten tired of grinding npc bots, but for us that have become increasingly sick going from game to game choking on wandering baddies PvP is the only thing that gets your juices flowing and has varying and often exciting results!
In the case of warcraft i wish they would release a cheaper battleground version where all you ever saw was the battlegrounds and got a wide variety of weapons and armor to choose from with points earned. Then blizzard would again see a few dollars from my wallet.
As to soloers...Guilds should not get rewarded with power but rather with perks, letting soloers compete on equal footing but maybe with less attractive options. Sign in any of the 12 MMO's ive tried including Warcraft that have viable soloing of some kind and you'll see 95% of everyone playing soloing. That should tell someone somthing.
Clearly people can socialize in MMO's without being forced to group regularly in order to be able to compete. Some people love to socialize endlessly but the idea of that decribing gamers in general seems ludicrous.There are people that would guild even if it offered no strategical benefits and I wish those were the people developers accomidated without punishing the rest of us.
So... :) I like what these guys said alot. Oh and I also agree that complaining about a game being PvP when so few are seems odd. Its been a long time since Ive seen a mainstream game not have a decent accomidation for NoN PvP'ers and PvP'ers alike anyways.
Personally for me, offline games handle PvE sooo much better then MMO's I cannot understand why PvE is usually the biggest part of such a huge percentage of MMO's. Actually it seems for some odd reason the developers across the globe think most gamers are chatty carebears with a desperate need for an online family. That would'nt have been my guess.
As was said above, there are apparently plans to incorporate crafting later on. It would feel and look kind of hokey and unimmersive if I'm sitting in my mech cranking out blaster cannons.
Also, the absolute removal of any viable activity ( other than walking around to shop in limited areas) outside of your vehicle is definitely one of the biggest reasons for AA's demise, as well as a contributing factor to EvE's niche status.
People need to identify with their charcter on some level when it comes to RPG games. Being confined to a Mech (or any other vehicle) at all times makes that pretty much impossible to accomplish.
So, any comment from the devs on this would definitely help alot of people decide if there would be any reason to play this game at all.
As Zorvan suggests, it would be extremely great to be able to hangar your Mech and go grab a beer at the local bar, or gather some intel on x,,y,z objectives (PvE). I'm currently playing EVE and that is truely the only downside about the game. I like an environment where you can leave your ship, explore the city on foot (or such) . Just like the Animé Cowboy Bebop (and others).
Yes, plans are to have Human Character Avatars to be part of the game, with the ability to get outside of the Mech, vehicle or aircraft in the environment. There will be some restricted areas, such as domed cities, which will not allow Mechs to go rampaging around. That does not mean that all settlements will have the same enforcement policies. There will be places or actions that can only be done as a human, such as going into a ruined under ground facility.
Originally character avatars were to not be part of the initial phase. We realized that we were falling into the trap of becoming a Mech centric game, and so we're going to be having character avatars made available; but in a limited capacity at first. Phase is likely to be considered Mech Centric, but the second phase will become Character Centric.
To help show that we are to have characters as the avatar, we're going to be using virtual cockpits (camera is on the character's eyes and not the Mech's head) in the first phase.
I hope that explains things (in brief). And keep asking the questions or bring up the concerns and we'll answer them.
Sounds great, thanks :)
I am really looking forward to this game. There is a need for a mech MMO, I do have a question though. Will there be an engineering (crafter) class in the game? One of the things I loved about PRE CU Starwars galaxies was it's complex crafting system. I can see engineers taking salvaged pieces and altering them within spec (ie making armor plating lighter but giving up protection to do so, or the other way around)
Question for the community here:
Would you like to see the Mechs (and vehicles and aircraft) can only "disappear" from the environment if they are parked in a Hanger of sorts? If you leave the fighting units, while in the environment, the unit still stays there until you return to it. (Granted, in case of character death or something, the fighting unit will be picked up and transported back, or something like that)
There is no classes in use or skill limitations. Rather, it will be up to the player to decide on being an engineer. Depends on the skill selected and advanced. And there is no limit to the number of skills that a character can have (you will not need to drop skills to learn new ones). So it is possible to be both a combatant and an engineer, as well as a medic, and who knows what else. Depending on how you want to spend your time and interests.
One of the innovative crafting features we're planning for in phase 2 centers around how (and where) you get the resources to craft with, and what you do with the item you manufacture. To be honest, our take on that has changed slightly over the past 3 years, but the core of our efforts remain the same: No item grinding.
Most crafting systems would have you spend X number of hours searching for resources (or to make the money to buy them), and when you have attained both the skill and the required resources, you are able to make that item. The same item, every time. Over and over again. For example, SWG allowed for experimentation but you had variable resource attributes, so if you had "the best" stats on your resource, you could make an item with "the best" stats for your customer. Since experimentation was universal, essentially every crafter in the game capable of making an item would make the same item if they had the same resources, it just took a little more time and effort to get those last few stats.
If we're true to our lore, massive corporations would surely have the ability to make available something as mundane as copper or steel, wouldn't they? And not every "master armorsmith" would be a clone of 25,000 other random individuals, even if they had the same training and materials, because some people just have more talent (or patience) than others. Through the player driven creation of new alloys and new techniques, our players *should* be able to make unique items for themselves or their house/guild.
Pardon the Star Trek pun here, but the strategy we'll be implementing will please both the hardcore crafter/explorer (who wishes to seek out new mines and new materials) as well as the combat jock who can make due with a decent item he makes himself from quality materials that are easily obtainable, and boldly (or quickly) go where no Mech jock has gone before, with slightly fewer stats. When the game is centered around the skill of the player rather than the amount of money he has to grind, there's a lot more room for fun!
TexMechs
Wardog Studios, Inc.
I have been wanting a mech mmo for ages. THANK YOU!
1,Now then, if a player climbs down from his cockpit to stretch his legs, the mech should stay there towering over him looking all awesome and powerful, but if another player comes along in his mech he should be able to attack it.
I almost said hijack it too, but a player should only be able to pilot one mech at a time, and stealing another guys ammo is a little petty so. So, yes, the mech should stay in the environment.
2, If a player parks in a hanger and leaves his mech, I think its very acceptable that the mech leaves the environment until he comes back. Maybe there should be a crane or some other system that whisks it away into storage or something.
3, attacking other mechs and then salvaging parts... I LOVE that kind of stuff. Especially if I can craft my own upgrades/mechs/weapons etc.
4, There absolutely MUST be human avatars in the game, and I'm glad you said there will be, but I think you could lose lots gamers early on if you add this in phase 2. You must have it in phase 1 to show people that it really is there and not just a promise. People are not very trusting these days, SHOW them, don't promise to show them. Put it in the start to let players have a taste of what they will be getting.
If you have to limit human avatars in phase 1, so be it. I can accept that. Have the pilot's avatar at least go to and from the hangar-maybe to a bar to get info or hang out. Also, crafting should be done at the player's own workshop (player owned) as a human avatar.
5,...wow did you say aircraft too? I mean... that is excellent!!
You are quite welcome! To make sure that your ideas, thoughts, and dreams make it into the game, be sure to participate in our forums at www.forceofarms.com
I like the idea of salvage as well. And come to think of it, if a player gets out of his Mech, the thought of the limited use of sniping is implied, isn't it?
As Hamilton mentioned earlier, there will be avatars in Phase 1. It may simply be a cockpit avatar, but there are many in our design team who are working towards mobile avatars. Like you, there are days when I get home and want nothing more than to really whip the crap out of someone, then get out of my Mech, and make some tea, as it were...
Who would say something silly like aircraft? Nah, there's not going to be any aircraft in Force of Arms.. "Dual Purpose Infantry" is the correct term .
Hey TexMech..
I see you talking about the human avatars and the 'limited' role they would play. It seems that your plan is to make the human avatars only useable outside of 'combat'. Ie: When your chilling in the Dome cities or your guild hanger, crafting, etc.
Are their any plans for small units like the old Battletech 'Elementals'. Like.. small highly agile and mobile powered armor suits that are there to swarm and harass enemy mecha. With weapons like like Magnetic Mines, Remote explosives, Weapons that increase heat buildup, EMP, etc...
It would definitly add another deeper element to the game to allow the challenge and strategy of using smaller more mobile units and give those avatars another place to play.
I think a picture (though concept art) should help to explain things.
This is of the Genoma Personal Armor Line (Body Armors (Flex and Rigid); and Battle Suit (Powered)). There are plans to provide Battle Armor (adds about 1ft in height) and Combat Armor (basically mini-mechs). Powered Armor is going to be preferred (almost required) when assaulting Mechs or vehicles.
Ok, here is a bonus body armor image
Sweet...This just got a slot on my 'to look out for' list most definitely...
I'm an outspoken supporter of the Indie MMOG movement. I think these guys at Wardog are doing a fantastic job so far, and I look forward to trying out Phase I.
The goal is to allow a player to get out of any vehicle at any time. There is no limited role to player avatars. Like they said before, in phase 1 there won't be avatars because the focus will be on getting the core game to a level of excellence before they jump right into the meat of it.
Think of phase 1 like the skeleton of the game and each phase afterwards adding some muscle and organs to it, if that makes sense.
Definitely interested, many of my friends who as myself played planetside wanted something like this for a long time. I am not sure if any of you ever had the opportunity to play battletech at a local mall. But that system by FASA was very fun indeed. From the board game, miniatures, to video game then to the actual pods at the mall. There is an obvious following for this sort of game and I am (as many) am surprised to not see a mech type game coming to light.
It is very cool you guys are bringing this to the table, thou I am concerned with what you are offering (IE , is it very feasible in your current build is this more of a wish list?) So many titles in the past that haven’t come to light even today have promised this or that to build the hype of a community to then be shadowed by closure or discontinued or on-hold of production because they couldn't find the publisher to back up their idea or ran out of funds.
So with a blunt remark I ask "Are you guys just trying to hype your game in hopes of getting a community that you can sell to a publisher?" While this is a very blunt and almost rude comment, I ask it for the previous reason. We the players have seen this over and over again lately and hope this is not the case here. Is there any response you would care to give or comment on that might enlighten some of us that are a bit doubtful? I really would love to see this title hit the shelves so to speak, god a good Mech game is WAYY over due.. But I have my doubts.
Secondly, I read the comment to the community asking something I always wondered as well... Ok , you ask "would the community like to see were you would say park your mech or vehicle and lock the doors while your in the city? Or perhaps you want to stretch your legs and just get more personal with friends (IE tactical discussions etc ) in an open area avatar to avatar while having your vehicals remain in the game? My response, HELL YES!
It boggles my mind that so many MMO's today have taken the "short cut " of immersion out of the game thinking that it is a waste of resources to do such a thing. One thing that made Planetside a blast is when our outfits would line up their vehicles and get ready for a pre-invasion meeting then mount up and roll out! It was great in bases as well, when you could dismount your vehical and it was there to be cannon fire or stolen by other players. lol that was great! The only thing I would like to see beyond this is more interesting interaction with this... IE when u dismount u see the guy leave, if you leave your mech / vehicle you can "lock it" and hackers could try to hack and unlock it, but it would be like a keypad interface with 0-9 and a person could put in a code to lock it. Hackers could get tools to help, mech owners could have tracer bugs attached to their mechs allowing it to be stolen to find the enemy stronghold etc.. There is so much rpg elements here that would just immerse the players more (almost a mini strategy game/game within itself) this sort of thing would be great!
Then that sums up the first question in wondering if having such cool features in the game, is it a bit more then you can chew? Or is this really what the team is after? Really submersion and game play that we have been looking for sense the days of miniature playing thinking "man wouldn't it be cool if we could make a game that does this?!"
Thanks for the interest, we knew there was a following for the Mech genre and were surprised at first as well. Then, we learned a bit more on how they operate at the big corporate offices, and weren't so surprised anymore.
We understand the community's fear with newer companies, given the dismal results of things like DnL or Mourning. One of the problems with mmo development these days though is not due to how small a company is, even larger companies like Sigil who have $30 million to spend run into "snags".
We have a rather large wish list, we also have a vision that we will see completed. As you said many others have built their own hype, DnL, VSOH, both did this and once the players realized what it was they were getting they left. We understand that, listened and learned from it. I personally followed both of those games' development closely.
What we have planned is a phased approach so it will not happen all at once, as we have said from the beginning. Not one indy team in existence should even consider trying to do similar without a thorough plan in place. We are currently in Alpha, it took a few years and our own personal blood, sweat and tears of commitment and self-funding to get us here. Large or small companies don't normally make it this far without millions of publisher dollars already at hand, we have creatively done so without a publisher.
That is where we differ from them, we are not looking for a publisher. We have partnered with Multiverse to develop on their middleware, in a way we consider them our publisher and they have and will be involved with us post release. Will our numbers be WOW numbers?, most likely not, but that is not what we set out to achieve. If it happens, fine but we are making our game what we envisioned it to be, our own IP and we are not tied to a publisher or IP owner. It is a game set to our market-base, one which currently there is none....
Although we like the hype and excitement, the questions/interview were not an attempt at anything sly. We recently demo'd at AGDC again this year and were scheduled to have a one on one interview with Jon Wood. Due to scheduling conflicts on our side, we didn't make it to the conference until the last day. I suspect MMORPG.COM was still interested in speaking with us when they sent the interview questions which you are reading here and discussing on the site. We are not marketing on any large scale, word of mouth does that just fine at this stage for us, were just happy to answer questions when any one is interested. We like our game and like talking about it.
Thanks for the interest.
I did play the Virtual World BattleTech Simulator when it was opened in San Diego, CA.
Now onto those questions:
Q - Is it very feasible in your current build is this more of a wish list?
No, building an MMO is not easy thing; so we're building and releasing in Phases. Much of how it was done with BattleTech. There was the first BattleTech Box set, then CityTech, AeroTech, Mech Warrior RPG, other additions and so on.
Q - Are you guys just trying to hype your game in hopes of getting a community that you can sell to a publisher?
No, we have no intent of going to a publisher. I did attend a lecture about "How to pitch to Publishers" by a panel of representatives of the big publishers and afterwards knew that was not going to be a possibility for us. For one, signing over our IP is something we don't want to do, as well as have about 80% of our title and game play change; and no longer being in control. Which one possibility could be, that we make this hype of a sophesticated mech system, only to then be released by a publisher as a water-down version.
We really don't have much reason to sigh with a Publisher as it is. The best thing that a Publisher can offer to us is retail distribution. But the client is expected to be free, so maybe the only initial charge is to buy an Account Key (this is just an example) and electronic distribution is becoming popular. So why go retail? Also by not going retail, we avoid piracy issues and ERSB ratings.
Building some hype is helpful in generating interests, receiving feedback, checking to see if there is indeed a market for a Mech based MMO, and growing a community. We do need to make sure that we do not build up the hype too great or fast, or otherwise that could lead to some disappointments or very negative criticism.
Q - Then that sums up the first question in wondering if having such cool features in the game, is it a bit more then you can chew?
Sometimes it is, but given time and resources anything is possible. Every title in development has its ups and downs, sometimes like a roller-coaster ride. Just a matter of not giving up and seeing it through. Fortunately we have been going through with this for about three years now. And when we applied to be listed on MMORPG.Com, well, we were confident that we can see this through to launch.
Q - Or is this really what the team is after?
Yes and I would like to use your own exact words for the answer. Really submersion and game play that we have been looking for sense the days of miniature playing thinking "man wouldn't it be cool if we could make a game that does this?!"
I hope that answers your questions and is to your liking.
Heh, next time before I post... I need to open another tab and see if there has been a response.
Very good news indeed guys. Glad to see your going this rout, I will be following this title with much anticipation then. If it comes out with even parts of that which you are saying, it should be a blast! It seems obvious to me you guys are into mechwarrior and such from the past like many of us who were in during those times. With that kind of actual mech game experiance, I have no doubt you will be working towards that submersion we have all so much craved for the longest of times.
One quick note as an burnt out MMO player, the one thing that always gets me (and I will repeat this from my last post ) is details. Those simple details such as getting out of your mech and it remaining , is just one excample that many MMO properties seem to just look over as "flair" when in realitity it is the emmerision we are after for in the first place when we go into these fantasy worlds. (non realtiy).. Why does a developer beleive ... "well ok if you die, you end up here" type of gameplay is accepted is beyond me. No one goes beyond the box anymore and it seems you guys are. Kudos to you then, if you are looking for this sort of deep interaction of your world, I think you will find many who will appreciate and let others know how emmersive you game really is.
On another note.. do we get jump jets? hehe
Edit: On a side note, if you have this kind of interaction with your community all the time be V.I. Public Realtions guy or devs like you , you will find a huge following just because of it. While many devs today beleive that "sure , we listen but if we actually took all of that into consideration the game would suck" is one track mind. There is nothing wrong (and I beleive it is the right way) with interacting with your community and saying your peace. They might not like all you have to say and other things they will love, but at least the community will feel your are actually interacting and listening. Sure at some point when its, 10000 users posting questions to one guy, you can only answer so many. But at least you try and that is, after all what many of us in the MMO community only want. Some dev willing to interact and at least hear us out, sure you can't answer all of the questions, but some would be nice :)
Thanks.
Yeah, a lot of experience is being drawn from the past years of GM'ing BattleTech and other Mech Based games. One miniature Mech game, Warbots and Death Machines is what really inspired me to create Force of Arms. Warbots and Death Machines was a detailed game system, and at the Origins Game Convention, one game that started at about 5pm ended up nearing completion at about 6am the following morning. The time for me went by fast, even for such a miniature game (the turns took a long time, since there were Mechs, tanks and infantry). I had a blast and since then wanted that kind of experience again.
We're looking at going with the details as you have mentioned, but in some cases, some details may need to be "glossed over" due to technological limitations. For example getting out of a Mech. While I would like for the pilot to take the time to open the hatch and use the ladders or cable to get down; that isn't likely of happening. The reason is due to figuring out how an avatar can climb down various different Mech models. The easy way out, is to do the teleportation gag trick; the pilot appears at the base of the Mech's feet. Or maybe the Anime way of jumping from the top of the Mech, making some rolls in the air and then landing on the ground.
But in terms of mechanics or game play, well, we shouldn't gloss over those. I take this as just like GM'ing a campaign, if on the table-top RPG an occupied Mech cannot disappear; therefore the same will be applied in a computer environment.
Jump Jets are allowed, but we call them Boosters. Boosters can be used to allow Mechs and vehicles to "jump" as well as for additional thrust for aircraft.
I know a rule is not to talk about other studios, but I believe Flying Labs (Pirates of the Burning Seas) is a good mentor to follow for Developer to Customer relations. They take the time to respond on both their official forums and here at MMORPG.Com.
Small companies have to pay attention to the customer and provide good relations as much as possible, or otherwise the company will fail.
PlanetSide's handling of BFRs was a pretty good example. They had that elevator/lift thingie pop out of the crotch and stop between the feet. Then the character just jumped on and up he went.
/slap forehead
Doh!
I have a request.
ARTILLERY!!
I'd like to model an artillery mech with long range artillery support!
Thanks in advance.