19 replies to this topic

[Sueco]

I feel as if Hawken is missing one of the great joys of a mech game. Vehicle optimization. You simply pick 1 out of two available primaries, pick certain % boosts and go fight. There is no fiddling with customized parts to obtain optimal performance, no parts to tweak and refit, only a faux arcade workshop.

In my opinion, Hawken should follow the model set by EVE, where the player's choices are limited not by a predefined class, but by their chosen platform's power output and CPU capacity and the equipment they have available.

We could have a myriad different parts and items, from experimental legs and customized thrusters to armour and weapons with special modifiers that would be acquired through combat as salvage. You'd have to fit all of these custom items into a mech frame of your choosing, different frames having advantages such as base HP, special abilities and weight/acceleration. Lighter mechs would have to sacrifice a lot of peripherals to power heavy weapons such as a the vulcan cannon, perhaps even to the extreme of having to disable thrusters. We could have a million different builds that let players truly personalize their mech, instead of today's cookie-cutter classes.

Edited by Sueco, October 30 2012 - 01:33 PM.

[AsianJoyKiller]

Sounds like you want universal weapons and turning the optimization trees into parts acquired by random loot rolls.

Personally, I like the way Hawken is built.
It's very "pick up and play" friendly. There's enough customization I can get my mech to act how I want, but I don't have to get overly fiddly with it.
I'd rather it be more "shooter with customization" than "sim shooter".

[Beefsweat]

Sounds like a lot of extra complication for an arcadey free-to-play.

Edited by Beefsweat, October 30 2012 - 01:42 PM.

[FenixStryk]

I'm very fond of certain combinations being locked to a specific weight class. If we could customize what Primary/Secondary/Alternate/Special Ability we got, things would very quickly shift towards the one~two most powerful combinations, e.g. an A with Flak, GL and Reduce Damage.

[T0PF0X]

Vehicle optimization_ Hand/random crafted parts_ Looting__ My short answer is no, no and no to those suggestions.

Why_ First of, there's already mech games out there that focuses on such similar game mechanics. If Hawken was to turn into another F1 racing game with mechs, I'd rather go back and play Armored Core 4 again and be bored out of my skull because I didn't fiddle with the mechs statistics well enough already...

Second, there's already a vehicle optimization feature. It's called the skill-tree. Want speed_ Dump points into the speed tree then. Simple as that.

Another reason is that I really like what the Hawken-team are going with their "you decide your mechs appearence"-approach rather than "loot parts and fix your F1 mech raggle-fraggle-bungaloo" philosophy. To let stats-riddled parts into the game or whatnot mechanics you're suggesting, would only serve to punish those who wants their mechs to look in a certain way. I personally don't want that "option" to my mech, nor hunting for better parts, mind you.

[LaurenceGough]

No, customization is key!

I understand this is BETA but the options for your mech are quite (well very) limited.

Customization is what is fun in these games, and personalising your own mech is one of my favourite things about these mech games.

Things do not have to be unbalanced due to customization.

Also being able to add custom textures would be sweet.

[AsianJoyKiller]

LaurenceGough, on October 30 2012 - 02:38 PM, said:

No, customization is key!

I understand this is BETA but the options for your mech are quite (well very) limited.

Customization is what is fun in these games, and personalising your own mech is one of my favourite things about these mech games.

Things do not have to be unbalanced due to customization.

Also being able to add custom textures would be sweet.

No ones arguing against customization.
The point of debate is the degree to which customization should be allowed and method of customization.

Certain elements, like universal weapons (weapons not limited to specific weight classes) are either susceptible to balance problems, and makes for homogenous gameplay as certain combinations of weapons, abilities and items will always be better than others, meaning people end up all running the same build.

Other things, like loot drops, are completely inappropriate for the type of game Hawken is. And besides that, having a roll of the dice factor into how you're able to progress is just a terrible mechanic anyway.

[Zeshi]

I like the customization system the way it is. That being said, i definitely want more mechs/weapons/abilities (which is basically a certainty). Id also be on board with a deeper optimization tree.

[AndryRock9217]

The only thing i want from the customization system is to be able to acquire body parts with both Hawken Points and Meteor Points. It would suck if i have to pay for a stronger armor...wait, body parts don't have just an esthetic function right_

[Rotaken]

Zeshi, on October 30 2012 - 04:27 PM, said:

I like the customization system the way it is. That being said, i definitely want more mechs/weapons/abilities (which is basically a certainty). Id also be on board with a deeper optimization tree.

I'd say something but NDA says no so I wont. Expect great things!
I'd like to see deeper optimization tree as well. Maybe raise the max lvl to give a little more points :3 as I would require 30 points for ideal customization.
More abilities are underway

"I can't go into detail, nut you can definetely expect much more interesting and unique Abilities in the future, as well as updates to the current ones ;D" -Saunders,
http://community.pla...ons/#entry80647

[Timber_Wolf]

Again, I think weapon loadouts should be much less restricted while the chassis abilities should be improved.  Right now, mechs feel defined by their weight class and weapons and not much else.  I know the devs have said abilities are going to become more varied/better, but that has to be done first before all weapons should be totally allowed.  Not ALL weapons should be available for all chassis, mind you, and the weapons available should match the "feel" of the mech.
If mech abilities get improved, then the weapons you can equip should follow suit around that and naturally will.  In regards to there being a purely optimized "best" build, if balance is done correctly and certain ridiculous combinations aren't allowed, then it shouldn't be a problem.

Maybe mechs have default favored weapons and through experience those weapons improve, similar to how it is now_  So a class that favors the vulcan and is high rank is better with it than a mech that just equipped it_

Edited by Timber_Wolf, October 30 2012 - 06:08 PM.

[seeyouinhell2mf]

I think your problem is that you want a game like chromehounds, in reality, there will not likely be another one.

[Zeshi]

Rotaken, on October 30 2012 - 05:57 PM, said:

Zeshi, on October 30 2012 - 04:27 PM, said:

I like the customization system the way it is. That being said, i definitely want more mechs/weapons/abilities (which is basically a certainty). Id also be on board with a deeper optimization tree.

I'd say something but NDA says no so I wont. Expect great things!

http://community.pla...ons/#entry80647

I was in alpha 2, i know . Thats why i went with the whole basically a certainty thing

[Rotaken]

Zeshi, on October 30 2012 - 06:28 PM, said:

I was in alpha 2, i know . Thats why i went with the whole basically a certainty thing

Oh, okay. You never know I must say it's damn hard not to CRUISE CONTROL every detail from alpha to some of these ignorant n00bs whining about everything...

[Lagnard]

I think there should be more mech customization but, only if they get rid of the progression system. I personally hate progression systems in FPS's. That why I never have gotten any of the MMS genre of games.

Let them do it TF2 style, With lots of different items that are mostly quirky side grades.

[Celros]

I think there needs be a content to satisfy customers, more leveling and maps and lastly more how weak your look. But definitly hawken looks very promising, cant wait get my hands MORE HAWKEN

[MajFireStorm]

I think there is way more to come!  Weapons should have a 'Class Only' aspect, although many seem to already have a cross class platform.

What I really think is down the line (deal is, most are already there):

• More Visual Elements - Chassis types, Camo types, and personalization specifics  (like: Clan Tags, Skull and Crossbones, Flags, Similes, etc)
  
• Weapon/Mech add-on features - Internals (perhaps they'll add some that are progressive as well)
  
• Useable Items - Offensive, Defensive, Functional Items (perhaps another area that can have progressive utilities)

Cheers!

Edited by MajFireStorm, October 30 2012 - 11:51 PM.

[{SF}kenny]

I'd love to see this game have Chromehounds' customizability.

[ItsThatGuy]

The customization options in the alpha were different. I think they're still trying to figure it all out. With that said, it's in their best interest to provide more things to buy for your mech. With the way this company has handled their game, I expect them to start things off small but of high quality and grow from there efficiently.

As a side note, I wonder if purely cosmetic customizations will be satisfactory for those looking to tweak their mechs. I tend to think mech tinkerers would have a bit of a utilitarian view on purchases but that could just be me.

[Deu]

I absolutely loved my mech and what I was able to do with her. I think people are more complain about how their mechs look rather than the stats they were given. I'm sure there will be hundreds of asthetically pleasing parts will be out in no time at all.