I'm going to reword that a bit to see if it makes any sense, or is any more plausible.
Not beta test, but balance test.
Assuming that RLD is set on releasing a new mech, its mechanics can be patched into the game and then the mech set as test drive only? This assumes that if the parts and mechanics are in the game, RLD can hotfix or liveupdate the database for the mech without a further big patch.
...either exclude it from the store or make the prices all 99,999,999,999HC or something (I doubt anyone has 99 billion HC). Then before anyone can purchase it, everyone gets to figure out if it is viable, and RLD can tweak the stats based on player feedback. Once people are happy with the balance then the price gets set to 9000, etc
As an extension, perhaps any mech that is due to undergo a major overhaul/rebalance gets put in testdrive while it happens? (like as a trial only non-buyable renamed version). Then you could try out eg: a traditional Rocketeer, then try it again as a proposed rebalanced version, back to back. Maybe they could limit it to bots-TDM-only for a week, then increase it to also human TDM after a round of weapon/ability stats changes, etc.
I might be underestimating the complexity of implementing, but would the system solve any perceived community issues around new/changed mechs if it was to be implemented? Secondly, is it a problem that really needs to be solved other than serving out some fresh HTFU?
Cheers,
6ixxer
Edited by 6ixxer, 02 May 2017 - 06:26 PM.