Assault Game Mode Revamp
A revamp of the Assault Game Mode has been underway for some months now, and while it was originally slated for release much earlier in the year, the revamp wasn’t quite heading in a direction we were satisfied with. The core components of Assault that we wanted to address do still remain as our design goals, above all our desire to put the focus back on the primary objective: capturing the opposing base.
Assault is now currently planned for early 2017, and as stated back in July, we do still intend on running an Assault PTS session sufficiently prior to release to garner feedback and test it in the wild. The exact date of that PTS, along with the exact date of release for Assault, are yet to be determined.
All-new Skill Tree
The new Skill Tree is currently under heavy internal review, refinement, and testing as we approach the PTS planned for early February, and the subsequent release of the feature in the February patch.
The new Skill Tree is going to be a significant improvement to the customization and specialization potential for your ‘Mechs, providing you with greater control over their role and performance.
We know there are a number of questions about how the Skill Tree will operate and what its release means for the XP you’ve spent and the Modules you’ve purchased over the years. Covering the entirety of those questions and topics is a bit outside the scope of this Roadmap, but the upcoming Skill Tree PTS will include a comprehensive rundown on some of the most frequently asked questions about the Skill Tree, along with all the information you’ll need to know about the new Skill Tree going into the PTS.
A post was initially planned for release prior to the PTS, but with changes and improvements to the Skill Tree build still underway, a post coinciding with the PTS will be more reflective of the build you’ll see.
A post was initially planned for release prior to the PTS, but with changes and improvements to the Skill Tree build still underway, a post coinciding with the PTS will be more reflective of the build you’ll see.
Continued Faction Play updates
Faction Play Phase 4 begins with the release of 4.1 in the December patch, but much work is still required to achieve the goals that you the playerbase, and we at PGI, truly want from the feature. We are committed to the improvement of Faction Play, and are very much looking forward to its further development in 2017.
Global/Floating Chat
Additional improvements to the in-game chat systems are slated for 2017, with new levels of persistence and refinement.
Improved Spectator Tools
The Private Match Spectator system received a lot of use during the MechWarrior Online World Championships, and an array of improvements are in store for 2017 to improve the system further.
‘Mech IK
As with Assault, the restoration of ‘Mech IK was a feature we had originally intended to implement earlier in the year. The performance concerns that initially spurred its removal back in 2012 have been addressed, but some concerns about the aesthetics of IK behavior with certain ‘Mechs on certain environmental objects delayed its release. As other features of greater direct importance came in IK had to be delayed in 2016, but is still planned for release in 2017.
New ‘Mechs for the battlefield
Roughneck (the first, all-new canon ‘Mech designed by Alex Iglesias and Piranha Games)
….and an as-yet unannounced Light ‘Mech
The items outlined above are only a selection of things you can expect to see in 2017; the year is shaping up to include more waves of quality-of-life improvements and refinements, along with an array of additional items and features currently in the planning and design phase, to be revealed once ready for preliminary announcement.
With your continued support and feedback we aim to make 2017 another great year for MechWarrior Online.
Thank you for your playing, MechWarriors.