Concerns

[0V3RKILL]

I hate asking or mentioning my concerns especially when it’s about something I care about very much. You know how it is with some people. You ask them about their god or maybe question it’s existence and they feel offended when all I was doing was seeking for answers. Having said that I want to assure you it is not my intention to offend anyone or make anyone feel bad. But, I have to ask since no one has ever given me a straight answer yet. To be honest I don’t think anyone has the same idea of what this game is going to be about and I don’t mean the lore. I mean about the mech gameplay. Some people say it’s going to be a full on mech game like MechWarrior or something like that. But, some people say you can get out and do other things. Some say you can’t go to battle without the mech? I’m going to be straight forward and tell you what I would hope it would be. Anyone remember the HKM ability of firefall? How you would only get to use it a few times. It was awesome. I think what made it cool was how powerful and limited it was. So you would really have to make decision about when to use it. That’s the same way a mech works into the gameplay of Titanfall for example. You don’t always have it. But, when you earn it, it is an amazing moment. That’s how I thought this game was going to be like and I’m getting the feeling it’s not. So I’m talking about it to maybe change the developers mind a bit since the game is far from being done. I don’t want to lose the human side of the gameplay we had in firefall. Yes I know this is game is different and I want that. But, I want to see humans fight with not only mechs but with power armors like in firefall. Planetside 2 for example, you can only use the Max when you earn the amount of points needed by fighting. Other wise you are back fighting as a human and that way you can appreciate the max. It’s all about the contrast of having it and not having it at all that helps you see how great that moment was. If this game is only a mech game I can honestly tell you that I don’t see a lot of people getting into it. Youngsters might like it. Which is the only kind of consumers keeping need for speed, or mech games alive. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love mechs. It is one of the reason why I love battlefield 2142 and Enemy Territory Quake Wars so much. I like vehicles. But, I appreciate them more in games like GTA5, or any other game where the human is what’s important, not the vehicle. I see us worrying to much about the mech and not the characters, the humans. I’m very afraid that this game might be missing the formula that gave firefall the life and excitement that it had. Remember dancing on the tiki torch, doing emotes, changing your haircut and so on? I want that human side.

 

[Drakin5]

Ok first of all, learn to paragraph. It’s kinda hard to pace every thought in one huge text wall.

Second of all, correct me if I’m wrong but there would be in game vehicles that we could drive around and interact with not just limited to omniframes. Also, if there would be missions where you have to finish without your OF, then that would be a different gameplay experience. There could be times when you need your OF to do the job and times when not.

Just because you’re a reaper doesn’t mean you have to lug around your omniframes in your backpack and call them when needed.

See also this for more info:
https://forums.em8er.com/threads/section-dev-plans-episodic-release.850/

 

[Maven]

First off, sorry, but, PARAGRAPHS, please

Second, and to the point, yes, you are somewhat correct in your assumption. The game is going to be focused around the mech gameplay. The game is built around that premise, a team of reapers (resource miners) going into hostile environment to collect resources to re-build their civilization.

The enemies themselves have also been created to suit the same. These are monstrous creatures that are built to tear apart Omniframes (mechs) limb to limb. The pilot would stand little chance against them without the mechs. And so yes, you would be mighty foolish to go into battle without an omniframe.

As for your concern regarding the 'human' aspect: The pilot is an entity in and of itself. It's not a game where the only thing you see or use is the omniframe. The pilots are customizable, be it what they wear, hair, face options etc. And yes, you can spend time outside your omniframe, while in bases for example, or say, while crafting, just not during battle.

Also, the Omniframes are not the only 'vehicles' planned for the game. We already have bikes which can be used in pilot mode. There are plans for other vehicles including aircraft that can be used by the pilots, but that's for future updates.

Additionally, if you were to look back at the original design for the omniframe, it was terribly flimsy and had little protection around the pilot (only a shield). The reasoning that Grummz had for this was that he wanted more attachment to the pilot/player character itself, instead of just the mech. It was only after much debate that the hard driver mode option (fully enclosed) was created for the Omniframe. Unfortunately that model (Mk I) didn't work out too well and they had to move on to the newer model, after discussion with the community. In fact, Grummz recently reduced the size of the omniframe, by 15% or so, so that the pilot 'stands out' even more.

Moving on to gameplay, yes you would mostly spend time in your omniframe during THMPing and invasions. If the omniframe were to be destroyed you would have to run/hide (pilot form) until a new omniframe is delivered to you. Do understand that this is the core vision for the game. And this is what the game will have upon launch: THMPing, invasions and crafting. Grummz has plans for missions and such, whether they involve pilot exclusive missions is yet to be confirmed, but those will be for future updates.

What is important to note here, is that the game is being built inch by inch. The team is not large enough, nor does it have the funding (with massive investor backing, we all know how that turned out for Firefall), to build a lot of elements/systems/gameplay mechanics and have them ready for launch. So while we start exclusively with mech gameplay, there are further plans for expanding the game and its systems. This will, of course, depend entirely on how successful the game is, but you get the point. And who knows, maybe we will eventually get OOOF (Out Of OmniFrame, sorry ) gameplay as well (Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part, nothing mentioned or confirmed as yet).

As for popularity, every game has its niche. Firefall had its own, and was widely popular during the Beta stages. The 16k sign-ups on the mailing list, with nothing of note to show in terms of gameplay, indicate that this game can have its own niche too. A successful kickstarter can hopefully raise that number to the 100ks. Let's not sit here and hope that we can do a WoW. That's a different beast altogether, a monstrous, albeit an aging beast. This game has all the elements it needs to be successful. It all depends on how much the team can pull off, with what they have. And it's got a sizeable community backing the devs to the hilt.

That said, the Kickstarter will be the true acid test. The numbers it generates should give an indication of how far the game can go.

 

[Pandagnome]

Ok first of all, learn to paragraph. It’s kinda hard to pace every thought in one huge text wall.

First of all .....

First off, sorry, but, PARAGRAPHS, please

Well at least it wasn't 20 pages so all is forgiven

Also, the Omniframes are not the only 'vehicles' planned for the game. We already have bikes which can be used in pilot mode. There are plans for other vehicles including aircraft that can be used by the pilots, but that's for future updates.

hello bikes, and hope to see unique spacecrafts

Remember dancing on the tiki torch, doing emotes, changing your haircut and so on? I want that human side.

In every victory and laying the pumpkins nearby those were good memories!

Grummz has plans for missions and such, whether they involve pilot exclusive missions is yet to be confirmed, but those will be for future updates.

Pilot missions would be very cool to have and wonder if they have small jetpacks or rocket boots like the megaman.

Somtimes i vision aspects of lost planet of hopping in and out of mechs and going on foot hmm

Then i wonder are mechs able to carry other pilots to safety on their backs or carrying them on their mech should or hand think this question was asked before hmm

Then i wonder what if a pilot met another pilot that was down could they help them with heals or dropping certain packs they might need more hmm

How long can a pilot survive without a mech in the harsh world i wonder too some people might like that extra challenge hmmm

perhaps there is a purpose to protect the pilot without them getting much damage to earn points as a way to support mech pilots who have lost their mechs.

So being a pilot is risky in this harsh world but lets say this pilot has survival skills lets say the pilot hides well, with the use of obstacles/enviroment and such. Lets say this pilot is very squishy too but is happy and may die :O

If the pilot does survive the pilot put points to get a better pilot suit instead of focusing on the mech or such this pilot likes the feel of snow on their feet because this pilot could get claustrophobic in those tight spaces just my thoughts.

What is important to note here, is that the game is being built inch by inch. The team is not large enough, nor does it have the funding (with massive investor backing, we all know how that turned out for Firefall), to build a lot of elements/systems/gameplay mechanics and have them ready for launch. So while we start exclusively with mech gameplay, there are further plans for expanding the game and its systems. This will, of course, depend entirely on how successful the game is, but you get the point. And who knows, maybe we will eventually get OOOF (Out Of OmniFrame, sorry ) gameplay as well (Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part, nothing mentioned or confirmed as yet).

I hope for ooof it sounds good

What is important to note here, is that the game is being built inch by inch.

I'd love to see some sort of roadmap/timeline with estimated dates or such just so we have some sort of idea that can be changed and edited when need be but at least we have a good indication of whats in store

kind of like this
http://battaliongame.com/

That said, the Kickstarter will be the true acid test. The numbers it generates should give an indication of how far the game can go.

Yes and the feedback for sure

 

[0V3RKILL]

Ok first of all, learn to paragraph. It’s kinda hard to pace every thought in one huge text wall.

Second of all, correct me if I’m wrong but there would be in game vehicles that we could drive around and interact with not just limited to omniframes. Also, if there would be missions where you have to finish without your OF, then that would be a different gameplay experience. There could be times when you need your OF to do the job and times when not.

Just because you’re a reaper doesn’t mean you have to lug around your omniframes in your backpack and call them when needed.

See also this for more info:
https://forums.em8er.com/threads/section-dev-plans-episodic-release.850/

I know what a paragraph is, who doesn't? A paragraph consists of one or more sentences. Though not required by the syntax of any language, paragraphs are usually an expected part of formal writing, used to organize longer prose.

Sorry dude, I didn't want to make my post longer than what it already was. Never in my 42 years in this planet I thought someone would care about paragraphs in this forum. My mistake.

 

[0V3RKILL]

[

First off, sorry, but, PARAGRAPHS, please

Second, and to the point, yes, you are somewhat correct in your assumption. The game is going to be focused around the mech gameplay. The game is built around that premise, a team of reapers (resource miners) going into hostile environment to collect resources to re-build their civilization.

The enemies themselves have also been created to suit the same. These are monstrous creatures that are built to tear apart Omniframes (mechs) limb to limb. The pilot would stand little chance against them without the mechs. And so yes, you would be mighty foolish to go into battle without an omniframe.

As for your concern regarding the 'human' aspect: The pilot is an entity in and of itself. It's not a game where the only thing you see or use is the omniframe. The pilots are customizable, be it what they wear, hair, face options etc. And yes, you can spend time outside your omniframe, while in bases for example, or say, while crafting, just not during battle.

Also, the Omniframes are not the only 'vehicles' planned for the game. We already have bikes which can be used in pilot mode. There are plans for other vehicles including aircraft that can be used by the pilots, but that's for future updates.

Additionally, if you were to look back at the original design for the omniframe, it was terribly flimsy and had little protection around the pilot (only a shield). The reasoning that Grummz had for this was that he wanted more attachment to the pilot/player character itself, instead of just the mech. It was only after much debate that the hard driver mode option (fully enclosed) was created for the Omniframe. Unfortunately that model (Mk I) didn't work out too well and they had to move on to the newer model, after discussion with the community. In fact, Grummz recently reduced the size of the omniframe, by 15% or so, so that the pilot 'stands out' even more.

Moving on to gameplay, yes you would mostly spend time in your omniframe during THMPing and invasions. If the omniframe were to be destroyed you would have to run/hide (pilot form) until a new omniframe is delivered to you. Do understand that this is the core vision for the game. And this is what the game will have upon launch: THMPing, invasions and crafting. Grummz has plans for missions and such, whether they involve pilot exclusive missions is yet to be confirmed, but those will be for future updates.

What is important to note here, is that the game is being built inch by inch. The team is not large enough, nor does it have the funding (with massive investor backing, we all know how that turned out for Firefall), to build a lot of elements/systems/gameplay mechanics and have them ready for launch. So while we start exclusively with mech gameplay, there are further plans for expanding the game and its systems. This will, of course, depend entirely on how successful the game is, but you get the point. And who knows, maybe we will eventually get OOOF (Out Of OmniFrame, sorry ) gameplay as well (Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part, nothing mentioned or confirmed as yet).

As for popularity, every game has its niche. Firefall had its own, and was widely popular during the Beta stages. The 16k sign-ups on the mailing list, with nothing of note to show in terms of gameplay, indicate that this game can have its own niche too. A successful kickstarter can hopefully raise that number to the 100ks. Let's not sit here and hope that we can do a WoW. That's a different beast altogether, a monstrous, albeit an aging beast. This game has all the elements it needs to be successful. It all depends on how much the team can pull off, with what they have. And it's got a sizeable community backing the devs to the hilt.

That said, the Kickstarter will be the true acid test. The numbers it generates should give an indication of how far the game can go.

thanks for reply. you know why I don't want a mech only battle? Mostly for the idea that if your mech dies you have to die with it. In need for speed (childish game imo) you die when vehicle dies. GTA5 you can die from a bullet inside your own vehicle and your vehicle is intact or eject before dying and the story continues. Same in Battlefield 2142 or Quake Wars. You can get out, use a rocket launcher to destroy or finish the vehicle that destroyed your vehicle. If it has that kind of depth that is awesome. cause you can appreciate the human. That's I guess the gameplay depth I was talking about that I want from it.

I don't know man, I just found out it will be mech only and that scared me cause I have never liked games like MechWarrior or vehicle only kind of game. I love them in movies and cartoons. But, I don't know why I never liked them. I always felt those kind of games were more for the younger audience.

 

[Degiance]

From what i have read the mental image i had was something on the lines of this.

Give or take..
Without the frame your more or less screwed unless you know how to leg it.

 

[0V3RKILL]

From what i have read the mental image i had was something on the lines of this.

Give or take..
Without the frame your more or less screwed unless you know how to leg it.

amazing example. I would love it if it was like that. thank you dude for the video. I also thought it was going to be similar to that. have tons of smaller aliens fighting humans and only a few of the big ones fighting mech's. Mech's spawned only by players with the proper level or points in that battle. while humans still do their thing with smaller frames like the one's in anthem or firefall.

Imagine a battle were you are running around in a bigger mech pwning bigger aliens while humans shoot off the smaller ones that are trying to disable your mech by cutting electrical cables, fuel lines and such. Just Imagine the view from the mech seeing your friends do that while tanks and apc's shoot from a distance to help you out. That contrast is amazing. Just beast. Then if something happens to you or your mech we would fight to get you out of there. You can get on my vehicle and continue from there. OMG I would die to be part of a battle like that. But, oh well I can only dream right?

 

[Terib.Shadow]

I'd like to point out the that the omniframe is actually quite small, i'd personally consider it much closer to a large power armor than an actual mech, it's 3-3.50 meters tall or so.
(also do keep in mind, that's the size of the medium omniframe, it's been discussed that the heavy might be larger, and the light smaller, which would make the light very close to a power armor)

It's a small detail, but important, and yeah, you won't be in your omniframe all the time, but that's all stuff maven already said above, as for other vehicles that'll be the first update after the full release of the game. (so 1.1, or so Grummz said long ago)

I'm not sure but i think i remember Grummz having worries as to making actual power armors or such that'd just be similar to firefall. As that could potentially cause copyright issues, and as for in-lore, i'm not sure there's power armors or such, i doubt there is.

All in all your worries are understandable, and some of them might only be properly answered by Grummz himself, since it's his universe and his game.

Oh and on the subject of abilities, that's not been discussed much, when it'll come to making those, i believe Grummz will ask a few questions, but once again, that's a question for him to answer in the end.

 

[Dreamin]

@Pandagnome +1 for;

"First of all .....

Maven said:


First off, sorry, but, PARAGRAPHS, please "

Just because the lore has a German background does not mean it needs grammar Nazi's

@0V3RKILL ; Don't let the haters effect you.

FireFall was a bit heavier than:

But this would be AWESOME for the light mechs and would definitely keep a human aspect or something like the Ironman middle arc suits that stayed whole and enveloped the pilot, though to Mechs from the art design update are considerably larger than those from FireFall, soo... we'll see.

I start alpha testing on Anthem tomorrow, that one looks really promising.

What is important to note here, is that the game is being built inch by inch. The team is not large enough, nor does it have the funding (with massive investor backing, we all know how that turned out for Firefall), to build a lot of elements/systems/gameplay mechanics and have them ready for launch. So while we start exclusively with mech gameplay, there are further plans for expanding the game and its systems. This will, of course, depend entirely on how successful the game is...

Inconsequential data not needed for this thread, though since you brought it up. The game has already netted over $1M USD in two years for that dev team, FUNDING should not be used anymore as an excuse for anything prior to Kick-Starter.

 

[Drakin5]

Well, sorry about that. It’s just hat I can’t really pace every and all point in one wall like that. I could get mixed up with one or more thoughts in it if it did.

 

[Maven]

Inconsequential data not needed for this thread, though since you brought it up. The game has already netted over $1M USD in two years for that dev team, FUNDING should not be used anymore as an excuse for anything prior to Kick-Starter.

You know, for some reason you come across as extremely combative, especially whenever someone defends the game, or tempers expectations about the game and what can be achieved by the team. And for that very reason I have refrained from replying to you. I would rather not have a proper thread devolve into finger pointing and constant back and forth to the point where it gets locked.

However, I do need to reference the section quoted above.

Please provide proof to backup your claims of 'over' $1M funding.

The funding for the game so far can be broken down such:

Milestone 1: $3,065
Milestone 2: $23,353
Milestone 3: $107,471 (IGG), $7,016(Paypal)

That's a total of $140,905 raised from Indiegogo Milestones.

The other sources of funding are the M3 upgrade program, and the Newcomer Backer packs.

The Upgrade program went live on 23rd July, 2018. The Newcomer Packs: 31st Aug, 2018.

So that's a total of 4 months and a couple of weeks that these programs have been live. If, by your claim, the community has managed to raise $859,000 via upgrades and Newcomer packs alone, that would be quite the achievement. In fact, that would be something to celebrate.

So, please, do let us know the basis of your claim of $1M+ funding. If you can't, I'd have to say that you are simply being spiteful for whatever issue you seem to have taken with the dev team.

 

[Destination]

Mechs from MechWarrior are large and heavy vehicles. A whole different league.

 

[Wyntyr]

 

[PartTimeJedi]

Maven- "As for popularity every game has it's niche. Firefall had its own, and was widely popular during the Beta stages."

THAT'S WHAT DROVE ME TO KEEP CHECKING BACK TO Em-8ER's PROGRESS. THE CHANCE TO GET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR ON THE SPIRITUAL SUCCESSOR OF THE GAME I HAD LOVED PLAYING... FIREFALL BETA. ♥️

 

[Wyntyr]

The primary concern I have is how the replacement OF during combat is going to be handled. Basically, will that process be "fun"...or just plain not suck? How long does a Reaper have to survive before having the opportunity to get back into an OF? How squishy is a Reaper going to be? How effectual or ineffectual is the Reaper outside of their OF? If a Reaper has only one OF, which just got rekt'd, does it add to the dropship delivery time? Etc. etc....Team Em.8ER can handle it though...since they have to...lol.

 

[Pandagnome]

But this would be AWESOME for the light mechs and would definitely keep a human aspect or something like the Ironman middle arc suits that stayed whole and enveloped the pilot, though to Mechs from the art design update are considerably larger than those from FireFall, soo... we'll see.

I start alpha testing on Anthem tomorrow, that one looks really promising.

Let us know how this anthem is like would be interesting to know thanks

The idea of discovering the mech suit so we all are pilots at first and earn or could build a powersuit that could be between the g-suit and a mech and then eventually a mech.

But does that mean we just stick with mechs for good?
I can understand what ov3kill is trying to explain of the unique way battleframe was in firefall it is like the alternative of mechs e.g in planet side 2 i see light assaults jetpacking all over and the big vehicles blasting away but thats just pvp the idea i think is not stuck in a mech i guess thats why when i play games like apb reloaded nothing to do with mech but getting out of a car when i liked and then popping back when needed there is the big advantage of mechs definitely, but those beautifully hugging powersuits brings another nice choice into the mix i guess too and visually.


Sometimes when watching movies and animation and think how cool would that be in a game and guess we all do that especially when seeing the vid of the starship trooper that Deglance posted made me imagine the options i love mechs and bikes too i also love the idea of a lighter power suit as well.


Can you imagine having the choice of vehicles/mech/powersuit to choose from you can put points in which ever style you prefer say e.g. loved my bike so much would want to customize my bike that can withstand some beating but sure it wont last as long as a mech but it would be upgraded than the stock bike we have hmm and the same can be for the other vehicles the choice brings freedom in how we can tackle things.

Wondered about Survival zone regions

say certain zones could benefit better with the choice we make

Green zone = safe for all high security
Blue zone = some smaller threats with lighter security
yellow zone = more threats hardly any security
Amber zone = threats from all over surviving needs a team
Red zone = high threat lvl higher chance of bigger kaiju's

g-suit could be in the range of green - yellow zone but would probably struggle in the yellow
powersuits would be able to from green - red zone though they would most likely die in the red
Mechs all zones but some areas could be too small to get into such as green- blue zones

@Pandagnome +1 for;

"First of all .....

Dont get me wrong sometimes i can be an ass too especially when i haven't eaten my food

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

TL;DR thread : Pilots are the barbie dolls for the players while the mech is one we are actually controlling to fight.

 

[Pandagnome]

TL;DR thread : Pilots are the barbie dolls for the players while the mech is one we are actually controlling to fight.

I'd rather be a Ken doll Michelangelo turtle thunder cat batman figure

 

[EvilKitten]

The primary concern I have is how the replacement OF during combat is going to be handled. Basically, will that process be "fun"...or just plain not suck? How long does a Reaper have to survive before having the opportunity to get back into an OF? How squishy is a Reaper going to be? How effectual or ineffectual is the Reaper outside of their OF? If a Reaper has only one OF, which just got rekt'd, does it add to the dropship delivery time? Etc. etc....Team Em.8ER can handle it though...since they have to...lol.

It was always my understanding that stepping out of your omniframe for any reason during combat was tantamount to committing seppuku. Trading out omniframes is intended to be done outside of combat.