MPQ Developer Q&A August 2024 (QUESTIONS)

bluewolf

This is technically a late question, but here goes:

Is there any thought to modifying Simulator PVP to reduce the meta team usage? One idea: create a 6th node and set 3 of them as open to any, 3 with restricted affiliations. This would encourage creative/off-meta team use, I think.

Ex: One node disallows Godlike (no Thors or Juggs), one node disallows GotG (no Rocket), one disallows Mutants (no Polaris).

The current mode just becomes meta teams over and over and it's no fun.

EDIT: I realize that for some players, who are going for scores and all, running meta teams constantly is the only way to retain points and all that, but it's a season-long event and there is currently zero incentive or space to run non-meta teams since most of the time you're unable to beat the meta teams with oddballs, unless you're a very very long term vet/whale with high level off-meta characters. I realize people will say "find a player to retal with and run non-meta" but the game should just set up nodes that encourage that, and creative teams, etc as a default.

Having 3 "use your meta" nodes should be plenty for people who are trying to do that.

entrailbucket

@bluewolf said:
This is technically a late question, but here goes:

Is there any thought to modifying Simulator PVP to reduce the meta team usage? One idea: create a 6th node and set 3 of them as open to any, 3 with restricted affiliations. This would encourage creative/off-meta team use, I think.

Ex: One node disallows Godlike (no Thors or Juggs), one node disallows GotG (no Rocket), one disallows Mutants (no Polaris).

The current mode just becomes meta teams over and over and it's no fun.

EDIT: I realize that for some players, who are going for scores and all, running meta teams constantly is the only way to retain points and all that, but it's a season-long event and there is currently zero incentive or space to run non-meta teams since most of the time you're unable to beat the meta teams with oddballs, unless you're a very very long term vet/whale with high level off-meta characters. I realize people will say "find a player to retal with and run non-meta" but the game should just set up nodes that encourage that, and creative teams, etc as a default.

Having 3 "use your meta" nodes should be plenty for people who are trying to do that.

We already have the fix for this, though: weekly boosts!

Sim is what the entire game was like before they implemented boosts, and the boosts gave folks a reason to use oddball teams, and let oddball characters compete with Tier 1s.

In sim, a weekly rotation would actually make it extra fun if you want to keep your points -- do you use the boosted guys and risk leaving weak retals that can be saved and taken when the boosts wear off, or use a "meta" team that will be strong all the time?

I'm sure there's some sort of "game engine" style reason why they can't do this, but I have to imagine it'd be easier than adding additional nodes with lockouts or whatever.

Edit: ack, sorry! This is the developers questions thread. I hope they answer you with something -- sim needs a shakeup of some sort.

bluewolf

@entrailbucket said:

@bluewolf said:
This is technically a late question, but here goes:

Is there any thought to modifying Simulator PVP to reduce the meta team usage? One idea: create a 6th node and set 3 of them as open to any, 3 with restricted affiliations. This would encourage creative/off-meta team use, I think.

Ex: One node disallows Godlike (no Thors or Juggs), one node disallows GotG (no Rocket), one disallows Mutants (no Polaris).

The current mode just becomes meta teams over and over and it's no fun.

EDIT: I realize that for some players, who are going for scores and all, running meta teams constantly is the only way to retain points and all that, but it's a season-long event and there is currently zero incentive or space to run non-meta teams since most of the time you're unable to beat the meta teams with oddballs, unless you're a very very long term vet/whale with high level off-meta characters. I realize people will say "find a player to retal with and run non-meta" but the game should just set up nodes that encourage that, and creative teams, etc as a default.

Having 3 "use your meta" nodes should be plenty for people who are trying to do that.

We already have the fix for this, though: weekly boosts!

Sim is what the entire game was like before they implemented boosts, and the boosts gave folks a reason to use oddball teams, and let oddball characters compete with Tier 1s.

In sim, a weekly rotation would actually make it extra fun if you want to keep your points -- do you use the boosted guys and risk leaving weak retals that can be saved and taken when the boosts wear off, or use a "meta" team that will be strong all the time?

I'm sure there's some sort of "game engine" style reason why they can't do this, but I have to imagine it'd be easier than adding additional nodes with lockouts or whatever.

Edit: ack, sorry! This is the developers questions thread. I hope they answer you with something -- sim needs a shakeup of some sort.

Yeah, that would also be fine.

It seems like the boost list is not just a list but coded into each event…as we see if you play a later PVP slice and you’re using the old boost list there into Friday while in PVE you’re already using the new one as of Thursday.

I’m not sure the game is built to have a boost list that changes during the event that’s running.

DAZ0273

Please just do something to the tedium that is Shield SIM.

Codex

I don't think that would work. In house of M pvp is a good example, regardless of which node (magneto, px, Jean grey) you select you can face any team.

Maybe something like those in top 10 in pvp usage characters are banned in shield Sim could work. The hope here is the top 11-20 will be easier for off meta teams to deal with.

Pylgrim

@entrailbucket said:

@bluewolf said:
This is technically a late question, but here goes:

Is there any thought to modifying Simulator PVP to reduce the meta team usage? One idea: create a 6th node and set 3 of them as open to any, 3 with restricted affiliations. This would encourage creative/off-meta team use, I think.

Ex: One node disallows Godlike (no Thors or Juggs), one node disallows GotG (no Rocket), one disallows Mutants (no Polaris).

The current mode just becomes meta teams over and over and it's no fun.

EDIT: I realize that for some players, who are going for scores and all, running meta teams constantly is the only way to retain points and all that, but it's a season-long event and there is currently zero incentive or space to run non-meta teams since most of the time you're unable to beat the meta teams with oddballs, unless you're a very very long term vet/whale with high level off-meta characters. I realize people will say "find a player to retal with and run non-meta" but the game should just set up nodes that encourage that, and creative teams, etc as a default.

Having 3 "use your meta" nodes should be plenty for people who are trying to do that.

We already have the fix for this, though: weekly boosts!

Hmm how about daily boosts? Now that would be a big shake up. And to prevent having to do planning and announcements, make it entirely random. You can open the game, get into a node and see who is buffed, then choose how to play that day (if at all).