Mercenary units - lots of info :)
#1
Mon, 09/30/2013 - 17:34
Mercenary units - lots of info :)
Here is the insane amount of info posted by Bryan today:
Posted Today, 09:34 AM
The information posted below and in the consequent CW posts are subject to change at our sole discretion for any reason. These designs represent the current vision snapshot at this time. Feedback from the community, internal testing and balancing, along with technical discoveries may result variations from the initial design. CW is subject to Bryan getting his daily blueberry muffin.
A note on formatting:
Anything found within [brackets] is considered place holder and may change.
WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY WARFARE COMMAND CHAIR SERIES!
Founding a Merc Unit
In order for players to found a Merc Unit, they have to meet a number of conditions.
At this point, the leader also enters the name of the new Merc Unit, so that it can be checked against the naming rules when the Unit is created.
Once every player has approved of the contribution of authorizations (and [12] authorizations have been offered), and confirmed their commitment to found/join the new Unit, the group leader chooses to create the Merc Unit.
If the Unit’s name violates the naming rules, the group leader receives a pop up dialog box informing him as such. After he closes the box, he can then try to create the group with a different name. The other players receive no such message, and their contributions and confirmations remain unchanged.
If the Unit’s name does not violate the naming rules:
A note on formatting:
Anything found within [brackets] is considered place holder and may change.
WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY WARFARE COMMAND CHAIR SERIES!
Founding a Merc Unit
In order for players to found a Merc Unit, they have to meet a number of conditions.
- A Merc Unit must be formed by exactly [12] players.
- The players must have reached level [10] or higher (~[2] hours of playtime).
- These are a special item that can be purchased in the store.
- MRB authorizations cannot be sold back to the store.
- Each authorization costd [18.88 million] C-Bills.
At this point, the leader also enters the name of the new Merc Unit, so that it can be checked against the naming rules when the Unit is created.
Once every player has approved of the contribution of authorizations (and [12] authorizations have been offered), and confirmed their commitment to found/join the new Unit, the group leader chooses to create the Merc Unit.
If the Unit’s name violates the naming rules, the group leader receives a pop up dialog box informing him as such. After he closes the box, he can then try to create the group with a different name. The other players receive no such message, and their contributions and confirmations remain unchanged.
If the Unit’s name does not violate the naming rules:
- The Merc Unit is founded.
- The contributed authorizations are removed from the players’ inventories.
- All players in the group receive a notification that the Merc Unit has been successfully created.
- The group leader is automatically made the leader of the Merc Unit.
- The other players are automatically given the lowest of the default ranks in the Merc Unit.
- The Merc Unit is given a Union class dropship in its inventory.
- The group leader is then presented with the Merc Unit details screen to fill out and/or edit.
Merc Unit Names
It is made clear to players that the names given to Merc Units must not only adhere to our terms of service, with regards to profanity and other offensive language, but that there will also be other restrictions. Additionally, any name that makes it through the automatic filters may remain subject to scrutiny and the game’s moderators may force a name change.
A Merc Unit name may NOT:
When a Merc Unit is forced to change their name:
It is made clear to players that the names given to Merc Units must not only adhere to our terms of service, with regards to profanity and other offensive language, but that there will also be other restrictions. Additionally, any name that makes it through the automatic filters may remain subject to scrutiny and the game’s moderators may force a name change.
A Merc Unit name may NOT:
- Contain profanity or other offensive language.
- Duplicate the name of an existing Merc Unit.
- There exists a banned named list of canon units.
- This list is checked whenever a Merc Unit name is created or changed, to prevent duplicate names.
- An example of an infringing name would be “Gr4y Death L3gion”.
When a Merc Unit is forced to change their name:
- Their old name is changed to a generic placeholder name
- Ie “Unnamed Merc Unit 1234”
- Their old name is added to the banned name filter
- This can be an automatic or manual process
Merc Unit Details Screen
In this screen, the leader (or any other rank with sufficient privileges) can set and edit a number of details about the Merc Unit. These details include:
Merc Unit name
In this screen, the leader (or any other rank with sufficient privileges) can set and edit a number of details about the Merc Unit. These details include:
Merc Unit name
- Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
- Costs
to change the name
- This is the tag that players can attach to their name
- The tag has to be unique
- Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
- Has no cost to change
- A paragraph description of the Merc Crop
- Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
- Has no cost to change
- Can choose from several premade decals for free
- Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
- This brings up a separate screen (details can be found in the Merc Unit Ranks section)
Merc Unit Ranks
In this screen, Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can manage the ranks that can be assigned to each member of the Unit. The ranks are displayed, in hierarchy order, in a grid which shows:
Upon its creation, a Merc Unit comes with a default set of ranks/titles, and privileges associated with those ranks. The leader is automatically given the highest rank (owner/leader), while the other players who founded the Unit are given the lowest. The highest/leader rank must always have all privileges and must always be assigned to (at least?) one member of the Merc Unit.
On this page, Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can:
Privileges
The list of rank privileges consists of:
Players with privileges that affect ranks/promotion/demotions/etc can only affect ranks lower than their own.
In this screen, Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can manage the ranks that can be assigned to each member of the Unit. The ranks are displayed, in hierarchy order, in a grid which shows:
- The name of the rank.
- The hierarchy of the rank (ie [32] being the highest rank and [1] being the lowest).
- An entry for each privilege, indicating whether or not the rank is allowed that privilege.
Upon its creation, a Merc Unit comes with a default set of ranks/titles, and privileges associated with those ranks. The leader is automatically given the highest rank (owner/leader), while the other players who founded the Unit are given the lowest. The highest/leader rank must always have all privileges and must always be assigned to (at least?) one member of the Merc Unit.
On this page, Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can:
- Create new ranks.
- Remove existing ranks.
- Rank names are run through a profanity filter.
- If an unacceptable name makes it through the filter the developers may force a name change.
- Edit the hierarchy of a rank.
- Edit the privileges of a rank.
Privileges
The list of rank privileges consists of:
- Accepting new Merc Unit members
- Kicking out Merc Unit members
- Disbanding the Merc Unit
- Creating ranks
- Removing ranks
- Editing rank hierarchy
- Editing rank privileges
- Editing rank names
- Promoting players
- Demoting players
- Naming of the units
- Setting the commander of the lance/company/etc
- Assigning players to lances, lances to companies, etc
- Editing the Merc Unit name
- Editing the Merc Unit tag
- Editing the Merc Unit description
- Editing the Merc Unit decal
- Setting the MotD
- Setting the officers’ MotD
- Viewing the officers’ MotD
- Sending messages to the Merc Unit messaging list
- Access to the officers’ chat channel
- Setting the Merc Unit tax rate
Players with privileges that affect ranks/promotion/demotions/etc can only affect ranks lower than their own.
Managing Merc Unit Membership
In the Merc Unit options there is a screen that lists the membership of the Merc Unit. All players looking at the list are able to see the following:
This is also the screen through which players with sufficient privileges can add new members to the Unit. Once a Merc Unit has already been founded, if a player wishes to join they must contact the Merc Unit through the forums, in-game chat/messaging, or other means.
The Merc Unit member enters the name of the new player and this sends an invitation to that player. When the player accepts the invitation, they are inducted into the Unit at the lowest rank.
A Merc Unit can have a maximum of [500] members. This limit needs the potential to be increased, if future design demands it.
If the membership limit has been reached, any attempt to add a new player to the Unit will fail, and the player attempting to add the new player will be presented with a message informing them that the Unit has reached its membership limit.
Leaving a Merc Unit
A player can leave a Merc Unit at any time, by choosing to become either a Lone Wolf or a Faction Player. When they attempt to do so, they receive a reminder that they will be leaving their Merc Unit. The leader of the Merc Unit cannot leave the Unit in this manner without first passing on the leadership position to another member of the Unit.
Removing Players from the Unit
Aside from players leaving voluntarily, players with sufficient privileges can forcibly remove other players from the Unit. This is done through the management screen. The player’s name is entered, or chosen from a list, and, after a confirmation, they are removed from the Unit.
The player who was removed will receive a message telling them such. They will then be required to choose the Lone Wolf or Faction Player path.
Assigning Ranks
Players with sufficient privileges can promote and demote other players.
In the Merc Unit options there is a screen that lists the membership of the Merc Unit. All players looking at the list are able to see the following:
- Player name
- Player rank
- Player company/lance
- Promote players
- Demote players
- Assign players to companies/lances
- Add players to the Unit
- Remove players from the Unit
This is also the screen through which players with sufficient privileges can add new members to the Unit. Once a Merc Unit has already been founded, if a player wishes to join they must contact the Merc Unit through the forums, in-game chat/messaging, or other means.
The Merc Unit member enters the name of the new player and this sends an invitation to that player. When the player accepts the invitation, they are inducted into the Unit at the lowest rank.
A Merc Unit can have a maximum of [500] members. This limit needs the potential to be increased, if future design demands it.
If the membership limit has been reached, any attempt to add a new player to the Unit will fail, and the player attempting to add the new player will be presented with a message informing them that the Unit has reached its membership limit.
Leaving a Merc Unit
A player can leave a Merc Unit at any time, by choosing to become either a Lone Wolf or a Faction Player. When they attempt to do so, they receive a reminder that they will be leaving their Merc Unit. The leader of the Merc Unit cannot leave the Unit in this manner without first passing on the leadership position to another member of the Unit.
Removing Players from the Unit
Aside from players leaving voluntarily, players with sufficient privileges can forcibly remove other players from the Unit. This is done through the management screen. The player’s name is entered, or chosen from a list, and, after a confirmation, they are removed from the Unit.
The player who was removed will receive a message telling them such. They will then be required to choose the Lone Wolf or Faction Player path.
Assigning Ranks
Players with sufficient privileges can promote and demote other players.
Organizing Companies and Lances
Merc Unit leaders are able to organize the members of their Unit into an arrangement of lances, companies, etc. Each formation consists of the following:
Lance
Merc Unit leaders are able to organize the members of their Unit into an arrangement of lances, companies, etc. Each formation consists of the following:
- Lance - 4 Players.
- Company - 3 Lances (12 Players).
- Battalion - 3 Companies (36 Players).
- Regiment - 3 Battalions (108 Players)
Lance
- Name.
- The four players that comprise the lance.
- Which of the four players is the lance commander.
- Name.
- The three lances that comprise the company.
- Which of the three lances is the command lance.
- The lance commander of the command lance is automatically the company commander.
- Name.
- The three companies that comprise the battalion.
- Which company is the command company.
- The company commander of the command company is automatically the battalion commander.
- Name.
- The three battalions that comprise the regiment.
- Which battalion is the command battalion.
- The battalion commander of the command battalion is automatically the regiment commander.
Disbanding a Merc Unit
The leader of a Merc Unit can disband it if they so choose. When it is disbanded, every member of the Unit receives a message informing them that it has been disbanded, and they must now choose either the Lone Wolf or Faction Player path.
If a Merc Unit has only one remaining member, and that member attempts to leave the Unit, it will automatically disband the Unit. When the player attempts to leave, they will receive a warning.
When a Merc Unit is disbanded, for auditing reasons it is not removed from the database. It retains its history, currency, assets, status, etc. A disbanded Merc Unit is inactive and inaccessible to players, but it should be capable of being restored to its previous active status if a legitimate ticket comes through to CSRs. While a Merc Unit is disbanded, its name is changed (ie a “_disbanded” suffix is added to it) so that it does not prevent its former name from being used by a new Merc Unit.
The leader of a Merc Unit can disband it if they so choose. When it is disbanded, every member of the Unit receives a message informing them that it has been disbanded, and they must now choose either the Lone Wolf or Faction Player path.
If a Merc Unit has only one remaining member, and that member attempts to leave the Unit, it will automatically disband the Unit. When the player attempts to leave, they will receive a warning.
When a Merc Unit is disbanded, for auditing reasons it is not removed from the database. It retains its history, currency, assets, status, etc. A disbanded Merc Unit is inactive and inaccessible to players, but it should be capable of being restored to its previous active status if a legitimate ticket comes through to CSRs. While a Merc Unit is disbanded, its name is changed (ie a “_disbanded” suffix is added to it) so that it does not prevent its former name from being used by a new Merc Unit.
Merc Unit Finances
Every Merc Unit has its own C-Bill and MC accounts. All funds held by a Merc Unit can never make their way back to any individual player. They may only ever be used for items and expenses that are tied to the Unit itself.
Collecting Contributions
The Merc Unit can collect funds through two methods: donations, taxes, and revenues.
Donations
Every Merc Unit has its own C-Bill and MC accounts. All funds held by a Merc Unit can never make their way back to any individual player. They may only ever be used for items and expenses that are tied to the Unit itself.
Collecting Contributions
The Merc Unit can collect funds through two methods: donations, taxes, and revenues.
Donations
- Any player of the Merc Unit can donate funds directly from their C-Bill balance to the Merc Unit.
- Leaders of the Merc Unit can set a tax rate on its members.
- The tax is a percentage of each player’s C-Bill earnings when they play in a match.
- These funds are automatically taken during the end of round procedures.
- On the end of round screen, the player can see the amount of money going to the Merc Unit.
- More details forthcoming.
Merc Unit Communication
The players within a Merc Unit require a means of communicating with each other within the game. In addition to standard chat and messaging, Merc Unit members will have access to additional communication options.
Message of the Day
The players within a Merc Unit require a means of communicating with each other within the game. In addition to standard chat and messaging, Merc Unit members will have access to additional communication options.
Message of the Day
- Players with sufficient privileges can set a Message of the Day (MotD).
- This message is displayed on the main/landing page of the Merc Unit section in the front end.
- This message is visible to all members of the Merc Unit.
- Players with sufficient privileges can set the Officers’ Message of the Day (MotD).
- This message is displayed on the main/landing page of the Merc Unit section in the front end.
- This message is only visible to members of the Merc Unit whose rank includes the privilege of viewing it.
- Merc Unit members have access to a chat channel that is exclusive to their Merc Unit.
- Merc Unit members whose ranks have the sufficient privileges have access to an officers’ chat channel that is exclusive to their Merc Unit.
- Players with sufficient privileges can use the in game messaging system to send messages to the entire Merc Unit membership.
- These messages only go out to the Merc Unit members who are currently online.
(Re-formatted so that it actually displays) - This is what Bryan posted on CW/Mercs todays:
Posted Today, 09:34 AM
The information posted below and in the consequent CW posts are subject to change at our sole discretion for any reason. These designs represent the current vision snapshot at this time. Feedback from the community, internal testing and balancing, along with technical discoveries may result variations from the initial design. CW is subject to Bryan getting his daily blueberry muffin.
A note on formatting:
Anything found within [brackets] is considered place holder and may change.
WELCOME TO THE COMMUNITY WARFARE COMMAND CHAIR SERIES!
Founding a Merc Unit
In order for players to found a Merc Unit, they have to meet a number of conditions.
A Merc Unit must be formed by exactly [12] players.
The players must have reached level [10] or higher (~[2] hours of playtime).
Between them, the players must have at least [12] Mercenary Review Board authorizations in their inventories
These are a special item that can be purchased in the store.
MRB authorizations cannot be sold back to the store.
Each authorization costd [18.88 million] C-Bills.
When [12] players who meet these conditions form a group, the group leader is presented with a button he can click to turn the group into a Merc Unit. Each player (including the leader) is then shown a screen in which they choose how many of their Mercenary Review Board authorizations they wish to contribute towards forming the Merc Unit. Even if a player has no authorizations (or chooses not to use them), he must still provide his consent in founding/joining the Merc Unit. Regardless of how the authorizations are contributed, it is made clear that the leader of the group will become the leader of the Merc Unit, and that they will be responsible for promoting any of the other players.
At this point, the leader also enters the name of the new Merc Unit, so that it can be checked against the naming rules when the Unit is created.
Once every player has approved of the contribution of authorizations (and [12] authorizations have been offered), and confirmed their commitment to found/join the new Unit, the group leader chooses to create the Merc Unit.
If the Unit’s name violates the naming rules, the group leader receives a pop up dialog box informing him as such. After he closes the box, he can then try to create the group with a different name. The other players receive no such message, and their contributions and confirmations remain unchanged.
If the Unit’s name does not violate the naming rules:
The Merc Unit is founded.
The contributed authorizations are removed from the players’ inventories.
All players in the group receive a notification that the Merc Unit has been successfully created.
The group leader is automatically made the leader of the Merc Unit.
The other players are automatically given the lowest of the default ranks in the Merc Unit.
The Merc Unit is given a Union class dropship in its inventory.
The group leader is then presented with the Merc Unit details screen to fill out and/or edit.
Merc Unit Names
It is made clear to players that the names given to Merc Units must not only adhere to our terms of service, with regards to profanity and other offensive language, but that there will also be other restrictions. Additionally, any name that makes it through the automatic filters may remain subject to scrutiny and the game’s moderators may force a name change.
A Merc Unit name may NOT:
Contain profanity or other offensive language.
Duplicate the name of an existing Merc Unit.
Duplicate or infringe upon the name of a unit from BattleTech canon.
There exists a banned named list of canon units.
This list is checked whenever a Merc Unit name is created or changed, to prevent duplicate names.
An example of an infringing name would be “Gr4y Death L3gion”.
Players will have a method to be able to report names that they believe violate these rules. If a name is found to violate the any of the rules, the Merc Unit will be forced to change it.
When a Merc Unit is forced to change their name:
Their old name is changed to a generic placeholder name
Ie “Unnamed Merc Unit 1234”
Their old name is added to the banned name filter
This can be an automatic or manual process
Merc Unit Details Screen
In this screen, the leader (or any other rank with sufficient privileges) can set and edit a number of details about the Merc Unit. These details include:
Merc Unit name
Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
Costs
to change the name
Merc Unit abbreviation/prefix
This is the tag that players can attach to their name
The tag has to be unique
Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
Has no cost to change
Merc Unit description
A paragraph description of the Merc Crop
Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
Has no cost to change
Merc Unit logo/decal
Can choose from several premade decals for free
Only Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can change this
Merc Unit ranks
This brings up a separate screen (details can be found in the Merc Unit Ranks section)
Merc Unit Ranks
In this screen, Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can manage the ranks that can be assigned to each member of the Unit. The ranks are displayed, in hierarchy order, in a grid which shows:
The name of the rank.
The hierarchy of the rank (ie [32] being the highest rank and [1] being the lowest).
An entry for each privilege, indicating whether or not the rank is allowed that privilege.
A Merc Unit can have a maximum of [32] ranks. This number needs the potential to be increased, if future design demands it.
Upon its creation, a Merc Unit comes with a default set of ranks/titles, and privileges associated with those ranks. The leader is automatically given the highest rank (owner/leader), while the other players who founded the Unit are given the lowest. The highest/leader rank must always have all privileges and must always be assigned to (at least?) one member of the Merc Unit.
On this page, Merc Unit members with sufficient privileges can:
Create new ranks.
Remove existing ranks.
Rename ranks
Rank names are run through a profanity filter.
If an unacceptable name makes it through the filter the developers may force a name change.
Edit the hierarchy of a rank.
Edit the privileges of a rank.
Privileges
The list of rank privileges consists of:
Accepting new Merc Unit members
Kicking out Merc Unit members
Disbanding the Merc Unit
Managing Merc Unit ranks:
Creating ranks
Removing ranks
Editing rank hierarchy
Editing rank privileges
Editing rank names
Promoting players
Demoting players
Managing Merc Unit structure (companies, lances, etc):
Naming of the units
Setting the commander of the lance/company/etc
Assigning players to lances, lances to companies, etc
Editing Merc Unit information:
Editing the Merc Unit name
Editing the Merc Unit tag
Editing the Merc Unit description
Editing the Merc Unit decal
Communication
Setting the MotD
Setting the officers’ MotD
Viewing the officers’ MotD
Sending messages to the Merc Unit messaging list
Access to the officers’ chat channel
Finances
Setting the Merc Unit tax rate
This list will be expanded with new entries as new features are implemented.
Players with privileges that affect ranks/promotion/demotions/etc can only affect ranks lower than their own.
Managing Merc Unit Membership
In the Merc Unit options there is a screen that lists the membership of the Merc Unit. All players looking at the list are able to see the following:
Player name
Player rank
Player company/lance
Players with sufficient privileges can use this screen to:
Promote players
Demote players
Assign players to companies/lances
Add players to the Unit
Remove players from the Unit
Joining an Established Merc Unit
This is also the screen through which players with sufficient privileges can add new members to the Unit. Once a Merc Unit has already been founded, if a player wishes to join they must contact the Merc Unit through the forums, in-game chat/messaging, or other means.
The Merc Unit member enters the name of the new player and this sends an invitation to that player. When the player accepts the invitation, they are inducted into the Unit at the lowest rank.
A Merc Unit can have a maximum of [500] members. This limit needs the potential to be increased, if future design demands it.
If the membership limit has been reached, any attempt to add a new player to the Unit will fail, and the player attempting to add the new player will be presented with a message informing them that the Unit has reached its membership limit.
Leaving a Merc Unit
A player can leave a Merc Unit at any time, by choosing to become either a Lone Wolf or a Faction Player. When they attempt to do so, they receive a reminder that they will be leaving their Merc Unit. The leader of the Merc Unit cannot leave the Unit in this manner without first passing on the leadership position to another member of the Unit.
Removing Players from the Unit
Aside from players leaving voluntarily, players with sufficient privileges can forcibly remove other players from the Unit. This is done through the management screen. The player’s name is entered, or chosen from a list, and, after a confirmation, they are removed from the Unit.
The player who was removed will receive a message telling them such. They will then be required to choose the Lone Wolf or Faction Player path.
Assigning Ranks
Players with sufficient privileges can promote and demote other players.
Organizing Companies and Lances
Merc Unit leaders are able to organize the members of their Unit into an arrangement of lances, companies, etc. Each formation consists of the following:
Lance - 4 Players.
Company - 3 Lances (12 Players).
Battalion - 3 Companies (36 Players).
Regiment - 3 Battalions (108 Players)
Players view the unit organization in the form of a. graphical, organizational hierarchy tree/chart. Each unit has the following properties, which can be changed by players with sufficient privileges:
Lance
Name.
The four players that comprise the lance.
Which of the four players is the lance commander.
Company
Name.
The three lances that comprise the company.
Which of the three lances is the command lance.
The lance commander of the command lance is automatically the company commander.
Battalion
Name.
The three companies that comprise the battalion.
Which company is the command company.
The company commander of the command company is automatically the battalion commander.
Regiment
Name.
The three battalions that comprise the regiment.
Which battalion is the command battalion.
The battalion commander of the command battalion is automatically the regiment commander.
Disbanding a Merc Unit
The leader of a Merc Unit can disband it if they so choose. When it is disbanded, every member of the Unit receives a message informing them that it has been disbanded, and they must now choose either the Lone Wolf or Faction Player path.
If a Merc Unit has only one remaining member, and that member attempts to leave the Unit, it will automatically disband the Unit. When the player attempts to leave, they will receive a warning.
When a Merc Unit is disbanded, for auditing reasons it is not removed from the database. It retains its history, currency, assets, status, etc. A disbanded Merc Unit is inactive and inaccessible to players, but it should be capable of being restored to its previous active status if a legitimate ticket comes through to CSRs. While a Merc Unit is disbanded, its name is changed (ie a “_disbanded” suffix is added to it) so that it does not prevent its former name from being used by a new Merc Unit.
Merc Unit Finances
Every Merc Unit has its own C-Bill and MC accounts. All funds held by a Merc Unit can never make their way back to any individual player. They may only ever be used for items and expenses that are tied to the Unit itself.
Collecting Contributions
The Merc Unit can collect funds through two methods: donations, taxes, and revenues.
Donations
Any player of the Merc Unit can donate funds directly from their C-Bill balance to the Merc Unit.
Taxes
Leaders of the Merc Unit can set a tax rate on its members.
The tax is a percentage of each player’s C-Bill earnings when they play in a match.
These funds are automatically taken during the end of round procedures.
On the end of round screen, the player can see the amount of money going to the Merc Unit.
Planetary Revenue
More details forthcoming.
Merc Unit Communication
The players within a Merc Unit require a means of communicating with each other within the game. In addition to standard chat and messaging, Merc Unit members will have access to additional communication options.
Message of the Day
Players with sufficient privileges can set a Message of the Day (MotD).
This message is displayed on the main/landing page of the Merc Unit section in the front end.
This message is visible to all members of the Merc Unit.
Officers’ Message of the Day
Players with sufficient privileges can set the Officers’ Message of the Day (MotD).
This message is displayed on the main/landing page of the Merc Unit section in the front end.
This message is only visible to members of the Merc Unit whose rank includes the privilege of viewing it.
Merc Unit Chat Channels
Merc Unit members have access to a chat channel that is exclusive to their Merc Unit.
Merc Unit members whose ranks have the sufficient privileges have access to an officers’ chat channel that is exclusive to their Merc Unit.
Messaging List
Players with sufficient privileges can use the in game messaging system to send messages to the entire Merc Unit membership.
These messages only go out to the Merc Unit members who are currently online.
Merc unit tax rate.... guess the dropships don't pay for themselves (except the first one). I'll be able to manage at least 1 multiple of 18.8 million for the initial unit creation. If you look in the feedback sections Bryan says the inital cost of creating the merc unit is the same cost as a dropship (225.6 million). What also got my attention is the other command chair post where seismic becomes super nerfed and countering ECM is rewarded. I think that post is trying to be hidden by the merc unit post.
Thats a pretty expensive ship!
I've only made 300,000,000 since I started playing this game, I've spent most of it as I only have ~ 5 million.
Collecting C-Bills isn't too tedious though 19 mil should be easy enough. :P I guess 40 mil, I might as well chip in on a ship ;).
I have 46 million c-bills right now. But I will grind for some more and by the time the store opens I will possibilily have enough c-bills to buy 4 to 6 MBR's for the initial merc group cost.
I generally try to stay around the 20 mil point most of the time, so I will be able to pay for at least 1. Actually, with the Phoenix mechs dropping in a couple weeks, I expect that other than initial setup costs for each mech, I should be fairly well swimming in cash as I grind through each mech.
I'm perma-broke, I only ever have enough c-bills for the next mech and then I'm down to zero again. I was actually looking at the Phoenix package dropping as an opportunity to finally grind out the 20 or so engines that are missing from my garage (after grinding the cash to upgrade each of the Phoenix mechs, mind you... 12*(DHS and Endo) is gonna be about 24 mil alone). I don't have any seismic and whatnot modules because I'm space poor. The 18 mil is a bit pricey for me. If it's essential that I do it in order to get in on the ground floor I certainly will, but it'd suck to blow 18 mil on anything other than mechs and engines and guns.
JP(JOP) since you have over 100 million c-bills why don't you start the C-bill pool by contributing at least 20 million when the merc group is formed. For the rest of you that have over 100 million please contribute at least 20 million C-bills to the C-bill pool when we have the merc group started. I am going to get at least 4 MBR's to get the merc group started.
Your generosity is not overlooked!
And the rest of us we've been voluntold. :P
Just an addendum to my last post, because JP didn't seem to understand where I was coming from last night and I thought attaching some numbers to it might help folks understand that there are different levels of money within our little group.
I went through what engines I'm currently missing from purchased mechs, and totaled up what I'd need to buy them all (which, despite the opinions of other folks, is something that is a priority for me), and it's 42 million c-bills. Add in the number I quoted for DHS and endo in my Phoenix mechs (not even starting to think about engines and weapons for those), and we're above 60 million dollars that I need to grind out.
To give some context, I've had Premium time running since I came back to the game this fall, and I've been playing with my hero and founder mechs in order to increase my cash flow when I'm not leveling up an Orion. I make about 10 million c-bills a week, give or take. The math isn't that difficult: I have 6 weeks of grinding at my current rate just to outfit the mechs I currently own, or will own with the Phoenix package. Realistically, I have a week or two more once engines for those mechs are factored in.
Now, that 18 million might seem like a pittance to you folks, but it's an additional two weeks of grinding for me. It's two weeks of grinding that gets me no mechs, no engines, etc. Bear in mind that the reason I don't own a 6 million c-bill seismic sensor is because I can't bear to grind it out. This is the equivalent of three of those, and I don't even get to use it in play... as much as I want to roll with you guys and get in on the ground floor of this and pull my weight, I have to say that this is a strain on me.
I feel your lack of Cbills Ferret. I'm around 6 mil right now because I keep buying stuff (only cicadas left to go). But I wouldn't worry about it too much. We only need 12 merc certifications at 18.8 mil each, other members can be added without cost afterwards. Theres no ground floor, only the merc unit leader has any authority at first with the other initial members starting at level nada. Most importantly, we likely won't need those 12 certs for another 6 months or more. So we just need the initial 12 certs eventually, the rest will be worked out as we go along (including additional funding for merc corp items). That's why I'm sure I'll at least be good for one increment of 18.8 mil.
I would buy the modules you want before buying the engines, reason being is the module increase your win % increasing your C-Bills earned.
I have no regrets with all the modules I purchased. I've purchased enough to have 4 mechs able to be ready'd up. Sensor Range is the only one that I ALWAYS use.
Yeah, maybe. I've lived this long without the modules, and given their cost, I'd have to increase my win % by an awful lot for one to pay for itself!
Let's do some math. Think about this: let's say I win 10% more with the modules (a rather generous increase I'd say), and in a win, I make 100000 more C-Bills than in a loss (again, very generous... for estimation purposes, 30k for a loss, 130k for a win). Quick math tells me that given these criteria, I'd make an extra million C-Bills per 100 games. I'd have to play 600 (and given that I've only played 3000 games since OB, that's a lot) at the much higher win % just to pay for the first seismic module and get back to zero :)
And let's be real... no module will make me win 10% more games... too many other factors come into play, ie. who I drop with and whatnot. It might make me more survivable, it might help me to do a bit more damage and by that note make more money, but I don't think it's significant enough to even pay for itself, let alone help me to buy my engines and weapons and whatnot :)
Finding a better team might be more effective :)
Heh I think the maths can be a bit deceiving, if everyone on the team has modules then our chace to win as a team just increased again.
The rewards from the modules are far more valueable then the C-Bills, I would stop handicapping yourself and buy a couple, at least 3 to swap from mech to mech.
Advance Sensor Range is only 2 mil and a must have.
Target Info Gathering is 4 mil and knowing where to shoot your enemy can save your life.!
After that it all depends on the build.
At first I thought the same as you with regards to Modules, but they are useful. I would gift you a couple to convince you but the UI sucks.
There is still alot of time before phase 1 (association) is implemented so no worries. I was just referring to those that have over 100 million C-bills they can actually afford to contribute to the C-bill pool when the merc. group is formed. I am sure that 12 of us will buy one MBR each and form the merc group when the time comes.
Oh don't get me wrong, I know they're useful, and I'd like to have one or two. I've just been prioritizing mechs and mech loadouts, and that's still the case for now, at least. Maybe I'll buy one to play with after I get my third Orion, but that's the obvious first priority for me right now... getting Elite and earning Speed Tweak on those bad boys will help me more than all the modules combined :)
Can't argue speed tweak and mastering the chassis. I'm finally down to Jenner's to master :P . Just in time for Phoenix!