Since starting development Piranha Games Inc. has faced criticism for their decisions involving their upcoming MOBA Mechwarrior Online. From the introduction of target-lock preventing ECM to killing off all development on Mechwarrior Living Legends and threatening legal action against anyone supporting Mechwarrior 4; they have had a fair number of complaints. Unfortunately a recent decision has caused a backlash from a number of supporters within Mechwarrior Online’s community.

A recent addition to the game was the inclusion of a third person perspective allowing for mechs to have a much wider field of view and look over terrain which would otherwise be blocked from sight. Complaints of this inclusion have ranged from the encouragement of “poptarting” (jump sniping), to a lack of immersion and the third person view becoming the game’s default setting. Particularly however is the fact Piranha Games advertised the title as being a “first-person, team based, tactical battlefield” on their website with no mention of any kind of alternative view. Unfortunately for Piranha this seems to have been the straw which broke the camel’s back, following a number of other promised design features which were not added. These included, but were not limited to, first person gameplay only, no consumable items and a large scale community warfare system. Of the second and third features, the former were included as consumable mech modules while the latter has failed to be added in the ten months of development. Nor will it apparently be added prior to or upon launch two weeks from now.

While the developers have offered an apology admitting to these flaws, some members are claiming the game does not resemble what they supported during the beta sections and are attempting to gain refunds. The members in question consist of a percentage of players who purchased the Founders packages early into the game’s beta testing. As the game was an unfinished product and they consider themselves to have effectively pre-ordered the title, they wish to be refunded before it is launched and purchase a game which does not resemble what they ordered. As one of the touted early signs of the MOBA’s success, having made approximately $5,000,000 off of the Program, this is definitely a point of concern.

Criticism of decisions beyond those who entered the Founders Program can be found in many places. Both the Feedback Thread which contains similar accusations of false advertising, and a petition criticising decisions with the support of some of the game’s largest outfits.

Efforts to change the game or receive are still ongoing. Expect more on this story as it develops.

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