In the closed beta for this now and it's cool but a complete wreck. Frequent crashes for any game that lasts more than 15 or so turns, indefinite hangs even trying to log in, crippling bugs that include losing an entire lance of mechs and being unable to play with them again if your match in a draw. Performance is abysmal and the browser-based engine they're using is buggy as all hell. Matchmaking is hopelessly broken, with it being impossible at times to find a human opponent, or mismatching you within huge tier gaps, such that either you or your opponent have a vast advantage because of the poorly implemented point value tiers.
Dunno how much has been publicly revealed, but the game basically works off "Stacs" or packs of cards you buy with in-game currency (called scrap) you get from winning matches against human or AI opponents. You even get rewarded scrap for losing against human opponents, as long as you don't surrender (forfeit). The thing is, matches against humans take forever, and currently the AI is dumb as fuck, basically asleep at the wheel. Additionally, you get the same rewards for matching up vastly superior mechs against pitiful lightweight AI opponents, such that you can end the game in a turn or two.
This means you basically sit and farm scrap forever against boring AI until you have enough to get more cards, and pray that you get something decent. It's very random and will very much favor those who buy credits with real money (which you can also buy card packs with). Basically, you can totally avoid the hassle of having to farm out scrap from shit stupid AI or use the broken matchmaking system to get the shit stomped out of you (or vice versa) in a game that is highly unbalanced for one side or the other. I've typically been a bit more forgiving than most with f2p games but there's no denying this is pay to win. There are different packs of cards you can buy that range in the rarity of the cards you can find in them. The least expensive generally give you starter stuff and heatsinks but not much else of use. The rest give increasing amounts of rare cards, with the higher tiers guaranteeing a certain amount of increasingly rare cards.
It takes *a while* to farm out enough to buy the higher tier card packs without using IRL cash. Spend enough cash, you skip the tremendous time investment needed and can spend yourself out of the randomness that can fuck you over, so long as you buy enough cards. Skill matters in even matches, but mechs and gear really win the match as long as you're not a complete tard. The way points are alotted to gear/cards/mechs (which is how you get matched up and judge an opponent's strength) can be easily gamed and exploited to where you get a point under a tier with a vastly superior force. Your wins/losses have no impact whatsoever on your matchups at this point, which I really hope changes.
Basically, the game is near unplayable at times due to crashes, horrific performance, crippling bugs, and a ridiculously inadequate matchmaking system. It's largely pay to win if you're willing to spend enough, unless you're willing to sink hundreds and hundreds of hours into mindless grinding against AI who basically let you kill them, but which takes forever because of the crashes and terrible performance.
That being said, there are some things to like and it does have some potential. The mech bay and mech design system are really cool, especially for those who get off on customizing the weapon loadouts/heat management/and weight concerns of the mechs, and learning what combinations work for which mechs is honestly fun. The randomness of combat keeps it interesting when you're not just vastly outgunned, with stuff like ammo explosions and the ability to cause heat shutdowns/explosions to the enemy's mech, including terrain advantages. This is something that really can save this game, because I can't deny I enjoy playing it, even as broken as it is. But if they release this game in anything like the state it's currently in, it will be a straight up crime, especially to fans of the series. And judging by the way crippling bugs still exist that have existed for months on end, and the lack of technical support on glaring stuff is troubling (tech support tickets I've submitted have never been answered, after weeks now). In the Known Issues section, basically everything listed has "no known solution" or "no workaround."
I really do want this one to succeed because it has potential, but not in the state it's in, because shit is very fucked atm.
Oh yeah, and they *very* frequently delete forum posts that are even a little bit harsh on the issues. Like, a note of actual complaint rather than reporting is immediately deleted.