183 replies to this topic

[Kyle Polulak]

Tell us what you think of the new Seismic Sensor and Advanced Seismic Sensor modules!

Quote

Seismic Sensor:

- 7,500 GXP
- 200 m range
- Detects enemy Mechs as they impact the ground during movement or falling
- Enemy Mechs that move or fall within the module's range leave behind "blips" on the minimap and battlegrid
- The heavier the Mech and/or the faster its speed, the larger and faster the blip

Advanced Seismic Sensor:

- 10,000 GXP
- Automatically upgrades all Seismic Sensors
- Increases the sensors' detection range to 400 m

[Snowseth]

So far, love it too. Information/Situational Awareness is awesome.

Is there any sharing of the information?
If so, would there be any spotting/sharing bonuses associated with using the Sensor?

[Bloody Moon]

This is the most powerful module at the moment and by a large margin. Maybe even a bit too powerful in my opinion.
It should have less range to be on par with the other modules. 150m and 300m on the Advanced would be fine.
Right now it has almost the same effect Bitchin' Betty had when she announced that the mech is targeted, a pilot with this module and some map awareness cannot be flanked at all.

Good idea, yet it went a bit too far.

Edited by Bloody Moon, 21 May 2013 - 01:38 PM.

[Hylius]

Thanks for removing any need for things like scouting, flanking, or tactics in general. I really hated having to think, made my brain hurt. Now I can have a magical module watch my back for me without the possibility of any brawling flanker closing in.

[arghmace]

Seismic sensor is simply too good. The range of 400 meters is huge. Speaking in general I don't like it that you no longer can flank and hit someone in the back. But at least reduce the range. Maybe 150m at first level and 250 at 2nd.

EDIT: By the way, why doesn't seismic sensor spot friendly mechs as well?

Edited by arghmace, 21 May 2013 - 01:34 PM.

[Little Details]

this is RIDICULOUS. It's borderline cheating. Perfect example on tourmaline - could tell the last enemy mech was on Ep for conquest and we were charging for him but had no line of sight. he finished his cap before we saw him and could either pick to go towards sig or gamma. He was faster than me or the aws I was with. normally, i would have ran at ep and tried to find him and get lucky with a laser shot, but with this sensor, i was clearly able to tell he was going towards sig well before I could see him and was able to cut him off and kill him.

ridiculous. at first i thought this would just be a tool for poptarts (since god knows PGI has a hrd-on for them and hates lights) but there are sooo many instances this is just flagrantly bad.

Of course, since PGI is determined to kill off lights, this sensor is basically for scouting now. No reason to go around that corner - you already know there are 3 mechs waiting around it.

Edited by LT Satisfactory, 21 May 2013 - 01:43 PM.

[Wintersdark]

LT Satisfactory, on 21 May 2013 - 01:42 PM, said:

Of course, since PGI is determined to kill off lights, this sensor is basically for scouting now. No reason to go around that corner - you already know there are 3 mechs waiting around it.

.... Unless those three mechs aren't moving .

[GeneralFitzhugh]

You will pry me out of my Jenner when my body is cold and stiff. Lights are here to stay. Long live the Pack!

[Little Details]

Wintersdark, on 21 May 2013 - 01:50 PM, said:

.... Unless those three mechs aren't moving .

...that happens so frequently. I usually find enemy teams just setting up an ambush and not moving. at all.

[Evil Ed]

400 meters is way to much. 150/225 is more resonnable. Or make the weight/speed determin the range. It should still be possible to ninja with a light mech.

Edited by Evil Ed, 21 May 2013 - 03:08 PM.

[Tex305]

IMO...The range is too much. 150-225 is about right(maybe).

Another thought. We may need to start showing which modules are installed in a mech just like weaponry. At least if we knew a mech had the seismic sensor, we would not try to sneak up on them.

[HRR Insanity]

Seismic is now a required module on all 'Mechs. Localized radar (for moving 'Mechs) is far too good not to have unless there are countermeasures (which will also be required) or unless the range is decreased by 50% or more.

A balanced version may be <100m range with max <150m range with enhanced version. Or have a substantial uncertainty which is distant dependent (up to 50m positional error at 100m, up to 200m positional error at 200m, etc).

Otherwise, you might as well just add MW4 'see-through-walls' radar back to the game.

EDIT: On second thought... why would seismic sensors work when YOUR 'Mech was moving? Make seismic sensors work only when stationary or moving slowly; alternatively, increase the uncertainty of enemy position as a function of your own speed.

Edited by HRR Insanity, 21 May 2013 - 05:28 PM.

[Wintersdark]

LT Satisfactory, on 21 May 2013 - 03:02 PM, said:

...that happens so frequently. I usually find enemy teams just setting up an ambush and not moving. at all.

I do it to people all the time, particularly when I know they are coming and have a good spot to stop and wait then engage from behind.

Just the other day I ran into a trio of Highlanders that had seen me coming and set themselves up to ambush me in my Heavy Metal. I imagine they were a premade, as it was pretty damn well organized, but it was definitely a moment of "Round the corner, chasing an HBK, then... Oh, S**T!".



I should note that I'm absolutely in agreement that the range needs to be decreased. At 400m, it's mandatory equipment.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

Seismic Sensor.... you mean Wall/Map Hack?

[Madcownivean]

I know I want this module the moment it is released! In hind sight, I guess that means it's OP somewhat..

How about some adjustment this way:

A)
more sensitivity up close, ie within 100m/175m(for adv snsr), you can pick up even slow moving / light mechs
less sensitivity across distance, up to 200m/350m (for adv snsr), you can only detect fast moving / heavy mechs (i.e. above 90kph or above 60tons) So light/meds can still flank and sneak up, but they have to be careful and quiet.

B]
Limit sensor to front arc only (120 degree). So you can probe what's ahead but not preventing a flank ambush.

C)
What HRR Insanity wrote above: It only works when you stand still. Your own footsteps drives the sensor crazy. Makes sense. I like it.
It's like putting your ear on the ground to track the enemy movement (reminds me of Legolas in LOTR III, when they were chasing the Uruk-hai squad.)

Edited by Madcownivean, 21 May 2013 - 08:09 PM.

[Soy]

Seismic is lord.

[Mad Porthos]

Actually, an above post made a good point in an edit. Why doesn't seismic sensor detect allied mechs too? There's no way to tell from vibrations if that's an enemy thump or a friendly thump, whirr, snarl, clang. Sure, your computer shows you where your allies are and if the sound or reading ain't coming from where you know some of them to be, it's a good guess it might be enemy... but it could just be a friend with no LOS inside someone's ECM field or somesuch.

Oh wait, didn't this patch make it so IFF works even through ECM? Perhaps scratch that then. I suppose if you know where your friends are you must then guess that any other readings are ENEMY, even seizmic sensor readings, shifts etc.

Enemy earthquake at 1400 meters! Now that I think about it, that might be something interesting on a map. Geologically unstable map, continual volcanic activity in the caldera/volcano means seizmic sensors should be useless in there. Wonder what the real case is. Anyone?

[Deathlike]

This is the best legal wallhack ever. Clearly someone @ PGI likes this as much as they did with ECM.

The main problem is range and subsequently the frequency of updates. There's nothing like being able to track mechs that gets within the radius of the "all seeing sound tracker".

In sum, this is essentially the opposite of what ECM does, but does it twice as effective than ECM would have ever imagined. This module gets 11.5 out of 10 on the Richter scale.

Edited by Deathlike, 21 May 2013 - 08:38 PM.

[Girth Fillmore]

This module is very overpowered in it's current state. Two suggestions after using it for 10+ matches.

You can keep the range the same as long as the following are implemented:

1) make any mech lighter than 30 tonnes undetectable
2) have it report all vibrations, not just enemy 'mechs, with no F/F differentiation.

Oh, and I really like the previously made suggestions:
make it only register within the cone, and you have to be stationary for it to work.

Edited by Girth Fillmore, 21 May 2013 - 09:23 PM.

[LaserAngel]

The light mechs just came out of the walls on my first trip with it on River City. 400m sounds crazy for wall hacks. I'm the first person in my group to just get the basic version.