57 replies to this topic

[Graugger]

AC/2 fires rapidly, PPC fires slowly and is high heat. You dodge a PPC you got a chance, dodge 1 AC/2 round and there are five more already in your face.

AC/5 is a ranged medium laser with lower heat but it does all its damage in one blow.
AC/10 is a large pulse laser with lower heat and does all its damage at once.
AC/20 wrecks your face and is beyond comparison except for two large pulses or two PPCs which generate immense heat.

Until you actually have to think whether to take an AC/20 or two large pulse lasers, they are too powerful for their own good.

[Daekar]

Graugger, on 16 April 2014 - 05:51 PM, said:

AC's need moar nerf in my opinion.
AC/2 - Cooldown - .75 / Heat - 1.25 / Range - 650 / Max Range - 975 / Speed - 1400
AC/5 - Cooldown - 2 / Heat - 2.5 / Range - 500 / Max Range - 750 / Speed - 1050
AC/10 - Cooldown - .3.5 / Heat - 6 / Range - 400 / Max Range - 600 / Speed - 825
AC/20 - Cooldown - 6 / Heat - 10 / Range - 250 / Max Range - 375 / Speed - 625

PPCs need a buff especially the regular one since it has a minimum range and high heat, perhaps a faster recycle than the ER or both need longer range?

PPC - Range - 90-750 / Max Range - 1500
ERPPC - Range 900 / Max Range - 1800

I c wut u did ther lol

Bonus points for good formatting.

[FupDup]

Graugger, on 16 April 2014 - 06:03 PM, said:

AC/2 fires rapidly, PPC fires slowly and is high heat. You dodge a PPC you got a chance, dodge 1 AC/2 round and there are five more already in your face.

Firing slowly is not that much of an issue if you have cover handy. And even if you don't, it's a smarter playstyle to simply fire an alpha strike and then quickly twist your torso away from the target so that the enemy's damage is spread across your damage (you survive longer).

The AC/2 only does 2 points of damage for an alpha strike, which means you need to land five shots from it to the same body panel to do the damage of a PPC. And you have to stay exposed longer to deal that damage; the PPC only needs a single instant to hit you, but the AC/2 currently requires 3.35 seconds to get out 5 shots. The AC/2 mech can't twist his torso without losing his DPS, which gives you a straight shot at his juicy CT.

Ultimately, the only thing the AC/2 ever excelled at was being a noob detector, sort of like LRMs. Many of the same counters to LRMs also carry over to countering the AC/2, and the same playstyles that die to LRMs tended to die to AC/2s as well.

Graugger, on 16 April 2014 - 06:03 PM, said:

AC/5 is a ranged medium laser with lower heat but it does all its damage in one blow.

And it's eight times heavier.

Graugger, on 16 April 2014 - 06:03 PM, said:

AC/10 is a large pulse laser with lower heat and does all its damage at once.

The Large Pulse Laser is a mediocre weapon, so this comparison doesn't do you much justice. Also, the AC/10 has the same alpha strike as a PPC, for nearly double the tonnage and a slower projectile speed.

Graugger, on 16 April 2014 - 06:03 PM, said:

AC/20 wrecks your face and is beyond comparison except for two large pulses or two PPCs which generate immense heat.

Until you actually have to think whether to take an AC/20 or two large pulse lasers, they are too powerful for their own good.

The AC/20 takes up more critical slots by a large margin (10 versus 2x2) and is harder to aim due to not being hitscan. Plus, it has a shorter "effective" range (technically the AC/20 can hit out to 810 meters, but the slow projectile speed makes the weapon crappy beyond ~500 meters).

Don't blame the AC/20 for the crappiness of the LPL -- buff the LPL instead.

Edited by FupDup, 16 April 2014 - 06:21 PM.

[FaceRipt]

FupDup, on 16 April 2014 - 05:54 PM, said:

The AC/2 just got smashed by the nerfhammer Mjolnir hard enough as it is. The AC/5 has never been a truly good weapon, it just happens to make a nice pair with PPCs due to the Gauss nerf. The AC/10 is sub-par right now. The AC/20 is supposed to wreck your face up close, that's why it's so heavy and bulky and short ranged.

PPCs are one of the best weapons in the game right now. Buffing them now would be utterly batshit insane. The ERPPC isn't quite as good as the regular PPC, but it's still a functional and effective weapon.

thank you someone else can atleast see that ppc's are part of the problem not just ac's all by themselves, i keeps saying most complaints come about the builds with ac's and ppc's paired.

[Cimarb]

Autocannons as a whole need to be realigned. Currently, we have four versions of the AC20, since every one of them does roughly 20 damage in the same time period. The recent changes to the AC2 and (U)AC5 have helped, but only slightly - it's at least a start. Here are the current stats:

AC2
Damage: 2
Cooldown: 0.52 0.67
DPS: 3.85 2.99
Damage per 5 seconds: 19.23 14.92

AC5
Damage: 5
Cooldown: 1.50 1.66
DPS: 3.33 3.01
Damage per 5 seconds: 16.65 15.06

UAC5
Damage: 5
Cooldown: 1.50 1.66 (if only fired at normal rate)
DPS: 3.33 3.01 (varies)
Damage per 5 seconds: 16.65 15.06 (varies)

AC10
Damage: 10
Cooldown: 2.50
DPS: 4.00
Damage per 5 seconds: 20.00

AC20
Damage: 20
Cooldown: 4.00
DPS: 5.00
Damage per 5 seconds: 25.00

So, in a "normalized" turn of five seconds (since all weapons in MWO can fire at least once in that time), the range of damage between all autocannons is now 14.92-25.00. According to the definition of an autocannon in Sarna:

"Autocannons range in caliber from 30mm up to 203mm and are loosely grouped according to their damage versus armor. The exact same caliber of shell fired in a 100 shot burst to do 20 damage will have a shorter effective range than when fired in a 10 shot burst to do 2 damage due to recoil and other factors. Autocannon are grouped into the following loose damage classes: (ac2-ac20)... Caliber is fluff for the size of the barrel that the shell or shells are fired from and no standard caliber has been set for any of the classes of Autocannon. Autocannon in a class vary by manufacturer and model. With the fluffed number of shells and caliber being specified, no Autocannon has been specified to be one shell fired for each 'round' or burst of fire. Probable exceptions are (185mm Demolisher cannon and 203mm Cauldron Born cannon, which is actually a clan mech, btw)"

According to this definition, every autocannon currently in the game would be considered an AC20, as their DPS are all closer to 20 than any other classification.

Side note: Oddly, the AC5/UAC5 are the most common autocannons, yet they are also the lowest DPS of all of them... This means they happen to fit in the sweet spot of weight/space versus firepower that people like most. Anyways...

What should happen is all autocannon need to be normalized to each other. That means, in 5 seconds of time, an AC2 should do roughly 2 damage, an AC5 should do 5 damage, an AC10 should do 20 and an AC20 should do 20. While this would dramatically nerf the lower class ACs in damage potential compared to currently, this can be offset by making the optimum/max ranges actually matter again! An AC2 may not do nearly as much damage, but they are the longest range weapons of the bunch. As the class gets higher, the range gets significantly lower, so on the other end you have the devastating damage of the AC20, but it can only be used at very short ranges, similar to how SRMs are used.

Here would be my proposed adjustments:
AC2 - damage 0.3 - cooldown 0.67 - DP5S 2.23 - range 720 - max range 1440
AC5 - damage 1. - cooldown 1.66 - DP5S 5.0 - range 620 - max range 1240
AC10 - damage 5.0 - cooldown 2.50 - DP5S 10.0 - range 450 - max range 900
AC20 - damage 16 - cooldown 4.00 - DP5S 20.0 - range 270 - max range 540

These would be the "standard" versions. Once CW gets implemented, you could then adjust the "damage" and "cooldown" numbers all over the place to represent different manufacturers, as long as the "DP5S" value stays within a small range of that classification. Here are some examples for possible AC20 variants:

185mm ChemJet AC/20 - damage 20 - cooldown 5.00 - DP5S 20.0
Pontiac 100 AC/20 - damage 0.2 - cooldown 0.50 - DP5S 20.0
Imperator Zeta-A - damage 5 - cooldown 1.25 - DP5S 20.0

On top of this, to give some real variety, you could also have burst-fire versions, such as:

Kali Yama Big Bore AC/20 - damage 5.0/tick - 1.0 second burst with 4 ticks - cooldown 4.0 - DP5S 20.0
Armstrong Requiem AC/20 - damage 1.0/tick - 4.0 second burst with 20 ticks - cooldown 1.0 - DP5S 20.0

For a visual of this, please watch Koniving's amazing video:


You now have balanced autocannons (both compared to other weapons and also compared to each other), enough variety for every person imaginable, and a reason to own certain manufactory plants, as you could limit ammo supplies/cost for certain weapons based upon the current ownership and faction difference.

Now, for all Ultra versions (including future releases), you can then have a toggle to double the rate of fire, but with an increasing chance to jam based upon how long you hold the trigger. The chance starts at {5%}, then increases every second by another {5%}, until it jams. Once the weapon jams, it is unusable for a minimum of {5} seconds, or as long as the trigger was held before the jam, whichever is longer, but then the jam rate resets to 5%.

EDIT: just for clarification, when I mention a "tick" in terms of an autocannon, I'm not saying to make them hitscan like a laser or trace like a MG. Each AC tick would be a separate projectile, but the ammo amounts would have to be adjusted to compensate for the rate of fire of that specific caliber. In the case of the burst-fire versions above, each pull of the trigger would let off the burst as described. For instance, a ChemJet AC/20 would have the current 7 rounds per ton, since it only fires one round per cooldown, while the Armstrong AC/20 would fire a burst of twenty projectiles per trigger pull and have 140 rounds per ton (7x20) and an Imperator AC/20 would have 80 rounds per ton (4x20). This is where supply and demand could be used to balance different manufacturers, such as the huge ChemJet rounds being extremely expensive to reload, countering the FLD advantage they provide. (NOTE: Koniving addresses this ammo issue in his video/post, and does a better job of it than I do.)

Also, since it has come up in discussions, projectile speed can also be adjusted to balance the autocannons. Larger rounds can have more falloff and slower flight times, while smaller rounds would have little to no falloff and near instant flight time (2000+ m/s)

(Updated with Koniving's video and some refinement/links)

Edited by Cimarb, 21 April 2014 - 07:17 PM.

[Cimarb]

Now, what is the best way to handle PPC damage?

Here are some descriptions of proposed ways to alter the damage delivery of PPCs. I have made some up myself, and some taken from what other's have described. All damage and associated numbers are open to adjustment, of course, and this is solely about the actual DELIVERY of that damage. Heat and all other metrics would remain the same unless otherwise noted or balance required. For instance, once the damage delivery is "fixed", heat could then be lowered to balance them.

* Man-made Lightning (random arc spread): The PPC shoots a lightning bolt that hits the target point for {6} damage, then arcs to two random spots anywhere on the mech for an additional {2} points each. For example, if the PPC hits the front RT, it does {6} points of damage, then arcs to the rear LT for {2} points of damage and the RL for another {2} points of damage, for a total of {10} points of damage. (OPTIONAL: the lightning can hit internal structure even if their is armor remaining on that section)

* Plasma Blob (energy LBX): The PPC functions like a small-radius LBX, with 10 plasma blobs that fire in a cone from the barrel, spreading to a {20m} cone at max range and dealing {1} point of damage per blob that hits.

* Electrolaser(charge): The PPC charges up for {0.5} seconds. During this time, a tag-like laser shows where the beam will shoot. After {0.5} seconds, the PPC discharges, shooting a beam of ionized particles along the laser to instantly do {10} points of damage. (NOTE: This may function like the Gauss charge, or possibly fire automatically after the charge up)

* Electropulse (duration): This functions like the Electrolaser, charging for {0.5} seconds, but then delivers {3} points of damage every {0.5} seconds after that for as long as the trigger is held. (Optional: Heat grows exponentially as the beam is held (so {1} heat the first tick, {2} the second, {4} the third, etc.))

Edited by Cimarb, 16 April 2014 - 06:50 PM.

[Graugger]

#s 2 & 3

Dude you just found the Bombast laser!

[Hans Von Lohman]

The balance for autocannons needs to be ALL of them only do x2 range for damage, not just the AC-2.

Also, I would go even further and make ammo unable to be placed in heads and legs. You have to put it in the torsos for ammo explosions again. We need to use CASE, and that will make ammo based weapons a little less popular.

[aniviron]

This is a great change! Now, just like in Tabletop/Battletech canon, the AC2 is worthless. Mission accomplished.

[Karl Streiger]

I'm really ask myself if an approach from the other direction would have solved the problem before it ever happens.

Now its to late - but just for the hypothetical "What happened if..." i will post this:

So the Light AC was always mentioned as anti air gun - OR as light long range pop gun.
While the simplest way would have been to walk the path cleared by The Wandering Samurai

What if the Light AC - with its incredible reach - deals 6 damage or 9.... but this good damage comes for a price - 1 shot every 5 or 6 seconds. It simple becomes a "poor" mans sniper weapon. (maybe a DPS - of 1.8 -> 2)
Alternative 0.5sec reload but only 1-0.75dmg. (same DPS as the sniper gun)

The MAC is a weapon for medium range - like the LAC often discribed as anti air gun - but also as heavy caliber Mech Killing cannon. (more damage as the LAC - but for the same RoF - or same damage for better RoF)

Same could be said for the HAC and the VHAC...while the VHAC would be fun to have a RoF of the current machine Gun but with 1-2dmg per bullet

So what about 7-10 damage but every

[Blue Drache]

AC/2 nerf was absolutely asinine. A perfectly viable suppression weapon has been effectively removed from the game.

[Cimarb]

Blue Drache, on 17 April 2014 - 03:34 AM, said:

AC/2 nerf was absolutely asinine. A perfectly viable suppression weapon has been effectively removed from the game.

I'm not a fan of the range nerf either, but it has by no means been "removed from the game". It is still very useful when paired with the right loadout, but it should never have been a primary weapon, and won't be now. My Cataphract did just fine last night, with little if any noticeable difference in how it plays.

[Almond Brown]

FupDup, on 16 April 2014 - 06:10 PM, said:

stuff

The AC/2 only does 2 points of damage for an alpha strike.

stuff

That is a tad disingenuous really. How many players do you know that carry just 1 AC2? Add a second unit, and you now have a rapid fire 6.00 DPS weapon. Add a 3rd and it gets pretty scary @</=9.00 DPS. A 4th is not out of the equation either.

Yes DPS can be a tad of a misnomer to many, but if under the reticule of a triple AC2 carrier, for even 5->7 seconds that equates to 45->63 damage.

That level of damage application cannot be easily discounted.

Edited by Almond Brown, 17 April 2014 - 06:17 AM.

[Almond Brown]

Blue Drache, on 17 April 2014 - 03:34 AM, said:

AC/2 nerf was absolutely asinine. A perfectly viable suppression weapon has been effectively removed from the game.

If it was used strictly as a Suppression based weapon, then perhaps. Given that is not the case at all, your statement is both impulsive and incorrect.

Edited by Almond Brown, 17 April 2014 - 06:38 AM.

[FupDup]

Almond Brown, on 17 April 2014 - 06:15 AM, said:

That is a tad disingenuous really. How many players do you know that carry just 1 AC2? Add a second unit, and you now have a rapid fire 6.00 DPS weapon. Add a 3rd and it gets pretty scary @</=9.00 DPS. A 4th is not out of the equation either.

Yes DPS can be a tad of a misnomer to many, but if under the reticule of a triple AC2 carrier, for even 5->7 seconds that equates to 45->63 damage.

That level of damage application cannot be easily discounted.

2 AC/2 is only 4 points of "instant" damage, which is slightly lower than an AC/5 for way more tonnage and heat. 4 AC/2 is just sligthly higher than an AC/5's alpha value, for waaay more tonnage and heat. I can deal as much alpha damage as 5 AC/2 shots with just a single PPC, for an exponentially lower sacrifice.

In order to deal that DPS, the AC/2 guy needs to keep his neck exposed and his guns facing directly at you. This means that he cannot torso twist or take cover without sacrificing his DPS (because the AC/2 has an extremely pathetic alpha-strike value), which gives you a straight shot at his center torso or other juicy parts of your choice. And, unless he's a flawless marksman or he's shooting at a pilot who has the skill of a potato, he's not going to land all of his damage into one hit location. And while waiting for your guns to reload, you can/should torso twist to spread his damage all over your body or even just take cover. If you stayed in his sights for 5-7 seconds without twisting or doing anything else to fight him, you kind of deserve the damage you take. I'm sorry, but there's just no polite way to say it.


Like I said earlier, the main people who died to AC/2 mechs are often the same people who die to LRMs. People who stand out in the open without taking evasive action. People who don't fire a large burst of damage and then twist/hide. The AC/2 is simply a very easy to counter weapon, no matter what kind of mech you're driving. I can laugh at them while behind the wheel of even assault mechs like Victors or Battlemasters, which by virtue of being large you would think they'd have a hard time against them...but they don't.

Edited by FupDup, 17 April 2014 - 07:39 AM.

[Trauglodyte]

Ecrof, on 16 April 2014 - 11:07 AM, said:

I saw this post and thought it looked like a good suggestion and possibly the direction the Paul was heading with the balance of ACs.

The only things that are currently off right now for ACs are:

• Maximum range impacts and AC overlap (see AC20 and AC10 here)
  
• Heat on the AC2 (needs to be dropped)

The ranges on the various ACs were weird in TT and are still weird now. The AC5 had its optimum range increased to make it a more viable "sniper" weapon but it still befuddles me why the UAC5 got a similar bump when it is a DPS weapon.

Like I said in another thread, PGI seems to be grouping ACs by play styles (which we have inadvertantly come up with):

DPS - AC2 and UAC5
Sniper - AC5 and Gauss Rifle
Brawling/Mid Range - AC10 and AC20

[Coralld]

Cimarb, on 16 April 2014 - 06:43 PM, said:

Autocannons as a whole need to be realigned. Currently, we have four versions of the AC20, since every one of them does roughly 20 damage in the same time period. The recent changes to the AC2 and (U)AC5 have helped, but only slightly - it's at least a start. Here are the current stats:

AC2
Damage: 2
Cooldown: 0.52 0.67
DPS: 3.85 2.99
Damage per 5 seconds: 19.23 14.92

AC5
Damage: 5
Cooldown: 1.50 1.66
DPS: 3.33 3.01
Damage per 5 seconds: 16.65 15.06

UAC5
Damage: 5
Cooldown: 1.50 1.66 (if only fired at normal rate)
DPS: 3.33 3.01 (varies)
Damage per 5 seconds: 16.65 15.06 (varies)

AC10
Damage: 10
Cooldown: 2.50
DPS: 4.00
Damage per 5 seconds: 20.00

AC20
Damage: 20
Cooldown: 4.00
DPS: 5.00
Damage per 5 seconds: 25.00

So, in a "normalized" turn of five seconds (since all weapons in MWO can fire at least once in that time), the range of damage between all autocannons is now 14.92-25.00. According to the definition of an autocannon in Sarna:

"Autocannons range in caliber from 30mm up to 203mm and are loosely grouped according to their damage versus armor. The exact same caliber of shell fired in a 100 shot burst to do 20 damage will have a shorter effective range than when fired in a 10 shot burst to do 2 damage due to recoil and other factors. Autocannon are grouped into the following loose damage classes: (ac2-ac20)... Caliber is fluff for the size of the barrel that the shell or shells are fired from and no standard caliber has been set for any of the classes of Autocannon. Autocannon in a class vary by manufacturer and model. With the fluffed number of shells and caliber being specified, no Autocannon has been specified to be one shell fired for each 'round' or burst of fire. Probable exceptions are (185mm Demolisher cannon and 203mm Cauldron Born cannon, which is actually a clan mech, btw)"

According to this definition, every autocannon currently in the game would be considered an AC20, as their DPS are all closer to 20 than any other classification.

Side note: Oddly, the AC5/UAC5 are the most common autocannons, yet they are also the lowest DPS of all of them... This means they happen to fit in the sweet spot of weight/space versus firepower that people like most. Anyways...

What should happen is all autocannon need to be normalized to each other. That means, in 5 seconds of time, an AC2 should do roughly 2 damage, an AC5 should do 5 damage, an AC10 should do 20 and an AC20 should do 20. While this would dramatically nerf the lower class ACs in damage potential compared to currently, this can be offset by making the optimum/max ranges actually matter again! An AC2 may not do nearly as much damage, but they are the longest range weapons of the bunch. As the class gets higher, the range gets significantly lower, so on the other end you have the devastating damage of the AC20, but it can only be used at very short ranges, similar to how SRMs are used.

Here would be my proposed adjustments:
AC2 - damage 0.3 - cooldown 0.67 - DP5S 2.23 - range 720 - max range 1440
AC5 - damage 1. - cooldown 1.66 - DP5S 5.0 - range 620 - max range 1240
AC10 - damage 5.0 - cooldown 2.50 - DP5S 10.0 - range 450 - max range 900
AC20 - damage 16 - cooldown 4.00 - DP5S 20.0 - range 270 - max range 540

These would be the "standard" versions. Once CW gets implemented, you could then adjust the "damage" and "cooldown" numbers all over the place to represent different manufacturers, as long as the "DP5S" value stays within a small range of that classification. Here are some examples for possible AC20 variants:

185mm ChemJet AC/20 - damage 20 - cooldown 5.00 - DP5S 20.0
Pontiac 100 AC/20 - damage 0.2 - cooldown 0.50 - DP5S 20.0
Imperator Zeta-A - damage 5 - cooldown 1.25 - DP5S 20.0

On top of this, to give some real variety, you could also have burst-fire versions, such as:

Kali Yama Big Bore AC/20 - damage 5.0/tick - 1.0 second burst with 4 ticks - cooldown 4.0 - DP5S 20.0
Armstrong Requiem AC/20 - damage 1.0/tick - 4.0 second burst with 20 ticks - cooldown 1.0 - DP5S 20.0

You now have balanced autocannons (both compared to other weapons and also compared to each other), enough variety for every person imaginable, and a reason to own certain manufactory plants, as you could limit ammo supplies/cost for certain weapons based upon the current ownership and faction difference.

Now, for all Ultra versions (including future releases), you can then have a toggle to double the rate of fire, but with an increasing chance to jam based upon how long you hold the trigger. The chance starts at 5%, then increases every second by another 5%, until it jams. Once the weapon jams, it is unusable for 5-10 seconds, but then the jam rate resets to 5%.

EDIT: just for clarification, when I mention a "tick" in terms of an autocannon, I'm not saying to make them hitscan like a laser or trace like a MG. Each AC tick would be a separate projectile, but the ammo amounts would have to be adjusted to compensate for the rate of fire of that specific caliber. In the case of the burst-fire versions above, each pull of the trigger would let off the burst as described. For instance, a ChemJet AC/20 would have the current 7 rounds per ton, since it only fires one round per cooldown, while the Armstrong AC/20 would fire a burst of twenty projectiles per trigger pull and have 140 rounds per ton (7x20) and an Imperator AC/20 would have 80 rounds per ton (4x20). This is where supply and demand could be used to balance different manufacturers, such as the huge ChemJet rounds being extremely expensive to reload, countering the FLD advantage they provide.

Also, since it has come up in discussions, projectile speed can also be adjusted to balance the autocannons. Larger rounds can have more falloff and slower flight times, while smaller rounds would have little to no falloff and near instant flight time (2000+ m/s)

As you know I agree with this, and it is a must.

Cimarb, on 16 April 2014 - 06:46 PM, said:

Now, what is the best way to handle PPC damage?

Here are some descriptions of proposed ways to alter the damage delivery of PPCs. I have made some up myself, and some taken from what other's have described. All damage and associated numbers are open to adjustment, of course, and this is solely about the actual DELIVERY of that damage. Heat and all other metrics would remain the same unless otherwise noted or balance required. For instance, once the damage delivery is "fixed", heat could then be lowered to balance them.

* Man-made Lightning (random arc spread): The PPC shoots a lightning bolt that hits the target point for {6} damage, then arcs to two random spots anywhere on the mech for an additional {2} points each. For example, if the PPC hits the front RT, it does {6} points of damage, then arcs to the rear LT for {2} points of damage and the RL for another {2} points of damage, for a total of {10} points of damage. (OPTIONAL: the lightning can hit internal structure even if their is armor remaining on that section)

* Plasma Blob (energy LBX): The PPC functions like a small-radius LBX, with 10 plasma blobs that fire in a cone from the barrel, spreading to a {20m} cone at max range and dealing {1} point of damage per blob that hits.

* Electrolaser(charge): The PPC charges up for {0.5} seconds. During this time, a tag-like laser shows where the beam will shoot. After {0.5} seconds, the PPC discharges, shooting a beam of ionized particles along the laser to instantly do {10} points of damage. (NOTE: This may function like the Gauss charge, or possibly fire automatically after the charge up)

* Electropulse (duration): This functions like the Electrolaser, charging for {0.5} seconds, but then delivers {3} points of damage every {0.5} seconds after that for as long as the trigger is held. (Optional: Heat grows exponentially as the beam is held (so {1} heat the first tick, {2} the second, {4} the third, etc.))

I am in favor of the Lightning Arc mechanic for the standard PPC, I also like the addition of potential through damage to internals from the Arcing.
ER PPCs could possibly remain FLD because of their high heat but they don't get a through damage potential like the standard has and possibly a small fire delay of say .25 sec.
I also like the Plasma Blob idea as well, however, I think that should be for when the Snub Nose PPC makes it into the game as that's how it actually worked if I am not mistaken. I would also suggest to give them through damage potential as well and also for the LBX AC.

Edited by Coralld, 17 April 2014 - 11:58 AM.

[Garegaupa]

Cimarb, on 16 April 2014 - 06:43 PM, said:

Detailed suggestions regarding autocannons

Cimarb, I applaud you! These ideas sound great to me, and I really hope we'll see something like this added to the game. And using the different brands of autocannons, with variable calibers and burst sizes, would add a lot of flavor!

Cimarb, on 16 April 2014 - 06:46 PM, said:

* Man-made Lightning (random arc spread): The PPC shoots a lightning bolt that hits the target point for {6} damage, then arcs to two random spots anywhere on the mech for an additional {2} points each. For example, if the PPC hits the front RT, it does {6} points of damage, then arcs to the rear LT for {2} points of damage and the RL for another {2} points of damage, for a total of {10} points of damage. (OPTIONAL: the lightning can hit internal structure even if their is armor remaining on that section)

* Electrolaser(charge): The PPC charges up for {0.5} seconds. During this time, a tag-like laser shows where the beam will shoot. After {0.5} seconds, the PPC discharges, shooting a beam of ionized particles along the laser to instantly do {10} points of damage. (NOTE: This may function like the Gauss charge, or possibly fire automatically after the charge up)

I can't decide which of these I like the best, but both would add more flavor to the PPC!

(Have you considered applying for a job as a developer at PGI...? )

Edited by Garegaupa, 17 April 2014 - 03:11 PM.

[Coralld]

Garegaupa, on 17 April 2014 - 03:04 PM, said:

Cimarb, I applaud you! These ideas sound great to me, and I really hope we'll see something like this added to the game. And using the different brands of autocannons, with variable calibers and burst sizes, would add a lot of flavor!


I can't decide which of these I like the best, but both would add more flavor to the PPC!

(Have you considered applying for a job as a developer at PGI...? )

They probably wouldn't higher him as Cimarb brings to much common sense and PGI can't have any of that.

Jokes aside, I would support Cimarb to become a PGI guy to fix things.

[Cimarb]

LOL, I appreciate it and would love to work there, but that's a pipedream. I just want to help make the game better, like we all do.