25 replies to this topic

[PYR0MANCER]

I was wondering what type of combat do people relate mech combat to...


Like, do you think it resembles tank combat..?
or maybe you think it's more like ground troop combat..?
Air combat (but 2d of course)..?
or something else..?


My guess is most of you will probably say tank combat...


I'll post my thoughts on that after I gather them together a bit more...

[YueFei]

MWO combat is almost nothing like Air Combat, not even in 2D. There is no sense of energy management (as in potential energy and kinetic energy) in this game, but that stuff is the foundation of Air Combat.

Yeah, new players like to circle each other, but the fact that you can come to a complete stop and even reverse your direction of movement makes it nothing like an turning dogfight, whether it's one-circle flow or two-circle flow.

[PYR0MANCER]

YueFei, on 20 November 2014 - 07:33 PM, said:

MWO combat is almost nothing like Air Combat, not even in 2D.

I felt I needed to throw some sort of examples in there... The obvious choice for most people will be tank combat... Though I slightly disagree, it does have elements of it (tank combat I mean).

Edited by Tyros the Pyromancer, 20 November 2014 - 08:35 PM.

[KnowBuddy]

[Tesunie]

Combination between tank and human combat. It has elements from each type of combat.

Also, this topic would be more deserving in the general discussion thread...

[Tim East]

Mech combat is mech combat. To call it something else would be inaccurate at a minimum and far more likely a disservice to the genre. Now if we could just get giant swords or hatchets, we could get our Escaflowne on. That would be awesome.

[Revorn]

For me, it feels mostly like Ground Troop Combat, a bit clumsy, but Ground Troop, yes. Maybe something like, wearing some Heavy Combat Amor, with atched Weaponsystems.

For Tankcombat, i would need another Cockpittvisualisation. Imho.

[Takashi Uchida]

Boxing! If boxing were a massive tag team match lol.

Really though.

Mechs have different weapon ranges/types (arm lengths, punch types), armor (chin strength, pain tolerance), dependence on ammo/heat (endurance/cardio).

You can even get really subtle and talk about things like the shoulder roll/philly shell counter (torso twist)




Look at this old James Toney clip. Imagine an Atlas/Orion firing that big right side gun and twisting out of the way to better absorb the brunt of the counter attack.

Edited by Takashi Uchida, 21 November 2014 - 12:31 AM.

[mad kat]

Sumo wrestling, war of attrition. Daishi's also look like sumo wrestlers.



Daishi vs locust



What atlas's look like when you kill them (they seem to fall backwards a lot).



hopefully the Humour won't be lost on the internet as it usually does.

Edited by mad kat, 21 November 2014 - 01:08 AM.

[Kmieciu]

Takashi Uchida, on 21 November 2014 - 12:29 AM, said:

Boxing! If boxing were a massive tag team match lol.

Really though.

Mechs have different weapon ranges/types (arm lengths, punch types), armor (chin strength, pain tolerance), dependence on ammo/heat (endurance/cardio).

You can even get really subtle and talk about things like the shoulder roll/philly shell counter (torso twist)




Look at this old James Toney clip. Imagine an Atlas/Orion firing that big right side gun and twisting out of the way to better absorb the brunt of the counter attack.

Quoted for truth. MWO is all about spreading incoming damage while hitting the enemy weakspots with pinpoint alphas.

[LiGhtningFF13]

Mech combat?! Destructive things everywhere. Not only opponent mechs, no even destructable buildings.

[HlynkaCG]

Kmieciu, on 21 November 2014 - 01:42 AM, said:

Quoted for truth. MWO is all about spreading incoming damage while hitting the enemy weakspots with pinpoint alphas.

Primarily Infantry combat, but with some aspects of calvary and old fashioned hand to hand (as pointed out Takashi Uchida) thrown in for flavor.

Edited by HlynkaCG, 21 November 2014 - 01:51 AM.

[B0oN]

The usual type of combat : organised chaos with interwoven fubar, brought to us by humanity´s finest since 15000 years (give or take a few k, i didnt really look when cro-magnons started to rock out ^^) .

[Alekzander Smirnoff]

As stated before, mech combat is it's own thing. Now, in the lore and table top there is pseudo hand to hand combat with mech's like the hatchetman that carry a huge (1-3t?) axe while a vast quantity of designs have hands for various reasons or in the case of brawls à cockpit crush from an Atlas hand lol. Combat can take place at a variety of ranges with multiple weapon systems (most of my assaults are mixed range IS mechs to address the slow speed so I can still be of use while lumbering up) and information systems. I would attribute it to an all terrain, all weather, all condition, mechanized division that is supported by conventional armor, air, and infantry/armored infantry (clan elementals as example).

They are vehicles that can carry heavy firepower into places conventional mobility systems would be impeded or completely unable or impractical to go. For instance a mech could completely submerge and "sneak" across a large body of water (lake) unlike a tank, and because of being bi, tri, or quadripedial, they can traverse terrain no tracked, or wheeled vehicle can traverse. Because of these abilities, they are a category of their own with a whole caveat of advantages and disadvantages in the terms of conventional and unconventional warfare.

Now, we only deal with a fraction of the whole combined arms front that these war machines are part of. Which is a completely unique combat system involving strategy, munition management, thermal management, and damage mitigation. Now, on munitions, I usually cringe when I see support pilots that blow 2000 rounds of lrm ammo and do 300 damage, when I can walk into a match with 1080 lrms as my full load and crank 600-900. Properly used, a single, experienced, lrm pilot can wreck face with any medium to assault chassis and damage, or in rare cases/with a spotter, decimate an enemy team. Case in point, an experienced pilot can manage their machine to the point that they never or rarely shutdown from overheats (I never use cool shots personally, but they can be useful). In some cases, override shutdown to finish an opponent and survive. Also, spread damage to maximize field survivability while using terrain/structures for cover or knowing to not fire missiles. Be tactically aware of the battlefield through radar, map and teammate locations. I can't tell you how many times, while being a midrange lrm support that I glance at the mini map and radar to know when to fire or not, or when to move my ass back into the group. If unsure, I'd fire a single test salvo and if I get a hit indicator it's on!

Mech combat, ultimatly, is mech combat. And, BIG STOMPY ROBOTS ROCK!

[Keira RAVEN McKenna]

An insane pillow fight... where one on one I can hold my own with my friends but when one of my brothers wades in I'm knocked senseless with out any effective counter hit on him (unless I kick him in the nuts - Airstrike?). Bit like fighting a Hexenbeast Direwolf with 6 UAC5s.

When 2 of them wade in its like LRM spamming...



It gets entertaining from 1.12

My favorite bit is at 2.20

Edited by Keira RAVEN McKenna, 25 November 2014 - 02:02 AM.

[Alekzander Smirnoff]

LRM's that hit like a freaking freight train going 3000KPH directly into the cockpit...

[dezgra]

Raising teenage boys. They are always crying that my LRM is OP..."Stupid freebirth".

[Ace Selin]

Batllemech combat does not equal artillery or air strike attacks, that's what it doesn't equate to.

[Carl Avery]

Hmm. I'd say battlemech combat is somewhere between tank combat and helicopter combat. Because of the lack of rotary & aerodynamic phenomenon (torque, gyroscopic effect, vortex ring state, etc.), our 'mechs aren't nearly as difficult to actually pilot as a helicopter is, but we have large helpings of helicopter gunship tactics (especially for light 'mechs, but not only lights; what we call "pop-tarting" is borrowed directly from helicopter gunship tactics), and battlemech combat is much more fast-paced & mobile (even with stock engines & no virtual pilot-skill unlocks) than tank battles are.

Of course, it's too simplistic to say, "battlemech combat is a combination of tank and helicopter combat," and leave it at that. There's elements of both, but there are also elements shared by other forms of combat (e.g. horse archery), and some unique to fighting in 'mechs. In the end, the combination of tactics & skills required is sufficiently different from anything else, that I think it fair to say that not all that much experience carries over from another medium to this one.

Edited by Carl Avery, 26 November 2014 - 01:19 AM.

[Lily from animove]

how about mech combat? thats why we are here, I grew up with Transformers and powerrangers (like probably a lot others), so mechs is is what we refer with robots.