349 replies to this topic

[InnerSphereNews]

Welcome to the Countdown of the Shadow Cat and Arctic Cheetah release!!

We will be sharing info, images, videos and streams each day from today on leading up to July 21st!

You still have time to pre-order a Wave 3 Package here!

DAYS LEFT: 1

Live Stream preview with NGNG and Devs at 12PM PST / 3PM EST today (July 20th) on http://www.twitch.tv/ngngtv

Missed the stream? Watch here!

DAYS LEFT: 2

Faction Pattern Preview - Shadow Cat

Faction Pattern Preview - Shadow Cat Arctic Cheetah

DAYS LEFT: 3

Cockpit Preview - Shadow Cat

Cockpit Preview - Arctic Cheetah

DAYS LEFT: 4

Scale Comparison Shadow Cat

Scale Comparison Arctic Cheetah

DAYS LEFT: 5

The Arctic Cheetah Special Geo

The Shadow Cat Special Geo

DAYS LEFT: 6

The Arctic Cheetah Title and Badge.

The Nimble

The Shadow Cat Title and Badge.

The Covert

[Locutos]

where was the 7th day of the countdown ?

[1453 R]

'The Covert.'

How..apropriate. A sense of humor has once again peeked out from Piranha's premises.

[Tennex]

Artic cheetah badge is a little funky with the rectangles

[Wildstreak]

Arctic Cheetah the 'saving grace' Clan Light Mech.
I expected it and see it to be true.
Prime and A variant Arms with BIG FAT MISSILE PODS.
I expect a lotta swaps for B & C Arms.

[DONTOR]

Ozealot, on 15 July 2015 - 09:59 AM, said:

OMGWTF that Mech looks so... *faints*

Bristling with weaponry! My kind of light mech!

[Luscious Dan]

I know the angles were a little odd on the concept art for the LT/RT mounts, but yikes. Proportions are way different for the arms/missile pods, arm hardpoint is on the bottom instead of the side, the head is way different... is the Cheetah significantly smaller than Alex's art implied? That could have forced the upsizing of the weapons. I hope the missile pods will intelligently disappear when no weapon is equipped, it'll be more manageable that way.

This thing may end up with great hitboxes depending on overall size, since the torso appears so small. Just a bit of shame that the brilliant concept art didn't quite translate to the game model.

I'm withholding final judgment until more shots are available, but I hope the final appearance of the Shadow Cat and Arctic Cheetah doesn't seem rushed. The designs had massive potential.

[Twilight Fenrir]

I'm betting the more angular head is our special geo. The Concept art looks more bubble-like. Those energy hardpoints are EVEN HIGHER than the concept art, this thing is gonna hill-hug like a knollophile... The head almost looks like it's dug in for cover It looks more slender than the CA, and the arm missile pods didn't quite translate over... It's a little more wonky looking than the Ca Overall, but it's still a sharp looking mech. It has a very distinctive appearance.

Edited by Twilight Fenrir, 15 July 2015 - 10:30 AM.

[Luscious Dan]

Twilight Fenrir, on 15 July 2015 - 10:24 AM, said:

I'm betting the more angular head is our special geo. The Concept art looks more bubble-like. Those energy hardpoints are EVEN HIGHER than the concept art, this thing is gonna hill-hug like a knollophile...

Definitely possible, though the special geo from the Koala/Jaguar was all done in black.

Anyway, looking at the concept art some more, the Cheetah had a bit of a chubby nerd quality to it, with the small arms, a bit of a belly, and high waistline (a la Steve Urkel). Maybe it got bullied too much and ended up abusing steroids (like Carrot Top). Those missile pods would look rowdy for an LRM15-20, but it just seems bigger than expected for a little LRM5.

[Twilight Fenrir]

Luscious Dan, on 15 July 2015 - 10:29 AM, said:

Definitely possible, though the special geo from the Koala/Jaguar was all done in black.

Anyway, looking at the concept art some more, the Cheetah had a bit of a chubby nerd quality to it, with the small arms, a bit of a belly, and high waistline (a la Steve Urkel). Maybe it got bullied too much and ended up abusing steroids (like Carrot Top). Those missile pods would look rowdy for an LRM15-20, but it just seems bigger than expected for a little LRM5.

Yeah, I was thinking about the color difference thing... But I don't see any black parts that are obvious add-ons... The head is the only thing *radically different.

The missiles in the concept art were slanted to be more streamlined, so these ones being square is where the odd appearance comes from. And I suslect this was done for exactly what you said, to make room for larger LRM pods.

Still REALLY curious how those missile hardpoints will aim... Will they have full side to side movement since they are technically on the arms? Will they have full up/down, but no side movement since they aren't on lower arm actuators? Or will they be tied to the torso crosshairs? I personally hope for the middle option, as that's what one would expect from a mechanical standpoint.

On top of THAT, will the variants with 2 energy harpoints in the arm both be mounted on the forearm? Or will one be on the forearm, while another occupies where the missile hardpoints are on the prime? The aiming of this hardpoint could make quite a difference in the mechs performance,dependong on how they do it.

[Luscious Dan]

I suspect the 2x energy hardpoints on the arms will be like the Thunderbolt - one on the side and one below the hand. I am definitely expecting the missile pods to disappear from the arms that don't equip them. The arms themselves, maybe they will just move below the elbow? Static upper arm will make the missiles aim more easily. The IIC mechs will face similar design issues.

Either way the upper arm is just plain thicker than expected. The art had me expecting skinny arms on a thicker torso, not the other way around.

The 2x energy torso is the one I'm really curious about. There isn't much room above the orange box for a second gun. Would it stick out of the orange box (possible weird angles here), or maybe mount in the little rectangle between the chin and the armpit?

Edited by Luscious Dan, 15 July 2015 - 10:45 AM.

[Ren Kurogane]

Betting on those M hardpoints will aim like hardpoints on torso. Unless you want to see Cheetah's shoulders bend into weird angle.....

[Twilight Fenrir]

Luscious Dan, on 15 July 2015 - 10:44 AM, said:

I suspect the 2x energy hardpoints on the arms will be like the Thunderbolt - one on the side and one below the hand. I am definitely expecting the missile pods to disappear from the arms that don't equip them. The arms themselves, maybe they will just move below the elbow? Static upper arm will make the missiles aim more easily. The IIC mechs will face similar design issues.

Either way the upper arm is just plain thicker than expected. The art had me expecting skinny arms on a thicker torso, not the other way around.

The 2x energy torso is the one I'm really curious about. There isn't much room above the orange box for a second gun. Would it stick out of the orange box (possible weird angles here), or maybe mount in the little rectangle between the chin and the armpit?

Yeah, it will be interesting to see what they did... I mean, what goood is having them mounted where they are if they can't aim higher/lower than the torso? But, it would look odd if the whole arm pivoted at the shoulder, only because no other mechs do it... Like you said, I imagine whatever design choice they made will cary over to thr Orion IIC...

I'm curious how much arm size will change sans missiles... I'll guess the shoulders will still be square under the missiles. And that the top outer corner will be just past the central missile tube. It would be aesthetically pleasing if, instead, they followed the line down from the torso peaks, and slashed across the arm at the same angle. Would certainly smallen-up the hitbox, too.

I don't think the 2x energy torso will be used much, if at all... That's the torso the ECM goes in. And I think ECM > one more energy hardpoint. It might sidecar up top there... Though, if I were a betting man, I'd say the extra energy hardpoint would be bolted on like the Atlas A/C.

Edited by Twilight Fenrir, 15 July 2015 - 11:10 AM.

[Kain Demos]

Hopefully by mounting the non-missile pods those huge shoulders go away.

[EAP10]

I'm just hoping that the AC does not have Myst Lynx arm syndrome, as those arms are pretty huge. The look of the model does not really match the concept art, but still looks good in its own way. The shadowcat bage looks awesome though!

[Odanan]

I liked very much the Arctic Cheetah, even if a little different from the concept art.
But I'm a little worried about those huge biceps missile boxes and how easily it will be to destroy its arms. (hopefully, if missiles are not equipped, the arms will be much smaller)

[Greenjulius]

It's not bad compared to the concept. The high mounted energy hardpoints of doom are there. The main letdown is obviously the arm mounted missile hardpoints being larger, (but not THAT much) and the underslung energy hardpoints. The "face" is a bit different too, but I don't mind. I like the hands.

The "belly" doesn't appear to be as bulbous as the concept, which I really don't care either way about.

Overall, I think the modelers did justice to the concept.

Edited by Greenjulius, 15 July 2015 - 11:42 AM.

[B L O O D W I T C H]

As for the cheetah, i honestly don't know why the energy mounts are mounted under the arm and not on the side (like the artwork would indicate). It's not like the cheetah needs even bigger armhitboxes.
I can only assume this was thanks to the missilepots.
I'm guessing that, once those are removed, the armhitboxes would probably too tiny if the energy mount would be sideways.

Also, both 'mechs are super sexy.
10/10 would buy again.

Edited by LOADED, 15 July 2015 - 11:35 AM.

[Greenjulius]

Here's a news page picture from a slightly different angle... I like it.

[Tarogato]

various people said:

Arctic Cheetah has low arm mounts and arms easily dismembered

... consider it a balancing factor for how much potential this mech has to be a real game changer.