6 replies to this topic

[TavRaSel]

I am somewhat bummed due to a lack of availability of pod body style mechs with arms.
There are several good designs out there, but none of them are likely to be part of MWO any time soon.
Reasons and examples are:
Unseen (Marauder, Crab)
Clan (From the iconic Mad Cat up to the monsterous Daishi and down to the Blackhawk and the diminutive Kit Fox)
Post-Clan invasion (Rakshasa, Blackhawk-KU, Bushwhacker)
Uncommon or ancient (Maelstrom, Falcon)


I have always found these designs to be more interesting than other design concepts. They had a lower profile than other mechs in their respective weight class and in nearly every game mode and cutscene they simply moved more gracefully. Weapon grouping was nice and close on most designs as well (bushwhacker being the exception). The Blackhawk has been one of my all-time favorite mechs since MW2 for these very reasons.

This may be heresy to some but I never really liked the 'monolith' body types like the Warhammer, Thor, Loki etc.

The 'turret on legs' types always turned me off too. This includes models like the Jenner, Flea, Catapult, and Razorback.

This leaves the 'humanoid' mechs, by far the most common body style, at least in the I.S. (Spider, Hunchback, Atlas) I do not have anything at all against this style,

Am I missing any that might fit the timeline? Or do I just wait for MWO to catch up to the timeline in which these mechs are canon?

One last question for the Devs if anyone is paying attention and willing to comment: How hard would it be to incorporate a low-pro pod body design into the existing game engine? I ask because if it is too technical and just not a good effort-reward ratio than I would know not to expect a KU or Rakshasa or Maelstrom.

In the meantime I look forward to open beta, at this point I'd pilot anything I could get my hands on.

[Pika]

TavRaSel, on 18 July 2012 - 07:32 PM, said:

I am somewhat bummed due to a lack of availability of pod body style mechs with arms.
There are several good designs out there, but none of them are likely to be part of MWO any time soon.
Reasons and examples are:
Unseen (Marauder, Crab)
Clan (From the iconic Mad Cat up to the monsterous Daishi and down to the Blackhawk and the diminutive Kit Fox)
Post-Clan invasion (Rakshasa, Blackhawk-KU, Bushwhacker)
Uncommon or ancient (Maelstrom, Falcon)


I have always found these designs to be more interesting than other design concepts. They had a lower profile than other mechs in their respective weight class and in nearly every game mode and cutscene they simply moved more gracefully. Weapon grouping was nice and close on most designs as well (bushwhacker being the exception). The Blackhawk has been one of my all-time favorite mechs since MW2 for these very reasons.

This may be heresy to some but I never really liked the 'monolith' body types like the Warhammer, Thor, Loki etc.

The 'turret on legs' types always turned me off too. This includes models like the Jenner, Flea, Catapult, and Razorback.

This leaves the 'humanoid' mechs, by far the most common body style, at least in the I.S. (Spider, Hunchback, Atlas) I do not have anything at all against this style,

Am I missing any that might fit the timeline? Or do I just wait for MWO to catch up to the timeline in which these mechs are canon?

One last question for the Devs if anyone is paying attention and willing to comment: How hard would it be to incorporate a low-pro pod body design into the existing game engine? I ask because if it is too technical and just not a good effort-reward ratio than I would know not to expect a KU or Rakshasa or Maelstrom.

In the meantime I look forward to open beta, at this point I'd pilot anything I could get my hands on.

Well unfortunately, due to the timeline we're set in, most 'Mech's were humanoid for some mental reason Not until the 3060's do we get the cool stuff! I liked the shift over to the more imposing 'Mech designs and honestly, that's all there is to it. Maybe more will show up at a later date?

Edited by Pika, 18 July 2012 - 07:57 PM.

[JFlash49]

yeah same here. i was hoping for it but i guess these humanoid stuff will do for now.

[BarHaid]

A glimmer of hope for you: the Crab is not actually one of the Unseen.

[Strum Wealh]

TavRaSel, on 18 July 2012 - 07:32 PM, said:

I am somewhat bummed due to a lack of availability of pod body style mechs with arms.
There are several good designs out there, but none of them are likely to be part of MWO any time soon.
Reasons and examples are:
Unseen (Marauder, Crab)
Clan (From the iconic Mad Cat up to the monsterous Daishi and down to the Blackhawk and the diminutive Kit Fox)
Post-Clan invasion (Rakshasa, Blackhawk-KU, Bushwhacker)
Uncommon or ancient (Maelstrom, Falcon)


I have always found these designs to be more interesting than other design concepts. They had a lower profile than other mechs in their respective weight class and in nearly every game mode and cutscene they simply moved more gracefully. Weapon grouping was nice and close on most designs as well (bushwhacker being the exception). The Blackhawk has been one of my all-time favorite mechs since MW2 for these very reasons.

This may be heresy to some but I never really liked the 'monolith' body types like the Warhammer, Thor, Loki etc.

The 'turret on legs' types always turned me off too. This includes models like the Jenner, Flea, Catapult, and Razorback.

This leaves the 'humanoid' mechs, by far the most common body style, at least in the I.S. (Spider, Hunchback, Atlas) I do not have anything at all against this style,

Am I missing any that might fit the timeline? Or do I just wait for MWO to catch up to the timeline in which these mechs are canon?

One last question for the Devs if anyone is paying attention and willing to comment: How hard would it be to incorporate a low-pro pod body design into the existing game engine? I ask because if it is too technical and just not a good effort-reward ratio than I would know not to expect a KU or Rakshasa or Maelstrom.

In the meantime I look forward to open beta, at this point I'd pilot anything I could get my hands on.

I'm fairly sure that the neither the Crab nor the King Crab are Unseen, and both would be time-line appropriate for MWO.

(Though, the Goliath is based on the "F44A Crab Gunner" from Fang of the Sun Dougram.)

Moreover, does not the Cicada count as a "pod-bodied" design (even though the arms are more-or-less vestigial)?


Also, how do the Mad Cat and Rakshasa count as "pod-bodied", but the Catapult (with its LRM-filled arms stubby and largely-unarticulated but still extant) is a "turret-on-legs"?

Timber Wolf/Mad Cat:


Rakshasa:


Catapult:


Also, what of the Stalker (though, again, the arms - each housing two Medium Lasers and an LRM-10 - are largely unarticulated)?



As far as articulated arms go, what about the Hussar, or the Sentinel?

Hussar:


Sentinel:


Though, of course, the Marauder would be preferred above all...

[Karyudo ds]

Strum Wealh, on 18 July 2012 - 09:07 PM, said:

Though, of course, the Marauder would be preferred above all...

Doesn't help that 90% of Battletech's original FASA era art was crap. If you go the anime route you always will be able to find SOMETHING better

Though Alex's Crab pair would be nice.

[sakkaku]

Strum Wealh, on 18 July 2012 - 09:07 PM, said:

*** ****. SpyCrab you are in the wrong universe again.