Posted 28 February 2012 - 11:39 PM
I like the idea of weather on various maps- either fixed weather (a map that is always raining, a desert that is always having a dust storm) or random weather (it might rain at random times or storm or etc).
In real world warfare, the weather plays a massive role in warfare. Bad weather drastically reduces visibility (good mechanic for MW:Os line of sight based spotting), dust storms would likely clog up mech parts, possibly even make ballistic weapons more likely to jam, dust/wind storms could make things tricky for light mechs (depending on the planet, wind speeds in storms can get to the point where they would cause problems for a light mech running around)
Wind could also play a factor in ballistic/missile accuracy, affect electronics, etc.
I would go for the following types of weather-
Heatwave- heat haze effect, bright sun, glare of shiny surfaces, reduced heat sink efficiency
Rain- Rain, reduced visibility, slightly increased heat sink efficiency.
Storm- as aboved, but with high winds affecting ballistic/missile weapons and even worse visibility
Thunderstorm- As above, but with thunder and lightning.
Fog- Drastically reduced visibility, slightly increased heat sink efficiency.
Sand/Dust Storm- Increased chance of gun jamming, high winds, drastically reduced visibility, reduced speed scaling to mech size (in sand the heavier the mech, the more the sand is going to be a problem for it to walk on)
Snow- increased heat sink efficiency, reduced visibility. Cool effect as snow piles up on things- perhaps even making a stationary mech less visible as it gathers snow on it.
Blizzard- Almost no visibility, greatly increased heat sink efficiency.
Ion Storm- Electromagnetic storm, missiles have trouble locking/staying locked on target once fired, radar gives static, IFF glitchy, UAVs/aerospace unreliable.
Solar Flare- No radar, missile locks, IFF. Electronic warfare non functional, no orbital or aerospace support.