139 replies to this topic

[Murphy Slah]

As an old pnp Battletech player and having played Mechwarrior in the computer from the first one through to Mech Commander (Microsoft destroyed the game after that), I am a little worried about the mech customisation in MWO.

The dev blog talks about modules and for me, one of the greatest things about MW/BT was the fact that you could build a mech from the ground up. When I see talk of modules, I think of how other games work where you get to pick a pre-fab vehicle/ship/tank etc and then be able to swap out for a few combinations. If that is the case then there really isn't much to make MWO stand out from other games. Role warfare exists already in countless games. Modular customisation already exists in countless games The ground up customisation is what makes it unique (the giant robot theme is very cool but there are also other giant robot/power suit games out there).

I understand the complexities and balance issues that can arise from the detailed mech design rules from the pnp game, but truly, it would be worth it imo. The question is never asked in interviews etc so other than one or 2 place there is little information about it. Is anyone else thinking this?

So psyched that my favourite game system is back. Let me build my mechs!

[Sears]

The next Dev Blog is about the Mechlab i believe so more details will be released then.

[Togg Bott]

SOONTM

[Stormwolf]

I really hope that they don't make a carbon copy of the MW4 mechlab.

I'd rather have a TT style mechlab where you can swap a component for a similar component (LBX10 for a AC/10 for instance)
Or better yet, close down the mechlab and give us all canon variants.

[Soviet Alex]

Why are you worrying about something months in the future? Whatever the mech-lab contains, whatever we can or cannot do, we'll adapt. Whilst I'd like something like MW3 or Battletech, because that's what I'm familiar with, I'll find ways to work with whatever the game limits are.

[Murphy Slah]

Well for me it's thr gound up customisation that will make this game stand out. In so many genres if you play one game, you've played them all. Take WoW, LOTRO and SWTOR. They all play the same. It's only the setting and difference in a few features that set them apart (music system, highly narrative etc), their interface, class roles etc have become very much cookie-cutter.

[Will Hung]

I wanted a bathtub in my cockpit, too.

[Dlardrageth]

Murphy Slah, on 22 March 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

As an old pnp Battletech player and having played Mechwarrior in the computer from the first one through to Mech Commander (Microsoft destroyed the game after that), I am a little worried about the mech customisation in MWO.

The dev blog talks about modules and for me, one of the greatest things about MW/BT was the fact that you could build a mech from the ground up. [...]

If you refer to "MW/BT" you actually couldn't. The forbidding price tag and much more the sheer ridiculousness of any random MechWarrior going to the factory of his choice and telling them to build a Mech including this and that made it irrational. In the MW computer games it got dumbed down severely for the sake of catering to the min/max crowd. But as "an old PnP Battletech player" you are aware of that, I'm sure.

I'm actually positive you cannot really port the difficulty you had in the original (PnP) BT/MW game to the computer platform as a whole. That would make individual customization all but impossible for the most MechWarriors. Maybe apart from paintjobs. But I also think the "easy way" of being able to build a Mech completely from scratch isn't the right one. After all, that pretty much negates the need for different chassis. Just have one chassis for each weight and chuck whatever you want onto it. that works. Has nothing to do with BT/MW any more, though.

[Kael Tropheus]

OP I am exactly the opposite of you. As an old time TT player, what ruined the few games we allowed mech customization was customized mechs. Only one group I briefly played in allowed it as it took away all the negatives of an established mech and replaced it with all positives and you couldnt play your favorite mech since you had to customize it to compete.

Fluffwise customizing a mech is a labor intensive process which for anything more than a minor change required sending the mech to the factory for an official varient refit which was costly. Flat out re-engineering a mech outside the established varients required a full engineering team and more money than any one pilot had available. Anything done by the pilot and his tech crew tended to have funny side effects and was never perfect again.

I like the module idea and strict chassis and varients, however I will likely be very disappointed to the point of not even playing if what the last dev interview comes true and its full customization. I can understand for clan mechs, thats what omnimechs were designed for, thus the name "omni". Inner sphere mechs were never designed to have weapons swapped out at will. I mean really, can you imagine the ammount of reworking it would take to pull the chain gun from an Apache helicopter and replace it with something else. Balance will be off, ammo belts reworked, all the electronics redone, targeting way off. You are talking a multi-million dollar refurb taking months to do.

Edited by Kael Tropheus, 22 March 2012 - 02:53 PM.

[Tiercel]

I dont mind if they do or dont include mech customisation.
But then I recall the first time I played Clan-omni mechs and discovered the joys of "modules" , changed the game for me, gone were the days of wishing you could get rid of that damned small laser stuck on the front of the cockpit.

Customisation does not have to include building from scratch, it can be a gradual thing, changing armour types, maybe upgrading to double heat sinks.
That way you can work on a signature mech, something which people learn to see as belonging to you, much like the Yen-Lo-Wang

[Geist Null]

mechlab and modules are different parts of the game. you should re-read all the dev blogs. your getting more bang for your mech building buck by having them.

[Steel Talon]

I bet to hardpoint system, cause its simple
Customization of torso mounted weapons should be limited to similar weapon types, but arm, extension customization should be as wide as possible to hold ballance

[Karyudo ds]

Murphy Slah, on 22 March 2012 - 01:55 PM, said:

I understand the complexities and balance issues that can arise from the detailed mech design rules from the pnp game, but truly, it would be worth it imo.

Do you really? Critical slots etc? That's easy, Front Mission, Armored Core, ChromeHounds ALL do that on a smaller scale. The build-a-mech option in Battletech wasn't designed to make all mechs omni-mechs, period. It was to make your own mech. Not to make a random laser boat that looks exactly like a Zeus and may really be a Zeus omni-mech. In order to do that system right you would have to make a ton of control over customizing the entire mechs visual. That would be pretty complex...more so for a game set in a universe where those franken mechs are actually suggested to be very uncommon.

I think the system is a great idea but it never once in the fiction felt a part of the game, possibly why it's in it's own rulebook now. So considering it's not even in the game's rulebook... I would not really consider it to be a big part of the game at all.

Still it sounds so far like we may have the MW2 omni-mechification. Aside from seeing a variant Hunchback model...so who knows.

[GrimFist]

I am excited to see what happens here. I've played from table top to everything else mecha BT style.

Part of me likes the thought of stock mechs and suck it up you innersphere dogs, you lack the tech or the money to get all fancy with customization. That's why the clans tech was so awesome. They had modules. Long range setups for the big and open country, swap it all out quick for the romp and stomp in the city.

IS tech had to suck it as customization was not quick with IS tech

On the flip side I'd like customization. I'd like to build soemthing with 14 machine guns with a ton of ammo and case.

Oh.. lets add that hatchet. I want my Hatchetman 5S - I can dream.

I'm itching to get the biggest mech I can with jump jets and try to land on a mechs head..

[Akela Alpha]

I am more worried about if the customization will become unfair due to pay to win.

After all, why paid money for no advantage at all?

[omega5 9er]

The Mechlab will depend upon your allegiance, if any. If you're in a House you will use variants used by that house. If you are a merc, you get a little more freedom using a sudo-hardpoint system.

[GDL Irishwarrior]

omega5-9er, on 22 March 2012 - 03:37 PM, said:

The Mechlab will depend upon your allegiance, if any. If you're in a House you will use variants used by that house. If you are a merc, you get a little more freedom using a sudo-hardpoint system.

Did the devs say that, or did you just decide that's how it will be?

[Evil Ash]

I'd actually prefer a MW4 customization, mostly because I simply don't feel like spending too much time customizing, and having a mech that's not up to par to match others.

[Fecal]

After playing through MW4 again (from a matured gamer's perspective), I am all in favor of limiting customization. To an extent.

I think that MW4 did a pretty good job at making you think about where your mods will go since there were limits based on weapon type / omni architecture, but there wasn't much of a barrier to completely altering the stock variants to what ended up being a little bit homogenous.

I like the idea of encouraging players to at least try the stock variants and I hope the devs include some incentives to do so. Perhaps a CC % bonus for running stock would do the trick. Alternatively, what do you guys think about charging engineer CC fees for changing components? And reverting to stock configuration after your mech is destroyed should be affordable.

Even if it means that people with money could create PPC boats, knowing that taking them out costs them their lunch would be worth it to me.

[Kael Tropheus]

As much as I would like Omega's idea to be the one implemented, I cant see it happening. Devs already said there will be no faction specific chassis. Sadly the latest dev interview said they like customization, obviously they never played battletech.