101 replies to this topic

[infinite xaer0]

well.. some mechs do have "ballistic shields", if you consider the arms to be ballistic shields for the mech's torso

[Wintersprite]

Would it be cool? Yes, somewhat. Blocking that LRM swarm would be neat. Would it make sense? As much as a walking nuclear reactor in the middle of a shooting range does.

But why not just add the shield weight in armor. Add to that the extra timing needed to actually move the shield in position and it's already inferior to good ol' armor and let's not get into the fact that it blocks your weapons too while at it. Static flaps that absorb damage before it's applied to the main armor? Why? It weighs the same. Should shields get more armor than the stuff strapped on the surtace of the mech? Why isn't that stuff used to coat the mech in the first place with that material then?

All in all I can see the benefit of having a second layer of defence to cover your damaged areas or having a ferro-fibrous shield in a standard armor mech but imo it just adds some useless complication to the game. Being a free to play game MWO relies on having a large playerbase and an extra-long list of variables and exceptions is not the crowd-attractor.

Last but not the least it makes the mechs feel like those japanese mechs. It can be just a shield for extra armor but that makes the mechs look more like agile close combat fighters, jumping and dodging everywhere. While melee isn't unheard of in battletech, humanlike acrobatics are not something you'd associate with battlemechs.

[Goldhawk]

Energy Shields that prevented a type of weapons from doing damage to your mech... It existed.-> Mechassault

Ballistic and laser resistant armor that cuts down on damage by reducing the damage of a certain weapon type...It exists-> MW4.
Nova Cat, Energy Reflectant armor... Argus, Ballistic Armor and so on and so on.....

A physical shield that can deflect damage if brought into battle.-> It Existed due to WizKids and Microsoft Black Knight design.
It also exists in the Solaris arenas.

This thread ends.

[n00n3r]

verybad, on 30 May 2012 - 12:11 AM, said:

Nothing personal, it's a barfalicious idea however. No shields. These are walking tanks, they don't move like martial artists, they're the size of buildings, they can't twist fast enough to block things that are moving faster that the human eye can comprehend.

(No shields)

For some reason, the word "barfalicous" made me think of rule: 34

*on topic* My memory might be failing me, but I seem to remember in one of the novels (possibly the Jade Falcon trilogy) of a mech picking up some debris and using it as a ballistic shield for advancing cover.

Edited by n00n3r, 30 May 2012 - 11:08 AM.

[Corpral ellenbogen]

Sleeping Bear, on 29 May 2012 - 10:55 PM, said:

Let's be honest, battletech/mechwarrior does have a shield, it's called armor. Shield never have been in, or ever should be in this game period, end of story.

tell that to the centurion

[wanderer]

Goldhawk, on 30 May 2012 - 11:04 AM, said:

Energy Shields that prevented a type of weapons from doing damage to your mech... It existed.-> Mechassault

Ballistic and laser resistant armor that cuts down on damage by reducing the damage of a certain weapon type...It exists-> MW4.
Nova Cat, Energy Reflectant armor... Argus, Ballistic Armor and so on and so on.....

A physical shield that can deflect damage if brought into battle.-> It Existed due to WizKids and Microsoft Black Knight design.
It also exists in the Solaris arenas.

This thread ends.

Mechassault isn't canon, however. Not even close. Canon are the PPC-absorbing shield systems, but an honest-to-goodness "energy shield" system doesn't exist in the canon BT universe.

Ballistic and reflective armor are quite canon, as are physical shields. Again, MW4 isn't canon along with many of Microsoft's "weapon systems", however.

The "what exists and what doesn't" is Catalyst's department. Videogames...aren't generally as canon-strong as MWO is, but then Herb and company are keeping a much closer eye on this one.

[RangerRob]

No...just no.

Keep shields on Solaris VII.

You want a shield for your mech...? It's called the left side of your Hunchback...or Cataphract...or any other mech that is weapon heavy on one side vs. the other.

[Kenyon Burguess]

no.

[Sizzles]

As much of a Gundam (Zeon) Fan boy as I am, I feel that shields would be rather out of place in this game. Although some mechs IE: Axman, Charger, Storm Raider, are equipped with melee weapons. Those are not actually in this game, so I do not feel that shields should be included either. But if melee capable mechs are ever added, I would say some kind of shield implementation would also be nice.

Edit: SIEG ZEON!

Edited by Sizzles, 30 May 2012 - 11:18 AM.

[MaddMaxx]

Would this be considered a Shield?

Shield

[DireWolf307]

Goldhawk, on 30 May 2012 - 11:04 AM, said:

Energy Shields that prevented a type of weapons from doing damage to your mech... It existed.-> Mechassault

Ballistic and laser resistant armor that cuts down on damage by reducing the damage of a certain weapon type...It exists-> MW4.
Nova Cat, Energy Reflectant armor... Argus, Ballistic Armor and so on and so on.....

A physical shield that can deflect damage if brought into battle.-> It Existed due to WizKids and Microsoft Black Knight design.
It also exists in the Solaris arenas.

This thread ends.

Yes, they exist. In all the suckiest forms of "MechWarrior" known to man. I wouldn't call that an endorsement.

[Furluge]

Shields exist in the Battletech universe. You can find them in Tactical Operations. The picture of them is on page 276 and the rules are on 290-291. I can't tell you how they work because it's a big hunk of text, and I've never used them, but they do exist.

[Kyle Hawkins]

Capnflintlock, on 29 May 2012 - 10:39 PM, said:

Just as the title suggests, I was wondering if it would be plausible for mechs to have Ballistic shields. Of course It has nothing to do with battle tech lore(that I'm aware of), I just though it would be a cool idea to talk about.
The shields could be added tin various sizes to the arms, legs, torso, or even the back of a mech.

In regards to implementation in MWO itself, no thanks, not interested.

In regards to "mech theory" in general though, sure. Shields or shield like armour extensions would be a perfectly feasible, and at times sensible concept.

Flying Debris' Centurion Concept with it's minimal Shield like amour extension very nearly has a functional shield. It has a manipulator arm, which means it has to be stronger and more structurally sturdy than a normal arm to perform it's function, however any time that it's not lifting something that tonnage is essentially going to waste. By also holding an armour extension it been given an extra task that makes it useful at all times. Adaptive armour. By holding it's spare arm infront of it's important or endangered areas it can effectively double the armour on that location. Having to shoot through the arm and then the main armour would be like firing at an Assault class, if at least for that small location. The only flaw in the Centurion's "shield" is that due to the weapon placement on that chassis it would block the use of the torso mounted lasers and missiles.

The other advantage of shields or "floating armour" is that whilst presenting a slightly larger target area, is it's effect against special armour piercing munitions. By stopping/intercepting the round earlier than normal form fitting armour, it causes missiles and explosive shells to detonate early and keeps the penetrative/destructive power of the weapon away from the true body of the mech, causing the interrupted blast to either deflect away or impact near harmlessly against the main armour. AP autocannon shells would tumble and lose penetration, lasers would refract and weaken. Even a highly perforated shield would still be effective at stopping attacks, whilst an equally damaged body armour segment risks buckling inwards and damaging the mechs myomers.

It works for tanks, and due to the difficulty and weight requirements of wrapping comprehensive armour round a mech, it would actually make a lot of sense.
http://en.wikipedia....ki/Spaced_armor (real world applications)
http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Slat_armor

http://www.armor.kie...ur/dz/btrre.jpg (Picture of Slat Armour. Even this flimsy looking stuff will save a tank from anti tank rockets.)

Here's a (Non BT) mech image using a similar concept of floating armour paneling over a more lightly armored frame.
http://i.imgur.com/J7bMx.jpg
The overall body itself is armoured enough to withstand lighter fire from lesser battlefield threats, whilst the armour paneling is designed to protect against other mechs/weaponry in it's weight range. In essence, it's not much different to carrying an arm mounted shield.

http://i.imgur.com/djem5.jpg
Or with a design like this, whilst heavy looking, isn't actually packing much more comparative armour tonnage than a regular Battle Tech mech, but still presents a difficult target to hit effectively. The long armour extensions out the rear are designed to allow it to crouch down and condense gaining nearly full coverage, turning it into something of a mobile fortress.


TL:DR

My point simply being that mech loaded ballistic shields don't have to mean Gundam. They can be very military styled and plausibly effective.

Still no interest in seeing them in MWO though. Isn't why I'm here.

Edited by Kyle Hawkins, 30 May 2012 - 12:55 PM.

[Rayah]

That's why you get a Heavy mech with upgraded speed, no weapons (MAYBE a machine gun), and a lot more armor.

Edited by Rayzor, 30 May 2012 - 12:56 PM.

[Solis Obscuri]

Shields don't work that well against bullets, and I'd rather have the tonnage to distribute into armor or weapons.

[JazzySteel]

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Large_Shield

Complete with TT rules. as well as a handfull of mechs that use the design. I dont believe it would be useful in real combat, mostly in Solaris.

[Sug]

Yes but only if we get photon torpedoes as well.

[DireWolf307]

JazzySteel, on 30 May 2012 - 01:52 PM, said:

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Large_Shield

Complete with TT rules. as well as a handfull of mechs that use the design. I dont believe it would be useful in real combat, mostly in Solaris.

The giant yellow box that says "Apocryphal" means "Nope".

[Lightdragon]

shields already exist in the solaris arenas they negate/halve damage taken when engaged according to the rules kinda like an active hardened armor in the arc they are used against

Edited by Lightdragon, 30 May 2012 - 02:00 PM.

[JazzySteel]

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Slagmaiden

And an example of a prototype mech using said shield.