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As much as I love the divine sound of an un-ending stream of metallic death (or what it really sounds like but doesn't effectively work as), why not break down the pros and cons of the MG and what it's purpose would be in the game we currently play?
Currently damage from the MG is determined by each connecting projectile (at least that's the way i've been reading it and maybe it's different...correct me if i'm incorrect) in which each projectile will add/stack up to a full hit of damage over time.
This creates the unfortunate scenario of needing to focus an almost non-stop STREAM of projectiles to a specific location in order to do any damage...(in a fast paced game in which people can twist their torsos as a method of shielding, that's kind of unfortunate especially when considering the implications of the short range of the weapon).
The stream of bullets makes me think of a machine gun like a really awesome sounding, but VERY ineffective laser. I say, treat machine gun projectiles more like missles.
More specifically, Missles currently are tracked by individual missle (at least that's how i've been seeing it...again correct if i'm wrong), with each salvo containing anywhere from 2-6 or 5-20 missles. (for code i'd almost say they're tracking LRMs in clusters, and SRMs individually as projectiles as it would be the most efficient method of tracking damage without requiring individual tracking of 20 brand new objects each time someone launches an LRM 20)
Machine guns are an unending stream of projectiles, each which has to stack up to a full point of damage (I consider this unfavorable to the mechanics of the game we're playing and the reality of the state of the game as it stands right now).
My projected solution is to, instead, set up the MG to fire in an MG specific version of a "salvo" by firing a long burst of projectiles on the press of firing stud/button/click (which can roughly equal the firing period of any other ballistic weapon in comparison)
Effectively the MG would work like an SRM/LRM launcher where the target has to fire then direct their projectile to the target, but with the added bonus of being able to redirect or sweep their stream to where they would want to.
Each projectile or group of projectiles would still need to connect with the target to add up to full damage, but if ALL projectiles hit their mark you get 2 damage in the particular location (or 1 damage and 1 damage if in 2 locations, but ineffective if spread out among more for damage calculation).
Retain the current critical adjustments to keep the bonus functionality of disabling items, and now you have a bonus to doing damage, AND being able to direct critical hits when you'd like to aim for them. (if it turns out to be overpowered, scale it down or take it out again)
The original thought came to me when I was testing an LRM/SRM launcher in the NARC slot on a RAVEN. Since the NARC contained a single missle tube, each LRM/SRM salvo would actually launch one at a time, effectively allowing me to pinpoint where I wanted each missle to go (but was ultimately ineffective against AMS if used with LRMs)
Effectively each "burst" would be a stream of a certain number of projectiles equaling up to 2 damage (+ or minus a few for a few stray shots here or there...so, in an off-base example, if you need 20 projectiles to hit for a full 2 points of damage, have the burst be 30 projectiles with no bonus PAST 2 damage if more than the original 20 connect).
Each round being fired should be very fast to hit their target (we're only 90 meters from the target, no point in the projectiles being slow to get there at such a "short" range) and they should be at a rapid sticcato rate to ensure we can guide and lead the target adequately once the burst has been initiated.
Note: Explaination of why the the burst streams of fire are necessary? Sole purpose of keeping the barrels of the Machine Gun from melting (argument being if it is a single barrel, fully auto system OR a rotary based system, you still need to keep those suckers from melting by swapping out, cooling, or waiting long enough to keep the barrels operational for the maximum amount of time) we want the MG fire to be satisfying in sound and operation, but controllable for effectiveness.
The end result? A directable and controllable stream of bullets which could add up to a full 2 damage with less time being needed to do so, OR/AND act as an effective crit seeker to the accurate mech jockey.
Mechs with +2 ballistic slots would now have an effective stream of directable damage to do, and it would also make it so you would no longer have to HOLD DOWN the firing control to get the rounds to your target (so you can focus on your aiming, rather than if you're holding down the button long enough to be (in)effective.
Our current system pros and cons
Pros:
No heat (which needed to be dissipated via the battlemech's internal cooling system)
Ballistic weapon (fits in ballistic slots)
Light weight (.5 tons, nearest in weight is 5 tons for the AC2...kind of a big gap there)
High amounts of ammunition (I think everyone forgot the additional bonus of having an MG was 200 "shots/bursts" per ton.)
Linkable (meaning more than one MG could use a central bin if necessary...at least by the rules I remember playing).
Cons:
High risk of ammo explosion (tabletop was supposed to be 200x2 = 400 points of damage to a full ammunition bin...ouch).
Ammunition costs additional weight
Short Range (less than 90m for optimal)
Low Damage versus other weapons of the same range
I have probably left out other pros and cons but I'll stick with this list for now.
Our current issue with MGs is they're considered "useless" because of their low damage output compared to other weapons.
The bonus to critical damage has, very arguably, increased their effectiveness (as the thread has shown)
Considering there are many more effective weapons platforms to use, but very few options for lighter/medium mechs to mount if there is a dedicated ballistics slot, we need a much more effective method of determining damage from MGs.
I would like to put forward the thought of re-adjusting HOW we consider damage from MGs, not necessarily if we should be reconsidering damage from MGs.
The objective is to at minimum gain the effectiveness of a small laser, but still in keeping with balance to ensure they won't be the focus of exploitation without limitation which would destroy the environment of the game.
TL:DR;
1. Make MGs fire in bursts/streams to each button press with a VERY short cooldown (but enough to cycle the weapon with each burst being about the cycling of other ballistic weapons)
2. The stream can be directable once started (as it is now), so you can redirect or sweep your stream of fire to the target as you see fit
3. A certain number of bullets equal a full 2 damage. Make each burst fire slightly more, so if you miss a few projectiles you'll still hit for 2 damage (but not a large amount, maybe 5% someone do the math for me)
4. Keep the Critical bonus (so sweeping with MGs is still valid toward an unarmored target, and will make +2MG mechs the bane of any damaged mech, but with the thought of turning it down if it's TOO powerful)
5. Try to keep the machine gun feeling like it does now (freaking AWESOME sound), just effective.
Edited by Hakai, 18 March 2013 - 08:19 AM.
