CaveMan, on 02 June 2012 - 02:18 AM, said:
So, one of the best suggestions for handling the Clans in MWO has been to give them Star League technology rather than Clan-grade equipment. The major complaint about doing this is that it wouldn't be possible to recreate the classic weapon loadouts of Clan 'Mechs that we've all come to expect.
But is this true?
As a hypothetical, I decided to see if the original 16 Clan Omnimechs from TRO 3050 could work in their canon configurations without hyper-advanced Clan weaponry. Now, given that the Clans have had a few hundred years to develop their technology, I opted to give them a few improvements over SLDF technology, but none that would give them more damage or significant weight savings.
Specifically, I permitted the Clans to retain their more compact versions of XL engines, Endo Steel structure and Ferro-Fibrous armor, as well as Clan-grade CASE and targeting computers (this last one was decided after realizing the Warhawk wouldn't work at all with an IS TC). I feel like these items are not game-breaking, since 1) they're restricted to the chassis itself and with the exception of the targeting computer, can't be transferred to IS 'Mechs and 2) they only permit advanced technologies to be used in combination. Several Clan 'Mechs are already under-armored, and with heavier IS weaponry, preventing them from using ferro-f would be a death sentence.
MASC and Double Heat Sinks remain IS-grade versions (Clan DHS in particular are almost as unfair as Clan weapons, being so compact)
Second, I permitted the use of Clan Intermediate weapons (as per Operation Klondike). These are "primitive" versions of weapons like the LB-2X and ER Medium Laser that didn't exist in TRO 2750 but were created by the Clans. Their dimensions and stats are identical to the Inner Sphere versions of these weapons developed during the 3050s. Thus, I was able to keep weapon configurations nearly the same, but the Clan 'Mechs don't end up being any more powerful on a ton-for-ton basis than their SLDF counterparts.
Now, the big question is, how well did it work? To answer that, I present the first six of the "sweet sixteen" 3050 OmniMechs in their downgraded configurations.
Interesting concept.
As an alternative, though, have you considered having the Clan equipment retain its physical properties (weight and volume/criticals) while having performance (damage, heat production/dissipation, range, etc) mirror the comparable SLDF/IS weapons?
The end effect would be that the Clan weapons and equipment still has the advantage of being lighter and/or more compact to allow for more potential firepower on any given 'Mech (also, no actual changes to the physical configurations would be necessary), but the performance of those same weapons and equipment would be scaled back, so as to render the weapons still superior but not as overwhelmingly and near-universally superior as has traditionally been the case.
Also, of interest is Randall Bills' statement in
the interview conducted by PGI:
Quote
MWO: Is there any part of MechWarrior you’d love to just take straight out of canon?
RB: I’ve said many times over the years that if I’d been there the game mechanics of the Clan weaponry would be very different. It’s not just how powerful those weapons are, but that it seemed from the get go to violate the story aesthetics as presented.
Here were these great, in-your-face warriors and yet they had weapons that allowed a player, in game to simply walk backwards and fire at crazy distances to down your enemy. When we introduced the Clan Heavy Lasers years ago those were more along the lines of what I thought the Clans should’ve had all along…really dangerous and powerful weapons, but shortish range, where the Clanner would be in his element, able to take down 3 and 4 enemy BattleMechs in a whirling dervish of expert maneuvering and markmanship.
Evidently, even some of those who are charged with establishing and maintaining the BT/MW canon are of the opinion that at least some of the game mechanics of Clan weapons could use some changes.
Your thoughts?
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