8 replies to this topic

[NecessaryWeevil]

I occasionally see comments on the forums like, "only Mech A and C can carry Narcs," or, "Mech B is limited to engine size ___."

How do I learn what these limitations are?

[Royalewithcheese]

You can experiment with some online mechbays

My favorite is Mechromancer:

http://mechromancer.wordoflowtax.com/

and there's also Smurfy's:

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab

Edited by Royalewithcheese, 04 April 2013 - 06:47 PM.

[Konril]

Most of the information is now listed in the buy screen before you actually purchase a mech. The hard points are listed on the bottom of the list of equipment and stats, and you can hover over specific items or hardpoints to see exactly where they are on the given mech.

Unfortunately, what is missing is ECM capability currently. The only official list of what can and cannot equip Guardian ECM that I know of is the patch notes. The same also applies for some performance metrics like torso and arm twist ranges, range of allowed engine sizes, or actual number of missile tubes usable by equipped launchers. Sites like http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ are really useful for showing that kind of information you might not get except by expensive trial and error.

[Koniving]

That's some good torso twist info on the Mechromancer. That'll help with the chassis/variant vids.

[Redshift2k5]

A lot of info in available inside the game. The hardpoints and number of module slots if plainly evident.

Other things, such as max engine rating and even what speed you get for what engine, you'll want an online resource like Smurfys (linked above). Be sure to check out both the main page (a list) and the mechlab tab found at the top.

[Orzorn]

Other information such as actuators is also missing, but can usually be easily gleaned by taking a good look at the artwork. Hands require a hand actuator, elbows a lower arm actuator, and so on (all mechs have at least 2 used criticals in their arms, the shoulder and the upper arm actuator).

Smurfy is by far the best way to get an idea of what mechs carry, because its mech sheets are taken directly from the game files.

[NecessaryWeevil]

Thanks everyone. Smurfy's looks like it has all the information I want.

I gotta say it seems odd, though, that I need to go to a third-party source to get the information I need to make an informed mech purchase choice. Is there a good reason this isn't available all in one place on the website? Or perhaps in the mechlab in-game when I select a chassis in the purchase interface? Digging through the patch notes does not count.

[Koniving]

NecessaryWeevil, on 05 April 2013 - 12:07 PM, said:

Thanks everyone. Smurfy's looks like it has all the information I want.

I gotta say it seems odd, though, that I need to go to a third-party source to get the information I need to make an informed mech purchase choice. Is there a good reason this isn't available all in one place on the website? Or perhaps in the mechlab in-game when I select a chassis in the purchase interface? Digging through the patch notes does not count.

It is (for the most part) available in the mechlab. Through visual reference or simply highlighting an aspect on the mechlab to have it presented to you. For instance, here it demonstrates the location of all my energy hard-points. The number represents how many, and the word represents the location.



This can be presented before you buy. What it does not give you is max engine sizes or torso-twist ranges. However when each mech is introduced it will tell you this in the patch notes announcing it.

[Splinters]

NecessaryWeevil, on 05 April 2013 - 12:07 PM, said:

Thanks everyone. Smurfy's looks like it has all the information I want.

I gotta say it seems odd, though, that I need to go to a third-party source to get the information I need to make an informed mech purchase choice. Is there a good reason this isn't available all in one place on the website? Or perhaps in the mechlab in-game when I select a chassis in the purchase interface? Digging through the patch notes does not count.

It is, but the website allows you to test out build layouts with more ease. If you had the c-bills and MC, you can test most things in the mechlab, the smurfy website just lets you do the whole thing without having to worry about MC/C-bills interfering with the test layouts.

-S