90 replies to this topic

[perfectblue]

Is the HBK-5S variant within the 3049 timeline?

[Oppi]

perfectblue, on 04 June 2012 - 06:09 AM, said:

Is the HBK-5S variant within the 3049 timeline?

Pulse Lasers and Endo Steel ?

No, it's not

[perfectblue]

Oppi, on 04 June 2012 - 06:13 AM, said:

Pulse Lasers and Endo Steel ?

No, it's not

Thats what I thought. Then it makes no sense to discuss it in this context when comparing it to the Atlas.

[Redshift2k5]

Oppi, on 04 June 2012 - 06:13 AM, said:

Pulse Lasers and Endo Steel ?

No, it's not

Pulse lasers(rediscovered 3028) and endo-steel(successfully reproduced in 3035) are both in the MWO timeline.

not sure when the Hunchback 5S was invented, though. The pulse laser and endosteel we can probably build in the Mechlab, but the jumpjets are a different problem.

[Athena Hart]

As for a Hunchbacks' role, its a support 'mech. Typically a Hunchback will follow behind a recon 'mech, find a good hiding spot and power down, thus eliminating it from radar and wait for the recon mech to draw targets to the Hunchbacks hiding place.Patiently waiting for the recon 'mech to pass by along with his enemy "escort" a Hunchback will then typically power up and lay into his targets at nearly pointblank range while the heavies and assaults draw their attention with a direct frontal attack.

Not to mention you could always modify it. After all an AC 20 weighs quite a bit, One of my own Variants was to drop the AC 20, up its speed a hair, and replace the AC 20 with a PPC and another pair of med lasers along with a few heat sinks... and possibly even jump jets (though I believe I usually went with more armor). Its a solid 'mech, with many possible modifications. And it does look a bit intimidating. Would you really want to come running around a bend to come face-to-face with a Hunchback knowing that at that instant that you were likely going to be hit with the AC 20 several times? I think not, few people "want" to be hit with an AC 20 even once...especially recon mechs.

[IIIuminaughty]

I like the way it looks, and an AC/20 to the cockpit will make any mech fear

[Sassori]

Lostech is in the 3049 timeline. Really, it is. We've already seen variants with XL engines in the Atlas for example.

[Skylarr]

Originally conceived in 2572 as a Reunification War-era street fighter, the Hunchback is well-known as an urban combat BattleMech built for close range combat. Since then, the Hunchback has been in near-continuous production. The only real flaw in the Hunchback's design as a city fighter is its lack of jump jets combined with its relatively slow ground speed of only 64.8 km/h. Aside from this flaw, the design is a respected and dangerous 'Mech when in a city environment. When in the open, though, the Hunchback's lack of any long-range weapons makes it little more than a slow-moving target.


It is a Mech designed for City Fighting and for Ambushes. So your coming across a battlefield. You and an enemy Heavy are pounding each other. He pulls back. you chase him because you have on the ropes. As you round the corner there is a Hunchie with is AC-20 point blank to you. He will weather what you give him, but, how much damage did you take coming across that battlefield?


It is a Mech that can do what it is designed to do.

[SideSt3p]

I'm all about the Swayback. Battery of lasers = a nasty surprise.

But in all seriousness, a Hunchback will be awesome in a Urban Environment. It will turn quicker and swivel faster then an Atlas which will play more of a role then I think people give it credit for.

[Redshift2k5]

Also never forget modules- we haven't seen the module system in action yet but I think it's a safe bet to expect lighter mechs will allow for more modules.

[TWolfWD]

You're going to have instances when the battle rages between lighter lances, where the heaviest mech on the field might be the Hunchback. He's going to seem like an Atlas when that happens.

[MagnusEffect]

Oppi, on 04 June 2012 - 06:13 AM, said:

Pulse Lasers and Endo Steel ?

No, it's not

The DC had recreated both by 3037. I don't see why a jumpjet and AC/20 fitted Hunchy would not be possible in 3049. Regardless of whatever crappy MW4 may have taught you, ANY mech can have jumpjets fitted to it (even if it is expensive to retrofit)... at least by BT rules. I'm assuming the devs will follow suite.

I'm sort of bummed by our selection of founder mechs. If I had a choice of the Raven or Cicada things might be different, but as it stands and until i get more info, my choice is either the Cat or Atlas.

Edited by MagnusEffect, 04 June 2012 - 06:45 AM.

[macmerritt]

Additonally a few other factors to take into account are weight and cost.

Now we know a medium mech will generally cost less than an assault to purchase, but as for repairs Im pretty sure it will be slightly cheaper to repair or modify a medium over its larger cousin. All the engineering science aside cost benefit could be a huge selling point. We dont yet know how the system will payout credit or XP-wise so it might be a huge selling point to get kills in mediums and lights over heavies and assaults. For instance if a kill gives you 50,000 CBills regardless of mech class then the risk-reward factor of the smaller mechs is advantageous.

Weight could also be a major issue in the future. Right now we dont know if drops will have weight limits or not. In the so called "end game" where factions, merc units, and later the Clans are all fighting over worlds you might be limited to a set drop weight and thus can pack in more mechs like a Hunchie instead of the illustrious Atlas. We do know fights will be 12 v 12 so far but again they might add in various limiting factors like weight when it comes to match making for open games or drop weights for campaign matches.

These are to me at least to advantages to a medium mech over an assault. Personally I will be taking the Hunchie as my founders mech over the Atlas as I dont like the Catapult and am a brawler at heart. If more information comes out in the coming weeks that change my mind or that of others then we will see what the developers have done to limit "Stiener Syndrome".

[Oppi]

Redshift2k5, on 04 June 2012 - 06:21 AM, said:

Pulse lasers(rediscovered 3028) and endo-steel(successfully reproduced in 3035) are both in the MWO timeline.

There's a huge difference between a working prototype in a lab and a factory actually producing the stuff for every merc out there to buy. By the time the Clans invaded the Sphere, there were no military units actually using this stuff in any significant scale. (I'll personally shoot the first guy to say "Wolf's Dragoons" ... )

__________________________________
Fluff lesson ahead :

When Phelan Kell was adopted into the Clan Wolf warrior caste and first got to pilot an omni mech, he assumed a laser failure because he'd never seen a pulse laser before. And that was after attending the renowned Nagelring military academy and serving with the Kell Hounds - one of the most famous merc units of the Inner Sphere.
__________________________________

So could you guys please stop to assume that you will be playing one of the maybe 30 people in the Sphere that always got early access to all the fancy toys the NAIS had just reinvented ?

Edited by Oppi, 04 June 2012 - 06:46 AM.

[Redshift2k5]

Oppi, on 04 June 2012 - 06:44 AM, said:

There's a huge difference between a working prototype in a lab and a factory actually producing the stuff for every merc out there to buy. By the time the Clans invaded the Sphere, there were no military units actually using this stuff in any significant scale. (I'll personally shoot the first guy to say "Wolf's Dragoons" ... )

When Phelan Kell was adopted into the Clan Wolf warrior caste and first got to pilot an omni mech, he assumed a laser failure because he'd never seen a pulse laser before. And that was after attending the renowned Nagelring military academy and serving with the Kell Hounds - one of the most famous merc units of the Inner Sphere.

So could you guys please stop to assume that you will be playing one of the maybe 30 people in the Sphere that always got early access to all the fancy toys the NAIS had just reinvented ?

The devs have provided a list of what weapons will be available in the game, and it includes all the pulse lasers and other tech such as endo-steel frames. Get over it.

[Skylarr]

Arkhangel, on 04 June 2012 - 05:30 AM, said:

btw, your allegiance icon is set wrong if you love the Atlas so much. though...guess what mech the Lyran Commonwealth also uses?

perfectblue has the Davion icon.

Atlas Manufacturer's
Yori 'Mech Works Draconis Combine
Defiance Industries Lyran Commonwealth
Independence Weaponry Draconis Combine
Robinson Standard BattleWorks Federated Suns

Hunchback Manufacturer 's
Kali Yama Weapons Industries Free Worlds League
Komiyaba/Nissan General Industries Draconis Combine
Coventry Metal Works Lyran Commonwealth
Norse-Storm BattleMechs Lyran Commonwealth

[Skylarr]

Oppi, on 04 June 2012 - 06:44 AM, said:

There's a huge difference between a working prototype in a lab and a factory actually producing the stuff for every merc out there to buy. By the time the Clans invaded the Sphere, there were no military units actually using this stuff in any significant scale. (I'll personally shoot the first guy to say "Wolf's Dragoons" ... )

__________________________________
Fluff lesson ahead :

When Phelan Kell was adopted into the Clan Wolf warrior caste and first got to pilot an omni mech, he assumed a laser failure because he'd never seen a pulse laser before. And that was after attending the renowned Nagelring military academy and serving with the Kell Hounds - one of the most famous merc units of the Inner Sphere.
__________________________________

So could you guys please stop to assume that you will be playing one of the maybe 30 people in the Sphere that always got early access to all the fancy toys the NAIS had just reinvented ?

Redshift2k5, on 04 June 2012 - 06:46 AM, said:

The devs have provided a list of what weapons will be available in the game, and it includes all the pulse lasers and other tech such as endo-steel frames. Get over it.

While the Tech is not in large scale production it was available to Elite Units. So everyone in the Game will most likely be consider part of your factions elite unit and will have access to the new designs.


Phalen was just graduated the Nagelring. The Houses will not give the new Tech to a school to show to off. Most of those students will not make it into elite units. That is like dangling candy in front of a child and telling him "You like. To bad you can never have it".

And even if the Kell Hounds did have a couple Mech with New Tech why would they send it to the periphery? He had a new Wolfhound (3028 Tech) because his family want to give him a good chance of surviving if things went bad.

[El Loco]

Using what is known in terms of tech that will be in the game from start, a refitted HBK-4G with 5/8/0, an LB-X/10, ER-L-laser, and 3 M-lasers is possible with max armor (FF) and the disadvantage of having a XL engine. I'd say, this is a good argument for using the Hunchback... its Swayback variant is another one. You can have a 5/8/0 Swayback with max armor (FF), a PPC and 5 M-lasers without a XL engine and without excess heat. The Hunchback is very customizable, user friendly and the stereotypical brawler in the medium circuit... that's why you should consider piloting it.

If it weren't so darn ugly...

[Raalic]

Ok, it's slow, I'll give you that. But it is faster than Atlas, nevertheless. It can still kill stuff really, really effectively. And I will be able to pay the repair bills and refit costs all day without breaking a sweat.

[Daneiel]

CheeseThief, on 04 June 2012 - 05:08 AM, said:

So... comparing an assault mech to a medium mech this is a third the price...

Well lets start, the Hunchback is a medium mech so it's going to have significantly higher turning and acceleration than a 100t assault making it a better infighter, not to mention that it is also half the size of said assault so it's less likely to get hit by random pot shots and LRM barrages. The Hunchbacks role on the battlefield involves it using it's speed and jump jets to ambush people with that AC 20, it is fast enough to beat the heavier chassis to good ambush sites and is also able to head off enemy scouts as the situation depends.

Being a 50 ton mech the Hunchback will also respond significantly better to engine upgrades than an assault, so swapping those jump jets out, or by just getting an XL engine should allow you to push 80kmph without needing to lose the AC 20 or duel PPC's or whatever your variant has.

Because the hunchback is a third the price of an Atlas, it will also be significantly cheaper to repair than an Atlas, which should result in significantly higher profitability in game.


Besides, the Shadow Cat is clanner crutchtech and the Shadow Hawk doesn't have an AC 20.

As i know there is 2 comfirmed variants of Hunchback (HBK-4G and HBK-4P) and both variants don't have jump jets , also XL engine (as was told ) takes 3 critical points on right and left side , AC/20 takes 10 ->not posible XL engine with AC/20 ,but Gauss Rifle takes 1 less crit (if i remeber right) so you can ugrade your engine if you upgrade your AC/20 to GR or AC/10.

Edited by daneiel varna, 04 June 2012 - 07:34 AM.