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Prologue: Today I was killed when I hopped over a hill into a Splatcat. I had full armor on all torsos and yet, I lost all three, along with an arm. Okay, I was piloting a Jenner. It was, perhaps, a lucky shot. This is not a diatribe on Splatcats. I have enjoyed God Mode in my Raven 3L at times until I get sick of cheating and go back to slogging it out in a more balanced mech. So, here's the solution, and one that would be easy to implement. This solution would appeal and please EVERYONE, even though some people may choose to play in only one mode.
We have two game modes.
1. Historic Mode
2. Fantastic Mode
Historic Mode would allow for Stock Mechs only - as they are bought, no upgrades or customizations allowed. In Classic Battletech novels and lore, with rare exception, these are the mechs that fight their way across the galaxy. To customize or modify a mech requires a great deal of work, and a good deal of money. House armies, and even merc companies like to standardize things so they can order supplies and spare parts according to the mechs they have on their rosters. Quartermasters aren't technical specialists. They see an Atlas RS on their roster, they look in the Chilton's guide for the proper spare parts, order 5000 gallons of 10w40, and generic spec windshield wipers for that model. They don't know that your mech has neon, double bladed windshield wipers, uses 10w30 synthetic oil, and runs a 350 engine, and they don't care. They are a cog in a great war machine.
Fantastic Mode would be the mode we're playing in now. Everyone has their own dropship with an army of techs, scientists, and a corner on the black market or royal storehouses for the specialized parts they need to operate their Formula-4 unique mechs. They fight a thousand battles a month, in which every battle their mech gets trashed and within minutes it is completely rebuilt, overhauled, and even trimmed in a new paint job, if not equipped with a whole new coolant system, Extended Ranged weapons traded out for LRM racks, and so on. Your mechs are a quartermaster's nightmare, along with your entire staff and crew, and you are the God-Diva-Queen-King of all battlemech customization. There is nothing short of the SDF-1 that can match your mech in unique godliness, and you'd have it no other way.
Back to brass tacks (though that was fun writing):
User Accounts would have two modes as well. SO: players could play in either mode with their same stables. The only major change that would be necessary is to allow for a button that would switch their mech loadout from stock to modified.
Re: Community Warfare and matchmaking:
Not knowing how community warfare is going to work I would suggest one of two things.
1. Allow everyone to play in the same inner sphere map, but select 'historic' or 'fantastic' before the drop. This will work if who we fight is a proxy of who we're 'actually' fighting for the planet. I doubt this will happen because let's say that 'Lambda Lambda Lambda' controls planet Zardoz, and the 'Omega Mu's' want to capture it. The game isn't going to make the 'Omega Mu's' wait until the next time the triple L's show up to play as a team again, if ever again. A proxy team will be put into place to defend the planet. Then again, it could be that the matchmaking computer gives the team the choice to defend their planet. If so, the defender could choose whether to defend in 'historic' or 'fantastic' mode and the attacker would have to choose whether to accept said contract to attack it.
2. Have two servers with two separate Inner Spheres. One is 'historic' mode with only those types of mechs and the other 'fantastic.' The 'historic' inner sphere could also put into place more 'realistic' systems of supply, battlemech repair/rearm times, pilot injury, whatever. This would go beyond the 'simple fix' I suggested above, but might very well go towards pleasing the 'old guard.' The 'Fantastic' mode could go towards pleasing those who are playing this game as if it's Call of Duty VII or whatever the young whipper-snappers are up to these days.
WHY would I actually CHOOSE to play 'historic' mode???
Many of the stock mechs are balanced, and flawed to equal measures. Most run extremely hot, have limited ammo, and have terrible armor allocation. However, if EVERYONE runs stock, EVERYONE is equally challenged. ONE ECM tricked out D-DC could reign hell upon a map if they let it be unleashed. But in 'historic' mode, only the Raven is equipped with ECM, BAP, NARC, TAG an SRM-6 and 2 medium lasers. It's NOT designed to knock out any mech on the field. It's a SCOUT, and it would make a fantastic scout even in 'historic' mode with it's stock loadout. In 'fantastic' mode, it would still be 'fantastical.' Role warfare would be essential as no mech type could do it all.
Understand this, trollmasters of the forum. I'm not trying to push fantastic over historic or vice versa. I cringe when I think of giving up my speedster Awesome and wicked-fast Jenner to play in 'historic' mode. At the same time, I would be reassured to know that I wouldn't be facing splatcats, Atlases with blanket cloaking devices and invincible Raven 3L's. Even IF or WHEN they 'fix' the imbalances, new ones will crop up and be exploited. That exploitation is much more limited in 'historic' mode using stock only mechs.
Epilogue:
If I COULD argue for a change to be made immediately to my above proposal I would like to customize ONE mech at least with some minor weapon or armor changes representing the fictional mech that my fictional hero was most famous for piloting. This appeals to the role-play part of me. But even then, I fear, I'd be breaking what I'm trying to build here with this suggestion. Then again, think of the glory of winning with what you are given rather than what you WANT.
Edited by Peiper, 04 March 2013 - 02:20 AM.
