39 replies to this topic

[Jacob Dieffenbach]

I was sifting through the various weapons systems, looking for when we can expect them available. Sadly, all the good stuff doesn't come till after the Clans.

But one thing caught my eye: 'Mech Mortar. They are cheap, lightweight ballistics weapons (filling that gap between the Autocannons and the Machine Guns!) that have an interesting mechanic (they arc, which means they can be used for indirect fire just like LRMs but are more inaccurate). Unlike LRMs, they are immune to AMS.

Stats follow:

'Mech Mortar/1: Heat 1; Damage 2 (one 2-damage shell); Range 630m (but due to arcing, a min range of 240m); 30 Ammo per ton (converted to MWO); 2 Tons; 1 Crit
'Mech Mortar/2: Heat 2; Damage 4 (two 2-damage shells); Range 630m (min 240); 30 Ammo per ton; 5 tons; 2 Crits
'Mech Mortar/4: Heat 5; Damage 8 (four 2-damage shells); Range 630m (min 240); 30 Ammo per ton; 7 tons; 3 crits
'Mech Mortar/8: Heat 10; Damage 16 (eight 2-damage shells); Range 630m (min 240); 30 Ammo per ton; 10 tons; 5 crits

Now, to me, this looks awesome. A shotgun blast of artillery, easily mounted onto small 'Mechs, capable of arcing over hills and hitting snipers? I mean, it would require a lot of work to get this weapon working. Either it would have to automatically adjust its arc depending on the distance to your target (which means they have to redo chunks of the convergence system just for this one weapon) or they would have to add in a "Mortar will land here" reticule/range depending on how much your 'Mech is looking up, which would require significant UI work.

But I think the addition of a non-useless lightweight ballistics weapon, even if it's quirky with odd aiming requirements, would be great for MWO.

[Sephlock]

Yes

[MadPanda]

I don't know how the aiming would work in the current game. PGI certainly can't implement it right, so I'm gonna have to say no.

Edited by MadPanda, 16 April 2013 - 04:11 AM.

[Zerberus]

Nah, I`d much rather have a HAG40

AC what? *In best australian accent* That`s not a gun, THIS is a gun

[Rorschack]

Where do you find the thread for upcoming weapons and mechs?

Also, I am all about a ballistic weapon that is lightweight. I can't believe that an AC/2 weighs 6 tonnes.

[Vassago Rain]

Yes.

[101011]

Unfortunately, the devs have stated that they are nearly always going to implement only the weapon systems that are needed for a certain mech/variant, such as the Raven 3L, which precipitated the release of ECM/BAP. Of course I would not mind the weapon in the the game, but I think it's somewhat unlikely that they'll release it, what with all the changes to code it would require.

Edited by 101011, 16 April 2013 - 04:28 AM.

[MrZakalwe]

Would be rather strong against ridgers too, I like.
I like.

[FupDup]

Those damage and range (heck, why not ammo, too?) values would need to be increased dramatically to make them worth their heavy weight and problematic aiming.

Edited by FupDup, 16 April 2013 - 04:29 AM.

[Jacob Dieffenbach]

Um, are you insane?

The range is roughly equivalent to a Gauss Rifle, the damage is greater than that of an equivalent Autocannon (an AC/10 weighs 12 tons, takes 7 crits, and does 10 damage, a Mortar/8 weighs 10 tons, takes 5 crits, and does 16 damage). The balancing factor IS their limited ammunition, with the MM/8 using 0.25 tons of ammo per shot.

[FupDup]

Jacob Dieffenbach, on 16 April 2013 - 04:36 AM, said:

Um, are you insane?

The range is roughly equivalent to a Gauss Rifle, the damage is greater than that of an equivalent Autocannon (an AC/10 weighs 12 tons, takes 7 crits, and does 10 damage, a Mortar/8 weighs 10 tons, takes 5 crits, and does 16 damage). The balancing factor IS their limited ammunition, with the MM/8 using 0.25 tons of ammo per shot.

Gauss can be aimed directly at the target or a little in front of it (leading) and the same goes for Autocannons. Mortars are probably going to miss every other shot if not more unless there's some kind of fancy rangefinder for them (MW4 had a circle on the minimap showing where your Long Toms would hit).

We also have to remember that a Spider with 4 of these or even a Raven with 2 of them is going to be slow as crap. Slow light mechs die to anything and everything capable of firing weapons. It has to be worth the risk of dying violently to make a Spider/Raven/Cicada into an artillery platform.

Edited by FupDup, 16 April 2013 - 04:41 AM.

[LackofCertainty]

I could see these working, however I would not waste time giving them custom desgin. Just make them function the way LRMs do currently: lock on weapon, or you can dumbfire it and it aims at the ground where your crosshair points. Faster flight speed could potentially offset the lack of ammo and lower damage.

[Silentium]

I wondered about this and other artillery, like arrowIV and the long Tom. It isn't my cup of tea, but I would run a dedicated spotter to spot for it. I would like to see it in game, now that would be a deep and interesting mechanic.

[Jacob Dieffenbach]

LackofCertainty, on 16 April 2013 - 04:46 AM, said:

I could see these working, however I would not waste time giving them custom desgin. Just make them function the way LRMs do currently: lock on weapon, or you can dumbfire it and it aims at the ground where your crosshair points. Faster flight speed could potentially offset the lack of ammo and lower damage.

I guess that could work. Lock on has some problems of its own, like being somewhat confusing for a dumb shell, but at least it'd integrate better into already-available mechanics.

The other problem is that the lock-on mechanic is slowed/jammed by ECM and has a lock-on time to help balance (assuming they were actually well balanced) LRMs. But the mortar's lock-on wouldn't make sense to be slowed/jammed by ECM, and wouldn't make sense to have a lengthy lockon time by default anyway.

Maybe a similar, but not quite the same lock-on mechanic.

[Arctourus]

yes, oh yes. Love the mortars and love the long tom. Must...have...explodey.

[Roland]

Yes, indirect arcing fire weapons are a must.

[Captain Stiffy]

Mech mortar... you mean... dumb-fired LRM's? Think about how often those hit and you have your answer on unguided mortars... which are LRM's.

Edit: Did I mention that we already have this, it's called LRM?

Edited by Captain Stiffy, 16 April 2013 - 05:21 AM.

[Joseph Mallan]

I never did on TT The only reason I would here is to do my duty as a beta tester.

[Silentium]

I think LRM was shoe horned into the indirect fire role, and that is wrong in my view. I could see indirect fire being handled like battlefield maybe, where a spotter designates an area into which any artillery may click to.target and fire. It would not lock on to a mech per-se, but would be a lock on a part of the terrain. Either way, something to think about.

[Syllogy]

LRM's are considered superior, but the Mech Mortar is actually kinda clever.

Because the Mech Mortar's projectiles are not destroyed by AMS, and the system "locks" onto a target, takes aim, and fires without alerting the target that there are "Incoming Missiles" it's pretty ingenious.

While LRM's are faster to the target, more accurate, and can fire more projectiles, the Mech Mortar would be able to be much more sneaky, and effective against Hill-Dwelling Snipers.