5 replies to this topic

[Szkarlat M]

I know everyone has been complaining about high Alphas, weapons convergence and boating etc. I have read many of the suggestion such as limiting group fire, fixed convergence or increased heat which wouldn't really work. I have a simple suggestion to fix this taken from other fps games.

Some have suggested implementing a conical weapon arc which means that the weapon would fire anywhere within that reticule and whilst keeping the reticule small so that when you are close you can still hit another mech but I think this penalizes sniping. I have expanded on this idea by adding a speed factor.

So my suggestion is to have a conical arc of fire that factors in your movement speed, with the spread growing bigger the faster you move. So say if you are stationary then it's exactly like it is now with pin point convergence and as you increase in speed the radius of spread for the weapons increase making it harder to hit individually our group firing weapons. Kind of like the aiming reticule in Counter Strike back in the day (the spread is large if you run, gets smaller if you walk, smaller still if you're not moving). I believe this would follow TT rules too as you fire more accurately while stationary compared to being on the move. And it is logical to assume the faster you move the harder it is to keep the weapons stabilized at the same aimpoint.

This would then bring trade offs into the game and balance everything out in my opinions. You can snipe, but then you're only going to be really accurate if you are not moving, hence making yourself an easier target. While if you're running around at say 70 km/hr don't expect every shot of your alpha strike to hit unless you are at extremely close range. This would make lights harder to hit with pin point accuracy however it would also heavily penalize lights at full sprint. They would have to slow down to hit accurately making them easier to target or use streaks (which have been nerfed anyways).

So eg.

Stationery 0km/hr = no spread, tight convergence 100% hit point of aim. Small tight reticule.

1 - 20km = Minimal spread, tight convergence 90% hit point of aim. Reticule grows slightly larger.

21- 40km = slight spread, still fairly tight convergence 80% hit point of aim. Larger reticule etc.

41 - 60 = slightly larger spread 70% hit point of aim

61 - 80 = general spread 60% hit point of aim

81 - 100 = you get the idea

Anyways this is just an suggestion, which i think would add a further tactical element as the pilot will have to juggle speed with firing and positioning would become more important. Eg you want to sprint behind the other mech and then slow down to deliver an accurate alpha. Heavy and assaults would have a hard time doing this due to their speed so they would need mediums covering their backs. What do you guys think?

Edited by Mike W, 23 April 2013 - 08:07 PM.

[Varnas]

I like the idea, but that would mostly screw over lights and faster mediums.

I'd suggest making it throttle percentage based not the speed itself.

[Mokou]

Goh damn mech's from 31th century cannot into "weapon stabilisation system"?!
Realy, they have arms, they have gyro, they have betty... even chicken can stabilisate head, and 31th century mech's can't?
RUSERIOUS?!

Hack no!

[Szkarlat M]

Well if you actually think about it, its should effect lights and mediums too much other than their DPS as their accuracy suffers while going at full speed. If the assaults and heavies are going running maxed out they will have weapons spread too which would make it even harder for them to hit a light going at full speed. Most lights and mediums decked out with lasers shouldn't be overly effected due to the duration lasers run for and people walking their lasers in on target, ie grazing the target so that would still work. It would mainly handicap the high DPS weapons such as PPCs / Gauss / AC20s which are one shot items making the chances of missing higher. Sure people can say that knowing this they will boat lasers instead, but lasers already have high heat thus you will limit the amount of Alphas you can do per minute while also worrying about the accuracy of those individual Alpha strikes. This essentially wouldn't change the balance of the game too much other than making rounds longer as mechs become harder to hit. Tactial placement then take on a much greater role. The lights will become hit and run machines where you sprint up, slow down, take a shot, and then sprint off again. Mediums largely the same and actually effecting mechs all around. More emphasis will be put on where you mechs are placed respectively to the other teams as you would really only have two options for sustained accuracy. Either walk slow and snipe making yourself a target or charge right in and brawl say 200m distance where the expanded reticule wouldn't matter as all your shots will still land on the other mech, but increasing the spread of the shots. This makes pinpoint destruction of the CT and side torsos harder as your shot spread will place hits all around the mech. Ambushes and tactical movement will take greater importance since if you lay a good trap with your mechs idling or walking slowly you have a greater chance of hitting the other mechs and therefore scouts would have their role of scouting first while the rest of team setup a counter either by flanking slowly while maintaining accuracy or making a full on sprint to close to brawl distance. There will be a trade off between moving fast to close target while being harder to hit or moving slowly/standing still and being a target. The only thing that would probably need to be changed then is the reload rate of the one shot weapons such as ACs/Gauss/PPCs so that if they miss they can get a follow up shot in quicker at the expense of increased ammo consumption and heat thus balancing each other out. Basically all this would do is increase general shot spread unless your mech is sitting still, which maybe desirable for greater accuracy while not so much making yourself a big target. eg An Stalker standing perfectly still to get the full alpha in makes it a sitting duck for the rest of the team not being targeted by it. And if it moves it can still hit its target, just that it wont be guaranteed to hit exactly at the point of aim. So a center torso shot may clip the side torso instead. A side torso shot might clip the arm or leg instead while moving.

[Szkarlat M]

Mokou: Haha I get what you're saying but MWO is a GAME. If we're saying in the 31st century everything will be super uber stabilized, then damn LRMs and SRMs should also be much more powerful as they ALREADY are in the 21st century. And rate of fire please, modern day equivalents of an AC2 / 5 would be chain firing those rounds without the 1sec reload delay. This is a suggestion to balance the game and address issues of concentrated Alpha targeting which kills mechs in 2 - 3 shots. I'm sure CT will still be the most targeted area if this was implemented but whether it gets hit is another story, which would increase your mechs survivability without having to rebalance weapons which never makes anyone happy.

[Mokou]

If u want

Quote

issues of concentrated Alpha targeting which kills mechs in 2 - 3 shots

i have better solution.
Maybe "Engine power", which limits using energy weapon in one time, (like HEAT but different). U can shot 4 PPC at once, but wait some second for next 2 (u have not enough power for shotin' 6PPC at once).
U'r "61 - 80 = general spread 60% hit point of aim" = "we do not want drive light mechs", and light mechs have no OH_NO_6PPC_I_CANT_DEFEAT_THEM!!!
If we already have some silly assumptions for the balance, it is not necessary to increase them. This is my position.

For LRM damage BT have excuse. Mech's armor is so armor, what even armor etc...

Edited by Mokou, 23 April 2013 - 11:35 PM.