9 replies to this topic

[SRM Rondeau]

A Cockpit is a cockpit - People are the same size no matter what Mech they are driving. It should be no harder to target a Jenners cockpit than it is an Cataphracts cockpit. Considering that all cockpit sizes shoud be the same, that means a Jenners cockpit target should take up a significant percentage of its torso size. Lights should be half cockpit - That should be their Achilles heel.

[Fate 6]

Meh, at this point I'd almost be ok with them taking cockpit hitboxes out completely. It's practically an RNG kill when someone cockpits you.

[VtTimber]

What's more annoying is take a shot with a couple large lasers or AC20 and accidentally hitting the cockpit. You just wasted that shot and most likely won't hit the cockpit again.

If you're going to have cockpit hits then make them matter, make the player who received it get a fuzzy screen or cracked windshield... something...

[jeffsw6]

I never thought about it much, but I would not be bothered if the cockpit hit-box was completely removed, either. Right now they are too small to really hit except by luck. On the other hand, they are begging to be exploited by cheaters.

[Circles End]

I agree with VtTimber in every instance, except when fighting catapults.

[Spr1ggan]

How about if damage is inflicted to the cockpit but does not destroy it, there is a random chance that the pilot is knocked out/blacks out for so many seconds leaving the mech vulnerable.

[FrostCollar]

McHarg, on 01 May 2013 - 02:33 PM, said:

How about if damage is inflicted to the cockpit but does not destroy it, there is a random chance that the pilot is knocked out/blacks out for so many seconds leaving the mech vulnerable.

The more randomness is in the game, the less skill matters and the more chance. That makes more battles decided on chance, and that's not good for fun or balance.

[Spr1ggan]

FrostCollar, on 01 May 2013 - 02:35 PM, said:

The more randomness is in the game, the less skill matters and the more chance. That makes more battles decided on chance, and that's not good for fun or balance.

Seriously though, how many times is your cockpit damaged in a match? The random chance would make sense as not every cockpit hit would knock the pilot out. What doesn't make sense is that you can take damage to the cockpit, stripping it of armour and leaving it red with nothing happening to the pilot. Also it takes an element of skill to hit the cockpit of most mechs, bar the catapult.

Edited by McHarg, 01 May 2013 - 03:06 PM.

[Traigus]

McHarg, on 01 May 2013 - 02:42 PM, said:

Seriously though, how many times is your cockpit damaged in a match? The random chance would make sense as not every cockpit hit would knock the pilot out. What doesn't make sense is that you can take damage to the cockpit, stripping it of armour and leaving it red with nothing happening to the pilot. Also it takes an element of skill to hit the cockpit of most mechs, bar the catapult.

I either get hit 1x randomly or instakilled by a head alpha... outside a catapult anyway, which gets hit on a regular bases by different people in a match (they also seem to get 1hit more)..

[James Warren]

The cockpits don't all look the same from the inside. In some 'mechs you can see out of the side very easily with free look, or practically look behind you by fully torso twisting then free looking on top of that. I guess its a matter of perspective as to whether having a better view is a worthwhile trade for increased vulnerability (or if there is any correlation between cockpit hitbox size and visibility anyway).

There are players out there who will actively target the cockpit. It is possible to reliably hit the cockpit on a lot of 'mechs, provided it is stationary (or slow moving) and relatively close to you. I like to think of the cockpit as the ideal target for those occasions when someone overheats in front of you with full armour.

I witnessed an amusing fight between two Trebuchets where they both stood still and just duked it out. One of them was aiming for the cockpit, and although he did not hit it with every shot, he did hit it enough to win the duel.

Personally I'd like to keep the cockpit, even if it can lead to lucky insta-kills on occasion (and I can only recall one occasion where I've fluked an alpha strike into someone's cockpit). I'm glad its difficult to hit on most 'mechs because cockpit sniping would be far worse than the alpha-strike assault club we have today. The cockpit is another part of what makes individual 'mechs unique and in my opinion 'mech diversity is an important part of keeping this game interesting.