17 replies to this topic

[Nik Reaper]

A module that will probably cost 6 Mil. and 15k GXP will let us detect mechs at 200m even behind cover.

Will it detect mechs that are standing still or just moving ones, will it let us get a lock , and one that others can use to launch LRMs and will we get target info when we select a seismic target ?

Share the thoughts considering what the game engine and devs so far did implement.

[Coolant]

just moving ones. As soon as they move they will appear on radar 200m or under. Don't want to be picked up by radar? Don't move....but then ur a sitting duck What will be interesting to see is if vertical movement also gets picked up (jumpjets).

[Strum Wealh]

Well, assuming they model it on the source material...

"A unit must have expended MP (of any type) during the Movement Phase of the turn in which the Sensor Check is made in order to be detected by a seismic sensor (this includes units landing in a hex after expending Jumping MP).
Airborne units (including units expending VTOL MP) and submerged units (provided they are not moving along the bottom of the water hex) cannot use seismic sensors, and they cannot be spotted by seismic sensors.
If using Planetary Conditions, seismic sensors cannot be employed during any turn that an earthquake or meteor shower occurs on the playing area."
(Tactical Operations, pg. 222-223)

In other words, it should detect any movement that interacts with the ground (such as walking, running, turning in place, landing after a jump, and so on), provided certain environmental effects (e.g. earthquake, meteor strike, volcanic eruption, artillery strikes, and other events that would trigger/affect a seismometer) do not interfere with it (e.g. making the screen busy with false positives).
Hopefully, we would eventually get such... exciting and busy maps.

As a potential gameplay example, the "motion sensor" in Halo is essentially a seismometer.

[Nik Reaper]

While it makes sense do you belief they would create such a system?

Also if only detecting moving targets , would, should we get a full lock on it , with all the regular info we get from a los targeting?

[mike29tw]

I don't think you should be able to lock on to it like you can on normal targets. Judging from the description, all it does is informing you "non-friendly seismic activity detected roughly at here".

However, I fear that PGI will take the shortest and easiest path to implement it. That is, once you move within the range of a hostile seismic sensor, said hostile will have full ability to target you.

[MustrumRidcully]

What will the difference between 360° target retention system and the Seismic Sensor Module be? With Seismic only show on the mini-map?

[Nik Reaper]

MustrumRidcully, on 06 May 2013 - 12:58 AM, said:

What will the difference between 360° target retention system and the Seismic Sensor Module be? With Seismic only show on the mini-map?

I fear it will only detect targets inside of the "detection cone" in front of you, as I would always take a mod that tells me what's 200m behind me and moving even if I can't keep a target lock, though if so both might work well with each other.
It would seem more of an brawler mod than a scout one.

[Smeghead87]

I imagined it would be a consumable item that would be dropped on the terrain and it would detect anything that moved near it, that way you could have an early warning system to base caps or keep an eye on an approach without having to commit mechs to it

[Nik Reaper]

Smeghead87, on 06 May 2013 - 04:01 AM, said:

I imagined it would be a consumable item that would be dropped on the terrain and it would detect anything that moved near it, that way you could have an early warning system to base caps or keep an eye on an approach without having to commit mechs to it

Uh, now this I like , if it was destroyable by the opponent if they see it and if it lasted 5-10 min , but I feel you would need more than 1 to get any real safety from it as it is only 200m , though I also like the idea of it as an non consumable .

[Strum Wealh]

Though, the official explanation also includes seismic sensors as being among the items included in BattleMechs' sensor suites.

"In its entirety, a BattleMech’s targeting and tracking (T&T) system includes a sophisticated set of sensors and computers to process data. These systems are getting ever more sophisticated as technology is recovered and expanded... a fact that might explain the Blakists’ recent interest in targeting electronics manufacturers throughout the Inner Sphere.
Thermal imaging, light amplification, radar and magnetic anomaly sensors are all among the primary sensors used by BattleMechs, supplemented by seismic sensors, motion detectors, chemical analyzers and a multitude of others. Despite this broad range of sensor types, MechWarriors are not deluged with raw data. Sophisticated computers streamline, interpret and prioritize this information, so that by the time the warrior gets the info, it appears as simple visual cues on the usual cockpit displays or the warrior’s own neurohelmet heads-up display (HUD)."
(TechManual, pg. 39)

It should also be noted that the seismometer that is integrated into the 'Mech would be separate from the deployable units ejected from a Remote Sensor Dispenser.

"Available in an array of types, including motion detectors, thermal sensors, portable radar and EM scanners, modern remote sensors are often used to set up a perimeter defense network, but because they are readily destroyed and relatively expensive to produce, their utility on a fluid battlefield waned through the Succession Wars. The return of Star League technology (which made mass deployment of such sensors viable) allowed for their revival in more recent years, but they remain susceptible to battlefield countermeasures."
(Tactical Operations, pg. 375)

In Dev Blog 02 (covering Information Warfare), PGI made mention of "Detectors" and described them as "dropped off on the battlefield".
Potentially, this alludes to the eventual possibility of various types of "remote detectors" (including radar, magscan, thermal, and seismic?) working in conjunction with the sensor suites in the players' 'Mechs.

[Oppresor]

Depending on how the sensor works, this system could go part way to providing an early warning system for ECM equipped units closing on your six. If it works the way I think it might, this would be really useful on my Atlas.

[Strum Wealh]

Oppresor, on 17 May 2013 - 02:37 PM, said:

Depending on how the sensor works, this system could go part way to providing an early warning system for ECM equipped units closing on your six. If it works the way I think it might, this would be really useful on my Atlas.

Well, since ECM doesn't make one float over the ground rather than walk upon it, It should have no effect on a seismic sensor...

Though, it remains to be seen whether they will do the same thing Halo did with its motion sensor and let it not register if the would-be target is moving below a certain speed (e.g. below 10.8 kph, the equivalent of 1 MP at 1 hex per turn)...

Edited by Strum Wealh, 21 May 2013 - 01:53 PM.

[Deathlike]

Well, we're about to find out. The distance tracked is obscene in the advanced version (~400m).

[Sephlock]

[Deathlike]

The advanced range version is too high, and technically counters ECM (minus the missile denying part) better than ECM. It is like having a reverse cloak effect of ECM... but only better and wider.

It is truly OP... something of which I recommend everyone to use and abuse until PGI decides to fix this. It is truly the first must have module...

Edited by Deathlike, 21 May 2013 - 03:31 PM.

[Vasces Diablo]

Smeghead87, on 06 May 2013 - 04:01 AM, said:

I imagined it would be a consumable item that would be dropped on the terrain and it would detect anything that moved near it, that way you could have an early warning system to base caps or keep an eye on an approach without having to commit mechs to it

This is coming, I'm sure. But then again, it's a good idea that makes total sense, so who knows?

[Sug]

Deathlike, on 21 May 2013 - 03:31 PM, said:

It is truly OP... something of which I recommend everyone to use and abuse until PGI decides to fix this.

Yeah i got too excited and bought 4 of them before it occurred to me that they're too good and will be nerfed : /

[Jabilo]

Sephlock, on 21 May 2013 - 11:01 AM, said:

Best film ever.