7 replies to this topic

[ExtremeA79]

Pretty much what the title says.

[Gralzeim]

Yes, if they bump the heat up, and possibly the recycle time as well (but not just the recycle time by itself). But no, if they don't do anything else to compensate for increasing their benefits.

I'd still gladly use them even if I couldn't fire them as often, as long as it did something worthwhile to the enemy since they'd no longer be as good at actually dealing damage. Would be relegating them to a debuff role, rather than a damage dealing weapon. Would be fine, as long as its worth taking them.

Edited by Gralzeim, 13 May 2013 - 05:40 PM.

[Dirus Nigh]

Voted no for the following reasons.

1) The reason PPCs have the EMP effect is because of ECM. ECM does things that it should not. So the devs made PPCs do some thing that it should not.

2) Inconsistency with the effect. If the EMP effect is limited to one piece of electronics. There is no logical reason why the PPC blast would cherry pick ECM over all other computerized system in the mech.

3) One person can effectively lock down an ECM carrying mech with spam firing one PPC.

4) The devs are way overcompensating with hard counters to ECM. With two hard counters, and one "soft" counter of PPCs, which can effectively be a hard counter, I think information warfare's have and have nots is just shifting sides.

[Unbound Inferno]

Yes, but it should require two or more. The one-hit wonder to halt an ECM doesn't make much sense.

[Redwood Elf]

maybe make ECM have levels of effect, instead of being an "all or nothing" thing. For example, 10 "points" would be full effect, and it would lose 10% effectiveness for each point countered...you could set the ECM/ECCM levels with an up/down type settings (So you could set 5 ECM/ 5 ECCM, or 10 ECM / 0 ECCM, or 0 ECM / 10 ECCM, or 8 ECM / 2 ECCM, for example) Each PPC shot could have 2 points of ECCM against the mech it shot (so to counter ECM 100% you would have to shoot it 5 times) for about 10 seconds


ECCM = Electronic Counter-countermeasures - basically the actual term for an ECM set to counter another ECM

[BillyM]

...upon the person firing?

Yes please!

--billyM

[blinkin]

i think PPC should have ALL of the ECM effects including jamming missile lock for a brief period, BUT i also think we need to go back to the 10/15 heat levels.

[Strum Wealh]

The effect does exist in-universe; it's described in the entry for the Burke Combat Vehicle on page 112 of TRO 2750.
"When all three PPCs hit at the same instant, they can overload a 'Mech's computer or cause enough electronic noise to jam communications or targeting data temporarily. Most Star League BattleMechs carry dampers to channel out such power bursts, but many in service to the member-states do not."

However, it is true that there are no BattleTech gameplay rules concerning this aspect of PPCs.
Moreover, the TRO states that it took all three of the Burke's PPCs striking the target at exactly the same time to cause the effect to the degree described.

It could be reasoned that a single PPC could cause a similar but less powerful effect - just enough to cause a HUD flicker and some limited malfunctioning in relatively-sensitive electronics (like an electronic countermeasures suite or an advanced sensor add-on).

Personally, I would like to see that kind of effect added.
However, with the hoopla currently surrounding the PPC family, it might be better to postpone it until whatever changes are currently in the works are addressed.