61 replies to this topic

[feor]

Joseph Mallan, on 10 November 2011 - 06:03 AM, said:

Well You can't have a Davion Assault Guard that is all light and Medium Mechs! Steiner's are poked fun of because they think a Zeus Is a scout Mech. Let us buy heavier Chassis so we can be true to our Faction and Unit affiliation. That's what I think, YMMV

now now, the Steiners recognize the Zeus is a front line combat mech. The Orion, now there's a scout mech.

[Barantor]

So glad a dev said yes.

I didn't want it to end up like World of Tanks where the lower weight classes were 'trainers' and the big matches end up as assault only.

[Damien Matashy]

i am going to keep my answer simple...

no you should not be able to start with an assault mech

[Riptor]

If we go the RPG route... start with light mechs cause they tend to be the cheapest ones... even the best light doesnt nearly cost as much as an assault... well.. kept for that charger...

If we go the gameplay route... maybe let the player choose out of three from each class?

Like light for example: Urbie, Commando, Locust or something like that and the same for every other weight class?

That would give the beginning of the game some much needed diversety at the beginning.

Would be awfully boring joining a game and find out that both allies and enemys only consist of Commandos....

[ice trey]

I think the overall problem we have is that, ingrained in our minds since mechwarrior 2, we think of "Bigger is better"

If what the Devs have said is true, the weight class won't matter much at all.

In which case, give players what they want. If that means we're seeing only assault mechs everywhere, than I would expect to see those players that opted to take light strikers and scouts to have a huge mobility advantage that negates the added firepower and armor. Eventually, people will start losing to or getting frustrated by lights and mediums, and start taking stuff under the 60-ton mark, as well.

My only issue is that many lights and mediums are made like miniature assault mechs, much like the Hunchback. if speed is the only advantage a smaller 'mech can boast, then what will compel us to take Panthers, Hunchbacks, Whitworths, or Blackjacks?

Edited by ice trey, 10 November 2011 - 09:41 AM.

[Riptor]

Well so far people had not to pay for their mechs in multyplayer... and the amount of credits you got in MW4 was just ridiciulus.. especaly with solaris thrown in.

But like in MW2: mercs it was awfully expensive to pay for a brand new Assault. You had better luck trying to salvage something from a juicy contract that gave you salvaging rights.

[Joseph Mallan]

Hunchbacks come with a big stick! Whits and Jacks... Um... Not much really! But seriously how often is a Panther going to beat a Zeus in a straight up fight? Now add in Terrain and other factors. A Light Mech isn't supposed to stand up to an assault, play death by paper-cuts yes, But how are we supposed to field the Davion Assault guard when all we have is Jenners and Panthers and Hunchbacks to start?

[Frantic Pryde]

Thanks Bryan, good to know!

I hope there is a lot of flexibility though. Light mechs aren't just scouts you know... quite a few of them can really throw it down

[Kudzu]

ice trey, on 10 November 2011 - 09:39 AM, said:

My only issue is that many lights and mediums are made like miniature assault mechs, much like the Hunchback. if speed is the only advantage a smaller 'mech can boast, then what will compel us to take Panthers, Hunchbacks, Whitworths, or Blackjacks?

That's assuming that speed is the only advantage. Hunchbacks have a gun that even the big boys fear. The other three are jump capable, and it's been mentioned that only lighter mechs can jump on top of buildings. If BV balancing is introduced you'll also be going 2 or 3 to 1 vs an assault. If they're trying to stick as close to TT as they can they'll hopefully include a good critical hit system (floating TAC's included) that will make the lighter long range weapons weapons useful too.

Joseph Mallan, on 10 November 2011 - 09:46 AM, said:

But how are we supposed to field the Davion Assault guard when all we have is Jenners and Panthers and Hunchbacks to start?

We already been told, in this thread, that we can use any weight class we want. Hopefully the design will allow you to bring whatever you want but reward mixed weight units while still allowing for all assaults.

[Barantor]

Frantic Pryde, on 10 November 2011 - 09:57 AM, said:

Thanks Bryan, good to know!

I hope there is a lot of flexibility though. Light mechs aren't just scouts you know... quite a few of them can really throw it down

Many of them are also rigged for longevity in battle too and can keep the same amount of firepower with lasers even after the big boys have run out of gauss/AC/LRM ammo.

Looking at you wolfhound!

[Creel]

Barantor, on 10 November 2011 - 10:03 AM, said:

Many of them are also rigged for longevity in battle too and can keep the same amount of firepower with lasers even after the big boys have run out of gauss/AC/LRM ammo.

Looking at you wolfhound!

The light mech that is so scary, they designed a medium from scratch to hunt it down.

I <3 my Wolfhound, first mini I ever painted.

[Kalunta]

I think all new players should start in an assault --- they are going to need all the armour and protection they can get from the veteran players in lights-mids.

[TheRulesLawyer]

Next question- Is starting in an assault mech a paid or free option?

[wolf on the tide]

start everybody in a really mundane average medium mech (about 40-45 tons) and let them branch out from there. light mechs would then be something to work towards, not something to work away from

[Zakatak]

I think it would be neat if we could choose any mech we wanted to start with, and then that mech would be locked in our garage (so we couldn't sell an Atlas for a Raven upgraded with light-speed travel and nukes).

[Arteste]

Here's an idea - You can start with the LOWER tonnage of each class and work your way up to the heavier of each class (i.e. you can get an 80 ton mech and work your way up to a Zeus. Also, you start with minimal armaments and add more and better arms as you progress. Kind of like Grayson Deth Carlysle... started with one lousy little mech and ended up with a friggin' awesome unit! Also, give perks for going with the lower tonnage classes, maybe better starting weaponry etc, to encourage some to try them out and not have a bunch of beasts wandering the battlefield. (Although personally I WANT the Marauder!)

[fett]

Halfinax, on 09 November 2011 - 07:19 PM, said:

I think he was referring to Technology on a 'Mech not a bigger 'Mech per se. I am gathering from that thread that 'Mechs of all weight classes will be available to all players at the start, but you have to use in game currency to purchase the one you specifically want. I'm kind of reading it as a League of Legends style choice where Champions are replaced with 'Mechs. A rotating stable of free to play 'Mechs, and the option to either save up C-bills (assumed in game currency) or just out right buy it with real world money.

This concept raises an interesting concept then. If there are "starter" mechs for each class than it implies there are a range of mechs per class ranging from crappy to great. Who determines which is which? I mean as we've seen in these forums, people actually think an urbanmech is good despite it being a slow moving target, armur typical of a lighter mech, with 1 weapon. Maybe they are simply counting on people having faves for intrinsic reasons? Or looks? (especially all these customizers that miss the point of the genre). Hell maybe the Grasshopper is considered lame despite being an almost unrealistic imbalance as a stock mech that should have a very high prce tag.

[Captain Fabulous]

I think we should turn to the table top for guidance:

Start with 6,000,000 c-bills. Do what you can with it.

[Durant Carlyle]

There are starter 'Mechs. The choices you have at start are based on the role you choose, and all four classes are represented.

For instance:

Scout role might have Light and Medium as choices.
Attacker/Defender might have Heavy and Assault as choices.
Commander might have Medium and Heavy as choices.

[Skadi]