26 replies to this topic

[verybad]

Many recent mech choices have been by and large, rather dull and repetitive. (For examples I'm picking : Trebuchet, Quickdraw, Victor, Highlander, and now the Kintaro. While these mechs are well executed, the basic design for them is really uninteresting, they just aren't exciting, they largely look very similar, they bring no interesting elements with them. They look like troopers, they are largely effective in the game, but they just don't have any soul. Mechs like the Catapult, the Atlas, the Raven...These have enough of their own individuality that they are interesting, they don't look like cookie cutter designs. I'm not talking about the effectuality of mechs that are chosen, just the bland design of mechs. It's not just that they're humanoid, they just all look almost the same. We really could use some different looking mechs to spice things up. Different leg types, different torsos...anything really. Again, the implementation of the mechs that are chosen is very good, always an improvement over the TRO artwork, it's just that the choices for the mechs is extraordinarily boring. Please make more interesting choices in the future, even the Orion will look a lot different from what we've been getting recently...

[BlackIronTarkus]

I agree. :'(

[Garagano]

indeed

[Jeka Vorobyov]

Please give us more non humanoid mechs.

[TexAce]

That's why everybody wants the King Crab.

I would love more nonhumanoid mechs.

I'm not that experienced with Battletech so I don't know if there are some in our timeline, if so I wouldn't mind some pictures. So post away (but only stuff that really could be in MWO).

[Xeren KelDar]

Hmm to play devil's advocate, maybe these mechs are more interesting to some people. Aesthetics are a personal thing and I can understand your want of more variety, but saying they're boring or have no soul is your personal opinion. Most of my personal favorite mechs are those boring trooper mechs with no soul as you put it. I also think the Orion is an ugly mech. Now, with that being said am I oppossed to seeing more diversity? Absolutely not. I'd love to see some other aesthetics, like the Bushwacker for instance, make it into the game.

Clan mechs will alleviate some of that considering we should see the Mad Cat, Vulture, Daishi, Thor, and Loki soon after the clans launch with 3 out of 5 being non humanoid. I think the main problem right now is most of the mechs that are iconic or plentiful for this time period favor the humanoid build with more non humanoid coming after the invasion.

[Royalewithcheese]

Phoenix pack will be great for this. I actually really like those characters on the Kintaro, though.

EDIT:

I think the highlander was just a chassis they dropped the ball on - it actually looks really distinctive a lot of the time:




IMO the quickdraw and victor were massively improved based on the pre-MWO versions, tho

Edited by Royalewithcheese, 02 August 2013 - 03:22 PM.

[Destructicus]

/Raises mug in agreement

I too think we're ready for more unique looking mechs, for aesthetic purposes if anything

[Hexenhammer]

Agreed. Jagermech is distinct. The Battlemaster might be because of the cockpit head and gear shoulder pads. But the Kintaro? Meh. I would have rather seen the Dervish with its paddle hands than another Quickdraw wanna be. And you know what you call a Narc on a mech? More space!

Edited by Hexenhammer, 02 August 2013 - 03:27 PM.

[Royalewithcheese]

Hexenhammer, on 02 August 2013 - 03:27 PM, said:

And you know what you call a Narc on a mech? More space!

Haha truth. The sarna entry for the Kintaro is hilarious:

Quote

Introduced in 2587 for the SLDF, the Kintaro was designed with one sole mission: tagging enemy units with a Narc Missile Beacon.

Edited by Royalewithcheese, 02 August 2013 - 03:44 PM.

[Waking One]

not many particularly distinctive not-unseen inner sphere mechs in the 50s i'm afraid :/

[Sephlock]

All of the distinctive aspects (read; rounded edges) get squashed flat like play-doh under a steamroller.

[Warge]

I'd like to see in MWO more asymmetric Mechs. Right now we have only Hunchy...

[verybad]

Xeren KelDar, on 02 August 2013 - 02:29 PM, said:

Hmm to play devil's advocate, maybe these mechs are more interesting to some people. Aesthetics are a personal thing and I can understand your want of more variety, but saying they're boring or have no soul is your personal opinion. Most of my personal favorite mechs are those boring trooper mechs with no soul as you put it. I also think the Orion is an ugly mech. Now, with that being said am I oppossed to seeing more diversity? Absolutely not. I'd love to see some other aesthetics, like the Bushwacker for instance, make it into the game.

Clan mechs will alleviate some of that considering we should see the Mad Cat, Vulture, Daishi, Thor, and Loki soon after the clans launch with 3 out of 5 being non humanoid. I think the main problem right now is most of the mechs that are iconic or plentiful for this time period favor the humanoid build with more non humanoid coming after the invasion.

The Kintaro, Quickdraw, and others in that nature are largely the same mech. They're boring. Again, I didn't say they're done poorly, just poor designs to begin with. As for whether aesthetics are a personal choice, that is true up to a point. There are mechs that a lot of people like, and there are mechs that very few people like. I'm not considering mechs that people say they like because they know a lot of people don't like them in that group either, as that's a social rather than aesthetic choice. Why buy a Quickdraw if you have a Kintaro, or vice versa? Not much difference, and they're boring. While you can say it's a personal choice, the most popular mechs in battletech TT are also aesthically more iconic. From the Marauder to the Warhammer to the Madcat...they've got soul. The current group of stuff we're getting is like reheated coffee...it may wake you up, but it also gives you the *****.

[Bishop Steiner]

verybad, on 02 August 2013 - 12:13 PM, said:

Many recent mech choices have been by and large, rather dull and repetitive. (For examples I'm picking : Trebuchet, Quickdraw, Victor, Highlander, and now the Kintaro. While these mechs are well executed, the basic design for them is really uninteresting, they just aren't exciting, they largely look very similar, they bring no interesting elements with them. They look like troopers, they are largely effective in the game, but they just don't have any soul. Mechs like the Catapult, the Atlas, the Raven...These have enough of their own individuality that they are interesting, they don't look like cookie cutter designs. I'm not talking about the effectuality of mechs that are chosen, just the bland design of mechs. It's not just that they're humanoid, they just all look almost the same. We really could use some different looking mechs to spice things up. Different leg types, different torsos...anything really. Again, the implementation of the mechs that are chosen is very good, always an improvement over the TRO artwork, it's just that the choices for the mechs is extraordinarily boring. Please make more interesting choices in the future, even the Orion will look a lot different from what we've been getting recently...

Well, I'll defend the VTR to the death, but then that has long been one of my all time favorite chassis, I think the Alex hit it out of the park on it.

That said, the general "Brick shaped Humanoid with Child Bearing Hips" is indeed getting way to repetitive and too often the do indeed, look generic.

My Favorite designs, visually, are:

A+ visual
Catapult K2
Cicada (IDK why, I just like how they came out)
Hunchback (Alex REALLY saved that one)
Commando
Atlas
Centurion (even if too tall)

B grade
Victor (Well done, but as said, possibly just too much of the same)
Catapults (non K2/Founders)
Jagermech (Would be A+ with the way the Modelers saved the arms.. but then they smashed it's face flat )
Cataphract
Jenner
AWS-8Q
Dragon

C Grade
Quickdraw
Raven
Spider
Highlander (the head kinda ruins it)

D to F grade
Founders Catapult (the beak just ruins it)
Trebuchet (just.... boring)
Stallker
Kintaro
Blackjack (just... the lines are too weird and don't really line up at all)


And.. did I mention the whole Child Bearing Hips thing? IS there a mandate that all mechs have to have their hips spread so wide that a spider can walk between them legs without touching? Or do they do double duty in **** films?

Seriously, tone down those hips a tad people!

[Bishop Steiner]

Royalewithcheese, on 02 August 2013 - 03:14 PM, said:

Phoenix pack will be great for this. I actually really like those characters on the Kintaro, though.

EDIT:

I think the highlander was just a chassis they dropped the ball on - it actually looks really distinctive a lot of the time:




IMO the quickdraw and victor were massively improved based on the pre-MWO versions, tho

That's the Highlander IIC, actually, so not quite the same thing (and I love it aside from the ridiculously over sized Gauss)

[Sephlock]

Bishop Steiner, on 02 August 2013 - 08:20 PM, said:

And.. did I mention the whole Child Bearing Hips thing? IS there a mandate that all mechs have to have their hips spread so wide that a spider can walk between them legs without touching? Or do they do double duty in **** films?

Seriously, tone down those hips a tad people!

http://abcnews.go.co...body-obsession/

[General Taskeen]

Royalewithcheese, on 02 August 2013 - 03:14 PM, said:

Phoenix pack will be great for this. I actually really like those characters on the Kintaro, though.

EDIT:

I think the highlander was just a chassis they dropped the ball on - it actually looks really distinctive a lot of the time:

Pretty sure that's a Higherlander-IIC, all the "IIC" Clan Mechs are pretty bad-*** looking.

Although, the original Highlander artwork wasn't that terrible, and made it look pretty distinctive.

[Angel of Annihilation]

I have to agree, I would like to see rounded and/or angular mechs to go along with the slab sided ones we have been seeing as of late.

I vote for the Exterminator.

It has a wedge shapped torso, cockpit and lower leg plus rounded upper arms.

Thug would be another unique and VERY cool looking mech to add.

Then there is the Mongoose, Guillotine and Flashman as well, all very unique.

[Anjian]

If they had wanted a 55 ton medium mech, and one that doesn't look humanoid, could have used the Hoplite instead.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Hoplite

Image below is actually and ironically by Alex Inglesias, aka ~flyingdebris in DevianArt. If Hoplite comes to MWO, this is the closest clue or concept direction as to how it would look.

Edited by Anjian, 02 August 2013 - 11:51 PM.