11 replies to this topic

[scJazz]

QUESTION: ANSWERED

http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__2646910

I know this isn't New Player material per say but I couldn't think of a better location to post where I might get a bunch of highly knowledgeable people noticing.

What is the scale?

I kind of know that an Atlas is ~16m and a Commando is ~9m.

http://bg.battletech...hp?topic=5751.0

Anyone know what MWO is using for scale? Is there any resource which gives us mech dimensions in MWO?

Edited by scJazz, 12 August 2013 - 05:28 AM.

[BookWyrm]

As far as I know the scale in Battletech lore is not very specific and in MWO mechs of the same weight can have drastically different shapes and characteristics. So...I guess the answer is no scale at all, or at least not one that we are privy to.

[scJazz]

BookWyrm, on 11 August 2013 - 12:22 PM, said:

As far as I know the scale in Battletech lore is not very specific and in MWO mechs of the same weight can have drastically different shapes and characteristics. So...I guess the answer is no scale at all, or at least not one that we are privy to.

The Canon Lore is horrifically non-specific. I'm well aware of that. What I hoped is that someone had any scale data at all for MWO. I don't even care about whether a Trebuchet is too big or a Spider to small. I'm just looking for some measurements.

[BookWyrm]

Various conversations/arguments on the forums about that topic, just do a search. But no one has any concrete data from PGI themselves, just files pulled from game.

[scJazz]

I'd rather shoot myself in the face repeatedly with a BB Gun than use the Forum Search function since it sorts Oldest First with no Advanced features. I know PGI hasn't released any data. What I'm hoping for is that someone knows the answer. That way I don't have to spend the next X hours re-inventing the wheel

[Aym]

The goons have an image with the scale of all the MWO mechs front and side on http://themittani.co...hwarrior-online
I forget which article but it wasn't long ago.

[scJazz]

Aym, on 11 August 2013 - 01:09 PM, said:

The goons have an image with the scale of all the MWO mechs front and side on http://themittani.co...hwarrior-online
I forget which article but it wasn't long ago.

I quick scanned every article and then went back and slow scanned the last few... couldn't find it. Maybe Tankboyken would like to chime in here.

[Koniving]

Someone keeps floating around with different images of them side by side. It's not 100% accurate (if they're not standing the way they do in MWO, it's pretty irrelevant). But that said...

There's a pattern to the scales when you consider the proportions of the mechs. Every mech -- except the Centurion -- generally fits this pattern which I use in the second quote in the spoiler. It also predicts that the Locust should be slightly shorter than the typical 20 ton mech, and that the Flea will probably be taller than the typical 20 ton mech given the rules provided.

This same pattern predicts that the Crab, King Crab, and Cauldron Born will be very short for their weight classes if brought into the game, due to their long and wide body shapes.

On the scale topic:

Spoiler

Koniving, on 07 August 2013 - 12:06 PM, said:

Now, at one point I talked with a new player about mech scales. I figured her opinion would be completely unbiased here. She played MW2 and MW3 only, knew almost nothing of tabletop. The topic was Trebuchet and its height.

I told her when she was choosing the Centurion for her first mech, that its reason to exist is to accompany and defend the Trebuchet. I then asked her about the Trebuchet's height compared to an Atlas, even though the Treb is half the weight. I was standing next to one to demonstrate

Her response was this: "It might be the same height but it's a lot skinnier. Just the arms make it look big. You said the Trebuchet's natural function is to lob LRMs, right?"
"Right."
"Then it needs to be tall to help it shoot LRMs over hills, much like my little brother's Hunchback 4J's launcher compared to his other Hunchbacks and their Hunches. Thing's skrawny, too, I mean without the arms you're thinner than Chris's Hunchback."
"Haven't thought of that. But people throw on SRMs and brawl with it."
"That's their own fault."

So I asked her, "What about the Centurion? It's almost as tall as a Highlander and twice as wide as a Trebuchet."
"You just said it's a Treb's bodyguard. Well then it has to be able to take abuse in the Treb's place. Since I was reading about it last night, the Centurion's also supposed to be able to dodge to the side, grab things with its arm, and isn't supposed to fight close range anyway. The game needs a button to let me bring that shield in front of me in different positions."

Just food for thought.

I never saw it that way before. Now I want a button to reposition that arm. I can think of 4 great positions. One, where it is now. Two, ahead of me, to protect the torso as I approach (but it'd block the missiles). Three, raised in front of the cockpit, as you never know when you need it. Four, held out as far left as possible with the claw extended to try and trip lights as I run by. <--Vid of a Lariat (wrestling clothesline) from an Atlas against a Hunchback.

Koniving, on 02 August 2013 - 11:58 AM, said:

Following my basic rules for mech design:

The Flea is going to be taller than the Locust, which puts it at about the height of a Jenner.

The way I see it:
The wider your front profile and the longer your side profile, the shorter you should be (Jenner for example. Locust fits in this category too).
If your front profile is wide but your side profile is stubby, you should be average height. (Commando)
If your front profile is narrow but your side profile is long, you should be average height. (Raven)
If your front profile is narrow and your side profile is stubby, you should be taller. (Flea).

So despite being 20 tons, the Flea should probably be as tall as a 25 ton mech of average height Commando, which is still shorter than a Jenner. The Flea is then likely to be taller than the average 20 ton mech. Meanwhile, with so much more surface area horizontally on both axis (wide and long), the Locust should thusly be shorter than an average 20 ton mech.

But that's just how I would have done it.

Sorry I don't have fancy pictures for you.

[Strum Wealh]

The canon BT scale is that the smallest 'Mechs (think Flea or Locust) are approximately 8 meters tall, while the tallest 'Mechs (think Atlas or Banshee) are approximately 14 meters tall.
Here is the scale chart from pg. 303 of TRO 3039:


And while its canonicity is yet to be confirmed, here is a height comparison of the original 16 Clan OmniMechs:


Some time ago, some players actually got the in-game assets and got the actual heights of the MWO 'Mechs - the Atlas is the tallest 'Mech currently (that is, at the time of this writing) in-game at 17.6 meters tall, while the Jenner is the shortest 'Mech currently (again, at the time of this writing) in-game at 9.4 meters tall.

(courtesy of Bishop Steiner, circa January 2013; original MWO height determinations done by Adridos)

[Koniving]

Strum Wealh, on 11 August 2013 - 04:23 PM, said:

Fun fact: With very few exceptions (Timberwolf [Madcat] and Maddog [Vulture]), those clan mechs follow the rules I came up with for scaling.

[aniviron]

I don't have the quote handy, but according to PGI they scaled the MWO atlas to be 18m tall. It's on the forums somewhere.

[Aym]

scJazz, on 11 August 2013 - 02:06 PM, said:

I quick scanned every article and then went back and slow scanned the last few... couldn't find it. Maybe Tankboyken would like to chime in here.

Well I'll be, I can't find it on there either. Good for me I did find it elsewhere... http://lmgtfy.com/?q=mwo+mech+scale

Edited by Aym, 12 August 2013 - 03:32 PM.