44 replies to this topic

[Johnny Z]

The seismic counter could be a deployable "thumper" negating seismic sensor for 500 meters or so. No deployables in game yet, and more difficult to add, but this would make some sense. I suppose this could be added along with mines, with simply a different model, if they add those.





edited for some funny spelling mistake.

Edited by Johnny Z, 22 September 2013 - 03:03 PM.

[Wascot]

Destructible deployables seems to be a better idea than mine. False positives via thumpers seem interesting, but it would have to generate a random blip at 'x' radius every 'y' seconds to fool seismic. Any skilled pilot should be able to discern which blips are real and which are fake. It would certainly add a skill element (no matter how small) to an otherwise cookie cutter module. Then again I suppose pretty much all the modules work like that to begin with.

[Buzzsaw Bob]

I liked Seismic sensors when they were first brought in, I still like having it on some mechs now that it has reduced range. Identifying an ambush before running into it has saved my skin in many a match, but thinking there is only one or two mechs nearby and then blundering into an ambush has happened plenty of times too. All it takes is a few stationary enemies or a few that are out of range to get fooled into a false sense of security by the Seismic sensor. At six million C-bills, it is also a very expensive module to field. Seismic sensors are not some kind of overpowered win-button, and I am a little surprised that there is an anti-seismic camp. I shouldn't be surprised since a great deal of forum-voice boils down to "I like this thing, we should buff it. I don't like this thing, we should nerf it"
I really enjoy this game, I will continue to play and enjoy this game. I am going to ride the waves of nerfs and buffs, but I have never felt that the game needed changing. Poptarts bother you? develop tactics to defeat them, light mechs seem OP? build your mechs to crush them, seismic bothers you? adapt your tactics to trick them. The game doesn't need to change, the players do.

[Banditman]

The counter to a Seismic Sensor shouldn't be to hide mechs. The counter should be to fool the seismic sensor itself. A deployable that will put out random seismic readings that "fool" mounted seismic sensors into thinking there is a mech where there is not a mech.

[Jaynestown]

Just as a point of interest, you can't "damp" how much "seismic response" something generates without changing how much it weighs or how heavily it steps (a combination of weight, speed, and footprint). I am fine with suspending physics in a lot of cases in order to make game balance better. I think in this case though the fix should not be a new counter module. It should be that the ping which shows up for seismic should be bigger based on the size and speed of the targets. So big enough, fast enough mechs should just cover your radar, making it impossible to differentiate the smaller ones, and especially big mechs that come crashing down out of the sky (cough, Highlander). Those could just short it out and require you to recalibrate, like a UAC5 jam.