20 replies to this topic

[zverofaust]

One of the hallmarks of the MW game franchise has been the oft-overlooked salvaging of Mechs and components you fought in missions. I'd like to see this return to the game in the form of randomly awarding components from enemy Mechs destroyed in a game to the killer(s) post-battle. This would be a rather rare occurance, particularly for more expensive items like high-end weapons -- generally most "loot" would be in the form of maybe some ammunition, spare heat sinks, low-tier weapons like machineguns and small lasers or whatever. Most of it would be scrap and probably sold by the player, but occasionally they might pick up something they'd like and be able to keep it for later use. A sort of "lottery" if you will, but one that you'd have to earn by doing top damage to something in a game in order to have the "right" to salvage it.

[CobraFive]

Hmm... depends on how "loot" and equipment work in the game. We'll need more info before I could decide if I like salvage or not.

I think either way salvage should be in, but, even if its just money that's fine by me.

[Paladin1]

I think you're going to see some kind of salvage system in the game, but what it will be or how it will work is anyone's guess at this point. I trust the Devs to do a good job so I'll just wait and see how they surprise me.

[Kaillith]

It really does depend on how the game is set up. If it goes Free Roaming then i think it would be like a loot system, but if there are actual missions and stuff you can go on there would be rewards for completing those plus scrap.

It would be cool if you could salvage stuff from mechs that you damage only enough to disable.

[crabmeister]

A dynamic salvage system ala MW2 Mercs would work in the sense that you get what you don't shoot, rewarding accuracy and tactics that allow you to leg your opponent's mech.

On the other hand, that means the only way to play the game is to leg the other guy's mech. And that gets annoying fast. And what if you do get his equipment? What if, for example, the Clans have showed up, and he's rocking Clan MPLs, and you take out his legs? Do you salvage his MPLs, but he gets to keep a copy because not having weapons on your mech would ruin the game? Then that would lead to Clan weapon farming, where everybody ends up with Clan weaponry. Boring.

Or maybe PG will decide to make sure all our contracts have 0% salvage rights.

[DoubleD]

Some reward system needs to be in place, and I think salvage would have the most immersive feel to it. I know as a mercenary, salvage is often where the pay-off comes from. Though I suppose a sum of C-bills (what would normally be called "exchange" salvage) would be acceptable as well.

Though yes, we should wait and see a little more on how the game is set up.

Edited by DoubleD, 01 November 2011 - 07:21 PM.

[NZNomad]

I'd totally be down for a salvage system where the winners get absolutely everything off the opponents mechs that isn't destroyed directly (i.e. weapons that were mounted on an arm you happened to shoot off), or stuff that happened to survive (random chance) the total destruction of the mech.

Would be cool if you could salvage things in different states, and spend money bringing them up to scratch or sell them to junk dealers or other players or whatever.

[Hexenhammer]

For me BattleTech was never a straight cash system. Granted there will be the typical Do X and get Y missions but when it comes to combat salvage I don't want to shoot a mech and have credits spill out from it like a piñata. I want to recover armor plates, actuators, heat sinks, the hardware that makes the mechs work and either use it to repair my machines or sell it on the market. I want to worry about what salvage there is available and which is more important. That actuator or that heat sink?

I want something more complex than WoW's simple need/greed/disenchant system. It works for WoW but I don't want to see it in MechWarrior.

Edited by Hexenhammer, 01 November 2011 - 07:51 PM.

[Darklord]

Salvage from mechs should be parts specific to the mech that is being salvaged.
You destroy a jenner you get jenner parts no random dropped parts.


DL

[CatJock]

^what he said, only some stuff like myomer fiber, structural elements, and armor plate should be interchangeable. That's the stuff that takes the most punishment and which in Battletech is supposed to be interchangeable between Mechs anyway, and it would be frustrating to be stuck with a battle-damaged Jaggermech just because nobody attacked you in a Jaggermech that day.

Also, I would prefer if you had to actually tow your loot back to base. After a big offensive, the enemy mechs aren't going to attack again any time soon, so there would be time to drag a dead chassis back to base and see what goodies can be looted from it. That would be preferable to "Ooh! A blue glowy thing is floating above that dead Mech! I wonder what that could be!" I pity the fool that has to wash out the cockpit, though . . .

[Dr Hobo]

Some parts that are interchangeable,some weapons that were on that mech,and then mech specific parts that can be used to for upgrades/repairs.

[VYCanis]

well, in terms of legging and salvaging

obviously the solution is simply to not count destroyed legs as a kill. Still require an ejection, pilot death, a headshot, an engine disablement, destroying the CT, or a full blown (no case) ammo splosion to get you a legitimate kill.

A mech with stumps for legs, can still be a threat from the ground. Many poor ******** that have taken their eyes off a legged opponent in MWLL can testify to that.

Blasting the legs off a mech, salvage wise, should simply mean that if you do actually salvage the mech, well, looks like you have to buy some new legs for it in addition to the other stuff you broke in killing it, before you can use it yourself.

[Drakken]

Wow, Cobrafive, lol...the tin can of DOOM (urbie).

I would hope that salvaging would be a big, big part of the game. In every battletech gave I've played, it always thrilled me to get some cool stuff to play with. Having said that, I'm not sure that salvage is going to have that large of an impact in the game. If you read the FAQ, they pretty much say that the weapon loadouts won't be custom. I'm guessing they would go with the different mech variants. When you think about it, that was usually the case even in the books and the game. You had several variants for a certain mech chassis. It was rare to have a completely different loadout on a mech - like on Justin Allard's Yen Lo ****, in the warrior trilogy.

Also, from a game balance perspective, it makes sense to limit how you can customize your loadout as well. I've seen some pretty insane custom fits on the tabletop game that were 'legal' but took advantage of some very serious loopholes in the game rules. I'm not saying I am against custom weapon loadouts, but I would expect some fairly strict rules if there are any.

[Lasershark]

If you down a guy, and his left arm is undamaged, I can absolutely see getting his LRM10.

On the other hand, I'd really rather not lose my entire mech just cause I got kneecapped.

I can see this being a tough decision for someone up the ladder.

[Big Red]

From their press releases so far it is not 100% clear the game is solely PvP. I understand this is not an MMO but if they are having a persistent world and player affected changes to the universe then I can't see how it won't be a Mech Piñata like Hexenhammer suggested.

My preferred loot system.
Player/Team has a battle and wins an objective.
Player/Team selects "Fast" or "Slow" salvage option
"Fast" = immediate but limited reward (mostly cash payment but some trade-able equipment/spares)
"Slow" = reward takes 2-5 days (real-time) to appear on your account, reward is larger (more trade-able parts and chance it includes whole chassis/mechs). "Slow" should also have a chance of failure especially if a hotly contested world/objective

The "Slow' version represents techs going out and salvaging equipment and making it useable. The "Fast" version represents the ammo and spares easily filched from captured supply depots and the like during battle but nor requiring a lot of time.

Having Mechs with working hand and lower arm actuators at the end of the battle should add to the amount you receive for the "Fast" option but not the "Slow" option.

[Jack Deth]

It would really suck if getting your mech destroyed in combat and your team loosing the battle resulted in the salvage going to the other team and you left being mech-less. But then again, it might actually encourage people to retreat from combat when a mission starts to go sideways. It'd be more in keeping with the source material and common sense ... not 100% convinced it'd be more fun though.

EDIT: If they go with a high level of persistence like this they'd definitely have to put in a virtual arena type thing where you could go play pickup matches when you wanted practice / to blow off steam so you could play without risking high repair bills and or being dispossessed.

Edited by Jack Deth, 02 November 2011 - 11:47 PM.

[VYCanis]

might actually be cool as it would give gameplay incentive to actually retreating from a losing battle to some extraction point.

might even be more interesting if you could scuttle a dropship that was meant to be the extraction point so that the opposing team can't escape. thus upping the ante as it were.

[Jack Deth]

VYCanis, on 02 November 2011 - 11:46 PM, said:

might actually be cool as it would give gameplay incentive to actually retreating from a losing battle to some extraction point.

might even be more interesting if you could scuttle a dropship that was meant to be the extraction point so that the opposing team can't escape. thus upping the ante as it were.

As long as they make approaching an enemy drop-ship as dangerous as it is in table-top. Those suckers tend to be well armed/armoured.

EDIT: Plus if they include the option of using drop-pods to get planet-side the drop ship might not be around to pick on until the unit is ready to be extracted.

Edited by Jack Deth, 02 November 2011 - 11:52 PM.

[VYCanis]

yeah of course

there are a lot of possibilities that can be explored here.

you have the risk of getting offed by a dropship, but if you kill it, the enemy has to stay and fight.

of course doing so may weaken you enough where the enemy ends up winning.

or maybe you kill the enemy team and simply disable the dropship, and end up raiding it for parts and ammo.

[VYCanis]

quick and dirty solution...

1. have bad salvage rights on missions involving clanners
2. if you aren't a clanner, basic maintenance/repairs become bullshit expensive, replacement parts are likely impossible to find outside of salvaging more clan stuff (and its no guarantee its the parts you need if you can get them at all) or are also bullshit expensive, ammo has to be salvaged clan ammo/bullshit expensive, as the IS stuff is non-compatible. and most IS weapons aren't really supposed to work well if at all in clan chassis, so trying to patch up a clan mech with IS gear is not really an option.

So if a player is practically fighting tooth and nail to keep a salvaged clan mech running, sure, they earned it. Meanwhile every joe blow that's just scraping by and stumbles across clan equipment is probably better off pawning it off. it'd be like the difference between a wealthy driven man finding himself a broken down but fixable Italian sports car, and a man of modest means with other priorities.
The wealthy man can afford to spend time and money restoring and fueling his ride. The modest man basically has a bunch of expensive junk on his hands that could make him a fast buck if he can find a buyer.