21 replies to this topic

[Degalus]

Hi Mechwarriors!
With the Phoenix pack around the corner i decided to watch some mw videos and enjoy some nostalgia.
Then i saw the Locust and was thinking "huh? thats not a locust" and looked for some old battletech pictures. The design is completly different and its hard to say that the new one is a locust if u know the old one.
Dont get me wrong i like the new one, realy awesome looking thingy but why is the design so far away from the original?
The first difference I noticed were the legs. The original Legs were connected to the shoulders and not to the torso. Also the legs are too fat and too short. The torsogun should be under the torso and should look slim and long.
I hope that the designs will not be too consistently. It destroys some unique old designs...
Im not realy a pro or veteran in BT, i played only Mechwarrior titles sooo maybe im wrong with my thinking. If that is the case please correct me ^^
What do you think?

ps.:(Sorry for the grammar and writing errors. It is not my native language ^^; )

Here some pictures of old Locust

Edited by Degalus, 08 October 2013 - 02:32 AM.

[Hans Von Lohman]

Torso twisting. They need to be able to turn and shoot 180 degrees and not just straight forward.

Also, lawsuits from Japan required a new design so that a BattleTech/Mechwarrior Locust is not the exact same thing as the Ostall from Crusher Joe Japanese cartoon.

Even with re-designs all of the Macross/Robotech designs like the Warhammer and Marauder mechs (Tomahawk Destroid and Zentraedi Glaug Officer BattlePod) are still a legal problem. Unlike Crusher Joe and Dougram, Macross is still an active property and there are new Macross anime cartoons every few years.

[Rascula]

Yeah licensing issues have forced some redesign, I really do like the new model though and it keeps some of inspiration from the original

Edited by Rascula, 08 October 2013 - 02:43 AM.

[Escef]

Firstly, every mech in MWO was redesigned.

Centurion:


Granted, the Cent is probably the one that stands out the most.

I would also point out that the original Locust design was licensed from the Crusher Joe novel/anime franchise, where the design was referred to as the Ostall. Because of this, it was counted as Unseen for many years. All of the Unseen would eventually return with new mechanical designs in Technical Readout: Project Phoenix. All of the mechs in MWO's Project Phoenix are non-Macross/non-quad Unseen mechs.

[Degalus]

Thx guys! That answered alot. So legal issues and torsotwist prevent pgis designer to make them look like the original.
I realy hope Marauder with his big gun on the top or the Timberwolf can stay original O.o... dont want so see something like that as an Mad Cat ...


one and only

Edited by Degalus, 08 October 2013 - 03:23 AM.

[stjobe]

It looks even better in "real life":



It's also TINY:



And yes, it is the need for torso-twisting that prohibits it from having shoulder-mounted legs like the TRO:3025 image.

[Ralgas]

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

read and be enlightened, there are only select "original" chassis affected. As the rights holder of the macross designs is very quick to litigate (even now) you won't see a marauder in the near future. Madcat isn't affected although given the geometry used to date on rounded mechs expect a blend closer to your mock up anyway

Edit: Btw if you really want marauder designs level an orion -k. the hardpoints are compatible with most MAD loadouts

Edited by Ralgas, 08 October 2013 - 03:31 AM.

[Degalus]

stjobe, on 08 October 2013 - 03:23 AM, said:

It looks even better in "real life":



It's also TINY:



And yes, it is the need for torso-twisting that prohibits it from having shoulder-mounted legs like the TRO:3025 image.

O.o !!! where did u get this pictures? Looks like i miss something

Edited by Degalus, 08 October 2013 - 03:31 AM.

[SchwarzerPeter]

Well i find the "new" locus far more attractive

Need to get one if it looks that awesome ingame, shouldn't be that expensive with 20 tons ^^

[stjobe]

Degalus, on 08 October 2013 - 03:28 AM, said:

O.o !!! where did u get this pictures? Looks like i miss something

First one: https://twitter.com/...5682560/photo/1
Second one: https://twitter.com/...6614144/photo/1

Yes, it's Twitter you're missing.

[DarkDevilDancer]

The sane part of me says it's a death trap, the light pilot in me is counting the days.

[Degalus]

Ralgas, on 08 October 2013 - 03:27 AM, said:

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

read and be enlightened, there are only select "original" chassis affected. As the rights holder of the macross designs is very quick to litigate (even now) you won't see a marauder in the near future. Madcat isn't affected although given the geometry used to date on rounded mechs expect a blend closer to your mock up anyway

Edit: Btw if you really want marauder designs level an orion -k. the hardpoints are compatible with most MAD loadouts

Ah k. Im glad that the timberwolf dont have legal issues. Would awesome if it looks like the original that we all love (or hate XD)
Oh and i dont realy mind loadouts, i work with what i have and try to get the best out of it. Sure i dont take a creepy variant of an mech if i dont need it to lvl the chassis but i need more a good design rather then a good loadout ^^ (yea im crazy i know)

stjobe, on 08 October 2013 - 03:40 AM, said:

First one: https://twitter.com/...5682560/photo/1
Second one: https://twitter.com/...6614144/photo/1

Yes, it's Twitter you're missing.

Ah thx. K i never used twitter ... dont know realy why ^^;

[The Amazing Atomic Spaniel]

Degalus, on 08 October 2013 - 02:01 AM, said:

Main reasons it was changed:

1. As drawn it could never be animated to walk without looking very silly indeed.

2. It would fall over backwards.

3. How exactly does the pilot see out?

4. Clipping.

A lot of the old TRO art was done in a real hurry without any thought behind it. This is a good example. It's horrible. Far better to do what MWO has done and pick out a few design features and produce something more plausible.

[Degalus]

RocketDog, on 08 October 2013 - 04:54 AM, said:

Main reasons it was changed:

1. As drawn it could never be animated to walk without looking very silly indeed.

2. It would fall over backwards.

3. How exactly does the pilot see out?

4. Clipping.

A lot of the old TRO art was done in a real hurry without any thought behind it. This is a good example. It's horrible. Far better to do what MWO has done and pick out a few design features and produce something more plausible.

Ever played mechwarrior 4 with mektek pack? There is a working locust like the one of the picture. But yea it would be pretty useless without torso twist here in mwo.

ps.: k from a realistic point of view, many mechs wouldnt work but hey! Its mechwarrior ^^

Edited by Degalus, 08 October 2013 - 09:35 AM.

[Xanquil]

SchwarzerPeter, on 08 October 2013 - 03:28 AM, said:

Well i find the "new" locus far more attractive

Need to get one if it looks that awesome ingame, shouldn't be that expensive with 20 tons ^^

I liked it so much I made it my laptop's background. Can't wait to get it to pilot it, and DIE....a lot.

[General Taskeen]

Not sure why people always post the very original Locust as examples of "lol, look at those silly battle tech things."

The artwork for the Locust was redone a couple times already, of which is actually pretty good.





Clearly the one in MWO is a cross between the new and old art.

[Degalus]

General Taskeen, on 08 October 2013 - 06:58 PM, said:

Not sure why people always post the very original Locust as examples of "lol, look at those silly battle tech things."

The artwork for the Locust was redone a couple times already, of which is actually pretty good.





Clearly the one in MWO is a cross between the new and old art.

O.o .... looks a little like an Catapult. Sry but dont like the design.
PGI did a realy great Jop here to make an awesome looking Locust.
Dont get me wrong with this thread. I dont flame the design for not being accurate, i only wanted to know why they changed such a big feature like the shoulderlegs and it was answered very quickly ^^ Thx again guys.

Edited by Degalus, 09 October 2013 - 06:08 AM.

[Sturmforge]

Too bad the current game cannot handle the Locust 6M though it is a few years to early for that mech.

226 kph/302 kph w/ MASC

[Karyudo ds]

General Taskeen, on 08 October 2013 - 06:58 PM, said:

The artwork for the Locust was redone a couple times already, of which is actually pretty good.

I like the version with the 2 Medium Lasers, but the other does indeed resemble the Catapult. I think the head looks just a bit to big. Not the worst design, but doesn't say "cramped" to me.

[Frozen Spirit Jac]

Seriously love the new designs of the locust
- but surely there should be more option for criticals over armour, especially the legs.
- nearly every game it just take 2 shots, no matter how quick I am and I am dead. Surely there can be a sacrifice for weapons over armour. ie one good weapon if choose more armour slots. otherwise, the locust are just paper machei.
Most commonly I am done by friendly fire during a brawl and run.