2 replies to this topic

[Kassel]

Greetings,

To optimize the rate at which I may experience new builds I employ an equipment strategy that allows me to cut C-Bill costs. I acquire one copy of each engine I wish to use, N copies of each desirable weapon, and a single mech of each variant. This means that I typically do not have enough equipment to keep all of my mechs in a ready state, but I may try many types I would normally not be able to afford.

Prior to engaging in battle I will outfit a mech and utilize it in my matches. At the end of the night I may strip the mech and repeat the process the next day. Sometimes I will replay builds I used before and other times I will design new variants.


This works fairly well for me, but what I would really like to be able to do is save the designs and recall them on a whim so that I do not repeatedly configure the same loadout.

My thought is that rather than selecting a mech from the mechbay you would instead have a list of loadouts that are designed in a sandbox. The designs you would implement in the sandbox would cover the equipment for the mech, its modules, armor, and upgrades such as the double heat sinks as the current configuration options do. You would not be limited by the equipment you currently possess and would be able to configure it however you wished. Purchasing a new mech would automatically add in one additional design which is the stock loadout for that mech.

To purchase upgrades for your mechs (double heatsinks, etc.) you would need to configure that content from the mechbay and not in the sandbox. Purchasing of equipment could still occur from the loadout screen or a new storage interface could be designed.

After completing your design you would then be allowed to select it for launching into a match. Your ability to ready that design would depend on:

1) Whether your equipment stores contained the weapons, engine, armor, and other equipment required by your loadout.
2) Whether your mechbay contained the mech variant specified by the design.
3) Whether your particular variant had the same upgrades as the design specified.
4) Whether your mech is currently in a battle.

Failure to meet these requirements would cause the interface to inform the user that they were missing particular components and would not allow them to ready the design.


With this system in place I would spend less time re-arranging my parts into well known configurations and instead be able to create a list of named designs such as:

[CPLT-K2] Ultracat
[CPLT-K2] Gaussapult
[CPLT-K2] Zombie Slayer
....

I could then click any one of the designs and launch so long as I possessed the correct mech, U-AC/5s, LB 10-X ACs, and other parts.




One additional feature that would be useful would be to be able to launch into the training grounds regardless if you owned the mech or the parts for its loadout. This could also be useful for training new users and allowing them to experiment with mechs prior to spending their new pilot funds.

[Sephlock]

The idea is for you to get bored into paying for the convenience of having multiple copies of the same mech with different names, all fully kitted out .

[Mindnut]

With prices for modules and engines reaching 6 mil... Yeah, this is a good idea.
It would also be great if one could assign a loadout and camo to a map (or more maps). That way we wouldn't end up having a short range loadout and a dark camo in "Alpine Peaks" for example. The client would just load the right version of your mech based on the map

Edited by Mindnut, 16 October 2013 - 11:12 PM.