28 replies to this topic

[Nodachi07]

In previous MW games, a death of a mech usual consisted of its core breaching resulting in an explosion. Usually whenever this happens its proves to be hazardous to your health as the core breach could seriously damage or destroy your own mech. I wonder if the developers will add this feature since it will encourage players from grouping so close together and make u more aware of when a mech is gonna go boom.

[Zeusus]

I think this actually only started in MW4, and was continued in Mech Assault. These core breaches were against canon though (and my understanding was only added to 4 as the engine couldn't handle all the dead mechs).

[Noth]

Nodachi07, on 20 October 2013 - 11:18 AM, said:

In previous MW games, a death of a mech usual consisted of its core breaching resulting in an explosion. Usually whenever this happens its proves to be hazardous to your health as the core breach could seriously damage or destroy your own mech. I wonder if the developers will add this feature since it will encourage players from grouping so close together and make u more aware of when a mech is gonna go boom.

Core breaches in canon were very very rare. At most all that would happen is basically hot gas exploding through the breach which makes a nice light show but does far less damage than the stackpool explosions. Fusion reactors shut down immediately upon breach (no further reactions to cause an explosion).

[Strum Wealh]

Nodachi07, on 20 October 2013 - 11:18 AM, said:

In previous MW games, a death of a mech usual consisted of its core breaching resulting in an explosion. Usually whenever this happens its proves to be hazardous to your health as the core breach could seriously damage or destroy your own mech. I wonder if the developers will add this feature since it will encourage players from grouping so close together and make u more aware of when a mech is gonna go boom.

Firstly: this is more of a "Feature Suggestion" than an "Upcoming Feature", and would likely be more appropriate for that subforum.

Secondly: as Noth pointed out, "explosive core breaches" (often referred to as "Stackpoling", in (possibly ignominious) honor of BattleTech novel author Michael Stackpole) are supposed to be exceedingly rare.
Specifically, BattleTech (the source material for MechWarrior) only included Engine explosions in its advanced-level gameplay rules, and even then stated (on page 78 of the book Tactical Operations) that "the Fusion Engine of a ‘Mech may explode any time four or more of its slots are destroyed in the same phase of a turn, usually when the center torso location is destroyed" and "when the Fusion Engine of a ‘Mech takes four or more critical hits in the same phase, roll 2D6. On a result of 10 or higher, the engine explodes".
(The probability of "a result of 10 or higher" on a 2D6 roll (that is, a roll of 10, 11, or 12) is 16.7%, or "around 1 in 6".)
By contrast, a Fusion Engine is "destroyed" - and shuts down without any chance of exploding - if it takes only three critical hits (as is the case with the loss of a side-torso for an IS-built XL engine) over the course of a game (that is, all three critical hits do not necessarily have to be delivered all at once, unlike the four critical hits needed to potentially trigger an engine explosion).

[Armored Yokai]

Zeusus, on 20 October 2013 - 11:35 AM, said:

I think this actually only started in MW4, and was continued in Mech Assault. These core breaches were against canon though (and my understanding was only added to 4 as the engine couldn't handle all the dead mechs).

Fusion engines usually will only shut down if damaged, and they are absolutely no risk of being a fusion bomb. ^[2] There have been a number of cases of fusion engines being "over revved" and exploding with devestating force, but this is more akin to a boiler explosion than a true nuclear explosion. More often a destroyed engine will be punctured by weapons fire. Because the plasma is held in a vacuum chamber (to isolate the superheated plasma from the cold walls of the reactor; contact with the walls would super-chill the plasma below fusion temperatures), a punctured reactor can suck in air where the air is superheated. Normal thermal expansion of the air causes the air to burst out in a brilliant lightshow often mistaken for a "nuclear explosion". The Thermal Expansion damages anything within 90 meters of the destroyed 'Mech.
Such dramatic failures are rare, though. It is difficult to sustain the fusion reaction and very easy to shutdown. Safety systems or damage to containment coils will almost always shut down the engine before such an explosion occurs. The massive shielding of the engine (in the case of standard fusion engines, this is a tungsten carbide shell that accounts for over 2/3 of the weight of the engine) usually buys the safety systems the milliseconds needed to shutdown the engine when severe damaged is inflicted.

in mechwarrior 4 it practially followed the lore at that point then mechwarriorfied it
when the mech exploded into a black burnt out frame and it occured every death
it did look like a light show and damage was done to the mech along with heat...

[Sug]

Just let it go.

[Mahpsy]

Zeusus, on 20 October 2013 - 11:35 AM, said:

I think this actually only started in MW4, and was continued in Mech Assault. These core breaches were against canon though (and my understanding was only added to 4 as the engine couldn't handle all the dead mechs).

Nah it was in Mechwarrior 2 too. It didn't look spectacular but you still took damage if too close.

[CrashieJ]

Stackpoling is bad, and you should feel bad.


Massive Heat from Fusion? Sure, drive everyones heat up based on engine factor
ammo explosions? sure, damage based on ammunition type and what is left

static-y core explosions causing everything to look like a michael bay movie?

NO, JUST-JUST NO

[hercules1981]

Whatever the correct wording for what happens to a nuclear reactor when it is breached, really is irrelevant in talk to this game at least for the simple reason that it would be a totally abused action in this game especially in competition play. I could see it now the enemy has a nice wall formation around the corner made of atlases and highlanders go suicide this victor into that line cause it is fast and can take a lot of damage to get right next to them and let them blow u up. NO WAY GUYS not in this game.

[Lord Perversor]

Pshh here goes my old fun using Self-destruct explosives in light mechs just to make the big bad boys pay for their slugginesh!!

[Karyudo ds]

Ragingdemon, on 20 October 2013 - 03:47 PM, said:

Nah it was in Mechwarrior 2 too. It didn't look spectacular but you still took damage if too close.

In Mechassault it was bigger than the 4th of July and killed you from across the map. Which I think was what the question was aimed at. I wouldn't mind some minor damage (from something going pop) but daisy-chained mech-bay-stackpole-losions always felt a bit silly.

[Rhaythe]

[TexAce]

Rhaythe, on 22 October 2013 - 05:02 AM, said:

Im sorry but as stupid as it may sound, or as much as non-canon it is...I WANT IT.
Even if the probabilty is just 1% for a mech to die like the first one in that video, my god I want it!

I want BANG FOR MY BUCK!

PS: Sense of scale was much better in LL than it is in MWO, I never played LL but only from watching this video its clearly visible. Plus they had tanks and airplanes.

Edited by TexAss, 22 October 2013 - 05:41 AM.

[Samziel]

I loved the Mechassault explosions, but I don't think they would be nice in MWO, because the amount of suicide bombers would be too damn high!

[Rhaythe]

TexAss, on 22 October 2013 - 05:31 AM, said:

PS: Sense of scale was much better in LL than it is in MWO, I never played LL but only from watching this video its clearly visible. Plus they had tanks and airplanes.

They made it a point of emphasis. The ability to wander around in just the battle armor made for some awe-inspiring shots. I enjoyed that game, but it has its flaws too.

[pbiggz]

No explosions for me. Though we could do with a bit of fire and some electrical snapping noises Mechwarrior 3 style. The simple keeling over is a bit boring, but still, i'd rather have that over anime style absurd fiery mushroom clouds. They're lots of fun, but dont make sense for this game.

[mikromancer]

Rhaythe, on 22 October 2013 - 05:02 AM, said:

the first and last explosions were "overheat" reactor overloads where the player had overridden the heat shutdown safeties and took too much damage, the majority of the rest were ammo explosions

I'd love to have something similar to the override explosions in that one, was tense when you'd have a good brawl going then one guy would fall over glowing and everyone would have to abandon the fight for a few seconds to scatter or get themselves exploded. all eyes on the battlefield would turn to the explosion, just cos of how awesome and cinematic it was...

[Donnie Silveray]

Dunno about large nuke style booms, though having multiple death animations would spice things up a notch. *imagines death by flamer*

[GODzillaGSPB]

I wouldn't want this in the game, but on the other hand...oh yes, this would be such a sweet sweet balancing factor against those nasty facehuggers. "Killed ya, killed ya..." *boom*

[WaywardMind]

Noth, on 20 October 2013 - 11:38 AM, said:

Core breaches in canon were very very rare. At most all that would happen is basically hot gas exploding through the breach which makes a nice light show but does far less damage than the stackpool explosions. Fusion reactors shut down immediately upon breach (no further reactions to cause an explosion).

Still would be nice to see it happen "once in a while"