113 replies to this topic

[Lucy Cameron]

I'd love to see a Wolfhound. I'd like it even better if they "found" a variant that had JJ's.

[Sephlock]

"NEXT LIGHT MECH PLEASE: WOLFHOUND"

No, because they'd find SOME WAY to give us a hero mech that isn't Phelan Kell's... or worse, they'd commit the UNFORGIVABLE CRIME of giving it to us, but NOT giving us the special IR paint that makes the teeth show up even when you are using heat vision (or was it night vision? It's been forever since I read the books ).

[Alistair Winter]

Bishop Steiner, on 08 November 2013 - 06:53 PM, said:

Do not mistake my apathy for the design in the game with apathy for the design in general, or the challenge. Else I would not have designed this
many moons ago.
Now getting around to finishing it? Eventually.

I have to say, first of all, that your sketch looks awesome. But I was hoping that PGI (That's you, Alex) would take the classic Robo-wolf design and make it a bit more functional and gritty, like they did with the Spider. The Spider looks like a robotic insect in the old Battletech artwork, but in this game it looks more like a military vehicle and less like a cyborg super villain.

When I see old Battletech designs like these, well, it doesn't really give me those Battletech-feels. So if PGI does release the Wolfhound for this game, I hope they take the same approach as they did with the Spider and keep a little bit of the arachnid-look, but make it look more functional. If they do the ears, for example, I'm hoping they will be some kind of antennae or blast shields or something else superficially functional.

[Bishop Steiner]

Alistair Winter, on 11 November 2013 - 02:48 AM, said:

I have to say, first of all, that your sketch looks awesome. But I was hoping that PGI (That's you, Alex) would take the classic Robo-wolf design and make it a bit more functional and gritty, like they did with the Spider. The Spider looks like a robotic insect in the old Battletech artwork, but in this game it looks more like a military vehicle and less like a cyborg super villain.

When I see old Battletech designs like these, well, it doesn't really give me those Battletech-feels. So if PGI does release the Wolfhound for this game, I hope they take the same approach as they did with the Spider and keep a little bit of the arachnid-look, but make it look more functional. If they do the ears, for example, I'm hoping they will be some kind of antennae or blast shields or something else superficially functional.

blame Mike Stackpole, I'm just the guy trying to make the thing actually look like his description finally. In general, I prefer the non totem look. And the ears are the antenna.

[stjobe]

Bishop Steiner, on 11 November 2013 - 06:22 AM, said:

blame Mike Stackpole

Oh, we do. We blame him constantly for his many, many transgressions against all things BattleTech.

[Bishop Steiner]

stjobe, on 11 November 2013 - 06:25 AM, said:

Oh, we do. We blame him constantly for his many, many transgressions against all things BattleTech.

And yet, without the Warrior and Blood of Kerensky Trilogies........

He wrote so much good interesting stuff... except for when he tried to write military stuff. Of course.... how do you write sensible military stuff about stompy robots in the first place?

[Shadey99]

Michael Stackpole has been rather prolific in writing books for many many franchises, though I oddly never read any of this BT ones... He did fairly well in his Star Wars ones, maybe it just vibed better with his history focus?

[CDLord HHGD]

I loved Stackpole's BT books.... The foundation for my love of the genre. If it weren't for Stackpole, I might not be here.....

[Bishop Steiner]

cdlord, on 11 November 2013 - 07:44 AM, said:

I loved Stackpole's BT books.... The foundation for my love of the genre. If it weren't for Stackpole, I might not be here.....

No denying. That said, their is a reason mechs going up like nuclear bombs is called "Stackpoling", lol.

[Ngamok]

cdlord, on 11 November 2013 - 07:44 AM, said:

I loved Stackpole's BT books.... The foundation for my love of the genre. If it weren't for Stackpole, I might not be here.....

I love both his BT and SW books.

[Oni74]

Gevurah, on 08 November 2013 - 07:54 AM, said:

I'm pretty sure that's the 'controversial light humanoid' mech we're gonna see. MG's and medium lasers ftw

I've a feeling they were talking about the valkyrie.... (http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Valkyrie)

[CDLord HHGD]

Onij74, on 12 November 2013 - 11:34 AM, said:

I've a feeling they were talking about the valkyrie.... (http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Valkyrie)

The Val is unseen.....

[Funkadelic Mayhem]

*sits back and waits for the flea*
I cant stand the look of "humanoid" mechs.

[Ngamok]

cdlord, on 12 November 2013 - 11:48 AM, said:

The Val is unseen.....

And Ugly.

[Escef]

Ngamok, on 12 November 2013 - 11:55 AM, said:

And Ugly.

Same for the Thud, so what?

[Ngamok]

Escef, on 12 November 2013 - 12:00 PM, said:

Same for the Thud, so what?

Thunderbolt isn't ugly. I kinda like it because it reminds me of the Hellbringer / Summoner.

[Sparks Murphey]

stjobe, on 08 November 2013 - 08:16 AM, said:

Yeah, and that's what speaks against the Wolfhound; it only has three variants and they're functionally identical:

WLF-1 (one of the MLs rear-facing - which won't happen in MWO, so it's identical to the WLF-1B)
WLF-1A (rear ML removed, heat sink added)
WLF-1B (rear ML moved forward - which would happen in MWO anyway, so identical to the WLF-1)

So really only two variants with a minor difference (1 energy hard point), all the other variants are out of timeline.

Alistair Winter, on 08 November 2013 - 01:40 PM, said:

Look at what PGI has done with existing variants in the game. Sarna doesn't say anything about the AWS-8T vs AWS-8R in regards to their missile capacity, for example. Yet one has 4 missile hardpoints, and the other has 2. And what does Sarna say about the AS7-D-DC or AS7-RS? Nothing that relates to their advantages in MWO. Basically, PGI made it interesting by tweaking their MWO stats, and they can do the same for future mechs, like the Wolfhound, if they want.

And further to Alistair's point, there's the Quickdraw. The -4G and -4H are identical except for forward/rearward weapon mounts, making them identical in MWO in the same way that the Wolfhound -1 and -1B would be. Except they're not, since the -4H has an extra missile slot, while the -4G has a better and faster twist range. Similar things could distinguish the Wolfhound.

As for it's niche over the Jenner, I'd be interested in seeing if they could make it zombie like a mini-Centurion. Shoot a Jenner, and you're going to hit the legs, the centre torso, or maybe the arms, not the side torsos. Similar story with the Raven. With some emphasis on the Wolfhound's shoulder pads, and it's legs taking up less overall percentage of it's height, you could turn it into a machine that's hard to put down in spite of having the same armour as the Jenners and Ravens seen in MWO, making it preferable NOT to use an XL engine in it (a fact focused on by the lore as being important to it's survival). Even with both side torsos destroyed, it would still have two energy slots left, similar to the Spider-5V, except you actually had firepower before that too.

All that said, I want a Javelin. After the Valk, it's one of the staple Federated Suns light 'Mechs, and we just don't have many of them yet. Jenner? Combine. Commando? Lyran. Flea? Free Worlds League. Raven? Capellan, except for the -4X which the Fed Suns stole, so that doesn't really count. Spider? Free Worlds League & Combine. Locust? Well, everyone's really, so not unique to the Federated Suns. The Javelin would fill a gap that may be important for faction warfare.

[Bishop Steiner]

Ngamok, on 12 November 2013 - 11:55 AM, said:

And Ugly.

Ugly can be fixed by Alex. Most of the mechs in Battletech are ugly.

Sparks Murphey, on 12 November 2013 - 12:35 PM, said:

And further to Alistair's point, there's the Quickdraw. The -4G and -4H are identical except for forward/rearward weapon mounts, making them identical in MWO in the same way that the Wolfhound -1 and -1B would be. Except they're not, since the -4H has an extra missile slot, while the -4G has a better and faster twist range. Similar things could distinguish the Wolfhound.

As for it's niche over the Jenner, I'd be interested in seeing if they could make it zombie like a mini-Centurion. Shoot a Jenner, and you're going to hit the legs, the centre torso, or maybe the arms, not the side torsos. Similar story with the Raven. With some emphasis on the Wolfhound's shoulder pads, and it's legs taking up less overall percentage of it's height, you could turn it into a machine that's hard to put down in spite of having the same armour as the Jenners and Ravens seen in MWO, making it preferable NOT to use an XL engine in it (a fact focused on by the lore as being important to it's survival). Even with both side torsos destroyed, it would still have two energy slots left, similar to the Spider-5V, except you actually had firepower before that too.

All that said, I want a Javelin. After the Valk, it's one of the staple Federated Suns light 'Mechs, and we just don't have many of them yet. Jenner? Combine. Commando? Lyran. Flea? Free Worlds League. Raven? Capellan, except for the -4X which the Fed Suns stole, so that doesn't really count. Spider? Free Worlds League & Combine. Locust? Well, everyone's really, so not unique to the Federated Suns. The Javelin would fill a gap that may be important for faction warfare.

Meh. If you HAD a decent Light that would help. Even in 3025 the Valk and Jav were mediocre, overall.

Now if you want a Davey special, I'm all for them adding the Enforcer somehow. But I am an admitted MEdium MEchwhore. And I love running my "Super Enforcer" on my SHD 5M, with an AC10 and dual LArges (yeah, cheating, but I got the tonnage, so why not?)

[Ngamok]

@Bishop and Escef

I am thinking of the wrong mech for the Valkyrie. I was picturing the one that looks like this for some reason.

[CDLord HHGD]

Ngamok, on 13 November 2013 - 08:13 AM, said:

@Bishop and Escef
I am thinking of the wrong mech for the Valkyrie. I was picturing the one that looks like this for some reason.
Ugly "WTF is that?" pic.......

Here's the REAL Valkyrie.....