17 replies to this topic

[Artgathan]

Mechwarriors!

The time has come for the

Great Engine Survey of 2013

For this, I will need the help of all of you in order to collect some data. What I need you to do is go into your mech hanger and counter up the number of mechs you have that use each of the above listed engine ratings. Count a mech if it doesn't have an engine equipped, but you share it between mechs (for instance, if I move a 300 XL between my Jenner and Highlander, I would count it twice even if I only own one 300 XL engine).

Currently there is no poll feature for this sub-forum (I'll be contacting a mod to see if I can get an exception made for this thread), so you'll need to enter your results in the following format:

• 100 - 125 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 130 - 150 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 155 - 175 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 180 - 200 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 205 - 225 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 230 - 250 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 255 - 275 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 280 - 300 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 305 - 325 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 330 - 350 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 355 - 375 Engines: # STD, # XL
  
• 380 - 400 Engines: # STD, # XL

I also need you to list how many mechs of each weight class you own:

• # Light
  
• # Medium
  
• # Heavy
  
• # Assault

Thanks in advance for doing this! Your results will help advance knowledge in the field of applied mechanized bipedal movement!

I'll be compiling the results as they come in. Hopefully this will allow us to have a better picture of what engines are most common in MW:O!

[Zyllos]

I am certain PGI already knows this information, so why do you need it?

*Reserved for future post*

[Artgathan]

Zyllos, on 12 December 2013 - 09:23 AM, said:

I am certain PGI already knows this information, so why do you need it?

*Reserved for future post*

I am also certain they have this information. I am not certain they would release it (they also don't necessarily have the ability to track how many "effective" engines you have - IE: if I swap my 300XL between 3 different mechs, I "effectively" have 3 X 300 XL engines).

I'm interested in seeing how the engine sizes stack up. Consider that we have a range of 60 different engine sizes to pick from. I highly doubt we'll see an even distribution between them (more likely that we'll see some form of Bell Curve).

IF we expect to see a Bell Curve then there's more interesting questions we can ask: Where is it centered? What does this imply for gameplay?

[Bront]

Size doesn't matter, it's how you use it!

[Shadey99]

Artgathan, on 12 December 2013 - 09:21 AM, said:

I also need you to list how many mechs of each weight class you own:

• # Light
  
• # Medium
  
• # Heavy
  
• # Assault

This I can do without being home, but the engines I'd have to look up when I'm home...
9 Lights (3 Locusts, 3 Spiders, 3 Jenners)
6 Mediums (3 Cicadas, 3 Shadowhawks, though soon to add 3 Griffons and 3 Wolverines)
10 Heavies (4 Jagers, 3 Thuds, 3 Catapults)
9 Assaults (3 Victors, 3 Battlemasters, 3 Highlanders)

The engine complete list:
1, 170 XL (Locust 3S, though the 170 goes into my Cicada X-5 mini-archer build as well)
1, 180 XL (Locust 1V)
1, 190 XL (Locust 3M)
1, 240 XL
1, 245 XL (shared among my SDR-5D, SDR-5K, SDR-5V)
1, 255 XL (shared among my JM6-DD/A/S, Firebrand, SHD-2H)
3, 260 Std (THD-5S)
1, 270 XL (Catapult A1)
2, 275 Std (THD-5SS)
1, 275 XL
1, 280 Std (THD-9SE)
1, 280 XL (SHD-2D2)
1, 300 Std
4, 300 XL (shared among my Jenners, Catapult C1, Catapult K2, CDA-3M/2A/X-5, SHD-5M)
3, 320 Std
1, 320 XL (Victor 9S, HGN-733P/733C)
1, 330 XL (Heavy Metal)
3, 340 Std
1, 350 XL (Shared between my Victor 9B/9K and BLR-1D/1S)
1, 400 XL (BLR-1G)

As you can see above I have a lot of standards laying around not in use... Though I also currently have a 240 XL (From a Spider I think) and 275 XL (From the JM6-DD I believe) not in use...

Edited by Shadey99, 12 December 2013 - 06:24 PM.

[John MatriX82]

I need to check to be sure but the first rating I have is due a couple of STD 200s coming from the hunchies, then 1x225, 1x235 again used for the hunchies, prolly even a 245 or a 240 as well.
Above 250-rated engines there are countless numbers of STD engines in my mechbay, with many doubles triplets up to 350, I think the bigger is a single 355 STD.

The smallest XL engine to date is a recently acquired xl 235, then I have (by memory):
2x255s (ex stalker 5S.. I once sold it and then re-bought it so.. two engines xD)
2x260s (don't ask me where they came from)
1x270
1x275 (SHD 5M)
2-3x280 (ex IM and 3D)
1x285
1x295
5 or 6 or more xl 300s (a few from bought mechs, JR7-D(S) CN9-A and TBT 3C, the other bought because I was tired to swap them around xD)
1-2 310s
2-3 320s
3x325s
1x330 (ex-DS never owned one)
1x335
1x340
1x345
1-2x 350s
1x360
1x375

Number of mechs owned:
-2x Lights (Jenner D(S) & F)
-3 hunchies, 1 TBT (5J), 2 Centurions (A-AL), 2 Cicadas (2A-3M), 2 BJs (1X-1), 2 SHDs (5M, 2D2)-> 12 mediums
-2 Dragons (1N-1C), 2 QuickDraws (5K 4H), 2 Catapults (K2-A1), 3 CTFs (IM-1X-3D) -> 11 heavies
-1 AWS 9M, 2xVTRs (9S-DS), 3xSTKs (3F-5S-5M), 3xHGNs (732-733-733C), 2xAS7s (D(F) / D-DC)-> 11 Assaults.

Dear OP, tbh I think you don't need a poll to discover that the most widespread engine is the XL 300, prolly followed by the 280 xl . For STDs my guess is 300 std, common on phracts, landers, stalkers, followed by 280 and 250 STD.

Edited by John MatriX82, 12 December 2013 - 09:51 AM.

[Artgathan]

Shadey99, on 12 December 2013 - 09:50 AM, said:

This I can do without being home, but the engines I'd have to look up when I'm home...
9 Lights (3 Locusts, 3 Spiders, 3 Jenners)
6 Mediums (3 Cicadas, 3 Shadowhawks, though soon to add 3 Griffons and 3 Wolverines)
10 Heavies (4 Jagers, 3 Thuds, 3 Catapults)
9 Assaults (3 Victors, 3 Battlemasters, 3 Highlanders)

John MatriX82, on 12 December 2013 - 09:50 AM, said:

I need to check to be sure but the first rating I have is due a couple of STD 200s coming from the hunchies, then 1x225, 1x235 again used for the hunchies, prolly even a 245 or a 240 as well.
Above 250-rated engines there are countless numbers of STD engines in my mechbay, with many doubles triplets up to 350, I think the bigger is a single 355 STD.

The smallest XL engine to date is a recently acquired xl 235, then I have (by memory):
2x255s (ex stalker 5S.. I once sold it and then re-bought it so.. two engines xD)
2x260s
1x270
1x275 (SHD 5M)
2-3x280 (ex IM and 3D)
1x285
1x295
5 or 6 or more xl 300s (a few from bought mechs, JR7-D(S) CN9-A and TBT 3C, the other bought because I was tired to swap them around xD)
1-2 310s
2-3 320s
3x325s
1x330 (ex-DS never owned one)
1x335
1x340
1x345
1-2x 350s
1x360
1x375

Number of mechs owned:
-2x Lights (Jenner D(S) & F)
-3 hunchies, 1 TBT (5J), 2 Centurions (A-AL), 2 Cicadas (2A-3M), 2 BJs (1X-1), 2 SHDs (5M, 2D2)-> 12 mediums
-2 Dragons (1N-1C), 2 QuickDraws (5K 4H), 2 Catapults (K2-A1), 3 CTFs (IM-1X-3D) -> 11 heavies
-1 AWS 9M, 2xVTRs (9S-DS), 3xSTKs (3F-5S-5M), 3xHGNs (732-733-733C), 2xAS7s (D(F) / D-DC)-> 11 Assaults.

Dear OP, tbh I think you don't need a poll to discover that the most widespread engine is the XL 300, prolly followed by the 280 xl . For STDs my guess is 300 std, common on phracts, landers, stalkers, followed by 280 and 250 STD.

Thanks for the responses!

My guess would also be that the 300 is the most common, but I'd like some numbers to back up that claim

[John MatriX82]

Artgathan, on 12 December 2013 - 09:52 AM, said:

Thanks for the responses!

My guess would also be that the 300 is the most common, but I'd like some numbers to back up that claim

Yep, lets see what others say, my pov is from a medium/heavy/assault user only, I think light lovers can easily shift these numbers

[Bishop Steiner]

Do, or Do not. There is no try.

Size Matter Not.

(reserved for later info....no time now to scroll through my Mechlab.)

Edited by Bishop Steiner, 12 December 2013 - 10:25 AM.

[Barantor]

Here are mine...

XL300 3
XL250 1 (in Trebuchet)
XL190 1
XL295 1 (came with SHD-5M)
XL275 1
XL330 1 (X-5)
XL320 1 (Cicada-3M)
XL355 1 (Jester)

STD260 3 (Thunderbolts)
STD160 2 (came with Locusts)
STD300 2
STD240 2

6 Lights - 3xJenners (1oxide, 1sarahs), 3xLocusts
5 Mediums - 2xShadowhawks, 1 Trebuchet, 2 Cicadas(1 is X-5)
7 Heavies - 2xCatapults(1 founder, 1 Jester), 3xThunderbolts, 2xOrions(1 Protector)
2 Assaults - 2xAwesomes


20 Mechs total, I had more but I thinned the herd to really focus on the ones I like.

Edited by Barantor, 12 December 2013 - 10:34 AM.

[Wildstreak]

@Artgathan

Got a few things to say.
1 - Don't think you will get the whole community, I believe there are at least some players who do not even post on the forums. Then there are those who (for now?) have left.
2 - You did not include engines people may have sitting on a shelf. Sometimes people save engines and other equipment in case they become useful later. Example, currently I have both a 170XL and 180XL I use on the same Mech when I switch loadouts. I also have a couple from past Hunchbacks.
3 - You also did not include Mechs people have run but then sold off.
4 - Don't know if you are going for overall in game, by weight class or Mech but there are mentions in various guides though it may take time to go through them all.

On Active Mechs
180 Engines: 3 XL
Have: 3 Locust-1V, 3M and 3S

250 Engines: 1 STD
Have: 1 Hunchback-4H
Had: 2 Hunchback-4P and 4SP

300 Engines: 1 STD
Have: 1 Awesome-8R
Had: 2 Awesome-8T and 8V

Shelved
160 Engines: 3 STD
From: 3 Locust

170 Engines: 1 XL
Have: 1 shelved for Locust-1V

200 Engines: 1 STD
From: Hunchback

250 Engines: 1 STD
From: Hunchback

Mechs
Awesome-8R
Hunchback-4H
Locust-1V
Locust-3M
Locust-3S

Edited by Merchant, 12 December 2013 - 10:39 AM.

[Artgathan]

Merchant, on 12 December 2013 - 10:38 AM, said:

@Artgathan

Got a few things to say.
1 - Don't think you will get the whole community, I believe there are at least some players who do not even post on the forums. Then there are those who (for now?) have left.
2 - You did not include engines people may have sitting on a shelf. Sometimes people save engines and other equipment in case they become useful later. Example, currently I have both a 170XL and 180XL I use on the same Mech when I switch loadouts. I also have a couple from past Hunchbacks.
3 - You also did not include Mechs people have run but then sold off.
4 - Don't know if you are going for overall in game, by weight class or Mech but there are mentions in various guides though it may take time to go through them all.

1. I know. I believe the running estimates for most games suggest that between 5 - 10% of the active players actually visit the forums. That said, I'm also aware of the other biases that will influence these results (such as the fact that even out of the people who visit the forums, not everyone will visit the Mechs & Loadout subforum). Considering all of that, I'm still hoping that we'll be able to "generalize" the data collected here to the larger player-base (though we'll only be able to know later).

2. I didn't include these because I'm wary of unused engines skewing the results. For instance, I have 3 STD 160 engines chilling in my garage (they came stock on my Locusts). This parameter was installed to help account for the fact that stock mechs come with all kinds of wonky engine sizes, which would dilute the results if included (presuming that their owners never actually use these engines of course).

3. Asking people to recall what could potentially amount to dozens of different variables is difficult. Therefore I asked for what people could easily measure. That said, I'm also aware that people who own a limited number of mechs because they either don't or won't purchase mechbays will skew the results in a different way.

4. I wanted to see what players are actually using. I know that there are various guides available (such as the thread near to this one about the merits of the 300 XL, or even more general mech-building guides), but I was primarily interested in seeing what engines players actually use. Also, a meta-analysis through picking apart the guides wouldn't necessarily reveal much about actual usage rates (for instance, if a HBK-4G is recommended to carry a 250 engine, how does that tell me how many HBK-4Gs actually carry a 250 engine?). That said, I'm not interested in a "per-variant" breakdown of usage. The statistics I'm most interested in are:

• Most used engine
  
• How mech class (Light / Medium / Heavy / Assault) interact

You raise good points. I know that it is impossible to gather a perfect data set, and that a number of assumptions must be made in order to use the data we do get. However I'm looking for general trends. I suspect we'll see a bias towards 275+ engines due to the bias toward Heavy / Assault mechs in-game. That said, I'm really curious to see a primarily light pilot put up their engine numbers for analysis.

[RickySpanish]

I go Commando with my XL8".

[edit]

Whoops wrong thread

Edited by RickySpanish, 12 December 2013 - 11:36 AM.

[FireSlade]

Ok my list is long so I am going to do spoilers with TLDR beneath them.
Active Mechs: 10 mechs in total

Spoiler

• HGN-Heavy Metal with 325XL
  
• CPLT-Jester with 320XL
  
• CTF-Ilya Muromets with 340XL
  
• CTF-3D with 300XL
  
• QKD-4G with 300XL
  
• SHD-2H(P) with 295XL
  
• SHD-5M with 280XL
  
• VTR-9S with 340XL
  
• VTR-9K with 360XL
  
• CPLT-C1 with 300XL

I mostly stick to Heavies with a few “Fast” Assaults and a couple 55 ton mediums thrown in for fun.

Inactive Mechs: 26 mechs in total

Spoiler

• LCT-1V (Still have to master)
  
• LCT-3M (Still have to master)
  
• LCT-3S (Still have to master)
  
• COM-2D (Still have to master)
  
• RVN-4X (Still have to master)
  
• JR7-D(S) (Still have to master)
  
• JR7-F (Still have to master)
  
• CN9-A (Still have to master)
  
• SHD-2D2
  
• QKD-5K
  
• QKD-4H
  
• CPLT-C4
  
• CPLT-K2
  
• TDR-5S(P) (Still have to master)
  
• TDR-5SS (Still have to master)
  
• TDR-9SE (Still have to master)
  
• CTF-1X
  
• CTF-2X
  
• CTF-4X
  
• VTR-9B
  
• BLR-1G(P) (Still have to master)
  
• BLG-1D (Still have to master)
  
• BLG-1S (Still have to master)
  
• HGN-733
  
• HGN-733C
  
• AS7-Boar’s Head (Still have to master)

I am all over the board with my mech purchases due to me liking a design or wanting to collect some in a class but I do not find these as fun as my active mechs. I do plan on getting the rest of each variant that I am missing to master every mech I own. Mechs that I should own by next month are the Stalker, Hunchback, and the Saber mechs.

Engines:

Spoiler

• Standard 160 (3)
  
• Standard 200 (1)
  
• Standard 210 (1)
  
• Standard 245 (1)
  
• Standard 250 (1)
  
• Standard 260 (4)
  
• Standard 270 (1)(1 in use)
  
• Standard 275 (2) (1 in use)
  
• Standard 280 (1)
  
• Standard 290 (1)(1 in use)
  
• Standard 295 (1)
  
• Standard 300 (2)(1 in use)
  
• Standard 310 (1)
  
• Standard 320 (2)
  
• Standard 325 (1)
  
• Standard 330 (1)(1 in use)
  
• Standard 340 (3)
  
• XL 180 (1)(1 in use)
  
• XL 255 (1)(1 in use)
  
• XL 275 (1)
  
• XL 280 (2)(2 in use)
  
• XL 295 (1)(1 in use)
  
• XL 300 (4)(4 in use)
  
• XL 320 (1)(1 in use)
  
• XL 325 (1)(1 in use)
  
• XL 340 (2)(2 in use)
  
• XL 360 (1)(1 in use)
  
• XL 380 (1)(1 in use)
  
• XL 400 (1)

As you can see I have many Standard engines but I use very little of them since I prefer XLs in almost everything I pilot. My most used Standard engine is… Well it is probably the 300 although I do not really have a most used. My most used XL engine is easily 300XLs. They just easily fit into everything for 15.5tons and offer decent speed.

Good luck counting all of this.

Edited by FireSlade, 12 December 2013 - 12:45 PM.

[Shadey99]

Being home I updated my earlier post to include all my engines/mechs...

[Ghogiel]

XL
360
355
350
345
340
330
325
300 x5
295
285
280 x2
275
260 x2
255 x2
250
245
235
225
190

STD
350 x2
325 x3
320 x3
310
300 x10
295
285
280 x2
275 x6
270 x3
260 x5
255 x3
250 x2
245 x3
240
230
225 x2
210
200 x4
180 x2
175 x2
160 x3

Edited by Ghogiel, 12 December 2013 - 06:32 PM.

[CheeseThief]

I have;

3 Assaults
6 Heaviers
9 Mediums
4 Lights

Std Engines equipped:
325
300 x4
260
250 x2
200 x2

XL Engines equipped:
350
300 x4
255 x2
235
200
190 x3

[Nothing Whatsoever]

Current Engines:

100 - 125 Engines: 0 STD, 0 XL
130 - 150 Engines: 0 STD, 0 XL
155 - 175 Engines: 0 STD, 0 XL
180 - 200 Engines: 0 STD, 2 XL
205 - 225 Engines: 1 STD, 0 XL
230 - 250 Engines: 2 STD, 1 XL
255 - 275 Engines: 7 STD, 1 XL
280 - 300 Engines: 4 STD, 4 XL
305 - 325 Engines: 1 STD, 1 XL
330 - 350 Engines: 1 STD, 1 XL
355 - 375 Engines: 0 STD, 0 XL
380 - 400 Engines: 0 STD, 0 XL

26 engines total


Current Mechs:

six Lights (Mastered a majority of them, 10 of 18 so far)
four Mediums (Had more in the past, sold for mechbay space)
eight Heavies (Currently leveling Jagers and Thunderbolts)
eight Assaults (Still working on Battlemasters and finally working on Victors)

26 mechs currently