17 replies to this topic

[Felicitatem Parco]

The Hunchback Mech's AC/20 is encased within an armoured shroud, but the Atlas's AC/20 is just plopped there on its waist.

I would suggest that the Hunchback's AC/20 have somewhat more armor protection, and thus be harder to knock-out of comission, than the Atlas's AC/20. I think the developers at PGI have all the artistic license they want to make the Mechs behave the way their engineering would suggest. This is simply one of those suggestions.

Anyone else have a suggestion along the lines of: "It should be this way because it's obviously built this way" ?

Edited by Prosperity Park, 26 March 2012 - 12:24 AM.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

Sticking with your example the Hunchbacks AC20 would be almost totally reliant upon torso movement to aim whereas the Atlas' mount would have some movement. Whether such discrimination would make it into the game is another matter. We do know that modern game engines are capable of doing such things, it's if the devs are able/willing to put such detail in.

[Kenyon Burguess]

i think it depends on the mechlab system the devs want to put into place. if weapons are locked into place by variants, then i could see that as possibility for hunchbacks. but if its a more open mechlab then it wouldnt be possible as ac/20's could be anywhere

[RedHairDave]

or the ac 20 on the hunch back is more venerable. the atlas has the gun mechenisim in the leg, and only the barrel sticking out. the hunch back has the whole thing in just the shoulder pod thing, if something does into the huge hole it would end the gun for sure, where the atlas would only lose the barrel. but thats not how mechwarrior works, no internal damage till the armour is gone, no matter what, then it goes to internals and its all the same from the atlas to the hunchback

[canned wolf]

The armor on that A/C is flat and unsloped, sooo more armor does not necesarily equal better protection. You also don't know how much is armor and how much is a/c. Those things are enormous, they may have wrapped it in paper mache for armor as far as you know at this point. Listed armor in a location in the past has been an abstraction for the general level of protection present. There are games that take into account the features you are asking for, but it becomes way more complex to balance vehicles against each other when you start implementing rules that take this stuff into account. If armor defflection counts then hover tanks are going to eat a mech for breakfast.

[Adridos]

Prosperity Park, on 26 March 2012 - 12:20 AM, said:

Anyone else have a suggestion along the lines of: "It should be this way because it's obviously built this way" ?

Capellans should get Vindicator, because aside from Ravens (which are not in the game, too) which simply can't stand out as a MBT sort of mech and Catapults, which are once again just a support and some other mechs even less possibly inclouded into teh game, we don't have anything to fight Davions with. Killing them in their own machines will be satisfying, but it would be a lot better if we could use normal mechs and not that Davion junk.

Edited by Adridos, 26 March 2012 - 08:18 AM.

[MaddMaxx]

I guess it comes down to Hit boxes. Is the HB's AC a separate hit box thus separately armored, or part of the RT?

As for the Atlas. The AC is part of the RT so armoring it would be the choice of the Pilot.

Guess we will have to wait and see...

[Felicitatem Parco]

I think the Hunchie's AC/20 has thicker armor from side-impacts and no extended, sensitive-to-warpage barrel.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 26 March 2012 - 09:06 AM.

[RedHairDave]

sweet pics btw. but that is just the barrel, maybe in the future a warped barrel isnt an issue, maybe it can self straighten. im sure the dev's will manage this is a way that is good for everyone. likely by doing nothing. in tt(which is what the game is based off i think) the area is just the right torso, for both. so it depends on how much armour you have chosen to place. then if its the same weapon, it has the same amount of criticals, so no diff in durability

[Felicitatem Parco]

But the Atlas's AC/20 is installed on the exterior of the side torso, it is not an internal weapons mount.

I could explain with another picture, but words can suffice: see the Atlas's SRM6 launcher on the right (our right) of his torso? It's just tagged onto the outside of the body. Same with the AC/20; there's a significant amount of operating mechanism outside of the Atlas's side Torso compartment.

And a single small laser shot to that exposed section of AC/20 barrel would render an Atlas's AC/20 gun either terribly inaccurate from the barrel damage or highly dangerous from becoming obstructed.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 26 March 2012 - 11:13 AM.

[CeeKay Boques]

Considering the Hunchback is a bit of a 1 trick pony, while the AC on theAtlas is part of an entire weapons system, I can see them really armoring that "1 trick". I expect that much of that "Armor" is a place for the gun to act like a recoiless rifle inside that housing. The Atlas has the same thing, just inside the chassis instead. /speculation

[Felicitatem Parco]

If it were a recoiless rifle, then there'd be a massive port in the back of the gun housing and it would belch exhaust flame/smoke backwards every time it fired.

[AlanEsh]

Long barrel = more accurate. Short barrel not so much. I highly doubt they'll model either accuracy or damage vulnerability based on how much barrel is exposed, but it would be cool.

[CeeKay Boques]

Angelicon, on 26 March 2012 - 11:39 AM, said:

Long barrel = more accurate. Short barrel not so much. I highly doubt they'll model either accuracy or damage vulnerability based on how much barrel is exposed, but it would be cool.

Yes, two different AC-20 manufactures and capabilities. Give the short barrel more crit ability.

You can have both...

for $1.99

Oh man I love it.

[Morashtak]

10 different AC-20's are on the list over at sarna.net.

I expect that it all depends on the Mech and the mount it's tied to. Much like the present day 30mm Gatling gun; appears different sticking out the nose of an A-10 (GAU-8) versus slung under an F-16 in it's own pod (GAU-13, no longer in service).

[Solis Obscuri]

Perhaps everyone will just be too focused on staring at the Atlas' bulbous crotch to target the AC/20?

[CeeKay Boques]

"this is my cannon, this is my gun, this is for shooting, this is for fun!"

[canned wolf]

Morashtak, on 26 March 2012 - 05:04 PM, said:

10 different AC-20's are on the list over at sarna.net.

I expect that it all depends on the Mech and the mount it's tied to. Much like the present day 30mm Gatling gun; appears different sticking out the nose of an A-10 (GAU-8) versus slung under an F-16 in it's own pod (GAU-13, no longer in service).

Wow! Had to look that one up. I never realised they tried to put a GAU 8 in a gun pod. After reading the comparison is not very good though. The gunpod version was only a 3 barrel gun where the A-10 version had seven. It would have had to have been much smaller than its big brother to mount on a pylon.