Bigger maps, multiple objectives. Medium mechs may not have a tactical speed advantage, but they do have a strategic speed advantage. In a 300 meter foot race between an AC/20 HBK and an AC/20 Cataphract, both running big STD engines, the HBK wins by only ~1 second or so. That's not likely to be significant (nevermind the fact that the Cataphract can have jump jets and can climb things that the HBK can't, that's a game mechanic issue since the intro of Slope Climbing Mechanics, not an issue of balance between weight classes). But make that a 3000 meter foot race, and the HBK arrives 12 seconds faster, enough to rip off 3 shots before a Cataphract could arrive in the same situation.
Like a running back who has just enough speed to make it to the edge faster than the opposing Linebackers, before turning up field to gain yards, Medium mechs don't necessarily need to be as fast as Light mechs.
But there has to be something actually *useful* out there on the map somewhere.
Realistically, the infrastructure that is required to support an army, covers a much larger area of land than that army can defend all of. If they tried, they'd spread themselves so thin that the enemy would be able to concentrate on one area at a time and punch through each one. The Allies in WW2 took the trouble to create inflatable balloons "dressed up" to look like Tanks, to fool the enemy into thinking they were going to attack at a completely different place.
They should put more than just these cheesy oil rigs on the map. Put a comm tower that acts as the C3I link between all *defending* mechs (assume attackers have orbital supremacy). If that comm tower is destroyed, you lose contact with any friendly mech that is not in your LOS *and* within a certain range (say, 1km). Of course you can still chat and talk using 3rd party programs, but you lose information sharing and target info sharing. Allow attackers C3I at all times with satellite links (offsetting the advantage that defenders have with base turrets). Put in an actual artillery battery that can be attacked and destroyed to deny the enemy the use of artillery strikes. Put in an airfield from which aircraft are sortied to drop air strikes. I mean, this is all back-of-the-napkin kind of brainstorming. Put things on the map that actually *matter* and affect the flow of the battle. Spread them around the map in a plausible manner, and now suddenly things open up and there are multiple choices to be made about what objectives you'll attack and defend, and with what types of mechs and how many mechs. It starts to feel more like a Battlefield and less like a Solaris Arena.
Edited by YueFei, 17 February 2014 - 03:29 PM.
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