Jump jets as they stand are a kludgy system. One jet is great, many is meh, and people howl bloody murder about the cost vs. rewards of the darn things while trying to chop them into ever-more-complex fixes.
Today, I'm going to show you how to build a jump jet system that's straightforward and easily understood.
First off, jump jets are the "mobility system"- the "engine" of a 'Mech that's airborne. They provide thrust and (relatively) stable adjustments of the 'Mech while in flight.
In tabletop terms, your top speed was equal to your grounded "cruise" or "walking" speed. That is, the point of speed at which in MWO, you hit 66% of throttle. TT also was a little more distinct on engine ratings, which had to an evenly divideable number by their tonnage- so for example a 55-tonner could use a 55,110, 165, 220, 275, 330, or 385-rated engine only. MWO's a bit more convoluted, but remember that anyway. You could mount a maximum of (engine rating/tonnage) jump jets- so a 55-ton 'Mech with a 275 engine could use a maximum of 5 (275/55 = 5) jets, which gave it jump movement at the same speed as it could walk.
Translating TT jump jets over to MWO is actually easier and less facepalming than PGI makes it out to, AND provides balance. Here's how it works.
In MWO, engine rating translates not only to movement speed, but the "agility" of a 'Mech- it's turning speed and torso twist speed also change based on this. While a 'Mech is airborne, it's jump jets become it's "engine"- and we can use this to have jump jets also determine both movement capacity and "agility" while airborne in MWO.
First: Trash the current jet limits. They're based not on any real rules, only an attempt to make 'Mechs "different" when in reality, right now the usefulness of added jets rapidly declines as you add more past the first. Replace this with the formula used in TT- engine rating/Mech tonnage. If you really wanted to be cruel, you could give some 'Mechs a smaller maximum than that, thereby restricting their mobility somewhat- but the general formula should be as above.
One jump jet in MWO is equal to an engine rating of ('Mech tonnage) for purposes of turn speed and twist speed. It grants airspeed equal to 66% of this as well- so a 55-ton 'Mech with 3 jets moves at an airspeed equal to a 165 engine at 66% throttle, regardless of it's engine rating otherwise. It turns and twists in the air as if it had only a 165 engine as well, regardless of it's actual engine- even if normally it'd have better agility and speed on the ground. While it's airborne, it's ability to move and react is solely based on it's thrusters. Yes, this means that a 'Mech with an engine that's bigger it's "jet rating" will be more agile on the ground but clumsier in the air- sometimes even if it's using all the jets it's allowed.
Rate of climb/descent would vary based on the amount of "burn time"- but one jet should allow a 'Mech to reach a 30m height and land safely, or higher if the 'Mech had no plans on either a safe landing or coming back down (ie, they're landing on a higher surface). Multiple jets increase this by 30m per jet- so a Spider with 8 jets should be able to leap up to 240m above it's starting height and have enough fuel to land at the starting level safely. Alternatively, the number of jets can be used to also give the 'Mech a maximum altitude it can reach over a given surface, but that's more complex.
A full fuel "burn" should be enough for 10 seconds of safe movement from takeoff to landing- regardless of the number of jets. Likewise, a full recharge from zero jet charge should also take ten seconds- of course, if you didn't jump the full distance, recharging to full would take less time. Bounding over a small hill would take a second or two of recharge, while launching yourself 240m in one go in your Spider on a full burn would take the entire 10-count. Of course, if you saved a bit of fuel and decided taking a little leg damage was OK, you'd be bouncing again sooner...and even a "partial burn" with enough jets will take you quite some distance.
'Mechs are never perfectly stable while jumping. Reticule shake applies when airborne, even when "coasting". A 'Mech that isn't under thrust in mid-air is an unstable, soon-to-be-tumbling brick. Sorry, poptarters. There's a reason 'Mechs in TT have a hideous targeting modifier when shooting and jumping- absolute precision is Right Out.
Edited by wanderer, 20 February 2014 - 07:06 AM.