28 replies to this topic

[Sephlock]

There has been some speculation about how much they're going to cost, and that's interesting in its own way, but what I'm thinking about is customization.

I was building up a nest egg and I got to wondering how much of it I'd actually need for modding Clan mechs, given that they come with DHS and XL engines, neither of which you can modify, and you can neither add nor remove ferro or endo (or artemis- Clan mechs don't even have Artemis, do they?) and the arms (and legs? I guess?) are Mister-Potato-Head swappable... I guess I might need to buy some clan weapons, but that shouldn't be terribly expensive, especially not if I strip out and re-use weapons rather than leaving them equipped.

[Bilbo]

I would guess swapping torsos and arms will cost c-bills along the lines of IS upgrades for ferro, endo, and heat sinks.

[EyeOne]

Bilbo, on 10 June 2014 - 12:19 PM, said:

I would guess swapping torsos and arms will cost c-bills along the lines of IS upgrades for ferro, endo, and heat sinks.

Hm, maybe. Back before they annoucned the Clans I had speculated that the would allow us to convert hardpoints to different types for a Cbill cost. I guess I haven't thought about it since the announcement. That is a likely possibility.

[Phlinger]

I had the impression that the missing Arms, Torso's, and Legs from the variants not included would cost C-Bills. They said they intended to add them into the game, but releasing them as an entire mech just wasn't justifiable.

And please no C-Bill costs for swapping Omni-Pods. That would get down right aggravating and infuriating. I'd be fine with it though if they charged the IS every time they changed a load out though. You know, having the same costs and all.

[Sephlock]

Bilbo, on 10 June 2014 - 12:19 PM, said:

I would guess swapping torsos and arms will cost c-bills along the lines of IS upgrades for ferro, endo, and heat sinks.

That'd be terrible.

EyeOne, on 10 June 2014 - 12:23 PM, said:

Hm, maybe. Back before they annoucned the Clans I had speculated that the would allow us to convert hardpoints to different types for a Cbill cost. I guess I haven't thought about it since the announcement. That is a likely possibility.

Is it really? I don't see them doing that at all, except maybe with restrictions.

Ronyn, on 10 June 2014 - 12:23 PM, said:

I had the impression that the missing Arms, Torso's, and Legs from the variants not included would cost C-Bills. They said they intended to add them into the game, but releasing them as an entire mech just wasn't justifiable.

And please no C-Bill costs for swapping Omni-Pods. That would get down right aggravating and infuriating. I'd be fine with it though if they charged the IS every time they changed a load out though. You know, having the same costs and all.

This.

[Bilbo]

Ronyn, on 10 June 2014 - 12:23 PM, said:

I had the impression that the missing Arms, Torso's, and Legs from the variants not included would cost C-Bills. They said they intended to add them into the game, but releasing them as an entire mech just wasn't justifiable.

And please no C-Bill costs for swapping Omni-Pods. That would get down right aggravating and infuriating. I'd be fine with it though if they charged the IS every time they changed a load out though. You know, having the same costs and all.

Changing a load out and changing hard points are two entirely different things. You can change the load out of a Clan mech without swapping pods after all.

[xMEPHISTOx]

Prices of clan mechs should not be an issue as they will be so heavily nerfed from what clan tech really is that it will (or should) drastically reduce the cost from what it would have been in BT world.
The clan tech as PGI will be introducing it will be a watered down version and will have little to do with BT with exception to looks.

Edited by xMEPHISTOx, 10 June 2014 - 12:32 PM.

[Zerberus]

I woud assume that you can purchase the "empty" pods (i.e. Torsos and arms) and that other modifications (swapping pods, changing loadout) will not have a financial cost attached to them unless something is actually purchased.

Edited by Zerberus, 10 June 2014 - 12:31 PM.

[Phlinger]

Bilbo, on 10 June 2014 - 12:26 PM, said:

Changing a load out and changing hard points are two entirely different things. You can change the load out of a Clan mech without swapping pods after all.

I don't think so. Clan mechs were built to be inter-changeable, IS mechs weren't. You want to talk price, let's refit a Shadowhawk from holding an AC/2 into a 20. The price for the frame modifications would be tremendous to contain the strain on the structure. New mounting brackets, reinforced structure and better ammo feed plus ammo storage. The Clans thought of this when building Omni-Tech mechs.

[EyeOne]

Sephlock, on 10 June 2014 - 12:25 PM, said:

Is it really? I don't see them doing that at all, except maybe with restrictions.

*shrug* I don't now. I don't personally see the problem with it as long as it doesn't cost millions of Cbills. But they aren't going to get Cbills from selling engines for Clan mechs so they've gotta make a Clan Cbill sink somehow.

Edited by EyeOne, 10 June 2014 - 12:32 PM.

[Bilbo]

Ronyn, on 10 June 2014 - 12:30 PM, said:

I don't think so. Clan mechs were built to be inter-changeable, IS mechs weren't. You want to talk price, let's refit a Shadowhawk from holding an AC/2 into a 20. The price for the frame modifications would be tremendous to contain the strain on the structure. New mounting brackets, reinforced structure and better ammo feed plus ammo storage. The Clans thought of this when building Omni-Tech mechs.

Except right now it costs nothing to do so unless you don't own the AC/20. It only costs if you change heat sink, armor, or structure. There has to be similar c-bill sink for Clans. Pod swapping is the obvious choice for such a sink.

[Toadkillerdog]

I could understand requiring you to buy the actual pod, but swap them around for free. For instance, you could get a timberwolf A right arm as an inventory item, sortof like a BAP or an engine, that you would have to buy (or pull off a mech), but once you own it you can swap it around as you wish. So for selling mechs maybe you could just sell the ct and head parts, and hold onto the pods

[Phlinger]

EyeOne, on 10 June 2014 - 12:32 PM, said:

*shrug* I don't now. I don't personally see the problem with it as long as it doesn't cost millions of Cbills. But they aren't going to get Cbills from selling engines for Clan mechs so they've gotta make a Clan Cbill sink somehow.

Swap Engine and Weapon C-Billl sinks to Omni-Pod and Weapon C-Bill sinks and they are just about equal.

Bilbo, on 10 June 2014 - 12:34 PM, said:

Except right now it costs nothing to do so unless you don't own the AC/20. It only costs if you change heat sink, armor, or structure. There has to be similar c-bill sink for Clans. Pod swapping is the obvious choice for such a sink.

But, those are optional upgrades. Clans cannot downgrade OR upgrade. IS gets a choice that Clans do not.

[Sephlock]

EyeOne, on 10 June 2014 - 12:32 PM, said:

*shrug* I don't now. I don't personally see the problem with it as long as it doesn't cost millions of Cbills. But they aren't going to get Cbills from selling engines for Clan mechs so they've gotta make a Clan Cbill sink somehow.

That's what I'm afraid of...

[Kassatsu]

Judging by the past packs, you'll probably pay for specific upgrades. It would be pretty lame to buy a mech expecting to get all of its options (take any IS hero mech, the phoenix pack etc.), but then have to pay to change its loadout around. I realize changing hardpoints is the closest equivalent of the all-but-required DHS upgrade in IS mechs, but to spend money on it every single time you change your loadout? Wasn't this game all about customization? Why would we be punished for it every single time we want to change a few things?

IS upgrades are almost always a one-time purchase, specifically DHS. FF and ES are generally based on what mech you're running. Engines are generally a one-time purchase as well. Having to pay every single time I want to go from one weapon to another? No thanks.

Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if it did cost money every time you swap a part out, seeing as how an IS mech getting different hardpoints requires you to use an entirely different variant. In that respect clan mechs have better customization, but in every other aspect, they're far more restrictive.

[Bilbo]

Ronyn, on 10 June 2014 - 12:37 PM, said:

Swap Engine and Weapon C-Billl sinks to Omni-Pod and Weapon C-Bill sinks and they are just about equal.



But, those are optional upgrades. Clans cannot downgrade OR upgrade. IS gets a choice that Clans do not.

False choice for IS anyways, the upgrades are, in essence, required.

[Phlinger]

Bilbo, on 10 June 2014 - 12:44 PM, said:

False choice for IS anyways, the upgrades are, in essence, required.

But, you get that option. The 'rumored' costs of the Clan mechs will be enormous. Direwolf costing almost 30mil C-Bills. IS mechs are much cheaper, but to increase the value of the mech, those upgrades are required. In the long run it comes down to what you want to do.

The IS Upgrades come at a cost after you purchase the mech, the Clan ones are an up-front expenditure.

[Bilbo]

Well, we don't actually know how much they will cost. If they are "balanced" there is really no reason for a Direwolf to cost three times the price of an Atlas.

[EyeOne]

Sephlock, on 10 June 2014 - 12:41 PM, said:

That's what I'm afraid of...

Well, I didn't say I liked it. But I guess I would understand it.

But, isn't it weird/sad/horrible that the Clans drop next week and we still don't actually know things like this?

[Phlinger]

Bilbo, on 10 June 2014 - 12:50 PM, said:

Well, we don't actually know how much they will cost. If they are "balanced" there is really no reason for a Direwolf to cost three times the price of an Atlas.

I concur, but the total value of a mech is the sum of its parts. Weapons, Engine, Upgrades, Armor, Heatsinks. The Clan gear will be more expensive, it is lighter, stronger and better. So it will cost more.