Ronyn, on 08 June 2014 - 08:15 AM, said:
They don''t have to nerf LRM damage below 180 meters, just reduce the amount they track the target below 180 meters. Make SSRM's track REALLY well and LRM's move like a stiff board until 180 meters. Problem solved. Just don't face hug an LRM boat.
I suspect from the amount of trouble their having coding the exponential damage curve below 180m, that this would be an even more difficult solution.
Ultimately, it'd be a difficult enough thing to set up if you had 2 static mechs involved (the firer and target both not moving, and thus remaining at a fixed distance). If both targets are moving, however, I suspect the challenge becomes significantly more difficult. Damage values would have to track and change in real time to account for changes in distance between the two players involved, and that seems to be an even bigger problem if you're looking at tracking strength. They can't even get missiles to hit right.
As far as basic mechanics go, I've always thought that using the tabletop rulesets as a guide was just plain stupid for a real-time simulation. They were never designed for that. Remaining beholden to those rulesets as the clan tech becomes available in-game is even more boneheaded. However, by far the worst is to implement according to tabletop rules, find that it doesn't balance (as you'd expect) and then simply neuter and gut said tech until there is little distinguishable difference between clan and IS.
I had genuinely hoped that PGI would come up with more creative solutions. Burst-fire UAC's might be along those lines, but only if you've significantly reduced the jamming chance accordingly. Otherwise not only are you going to lose out on point damage (effectively making a ballistic laser with the requisite spread or loss in damage), but now you've also got the loss to jamming. IS comes out on top here for (and I'd never thought I'd say this) UAC reliability. Go with this solution, sure, but make sure you reduce your reload times and chance to jam accordingly, otherwise there'll be no point.
"Steam-fire" SSRMs? So AMS has a better shot at shooting them down? Why? Why, then, would I waste the extra tonnage for larger Streak missile launchers to do effectively less real damage than the IS equivelants? I'm sure there's a better way here.
And really, can't we find a better way to do clan PPC's than to effectively make them equal-worse to their IS counterparts? Couldn't we leave the stats more or less per spec for damage and range, keep heat equivelant to IS PPCs (not ER), and add a charge mechanic like Gauss rifles? Then you'd create a skill reward system for clan PPCs and basically make them like an energy gauss with high heat but infinite fire. Better than trying to neuter them with ridiculous stat penalties.