Posted 12 July 2014 - 03:36 AM
I have to echo what people have already posted about the module slot plans. Essentially, this reduces the possible number of uses for a given mech by reducing the ability to slot modules for utility and support (mech modules) as well as eliminate a focus on pure utility/support for any mech, decreases the penalty for using consumables by providing additional slots for them that do not force the pilot to sacrifice another type of module (the primary limiting factor in their use and part of the calculation of their cost breakdown within the game), and drastically reduces the value of mastering a mech by making the resultant reward now restricted solely to a class of modules many pilots do not use and which do not have meaningful value for their cost. The sum of this change is that mechs become less varied and more railroaded into specific, dev-approved configurations, rather than player-determined.
A side effect of the change in module capabilities is also that owners of specific mechs may find the mech they purchased can no longer perform the role they purchased it for because the Devs' idea for what that mech is 'supposed to be' is different than the stated role the established description of each mech in the original source material is, or different from the players' understanding of what the mech would be capable of at the time of purchase. For instance, a Stalker pilot might find their mech has 0 Mech modules because the dev in charge of assigning its module configuration decided arbitrarily that it should be a total weapons platform with no utility role, and allocate it instead with 2 Consumable and 4 Weapons Modules, resulting in a mech unable to use Seismic, Long-Range Sensors, or other such.
Time will tell, I suppose.
The one glaring thing that I -hope- is not the case is the point at 5:23, where the Cataphract is shown using it's jumpjets to land and, even though it is clearly thrusting prior to the point of landing, takes damage anyway from a minimal jump. The time from the last jump thrust to landing is clearly less than a second, yet suddenly the mech's velocity jumps at the point of landing to ensure it still takes damage. This seems counter to the idea that a mech that uses its jump jets to break its descent prior to landing will not take damage from normal JJ useage, and is very worrying. Also, the mech didn't seem to get much terrain clearance altitude from what seemed like the 'normal' jump jet configuration (4 jump jets), when it should be able to clear terrain up to twice it's own height from those jets (if, indeed, they are supposed to be more in-line with what they are supposed to be). All of this calls into question if these changes will really promote their use as terrain-avoidance and maneuvering equipment or encourage mechs to avoid their use as even reasonable usage will result in self-damage, maybe even catastrophic self-damage to the heavier units.
As for the new maps, I'm a little disappointed the 'Forest' map seems to be much more open spaces than actual tree cover (swamp), and that the 'urban' map is only an industrial zone pretty much like what we have with Crimson Straits or River City. Above all that, however, is the impression these maps are small, rather than the kilometers-long maps we need for CW. Both of these still seem to be 'arena' mentality maps, rather than actual typographically-sensible maps depicting the kind of situation a mechwarrior would actually face when fighting over a world people would build who did not live in an arena.
I'll wait and see, of course, and hope all of this is simple misunderstanding or false impressions caused by the use of video instead of context-scrutinized text documentation to provide accurate information to the players.
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