13 replies to this topic

[Caleb Lee]

For the record, I stopped playing when the put in 3PV and probably won't return until we get private matchmaking or 1PV only queues again.

Despite all that, I'd like to see the game eventually succeed and rather than complain about ghost heat which doesn't bother me... (cause I'm not playing) or about stupid balance decisions, I decided to suggest an alternative that is intuitive as many games have it already.

Crosshair/Aiming Reticle Spread

The essential idea is that the faster you are moving, using jump jets, the hotter your mech is running the more the crosshairs spread apart and while you will hit anything in that spread, so a point blank shot will obviously hit, it won't be as precise and the smaller and farther away the object the chance it may miss altogether if the spread is larger than the object.

If you also try to fire large groups of the same weapon, specifically Gauss/PPC and higher caliber ACs i.e. 20s then the reticle spreads a little for each additional weapon you fire.

You can still slow/stop the mech and/or cool off similar to crouching in a FPS to line up an accurate shot, unless alpha striking (which introduces some spread based on weapon type).

I realize this doesn't address the boating issue but that's where:

Hardpoint Size Limitations

If you ever played Mechwarrior 4 then you have an idea of what I'm proposing. Basically the reason we have 6x PPC Stalkers and dual Gauss Rifle K2s is that they never limited the size of weapon you could place in a slot. It's also not cannon in the least and might as well be piloting omni-mechs already for the most part.

Yes, some mechs were designed to boat specific weapons. I.E. Huchback 4P and medium lasers

I'm suggesting using the mechs realistic limitations, i.e. Catapult K2 fits machine guns or at most AC2s in it's left/right torso. You can still fit whatever weapon type the slot calls for, just there will be some limits on size per hard point. I.E. The 6x PPC Stalker would never have existed where a 2-4 PPC variant with some ML or LL might.

Edited by Caleb Lee, 19 September 2013 - 12:58 PM.

[Kibble]

I believe this is something most players want. It just will not happen saddly.

[AntiCitizenJuan]

Inb4 straw man argument about how Hardpoint Sizes negatively impact mech customization

[NewAge]

Aiming is already harder when moving, we don't need to turn every weapon into a cone fire Gaussian distribution model cross hair. This is the 3000's, computerized fire control has been around for over a thousand years.

MechWarrior 4's mech lab was an abomination, mostly BECAUSE of the size limited hard points. You balance the weapons (damage, weight, crit slots, ect.) and you balance the number of hard points the mech has. Anything beyond that is too restrictive and makes the problem of everyone running the same "optimal build" even worse.

[MoonUnitBeta]

Just make reticles bounce up and down or swagger when moving, and fix the instant convergence. Thats my suggestion inplace of the reticle spread.

[Maxx Blue]

I've thought about hardpoint limitations a bit, and in my opinion all they will do is change WHICH mechs are optimal. They won't do a whole lot to even out the viability of different mechs. I just don't see the change 'fixing' anything. In fact, though it does cause problems, I think the non-sized hardpoints might end up making more mechs viable since more of them can fit whichever weapons happen to be the best at a given time.

Crosshair spread? That is a little more tricky. The visual makes sense for ballistics, but not as much for missiles or beam weapons. Ok, I guess it kinda makes sense for missiles if the spread got increased as the reticle grew, but I have doubts that you can get a 'size' of reticle that makes sense for both an AC2 and an SRM6 at the same instant (or whatever value you use to make the reticle grow if it isn't heat.) Also, how would it even work for beam weapons? Would it pick a random offset when the beam starts and then you can adjust to put it on target? Would the beam bounce around randomly within the reticle while it was on? Would it 'wander' around? I just don't see this as a mechanic where you will be able to have one reticle size that makes sense for all three weapon types at the same time...and I don't want three reticles.

Edited by Maxx Blue, 19 September 2013 - 01:26 PM.

[Eddrick]

I'm really iffy on Crosshair spread. I'm ok with Hard Point Size Limitations (I dealt with it in MechWarrior 4). Since, most of my Mechs don't stray very far from stock, as far as weapons are concerned. What I would like to do with up coming equipment is to put two Heavy PPCs with PPC Capacitors on a Catapult-K2. If I can't put at least 36 damage into a single location with one pull of the trigger, it isn't very useful to me for Headshoting a Mech. That is where I draw the line on customization being to restricted.

Edited by Eddrick, 19 September 2013 - 01:57 PM.

[3rdworld]

AntiCitizenJuan, on 19 September 2013 - 01:03 PM, said:

Inb4 straw man argument about how Hardpoint Sizes negatively impact mech customization

inb4 limiting options gives you more.

[akpavker]

Caleb Lee, on 19 September 2013 - 12:54 PM, said:

For the record, I stopped playing when the put in 3PV and probably won't return until we get private matchmaking or 1PV only queues again.

Despite all that, I'd like to see the game eventually succeed and rather than complain about ghost heat which doesn't bother me... (cause I'm not playing) or about stupid balance decisions, I decided to suggest an alternative that is intuitive as many games have it already.

Crosshair/Aiming Reticle Spread

The essential idea is that the faster you are moving, using jump jets, the hotter your mech is running the more the crosshairs spread apart and while you will hit anything in that spread, so a point blank shot will obviously hit, it won't be as precise and the smaller and farther away the object the chance it may miss altogether if the spread is larger than the object.

If you also try to fire large groups of the same weapon, specifically Gauss/PPC and higher caliber ACs i.e. 20s then the reticle spreads a little for each additional weapon you fire.

You can still slow/stop the mech and/or cool off similar to crouching in a FPS to line up an accurate shot, unless alpha striking (which introduces some spread based on weapon type).

I realize this doesn't address the boating issue but that's where:

Hardpoint Size Limitations

If you ever played Mechwarrior 4 then you have an idea of what I'm proposing. Basically the reason we have 6x PPC Stalkers and dual Gauss Rifle K2s is that they never limited the size of weapon you could place in a slot. It's also not cannon in the least and might as well be piloting omni-mechs already for the most part.

Yes, some mechs were designed to boat specific weapons. I.E. Huchback 4P and medium lasers

I'm suggesting using the mechs realistic limitations, i.e. Catapult K2 fits machine guns or at most AC2s in it's left/right torso. You can still fit whatever weapon type the slot calls for, just there will be some limits on size per hard point. I.E. The 6x PPC Stalker would never have existed where a 2-4 PPC variant with some ML or LL might.

if you quit the game and wont return untill there is 1rst person veiw queues only are brought in (which likely wont happen due to the fact queing atm is a compleate mess)........wtf are you still here complaining? i sat waiting for 30 min for a solo qued drop lastnight ( 9 match finding fails ) what in gods name makes you think they will do 1rst person veiw matches only!

Edited by akpavker, 19 September 2013 - 04:02 PM.

[Caleb Lee]

MoonUnitBeta, on 19 September 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Just make reticles bounce up and down or swagger when moving, and fix the instant convergence. Thats my suggestion inplace of the reticle spread.

You know, this is probably the easiest thing for them to code and would be the more likely of the two. Props.

akpavker, on 19 September 2013 - 03:58 PM, said:

if you quit the game and wont return untill there is 1rst person veiw queues only are brought in (which likely wont happen due to the fact queing atm is a compleate mess)........wtf are you still here complaining? i sat waiting for 30 min for a solo qued drop lastnight ( 9 match finding fails ) what in gods name makes you think they will do 1rst person veiw matches only!

Problem with trolls like you is you don't care about anything so you can't imagine others actually giving a rip about how the game turns out. Yeah, I'm taking a break and your 'bad' experience with the queuing system should be telling you just how low/bad the population is right now along with their MM tweaks.

Ultimately I WANT a Mechwarrior game to succeed again, right now I just don't care if it's MWO or some later title as this is nothing like was promised. If they fixed some key portions of the game, my interest and money would return, until then all I can do is make suggestions for ways that would help make the game interesting again and hope they learn.

Otherwise, I could care less if they go under and sell the title to someone else who actually will do a good job of it and not screw the core fanbase.

[Dirty Starfish]

MoonUnitBeta, on 19 September 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Just make reticles bounce up and down or swagger when moving, and fix the instant convergence. Thats my suggestion inplace of the reticle spread.

They already have the bouncing in 3pv

[MoonUnitBeta]

Serial Peacemaker, on 21 September 2013 - 06:13 PM, said:

They already have the bouncing in 3pv

Yeah in 3PV they do because the raytrace for the reticle is from your pilot's eyes, and your pilot is in the cockpit of the mech thats bouncing around. You don't see it in 1PV because you're moving with the bounce of the mech (which is incorrectly illustrated as a flare feature. I have proof it's flare: when you are in a dragon, free-look to your left and you will see the cockpit moving, but not your left torso.). But what about those floppy arms? In the cataphract they bounce up and down like they're butcher cleavers. I'd like to see atleast the arms reticle be affected by that. Or if they went the extra mile (which they never do) put it in for the torso reticle as well..

Edited by MoonUnitBeta, 22 September 2013 - 10:53 AM.

[Caleb Lee]

Serial Peacemaker, on 21 September 2013 - 06:13 PM, said:

They already have the bouncing in 3pv

Who cares about 3PV... it's the reason I am taking a break. 1PV is what the game is supposed to be designed around.

They also aren't locked into 3PV and most good pilots simply abuse it to peak over ridges, not to fight out of.

[Myke Pantera]

Both ideas as good and bad at the same time for me

1) Crosshair Spread
Give me back usable JJ and spread the Crosshair while jumping and let it spread for a short amount of time after releasing the jump button might be the first thing to really help against Poptarting without having to ruin JJs, PPCs and Gauss along the way... So YES for this.

Spread it when using high caliber auto cannons... Not so sure. Tend to say no, but not as strongly as i say yes to the above, but ONLY if JJs are fixed again. I want to jump on rooftops again. I don't want them to be ruined, just to restrict Poptarting.

2) Helps diversifying mechs, but reduces freedom in mechlab. This will also break many builds out there, and i don't wonna hear the shitstorm after this is released. So this would have been a great idea if it was implemented from the start. Introducing it now, won't be taken by the community lightly. Undecided.

3) 3PV has no business in this game! Get rid of it.

Edited by Myke Pantera, 14 August 2014 - 02:56 AM.