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De-Couple Torso And Leg Movement Option


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#1 Postumus

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Posted 25 August 2014 - 01:54 PM

Simple suggestion - add an option to de-couple torso and leg movement, so that moving the legs (turning the mech) does not drag the torso, and crosshair, along with it.

With the current movement system, it is almost impossible to shoot accurately at a moving target while also turning your mech, because you have to constantly compensate for leg turning dragging your crosshair in the direction of the turn. This effect is made worse because the dominant control scheme for leg movement is keyboard control, which does not allow analog control and fine movement. That said, even WITH analog control for the legs, such as rudder pedals, it is just as difficult to compensate (I tested this myself).

De-coupling the torso and leg movements would mean that, when making a turn in the mech, the torso (and crosshair) would stay pointed in the same compass direction throughout the turn, unless the maximum torso twist angle was reached. After that, the torso would be moved with the legs as in the current system.

This would be best as an optional, advanced control system. It would allow more experienced users to accurately track targets while actively maneuvering, at the cost of reduced awareness of the relative orientation of the torso and legs of the mech. Activating this style of mech control could be either a check box in the gameplay options, or a toggle key binding like arm lock.

The main limitation of this system would be that torso movement would feel slower when twisting opposite the direction of the current leg turn. This is because the torso has a maximum twist rate, some of which would be devoted to countering the effect of the leg turn to keep the crosshair pointed in the same compass direction.

For example, if you were turning to the right, while tracking an enemy mech that was moving from right to left in front of you, you would only be able to track the mech with your torso at the maximum torso twist rate MINUS the current leg turn rate.

Another drawback would be that, while de-coupled movement was enabled, the mech pilot has to match leg turns with torso turns in order to be facing forward after a turn. Currently, all you have to do is not move the mouse, and the torso will follow the legs.





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