72 replies to this topic

[SeDevri]

I'm curious as to how the different manufacturing companies in the BT/MW universe will effect the quality and variety of purchasable and salvageable gear in the game. Will there be different specs for the same items based off of who constructed it? This might allow for a wide variety of basically the same item but with slightly different details. One company makes more accurate laser weapons while another makes ACs with a lower chance of jamming and so forth.

Any thoughts?

[God of War]

i would like it, but in the end i fear it would come down to 2 or 3 Models of the piece of equipment used by the all players.

[Chembot]

I hope they implement different manufacturers!

I'd imagine that replacing a damaged Thunderstroke SRM-4 on your JR7-D Jenner with the same model should be much easier (and cheaper) for your tech than replacing with a Telos Four-Shot SRM Missile System you stripped off a downed Panther. You could swap it on the market, sell it and order the Thunderstroke from the manufacturer, or let your tech have a crack at installing the Telos.. Perhaps at the risk of greater weapon jamming (if your tech ain't good enough)

[minobu tetsuharu]

I have always been interested in gear variation myself. I'm fairly certain the numbers given in the tabletop represent the average strength of the same weapon made across half a dozen manufacturers.

It would be pretty cool if engines with the same rating had different levels of performance in terms of power distribution to other systems drawing on the fusion reactor to acceleration and brake responsiveness.


As for finding an optimal piece of equipment, of course that will happen but with the way fittings and range bands work there will still be diversity.

[DocBach]

I had a similar suggestion - a lot of online games are driven by players quests for better equipment through "drops", or in MechWarrior's case, salvage. If you want to make a laser boat with the same kind of large laser that you like that comes stock on the Grasshopper (say it has a slightly faster recharge rate and a little lower heat), you'd have to kill a whole bunch of Grasshoppers to successfully salvage the lasers you need.

[Alizabeth Aijou]

Except that there isn't a "grinding" aspect to this game.
At least not on initial release.

Anyway, different manifacturers would have slightly different specs on the weapons&such, but the net result would be pretty much the same.

[DocBach]

Well, we've got no idea how salvage works - I'm pretty sure it'll be a medium laser is a medium laser regardless of manufacture, but having differences in the weapons based on who made them would add a collectible aspect to the game which are popular in other online games - and having different stats for similar weapon systems would somewhat negate boating - it'd be a lot harder to create a medium laser boat and repeatedly alpha strike over and over again if all of your lasers you've salvaged are from different manufacturers and have different recharging rates.

[Hallstatt]

God of War, on 21 November 2011 - 03:35 AM, said:

i would like it, but in the end i fear it would come down to 2 or 3 Models of the piece of equipment used by the all players.

This. The idea is great, but it must be carefully looked.

[Ghost]

Sidegrades. Sidegrades everywhere.

[Aaron DeChavilier]

for example, can my NightWind Large Lasers be used to power small lasers for less heat costs?
or how about making it so that Federated autocannons can't be bought outside of the LCAF and AFFS?
I like this idea

[Corsair114]

Ghost, on 21 November 2011 - 01:03 PM, said:

Sidegrades. Sidegrades everywhere.

You've got two AC10's. Both have a damage 10 per 5 seconds (don't scream and cry, this is just an example). One fires one large round that hits for 10 up front and smacks the target like a freight train, then reloads over the next 5 seconds, the other spits out a shot at 2 damage every second peppering them, but not having a lot of noticeable knock. Same range profile, same accuracy, same heat generated, same amount of damage per ton of ammunition.

Different weapon variants for different situations, the first is better for city fighting or rolling hills where you're only taking a shot occasionally and not engaged by many targets, the other for when you're engaging lotsa targets or where being able to finish off targets someone has already dagged big gaping holes in.

[Darion Rothgarr]

Small Variations can make them interesting. Nothing that screams this is beter than that.

[CeeKay Boques]

Corsair114, on 21 November 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

You've got two AC10's. Both have a damage 10 per 5 seconds (don't scream and cry, this is just an example). One fires one large round that hits for 10 up front and smacks the target like a freight train, then reloads over the next 5 seconds, the other spits out a shot at 2 damage every second peppering them, but not having a lot of noticeable knock. Same range profile, same accuracy, same heat generated, same amount of damage per ton of ammunition.

Different weapon variants for different situations, the first is better for city fighting or rolling hills where you're only taking a shot occasionally and not engaged by many targets, the other for when you're engaging lotsa targets or where being able to finish off targets someone has already dagged big gaping holes in.

Big, Big fan of this kind of customization. As long as weapons are Balanced so that one is not BETTER than another, you could charge me for various weapons from different manufacturers that perform differently. Things like "The Defiance industry Super Gaussinator shoots over 900 meters*! Tha'ts 100 meters farther than the competition!"

*Also drops like a rock and is more prone to glancing shots

[Gaius Cavadus]

Technoviking, on 21 November 2011 - 01:21 PM, said:

Big, Big fan of this kind of customization.

Ditto. This something I've always wanted to see reflected in the game. Particularly with different HUDs so there's more difference between cockpits aside from cross-member placement.

[Xhaleon]

Corsair114, on 21 November 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

You've got two AC10's. Both have a damage 10 per 5 seconds (don't scream and cry, this is just an example). One fires one large round that hits for 10 up front and smacks the target like a freight train, then reloads over the next 5 seconds, the other spits out a shot at 2 damage every second peppering them, but not having a lot of noticeable knock. Same range profile, same accuracy, same heat generated, same amount of damage per ton of ammunition.

Different weapon variants for different situations, the first is better for city fighting or rolling hills where you're only taking a shot occasionally and not engaged by many targets, the other for when you're engaging lotsa targets or where being able to finish off targets someone has already dagged big gaping holes in.

I've always said that the latter style should have a higher DPS to compensate for the fact that it isn't doing concentrated damage, which is often the point of the heavier ACs and big guns. If there is a cone of fire, then it might work to have the same DPS, but if it is using the pinpoint precision model then the former AC will dominate, which brings it back to the point in the first sentence.

Hmm...

They don't really have to create a different weapon for every model of AC there is for all the Battlemechs in the game. There are simply too many of them, and it would get overly complicated for both the developers and the players. If different variations of weapons ever make it into the game, I'd predict a maximum of 3 different "niches" at most, with a whole group of weapon models just being dumped into one category. They might even make it easier for the players by associating certain manufacturers for certain qualities.

[SeDevri]

Corsair114, on 21 November 2011 - 01:15 PM, said:

You've got two AC10's. Both have a damage 10 per 5 seconds (don't scream and cry, this is just an example). One fires one large round that hits for 10 up front and smacks the target like a freight train, then reloads over the next 5 seconds, the other spits out a shot at 2 damage every second peppering them, but not having a lot of noticeable knock. Same range profile, same accuracy, same heat generated, same amount of damage per ton of ammunition.

Different weapon variants for different situations, the first is better for city fighting or rolling hills where you're only taking a shot occasionally and not engaged by many targets, the other for when you're engaging lotsa targets or where being able to finish off targets someone has already dagged big gaping holes in.

I like this. Maybe one medium Laser would be more accurate but fire in shorter length bursts, while another might have the opposite.

But this can work for more than just weapon systems. Maybe one set of leg Actuators are more resistant to damage but aren't as stable as others. Now i'm talking about only slight differences but that when all added together to create a mech, might make a truly unique feel for each player.

[Corsair114]

Not that it matters, but I'd suggest lasers (specifically Lasers) always be superbly accurate, this being their fixed variable (ballistics could be their high damage-to-heat ratio). Lasers front load damage, pulse lasers are a little less up front for a lot more in a small span of time (with comiserate heat build up). Generated heat amount of time it takes to deliver that damage (blast, what's the scientific name for the time the laser is irradiating a target? [also this point might not be a good idea]) which could be be tied to how much heat is generated (heat's fairly abstract, anyway so you could time higher heat to more immediate damage), time it takes the lasers capacitors to recharge, etc. would all be great variables for differentiating makes of lasers.

As said above, we don't need thirty-one different flavors of any given weapon, the more you introduce, the more likely it is one or two will float to the top as the best anyhow, so just a few variations are required. Later, once the game's gotten a goodly amount of play, a new model or two can be added after the balance of the old ones has been tweaked a bit if there's a very clear niche for them to fill.

I apologize for the formatting on that first paragraph, yes, I know it's terrible.

[DocBach]

The above poster brings up a good point - accuracy could be a weapon statistic - some weapon systems, lets use the Federated Autocannon as example might have a higher accuracy rating meaning it hits closer to where the player's reticle is aiming, where a short barreled Defiance 'Mech Hunter might have a little variation in its point of impact because it has a lower accuracy rating.

[CeeKay Boques]

^ Pay to win with Cone of Fire! ^

I'd take faster gimbals, but not better dice rolls.

[Anval Gato]

Corsair114's comments one the weapon variations makes sense.
Always thought the rules on the weapons in the books could have been a bit different with different fire modes. Kind of got there with things like the pulse lasers and the ultra autocannons but could have been better.

The difference could be as simple as availability to given factions. If you think about the structure of the battletech universe, behind the great houses is a world of supply and demand. There's a whole trade and contract aspect that could be explored but I would suggest this is something that should be considered for an add on to the game for players to explore.
In essence, there would be manufacturers producing the various components on a thousand different worlds, but then access to those components at a player level is going to be determined by transport costs, availability, border issues, pirates etc.
Simply, the component built by corporation X in the Draco system is widely thought of as being the best around, but that's on the other side of the galaxy and therefore availability and cost makes getting it difficult. However local manufacturer Y produces the same item and you can obtain that pretty easiliy at a lesser cost.
Whether it's worth having this level of complexity outside of the battles is a good question, but the game concept seems to be leaning in that direction with evoloving characters and environments. Leave it open to expansion though.