281 replies to this topic

[Foxmoan]

I posted this in a diffrent thread, but I figure, for the sake of having my idea spread to another where a Dev might acually see it Ill repost it here:

Im gonna have to say that even if it sounds like im a BT purist, the base CBT mech customization rules just plain work and fit with what alot of people are saying. Modding a non omni mech is costly, time consuming, and usually limited. (Dont forget the unbalancing rules, where if the new equipment isnt EXACTLY the same tonnage and criticals of the old, theres a high chance of permanently unbalancing the mech, making it easier to tip over and harder to aim with) So if the Devs are trying to make a real time version of classic Btech, like they said they were, implementing a style like that would be in my opinion the right way to go.

A possible middle ground though, is to even though the game world is on a 1:1 timeline, we all gotta remember its still a game. maybe cut the time down an increment, such as making an hour a minute, a day an hour, something like that. Thats just a rough idea, Im sure someone else can do better.

And heck, gotta keep in mind the timeline we are in. In this point in time, most refits are gonna be from salvaged parts, not bought ones, and I think that is a GREAT bonus. To be able to customize with parts you salvage seems like a great idea to me, especially sense you would only have access to what you dont completely crit off your enemies (and then having everything randomly and fairly split between you and your lancemates for a little added fun) so that in of itself would give free customization with strict limits. Add on what i said above with unbalancing that you will also need to factor in just how good a tech you wanna hire to do it all (do it expensively and right, or cheap and risk permanently effing up your mech). With this being a non-standard MMO, you wont get money from kills and looting, but from a paycheck, adding further limitations while still leaving it free.

One more thing i forgot to add on. I dont remember what game it was, but it was for the PS2 and it was a mech title that let you customize and modify your mech freely right down to fine tuning each part (not saying we should do that) but it was very costly, so taking out the time frame, if you had a "incomplete" mech you could rent one for the battles. We could do the same here. From what is being said, it seems there might be starter mechs of each weight class and even from different houses. While your trying to fund or wait on that one big mod, you could just freely rent a starter in the weight class you prefer. Wiz, bang, boom, no not being able to play while still having time restriction on full customization to lower the amount of UberBoatz in play at any given time. everybody wins.

Also, part of the reason boating as soo effective in previous mech games was INFACT the lack of TT rules with weapons. Take one of the more common boats, the PPCzilla. Heck yeah its effective, being able to hit with soo much power at any range without ammo needed..? Sign me up. But wait! in TT, unless your using the Clan ERPPC (we wont have acess to that for quite awhile, even a IS version is out of reach) you couldnt fire the weapon at all within a good several yards. Thats a BIG window for fast mechs to hurry into and just ruin your day without fear of retaliation. Thats why unless the pilot is braindead they will remember some backup weapons as long as the Devs are saying that there going to use TT rules as much as possible. I remember the novel "Illusions of Victory" where the main character fought a mech jock with a standard PPC that he had fired in close range, but it was explicitly said that it would have needed to be modified to be unsafe and less effective when used, and on top of that, fiering the weapon ruined it.

Basically what im saying is that for the most part special weapon rules from TT are omitted from gameplay on the pc, making weapons unbalanced already. It wouldnt be hard to make it so that unless a range restricted weapon is fired with X distance between himself and the target, the weapon just wont fire, not to mention all the other little rules changes that can be implemented from TT to make many boats worthless. (GaussZillas exploding randomly from a critical hit to the weapon itself, etc)

Edit: Thanks to a reply on a previous post I now remember the name of the game I remember and thought id mention it. it was called Steel Lancer Arena International (and its XBox-based predecessor, Phantom Crash)

Edited by Foxmoan, 02 January 2012 - 05:36 PM.

[statler]

Eegxeta, on 27 November 2011 - 05:32 PM, said:

I just put this together to see what people thought and if anyone had any good ideas on ways to improve it. I was mostly trying to introduce a more complex weight system to the mech lab. Hard-points aren't a bad idea they were just poorly implemented. If the hard-points didn't restrict weapon type I think the MW4 mech lab could work as the base for the MWO mech lab.

The hard-points work like MW4 except the hard-points don't restrict type. Weapon hard-points should have a limit to how much weapon tonnage it can carry based on where it is on the mech a torso would be able to carry more weapon tonnage than an arm or a pod. There should also be a limit to the number of weapons that can be installed onto a hard-point based on the mech design, example the large shoulder cannon on the Hunchback should only be able to carry one weapon because it was only designed to carry one weapon. Omi weapon hard-point shouldn't have a limit number of weapons you can fit into the space available. The weapons also have a visual effect on the mechs the standard load-out for a mech dictates the base look of the mech( back to the hunchback) if you were to put a Gauss rifle in the shoulder cannon of a hunchback there should be a visual change such as an elongated barrel. That would make it look like the Hollander II big brother

How does this sound? I believe this fixes the problem everyone is having with the hard-points.

Or you can keep the typed hard-points and just make it take longer or cost a little more to put a weapon of a different type in.

I like the typeless hard-points better personally.

agreed. if done right this gives enough options and keeps the mechs individual and keeping to the basic structural design.
i'd error on the side of more possibilities and have no restrictions on numbers of things other than grouping of hardpoints available. like an arm might have a 3 slot and 4 slot, so you couldnt use something that takes 7 slots, but you could use any combo that fits in 3 and 4 slots.