TheArisen, on 07 February 2019 - 05:36 PM, said:
The slow variants could be pretty good for FP defense where a lack of speed isn't a big deal and they can just focus on firepower, etc, but outside of that I'd be concerned.
Good hitboxes... idk if I'd say that. The radar dish is a big "shoot here" box. I'm also actually concerned about the arms being easy to rip off and they hold most of the firepower.
FLG is correct that you're setting yourself up for disappointment to just expect PGI to quirk it the way you want them to. I'm inclined to think they'll get some good quirks but there are things like how almost all of them have JJs which typically means less quirks and being Clan also usually means less quirks as well.
The 2 & the A should be quite strong though so the Rifleman IIc won't be a lemon unless the hitboxes get screwed up somehow.
Well, I can't really be disappointed about a mech I wasn't really pushing to get into the game. As long as it isn't absolute garbage -to the point where I feel it's a wasted addition to MWO- then it's fine by me. It satisfies the people who wanted it. I'm not saying it's going to get super-quirked, nor am I expecting it. I'm just pointing out PGI's current MO on mech releases, their quirks, and their handling of classics. It's not likely to come out as complete garbage. It's not likely to be "meta" either, but it should be a solid "average" in the MWO mech lineup, overall.
The hitboxes do look like they'll be quite respectable, overall, if not outright good. Most of its "problems" are those shared by many mechs that do just fine:
The dish is only going to provide a "large" profile from the top-down; and with PGI's volumetric scaling any and all volume put into the dish is size taken from everything else. That, in turn, actually serves as a boon to every other hitbox on the mech. On the other hand, the dish is actually quite small from the art, especially compared to what it could have been.
The slightly angled view also tells us that the dish isn't even going to stick out that far over the torso, so the upward view shouldn't be heavily impeded to any extreme degree . . . not anymore than the average mech trying to look up as far as possible. The only big question here is whether the dish is going to see division between ST and CT locations . . . if its all CT that'll be a problem, but that seems extremely unlikely given the handling of similar hitbox issues on different mechs. King Crab top, Annihilator neck/head, Dragon snout, etc. all have their hit boxes spread out among the neighboring side torso locations. The Rifleman IIC dish shouldn't be any different.
The Torso is also more compact and "standard" compared to the IS Rifleman. The CT won't have threat of being exposed from the side, in the same fashion as the IS Rifleman. At the same time the profile doesn't lend itself to easily distinguished torso dividing lines, so the average "snapshot" likely won't be as accurate compared to other mechs. Spreading damage should overall be easier for the pilot to manage, as well.
As for the arms, they only provide a sizable hitbox from the side, but that's a problem for the IS Rifleman, too, and it manages reasonably well. The firepower location problem is an issue shared by MANY mechs; and honestly people are still quicker to shoot out the ST of those mechs than the arm itself. Again, a problem shared by many mechs, not just the Rifleman, and many of those do just fine . . . the Jager, Rifleman, and Blackjack have been solid mechs for a long time. I'm actually more concerned that the Arms could come in over-quirked and there's no ST quriks on the mech at all.
Honestly, one hitbox weakness of the Rifleman IIC is that it'll be a slower mech that didn't skip on leg day. However, that's going to depend heavily on the final 3D art and how volumetric scaling makes or breaks the remainder of the hitboxes. Either the legs are going to come out rather stocky, or it's going to come out with a rather "average" profile, overall. If it ends up with an average profile, that might actually work out as a boon for the mech, which would help prevent any hitboxes from standing out too much at any given angle.
The mech is designed for long range fire support; and as long as its fulfilling that role, the profile is going to serve it quite well. When it gets into a brawl it's going to suffer from the same issue as similar styled mechs. Side torso locations will be "easily" removed, but at least engine desync doesn't limit the mech's agility in close confines or torso-twist reasonably well. We know it'll likely be around the "standard" 65t agility level and will probably be comparable to a Jager , which isn't too bad.
All in all, the Rifleman IIC should at least come out "average" in the grand scheme of things, as far as mech releases go.
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