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First of all, the objectives I aim to accomplish, besides simply leveling the playing field
*Keep the game as canonical as possible
*Encourage diversity, both in mech choices and their builds
*Keep the game in the realm of "sci-fi" instead of "fantasy" (everything has to be explainable within the scientific confines of the universe)
And the current conflicts with those objectives
*Ghost heat is totally inexplicable, unpopular, and not even all that effective at its purpose
*Weapon modules, IS mech quirks, and electronics (TC) that provide weapon buffs make little sense, neither canonically nor scientifically
*Weapon modules promote weapon boating, while weapon-based mech quirks pigeon-hole variants into specific builds
*ECM has always been overpowered and every effort to balance the game to it has resulted in more problems. It's what needs a change, not everything else.
*The interchangeability of clan mechs has led to the inevitable prevalence of the Kit Fox, Stormcrow, Timberwolf, and Dire Wolf over all other chassis because of their in-class weight and lack of drawbacks. There are no decent reasons to choose another clan mech.
As such, I propose the following alterations to the balance game. Most prominently for the tl;dr amongst you, my changes are the transition of ECM from a rare gem worthy of nerfing every mech that can carry it to a more mainstream device that a team can benefit from, but not rely on, the elimination of all weapon upgrades dependent upon anything other than the weapon itself, the replacement of ghost heat with something more realistic, the canonization of the targeting computer, and the balancing of Clan and IS technology without having to resort to fantasy quirks.
Electronics
1. ECM would retain its disrupt ability but lose its counter ability, so as to stop nerfing ECM/BAP combos. Furthermore, ECM-protected mechs within LOS of an attacker would be targetable and lockable by that mech at normal sensor ranges, but the lock would be non-transferrable (i.e. only mechs with LOS would see the red icon and be able to lock on) and ECM would negate the lock-time and missile accuracy improvements provided by TAG and Narc (Both could still be used to make a protected mech indirectly lockable however, so they'd still be useful regardless). ECM would be made available for all variants of certain chassis (so all RVNs, ASDs, SDRs, etc).
2. Like ECM (and AMS and CC), BAP would only be available for certain chassis and its placement would be similarly regulated. Ability to equip one or more of these items could be used as a quirk to help differentiate mechs of similar disposition. Only a scarce few like the RVN and HBR would be able to equip both ECM and BAP.
3. Targeting Computers would be a purchasable upgrade with weapons-based size constraints just like Artemis (though unlike Artemis, the additional slots wouldn't be attached to the weapons themselves, but rather put at a pre-set location on the mech and would grow based upon the # of direct-fire weapons (minimum 1 ton/1 slot). No mech with the TC upgrade would be able to carry more direct-fire weapons than the size of TC it could accommodate). As far as effect is concerned, in the spirit of not getting into fantasy with magical weapon improvements, only the zoom increase and info gathering decrease from the current incarnation would be retained (and standardized), and in addition to those perks, targeting instability caused by movement and enemy fire would be significantly decreased (like Improved Gyros module). The TC would still be a valuable addition to any mech with direct-fire weapons and in this incarnation would not be a bad choice on mechs without a pure direct-fire loadout since the cost is relative to the weaponry while still only directly benefitting direct-fire weapons (and Narcs, I suppose).
Clan/IS Balancing
4. All IS weapons would have lower heat output and lower recycle time than their clan counterparts to counteract clanners' range and single shot damage increases. Weapon function would no longer be different--IS autocannons would fire like clan autocannons (clan ACs are much more fun to shoot and easier to differentiate from LBX and Gauss) and Clan LRMs would fire like IS LRMs and would lose their minimum range (#5 explains why that's fair). Clan lasers would retain their extended duration so as to discourage laser sniping. Clan ERPPCs would gain back their 15 points of damage, but the drawback is that their recycle time would be increased to the point as to make misses very costly in a heated battle and thus unwieldy as boated weapons.
5. TAG, dumbfire SRMs, conventional ACs, and all artillery/airstrike modules would become IS-only tech (cowardly barbarian tech).
-Clanners would only have Narcs, UAV, and BAP with which to deal with enemy ECMs, a handicap they canonically wouldn't mind too much since they're not big fans of indirect fire anyway. Clan LRMs would, with their minimum range removed, be more conventional weapons to be used in straight-up fights rather than fire support weapons.
-Dumbfire SRMs would have to go so clanners couldn't gain free benefits from my new TC. -Losing AoE ability (and possibly fire support ability) would force clanners to adapt their tactics to avoid getting hammered by large groups of enemies in a straight-up fight.
Elimination of Weapon Quirks
6. All IS mech quirks relating to a specific weapon group or system would be removed. There are plenty of imaginative ways to make mechs more or less desirable for certain players without pigeonholing the weapons they carry, without making them magical creatures, and certainly without doing both. Here are some ideas, some of which are already implemented to some extent, but can be fully exploited to truly bring a sense of uniqueness to each chassis:
*torso twist range/speed
*pitch range/speed
*arm movement range/speed
*acceleration/deceleration
*hill-scaling ability (maximum angle and/or speed retention)
*movement grace (screen shake from walking)
*center of gravity (screen shake from enemy fire)
*available armor quantities, particularly on a per-part basis (e.g. CTF torso armor max values being more evenly balanced while JM has much higher max CT than sides, or RVN having low max leg armor for its weight)
*internal structure integrity
*weapon integrity (e.g. exposed weapons being easier to destroy than encased weapons, re: weapon doors)
*cockpit visbility (as a counterpoint, cockpit hitbox size)
These are all flexible options that can be used to counteract the benefits of competitiors' "inflexible benefits" like weapon height/concentration, hitbox size/shape and overall size/shape. For example, how do we make the Wolverine compete with the Shadow Hawk without strange quirks? How about giving it slightly better twist/pitch/turn speed and add some movement grace. Combine that with the added vulnerability of the SHD's exposed torso guns that have, say, half the component health of fully encased weapons, and you have a better close-range dueling option in the WVR without making the SHD inferior for its preferred role as a sniper support mech. Choosing one over the other is simply a matter of play style.
These quirks would not only be applied to IS mechs, but also to clan mechs to help individualize them as well.
7. One of two things: #1(simple solution)-Just like with weapon quirks, get rid of weapon modules because weapon modules reward boating a single weapon system. Or, #2(complex solution)- make "weapon modules" into "weapon upgrades." Each upgrade would have to be researched just like the modules are now, but instead of paying cbills for a module to upgrade all instances of a weapon on a given mech, the cbills would pay for an upgrade to a single weapon of the researched class. In other words, to upgrade the cooldown and range of a Nova's 12 ERMLs, the two upgrades would have to be researched, and then 12 ERMLs in your inventory would have to be individually upgraded (let's say at $500,000 each, 24 upgrades total = $12M) and placed upon the Nova to imitate the same upgrade as two modules. On the other hand, over time a player could earn the ability to combine a few of those upgraded ERMLs with a couple upgraded ERLLs and LRM20s on a Timberwolf, a feat that would currently require the TWolf to sport 6 weapon module slots to accomplish. This alteration would discourage boating by ceasing the penalization of weapon diversity that currently exists with the module system.
Ghost Heat
8. Remove ghost heat and instead lower the heat thresholds appropriately to prevent high energy alphas at each weight class. A Warhawk wouldn't be able to fire 4 PPCs at a time not because of ghost heat, but because even the unadulterated 60 points of heat > 100% of its heat bar. IS mechs can be given even smaller heat thresholds than clan mechs to coincide with their lower heat generation. The exact numbers can be put up for debate, but if the heat threshold went something like...
IS Light: 25 points (7 ML not ok)
IS Medium: 30 points (3 PPC or 2 ERPPC not ok)
IS Heavy: 35 points (4 ERLL not ok)
IS Assault 40 points (4 PPC or 3 ERPPC not ok)
Clan Light: 32 points (6 ERML not ok)
Clan Medium: 40 points (4 ERLL not ok)
Clan Heavy: 48 points (8 ERML not ok)
Clan Assault: 56 points (6 ERLL not ok)
I think it would work just as well as ghost heat without the need for ghost heat. Furthermore, it would eliminate loopholes in the current system. It would all but eliminate hill-humping with high energy builds as an effective tactic and also force brawlers to chain fire more effectively in pitched situations. Managing heat would be a significant challenge and the mark of a great player.
Anyhow, these are my ideas. I'd be happy to answer questions on any of them. If you managed to read through all this, thanks for doing so and I appreciate any feedback.
Edited by NeoAres, 19 January 2015 - 08:51 PM.
