25 replies to this topic

[Wildcat]

Have been thinking about Electronic Warfare for MWO, other games like EvE Deal with Electronic Warfare Boats and I feel MWO should not be left behind...

I know Mechwarrior or Battletech deals with EW, tho I havent been in the loop about what systems are in the Lore of BT or MW for sometime...

Someone had said the range for Electronic Warfare on table top would be around 200 meters, tho im not sure if that range would be reasonable for EW Boats, maybe 300-400 meters ?


Anyway lets look at some of the Electronic Warfare Equipment, applications/roles that is used in Real World around the World and how they could be or has been used in MWO... most sources will be from http://en.wikipedia....ctronic_warfare to make it simple

• Electronic Warfare Support Measures
  
• Electronic Counter Measures
  
• Electronic Counter Countermeasures

Other systems EW Boats could use

• Electromagnetic interference
  
• Target Painting
  
• Radar Jamming and Deception
  
• Decoy Probes/Mines/Drones

And probably a bunch of things from MW or BT that im not up to date with



I wouldnt think everything would be able to be installed and used all on one Electronic Warfare Mech(Boat), and should probably be restricted to Mechs of 45 Tons and below... and maybe 2-3 or more electronic Packages for one Light Mech, plus using a number of these would increase the Signature of that Mech and would make it more easily picked up by Counter EW Boats

As a counter to the EW Boats a Missie type called an Anti-Radiation Missile which is designed to detect and home on an enemy radio emission sources... most likely fired from another Mech of 45 Tons or lower set up to counter EW Boats, could be used to shoot and damage or kill off these EW Boats

This could add a Role for Light Mechs to Seek and Disrupt enemy Activity at the same time Detecting and Painting Targets for Missiles for his/her Allies... meanwhile other Light Mechs are set up to Seek and Destroy EW Boats Disrupting his/her Allies as well as scouting for his/her side


Anyway just some ideas and I think in keeping the range of Electronic Warfare to 300-400 meters wouldnt take the fun out of the match and would give those dedicated to scouting some useful tools to aid in scouting or to disrupt the enemy

Edited by Wildcat, 01 July 2012 - 12:59 AM.

[Hikaru]

Already exists in canon. Guardian ECM and Raven.

[BlackAbbot]

BT/MW has a dedicated Electronic Warfare boat and so does MWO, it's called the Raven and it's confirmed.

See also:
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Raven
http://www.sarna.net...le_Active_Probe
http://www.sarna.net...rdian_ECM_Suite
http://www.sarna.net...cquisition_Gear
http://www.sarna.net..._Missile_Beacon

Edit: Notice somebody else got in while I was posting, but have my extra links too.

Edited by BlackAbbot, 01 July 2012 - 01:15 AM.

[Erwiin]

Hopefully it will be possible to use electronic warfare equipment on other 'Mechs as well. The Raven just isn't fast or agile enough.

[HybridTheory]

Erwiin, on 09 July 2012 - 09:26 PM, said:

Hopefully it will be possible to use electronic warfare equipment on other 'Mechs as well. The Raven just isn't fast or agile enough.

Could be if customized correctly

[Insidious Johnson]

I think OP is pushing for HARM missles: High-speed Anti-Radiation Missle. I think it would be a nice addition if some where in canon or a positive balance option rather than nerfing something. I think Trebuchet is nicely suited for Wild Weasel roles. Mostly, raven hunting. Others could be nicely adapted as well, given the options to do so. Good suggestion, OP.

[Glythe]

Erwiin, on 09 July 2012 - 09:26 PM, said:

Hopefully it will be possible to use electronic warfare equipment on other 'Mechs as well. The Raven just isn't fast or agile enough.

Well there was a mention by the devs (sorry no quote) that equipment was not going to require a specific hardpoint. With that in mind it seemed like the raven was a little out of place. Why use a raven for instance when you could just mount all its equipment on a different mech?

I would love to run a max speed Cicada with ECM, NARC and BAP but I feel the Raven needs something to keep it special.

[BlackAbbot]

Erwiin, on 09 July 2012 - 09:26 PM, said:

Hopefully it will be possible to use electronic warfare equipment on other 'Mechs as well. The Raven just isn't fast or agile enough.

I dunno, a stock top speed of 97km/h seems pretty fast to me. That's three times as fast as an UrbanMech which seems like a pretty good benchmark for a light mech.

Edited by BlackAbbot, 09 July 2012 - 11:06 PM.

[Noesis]

Please expedite the "Unkindness" PGI.

[Lord Cole]

... a Trace Buster Buster Buster

[Wildcat]

Well, im sure Electronic Equipment will weigh quite a bit, and perhaps light Mechs gain Bonuses with something like -50% in Weight for Electronic Equipment.... this might help to balance the game so that larger Mechs are not trying to do Roles of lighter mechs, maybe Mediums could get away with it but for Heavy or Assault Classes to be doing scout roles, just seems wrong... dont get me wrong some electronic Equipment would be handy on the larger Mechs But just not everything all on one mech, could limit EW items on large mechs to maybe 2-3 items

Light Mechs should have the role of Electronic Warfare, to supplement their Scouting Duties

Insidious Johnson, on 09 July 2012 - 10:19 PM, said:

I think OP is pushing for HARM missles: High-speed Anti-Radiation Missle. I think it would be a nice addition if some where in canon or a positive balance option rather than nerfing something. I think Trebuchet is nicely suited for Wild Weasel roles. Mostly, raven hunting. Others could be nicely adapted as well, given the options to do so. Good suggestion, OP.

exactly, im sure a few new items wouldnt hurt the Game, could be from secret Equipment/Weapon Caches that have been discovered or something like that... or if we are lucky there is something similar within the lore that could be slightly modified to counter ECM/ECCM Radiation Emissions

and as you said this would help to reduce the need to Nerf Equipment as much as it may have to otherwise

Edited by Wildcat, 10 July 2012 - 12:46 AM.

[Reoh]

The game doesn't have special eve-like weight bonuses on equipment, or at least has never in previous iterations. What MWO does have are special modules that can be used which might cover effectiveness increases based on pilot skills and loadouts. For those skills we've had specifics of pilot increases it has been only a slight boost (like +2% up to five times) and nothing too significant.

Quote

Each BattleMech chassis has a set number of slots available for modules. Players can fit whichever modules they want or deem necessary for their upcoming matches. The number of applied modules cannot exceed the available slots on a BattleMech and each module is unique in that multiples of the same module cannot be used.

DevBlog3, & DevBlog4.

[wargonglok]

Wildcat, on 10 July 2012 - 12:45 AM, said:

Well, im sure Electronic Equipment will weigh quite a bit, and perhaps light Mechs gain Bonuses with something like -50% in Weight for Electronic Equipment.... this might help to balance the game so that larger Mechs are not trying to do Roles of lighter mechs, maybe Mediums could get away with it but for Heavy or Assault Classes to be doing scout roles, just seems wrong... dont get me wrong some electronic Equipment would be handy on the larger Mechs But just not everything all on one mech, could limit EW items on large mechs to maybe 2-3 items

Light Mechs should have the role of Electronic Warfare, to supplement their Scouting Duties



exactly, im sure a few new items wouldnt hurt the Game, could be from secret Equipment/Weapon Caches that have been discovered or something like that... or if we are lucky there is something similar within the lore that could be slightly modified to counter ECM/ECCM Radiation Emissions

and as you said this would help to reduce the need to Nerf Equipment as much as it may have to otherwise

the role of scouting isn't light mech only role. scout killers, if urbie is released we have a light brawler and light sniper. you can't go and say no to heavy or assault scouts when the entire point of flexibility and roles is to have choice.


unless you are suggesting that an urbie would make a great scout?

[Astaroth]

While there is no built-in limitation in MWO to stop someone from loading up a heavier mech with EW equipment and scouting modules, there is the simple matter of speed and stealth. Loading up an assault or heavy mech with that kind of equipment would really defeat the intended purpose of those larger platforms, which is to carry lots and lots of guns onto the battlefield. Additionally, with the size and reduced speed of those larger mechs, their usefulness in a scout or EW role would be significantly diminished. It's only logical that a smaller, faster mech would be the preferred choice for an EW platform because it's harder to see, harder to hit, and can move around the battlefield as needed with a lot more ease.

Putting BAP and ECM on a Catapult to make it more effective as an artillery piece while giving it some better defensive capabilities is one thing, but using that same mech to scout enemy positions is certainly less than ideal.

[Latriam]

there are also a few mech that state "advanced sensors" later they put in the Beagle active probe.

[XxZylonxX]

There will probably be ECM hardpoints just like weapons.
Otherwise balance would be out the window and Mechs like the Raven would become obsolete.

[wargonglok]

Astaroth, on 10 July 2012 - 06:35 AM, said:

While there is no built-in limitation in MWO to stop someone from loading up a heavier mech with EW equipment and scouting modules, there is the simple matter of speed and stealth. Loading up an assault or heavy mech with that kind of equipment would really defeat the intended purpose of those larger platforms, which is to carry lots and lots of guns onto the battlefield. Additionally, with the size and reduced speed of those larger mechs, their usefulness in a scout or EW role would be significantly diminished. It's only logical that a smaller, faster mech would be the preferred choice for an EW platform because it's harder to see, harder to hit, and can move around the battlefield as needed with a lot more ease.

Putting BAP and ECM on a Catapult to make it more effective as an artillery piece while giving it some better defensive capabilities is one thing, but using that same mech to scout enemy positions is certainly less than ideal.

i know. i was just trying to make the point that a weight class should not be pigeonhold into one roll

[Bongo TauKat]

Lord Cole, on 10 July 2012 - 12:42 AM, said:

... a Trace Buster Buster Buster

You obviously don't need anyone else, you know your ****.

[Astaroth]

wargonglok, on 10 July 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

i know. i was just trying to make the point that a weight class should not be pigeonhold into one roll

Actually, I had already written over half of my post when you posted yours, so I wasn't responding to you directly. I actually think you're right in a philosophical sense. It is silly to pigeonhole an entire weight class given the number of options we will have for customizing mechs and aggregating an individual pilot's role. But some mechs will always be better suited for certain roles than others, and that's a part of why there are so many different mech designs in the BattleTech universe. I don't doubt there will be times when it's appropriate to use a Dragon or an Atlas (or even an Urbie) as a scout due to the nature of the battlefield and/or the opposition, but more often a Commando or Raven will be the better choice. At the end of the day it has to be a tactical decision based on what you know about the scenario you're going into and the capabilities of the pilots going into the match with you.

Personally, I fully intend to live nearly my entire MWO life as a scout lance commander. I love that role. I will own every light mech variant in the game in order to help me fill it, but I will also be sure to purchase a few heavier mechs so that I have the flexibility to adapt to the situation at hand.

[Tezkat]

There's also the very important question of what this equipment even does in MWO.

Take ECM, for instance. Will it function more like the BattleTech gear, where it's used primarily to disrupt spotting and missile targeting? Or will it behave more like in other MechWarrior titles, where its key strength lies in hiding your mech from enemy radar? The former scenario would see it mainly installed on dedicated EW anti-scout mechs. The latter is something useful on nearly every scout, skirmisher, and long range support mech.