A Locust makes up for it because in every single depiction, it can pivot the tiny arms left/right to about 35 to 45 degrees, and the turret has -- matter of factly -- defied physics in some depictions. So we know it's meant to be flexible. Not to mention arm-flip! For proper scale it'd have to grow a meter with longer legs and a vertically thinner torso. (Locust pilots laid down, couldn't sit.)
For a Catapult, it doesn't matter because it's targeting system isn't limited to directly in front of it. And with missiles via MWO's style, the player should be able to try and acquire locks wherever he is looking. That or PGI should make them lore friendly in either the Artillery method or the remote control after launch method. More likely to get the locks wherever looking tidbit. Don't forget arm-flip! Theoretically the weapon mounts on the torso could 'aim' around. But let's be honest even if PGI removed the pelvis from this 15+ meter tall monstrosity, we'll never get the original BT-scaled 9 meter tall Catapult (when it had the squat, fat body it was only 9 meters tall with relatively small arms). (PGI put the Commando at 9.7 meters if you need a comparison). (
Current size difference)
The artist knew what he was doing, he was putting the Catapult around 10 meters tall as the Catapult is known for being a short, low to the ground heavy (in the original design). Actually BT has it much closer to 9 meters or less.
Then for some reason, this version surfaced. This version puts its height at around 13 meters tall, just because. The stilt-legs are nice in some regard but that just means easy legging. But wait, there's one other thing... The Atlas is supposed to be around 13 meters tall. Time to raise an eyebrow, did the Catapult have an inferiority complex for the below design?
But how tall would 9 meters be?
The Shadowhawk in the center is 9.63 meters tall. MWO's scale is around 15 meters tall..for some reason.
Might also add -- in no image I've seen thus far has the original Shadowhawk ever display signs of torso twist. The Dougram, the anime mecha it is based on, was also incapable of twisting.
Kitfox?
A Clan Cloud Cobra, Snow Raven, Blood Spirit and Jade Falcon mech. Funny enough this thing is supposed to be a ranged brawler with emphasis on armor, firepower and a low profile. Charge forward while dumping your payload. Aggressive, tenacious. What would it need with twisting or do other cowardly acts? Hips would only make it taller. It's meant to be 8.7 meters, particularly big because endo/ferro; endo is known for increasing the size of the mech a fair bit. At the same time, the lack of a pelvis keeps its height down below what it could have been.
The Kitfox has ankles that can rotate as well as plant themselves. This can be used to give it enhanced turning abilities to compensate for lack of torso twist.
Jenner.
A Jenner is long-legged, with a very short and narrow body.
This is the artist's original sketches. Actually is pretty good.
Here is what we got.
Longer torso, seemingly taller head (mind you orthos to perspective can be a bit wonky).
Anyway.
The legs would actually connect to the shoulders, and the entire shoulder would be part of the leg. Meaning instead of this...
We'd get a hitbox that had STs going up the side of the 'aligator' head. The leg hitboxes wouldn't be as wide near the pelvis either, because no pelvis. The giant CT problem? Never would have existed.
Not that the redesign isn't beautiful. But twist doesn't belong here, and the 'humps' in place of where the legs are supposed to connect are just...'extra' to make up for what the mech had lost... as if what it was given wasn't enough of an addition for the mech to suffer.
Interestingly the original scale of 'length' to the 'head' of the Artist's intent for the MWO mech... isn't far off from the source design.
Now, arms forward and flip back. They are never depicted as pivoting left/right (though the Jenner II-C clearly can). Instead, simply have the Catapult style missile lock treatment, and honestly lasers are fine. The hitbox improvements this thing will get alone will still make losing the torso twist be a
huge improvement.
Adder. What this mech is seriously lacking is the ability to crouch. The reason it was named the Puma? It could --and in fact did-- lay in wait in a Hull down position with the legs folded under the Cowl, knelt to be as close to the ground as possible like a Puma getting ready to pounce. When conditions were right, it'd stand up and unleash its deadly ER PPCs. More of a sniper, the Adder still manages to carry nearly maximum armor with most of the torso armor being in the 'cowl' covering its body, the idea being protection against LRMs. It was after all, "Designed to emulate the reported common weapon designs of Inner Sphere medium 'Mechs." Despite its lack of torso twist, its firepower made it "highly sought after among the Clans." By 3045, every Clan had Adders.
Though not shown in the non-official art shared, the canon art depicts the Adder's feet as being able to rotate left/right at the ankles. The same is true in MWO. This can be used to give the Adder increased turn speeds both stationary and while moving.
What more needs be said there? 8.8 meters is the canon height, it'd lose between 2 and 3 meters in height (and some width, too, 'cause proportions).
The Nova? This thing would lose almost 3 meters in height.
Arms can flip without lower arm actuators. Otherwise it can get some good left/right aim to compensate for the torso's lack of twist. Depictions however give it up to 25 degrees of 'twist' when moving slower, 10 degrees of 'twist' when running if no turning involved. Also as mentioned about the Adder (and also true for the Kitfox), the Nova has rotating ankles. Added turning ability can help as well.
That's about all I'll get into. Just..it'd be nice.
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Koniving, on 06 April 2015 - 08:41 PM, said:
