CocoaJin, on 30 April 2015 - 07:56 PM, said:
Weapon placement near the mech's CoG is brilliant design, implying it was in fact designed by engineers and not video gamers. It minimizes rotational moments on the mech caused by recoil by the weapon and from movements of the mech on the weapon...all improve weapon accuracy.
These aren't squat weapon platforms...unlike any other weapons platform ever: they are tall, small based(doesn't have a wide supporting base) weapon platforms that walk, run and jump jet about on rough terrain, frequently firing rapid fire bursts.
A good engineer builds a war machine that makes all that good stuff happen. A great engineer finds a way to make all that happen while despite the law of physics. If you notice how virtually all MBT's are designed, they do NOT place the pivot of the main cannon at the center of gravity or center of rotation of the tracks. If you watch them fire the gun aimed sideways they rock noticably. Oh and Iowa-class (& many other) battleships too. Oh and AC30 gun ships. Oh and Bradley APC's. The list can go on & on, but I think any idiot would get the point.
Aside from the AC2 & MG, the ballistics in this game fire slow enough where even a king crab with a smallish engine can torso twist 30 degrees between shots. They also have a suspension unlike ANY suspension used on military vehicles, which presumably can "lean" into the shot to negate most/all the recoil effects. Even so, they've put recoil into certain mechs, Hunchy & Atlas are two I can recall while firing ac20 rounds. The former firing from nearly the top of it's body, yet it doesn't break the game.
So I fail to see why it'd be such a problem for a Black Knight or Crab to have hardpoints that focus on firing while protected. My only guess is certain players want to see more ballistics in the crotch.