121 replies to this topic

[AntiCitizenJuan]

What do you expect from a bunch of genocidal test tube babies

[Bishop Steiner]

TheCharlatan, on 12 May 2015 - 12:45 AM, said:

Hello Mechwarriors,

Let's forget balance for a moment and talk about "character".

When I look at my IS mechs, what I see are dirty, ancient machines full of grit and awesomeness.

Just look at the Hunchie: it's just lusting for a fight.

They look like WW2 tanks, gods of war made metal.

Even the way they play, they feel like they have a character (and I'm not talking about quirks), strenghts and weaknesses that a pilot has to use to do well in them.

Now let's look at clan mechs. With a few exceptions, they just feel... empty. Soulless.

Yeah, they are beautiful, sleek, polished, like a modern jet fighter.

But... i don't know, they just don't feel YOURS.

My Stormcrow is way better then my Shadowhawk, but i still prefer the latter, just because i feel better in that cramped cockpit, with those mean weapons jutting out and obscuring my view. Sitting in a clan mech feels like you are in a sterile office, no matter how much clutter you put in there.

The timber might be the best heavy in the game, but i look at my Jester and think "that's my mech". And I'm going to drive my mech. Same goes for the Mad Dog.

I just can't bring myself to buy more clan mechs, I just can't make a connection with them.

Anybody else feel the same?

Honestly? Yeah, I tend to agree. And yet, to me that suits them. The clan military complex is a very impersonal, sterile thing, in concept, anyhow. (Individuals and ambition make the reality a bit different). Clanners, until reaching high ranks or Ristar status can expect to be reassigned to any mech at any time, so few probably get "personalized". Even Aidan Pryde's fateful Timberwolf was noted for it's history, not any personal pilot distinctions, etc.

But while fitting, after the "new and different" wore off, so did a lot of the fun of driving them for me. The sole C-Omni I still enjoy, and feel has some "character" to it, is my Summoner. But the rest? Effective, but very boring. Part of this is aesthetics, part of it is the poor state of weapon balance. Oh look another Clan Laser Vomit! (or gasp..how unusual...Clan Laser Vomit with Gauss!!!)

So again, it suits the fluff Clann feel. But I certainly prefer the cockpit of my old HBK-4G(F) and my Urbies.

[waterfowl]

I see Clan mechs as stoic war machines. I feel pretty attached to my summoner and nova, probably just because they're underdogs.

Edited by waterfowl, 12 May 2015 - 06:47 AM.

[C E Dwyer]

Hadn't thought about soul, but I see where your coming from, anyway I bought my last clan mech with wave 3

very few mechs worth spending MC for

Wolverine Hero

Thunderbolt Hero

Javelin, Assassin, Hermes, Cyclops, Hammer Hands, Charger .....yup I said the C word I.S version of the Gargoyle, but with less...

Unseen..yeah yeah I know..

seriously PGI need to find other ways of generating income other than mechs or the well is going to dry out

[Keeshu]

Subjective discussion, how fun.
Personally I find these mechs to be "soulless" based on their visual design (since gameplay can change at any time):
Firestarter, (Spider is close to being soulless), Mist Lynx, Wolverine (Griffin is fine), (Kintaro is almost soulless), Quickdraw, (Summoner is almost soulless), Gargoyle (Still Miles better than what it originally looked like, but still pretty soulless)
It's just hard to see anything interesting about them.

Though I will say it gets hard to say certain mechs have souls when other mechs look very similar to others. Examples: Hunchback, Hellbringer, Summoner. Or Enforcer, Victor, Highlander. Or Zeus and Battlemaster



But eh, my personal favorite mechs are that we have in MWO:
Assaults: King Crab, Dire Wolf (Nice deadly stare type of look, very fitting for the stare master)
Heavies: Catapult, Dragon, Mad Dog, Cauldron Born
Mediums: Crab, Shadow Cat, Nova
Lights: Jenner, Raven, Panther, Adder

I do seem to love mechs that have giant CTs.....

Edited by Keeshu, 12 May 2015 - 07:59 AM.

[Skarlock]

MechWarrior5152251, on 12 May 2015 - 06:18 AM, said:

Do some of the IS mechs have "souls"? If so how do we kill these demons before they exterminate all life?

I'd be more interested in how many tons of weight and crit space you can reclaim by removing the soul. Think of the possibilities!

[DONTOR]

Sadly I feel this everytime I pilot a clan mech...

I feel its because they cannot be 100% modified, they lack solid slug ballistcs, and articulating ballistic arms. It really limits my IMMERSION, when I could pilot i.s. mechs with way more customization capability...

Its really wierd how unattached I am to my clan mechs, truth is i.s. mechs have more soul.

[xengk]

TheCharlatan, on 12 May 2015 - 12:45 AM, said:

Hello Mechwarriors,

Let's forget balance for a moment and talk about "character".

When I look at my IS mechs, what I see are dirty, ancient machines full of grit and awesomeness.

Just look at the Hunchie: it's just lusting for a fight.

They look like WW2 tanks, gods of war made metal.

Even the way they play, they feel like they have a character (and I'm not talking about quirks), strenghts and weaknesses that a pilot has to use to do well in them.

Now let's look at clan mechs. With a few exceptions, they just feel... empty. Soulless.

Yeah, they are beautiful, sleek, polished, like a modern jet fighter.

But... i don't know, they just don't feel YOURS.

My Stormcrow is way better then my Shadowhawk, but i still prefer the latter, just because i feel better in that cramped cockpit, with those mean weapons jutting out and obscuring my view. Sitting in a clan mech feels like you are in a sterile office, no matter how much clutter you put in there.

The timber might be the best heavy in the game, but i look at my Jester and think "that's my mech". And I'm going to drive my mech. Same goes for the Mad Dog.

I just can't bring myself to buy more clan mechs, I just can't make a connection with them.

Anybody else feel the same?

A Clan mech is a tin can to hold the vat grown bacon inside, hence no soul.

[LORD ORION]

TheCharlatan, on 12 May 2015 - 12:45 AM, said:

Hello Mechwarriors,

Let's forget balance for a moment and talk about "character".

When I look at my IS mechs, what I see are dirty, ancient machines full of grit and awesomeness.

Just look at the Hunchie: it's just lusting for a fight.

They look like WW2 tanks, gods of war made metal.

Even the way they play, they feel like they have a character (and I'm not talking about quirks), strenghts and weaknesses that a pilot has to use to do well in them.

Now let's look at clan mechs. With a few exceptions, they just feel... empty. Soulless.

Yeah, they are beautiful, sleek, polished, like a modern jet fighter.

But... i don't know, they just don't feel YOURS.

My Stormcrow is way better then my Shadowhawk, but i still prefer the latter, just because i feel better in that cramped cockpit, with those mean weapons jutting out and obscuring my view. Sitting in a clan mech feels like you are in a sterile office, no matter how much clutter you put in there.

The timber might be the best heavy in the game, but i look at my Jester and think "that's my mech". And I'm going to drive my mech. Same goes for the Mad Dog.

I just can't bring myself to buy more clan mechs, I just can't make a connection with them.

Anybody else feel the same?

Have you seen Russian vehicles and aircraft? The style is pretty much bang on.

[Lugh]

Navid A1, on 12 May 2015 - 01:25 AM, said:

This has (had) soul... more than anything... i call it lost potential.




But... this has only DERP!




Its sad that modelers can not give us what alex intended.

Ain't nothing keeping you from changing those souless colors to something soulful....

[Bishop Steiner]

Lugh, on 12 May 2015 - 08:07 AM, said:

Ain't nothing keeping you from changing those souless colors to something soulful....

thinking the smaller arms and boeing 747 cockpit ar emore at issue than the neon rave parade colors

[Lugh]

Bishop Steiner, on 12 May 2015 - 08:08 AM, said:

thinking the smaller arms and boeing 747 cockpit ar emore at issue than the neon rave parade colors

Could be rabbit could be, however, that's likely due to preempting whining about heads being too small to hit....

[Bishop Steiner]

Lugh, on 12 May 2015 - 08:10 AM, said:

Could be rabbit could be, however, that's likely due to preempting whining about heads being too small to hit....

head is just one tiny panel on the cockpit anyhow, so, don't see how that would matter. CT, maybe, but they can adjust hitboxes.

[Ultimax]

They're all just virtual robots to me, anything else is a mental construct.

Edited by Ultimatum X, 12 May 2015 - 08:24 AM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Ultimatum X, on 12 May 2015 - 08:22 AM, said:

They're all just robots to me.

I'm not a romantic for stuff in video games.

sounds awful boring.

[Bishop Steiner]

BTW, for the record, there are some clan mechs I really WANT to love. I think the Nova has scads of character, visually. It's just so egregiously oversized, that it needs idiot level quirks to be somewhat decent. I love my Summoner, but it is ...maybe not outright bad, but pretty close.

TBR and SCR are amazing death machines. But maybe it's because of that I find them MEH....not really fun or a challenge to use. In both cases, my avg dmg far outstrip every other mech I have in their weight classes.

It seems you got a few real good (but as the OP says, "soulless" feeling) Omnis, and some real bad mechs, a few of which have character, but just tend to be too mediocre to bad for serious play.

For me, the DWF, well, I just don't Assault. Too slow for me to work well with, or have fun. TBR and SCR are amazing, but too easy, IMO. HBR, IDK what it is....it just never has clicked at all. It's a very functional tool, but that is what it feels like when I use it, a tool.

IDK, to each their own.

[Timuroslav]

I feel like the Gargoyle, has a soul. Look at those throttles. It ROARS I'm a WWII BOMBER "WAAAAAAAAAGH!" Whenever, I spectate one, I want it to brutally murder something. Even if it's an I.S. or Clan mech.

Edited by Timuroslav, 12 May 2015 - 09:15 AM.

[Gin Ookami]

The only soulless Clan mechs are earless Timberwolves!

Mechs with alot of soul? Hunchbacks and Locusts!

[MeiSooHaityu]

Well the biggest hurdle for me having Clan mechs is cost.

Cost of new chassis
Cost of omnipods
Cost of all new equip and weapons

I have years of IS inventory, and a handful of clan equip for my one 15mil C-Bill TW Prime. To skill up my one mech, I need to save up an additional 30mil.

Even once I start saving, there is an engine I want or a module I want.

In any case I am comfortable with IS. I'll probably buy a total of 3 TWs one day and skill it up, but I'm in no hurry.

[Water Bear]

You know how in some TV shows they introduce a bad guy and spend the whole season trying to defeat that bad guy?

The Clams were that to Battletech. Of course they lack the flavor of the good guys. The good guys are the focus of the story.