1. Mechwarrior Online is based upon a tabletop game called battletech.
2. Mechs weigh 20-100 tons. This is broken into four categories. Light (20-35), Medium (40-55), Heavy (60-75), and Assault (80-100).
3. Damage is determined by hit location. Each location has armor hp and internal hp. Once you get through the armor for lets say the left leg you start hitting internal structure. When there is no more internal structure that location is destroyed (destruction of 1 leg results in a severe limp, 2 legs you are Ko'd). Along the way you tend to do a lot of crits to locations that are taking internal structure damage.
4. There is no bouncing in this game. A gun on a light mech does the same damage to an assault as that gun would do if it was mounted on an assault mech. The key thing is the assault mech has more guns and armor.
5. Heavier the mech the more it carries in guns and armor, but also the more engine power it takes to go the same speed. Also heavier mechs are bigger. Basically small nimble scouts, vs big slow juggernauts. Get the picture?
6. Scout mechs will have a big impact on this game if the devs pull it off right. The idea is the scout mechs will keep the enemy lit for the support mechs to shoot at them with indirect fire from LRM launchers etc.
7. This game does not have TDs or SPGs.
8. One shotting an enemy is far less likely in this game. Should still be possible in the right circumstances and with a great deal of luck/skill, but not a hey I see that happen 2-3 times per match kind of thing.
9. Mechs can be modified by the pilot to get different performance outside the same vehicle. basically you can swap around the weapon loadouts, add/remove armor, put in bigger or small engines. There is a ruleset behind this so not everything is possible, but the degree of variety should mean that after the game has been out for a short amount of time the variety in mechs should be fairly high.
10. Won't everyone just get the biggest mechs? Short answer is no. Long answer is bigger mechs are basically big fat targets. Basically assault mechs would be like T95s without the bounces, just a lot more hp. You see them coming, you attack them from the flanks or from distance with smaller more nimble mechs. Light mechs would be vk 2801s but their gun now has infinite penetration (no bouncing). Probably most people will settle into the medium and heavy categories of mechs as they will balance firepower and speed better.
11. Will there be gold rounds? No. this game is f2p, and yes you can pay for things, but paying does not equal winning or having a significant combat advantage. The understanding I've gotten from reading the forums is you will be able to spend real money to basically buy mechs, and a premium mode.
12. Will driving a certain mech for a long time benefit you? Yes. The pilots apparently gain xp in specific mechs which will unlock perks for that mech. That said, the more experienced pilots will not get a massive advantage over the nub. If they are beating you a lot its b/c they know the maps, mechs, and general tactics for this game better.
13. What about premium mechs? There will be premium mechs. They will not have any weaker or stronger performance than the standard mechs for that tonnage. They will simply have a boosted credit earning potential. Basically this would be like if you can earn a tiger 2 or buy a premium tiger 2. Both will play the same, just after the battle the premium guy will get more money for his efforts.
14. Will there be a lot of grinding to get to the mech I really want? Courts still out on this. However you should realize that when you get a new mech it will be practically the same as the same mech owned by a guy who has 500 matches in it. He will however have unlocked a bunch of perks for it while you will have to grind to get those unlocked. But again that isn't night and day like WoT stock tanks vs fully unlocked. We're talking 10% more heat dissipation or longer radar ranges not popgun vs. doom cannons.
15. Should I play this game? Yes. You should. Will you like it more or less than WoT? I don't know. You won't know either until you try it. So how about keep an eye on this game, wait until open beta and then give it a spin. Odds are you will like this game and its f2p so dipping your toe in won't cost you anything but a little time. And if you don't like it WoT will still be there for you. I promise.
Final comment for this post. This is not WoT nor should it be. They are both different and yet fill the same niche market. Having both around should be a good thing. I think there is room in the market for both games AND I think having both games around will force both sets of devs to keep working at their respective titles to make them better games for us gamer folk. In the end games are meant to be fun and I hope you find something you are having fun at. If you aren't having fun then please don't settle for something. FIND something better. Not every game is for every gamer.
Link to dev's youtube video's
http://www.youtube.c...chwarrioronline
Following is quoted from later in this thread
Adridos, on 03 July 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:
What? You don't trust a fellow Capellan?
Here's the quote from the tweetchat devs had in may:
Q: How will the player’s initial ‘mech(s) be selected?
A: Players will get 1 free mech to start. They can chose from 4 1 in each class – light, med, heavy, assault. [BRYAN]A: You will be able to choose from a selection based on the role you want to play. [RUSS]
The full interview is here: http://mwomercs.com/...eetchat-roundup
Reoh brought this up:
Reoh, on 04 July 2012 - 01:32 PM, said:
- You can blow an arm off a 'Mech, but not a leg. It just becomes dysfunctional but you can limp along with it at reduced speed (destroying both KO's the mech).
- I'm pretty sure you can only add\remove Jumpjets on 'Mechs that have them as a baseline in the chasis variant, but I could be wrong on this.
Edited by Bodha, 04 July 2012 - 01:37 PM.