17 replies to this topic

[Deathlike]

I'm sure if you've seen enough of my posts and threads that the title of the thread is a rhetorical question.


I'm kind of on a fact finding mission, because not a lot has been said about this mech outside of "pretty missile tubes" for the most part.

I guess I should keep it simple:

Ignoring armor and durability of the mech, have the missile tube configuration/expansion have changed the firepower of the Pretty Baby to the same level of the other Awesomes?


I did some data digging (hoping to get smurfy to fix the numbers) and found the new values to be interesting.

Max values for each missile hardpoint section:
CT (9M): 10, 5
RT (8V): 20, 20, 15
LT (8R): 20, 20
LA (PB): 20, 15


I bought an 8R a while ago in preparation for a post-Awesome "legomech" (dynamic visual hardpoints) update (so, we're talking about at least half a year), so I'm curious to what people have to say post-changes outside of "Awesomes are as large as a broadside of a barn". (Yes, we know, thanks.)

Edited by Deathlike, 11 August 2015 - 02:36 PM.

[Lyoto Machida]

I wish 20s were actually worth taking. Actually, I did run 20/10/10/10 on my new Highlander but only because I didn't want to shoot a 45 salvo instead of 50. Yeah, I'm weird like that.

[Greenjulius]

My father told me a tale of encountering one once. On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh year, a star fell from the heavens; It was a Pretty Baby.

It took a couple alphas from a Timber Wolf and died due to side torso loss. Some say its ghost still haunts the grounds of Caustic Valley. Just stories, I hope.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Uh... since the pretty baby hero event... only one. That was in group queue as part of a 4 man group composed of crap tier mechs... piloted by supremely skilled pilots who ROFLstomped my team.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

I've seen more Pretty Babies and Anansi than I have St Ives Blues recently, sad story.

Homeless Bill used to take his out often, but that was generally when he had a Sh*tty Baby buddy.

Edited by WM Quicksilver, 11 August 2015 - 02:46 PM.

[Gas Guzzler]

Challenge accepted.

[oldradagast]

Awesomes just aren't.

I still like the concept behind them, but they are walking incarnations of almost everything that's wrong with mech balance game, and how narrow, almost random aspects to various mechs determine their viability - not pilot skill, not role on the battlefield, etc. The Awesome fails because:
- Huge torsos and bad hitboxes overall
- Low weapons
- No ballistics
- No other useful abilities (ECM, jumpjets, etc.)
- Scattered hardpoints.

The fact that a mech's success is based mostly on avoiding as many of the above problems as possible is just frustrating since it leads to a handful of useful, somewhat random, meta-mechs, with everything else being junk. Battlefield role, history, Lore, etc. is all irrelevant in comparison. It's all about hiding behind rocks and putting as much pinpoint damage on one section as fast as possible. And Awesomes are generally bad at that, so they are bad mechs.

The Pretty Baby suffers even worse than normal from scattered hardpoints, make it pay to lose, sadly.

Edited by oldradagast, 11 August 2015 - 03:24 PM.

[Speedy Plysitkos]

havent seen him, probably lost in mordor.

[Wildstreak]

Well, this just convinced me Smurfy's site is broken. Awesome variant tubes are not listed like this and I checked in game.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Wildstreak, on 11 August 2015 - 03:27 PM, said:

Well, this just convinced me Smurfy's site is broken. Awesome variant tubes are not listed like this and I checked in game.

He has to update these by hand because these aren't explicitly stated in the game files, afaik.

[Zordicron]

Wait.... they gave PB more missile tubes? I missed that....

If I had any desire to play it again, I actually mastered mine using LRM and pulse lasers, so having the LRM's fire in, well, not groups of 4 would help it out.

Myself, I am not going to mess with PB again until the rescale work is done. Here's hoping the rescale + whatever balance **** Paul and Co. have in mind makes the Awesome a feasible... no-lets aim high... a middle of the pack mech!

[Wildstreak]

WM Quicksilver, on 11 August 2015 - 03:38 PM, said:

He has to update these by hand because these aren't explicitly stated in the game files, afaik.

I feel for him, I thought they were part of auto-updates he got somehow since they usually were done with every patch.

[Deathlike]

Gas Guzzler, on 11 August 2015 - 03:15 PM, said:

Challenge accepted.

I has a sad, hearing this.

Wildstreak, on 11 August 2015 - 03:27 PM, said:

Well, this just convinced me Smurfy's site is broken. Awesome variant tubes are not listed like this and I checked in game.

It isn't broken exactly... it's that the info had to be manually put in PRIOR to any "Legomech" (dynamic visual hardpoint) designs.

It's much easier to do now though.

WM Quicksilver, on 11 August 2015 - 03:38 PM, said:

He has to update these by hand because these aren't explicitly stated in the game files, afaik.

They are actually in the game files, but NOT for the older system that didn't involve Legomechs.

If you dig into the objects.pak, the hardpoints info can easily be parsed.

Wildstreak, on 11 August 2015 - 03:48 PM, said:

I feel for him, I thought they were part of auto-updates he got somehow since they usually were done with every patch.

He's been behind at times when it comes to C-Bill values on some mechs (the data has to be retrieved from the MWO servers), so sometime reminding him helps.

If you look up HPG Outreach, smurfy has been looking for input while he's doing his own revamp of the mechlab.

[Gas Guzzler]

Prepare to meet the 3 x LRM 10+A, 2 LL, Tag overlord

[Saint Scarlett Johan]

WM Quicksilver, on 11 August 2015 - 02:46 PM, said:

I've seen more Pretty Babies and Anansi than I have St Ives Blues recently, sad story.

Homeless Bill used to take his out often, but that was generally when he had a Sh*tty Baby buddy.

Hey now, I see what you're trying to do... draw me out of hiding and ****...

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Lord Scarlett Johan, on 11 August 2015 - 05:13 PM, said:

Hey now, I see what you're trying to do... draw me out of hiding and ****...

Yes, yes I am.

[InspectorG]

Dont forget to add the Mythical TDKs, X5s, Boars Heads, and Fangs.

PGI should give them a stealth +300% CBILL bonus just to see if anyone even notices.

[Saint Scarlett Johan]

WM Quicksilver, on 11 August 2015 - 05:15 PM, said:

Yes, yes I am.

First Ody on FB, then you? What's this world coming to?