Black Arachne, on 18 August 2015 - 04:33 PM, said:
There is no rule that says what weapon can be put on a mech but the fact is that MWO does restrict what we can put on a mech. And in Battltetech an Atlas with 20 medium lasers isn't a problem but in mechwarrior online it is..BECAUSE we can all aim for the center torso and this is why we need to restrict not hamper how much firepower a mech can release.
Also Sized Hardpoints would still allow for variety to switch among the various weapons but would control how much each mech can alpha. Weapons like ERPPC would be useable again because it wouldn't have to be nerfed to the ground because mechs wouldn't be able to fit 4 or more of them on a chassis and this applies to all weapons.
You want dual AC20's then pilot a mech that comes with that configuration - the Awesome is a fire support mech not a brawler.
Last I checked, the Awesome can be whatever the hell it wants to be. Give it brawling weapons, and a big enough engine, and it's a brawler. Again: get out of the stock mech mentality.
Why do people not understand that stock mechs are just suggestions, and guidelines. They are working examples, not the only variants ever made. I can have an Awesome with SRMs, 18 MGs, an LBX 10, and whatever else I want. There is literally nothing that says the awesome has to be a support mech. Especially considering that the mech was used primarily in vanguard formations, and breaching action. Which part of being a spear tip mech makes it a support mech?
The rest of my answer is down below.
Serpieri, on 18 August 2015 - 05:05 PM, said:
Your missing the point - the restrictions are needed not to curtail your freedom but to limit how much can be alpha'd because we can all aim for the center torso where in Battletech hit locations were random. This is why people are over boating so that they can core a mech as quickly as possible.
My version, you must be mistaken it's based on what has been seen in the past. The mechs in battletech already have their builds and roles, what you want is the ability to min/max a build which wouldn't be that much of a problem if we couldn't pinpoint all weapon fire on a specific location.
Stock Mode is great but it still needs a way to balance mechs based on it's capabilities because not every mech is even.
The reason you can't put AC20's on the awesome is because the factory wasn't tooled for it and would have changed the Awesome from a fire support mech to a brawler which was not the goal of Technicron manufacturing. The goal was to produce a new fire support mech to replace the aging striker. However, in Battletech nothing stopped you from building a mech from the ground up or even refitting a battlemech but that option is not available in Mechwarrior online. If it was than certain bad mechs could be made viable but then you would have the mix/maxers making the so called competitiive mechs even better unless this was restricted to mechs that needed the refits only.
This is where both of you are wrong:
You're seeing a problem, in this case we'll go with the example of a broken leg, and instead of putting a cast, and giving the patient crutches, you decide it's best to sew two extra legs on the guy so he can walk without losing balance.
It's an illogical solution that doesn't address the problem.
Instant pinpoint convergence is a problem. One that you will NOT fix with sized hardpoints. Hell, you still don't address any alpha strike problems. Your set up doesn't limit alpha strikes at all. A solution using engine energy for example, would have been better.
Oh, and by the way, there is NO reason you can't put an AC 20 on the awesome. Last I checked, there are custom variants all over the place, even in lore. On top of that, even when running tourneys in gen con and other conventions, custom mechs are still used.
Look, you want weapon variety? balancing the weapons is a better solution, faster to implement, easier to use, and doesn't break lore, or the game, including stock builds.
You want to curtail high damage alphas? adjusting the heat scale is a better solution, again, faster to implement, easier to use, and doesn't break the game
You want to fix instant pinpoint convergence? scaled convergence should be re-introduced. Again: faster, easier, and better.
Hell, your suggestion doesn't even address pinpoint convergence, which apparently, is the main motive for you leaning towards sized hardpoints.
They already curtailed our alpha strike ability, and our damage potential, by making us adhere to the hardpoint system. Which, so long as customization was allowed, should have been frowned upon.
Also, neither one of you managed to present a single mech where you can use the sized hardpoint argument without breaking the stock build, while still curtailing boating, and now even instant pinpoint convergence.
ERPPCs are not unusable right now because of any function of aiming mechanics. ERPPCs are inefficient, because it's 15 heat for 10 damage. While a PPC is 10 heat for 10 damage. Their velocity is not that different. They weigh the same, and take up the same amount of space. Do you see how it's not difficult to realize why people gravitate towards regular PPCs?
I'm not even going to challenge you to show why sized hardpoints can help ERPPCs be used more often than PPCs. There's no way to do that, by limiting hardpoint sizes.
Look, here's what sized hardpoints boils down to:
"I think you should build this mech in THIS particular way."
It has less to do with curtailing alpha strikes so much as forcing variable weapon loadouts on mechs, despite the weapons being scrap right now.
It doesn't address the problem, it just strong-arms people into building things they hate. That's not fun.