23 replies to this topic

[MendozaMan]

Just a question concerning the vehicular artillery tank, a.k.a. the longtom. Will we be seeing it in any form, or are normal ground vehicles considered not to be used in the currently planned mmo?

IMHO it would be great if there wasn't any extreme-long range artillery in the game, it tends to be unfun for the one firing it and the one recieving it. (This counts for a lot of games)

[Hayden]

No announcements about this yet, far as I can tell, but that also means they haven't said no

[Paladin1]

Actually the devs mentioned in passing that the Commander would be able to call for indirect artillery fire as well as aerospace strikes. I don't know if this will be off-board or if there will be an on-board unit somewhere, but it's been mentioned.

As for artillery being unfun, it's only unfun if you're on the receiving end. If you're on the giving end, it's ******* hilarious.

[Cattra Kell]

Long Tom Cannon's... two Long Tom Cannon's on Atlas's... I could destroy the whole Inner Sphere with these things.

In all seriousness though the Long Tom was not just limited to the 95 ton vehicle, there was the Cannon version which was the same thing but just snubbed nosed and could be mounted on everything, so for that I say that the Long Tom WILL be in the game.

As for the Mobile Long Tom 95 Ton Arty Piece, I would say that it would be the option of the Commander to call it in just like Aerospace assets. I don't expect to see an actual model or vehicle in the game due to the devs saying that at the moment they are only focusing on the mechs and not the vehicles. Later on perhaps, but at launch and calling in strike, most likely not.

Paladin1 I think makes a good point about this as well.

Edited by Cattra Kell, 07 December 2011 - 06:19 AM.

[Baba Yogi]

I think i read an "in game" news that artillery IV was being tested. I guess that might be in the game, would be real nice we could deploy those and TAG some guys with it:)

Edited by Lordhammer, 07 December 2011 - 06:22 AM.

[Thorn Hallis]

Lordhammer, on 07 December 2011 - 06:19 AM, said:

I think i read an "in game" news that artillery IV was being tested. I guess that might be in the game, would be real nice we could deploy those and TAG some guys with it:)

What you mean is Arrow IV. Thats not a Long Tom (or Sniper, or Thumper) system.

[Paladin1]

I'm not sure where you saw that Arrow IV was being tested, but if that's true, we have yet more confirmation that the Clans are going to be introduced sooner rather than later to the game. At this point in the timeline, only the Clans had field deployable Arrow IV systems.

[Paladin1]

Cattra Kell, on 07 December 2011 - 06:18 AM, said:

Long Tom Cannon's... two Long Tom Cannon's on Atlas's... I could destroy the whole Inner Sphere with these things.

In all seriousness though the Long Tom was not just limited to the 95 ton vehicle, there was the Cannon version which was the same thing but just snubbed nosed and could be mounted on everything, so for that I say that the Long Tom WILL be in the game.

As for the Mobile Long Tom 95 Ton Arty Piece, I would say that it would be the option of the Commander to call it in just like Aerospace assets. I don't expect to see an actual model or vehicle in the game due to the devs saying that at the moment they are only focusing on the mechs and not the vehicles. Later on perhaps, but at launch and calling in strike, most likely not.

Paladin1 I think makes a good point about this as well.

I'll have to double check, but I believe that the Long Tom Cannon was actually a later evolution of the artillery piece and so may or may not be available at first. Besides, if you want `Mech-borne artillery, there are actually canon examples out there that you can use. None of them mount a Long Tom, but there are some Sniper and Thumper carriers from back in the early days of the Star League and Terran Hegemony.

[Cyote13]

MendozaMan, on 07 December 2011 - 04:01 AM, said:

Just a question concerning the vehicular artillery tank, a.k.a. the longtom. Will we be seeing it in any form, or are normal ground vehicles considered not to be used in the currently planned mmo?

IMHO it would be great if there wasn't any extreme-long range artillery in the game, it tends to be unfun for the one firing it and the one recieving it. (This counts for a lot of games)

Tripping and falling in front of an Atlas is also "unfun" but its part of warfare. I actually like my time in WoT firing arty

It should be part of the game, of course it will have to be balanced right.

[Paladin1]

Cyote13, on 07 December 2011 - 08:53 AM, said:

Tripping and falling in front of an Atlas is also "unfun" but its part of warfare. I actually like my time in WoT firing arty

It should be part of the game, of course it will have to be balanced right.

By "balanced right", I assume that you mean "Able to pour as much artillery as physically possible on a single target".

Why no, I don't see a problem with having an entire battalion worth of Long Toms fire at a single area. It's called SATURATION fire for a reason.

[Cattra Kell]

Paladin1, on 07 December 2011 - 08:53 AM, said:

I'll have to double check, but I believe that the Long Tom Cannon was actually a later evolution of the artillery piece and so may or may not be available at first. Besides, if you want `Mech-borne artillery, there are actually canon examples out there that you can use. None of them mount a Long Tom, but there are some Sniper and Thumper carriers from back in the early days of the Star League and Terran Hegemony.

Roughly the same time, 3012, but stayed experimental I believe... I will have to double check. I'm pretty sure that one novel mentions the use of one and only one during operation bulldog, Ill have to double check that too...

Edited by Cattra Kell, 07 December 2011 - 09:03 AM.

[Major Crash]

He saw it in the Dec 3 ISN Newsflash:

InnerSphereNews, on 03 December 2011 - 09:00 AM, said:

Sat: Dec 3, 3048: Capellan Confederation state news reported the field-test fire of the Arrow IV artillery missile system on a ’Mech.

But it seems inconsistant to me as they say they 'test fired from a Mech', while the Arrow is reported to be 'stand alone' missle system. Not sure which the Devs mean. Usually see them as defense pods around facilities or suplementing conventional Long Toms, Thumpers or Snipers.

Just unclear exactly what they are saying may be availble in-game? Command call-in strike, TAG guided from off-board???

[Paladin1]

TiredOne, on 07 December 2011 - 09:04 AM, said:

He saw it in the Dec 3 ISN Newsflash:


But it seems inconsistant to me as they say they 'test fired from a Mech', while the Arrow is reported to be 'stand alone' missle system. Not sure which the Devs mean. Usually see them as defense pods around facilities or suplementing conventional Long Toms, Thumpers or Snipers.

Just unclear exactly what they are saying may be availble in-game? Command call-in strike, TAG guided from off-board???

Well, this is good news to us. The Capellans *spit* are famous for deploying Arrow IV armed Catapult `Mechs, so it seems that we're going to see some of those designs out there when the Clans finally show up. This makes a Commander's options that much deeper, as it would seem that we now can call for on-board Arrow IV fire from a friendly Catapult as well as off-board fire from traditional field artillery. Just remember Scouts, keep your booger hook off the bang switch until it's time. Those Catapults only carry 5 shots for their Arrow IV system.

The Arrow IV system is "stand alone" in that it is self contained and can be used by a single person (the Mechwarrior) instead of needing a crew like field artillery does.

[Dihm]

Wow, it was recovered in '44, surprised they waited 4 years to slap that on a Cat.

[Skwisgaar Skwigelf]

Dihm, on 07 December 2011 - 09:22 AM, said:

Wow, it was recovered in '44, surprised they waited 4 years to slap that on a Cat.

With the Cappies? Probably took them that long because they kept "purging" their engineers and tech crews for knowing too much.

[Major Crash]

Yea, makes me smile just that the rounds will be available in-game. Still burning to see to who & how.
The Devs have such freedom right now its almost limitless what they could do.
Even a couple of turrents around your dropship upon arrival which the Command Role could call in would be cool enough for me, well just short of our Mechs too of course. (If thats how we get on-planet via DS?? I hope we don't just materialize or walk out hanger doors...off thread).

[Paladin1]

Dihm, on 07 December 2011 - 09:22 AM, said:

Wow, it was recovered in '44, surprised they waited 4 years to slap that on a Cat.

Well, when you consider that they were reengineering a design's weapon systems from something which contributed directly to a battle to something which contributed indirectly, it's not a big surprise. Especially considering that the Capellans are known to be heavy users of the Long Tom Artillery piece, you're looking at doctrinal changes (Tube artillery versus Missile artillery) as well as engineering changes. Those things take time.

[Agasutin]

+1 for player arty

Skwisgaar Skwigelf, on 07 December 2011 - 09:25 AM, said:

With the Cappies? Probably took them that long because they kept "purging" their engineers and tech crews for knowing too much.

Hehehe, kinda reminds me of a radio skit, Austrian theater..
Officer: Why did the chicken cross the road...
Private: I don't know?...
Officer: LIAR! *gun shot*
Private: *thud*

[Strum Wealh]

Paladin1, on 07 December 2011 - 08:49 AM, said:

I'm not sure where you saw that Arrow IV was being tested, but if that's true, we have yet more confirmation that the Clans are going to be introduced sooner rather than later to the game. At this point in the timeline, only the Clans had field deployable Arrow IV systems.

As pointed out previously, it's in the 12/03 ISN post.

Also, not only had the Capellans recovered a 'Mech-mountable** (15 tons, 15 criticals, 5 rounds per ton) Arrow IV missile system in 3044, but there were multiple ammo types for it:
Air-Defense Arrow Missile (3068)
Arrow IV Homing Missile (3044)
Cluster Arrow Missile (3047)
Illumination Arrow Missile (3047)
Inferno-IV Missile (3055)
Laser-Inhibiting Warhead (3053)
Thunder/FASCAM Arrow Missile (3051)
Smoke Arrow Missiles (3057)


More on topic, 'Mech-mountable Long Toms (and their smaller relatives, the Thumper and the Sniper) would be interesting (doubly so if they have their variety of munitions as well), and it would be interesting to see other vehicles armed with the vehicular versions of the Long Tom, Thumper, and Sniper as well...


** The CBT Master Rules explicitly say that the artillery weapons can be mounted on BattleMechs as well as other vehicles (pg. 131), and I vaguely remember there being provisions for splitting or sharing large weapons with large numbers of criticals (artillery, large-bore ACs) across adjacent locations (e.g. filling one arm and part of the adjacent torso, or using the criticals in the CT and one of the side-torsos, as was done with the Axman's AC-20; unfortunately and annoyingly, I can't find the actual rule(s) at the moment ).

[Skwisgaar Skwigelf]

"No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!"