Fixed typo "Now" to "Not"
Edit 2; found another point where my English failed me.
Chuck Jager, on 23 July 2016 - 08:01 PM, said:
Lore should not incorporate TT stats. That is a completely different game.
My whole experience with BT is mechwarrior and I only really care about the online gaming experience. I do like the storyline and images, and like all stories they should and will change based on the audience.
Also, a huge percentage of effort is wasted trying to placate TT fans instead of dealing with what needs to be done. Yes I know they incorporate a large part of the initial player base, but their numbers have just as much as a negative impact as positive when it comes to directions and allocating funds.
I am not a hater, I have had to learn this lesson the hard way with the Starwars universe and WW2 aircraft sims. Online game play has a set of expectations that have to trump the lore, because their play styles and expectations will determine how the game plays.
Not hating on you, but I feel the need to say just a few things.
1) They (PGI) have not done much of jack to "placate" or cater to the tabletop playerbase beyond some lip service at the beginning and initial stats.
2) In doing the above, they first neglected a very blatantly clearly stated fact in every multiple Battletech Rulebooks: "This is not how it works." "These rules serve as a guideline, an expedited summary of events for use in simulations to rapidly display results."
Summary of events. Rapidly display results. Meaning that Battletech's weapons, doing "5", and "10" and "20" damage across 10 second turns is 'expedited', 'fast', 'summary'. MWO is churning 60 damage from the AC/20 and 120 damage from the UAC/20 in less than 10 seconds; the kind of stuff we should see from an RA/5. A goddamn RA/5!!! The point? Ghost heat, alpha strike city, missile spammery, PPC nerfs, jumpjet nerfs, etc., etc., etc... we wouldn't have any of that if PGI had actually looked at the ******* books!
3) Tabletop as a summary is simply a guideline; now glimpsing into the lore we have a lot of things truly missing here.
- First and foremost, lightning fast PPC cannons with a 90 degree MINIMUM ACCURACY penalty, due to the fact that they charge up before firing! Not "FWOOSH!" It's "FffffffffFFFFFWOOSH!!" "What's that Bob, you didn't hit that guy running by you at about 90 meters because the gun didn't charge up fast enough and now you started a fire? Bad Bob, bad!" Lord's Light PPC is known for a blinding light for a full 2 seconds before it can fire! There is no "Oops, I'm in 90 meters now my gun magically doesn't work" bullcrap.
- Can't stand the heat of the ER PPC? Well it is hard to complain because it drops the charge time to almost nothing. That's your reason to use an ER PPC over a PPC. Problem. Freaking. Solved.
- All autocannons can fire up to two 'ratings' per 10 seconds. This means that the difference between a UAC/20 and an AC/20, is the UAC/20 might jam at a low percentage rate but the AC/20 has twice the risk of jams and a 10% risk of exploding in your face when jammed. (Alternatively, the 'kinder' version of this rule which is also based on a lore AC variant is that accuracy drops dramatically due to the heightened recoil without rest, but no jam or explosion risk).
- With the above, we can break down many different 'variants' of the ACs and UACs to suit different playstyles.
- Some can be more DPS oriented with the added bonus of using the fact that "loose damage categories" means that an AC which takes plenty more shots to do its damage can accumulate higher-than-rated damage over time (so this DPS-oriented AC/20 might net 22 to 23 damage per use while yours might only do 20).
- More FLD-oriented variants would, of course, have 'less' than rated damage per use as the price to pay for making each bullet do 'more'.
- Meanwhile the 'average' AC would do its rated damage; even then variants could encompass other mechanics.
- The difference between autocannons 2-20 when they share the same caliber (chamber/bullet size) is the firing rate, AC/2s have the poorest rate and AC/20s have the most impressive rate. Since 120mm is the most common size (though the AC/2 doesn't reach this size), if an AC/5 fires 3-4 shots to get 5 damage, an AC/10 of the same caliber would do 6-8 shots, an AC/20 would do 12-16 shots, but each shot would be 1.67 to 1.25 damage. ACs would in turn be the most effective DPS weaponry and some of the deadliest when considering an AC/20, making them well worth the weight and yet won't be outclassed by a UAC/20 in a pinch; even when it comes to range as UAC/20 just has a greater accurate range, their damage ranges are both over 1,000 meters if you can hit things that far.
- AC range is typically up to 2,000 meters though accuracy at these ranges is near impossible between travel time, spread and moving targets and the decreasing returns on accurate range (without increases in difficulty) with bigger AC damage classes isn't because of 'bigger bullets' but because of higher firing rates and the greater recoil produced by those firing rates. This can add a"Fire control" as a mechanic for 'chain-fed' ACs (ones that do not have magazines / cassettes to swap out, in other words no reload times). Cassette/magazine fed ACs have a period where they cannot fire due to reloading but typically these ACs make up for it by having faster single or burst firing rates than their chain fed brethren.
- This means that ACs, UACs and LBX can deliver up to twice its rated damage on average with nuances based on the weapon category and the manufacturer's variant, better balancing the Clan / IS bridge.
- Note: The Long Tom has 10 shots per ton and does 30 damage within 30 meters of impact for a whopping 30 heat. Meanwhile, the AC/20 has 5 ratings per ton, generates 7 heat and does 20 damage. It is not ONE SHOT for ACs, it is many shots, about 4 to 100 shots depending on the AC.
- Despite the fact that 4 medium lasers is 20 damage and a Gauss Rifle is 15 damage, a Gauss Rifle always has epic descriptions such as ripping a hole directly through the enemy mech... while lasers 'melt' things. Ever wondered why? It is because Gauss Rifles are FLD. Lasers are not.
- Lasers are not FLD. Lore says they are typically "0.1" and "0.2" second beams akin to the Halo Spartan Laser. It also says and frequently it is demonstrated that lasers have to hit repeatedly to do damage comparable other heavier weapon systems.
- It has been suggested that the more lasers you have, the less each individual laser does for damage, however their number and frequency of fire is what brings up the damage. That means more lasers = more damage over time through repeated use not more damage at once.
- "Regular" Lasers have two firing types depending on who the manufacturer is. "Pulse" type (not to be confused with pulse lasers) fire a short, intense 0.1 to 0.2 second shot or 'pulse'. This is the much more common, and each individual pulse is decent. The average medium laser requires 3 to 4 shots to deliver its rated (5) damage. Beam variants of regular lasers can have a beam of up to 2 seconds, and the damage of 0.1 seconds of a beam-type laser weapon is crap compared to the superior nature of the 0.1 second pulse-type regular laser. But in the time it takes that medium laser to fire 3-4 blink-of-the-eye pulses (approximately 8 seconds) for 5 damage, that beam laser has delivered all 5 damage in that 1 to 2 second beam; rewarding you for the face time!
- Large Lasers are typically more front loaded than medium or small lasers, as such while a large laser might only be rated at 8 damage for 8 heat, but when one shot does 4 damage compared to the typical medium laser's 1.25 damage per shot, is it really as clear cut?
- Lasers are thwarted by a great many things, such as dust, sandstorms, smoke, anti-laser aerosols and reflective armors. Meaning that on some maps, lasers will be less effective due to all the sand being kicked up or the hefty fires in the area. In space, lasers could effectively have double their 'accurate' range with full or greater effect. Then again ACs wouldn't have much if any bullet drop in Space.
- With lasers like these, do you think "Laser meta" is gonna be a problem anymore?
- Pulse lasers are not FLD, and are in fact DPS weapons.
- The more intense 'heat' of pulse lasers (the actual weapon) is built up over time.
- The damage dealt by pulse lasers are weaker than standard lasers of the 'pulse' type firing pattern. However their significantly higher firing rate is more than makes up for it.
- Because of the above mentioned traits between firing rate and the regular laser beam-type having time to "play the beam", pulse lasers have to-hit bonuses within certain ranges due to their machine gun-like rate of fire. Their additional damage also comes from accumulated rapid fire.
- An alpha strike is an act of desperation performed by a pilot who is out of options. It is not "firing all the weapons," but firing all the weapons at the same time at their full intensity. With lasers as described above where your average laser requires 3 shots to chun out 100% of its damage, imagine if the Alpha Strike key would fire all the weapons so that lasers would get their full rating all at once rather than ver several shots? It'd be a devastating last resort and even better, the risk would be absolutely intense! With a 30 threshold the weapons described above are still pretty manageable but then throw in a REAL alpha strike and instant shutdown would be the least of your worries.
- Missiles are explosive and devastating. When both lasers and ACs above are averaging sub-1 to 1.25 damage per shot, doesn't missiles delivering 1 (LRM), 2 (Dead-fire LRM, SRM) to (Dead-fire SRM) 3 damage per missile suddenly make much more sense?
- Gauss Rifle is supposed to be the most terrifying mech-portable weapon there is, and given the 15 damage per shot being an actual front loaded 15 damage per shot (or if you factor in MWO's double structure/armor, it'd be 30 damage per shot to get the same effect in MWO), it damn well would be!
If PGI looked at the damn lore, even the tabletop gamers would be much-happier with MWO; in fact it is usually our main complaint. Don't think PGI has been placating us. Nothing they do makes any ******* sense and most of the problems arising is from PGI coming up with its own stats for weapons.
See also: Signature link.
Edited by Koniving, 24 July 2016 - 04:54 PM.
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