18 replies to this topic

[Allied]

Hey guys!

After watching some videos on in game combat I had some questions myself on how MWO will implement lasers. In the videos standard lasers fire for about 2 seconds as a continuous beam of light. So I wondered, "Do you need to keep tracking the target during this beam duration to get full damage?"

InnerSphereNews, on 14 March 2012 - 09:05 AM, said:

Now, how will you depict Standard Lasers/Pulse Lasers in MWO? –GB_Krubarax
[DAVID] A standard laser fires a continuous beam that applies damage over time while it remains on. A pulse laser fires a continuous beam that blinks on and off. (Not the blaster bolt style of light ‘bullets’ that fly at the target.) Damage is applied in short bursts each time the laser blinks on.

Based on this quote it seems like you do. But I still wonder how damage is calculated. Is it entirely linear duration based (hold on your target 30% of the time = 30% damage) or is it more exponential duration based where the initial blow is a significant amount of damage, and the longer you keep tracking the target the closer you come to 100% damage, as your damage being applied lessens over the duration).

It seems that they implemented lasers this way to differentiate between ballistic weapons and laser weapons. Even though they are already differentiated by their heat production and ammunition requirements.

InnerSphereNews, on 25 June 2012 - 09:00 AM, said:

Q: Is PGI aware that the canon laser firing mode is a burst of light over a fraction of a second as opposed to what we see in your many vids, a beam lasting up to two seconds long? [KageRyuu]
A: Yes, we are aware of this. It is done as a balancing mechanic. This was done to differentiate Laser and Ballistic weapons, as Lasers need to be held on target, yet Autocannons simply 'hit' an area. [GARTH]

Also, pulse lasers, as they described in the first quote, don't seem to have this differentiation. Their damage is applied much like a ballistic round, entirely at the time of impact. Of course, they have no ammunition expenditure and produce heat, unlike ballistic weapons.


How exactly is the damage for standard lasers implemented? I would ask in the "Ask the Devs" threads, but there isn't one up yet for this week.

-Allied

Edited by Allied, 18 July 2012 - 08:10 AM.

[Khobai]

In previous mechwarrior games, lasers were always the weapons everyone used in PvP because they hit instantly for full damage. No one liked PPCs or ballistic weapons because the projectiles had travel time which made hitting with them much more difficult. My guess is they didnt want lasers to be the only weapon that people used, so they changed them so you have to hold them on the target now. It's a good change if you ask me.

Edited by Khobai, 18 July 2012 - 08:19 AM.

[tvih]

My assumption is that the laser damage is done evenly over time.

[Mikelius]

Wait, does this mean that you can "hold" the lasers however long you can/heat dissipation allows?

[WardenWolf]

Sounds like a great question for the next 'ask the devs Q&A' - unless we get lucky and one drops by to answer in person here

[fluffypinkbunny]

Lazers machineguns of the future.

[Brenden]

I think what they mean to say is, so long as you keep your aim on the exact same spot, it will do the amount of damage you expect it to do, but if you move around: I.E. Jenner fires all four MLs at an Atlas' chest, but due to a shaky hand it moves over the chest and into the arm. The damage will be less at the point of impact and overall wherever the laser struck, because it was not able to apply the full direct beam to the target and only a little bit of it.

[Noth]

Mikelius, on 18 July 2012 - 08:20 AM, said:

Wait, does this mean that you can "hold" the lasers however long you can/heat dissipation allows?

No. They fire in beams that last for 1-2 seconds. the damage is applied over that time meaning that if you move or your target moves, the damage will be spread from the original point you hit.

[Mikelius]

Noth, on 18 July 2012 - 08:30 AM, said:

No. They fire in beams that last for 1-2 seconds. the damage is applied over that time meaning that if you move or your target moves, the damage will be spread from the original point you hit.

Ok, so like I remember, good to know.

[wanderer]

thontor, on 18 July 2012 - 08:36 AM, said:

They way i read it, and based on what i've seen of pulse lasers in videos, they arent all at once, like a ballistic weapon

they are much like regular lasers, damage over time, but instead of a constant beam, it blinks on and off rapidly over that time

And from dev comments, the shorter "burn time" means that a pulse laser delivers higher DPS at the cost of lower range and higher heat- they've mentioned they're good for killing lights that move around fast (and hence would likely have less "on-target" time from a beam weapon).

[Eximar]

All along, I have suspected this is a balance mechanism to make ballistic weapons desirable for their "all in one spot" damage mechanic.
In previous iterations of MW, lasers have typically far outnumbered AC's. Perhaps this will help the overall perception of "best weapons".

[Fl3tcher]

Lasers damage targets through the transfare of heat (the beam has no physical presence as it only consists of light energy). The longer you hold a beam on target, the more heat transfared, the more damage done.

I have to admit, I like the "more realistic" take on laser weapons that MW:O seems to be taking.

[Tannhauser Gate]

Fl3tcher, on 18 July 2012 - 10:06 AM, said:

Lasers damage targets through the transfare of heat (the beam has no physical presence as it only consists of light energy). The longer you hold a beam on target, the more heat transfared, the more damage done.

I have to admit, I like the "more realistic" take on laser weapons that MW:O seems to be taking.

Same here. I really like that they are going with damage-over-time lasers rather than pin point instant damage. It will make combat much more interesting and laser boats wont simply dominate with uber accurate alpha sniping.

[ScrapIron Prime]

LakeDaemon, on 18 July 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

Same here. I really like that they are going with damage-over-time lasers rather than pin point instant damage. It will make combat much more interesting and laser boats wont simply dominate with uber accurate alpha sniping.

Sounds like you can still do the laser-sniping with pulse lasers, but they're higher heat and lower range.

To which I say... COOL. ERLL limb-severing death from the horizon is no fun.

[Allied]

So pulse lasers are similar to standard except that the beam duration is much shorter to do full damage? It's an interesting balancing mechanic. I wonder how many people will switch to using Autocannons over lasers.

[wanderer]

Allied, on 18 July 2012 - 02:57 PM, said:

So pulse lasers are similar to standard except that the beam duration is much shorter to do full damage? It's an interesting balancing mechanic. I wonder how many people will switch to using Autocannons over lasers.

Slightly higher heat and damage overall by size, heavier (in TT, a large pulse is 7 tons vs a standard large laser's 5 tons), but delivering that damage faster and hence to a more narrow area. I'm betting we'll see a wider mix in this game than straight energy boating whenever possible.

[Blackfire1]

Devs said its evenly over time. Want to do full damage? Hold it in the same spot as best you can. Thats also why the beam last as long as they do. Its a balance mechanic to keep laser boats balanced with Ballistic or missile boats.

[Bongo TauKat]

I always liked the way they did it in MW3 with laser attenuating over the target rather than a blast or bolt of energy. As said before, I think it will deter boating and start new and old players on a level learning curve, especially with the MW4 crowd.

Look at 0:23 for an example.

Edited by Bongo TauKat Talasko, 18 July 2012 - 04:38 PM.

[Lord Ikka]

I'm glad that MWO won't be a laser-fest. Having both ballistic and beam weapons stay viable is a very important element, both for the RP aspect- if they weren't both viable we wouldn't have both, and the in-game mechanics- only having laser-boats is a real turn-off.