60 replies to this topic

[Bishop Steiner]

So, momentous changes coming in the future.

With the change to Skill Trees, the "Mandatory 3" Mech Packs ruling under which we have lived for 4.5 years is dead. (Ding Dong the Witch is Dead!!!! Finally!) With New Mech Pack Structures up in the air, new tech to arrive this Summer-ish, and a forward shift to timeline, the landscape is changing.

From a narrative, and tech bubble, there are two probably Timeline Points to advance to, the first being the Operation Bulldog/Twilight o the Clans, the Next being the FedCom Civil War/Jihad (First shots of the FedCom conflict in 3062). Or, essentially 3060/1ish, and around 3067 (could go a few years later, but TRO 3067 is often viewed as the traditional break between Classic Battletech and Dark Age). A lot of tech fits into each bubble. Truth be told, I expect Bulldog more than Jihad, I just don't think PGI can prep all the future tech up tot he Jihad in time. But PGI has to my knowledge not given any hints.

Tech that would be added by 3061? (note some stuff that pretty obviously won't be added not listed. Cockpits, Gyros, etc are all wrapped up in our "Engine" tonnage, so unlikely any changes to those will see the light of day. Also remember they still can't figure out Switch Ammo for LB-X, so don't get your hopes up for other Select Ammo Weapons)

Inner Sphere:
- Binary Laser
- C3 Command and Slaves
- Silver Bullet Gauss Rifle
- Blue Shield Particle Field Damper
- Laser Anti Missile System
- Extended LRM 5/10/15/20
- Light Gauss Rifle
- UAC 2/10
- ER Small and Medium Laser
- Laser Reflective Armor
- Bloodhound Active Probe
- Medium Range Missile 10/20/30/40
- Streak 4/6
- LB-2/5/20X
- Hyper Velocity AC 2/5/10
- PPC Capacitor
- UAC20
- Mechanical Jump Boosters
- Composite Internal Structure
- Armored Components
- Heavy Gauss Rifle


Clan:
- Laser Anti Missile
- Streak LRM 15/20
- Light TAG
- Coolant Pod
- ER Pulse Laser
- Streak LRM 5/10
- Heavy Small, Medium, Large Lasers
- Heavy Machine Gun
- Advanced Tactical Missile System 3/6/9/12
- Artemis V FCS
- Laser Reflective Armor
- ER Micro Laser
- Micro Pulse Laser
- Light Machine Gun

A pretty fair amount of stuff, even though I only expect 80% of it to be added. Jump Boosters, C3, Blue Shield, etc, are things I put on the Bubble.

Onward, to the FedCom Civil War...and Beyond!!!! (Aka 3062-3067)

Inner Sphere:
- C3 Improved Computers
- Rotary AC 2/5
- Targeting Computers
- iNARC
- Light TAG
- Reactive Armor
- CASE II
- Bombast Laser
- Rocket Launcher 10/15/20
- Improved Heavy Gauss
- Light Ferro Fibrous Armor
- Heavy PPC
- Light PPC
- Snub Nose PPC
- Multi Missile Launcher 3/5/7/9



Clan:
- 3061-3064...Clans sit on their thumbs, moping over the butt whooping the IS gave them, apparently. But then..in 3065, they wake up, sort of.
- Reactive Armor
- Ferro-Lamellor Armor.
- Heavy Flamer
- ER Flamer

The Question becomes....do they end it there (traditional cutting off point of the "Classic" era of Battletech), or continue on to add other staple weapons of the Jihad? And if so...jsut how far toward the Dark Age do we call the cut off? Or....crazy thought... What if the Timeline Advance.....is to Grey Monday?

Post 3067 Tech:

Inner Sphere:
- Light AC2/5
- Machine Gun Array
- Heavy Machine Gun
- Light Machine Gun
- Plasma Rifle
- Heavy Flamer

Clans:
- Machine Gun Array
- Hyper Assault Gauss 20/30/40
- Plasma Cannon
- Anti Personnel Gauss
- Improved Hover...er.... Jump Jets.
- Improved Heavy Lasers

All these are 3068-3069, then there seems to be a large gap in years with notable Mech Tech, so it's likely if they jump to Jihad Tech, these would be included. Sadly, for me, no Hardened Armor until 3090 or so........

So...where do you think they will advance timeline to, and where do you WANT them to advance it to? Why?

Specific Piece of New Tech you are looking forward to?

[Juodas Varnas]

I, honestly, think that the "advancement in timeline" will just mean that we'll get the rest of the IS UACs, LBXs and Streaks, because anything else might require...god forbid... CODING!
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I'd personally prefer if we went BACK in time, but that's not exactly possible.
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Being a pessimistic [Redacted] aside, I'd like an Argus with the RAC-5... I also would like MRMs.

Edited by draiocht, 15 January 2017 - 06:29 AM.
inappropriate language

[Snazzy Dragon]

Heavy goose waffles and fafnir. Pls.

Heavy lasers would be fun but they pose some serious balance questions.

IS ER lasers are gonna suck compared to clan ER lasers anyway so, I don't know if I can get excited for them until I see some stats.

Juodas Varnas, on 14 January 2017 - 09:18 AM, said:

Being a pessimistic [Redacted] aside, I'd like an Argus with the RAC-5... I also would like MRMs.

What if the new tech comes with the ability to add quads in the game, though?

Edited by draiocht, 15 January 2017 - 06:31 AM.
Quote Clean-Up

[El Bandito]

Maybe it is the lack of sleep, but when I looked at all the shiny new techs listed, all I could think of was, "Boy, I sure would like to have less sucky LBX cannons."


PGI pls.

Edited by El Bandito, 14 January 2017 - 09:22 AM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Snazzy Dragon, on 14 January 2017 - 09:18 AM, said:

Heavy goose waffles and fafnir. Pls.

Heavy lasers would be fun but they pose some serious balance questions.

IS ER lasers are gonna suck compared to clan ER lasers anyway so, I don't know if I can get excited for them until I see some stats.

Most "IS catch up tech" tbh, is going to be butt. Steaks? Garbage. LB-X? Garbage. UACs..... they better be burst fire or we gonna have SERIOUS balance issues.

Truth be told, the "Fill in the blanks" Tech...will do little to nothing to change the state of balance and Meta.

It's funny, in TT, I LOVE the IS getting the other Streaks. Here? Meaningless.

If it does jump to the later dates.... then I do get Heavy, Light and Snub Nose PPCs... all of which I look forward to, and do love, in TT. RACs.... well, RAC2 was one of my favorite guns in MW4.

For MWO though, probably the biggest things I look forward too is the inclusion of Reflective and Reactive armor, as the best, most surefire way to finally break the Boating Metas....

Choose wrong... bring PewPewPony Mech, and your opfor has Reflective Armor... AH TOO BAD SO SAD! Bring a Ballistic/Missile Build? OH NOS!!! REACTIVE ARMOR!

Of course, I'm sure the Uber Tryhard types will either fight against the different armors being added, or to add an "Armor Voting Screen" so they can ensure their perfect meta builds are optimal for the match ahead..... Oh the indignity...mixed loadouts being "optimal" the shame, the shame.....

[Valdarion Silarius]

I would like to see properly functioning clan LBX auto cannon slug ammo. I've always preferred the single shot cannons over the uAC/AC's that clan tech is limited with in game.

[Bishop Steiner]

El Bandito, on 14 January 2017 - 09:21 AM, said:

Maybe it is the lack of sleep, but when I looked at all the shiny new techs listed, all I could think of was, "Boy, I sure would like to have less sucky LBX cannons."


PGI pls.

Delirious, indeed. You know we can't have nice stuff.

Arnold The Governator, on 14 January 2017 - 09:27 AM, said:

I would like to see properly functioning clan LBX auto cannon slug ammo. I've always preferred the single shot cannons over the uAC/AC's that clan tech is limited with in game.

Sadly, not a tech issue, but a coding competence issue. Having heard and seen no progress on that front, I would not get one's hope up, and truthfully, that is outside the scope of this Topic.

[MechaBattler]

I think they just want to dip the toe further in the timeline. I don't think they want to jump into the deep end. With 3060 they avoid having to do Fedcom Civil War events. Which they clearly aren't ready to do yet since we don't yet have side events.

And if they want to be cautious, I would, they should release new tech incrementally to ensure better balancing. Though I'm sure people would rather have it all right away.

Also, when do we get all the crazy ammo types? I know we can't swap ammo, but specialized ammo would still be interesting.

Edited by MechaBattler, 14 January 2017 - 09:34 AM.

[Snazzy Dragon]

Bishop Steiner, on 14 January 2017 - 09:27 AM, said:

UACs..... they better be burst fire or we gonna have SERIOUS balance issues.

2 UAC20s would only really fit on a king crab comfortably and on anything else it'd be a gimmick build. AC/10s and UAC/10s would be an awkward fit on a lot of IS mechs, and good luck bringing two of them.

Edit: I, for one, would openly welcome our new UAC20 atlas brawler overlords.

Edited by Snazzy Dragon, 14 January 2017 - 09:35 AM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Snazzy Dragon, on 14 January 2017 - 09:33 AM, said:

2 UAC20s would only really fit on a king crab comfortably and on anything else it'd be a gimmick build. AC/10s and UAC/10s would be an awkward fit on a lot of IS mechs, and good luck bringing two of them.

Don't need doubles when a single one fires 2x 10/20 pt chunks of PP-FLD. And the fact is that there mechs that CAN pack doubles, especially since IS doesn't have fixed slots for Endo and Ferro.

[Archangel.84]

I honestly would rather they didn't introduce the reflective/reactive armor variants, just because it's something I can't see myself ever taking advantage of. Yeah, you get increased protection against certain weapons...at the disadvantage of increased damage vs others. Why take that chance, especially in an environment like MWO when you have no idea what the other team is bringing?

Maybe I'm just boring and unimaginative, but I can't ever see a situation where it's worth the risk.

[Bishop Steiner]

MechaBattler, on 14 January 2017 - 09:33 AM, said:

I think they just want to dip the toe further in the timeline. I don't think they want to jump into the deep end. With 3060 they avoid having to do Fedcom Civil War events. Which they clearly aren't ready to do yet since we don't yet have side events.

And if they want to be cautious, I would, they should release new tech incrementally to ensure better balancing. Though I'm sure people would rather have it all right away.

Also, when do we get all the crazy ammo types? I know we can't swap ammo, but specialized ammo would still be interesting.

I would tend to agree. While I prefer much of the 3067 Tech, and some of the Mechs, from both a narrative and feasibility stand point, the 3060-3061 jump seems most logical. But PGI has bitten off more than they could chew, more than once, so.... who knows.

I'm just pointing out that for those who think "Catch Up Tech" will fix the balance discrepancy between IS and Clan... they are sadly, woefully, mistaken. Especially since the Lion's Share of Clan Tech updates are...pre 3061.

Archangel.84, on 14 January 2017 - 09:38 AM, said:

I honestly would rather they didn't introduce the reflective/reactive armor variants, just because it's something I can't see myself ever taking advantage of. Yeah, you get increased protection against certain weapons...at the disadvantage of increased damage vs others. Why take that chance, especially in an environment like MWO when you have no idea what the other team is bringing?

Maybe I'm just boring and unimaginative, but I can't ever see a situation where it's worth the risk.

Because it toally alo makes it a huge roll of the dice for what weapons to bring? If you are running a Grasshopper with all PEWPEWS... and you encounter Reactive Armor... you're screwed. Ditto with most PP-FLD Builds encountering Reactive Armor (doubly so if Blue Shield tech does get added).

Even if in practice it one intermittently gets used, the simple uncertainty it introduces becomes a checks and balance potentially agianst the Boating Meta that has gripped MWO since inception.

THAT, is in itself, reason enough to want it.

[Archangel.84]

Yeah, I guess you're right. I'm thinking of it mostly from the defensive standpoint but it could affect builds, true. And "I'll never use it so nobody should have it" isn't exactly reasonable logic anyway. So... comment retracted.

[Cy Mitchell]

I just posted a thread pondering what the timeline jump would mean to the game. I am surprised they seem to intend to bypass the Operation Bulldog period as that could have provided them with interesting Faction Play focus and events. If they go beyond 3060 then I hope they will choose 3062-3063 so that the FedCom Civil War, the Ghost Bear-Combine wars and the in-fighting between the Falcons, Wolves, Horses and Bears can provide interesting lore based Events. With a little fudging the Mechs people are crying for could be eased into the period.

But then again maybe the lore does not mean anything and it is just all about Tech and Mech. FPS, don't ya know?

[Snazzy Dragon]

On another note--- I would not mind coolant pods replacing cool shots. Want to lose that heat in the midst of battle? Pay up in tonnage and slot space.

[Juodas Varnas]

Snazzy Dragon, on 14 January 2017 - 09:50 AM, said:

On another note--- I would not mind coolant pods replacing cool shots. Want to lose that heat in the midst of battle? Pay up in tonnage and slot space.

I would also like UAVs taking up critslots/tonnage and Air/Arty strikes requiring TAG or Command Console (or something along those lines), while you're at it

[Quicksilver Aberration]

3067, because that puts us closer to Jihad era and I like the Jihad era

[Monkey Lover]

I vote for er flamers

[Nik Reaper]

Bishop Steiner, on 14 January 2017 - 09:41 AM, said:

...

Because it toally alo makes it a huge roll of the dice for what weapons to bring? If you are running a Grasshopper with all PEWPEWS... and you encounter Reflective Armor... you're screwed. Ditto with most PP-FLD Builds encountering Reactive Armor (doubly so if Blue Shield tech does get added).

Even if in practice it one intermittently gets used, the simple uncertainty it introduces becomes a checks and balance potentially agianst the Boating Meta that has gripped MWO since inception.

THAT, is in itself, reason enough to want it.

FTFY

But I'm not sure many are aware just how much weight and crits much of this equipment takes up, even at this point so many builds bearly have 0.5t leeway to add 0.5t of ammo or armor much less up to 4~5t of specific armor ( extra weight vs standard armor so to get the same base line of armor it takes up extra tonnage while providing extra protection vs X , so to max out armor on an assault you need more than the ~19t you need now ), and the blue shield needs crits in every section of the mechs and is not light while only providing extra protection vs PPC weapons with the liability of blowing up upon crit, so I don't see much of this tech being widely used.

P.S. I could see use of it on clan battlemech assaults that don't have too many ballistic hardpoints, like the supernova and highlander iic.

Edited by Nik Reaper, 14 January 2017 - 10:08 AM.

[Y E O N N E]

I can't begin to speculate on how far they will jump it, but I want them to jump it to 3068. To me, the must-haves for this game include:

• Light Fusion Engines
  
• Light AC/2/5
  
• ER Small & Medium Lasers
  
• Ultra AC/10
  
• Light PPC
  
• Medium Range Missiles
  
• Streak 4/6

You will note that none of this is Clan Tech, and that's because this list is what I believe is the minimum required to close the gap between IS and Clan 'Mechs. If we start giving Clans Heavy Lasers, ATMs, Heavy MGs, AP Gauss, then the IS start needing Heavy PPCs (dealing full 15, because 10 tons), Plasma Rifles, and MagShots. Some of that is actually 3070s equipment.

The way TT goes, it's basically a game of one upsmanship. MWO has to split the difference such that we end up with both sides having what they need to counter the other, and that means one side will be getting less toys.