10 replies to this topic

[Cementi]

These seems to be something that comes up now and then and I think for the most part those I play with would also like to be able to raise a mechs arms. However it does seem like it could really skew things if they did it and we would of course risk an increase in ridge hump playstyles. However even with that risk I think it is something that should be done.

So my idea to balance things would be to make it a toggle much like missile doors. The consequences of having your arms raised would be they take more damage when hit. Maybe 20%, obviously tweaks would need to be made to find the right balance.I think it is somewhat justified by how much stability you loose with your arms stretched out in front of you vs down at your sides the way mwo has them. In addition you would lose the horizontal aiming capacity that you would normally have had. Mechs with fixed arms such as the blackjack or jager obviously would be unaffected by all of this.

The only issue I see with this is some mechs have geometry that looks like the elbow cannot straighten. For these I would suggest they raise up to the side instead of directly in front. Might even add a bit of flair if a mech put its left arm up in front and its right arm went up to the right. Both would accomplish the same thing, one would just have to be aware of the one arm firing from a much wider angle.

[Malcolm Vordermark]

I would go with reduced speed/agility and raising or lowering arms taking at least one second to accomplish.

[1453 R]

Raising the arms, and lowering them again, takes time - probably somewhere around two seconds, during which arm-mounted weapons are unable to fire.

While the arms are raised, torso mobility is reduced - the 'Mech's normal center of balance is thrown off with several tons of equipment suddenly hanging off the front end instead of nicely balanced at the sides. Twist speed is reduced, possibly even twist arc as well.

Obviously, arm yaw/LAA usage is lost while arms are raised.

One could even go so far as to reduce the 'Mech's overall top speed when arms are raised - again, the 'Mech's normal balancing is off, so pushing the design to its nominal maximum throttle would be a highly bad idea.

Effectively, turn Arms Up into Sniper Mode - you get to raise the limb and take hillhump-y distance shots, but when you're looking to maneuver or about to head into a scrumb, you'll want to put the arms back down so the 'Mech can move and fight normally.

[Tarl Cabot]

The ability to only raise one arm at a time for a X amount of time, so no mummy chasing stance

[Kaeb Odellas]

Don't make it a toggle. Just have them raise automatically when something's blocking them and you're moving at half speed or below.

[Amsro]

You can only switch between raised and lowered arms when stopped or under 15kph.

[El Bandito]

Give a small chance of having your mech plant its face to the ground, if you move while having your arms raised. Center of gravity and all.

Edited by El Bandito, 19 January 2017 - 08:23 PM.

[Andi Nagasia]

i think to stop heat fron degenerating, and -50% speed would keep it balanced,
their is a Topic and Poll on this and Crouching (HERE),

[Lyoto Machida]

On top of what's already been mentioned, there's already an inherent drawback to having the arms raised...less ability to block shots while torso twisting.

[Tristan Winter]

Rouken Vordermark, on 19 January 2017 - 04:16 PM, said:

I would go with reduced speed/agility and raising or lowering arms taking at least one second to accomplish.

This. It would take at least one second to toggle on or off, it would lock the arms and it would limit both the amount of torso twisting you can do and the speed at which you can move your torso. It should also negatively impact your max speed and turn rate, because holding your arms out like a zombie tends to take away from economy of movement. There's a reason why people don't run like that in the Olympics.

That being said, I'm not sure how cool it would look on certain mechs. I can't quite picture the Timber Wolf, Dire Wolf or Mad Dog with raised arms.

[visionGT4]

Mechs with shoulder height+ hardpoints would need adjustment as they would continue to have a significant mechanical advantage.

Edited by visionGT4, 19 January 2017 - 11:56 PM.