34 replies to this topic

[Lionheart2012]

Hi team,

Here are my thoughts on the MWO Timeline advance. Please take a look.

[RestosIII]

You do realize we got a confirmation on what date we're jumping to, right? It's 3068. They told us so back in the last roundtable.

[RestosIII]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:00 PM, said:

Oh christ. So, Jihad it is.

If they start introducing Jihad mechs and variants like I'm sure they will, that's going to be some insane power creep.

The full proper Jihad hadn't started by 3068 IIRC, just a couple bombs. IIRC 3069 is when it really kicked in.

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:00 PM, said:

Wonder if they'll put in the butt-ugliest mech in the game, the Yeoman. http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Yeoman

God, that thing would be absolutely dead on arrival.

Don't diss the Yeoman man. I love that mech. Same as a Longbow.

Edited by RestosIII, 11 February 2017 - 08:07 PM.

[Y E O N N E]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:00 PM, said:

Oh christ. So, Jihad it is.

If they start introducing Jihad mechs and variants like I'm sure they will, that's going to be some insane power creep.

You mean some necessary power creep. On one side, mostly. Which makes it not really power creepy.

[Y E O N N E]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:09 PM, said:

Possibly. Both sides (Clan and IS) had a lot of new toys by 3068. Wonder how PGI will handle the after-effects of the Refusal War, though. Will things like Wolf-in-Exile be a thing? Will the ARDC be a thing?

The only new toys the Clans get that really impact the game are heavy lasers. HAGs are going to end up as a side-grade to massed UACs and you probably won't be allowed to fire more than two at a time. ATMs are less efficient missiles than LRMs and SRMs, and may not even be implemented at all. Plasma cannons are technically a year too late for PGI's announced target (but IS Plasma Rifles are not).

Heavy lasers themselves may be pretty gimpy depending on how PGI links the ghost heat and deals up the range/heat/duration.

By contrast, the IS get a lot more meaningful stuff: Light ACs, ER lasers, Plasma Rifles, MRMs, Light/Heavy/Snub PPCs, LB-X ACs (these will suck), Light Fusion Engines, XL Gyros, Small cockpits. While not all of this will necessarily make it into the game, most of it does allow the IS to do things they haven't been able to do before at all, or allow them to better perform the old tricks. It's way lopsided in favor of buffing the Inner Sphere (and that's a good thing).

Not sure how they'll handle the Refusal War, if at all. I would certainly like to see some of the other Clan factions in the game, possibly a Second Star League faction, too. If Smoke Jags get deleted, no tears shed!

[Requiemking]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:28 PM, said:

Smoke Jaguar worst Clan, agreed. (Seriously, lore-wise they are largely irredeemable ********, even the other Clans can't stand them.) Trying to remember if Hell's Horses gets into the mix by then (I think they do, not sure), the lack of combined arms in MWO puts HH in kind of a weird spot though. I mean, I'm sure they'll get chosen and played by people (because they're pretty cool guys, for Clanners - only thing I could really fault them for is their feud with Ghost Bear, because GB is also surprisingly bro-tier.), but HH without combined arms is very strange. Star Adder is OK. Nova Cat is going to be interesting, since I think by 3068 they've basically crashed on the DC's couch and are bros with the reformed Star League.

Also, Clan Seafox-in-disguise is wandering about at this point as well I believe.

[RestosIII]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:28 PM, said:

Smoke Jaguar worst Clan, agreed. (Seriously, lore-wise they are largely irredeemable ********, even the other Clans can't stand them.) Trying to remember if Hell's Horses gets into the mix by then (I think they do, not sure), the lack of combined arms in MWO puts HH in kind of a weird spot though. I mean, I'm sure they'll get chosen and played by people (because they're pretty cool guys, for Clanners - only thing I could really fault them for is their feud with Ghost Bear, because GB is also surprisingly bro-tier.), but HH without combined arms is very strange. Star Adder is OK. Nova Cat is going to be interesting, since I think by 3068 they've basically crashed on the DC's couch and are bros with the reformed Star League.

And you completely ignored Clan Diamond Shark.

[Requiemking]

RestosIII, on 11 February 2017 - 08:34 PM, said:

And you completely ignored Clan Diamond Shark.

Clan Diamond Shark? Oh, you mean Clan Seafox-in-disguise.

[RestosIII]

Requiemking, on 11 February 2017 - 08:36 PM, said:

Clan Diamond Shark? Oh, you mean Clan Seafox-in-disguise.

I already have to deal with ZUUL on this garbage, I ain't starting up with you.

[Requiemking]

RestosIII, on 11 February 2017 - 08:36 PM, said:

I already have to deal with ZUUL on this garbage, I ain't starting up with you.

Too bad. Thats what they are. You want Clan Diamond Shark to be more than an alias for Clan Seafox, go bug CGL to canonise them as an actual Clan.

[RestosIII]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:41 PM, said:

Diamond Shark/Sea Fox is alright. I honestly think there isn't nearly enough done with them in the canon. Wouldn't call them bros, but they're hardly bad - their focus on mercantile/trade is really quite interesting and differentiates them a great deal from the other Clans.

If it wasn't for Ian Hawker I could say we're almost as chummy as CGB. But Hawker done messed that record up.

[ice trey]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 08:00 PM, said:

Oh christ. So, Jihad it is.

If they start introducing Jihad mechs and variants like I'm sure they will, that's going to be some insane power creep.

Wonder if they'll put in the butt-ugliest mech in the game, the Yeoman. http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Yeoman

God, that thing would be absolutely dead on arrival.

You're kidding, right?

Almost everything from the Jihad period, especially early Jihad period, was on par with or of lesser usefulness than tech already introduced in the Fedcom Civil War. Targeting Computers, Stealth Armor, Light Engines, Semi-Guided LRMs, Fascam Arrow IV artillery, TSM, Rotary Autocannons, ATM launchers, Heavy Lasers, HGRs... all that stuff was in the eras that people were clamouring for. The only stuff the Jihad brings to the table are more like the swiss-army knives of the setting.

Heavy/Light PPCs that use the same range brackets as the standard PPC, Snub-Nosed PPCs which have a big short range bracket but lose damage in the medium and long ranges, MMLs - slightly heavier SRMs that can fire LRMs too, Plasma Rifles, a LL-ranged PPC that does some extra heat and uses ammo, Machine gun arrays, turning MGs into SRM launchers that hit a single area a few times with lower probability, Light Autocannons, which only come in 2 and 5 sizes... Even the WoB stuff... none of that is really shocking. It's only the late one-off superweapons as terra's getting invaded. Even the Celestials were usually using nothing out of the ordinary, they just arranged heatsinks and engines to make them tougher than the average mech. In the early Jihad, they were using primarily Free Worlds' tech... remember that faction that has been treated like a forgettable pushover by the writers since it's inception? Legacies, Raijins and Gurkhas are hardly game breaking. The strongest tool in WoB's arsenal outside of the nukes and the plagues (which won't be introduced, period) might have been C3i, but as you can tell from the current game in 3053 and still shows no sign of C3, TSM, or the like... I have my doubts they'll include those, either. Game changing tech doesn't crop up in significant numbers until after the Jihad. Stuff like the X-Pulse Lasers, Improved Heavy Gauss Rifles, Radical Heat Sinks Hardened Armor, and Reflective armor. You'll note that this game hasn't bothered to include the Binary Laser so far, either.

Jihad or Fedcom Civil War, the Yeoman would have a chance to appear, because it's a TRO 3060 mech.

Edited by ice trey, 11 February 2017 - 08:58 PM.

[Y E O N N E]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 09:00 PM, said:

Because the Binary Laser is ******* terrible.

Doesn't have to be. It could actually be pretty good, if PGI makes it actually behave more like a slightly gimped pair of MWO-style Large Lasers and not as a space heater. An IS laser boat could then take one of those, a regular Large Laser, and five ERML on a big LFE and run about as fast as the Clans, with lots of DHS and identical durability, similar range, and with similar damage.

[Y E O N N E]

Rakshasa is also totally redundant with the Marauder 5D and basically the entire chassis in general.

[Lupis Volk]

3060 comes the best faction in BattleTech......Rasalhague Dominion!!!!!

Plz PGI i'd gib you all teh monnies i haz.

[Requiemking]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 09:12 PM, said:

Oh god, you know what would be funny? If PGI puts the Rakshasa in. Imagine the VOIP chatter.

"Timby coming over the ridge in India 8"
"wait"
"..."
"Well? Is it a Timber Wolf or isn't it?"
"I CAN'T TELL!"

(Seriously, though, PGI, don't put it in. It would be DOA because IS XL + huge Mickey Mouse ear ST missile pods, at least on the primary variant.)

I'd play it just for the hell of it. Put an LFE in it, then it's as tough as the Clan version.

[Requiemking]

Probably Not, on 11 February 2017 - 10:26 PM, said:

Eh, maybe? Yeonne is right about the Marauders basically making it pointless. And, I mean, imagine the "cheap knockoff" jokes (although it would NOT be an inexpensive mech by any means).

I never said it would be good or cheap.

[Lionheart2012]

RestosIII, on 11 February 2017 - 07:57 PM, said:

You do realize we got a confirmation on what date we're jumping to, right? It's 3068. They told us so back in the last roundtable.

Confirmation is a strong word. At 1:53:00 in the round table, Russ mentions that they will be making an announcement about the timeline advance, and specifically, that it could be as far as 3068. He prefaces the statement by saying that they are still finalizing it. So no, this is not confirmation, and when it does not turn out to be that far of an advance, I don't want to read, "But you promised 3068!!!" No he never did.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/117847781

[Y E O N N E]

Russ did say in a tweet about the Bushwhacker that Heavy Machine Guns would help out with making its diverse hardpoints useful and HMGs are 3068...so 3068 is more than just supposition.

[Lionheart2012]

Yeonne Greene, on 12 February 2017 - 08:11 AM, said:

Russ did say in a tweet about the Bushwhacker that Heavy Machine Guns would help out with making its diverse hardpoints useful and HMGs are 3068...so 3068 is more than just supposition.

Agreed, perhaps more than supposition, but not confirmation by any means. IS HMGs could easily be walked back as thoughts on future development. Don't depend on the tweets. Remember how many folks said that the Firemoth was confirmed?