42 replies to this topic

[Alistair Winter]

First of all, I'd like to preface this by saying that Alex Iglesias is the master of mech design and probably one of the top 3 reasons why MWO has been as popular as it has been. I adore his work and obviously he's immensely respected and admired. If it wasn't for him, I would literally have spent hundreds of dollars less on MWO, for sure.

However, sometimes there's something personal about certain mechs, because of nostalgia or other things. Sometimes the 3D modelling team isn't able to correctly translate the concept art to the game itself, and it ends up looking a lot worse in the game than you expected.

Obviously, if we were to make a list of all the mech designs that MWO has improved compared to older games and/or original artwork, it would be a stupidly long list. For most people, it would probably just be a matter of listing 99% of the mechs in the game.

So we'll approach it from the opposite perspective.

Are there any mechs in MWO now (or in the pipeline) that you believe were partially or generally cooler looking in the original artwork from the Battletech books, or other Mechwarrior games, or even in Robotech, for example?

For me, it's a pretty short list:

• Cougar. While I think Alex' design may be cooler looking in some respects, the redesign kills the nostalgia for me. I realize the original concept is basically a jetfighter with arms and legs (much like a Veritech, in fact), but it's just hard for me to get past the nostalgia. It's growing on me, though.
  
• Banshee. The Banshee as seen in Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 2 looks a lot cooler than the one in MWO, in my opinion. the Banshee mech in MWO is easily one of the worst looking IS mechs in the game.
  
• Trebuchet. Alex' concept art is great, but it ended up looking really bad in the game. I know this is heresy (insert Warhammer 40,000 meme), but I actually thought the Trebuchet looked better in... MWO tactics. <runs for cover>

[Hit the Deck]

Alistair Winter, on 19 March 2017 - 05:10 PM, said:

...

• Trebuchet. Alex' concept art is great, but it ended up looking really bad in the game. I know this is heresy (insert Warhammer 40,000 meme), but I actually thought the Trebuchet looked better in... MWO tactics. <runs for cover>

That's a Victor, duh.

BTW I'm partial to the Masakari in MechCommander:



MC 'Mechs also look more similar to the original artworks that they are more spindly.

Edited by Hit the Deck, 19 March 2017 - 05:18 PM.

[Alistair Winter]

Hit the Deck, on 19 March 2017 - 05:17 PM, said:

That's a Victor, duh.

BTW I'm partial to the Masakari in MechCommander:



MC 'Mechs also look more similar to the original artworks that they are more spindly.

It definitely looks more like a Victor. Which is a good thing.

And yeah, I was going to say the Masakari, but none of the other Mechwarrior games showed it with a whole lot of detail, IIRC. I definitely think the MWO Masakari is too fat around the cockpit. Looks better with a slim profile, and it would have made more sense with a slim profile, since it's a fairly light assault mech.

[FalconerGray]

Came to say Warhawk by a long shot.

And it's not just the woefully small gun barrels. It's also the arms not being tucked in, the fat, bulging CT, the cockpit going the wrong way, the roof/hood (what is going on there?)....it's a big disappointment for me as the Warhawk was one of the very first Mechs that really got my attention way back in the day.











Instead, we get....this:

[RestosIII]

Quote

WARHAWK!

I agree, and I'd like to add on that I hate the fact that the missile launcher on its arm is hanging underslung, when pretty much all the art I find of it has it on the shoulder joint.

[Hit the Deck]

My first love with Warhawk was in MW2:Mercs.

[FLG 01]

Black Knight:



Not that PGI's is terribly bad, but it just isn't as good.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

I liked MW4's versions of a few of the mechs, mostly the Cougar, but I also prefer the Vulture MK2 over the real deal Vulture.

[RestosIII]

Dakota1000, on 19 March 2017 - 05:53 PM, said:

I liked MW4's versions of a few of the mechs, mostly the Cougar, but I also prefer the Vulture MK2 over the real deal Vulture.

All I really want for my Mad Dog is proper barrels for its arms. We still have just stubs in MW:O.

[Tarogato]

Warhawk by far.

And then the Marauder. I don't like MWO's Marauder. But I still say the Warhawk first because at least MWO's Marauder *tries* to be different intentionally.

And then the Ice Ferret, and Bushwacker, Cataphract, Warhammer, and Mauler, and Dire Wolf. Oh yeah, and the Cougar now that I think of it. Not fond of Alex's version of that one.


Oh, and the Firemoth. MWO's Firemoth is pretty lacklustre.

Hey, wait a second...

Edited by Tarogato, 19 March 2017 - 06:02 PM.

[RestosIII]

Tarogato, on 19 March 2017 - 05:57 PM, said:

And then the Ice Ferret, and Bushwacker, Cataphract, Warhammer, and Mauler, and Dire Wolf.

I'm a huge fan of the MW:O Bushwacker, Cataphract, Warhammer, Mauler, and Marauder. Never was that much of a fan of the Ice Fridge to begin with, so I can't really judge it, and I'm not a huge fan of the 747 nose of the Dire Wolf.

[Alistair Winter]

FLG 01, on 19 March 2017 - 05:47 PM, said:

Black Knight:



Not that PGI's is terribly bad, but it just isn't as good.

That artwork would not look out of place in a 1960's or 1970's futuristic comic book.

I find it very ugly, but there's something interesting about it. Like baroque plate armour.

[Skanderborg]

I liked the taller versions of the awesome rather than the fat , short , and wide one we have.

Edited by Skanderborg, 19 March 2017 - 06:43 PM.

[El Bandito]

Timberwolf. The sleekness of the original version in MW2 had made me fall in love with it. Same deal with the original long barreled arms of Mad Dog.

[Hit the Deck]

RestosIII, on 19 March 2017 - 05:56 PM, said:

All I really want for my Mad Dog is proper barrels for its arms. We still have just stubs in MW:O.

They have lengthened its barrels on the last size normalization.

[Valdarion Silarius]

El Bandito, on 19 March 2017 - 06:13 PM, said:

Timberwolf. The sleekness of the original version in MW2 had made me fall in love with it. Same deal with the original long barreled arms of Mad Dog.

I'm kind of the opposite about the Timberwolf. Same thing with other mechs like the Summoner and the Hellbringer. I never was a fan of the original, pencil arm syndrome most of the original artwork had going for the mechs. I like the armor plating on the arms because it gives me more of a sense of realism over the older concept art. It must be a nightmare to repair those noodle arms in the battletech universe.

I'm with you on the longer barrels though. Not a fan of the uneven barrels on the IS Rifleman. Hoping the IIC counterpart doesn't get the same treatment.

With that being said, my vote goes to the Executioner. While it is not bad in game, I just prefer the beefier, tankier looks on war machines over the slimmer designs of most mechs.

Edited by Arnold The Governator, 19 March 2017 - 06:51 PM.

[Kasumi Sumika]

I much prefer more slimmer and not back heavy Marauder.

Edited by Kasumi Sumika, 19 March 2017 - 07:04 PM.

[Sunstruck]

How the Battlemaster is supposed to look: http://www.sarna.net/wiki/BattleMaster
How the Thunderbolt is supposed to look: http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Thunderbolt

MWO models, look ... yea.

[Snowbluff]

Tarogato, on 19 March 2017 - 05:57 PM, said:

Warhawk by far.

And then the Marauder. I don't like MWO's Marauder. But I still say the Warhawk first because at least MWO's Marauder *tries* to be different intentionally.

And then the Ice Ferret, and Bushwacker, Cataphract, Warhammer, and Mauler, and Dire Wolf. Oh yeah, and the Cougar now that I think of it. Not fond of Alex's version of that one.


Oh, and the Firemoth. MWO's Firemoth is pretty lacklustre.

Hey, wait a second...

The old marauder art is terrible. That little spindly gun mount irks me so hard.

[jjm1]

What are you solahma smoking. Warhawk is the best. Its just the in game model that looks like a Direwolf.

How can you say this deviates from the ones posted above:




What I would change though:

Make the Kit Fox look more aggressive. Give it a storm trooper visor wrap around window instead of the little button it has.

and some sharp edges. MWOs Cute Fox is less edgy than Duplo.

Edited by jjm1, 19 March 2017 - 09:01 PM.