9 replies to this topic

[AJBennett]

(This was originally a reply, but I think it warrants itself as noteworthy)

Personally, I think that PGI has the MGs stats turned around as far as damage, range, ROF, etc...

I'll try to illustrate this by a real world comparison of examples....

LMG = say in the 7.62 (.308 civilian) mm caliber which can reach out to 1000m / high cyclic rate / lower energy per round (compared to the other examples) on impact / shortest range the lightest caliber usually mounted on armored vehicles.

MG = as before but in the .50 (12.7 mm) caliber range can reach out to 2000m (the mean) medium cyclic rate/medium kinetic impact per round / medium range

HMG = as above but in the 20 mm range which can reach out to 4572 m / lowest cyclic rate/highest kinetic impact per round / longest range...of course this borders on light cannon at this point, but I ask your indulgence.


...I'm not saying that this class of weapons should have these ranges exactly, but PGI should at least make them correct for their designation of Light, Medium, and Heavy as you can see here...the heavier weapon have greater range and damage...BUT generally a lower rate of fire which might directly compare to crit chance (ie...smaller = low damage/ low range/High Crit...largest = high damage/longest range/low crit chance).

Edited by AJBennett, 19 September 2017 - 10:32 AM.

[FupDup]

There's no way in heck that our 500 kilogram (1102 American pounds) "Light" Machine Guns have the same firepower as a civilian handheld assault rifle.

[AJBennett]

FupDup, on 19 September 2017 - 10:32 AM, said:

There's no way in heck that our 500 kilogram (1102 American pounds) "Light" Machine Guns have the same firepower as a civilian handheld assault rifle.

...you do realize that the "civilian" notation is only for the size...not everyone understands military ammunition nomenclature...and having fired the Squad M-240 (7.62mm) SAW AND .308 hunting ammunition I would disagree with you. Besides, this isn't about the real world attributes of the weapons, they are examples of the logical differences between LIGHT - MEDIUM - and HEAVY MGs as presented (..or mis-presented) in MWO.

Edited by AJBennett, 19 September 2017 - 10:49 AM.

[Willard Phule]

It's accurate as far as lore is concerned, but I understand the point of what they're named.

Generally speaking, the larger the round, the heavier it is and the more charge it requires to do any actual damage to a battlemech. For what it's worth, the "light machinegun" is roughly the equivalent to our modern day .50 caliber machinegun. We call that a Heavy MG nowadays, but we're not fighting battlemechs.

[Kanil]

AJBennett, on 19 September 2017 - 10:36 AM, said:

Besides, this isn't about the real world attributes of the weapons, they are examples of the logical differences between LIGHT - MEDIUM - and HEAVY MGs as presented (..or mis-presented) in MWO.

The weapons are not based upon real life logic, however. They're based upon their BattleTech stats, and in BT heavier ballistic weapons have shorter ranges. The same pattern is present in the autocannons.

You should not expect this to be changed.

[AJBennett]

Willard Phule, on 19 September 2017 - 10:39 AM, said:

It's accurate as far as lore is concerned, but I understand the point of what they're named.

Generally speaking, the larger the round, the heavier it is and the more charge it requires to do any actual damage to a battlemech. For what it's worth, the "light machinegun" is roughly the equivalent to our modern day .50 caliber machinegun. We call that a Heavy MG nowadays, but we're not fighting battlemechs.

..which still begs the fact that a 20mm round will go further than a .50 Cal in practice, the effective range is fact which is part of my confusion.

Kanil, on 19 September 2017 - 10:43 AM, said:

The weapons are not based upon real life logic, however. They're based upon their BattleTech stats, and in BT heavier ballistic weapons have shorter ranges. The same pattern is present in the autocannons.

You should not expect this to be changed.

I appreciate that. <o


...thank you both.

Edited by AJBennett, 19 September 2017 - 10:47 AM.

[Athom83]

AJBennett, on 19 September 2017 - 10:46 AM, said:

..which still begs the fact that a 20mm round will go further than a .50 Cal in practice, the effective range is fact which is part of my confusion.

Not if they both had the same charge. The reason the 20mm will go further than the 12.7mm (.50cal) is that the 20mm round will have a much greater charge to offset the increased weight of the shell. Because they are using an HE type round to damage armor, it makes more sense to use the same charge for the heavier shell, meaning less velocity and less range.

For reference of shells.

[Aramoro999]

LGM:

i think this can weight 500 kg with additional equipment

Edited by Aramoro999, 19 September 2017 - 11:06 AM.

[AJBennett]

Athom83, on 19 September 2017 - 10:57 AM, said:

Not if they both had the same charge. The reason the 20mm will go further than the 12.7mm (.50cal) is that the 20mm round will have a much greater charge to offset the increased weight of the shell. Because they are using an HE type round to damage armor, it makes more sense to use the same charge for the heavier shell, meaning less velocity and less range.

For reference of shells.

...Ah, the HE point brings it all into focus...thank you. <o

[MechaBattler]

Probably similar reason larger ballistics in Battletech are slower and have less range.