117 replies to this topic

[Zh0u]

Bandilly, on 10 December 2017 - 06:41 AM, said:

Loot bags that we get during some events. You open the bags and get a few c-bills, MC, XP, or some other random thing. Not a huge deal, but hey it's more free stuff.

Cool! Thanks for the clarification.

[paws2sky]

That's quite a gift, PGI. The catch is play (win?) a match? Um, okay! Cheers!

-paws

[Asym]

Free stuff is nice to get yes......

Happy Holidays all !

This does have me a little concerned that they are doing this.... Somehow, be it that sales are well below expectations or the e-Sports schtick has become a negative reality and this is the beginning of plan B..... Either way, just seems a bit "odd" a day after the Grand Event........ Be well and safe where ever you be !

[Slambot]

even the most cynical person has to recognize the generosity of the holiday gifts from PGI.

I think revenue is up this year...

[Verilligo]

The Basilisk, on 09 December 2017 - 11:09 PM, said:

That is a sound marketing strat...if you want to use the Sunspider to its potential you will have to buy the pack to get the rest of the omnipods when it drops end of march.
And the Roughneck is there to remember you that they already made up an overquirked IS mech with a neat little story and nobody protested too loud that they rather make up mechs to fit their mess of a game instead of make the game more fitting for Battletech.

So as usual nothing to see here, carry on buy the mechpack.

Honestly, if this is the quality of the artwork and mech design they produce, I'd rather they make MORE original mechs than less. The BattleTech universe is filled to the brim with stupid mechs and PGI is now two for two on great designs. Also, again, the standard pack omnipods will be purchasable with C-bills as soon as the standard pack is released alongside this bonus hero. Yes, you won't gain access to the reinforcement (ECM in particular) or standard hero pods, but the bonus hero pods may make up for that to reduce claims of P2W.

[LT. HARDCASE]

The free Sun Spider is going to have basura hardpoints.

[Seranov]

LT. HARDCASE, on 10 December 2017 - 07:35 AM, said:

The free Sun Spider is going to have basura hardpoints.

I have no idea what this means.

[Juodas Varnas]

Seranov, on 10 December 2017 - 07:50 AM, said:

I have no idea what this means.

I think it's spanish for "garbage"

I don't actually speak spanish, so i could be wrong.

Edited by Juodas Varnas, 10 December 2017 - 07:56 AM.

[Koniving]

Zacharias McLeod, on 10 December 2017 - 06:05 AM, said:

It will be an other brand new Roughneck hero and not the Reaver.

Totaly new loadout. And like they sayd it should be different from the normal Roughneck variants too.

Totime nobody knows how the loadout looks.

Oh.

....Interesting. o.O;

Side note I need to get into contact with Iglesias, which I just discovered is Flying Debris. Huh.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Roughneck

Anyway I wanted to get in touch with him to tell him about my Loader King build concept to coincide with the lore to his Roughneck and how it compares to its competitor (mentioned on the Roughneck sarna page) the PowerMan.

(Picture is the Powerman 35 ton Loader/Hauler mech.)
Wanna see if he'd do the art to the predecessor to his creation and then pitch it to Catalyst to see if I can get it to be an official base loadout. They are very comparable with advantages for having either the age old powerman or Archernar's Loader King.

Quick comparison: (anyone wanna comment on or give suggestions to the design?)

Spoiler

Both have 2 lifting hoists.
Both have cargo mounts for containers (Powerman has 5 separate 1-ton mounts, my Loader King design has 3 separate 2-ton mounts).

Beyond that:
Powerman.
35 tons (small and light)
5 separate cargo mounts capable of holding up to 1 ton each, meaning it can carry up to 5 different types of cargo at once on these mounts.
Two lift hoists (in the form of extra strong arms) for maximum arm-carrying capacity of 35 tons. Can pick up other mechs of its weight. Throwing limit is 18 tons.
Combined carrying maximum carrying capacity: 40 tons.
Isn't armed at stock.
Cruising speed. 43.2 kph. (26.8 mph)
Top sustained running speed. 64.8 kph. (40.26 mph)
Sprinting speed. 75.6 kph. (46.97 mph)
Punching strength: 3 damage/punch.
Kicking strength: 7 damage/kick.
Can use Mech-Modular / Improvised Firearms. (Example, Wolverine's autocannon, Mech Rifles., compatible artillery pierces.)
Can use improvised melee weapons.
Structure: 58 points. (131 in MWO.)
Armor: 60 points. (120 points MWO)
Manufacturer Sitwell Corporation
Factory Location Saiph.
Engine type: ICE 140. (Produced by Skobel.)
Fuel type: Combustable (non-specified, assuming Diesel)
Price (according to Mech Factory) 1,709,460 .
BV1 = 290 (278)
BV2 = 345
Design Quirks: Easy to Maintain. Stable.

Loader King base model.
50 tons (making its industrial structure weight similar to a 65 ton Battlemech like the Roughneck, so that there would be no considerable size changes or major redesigns necessary to an already existing setup and manufacturing lane, just different materials used.)
3 separate cargo mounts at 2 ton capacity each for up to 6 tons of cargo capacity. (Max of 3 different types of cargo at once, however).
Two lift hoists (in the form of extra strong arms with claws). Maximum lift of 50 tons. Can pick up mechs of up to 50 tons. Throwing limit is 25 tons.
Combined maximum carrying capacity: 56 tons.
Has Searchlight to assist in spotting at night.
Is armed with a small laser mounted on the head.
Cruising speed: 43.2 kph.
Sustained running speed: 64.8 kph.
Sprinting speed: 75.6 kph.
Punching strength: 5 damage.
Kicking strength: 10 damage.
Cannot use Mech Modular / Improvised Firearms. (Example, Wolverine's autocannon, Mech Rifles, etc.)
Can use improvised melee weapons.
Structure: 83 points (181 MWO)
Armor: 107 points (214 MWO).
Manufacturer Archernar Battlemechs.
Factory: Unknown. (New Avalon is likely the best site, it manufacturers enough equipment for the entire machine to be built in-house.)
Engine type: 200-rated Fuel Cell.
Fuel type: Water (Hydrogen). (That's more of a problem than you might think).
Price: 2,00,375
BV1 = 476
BV2 = 492 (491)
Design Quirks: Easy to maintain. Protected Actuators (based on artwork).

Remember the goal is for it to compete with good reasons to pick either one, not completely outdo.

Edited by Koniving, 10 December 2017 - 08:10 AM.

[Seranov]

Juodas Varnas, on 10 December 2017 - 07:56 AM, said:

I think it's spanish for "garbage"

I don't actually speak spanish, so i could be wrong.

I mean, even if that's the case, you can always let it sit in the Mechbay until the Omnipods come out for Cbills, then you can do whatever you want.

[C E Dwyer]

Yes it is quite a gift.

One thing you can never fault P.G.I with is their generosity.

Generally this has been a non event for me, but even I can take some positives away from it.

Those positives came from the few minutes of the mech gift, the solaris 7, and the MW5merc reveal.

Wasn't so much what was said, though one sentence did pretty much decide I'll still play next year, but how it was said.

For the first time ever Russ Bullock was able to, make me feel, he actually does give a damn, about the game, and has enthusiasm for it, other than it's his money maker, and was able to project it.

[Koniving]

Juodas Varnas, on 10 December 2017 - 07:56 AM, said:

I think it's spanish for "garbage"

I don't actually speak spanish, so i could be wrong.

The direct translation is trash, so that's a pretty good comparison. So "trashy hardpoints"?
Frankly 70 tonners in the Clan field always have issues with slots, so it wouldn't really handle a lot of hardpoints well anyway. Especially with endo and ferro.

(Opinion on the Loader King design?)

[Juodas Varnas]

Koniving, on 10 December 2017 - 08:19 AM, said:

The direct translation is trash, so that's a pretty good comparison. So "trashy hardpoints"?
Frankly 70 tonners in the Clan field always have issues with slots, so it wouldn't really handle a lot of hardpoints well anyway. Especially with endo and ferro.

(Opinion on the Loader King design?)

Justin Kase had posted this thing on the Repainted Concept Art thread. I thought it was pretty cool.

Justin Kase, on 31 August 2017 - 01:45 PM, said:

Reworked the Loader King - with some much-needed assistance from the master (thanks Odanan!)


Edit - thought I'd toss in a quick note about the smokestacks. This is an industrial mech, as such it likely has an ICE instead of a standard (or XL) engine - so it needs a way to vent the smoke

[Koniving]

Juodas Varnas, on 10 December 2017 - 08:22 AM, said:

Justin Kase had posted this thing on the Repainted Concept Art thread. I thought it was pretty cool.

I know about the art. There's issues with it though.

Alex for example already said the lift hoists are in the arms.. The crane as the only lift hoist would only give it a lifting capacity of 32.5 tons (making it inferior to the Powerman) and if we went by Justin's adjusted design it would also be an illegal design as he actually did 3 lift hoists (which the crane is one, then the other two are in the arms and the issue is the maximum is two).

Beyond that the stats Justin gave made the mech too expensive for the intended purpose (it comes out to the cost of a poorly armed medium mech or more costly than several modest tanks just to haul your cargo and reload your real mechs' ammunition). I mean it looks okay but the crane alone has some serious issues, for example if it tried to reach a running speed the crane would swing (and it would do that even if you were cruising), causing damage to the mech using it.

So I mean its okay art, but it doesn't reflect a tabletop legal build.. has issues in terms of its physicality in a simulator (mainly the crane), looks exactly identical to the battlemech rather than like a cargo hauler that's been extensively modified into a battlemech.. but most of all it doesn't fit the fluff of a machine that can compete with the Powerman as unfortunately the Powerman is obscenely the superior choice in so many aspects.

That's what drove me to do my design to address all those issues. His modified art is not in any way usable to me, though, or to pitching it to Catalyst.

(Sorry for double edit: Edited to put an O in Only... but it didn't type, so I did it again to get it in there.)

Additional edit:
"The typical style of this equipment varies. Examples include a chain-and-pulley method, high-tension cables, or myomer powered, claw-like specialty lifters" ~Techmanual page 245.
(The art for the lift hoists are already in the Roughneck in the form of the extended arms and claws. The actual battlemech we get in MWO doesn't have the extruded arms and instead they are shorter.)

Edited by Koniving, 10 December 2017 - 08:42 AM.

[Khalcruth]

I wonder what's special about the 27th of December. Why that day, instead of, say, the 24th, or 26th, or 28th, or 29th, or really any other day in the next few weeks.

[Koniving]

(I have stats for both the powerman and the Loader King concept I did in the spoiler of the original post. Price, melee damage capabilities unarmed, stock weapons, cargo carrying in both arms and containers, use of modular/improvised weaponry, base tabletop design quirks, Battle Values both versions 1 and 2, manufacturer and factory location, etc.)

Khalcruth, on 10 December 2017 - 08:51 AM, said:

I wonder what's special about the 27th of December. Why that day, instead of, say, the 24th, or 26th, or 28th, or 29th, or really any other day in the next few weeks.

THAT... is a good question. I could understand it not being the 25th, we should be with our families. The 26th and 24th also make sense... People might be traveling.

Perhaps it is the first day they go back to work after Christmas?

Edited by Koniving, 10 December 2017 - 08:53 AM.

[Jay Leon Hart]

Khalcruth, on 10 December 2017 - 08:51 AM, said:

I wonder what's special about the 27th of December. Why that day, instead of, say, the 24th, or 26th, or 28th, or 29th, or really any other day in the next few weeks.

It's the first non-holiday after the current event ends. Makes sense.

[Khalcruth]

Fair enough, but maybe then the 29th would be better, since it's a Friday.

On a semi-related note, they mentioned last week here on the forums some stuff about holiday warhorns/decals. Did they say anything more about it yesterday?

Edited by Khalcruth, 10 December 2017 - 09:23 AM.

[Bombast]

Khalcruth, on 10 December 2017 - 09:22 AM, said:

Fair enough, but maybe then the 29th would be better, since it's a Friday.

On a semi-related note, they mentioned last week here on the forums some stuff about holiday warhorns/decals. Did they say anything more about it yesterday?

I can't remember anything specific. There will be a stocking stuffer event, and one presumes that will be when the holiday items pop up.

[Cementi]

Jonathan8883, on 09 December 2017 - 09:25 PM, said:

I think Russ may be trying a new way to drive Omnimech mech pack sales. If you get the Sun Spider hero, you are locked into the hero omnipods with no customization until it drops for C-bills - unless you buy a mech pack, in which case you have A/B/C/whatever pods available.
The free hero means you can play it for +30% c-bills immediately, thus making a $45 "pack w/ hero" effectively a $30 pack.

More customization on something good IF you spend money, and effectively a discount on pack costs.

You might be right but........I am still just gonna say thank you.