6
Over a year of being on the backburner, and finally it's here!
Storm Fox, an apocryphal design by Alexander Iglesias
First off, here is a complete list of every quadruped I could track down in the Battletech universe.
Engine sizes, stock hardpoints, and more:
Spoiler
Quadrupeds: a barrier to entry
This thread is about builds, not about the "quad problems." But I might as well entertain the issues briefly because they are inevitable...
1. Russ and co. don't like quads. They think quads are "circus mechs". There's nothing we quad-lovers can do about this other than grumble in fervid disagreement.
2. Quadrupeds are different. Yes, PGI will need to adjust some code to allow for quads. Four legs in the mechlab, different rules for legging, and possibly more sophisticated walk animations. They should be able to do this. Are they even developers if they cannot?
3. Quadrupeds need Inverse Kinematics. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. It's possible to handle quadrupedal movement in the engine without IK, in a manner similar to how tanks and vehicles operate. While quads may be possible without IK, there would certainly be some compromises. I am of the opinion that the compromises would be worth it to bring quads into the game.
4. Quadrupeds can't torso twist. Yes, they would all be dead on arrival without the ability to torso twist. If they can't twist, then there is zero reason to bring them into the game - they would be unplayable. Virtually all quadrupeds will need to be redesigned to have a "waist" that will allow for torso twisting. And no, the following solution does not work: "translate mouse movement to leg rotation - just like traditional first-person shooter mechanics." The reason this doesn't work is because mechs turn/rotate slowly, while traditional FPS games have unlimited or near-unlimited rotation speed. Imagine how many mouse swipes across your desk it would take to pull a 180 in your Goliath - it would be an impractical control scheme.
5. Control scheme. Quadrupeds are kinda supposed to be able to sidestep. How do you incorporate that? Like I said earlier, WASD to sidestep is impractical because that leaves the mouse responsible for rotation, which is a bad idea with MWO's slowly turning mechs and low sensitivity aiming. Maybe the armlock toggle button would instead behave as a sidestep toggle for your WASD. But then how do you sidestep while turning? Do you settle for a control scheme that renders that impossible? Maybe instead of just WASD, we have WASD+QE, where Q and E are sidestep left and right, but we'd have to rebind the default functions already on Q and E. Yet another option is double-tap WASD for sidestepping. So many options, none of them perfect.
6. Quadrupeds are bad. Well, yes, they do have a drawback: an extra pair of legs can't mount at much equipment as a pair of arms could. So quads have twelve (even up to sixteen) fewer critical slots compared to bipedal mechs. This limits their build options and optimisations. Quirks can easily address this shortcoming.
So why add quads?
Because some of us think quad designs are cool. Quads add variety and they've never really featured in a Mechwarrior game before. That's all that matters to me. Quads do have some minor unique advantages which... exist, I guess. They always have pretty high mounts, they can move laterally, they're much shorter (volumetric scaling) and enjoy more options for physical cover, and while they don't have arms to shield with, many of them have legs that can shield. Also, quads are harder to kill via legging, and can suffer a smaller penalty when losing a single leg.
Quad chassis list:
Roughly put into order according to how appropriate they would be for adding to MWO:
| Tonnage | Tech | Name | LegStyle | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 ton | IS | Scorpion | oblique | At least six plausible variants. One of the best chassis for MWO inclusion. |
| 80 ton | IS | Goliath | parallel | At least six plausible variants. One of the best chassis for MWO inclusion. |
| 25 ton | IS | Tarantula | oblique | Four good variants, one of the best chassis for MWO inclusion. |
| 50 ton | Clan | Stalking Spider | oblique | Two good variants, plus one easily adaptable. Great choice for MWO. |
| 45 ton | IS | Bishamon | oblique | Three good variants, one of the best chassis for MWO inclusion. |
| 65 ton | Clan | Fire Scorpion | oblique | Two good variants, plus one adaptable. |
| 20 ton | Clan | Snow Fox | parallel | Has three variants. One good, one adaptable, and one needs reworked. |
| 65 ton | Clan | Balius | parallel | Five plausible variants, but cripplingly weird horse shape... |
| 55 ton | IS | Thunder Fox | parallel | Two good variants, plus one easily adaptable. |
| 95 ton | IS | Sirocco | parallel | Two good variants, plus one that needs adapted. |
| 45 ton | IS | Blue Flame | parallel | Two okay variants, and one that needs reworked. |
| 35 ton | Clan | Jaguar | parallel | Only two variants, and it's too far into the future timeline. |
| 70 ton | IS | Barghest | parallel | The three best variants require split crits. Probably a no-go. |
| 85 ton | Clan | Thunder Stallion | parallel | Base variant requires split-crits. No-go. Damnit, PGI. |
| 70 ton | IS | White Flame | parallel | One good variant, two adaptable, but they're all too similar. |
| 95 ton | IS | Trebaruna | parallel | All four variants are bit too far in timeline. Only two are good as is. |
| 100ton | IS | Xanthos | parallel | Almost all variants have advanced gyros, unlikely for MWO. |
| 100ton | IS | Great Turtle | parallel | Base variant requires X-pulse lasers - too far into timeline. |
| 50 ton | IS | Sarath | parallel | Way too far into timeline, plus some other problems. |
| 65 ton | IS | Ursa | parallel | Two identical variants way too far into timeline. |
| 40 ton | Clan | Araña | oblique | Only one variant, little bit too far in the timeline. |
| 45 ton | IS | Antlion | parallel | Only one variant, too far into the timeline. |
| 45 ton | Clan | Stalking Spider II | oblique | Only one variant, too far into the timeline. |
| 30 ton | IS | Revenant | oblique | Would be a decent choice if it weren't an unmanned drone chassis. |
| 90 ton | IS | Lich | oblique | One variant too far in timeline, unmanned drone. |
Obviously, I won't be covering quadvees.
From here on out, I'll be showing BUILDS. I apologise for scroll wheels everywhere. No, I can't put these tables into spoilers, they won't display properly if I try. Before you ask: yes, I made the smurfy-style images in a spreadsheet, too. No special programmes or anything.
Oh, and btw, I'm trying to be somewhat conservative on hardpoint inflation. I could imagine some quads have more hardpoints than I allotted them, to help make up for their critical slot limitation. I've decided to design builds according to "worst case scenario", with just reasonable inflation that is consistent with what PGI has done in the past.
Edited by Tarogato, 27 December 2017 - 12:01 AM.
