79 replies to this topic

[Dihm]

Those tanktrucks look like the ancestor of the Urbanmech.

[Phades]

What about indy mechs built to do field repairs (welders, rivet guns, etc)?

[ZnSeventeen]

Phades, on 22 December 2011 - 11:17 AM, said:

What about indy mechs built to do field repairs (welders, rivet guns, etc)?

You know I never specified if they should be used for combat or not. Oversight actually. But in any case, I think that this would be a good explanation of how field repairs could be conducted.

[Phades]

Hell, I'd try my hand at piloting a "medic" indy mech for field repairs for giggles every now and again just for something different. Give me some fall back weapon system though, so I wouldn't totally be helpless.

[verybad]

Not a common choice during the timeframe. Perhaps far in the future, however designing a 3d mech, animating it, and prepping it for a game is a far more involved and lengthy process than just making a 2d drawing and writing a background. As mechs will be purchaseable units, and Industrial mechs will be less effective than Battlemechs, these would by their nature be poorly selling units and not reward Piranha properly for the same level of work needed for making a Battlemech.

In a game with unlimited resources sure, but as this would take away from other units, I can't see them being made for a very long time, and probably never.

They essentially are a mech with a big fat FAIL painted on it's chest.

Edited by verybad, 22 December 2011 - 01:53 PM.

[Phades]

Depends on how they "build" their system. If they do it modular based on the skeleton, smaller changes wouldn't require that much work. If you are thinking scale in addition to radical profile changes, then yeah I can see how that would be a time sink and a half.

Any unit type though isn't an automatic fail, if it is able to perform its job. That is the key part here.

[CaveMan]

I could maybe accept them as some kind of support class, doing in-field repairs, or a protect-the-workmech game type. But they shouldn't be doing any actual fighting, so it's probably best not to let them be player-controlled units.

[verybad]

If it's less effective than a "starter" mech, which Industrial mechs are, then yes, it's a fail. Using one would be a good way to lose. They're not regarded as good units in TT, and they woldn't be in a video game. They have obvious disadvantages.

While some sharing of parts between mechs is fine (especially weapons on modified mechs), a completely modular look for non omni mechs would be a sad event.

[Phades]

A player using one as a front line unit is user error though. Should a light mech break the line and get into the back field where these units would be, then it would be a fallacy to have them be helpless. The indy mechs could be rather "generic" too. One model as a half track, the other with full legs and different arms to swap out depending on what its for. Quick and dirty in application, quick and dirty in development.

The "how" and "why" they are used are more for the mission type involved and player preference really.

[verybad]

I wold far rather see tanks such as the Demolisher or Patton/Rommel before Industrial mechs as eventuial militia bots.

Industrial mechs are a very niche unit, they're not even discussed during the era the gam will be starting in, and only become somewhat widespread during the Dark Age...about 75 years in the future.

Additionally, the canon ones all look ike crap compared to most battlemechs and or tanks/

I'm all for Industrial mechs...after every OTHER unit in TT is brought in.

To quote the internet

Quote

"They R teh Suk!!"

[UncleKulikov]

I would want them as NPC forces in objective matches.

[Phades]

verybad, on 22 December 2011 - 02:32 PM, said:

I'm all for Industrial mechs...after every OTHER unit in TT is brought in.

They would have more use than standard infantry in support roles no?

[ZnSeventeen]

On a random note, I was playing MegaMek, and I pitted seven industrial mechs against an Atlas, and won! But only three survived, and barely that. They outmassed it by something on the order of 450 tons too. So yeah, they have a hard time in the field.

[Hayden]

UncleKulikov, on 22 December 2011 - 04:09 PM, said:

I would want them as NPC forces in objective matches.

If they absolutely have to be in... should only be as scenery or maybe have something to do with objectives, but I hardly believe Battlemechs would be sent in to destroy critical lumber industries

I just don't feel they're right for this era (MAYBE if the game took place 50 years later).

EDIT:

Phades, on 22 December 2011 - 11:17 AM, said:

What about indy mechs built to do field repairs (welders, rivet guns, etc)?

I'm not keen on the notion of being able to fix 'mechs under fire/on the battlefield. You wouldn't be able to do any serious repairs in the amount of time that a match would take and not kill the immersion factor. Soooo not keen on MW3/4 repairs that take a minutes and leave your 'mech shiny and new like nothing happened.

Edited by Hayden, 26 December 2011 - 12:38 AM.

[VYCanis]

ah but what if the repairs are literally "tactical repairs"

in so far as "ok toss some ammo refills in there and slap some sheets of armor over the gaping holes, NEXT"

none or minimal repairs to internal structure, none to components, no equipment replaced, no limbs replaced, and the replacement armor is not as good as the original stuff. Literally the minimum needed to send you back into the fight. After the battle, the spare armor still needs to get replaced with "real" armor and you'd still need to do legitimate repairs.

for a real world equivalent, think the pitcrew for a race car. Swap out tires, refill the fuel, and a few odds and ends inside a small span of time. but nothing that can be considering proper maintenance

[verybad]

Phades, on 22 December 2011 - 07:11 PM, said:

They would have more use than standard infantry in support roles no?

No.

They woudl add nothing to tactics...they're just like mechs, only not as good. At least infantry could hide in buildings or swarm out of the sewer or hit you from all over. Infantry in built up areas can be quite nasty. They're at least different...

IIf you're gonna have a support mech, make it a battlemech.

[Tifalia]

I never did care for the IndustrialMechs and they have bombarded much of the early Dark Age series which really turned me off the BattleTech universe for a good 3 years.
Besides there will be enough 'mech chassies to choose from, so why add any others, particularly when even a lone lightweight 'mech can bring one down with a minimum of firepower and damage taken in return?

Just complicates things by adding them, if you ask me.

[Hanibal Frey]

I absolutely hate those and see no place for them in the warfare I want to see... at least as playable mechs, they seem useless... both in Battletech, Mechwarrior Dark Age by WizzKids (When I bought booster pack and instead of some awesome mech got this useless trash... I got furious :/) What Im saying I would hate to have this trash compulsory at any stage of my gameplay developement. If I can however smite it to pieces, than bring it on...

...thats how much I hate those mechs (What next, agro-mech?)

Edited by Hanibal Frey, 27 December 2011 - 03:01 AM.

[Glorius]

We are at 3048 time frame, not Dark Age, not Succesion Wars. We are Mercs and House Warriors. Why should we piloting Industrials? My answer is no. Industrial is not an option.

[Rhinehart]

Usually in this time frame Industrial mechs converted to fighting vehicles are the provision of desperate rebels (Novel:Mercenary's Star which is actually before this timeline) and the rebels would much rather have battlemechs.

One of the things I hated about Dark Ages was the total lack of Mechs on the battlefields except for the head honchos of whatever force was involved. I really thought that disarmament on that scale would be impossible, especially given the history of the Inner Sphere and the Clans. That more than anything else made the entire Dark Ages series seem rather watered down compared to previous iterations in my opinion.


However, I did have the strangest fondness for the refited Lumber Mech with the AC 5, the huge chainsaw and the tractor cab with the diesel smokestacks and the airhorn on top hehe.