125 replies to this topic

[Thorn Hallis]

Looks like a Komodo on the first picture.

[FLG 01]

tutzdes, on 22 November 2018 - 09:58 PM, said:

There is also a Wolverine 6K. I'd prefer getting a distinct mech with several interesting variants, than mech which niche can be filled with adding one extra variant to existing chassis. In addition to that, unlike Ballistic-boat Cyclops or Warhammer heroes, I don't see energy heroes being particularly popular (Sparky, Paralyzer, Jester).

Oh, come on, there are good reasons why those Mechs are not played.
The Wolverine 6K is easily disarmed, in addition to being an obsolete chassis. Sparky is behind a paywall and has questionable geometry, in addition to being an obsolete chassis. Hellspawn... do we even need to talk about that PoS? Etc.

If anything, this list of yours helps illustrating why we need a good 55t energy Mech for the IS. And if it plays like an upscaled Crab... all the better! I love that Mech.
Of course, the Lightray would have some advantages over it using the extra tonnage and being able to strip an arm.

Thorn Hallis, on 23 November 2018 - 05:59 AM, said:

Looks like a Komodo on the first picture.

Komodo would not be too bad, I guess. The pod-shaped torso is a bit of a similarity when viewed from the side. The frontal profile however is very much different:

Edited by FLG 01, 23 November 2018 - 06:33 AM.

[TheArisen]

FLG 01, on 23 November 2018 - 06:24 AM, said:

Oh, come on, there are good reasons why those Mechs are not played.
The Wolverine 6K is easily disarmed, in addition to being an obsolete chassis. Sparky is behind a paywall and has questionable geometry, in addition to being an obsolete chassis. Hellspawn... do we even need to talk about that PoS? Etc.

If anything, this list of yours helps illustrating why we need a good 55t energy Mech for the IS. And if it plays like an upscaled Crab... all the better! I love that Mech.
Of course, the Lightray would have some advantages over it using the extra tonnage and being able to strip an arm.



Komodo would not be too bad, I guess. The pod-shaped torso is a bit of a similarity when viewed from the side. The frontal profile however is very much different:

Yeah that is one of the big things that people seem to underestimate, having good geometry.

[TheArisen]

TheArisen, on 21 November 2018 - 05:20 PM, said:

The Lightray is a 55 ton speed demon. An IS battlemech with a 385xl stock, it can mount any engine you want all the way up to a 400. With a tall but narrow frame that takes it even further with a very thin frontal profile, it'll be a very tanky and fast energy boat. It also features variants with extra missile hard points. Essentially a better Griffin Sparky but for cbills.

Of course it will need some HP inflation but aside from that this mech would provide the IS with a solid 55 ton energy boat skirmisher.

Sarna page: http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Lightray
Battletech Encyclopedia: http://ebt.trueborn....y=name,%20model

To help us further visualize the mech here is some excellent artwork by some talented members of our community.

By jjm1/user 000000000001
https://www.devianta...ser000000000001


By Bishop Steiner
https://www.devianta...m/bishopsteiner

Lightray mini



A big thank you to the artists for sharing your talents. If anyone has some artwork or anything related to the Lightray I'd love for you to share it with us and I'll be sure to add it to the OP.

Thank you to those that have gotten this far in the OP and I hope you like this mech enough to support it here, in polls, tweeting Russ & co or on reddit.

Can we take a moment to admire the epic artwork?

[Jackal Noble]

Lightray could be a nice addition. Bishop and JJM's artwork is on point.

[FLG 01]

Jackal Noble, on 23 November 2018 - 06:47 PM, said:

Lightray could be a nice addition.

And not just because we'd get a good Mech. I think it is shame that the WoB is poorly represented in MWO. The WoB Militia was fighting a lot, especially in the Chaos March during the FCCW, creating the WoB Protectorate in 3066.

The Lightray is actually born from this conflict, not the Jihad. It is a heavy scout/skirmisher, which does well in small scale combat. It is no surprise that the 4th Division got the majority of the Lightrays because this division was a highly mobile fast response unit. For example, they were responsible for 'protecting' the Saiph Triumvirate after it broke away from the FedCom, later 'convincing' it to join the Protectorate.

It was only later that the Lightray was modified for the (now) typical C3i network of the Blakist forces.

TheArisen, on 23 November 2018 - 11:14 AM, said:

Yeah that is one of the big things that people seem to underestimate, having good geometry.

Geometry is really what kills Sparky. It could be good but it is just too easily to isolate its components. The fact that it is poorly quirked makes that problem even worse. The Sparky is but a glimpse of what an IS 55t Mech with energy weapons could do.

Bushwacker P2 and HR illustrate the positive influence of a good geometry on survivability, but their hardpoint placement is poor when it comes to energy weapons.

[TheArisen]

What kind of quirks would you guys give the Lightray?

[Nephologist]

hmmm....an IS medium, XL friendly laser boat skirmisher. Sounds like the Crab has that niche filled quite nicely.

[TheArisen]

Nephologist, on 24 November 2018 - 12:50 PM, said:

hmmm....an IS medium, XL friendly laser boat skirmisher. Sounds like the Crab has that niche filled quite nicely.

At 50 tons, sure but this is a 55t mech and is a bit faster.

[Battlemaster56]

TheArisen, on 24 November 2018 - 12:38 PM, said:

What kind of quirks would you guys give the Lightray?

Gonna play it safe and give it generous heat quirks and maybe a tad touch in range. Don't want to add structure and then we get another Assassin whine feat for a while.

This mech just solid all around.

[LT. HARDCASE]

tutzdes, on 22 November 2018 - 09:58 PM, said:

There is also a Wolverine 6K. I'd prefer getting a distinct mech with several interesting variants, than mech which niche can be filled with adding one extra variant to existing chassis. In addition to that, unlike Ballistic-boat Cyclops or Warhammer heroes, I don't see energy heroes being particularly popular (Sparky, Paralyzer, Jester).

As for me, I'd rather have Men Shen added. Big engine, MASC primary variant, ECM variant, energy, missiles, ballistics, including MG-boat variant. The only reason it is not here already is it's IMO omni nature, hence extra coding to make it more competitive.

You make me sad, remembering the days when the Griffin was one of the most agile mechs in the game, and Sparky was considered godlike.

[Alex Morgaine]

At least 1 varient with 2 m hardpoints, so they could add 2 hard points and do one varient with multiple e on the arm, one with more torso e slots, maybe. hero with an AC or machine guns on a torso or two, maybe on the arms?

[TheArisen]

Battlemaster56, on 24 November 2018 - 04:33 PM, said:

Gonna play it safe and give it generous heat quirks and maybe a tad touch in range. Don't want to add structure and then we get another Assassin whine feat for a while.

This mech just solid all around.

Well with how things are I think a little durability would be good but yeah I agree focus on offensive quirks.

[Battlemaster56]

TheArisen, on 25 November 2018 - 12:09 PM, said:

Well with how things are I think a little durability would be good but yeah I agree focus on offensive quirks.

Maybe 5-8 structure is nice starting grounds, nothing to extreme but not to weak(imo), but focus on offensive is the best way.

[FLG 01]

Alex Morgaine, on 24 November 2018 - 05:15 PM, said:

At least 1 varient with 2 m hardpoints, so they could add 2 hard points and do one varient with multiple e on the arm, one with more torso e slots, maybe. hero with an AC or machine guns on a torso or two, maybe on the arms?

Well, since this is a highly mobile Mech, JJ and/or MASC seem appropriate for the hero Mech.
Seeing it is a pre-C3i Mech, maybe ECM? Some of the earlier WoB Mechs used ECM, like the Toyama (which is, btw, also a very good Mech) or the Red Shif, before they put C3i on everything.

I would not switch the weaponry too much, although adding MG might be a good idea considering the Lightray would have had encountered a lot of infantry in the Chaos March campaigns.

Battlemaster56, on 25 November 2018 - 01:08 PM, said:

Maybe 5-8 structure is nice starting grounds, nothing to extreme but not to weak(imo), but focus on offensive is the best way.

Geometry should allow to take a beating, but it definitely needs extremely good mobility (which is basically a quirk, too). I am talking about Uziel-levels of acceleration.

However keep in mind this Mech is not overly fragile in the lore and TT-games. Yes, it has an XL-engine but it also has 100% armor coverage, which is quite notable. Therefore I'd prefer mild armor quirks instead of structure quirks.

Nephologist, on 24 November 2018 - 12:50 PM, said:

hmmm....an IS medium, XL friendly laser boat skirmisher. Sounds like the Crab has that niche filled quite nicely.

Not at 55t. Niches for new Mechs are relatively small when it comes to mediums, simply because we have so many of them. Having a good 55t Mech using energy primarily is one of them.

I would not say no to more Crab variants, since I love that Mech. But it is not very likely that PGI will add new variants to existing chassis, as much as it pains me to say. We are getting new Mech packs, and the Lightray is not just a nice Mech, it has an interesting development and represents the WoB's FCCW-era activities. Imo that makes it a good choice for such a Mech pack.

[TheArisen]

FLG 01, on 25 November 2018 - 05:52 PM, said:

Well, since this is a highly mobile Mech, JJ and/or MASC seem appropriate for the hero Mech.
Seeing it is a pre-C3i Mech, maybe ECM? Some of the earlier WoB Mechs used ECM, like the Toyama (which is, btw, also a very good Mech) or the Red Shif, before they put C3i on everything.

I would not switch the weaponry too much, although adding MG might be a good idea considering the Lightray would have had encountered a lot of infantry in the Chaos March campaigns.



Geometry should allow to take a beating, but it definitely needs extremely good mobility (which is basically a quirk, too). I am talking about Uziel-levels of acceleration.

However keep in mind this Mech is not overly fragile in the lore and TT-games. Yes, it has an XL-engine but it also has 100% armor coverage, which is quite notable. Therefore I'd prefer mild armor quirks instead of structure quirks.



Not at 55t. Niches for new Mechs are relatively small when it comes to mediums, simply because we have so many of them. Having a good 55t Mech using energy primarily is one of them.

I would not say no to more Crab variants, since I love that Mech. But it is not very likely that PGI will add new variants to existing chassis, as much as it pains me to say. We are getting new Mech packs, and the Lightray is not just a nice Mech, it has an interesting development and represents the WoB's FCCW-era activities. Imo that makes it a good choice for such a Mech pack.

I'd suggest quirks about the same as a Wolfhound. Balanced offensive & defensive quirks. I also totally agree with making it mobile as that fits what the mech is supposed to be.

Edited by TheArisen, 25 November 2018 - 08:43 PM.

[FLG 01]

TheArisen, on 25 November 2018 - 08:42 PM, said:

I'd suggest quirks about the same as a Wolfhound. Balanced offensive & defensive quirks. I also totally agree with making it mobile as that fits what the mech is supposed to be.

The Wolfhound has some significant armour quirks, I don't think we need that much (meaning relatively to the base armour of the chassis, not absolute numbers).

The geometry would be close to that of the Bushwacker and, to a lesser extend, the Crab. So we are fine. Mobility is what we need the most imo. With the exception of the Wolverine, IS 55t Mechs have poor acceleration. Tbh, the Griffin e.g. would not be so vulnerable if it moved better. ...but it does not.

That is another reason why I believe we need the Lightray: good geometry combined with high mobility and light-weight energy weapons.

[TheArisen]

FLG 01, on 26 November 2018 - 05:41 PM, said:

The Wolfhound has some significant armour quirks, I don't think we need that much (meaning relatively to the base armour of the chassis, not absolute numbers).

The geometry would be close to that of the Bushwacker and, to a lesser extend, the Crab. So we are fine. Mobility is what we need the most imo. With the exception of the Wolverine, IS 55t Mechs have poor acceleration. Tbh, the Griffin e.g. would not be so vulnerable if it moved better. ...but it does not.

That is another reason why I believe we need the Lightray: good geometry combined with high mobility and light-weight energy weapons.

Haha it's good to aim high sometimes.

[InvictusLee]

5 ton heavier crab? Okay.

[TheArisen]

November11th, on 27 November 2018 - 03:44 AM, said:

5 ton heavier crab? Okay.

Well to some extent but it can also be more than that. However the Crab can be quite potent so I guess that's not a bad comparison.