ambosen, on 04 November 2021 - 10:07 AM, said:
The rifleman IIC in the tabletop for example is an example of a heavy mech that gets a surprising amount of mileage and general use from jump jets, also in most of the other videogames it appears in. Unless something's changed I'm not aware of, this game caps you to three jump jets on that mech, when both the tabletop and many of the other videogame versions can support up to 8, with a vertical flight capacity of 150 meters with the standard in tabletop 5 jumpjets. In this one, you have 3 jumpjets and even with skill points in the jump jet tree maxed out, you won't get the full 150 meterrs of flight, vertically, or horizontally before they cut out, even from a slope. Think the most I've ever gotten was just over 60, which to be fair, does also surpass the fairly standard "30 meters jump distance" of the newer tabletop rules for what 3 jump jets on that mech would normally be capable of.
Obviously, most of the mechs in this game get less jumping height then tabletop versions for a combination of balance and level design reasons, but still, it's kind off weird going from a high end performer for jump height in the heavy category to lower end average.
If I put jump jets on an assault, I'm going to put multiple just because there seems to be a bit of a quiet nerf mechanic at play in terrms of mech size versus jumpjet lift and distance capacity.
One hex (30 meters) per jump-jet. One (standard) Jump-Jet per hex of walking speed (engine rating divided by tonnage). So a 300-rated engine on a 100 ton 'mech can support 3 jump jets (300/100). A 400 rated engine on the same 'mech can support 4 jump jets (but you can equip less if you want). Improved Jump Jets can equip up to the running speed's worth (1.5 times walking speed, rounded up to the next whole number for the sake of TT, something PGI fixed to keep things consistent. 60/30x1.5 = 2x1.5=3. An Urbie could mount 3 improved jump jets, which are double-size and double-weight of regular jump jets, so you effectively get half the performance for the size, but with a raised cap).
Rifleman IIC being 65 tons, with a 195 engine, 195/65 = 3 (DWF speed). 3 x 30 = 90 meter jump range.
SMN is 70 tons with a 350 engine: 350/70 = 5. 5 x 30 = 150 meter jump range.
As for current MWO mechanics: one area where I appreciate the Cauldron's work has been that of mobility: Jump Jets are better than they were a few months ago (though still not as far as I hoped to see them go, and without the balancing mechanic I proposed that would have nearly eliminated pop-tarting and restricted them to repositioning-only).
What with the improvement in jumping around, I really miss being able to snipe from the top of that mountain in the middle of Crimson Strait. That's where I leveled up most of my Novas, Vipers, and Mist Lynx's.