42 replies to this topic

[Felicitatem Parco]

How do you feel about the non-canon weapons that have been plugged into Mechwarrior games, like the Large Continuous Beam Laser and the RAC/10 or RAC/20?

I don't mean inserting weapons before they're available in the BattleTech timeline, I mean plugging weapons that do not exist in BattleTech but do exist in Mechwarrior. The RAC/20 was an awesome Solaris toy when playing Mechwarrior4: Mercs, but it's not a true BattleTech weapon because there exists only the RAC/2 and RAC/5. The Large Continuous Beam Laser was not canon, but it made an interesting weapon that rewards the courage to remain out in the open and exposed while you dump low-impulse energy into an opponent for extended periods of time.

Heck, the Arrow IV system is actually long-range artillery that is shot across several maps in BattleTech; it's not a substitute for LRMs, however in Mechwarrior games they made the Arrow IV system into nothing other than a Super LRM20. They did this because you can't equip an Arrow IV in Mechwarrior and then shoot to another map... obviously, so they just changed it from a fire-support platform to something usable by the player.

Should MWO completely avoid these concessions? Should the Arrow IV system actually act as long-range artillery, or should it be a contemporary with the LRM20? Should we see any non-canon variants of canon-weapons?

I think we can do without them, in general. We have enough options available otherwise.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 05 January 2012 - 12:40 PM.

[Adridos]

They want to be as canon as possible. This means they probably will not include them.

[Wullf]

battletech has about 500k hardcore fans.
so the closer they stay to the story the better it is for the game and the players

[Dihm]

I'd vote "no" if it was a poll.

Don't need weapon creep ahead of schedule in my view.

[God of War]

I´m in no wy intressted in these lunatic Mechforce UK ideas. Keep it simple, keep it true to the Fluff!

[Felicitatem Parco]

I don't mean inserting weapons before they're available in the BattleTech timeline, I mean plugging weapons that do not exist in BattleTech but do exist in Mechwarrior. The RAC/20 was an awesome Solaris toy when playing Mechwarrior4: Mercs, but it's not a true BattleTech weapon because there exists only the RAC/2 and RAC/5. The Large Continuous Beam Laser was not canon, but it made an interesting weapon that rewards the courage to remain out in the open and exposed while you dump low-impulse energy into an opponent for extended periods of time.

Heck, the Arrow IV system is actually long-range artillery that is shot across several maps in BattleTech; it's not a substitute for LRMs, however in Mechwarrior games they made the Arrow IV system into nothing other than a Super LRM20. They did this because you can't equip an Arrow IV in Mechwarrior and then shoot to another map... obviously, so they just changed it from a fire-support platform to something usable by the player.

Should MWO completely avoid these concessions? Should the Arrow IV system actually act as long-range artillery, or should it be a contemporary with the LRM20? Should we see any non-canon variants of canon-weapons?

Edit: I just added this to my OP

Edited by Prosperity Park, 05 January 2012 - 11:43 AM.

[Dihm]

Prosperity Park, on 05 January 2012 - 11:40 AM, said:

I don't mean inserting weapons before they're available in the BattleTech timeline, I mean plugging weapons that do not exist in BattleTech but do exist in Mechwarrior.

Should MWO completely avoid these concessions?

Ahhhh, okay.

Yes, avoid at all costs.

[Black Sunder]

No

[Soturi05]

I personally believe if it is not canon then it has no place in anything to do with battletech or mechwarrior, as for the Arrow IV i think it should act as long range artillery fire support and probably in conjunction with light scout mechs painting targets for you.

[Kristov Kerensky]

Keep the non-canon crap out of MWO, and don't muck about with the timeline either please.

[GaussDragon]

But RACs are FUN! Can't the game be permitted some flexibility here?

[Felicitatem Parco]

Kristov Kerensky, on 05 January 2012 - 11:55 AM, said:

Keep the non-canon crap out of MWO, and don't muck about with the timeline either please.

Oh, so you don't want the game to launch with C3?

I refute you!

[Mason Grimm]

GaussDragon, on 05 January 2012 - 11:58 AM, said:

But RACs are FUN! Can't the game be permitted some flexibility here?

We are not in the business of fun!

Actually I tend to agree with the general consensus here; there are enough weapons in BattleTech already to suit almost any purpose. MORE bang and MORE flash and MORE shell casings spilling out over your 'Mechs foot is all fun and good but is it really necessary right at the beginning?

[Black Sunder]

Prosperity Park, on 05 January 2012 - 12:00 PM, said:

Oh, so you don't want the game to launch with C3?

I refute you!

Perfectly acceptable.

[Felicitatem Parco]

*nods*

Some flexibility is in order... and some due diligence, too. Upping the development time for a few things here and there won't make a difference in the greater passage of BattleTech time as long as these little things don't have any real plot implications.

However... I also think that making up weapons isn't needed. There are so many weapons in the BattleTech catalog that it nearly makes my head swim.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 05 January 2012 - 12:10 PM.

[GaussDragon]

Mason Grimm, on 05 January 2012 - 12:02 PM, said:

We are not in the business of fun!

Actually I tend to agree with the general consensus here; there are enough weapons in BattleTech already to suit almost any purpose. MORE bang and MORE flash and MORE shell casings spilling out over your 'Mechs foot is all fun and good but is it really necessary right at the beginning?

I'm not saying add it for the sake of MOARWEAPONSRAWR! What I mean is, if, somehow, it could be implemented in a meaningful way, sure. I'm of the opinion that since this is a game, adding things that make it more fun, and aren't totally out of the blue like a rainbow happiness canon, then it should be considered . Rejecting things simply for canon's sake is unnecessarily conservative IMHO.

[Kristov Kerensky]

C3..3050, DCMS only for a while..I'm good with that, and I ain't a snake lover by any means. That's just the way it works, but I'm an old TT gamer who started without all the goodies so many of the people who only learned the game from the MW titles EXPECT to see, I actually prefer the 3025 toys over the 3050+ toys. Far more balanced.

[Felicitatem Parco]

I understand... but they did plan release this game as the Clans hit the outer Periphery... *before* the Clan Invasion hits the Inner Sphere. That will give the game developers a few months to gather player-reports, troubleshoot the code, and fix glitches by the time the Clan gets through the Periphery and actually engages the Inner Sphere.

We need to release some of those 3050 technologies into the 3049 playing field for bug-testing before the plot fully opens up. That way the timely introduction Clans won't coincide with a wave of glitch-exploiting buggers as players learn to take advantage of new, non-optimized game features.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 05 January 2012 - 12:18 PM.

[Stormwolf]

Keep it all canon, I wouldn't mind if C3 gets introduced in 3049 instead of 3050, since the time gap is really small.

Now I absolutely hate the Continuous Beam Laser. This is because tons of MW4 players put as many of these in a 100 ton mech go stand a lake for cooling and kill everything in sight while thinking that they have skills. The canon weapons are far better balanced.

[Dinochrome]

I am not familiar with what are considered "canon" weapons, but only weapons avaiable in the timeline should be used. Having said that I think the Arrow IV is what the LRM should have been. What logic decided guided missle weapons should be fired in a volley, totally bogus concept.