13 replies to this topic

[Outlaw]

I did a search and could not find anything on this topic. I have always been a proponent of teamplay, and love giving benefits to those that work together as opposed to those wanting to run out on their own and go down in a blaze of Glory. My thought is this, I know that canonically the munitions were released in the late 3050s and that the Devs want to make it canonical as possible, however would it be acceptable to forego Canonicity for something that will enhance gameplay experience? The reason I propose this question is that in the 3049 timeframe the only thing that works with the TAG system is Arrow IV only, and by adding Semi-Guided LRMs would increase the viability of adding TAG especially if it is expensive to update your mech for a mission to mission basis.

[verybad]

I don't think TAG would provide 100% accuracy as it does in the TT game, and as Indirect fire using normal missiles is already possible (in TT) I don't see a huge need for this. Not against it, but it seems almost irrelivant. I could see TAG being modified so scouts provide better forward observation accuracy depending on their electronic board setup.

[Ghost]

It's relatively tough to find! The FAQ is located over here. Actually had to do a web search to find it too. It appears as if semi-guided LRMs are not only in, they're in by default.

Q. Will LRMs in MechWarrior® Online™ be guided or unguided?

A. LRMs will be semi-guided. What the heck does that mean? You will be able to lock on to your target but it doesn't mean the actual missiles will home directly to the target. The chance of missing will still be part of LRM gameplay. Use of the Artemis IV system and subsequent munitions, will narrow the area of damage by focusing the flight paths of the missiles. We're finding that this is a good balance between gameplay and staying true to the BattleTech canon.

[Outlaw]

Well by Semi-Guided i mean allowing scouts to spot targets with TAG and firing with no Line of Sight. Semi-Guided LRMs also give a benefit in the form of a +2 cluster bonus just like Artemis but is also applied during Indirect fire so long as the target was hit by TAG. This would give incentive to the pilots of scout mechs to carry TAG over dropping it for a Medium Laser or other item.

Edited by Outlaw, 05 January 2012 - 09:37 PM.

[Dlardrageth]

Well, Ghost, this is somewhat unclear still. Because for me that doesn't read like those will be the Semi-guided LRMs from canon. For me it reads just like LRMs won't simply be turned into MRMs with better range in game. If you look at the CBT semi-guided LRMs, first of all they appear only in 3057! (Major discrepancy in timeline here involved.)

Thus I don't expect the canon SG-LRMs to be in game from launch on. Meaning we will see somewhat guided standard LRMs like in the older MW game iterations, but not the canon SG-LRM, which has almost perfect aim when used in coniunction with TAG. Therefore, actually, not SG-LRMs at all. Thus I'd respectfully disagree with you, they will not be in game at launch. I mostly attribute it to the ambiguous phrasing of the answer you quoted above, which used the term "semi-guided", not a lucky choice in this context IMHO.

I'd also like to point to the fluff with regards to SG-LRMs, which specifically states they are way more pricy, rare to get outside the FWL and a no-go for clan warriors.

TL;DR: The "semi-guided" in the quoted answer does not mean these are the "Semi-Guided LRMs" from canon. It just means they will not simply be "dumbfire" MRMs with better range.

[Outlaw]

I understand that they were 3057, the case i am trying to make here, is to forego canonicity in favor of adding to gameplay. As it is TAG will be a near useless ton of equipment if there is a lack of Arrow IV on the field. And the Devs had stated that all sides will have access to everything, the only differences will be price, however if i have a group of scouts carrying TAG i would love the option to use them with LRMs if Arrow is not available. I think it would add flavor to combat, as well as scouting in general.

Edited by Outlaw, 05 January 2012 - 09:43 PM.

[Dlardrageth]

You might get off-map artillery and possible even NPC airstrikes though. To my knowledge that hasn't been ruled out yet, so TAG would still have a valid role.

Problem is, if you add one Tech item from 3057, you open a very big can of worms. Everybody and his shepherd dog will then clamour, whine and lobby for the inclusion of "his" future Tech as well. I think we had that very same matter on these forums already concerning rockets.

Additional nitpick : The statement that "the Devs had stated that all sides will have access to everything" does not mean everybody will get it as easily or with the same price tag. Considering that the SG-LRM in question have - according to canon - triple the price tag over normal LRMs already, and are rare outside the FWL/WoB, you might face the issue that each SG-LRM might cost ten times as much as a conventional one unless you are part of the FWLM. Surely not something you could just ignore when loading up, say, an Archer Mech with them.

[UncleKulikov]

Having the laser improve accuracy would be fine, but taking special LRM ammunition doesn't make much sense to me.

[Fyrwulf]

The technical term for this sort of missile guidance is Semi-Active Radar Homing. Basically the missiles have no radars of their own and relied on the launching aircraft/mech for midcourse guidance corrections. Naturally accuracy dramatically decreased at extended range, which is what I think they're going for here.

[Strum Wealh]

Dlardrageth, on 05 January 2012 - 10:49 PM, said:

Problem is, if you add one Tech item from 3057, you open a very big can of worms. Everybody and his shepherd dog will then clamour, whine and lobby for the inclusion of "his" future Tech as well. I think we had that very same matter on these forums already concerning rockets.

One solution to the issue of having more (not-too-canon-breaking) semi-guided munitions options may be to implement Mech Mortars - they were canonically created prior to the Star League (2531), re-introduced after the re-introduction of AMS in 3040 (no specific year given, though), and have an option for semi-guided munitions (among others)...

[Fyrwulf]

Strum Wealh, on 07 January 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

One solution to the issue of having more (not-too-canon-breaking) semi-guided munitions options may be to implement Mech Mortars - they were canonically created prior to the Star League (2531), re-introduced after the re-introduction of AMS in 3040 (no specific year given, though), and have an option for semi-guided munitions (among others)...

You know, that would be interesting. It would address the issue of some people always wanting indirect fire support weapons while not having the game breaking problem of using real artillery as direct fire weapons. Why somebody would want to be a string puller, I don't know, but to each their own. Of course, I don't know of any mechs that have the weapon in a cannon variant, so it'd almost have to be an MMI creation.

[Volume]

Why hasn't NARC been mentioned in this thread?

[Nik Van Rhijn]

NARC requires the appropriate (more expensive) ammo. With regard to TAG ;

Quote

The battlefield commander will be able to call in air strikes, artillery strikes and other support unit requests.

Presumably this would be enhanced with TAG rather that a co-ordinate fire request for an area attack with artillery or air.

[VYCanis]

for the purposes of gameplay, i.e. justifying mounting a narc or tag unit without really knowing what ammo your teammates are using, it'd probably be best to assume that regular LRMs can lock in on narcs and tag

I mean it's easy enough on the TT when you have full control over your whole company to say "oh yeah, all these Catapults back here are using narc/tag compatible ammo, says so right here on their sheets"

its another matter entirely when

scout- "alright guys i narced the atlas, light him up.... guys? GUYS? HE"S LOOKING AT ME, WHERE ARE THE MISSILES!!!?" *dies*
fire support guy 1- "oh hey sorry i didn't know you had a narc launcher man, i only brought regular LRMs and thunders"
fire support guy 2- "yeah, and i traded out my LRM launchers for PPCs on this machine, sorry i shoulda' told you"

especially when otherwise, aside from the price increase they pretty much behave just like regular LRMs do.

Edited by VYCanis, 09 January 2012 - 04:21 PM.