12 replies to this topic

[Aku]

I think that the thing that makes a mech superior over a vehicle is it's independent limb movement (plus more guns). You can imagine a mech making a sharp turn while running around 80 km/h to avoid enemy fire, kicking the enemy on chosen subsystem, or directing it's arm mounted guns at different targets "matrix submachine gun style". The question is it possible to control such movement with limited PC devices? And wouldn't it require ideas like multiple-crosshairs, or even distinct cameras?

My contact with Battletech was so far limited to the MW4 Mercs game - pretty cool, though it was already 8 years old when I played it for the first time. The mech felt more like a tall vehicle than a limbed machine. I didn't really feel the legs - the throttle control made it behave like wheels, low speed = fast turn, high speed = slow turn, very little dynamics. The arms were a bit better - you could fire from one arm when you looked at a side of your cockpit, though I found it useful only when firing at someone in pursuit of you, and it often ended with hitting a wall.

What are your impressions on the topic? Do You expect some features like this in MW Online? And if so, in what form? At least some predefined combos (sounds bad to me)? Can You think of some imaginary control device? Kinect? Neurohelmet:D?

[Hayden]

I don't even know if I'd want that. Too much going on at once. While I like the idea of a "floating" reticule, I can't imagine a case where I would try to engage multiple targets simultaneously. Even if I fired at two different targets in rapid succession, I doubt independent arm control would let me do that any easier.

As for the legs... yeah. The MW series has never really captured the feel of that quite right, though MW3 got closer than the others...

I'm just keeping a "wait and see" mentality for now.

[tony katdander]

you activate a floating rectitude which auto targets an "appropriate" enemy eg,if there is an enemy behind you and to the left to you it would target to the left of you because its the only target or if its 1vs 1 it will target critical parts on the mech in front of you.

Edited by tony katdander, 22 January 2012 - 05:55 AM.

[DEVASTATOR]

Aku, on 22 January 2012 - 03:37 AM, said:

I think that the thing that makes a mech superior over a vehicle is it's independent limb movement (plus more guns). You can imagine a mech making a sharp turn while running around 80 km/h to avoid enemy fire, kicking the enemy on chosen subsystem, or directing it's arm mounted guns at different targets "matrix submachine gun style". The question is it possible to control such movement with limited PC devices? And wouldn't it require ideas like multiple-crosshairs, or even distinct cameras?

My contact with Battletech was so far limited to the MW4 Mercs game - pretty cool, though it was already 8 years old when I played it for the first time. The mech felt more like a tall vehicle than a limbed machine. I didn't really feel the legs - the throttle control made it behave like wheels, low speed = fast turn, high speed = slow turn, very little dynamics. The arms were a bit better - you could fire from one arm when you looked at a side of your cockpit, though I found it useful only when firing at someone in pursuit of you, and it often ended with hitting a wall.

What are your impressions on the topic? Do You expect some features like this in MW Online? And if so, in what form? At least some predefined combos (sounds bad to me)? Can You think of some imaginary control device? Kinect? Neurohelmet:D?

MW3 had this ability as well. With a joystick you could flip the hat button to look out of the window and the arm would track that way too allowing you to fire to the side without torso turning. While I liked the idea then and now (and it makes sense) I never really used it in a game. Nor did anyone i played against/with in any meaningful way for the reasons you stated (running into walls). Also, when a torso turn to get ALL your weapons into position to fire to the side took only a second or two it just didn't seem useful in gameplay.

I'm all for it i just think it won't get used much. It'd be easy to assign a key (if you don't have a joystick) to look out the side window with the reticle following though.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

It makes sense when you have slower torso twists on larger mechs and perhaps more limited twist.

[DEVASTATOR]

Nik Van Rhijn, on 22 January 2012 - 06:43 AM, said:

It makes sense when you have slower torso twists on larger mechs and perhaps more limited twist.

It'd have to be more pronounced than in past games. While there was a difference in twisting speeds between light and heavy mechs it never seemed enough of a difference to make a difference.

That from the Redundancy Department of Redundancy.

[KingCobra]

I would like it(Limb Movement and reticule) the same as in past Mechwarrior games but with faster torso twist.The reason i say this is i can use the hat and shoot whats in each arm from side to side or where ever but it almost 70% of the time is useless because of missed shots or scattered firepower lost to mech deflection.The mechs need on screen faster physics and especially in reverse .In the past allot of hits on your mech was because of low forward and reverse speeds combined with another pilots skill and awareness on your bad tactics.

[Aku]

And what about the legs, is it insane to even start the topic? It could end up more or less like this:


But it would be nice to see their realistic response to turning in specified direction - see them bending to absorb the speed, while the whole mech inclines so that it doesn't fall out of the turn. Or that it does fall out when you're trying to perform it too fast...

[Razed]

I think better arm movement would be phenominal, especially for 'Mechs with most of their weapons in their arms but translating that ability to a control scheme that can be implemented in the home would be troublesome. I could see a system with two joysticks, one for each arm with a thumb wheel on one to control your speed and a pickle on the other to control your torso.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

There have been several threads with regard to use of arms and targeting. Other than having the mech independantly move the arm to hit the target (which a number of people objected to), no one has come up with any easy solution which could be widely used without extra (expensive) peripherals.

[UncleKulikov]

How would you control each limb separately?

[Insidious Johnson]

I loved the independant arm movment in MW4 using look, paired with weapons group creation with seperate firing keys/buttons. Could hide your critted side and fire down a street with look. But yeah, the tendency to find a wall or other obstacles at the wrong time presented themselves more frequently that way on city maps. A great update to that same feature would be like cars have today... rear view CAMERA, or picture in a picture technology... a picture/view window popping into existence every time an arm is independantly articulated, complete with its own targeting reticle(s). That or support for multiple computer screens which cover the 180 degree forward view. I lean heavily towards more complex options/simulation over pew pew pew arcade shooters. If anything is dumbed down, well, there is alot out there now to compete:). Just remember the fanaticism of fanatics and continue catering to it. I'd love a Main View holding 4 other view cams... waist view for forward piloting while looking at either arm view or rear view. Everything on the battlefield all in one view. Tack on a satelite/drone view and a down view for DFA's on situational/electronic eligiblity basis.

[Razed]

Maybe something like the padlock function in flight sims where you can look to the side and temporarily lock that arm's weapons onto the enemy.