30 replies to this topic

[The Count]

What if at a certain level of fame and fortune players could access a Mech Lab that allowed them to construct a custom Battlemech, for a price. What if the Lab required you to unlock design ques from each major factions top designers. And or select one of those designers to manufacture your Mech. Have several different Legs and Arms ect... To choose from. But how would you limit the Mechs from completely ousting the existing designs. Price...of the Mech and its components. Make the Repair cost more due to its unique design.

[chill1ray]

Your idea is not bad, but maybe a way to look at this is the average mech pilot is only going to know the technology of his or her region so they would have faster access to those variants ! maybe a combination of fame/fortune and cash would then gain you access to another house or clans tech.

I also think if you can afford to buy your own mech lab it should drasticly reduce cost of repair or variant changes!

maybe make mech lab bays based on a small / medium / heavy / assault / quad / special based on mech class!

[The Count]

Sweet observation about location. I would note that the Clan stuff will end up out of it for awhile...based on the era the game is set in. Also I know a lot of people have been speaking about changing weapons in their Battlemechs and things of that nature. The fact is Battlemechs before the Clan Invasion did not have Omni systems so they will be unable to change the loadouts. This idea leaves a goal that allows the player to strive for better contracts ect...Sorry had to get that off my chest...as a Table Top finatic in the Battletech Universe I wish more people understood the tech timeline...(This is not directed at you just read some threads a second ago)

[chill1ray]

LOL no prob! the biggest problem of this game is going to be player knowledge vs what their actual toon starts with knowledge!

I know players will try to force their knowledge into the game to try to gain access to tech before their toon would actually know of it!

I would probably say the fastest way to gain mech technology would be joining or forming a mercenary group and working for various houses!

if you just stay in your red-neck! back water! planet were your 45 ton mech rules the roost i dont think your gonna get tech very fast if at all!

[Fiachdubh]

I like it, that could be a really good way of controling customization.

[Morashtak]

The research and development costs to reverse engineer Clan tech to work with IS tech is prohibitive on anything less than a House level. Can see the devs make us wait for the House factories to introduce the "new" tech variants before we are able to modify are own. So many, many months from game release in real time.

Anyone ever see what it takes to bring an automobile prototype from drawing board to finished product? Expect "unexpected technical delays" in getting the first new tech Mechs to the front lines.

[Alaric Wolf Kerensky]

I am not sure I would limit 'Mech customization to "fame." Make it cost money, sure I can see that. However, I cannot understand why you would have to be famous to swap out a few lasers on your 'Mech. One thing is sure though, Clan OmniMechs should cost less to modify than IS 'Mechs, as the Omnis were designed to be simple to change in regard to load-out.

[HANGMAN1962]

well i hope thay let us set up the starting mech as we see fit for weapon load outs. and then make it stick to unchangeable to other set ups.
i allways liked med lasers and mg's on lt mech unstead of missiles lols!
{speed is life for a locust pilot!} lmao

[chill1ray]

I dont mean you need a certain fame level to buy or unlock tech.

But maybe you could get fame points to use as a kind of celebrity buying power.

Example would be "Hey I am one one the most famous mech pilots this sector! Hornae Mansaws of the Richards Rear Rangers"

Thus spending some fame points! Opens up another path to tech!

So in effect their could be a fame tree to navigate! for special tech!

Read Disclaimer Below
Hornae Mansaws and Richards Rear Rangers Is a Fictional Diva pilot along with His famous unit! any similarity is sheer coincidence!

[FinnMcKool]

Im wondering about the Lost Tech , any chances that some stuff gets found ? Say Dropship lost in space gets Found by accident?
someone would put the stuff on the market,




Are you planning your next mission? was the last Ride just "OK" where you hungry and tired after a long days work of destroying things,
and most of all was the Pilot of the dropship dependable? if you had any problems at all please consider using McKools Cattle raiders for your Dropship needs, your designated driver Finn; always there for you when you need him most, always sober, and dont forget the free steak meal for those who make it to the ride home.

its a cruel universe out there.

Edited by FinnMcKool, 29 January 2012 - 06:32 PM.

[Red Beard]

Hmmm...sounds like a "cool" idea, but I would not give anything like this a snowballs chance in hell of actually making it into the game. MWO will be released as a bare bones game, with very little to it in the way of extra, player generated content. Not only that, your suggestion seems to be only limited by a players in-game cash supply. In all honesty, I don't see that as much of an obstacle.

[The Count]

So its like this...The Clans haven't arrived yet....please understand the actual universe...look it up on wiki if you have to. In the era the game is based you could not change out weapons. That is omni tech. When mechs were modified that was considered a field mod. I get my info from the Battletech sourcebooks. If a warrior doesn't like missles, just utilize a different Battlemech design. If all you have done is played the Mechwarrior video game series, no offense, but you know very little in the way of the rich and colorful universe. If you have played the classic PC RPG Crescent Hawks Inception and Revenge then you know the era the game is set in roughly.The fact is at the point of MWO timeline 3049, there were tons of designs, because you could not interchange weapons, that's simply omni-tech/clan tech, so the great houses/star league of ages ago manufactured designs that served in certain roles. Sorry for the rant but get some knowledge about the universe, lest it be bastardized!LOL Seriously though look up more on the universe its an amazing game, you will fall in love with it.

[Durant Carlyle]

I'm all for customizing 'Mechs. Start with an existing chassis and add armor, weapons, and equipment to it. Even change the engine out to make it slower/faster, but that's as extreme as customization should get.

Switching out arms and legs and torsos isn't BattleTech/MechWarrior. That's Armored Core or Front Mission, and has no business being in MW:O.

[ballistic ghost]

The Count, on 28 January 2012 - 08:14 AM, said:

Sweet observation about location. I would note that the Clan stuff will end up out of it for awhile...based on the era the game is set in. Also I know a lot of people have been speaking about changing weapons in their Battlemechs and things of that nature. The fact is Battlemechs before the Clan Invasion did not have Omni systems so they will be unable to change the loadouts. This idea leaves a goal that allows the player to strive for better contracts ect...Sorry had to get that off my chest...as a Table Top finatic in the Battletech Universe I wish more people understood the tech timeline...(This is not directed at you just read some threads a second ago)

I suspect the clan Omni's will end up in the first expansion. Don't worry though Lyran dog, your parents will still pay for everything! I am actually very much against personal mech designs. One of the parts that interested me most about the Battletech Universe was the importance of battlefield technology, especially mechs. One of the main themes of the known universe before the clanner invasion was the importance of preserving your tech level. The Ares Conventions controlled part of that, but my concern is in the rush to pull in new players the developers will allow too much of a tech level. Personally I think we should all start in a rattletrap mech on our uncle's moisture farm......wait a minute, wrong universe. Regardless, I would really rather not see very many new mechs in the first few in-game months at least.

The struggle for tech. I love it.

[Alaric Wolf Kerensky]

Thing is, if only Clan Omnis can freely change their armaments, the IS models may seem weak in comparison and as a result: Everyone drives an Omni. If customization is left out, then at least give us all possible variants of the design. However it should be noted that standard 'Mechs could have their setups changed, it was just FAR more of a hassle than Omnis which were designed for weapon swaps.

[MeDammit]

Kai Allard-Liao put an AC/20 on Yen Lo Wang in Solaris. Read through the TRO's. They are full of customs. With an omni its an hours project, with an IS or garrison mech it's days. either can be done. What's it worth to you? As far as stumbling upon lostech? It's been happening for half a millennia. It's pretty well all found. And back to the TRO's. in 15 years since their appearance, the Inner Sphere has not been able to step sideways to clan tech. I don't think the grease monkey in the belly of your 12th generation union will have any luck.
I like the direction the dev's are going with this. The clans should be scary as hell when we first encounter them. We should be as tickled as a baby with a piece of tape to get re-introduced lostech in it's own timeline. No IS 75 ton mech should ever take out a Mad Cat twice in a row. Lucky shots are lucky shots. Clan equipment will always be superior and foreign. IMHO, nobody should ever be able to just start with the clans. work your way in as a bondsman, go through with the trial of position. Earn it. Not just start with the best equipment cuz it fun. My favorite mech is hands down a Masakari. I dont ever expect to pilot one in this game.

[Garth Erlam]

It'd be a balancing nightmare for Paul.

I support this idea for that reason alone

(That said it's a great suggestion, thanks!)

[Felicitatem Parco]

Yeah, it's been said on other threads that:

• The Degree of Customization you have with a Mech should be MechXP-dependant
  
• Fanciful Mech customization should be outrageously expensive for non-omni hardware
  
• Highly-customized FrankenMechs should experience higher per-period maintenance fees and higher repair fees

[Aegis Kleais]

With your average male-ego, making your Mech have unique silhouettes will merely call more attention to you and result in more people attacking you to prove themself due to an inferiority complex from not having a Mech with a custom silhouette in an attempt to prove their mettle against what they've falsely assumed to be a superior enemy.

I know a person who once changed his name to "Moron" and he said he had more people attack him because they assumed he was new to the game. Needless to say there were a lot of "Moron killed ____________" messages on the killboard.

[James McCraney]

MeDammit, on 02 February 2012 - 01:13 PM, said:

Kai Allard-Liao put an AC/20 on Yen Lo Wang in Solaris. Read through the TRO's. They are full of customs. With an omni its an hours project, with an IS or garrison mech it's days. either can be done. What's it worth to you? As far as stumbling upon lostech? It's been happening for half a millennia. It's pretty well all found. And back to the TRO's. in 15 years since their appearance, the Inner Sphere has not been able to step sideways to clan tech. I don't think the grease monkey in the belly of your 12th generation union will have any luck.
I like the direction the dev's are going with this. The clans should be scary as hell when we first encounter them. We should be as tickled as a baby with a piece of tape to get re-introduced lostech in it's own timeline. No IS 75 ton mech should ever take out a Mad Cat twice in a row. Lucky shots are lucky shots. Clan equipment will always be superior and foreign. IMHO, nobody should ever be able to just start with the clans. work your way in as a bondsman, go through with the trial of position. Earn it. Not just start with the best equipment cuz it fun. My favorite mech is hands down a Masakari. I dont ever expect to pilot one in this game.

Agreed. But what does this mean in terms of game mechanics? I think the obvious place to start is how you build your inventory of chassis, parts, and tech. Options will clearly be limited by the era and in-universe tech available. After that I would think unlocks would necessarily depend on your faction. IS house pilots would have access to bigger and better tech based on rank (akin to fame as people mentioned), while mercenaries could buy whatever they could afford. Of course salvage is another factor for both sides, but how it works when everyone is constantly getting their 'mechs shot out from under them I won't go into.

Once we have the parts to work with, we can think about how the MechLab or customization mechanic should work in game. I think we can divide possible customization options into five types:

• 'Mech Chassis: Pretty obvious, but first step is to pick your 'mech.
  
• Variant: Since there are many variants of each chassis, it would make sense to both buy a particular one and to be able to retrofit your existing 'mech to a different variant. This should of course come at a steep price. I would say it should be dependent on facilities available as well and having time to make the changes, but how these restrictions would integrate into the larger MW:O experience would determine their viability.
  
• Custom Variant: Yes, in BT there are plenty of examples of famous warriors piloting custom variants. I want this as much as anyone else, but it should be severely restricted. The pricing and availability of facilities should be prohibitive for all but the elite warriors (read higher levels). I like the idea of higher maintenance costs as well.
  
• Omni Configuration: Once the clans eventually roll around, their omni technology will make it painless to swap preset configurations. As long as the proper pods are available what is to stop a player from switching configurations every battle? Although it was this way for all 'mechs in previous MW, only OmniMechs have this capability in BT canon. The new modules feature introduced in MW:O will likely follow this scheme as well.
  
• Complete Custom Design: Mauler's torso, with an Atlas' head, Jenner's legs, and a Firemoth's arms. I call it the Chicken. But I don't call it BattleTech. Funny as it is, nowhere in BT do I remember something like this happening. Also from a technical standpoint, I can't imagine this would be feasible.

Well that's how I would make it with infinite resources. Since this is F2P, it's going to come piece by piece. At first, I will be happy if they can just get us as many 'mechs and variants as possible, and if they later get to the MechLab then great.