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[Toivoton]

tl;dr version: Less places to get bonuses and mech specific instead of pilot specific bonuses lets you make bigger, more noticeable bonuses.


Reading trough the "commanders are overpowered" - threads, I think people are missing the point somewhat.

What's actually wrong is that commanders get some really fun (sounding at least..) abilities that look like you would really notice them during gameplay. The others mainly get vanishingly small bonuses or weird gimmics.

Calling bombardment, checking the location of every enemy on the map or even Danger Close compared to say.. +10% AMS range, 15% longer staying contacts or DFA damage reduction. Ok the DFA reduction has the chance to actually change how you play, but it's really rare and STILL something you only do when desperate even if you took no damage yourself.

However when I thought about how to change things, I realised that there is no way you can make pilot skills work without making them things you can't notice. I mean if you gave stuff you really noticed when playing that role, you'd lock them into it (the commander wouldn't really be able to fill an assault role for example if assault role gave say.. big damage bonuses). If you don't, they are pointless because they aren't allowed to be powerful enough to be noticeable.

What I propose instead is to remove pilot skills and roll the buffs into the mech efficiencies. It would also let you diffrentiate mechs better. Instead of yet more neglible bonuses, a raven might get say.. +50% sensor range, multitargetting, the HUD critical thingies and the zoom. Profiling it as a stand off scout. Another light might be profiled as a close range scout, getting the assault/def tree vision modes, +30% speed, +30% agility and +30% armor.

Naturally I would also prefer that you would have to choose, but I'm not quite certain how those should go (choices locked per mech? switchable? How?). One way would be to give certain bonuses if you have a specific module fitted so that you unlock all, but then you have to choose which ones you want active with the modules you have installed, but then again that makes module balancing even harder...




About the commander role skills:
As I see it, there are 3 ways they can go:
1. They are on pilot specific cooldowns
2. They are on team specific cooldowns
3. They are on team specific cooldowns and only the pilot chosen to be the commander can use them

1. Means that either they have to be really weak or everyone will want to be commander role because they can use the awesome abilities.
2. Means that the newbie lone wolf will spam all your teams cd's
3. Sucks for the other commander role pilots because most of their role abilities wont work.

=> Make the abilities something any pilot chosen to be the commander can use them and make new skills for the commander role

[Mautty the Bobcat]

I'm kinda partial actually, to thinking that they should increase a pilot's proficiencies in certain categories. Similar in fashion to how pilots were rated in Mechwarrior and MechCommander.

Gunnery
Piloting
Sensors
Blindfighting

Gunnery - Experience earns a pilot the knowledge necessary to make full use of their targeting computers and armaments.
-allows for an increase of accuracy in Beam and Ballistics weaponry
-missile lock-on decreases slightly

Piloting - Veteran pilots who know how and when to push their mechs to get the most out of them.
-Allows for better turning rates
-slightly increased accelerate/deceleration
-slightly increased ability to prevent rocking and knock down.

Sensors - Veterans are able to read and tweak their sensors to better accommodate their pull towards Electronics packages.
-Sensors detect mechs active and passive slightly farther
-enemy missiles require slightly more time to lock on to you
-can identify mech types through cover up to a certain range?
-allows marking targets to lance members?
-able to transmit enemies on radar to lance members' radars?.

Blindfighting (I have no other ideas for this one...anybody?)
-Ability to 'zoom' while using light amplification?
-Ability to detect enemy mechs at EXTREMELY close distance (100-150m?) during passive or no/limited radar instances


While this would indeed spread across any mech, they would still improve some mechs more than others. Obviously Sensors would more often be the choice of electronics warfare mech or scouts, gunnery a favorite of your classic combatant, piloting useful in city tight places and for maneuverability in the open...well blindfighting.... =\

Edited by Mautty the Bobcat, 09 February 2012 - 04:29 PM.