I always liked the Commando somewhat, but this... wow. I want to pilot it. The old versions looked a little too spindly, and like too tall of a target. This looks solid, but small and inobtrusive - just right for a scout! I think I would have used it more in MW2 if the old PC games hadn't been so dependent on killing wave upon wave of enemies solo, and if SRMs (or really, anything unguided and ammo-dependent) hadn't been such gimp weapons. I'm increasingly intrigued by the scout role in MWO, and I look forward to seeing how it shapes up - I could well see using one of these for scouting and light strikes behind enemy lines.
The story is top-notch, too, I want to know what happens next!!!
Aegis Kleais™, on 22 February 2012 - 11:05 AM, said:
Well, I think therein lies the core issue. A LOT of Mechs looked Human-esque. Centurion, Commando... so if it comes down to "What do you think about how well he did converting from the BattleTech designs into MWO's theming", I would say he actually did a phenomenal job. I guess, when broken down more, my beef here is that the Mech that was chosen (although iconic in its own right) is another human-esque looking Mech, rather than one with a more unique design structure, like the Catapault, Dragon or Hunchback. I'm just concerned that a large chunk of the Mechs may have the rather simplified human form silhouette to them.
A rather large chunk of I.S. 'mechs have a roughly humanoid sillhouette. It doesn't mean they don't have unique looks. IMO, the Centurion, Atlas and Commando are all a lot more distinct from each other than the Mad Cat, Cauldron Born and Bushwacker, or the Linebacker, Shadowcat and Cougar, or the Ryoken, Uziel and Daishi, and the Vulture and Avatar aren't far off from these, either. How extensive are the differences between the Jenner, Owens, Osiris, and Argus? They all follow sort-of-the-same design principles as much as all the "humaniod 'mechs you listed do. And if I wanted to choose two humanoid 'mechs that look almost alike, it'd be the Thor and the Thunderbolt - I love them both, but they've got a lot in common looks-wise. Or the Wasp and Stinger, which I can't tell apart at all.
Aegis Kleais™, on 22 February 2012 - 10:36 AM, said:
Yes. A distinct silhouette and visual design pattern allows for quick recognition and provides variety to not only the Mech's capabilities but it's visual styling. The Centurion began a design move towards extremely human looking Mechs; but every Mech before it, the Atlas, Jenner, Hunchback, Dragon and Catapault all had unique physiques. The Centruion and Commando share a simple human representation, just in different weight scales. This results in a very boring and cliche "human robot". Don't confuse "humanoid" with the fact that it moves on 2 legs, and has arms. It's simply looking at the Mech and saying "That looks like a robot human".
The Commando, I would argue, is distinct in being perhaps
the most human of the humanoid 'mechs. The Black Knight, Charger, Hatamoto-Chi and No-Dachi are arguably runners-up, but all are set apart by stylized armor designs. 'Mechs like the Banshee and Atlas have too prominent of weapons (especially in Flyingdebris' excellent Atlas rendering!), and the Centurion isn't remotely close to any of them in appearance (though it might come off a bit generic if you put it up against a Transformers movie poster, IMO.) The only 'mech that
might come in and look similar to a Commando is the Firestarter.
And I really like the Commando re-design. Too many other renderings have left it with spindly limbs that look like they might fall off on their own, and a helmet/browridge that looked like an enormous shot trap for a head that was already an enormous target relative to the rest of the mech (I thought MW2 was bad for this, but MechCommander was so much worse!) This design looks rugged, but compact and inobtrusive, and the head keeps the correct overall "look" but isn't an obvious target. Nothing about it is an obvious target, it looks like a real WWII paratrooper pathfinder ready to fade into the woods and dodge enemy patrols for days in order to map enemy positions or destroy some fuel depot or ammo stockpile deep behind the lines.
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