36 replies to this topic

[blinkin]

Praeses, on 28 December 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

I don't get why being able to build your own mech is a bad idea?

There is some things I took for granted after reading the OP suggestion

1) each part would have hardpoints (you could take an arm with a laser hardpoint and another with a ballistic one for example)
2) you would only use leg parts that are equal and compatible with the torso
3) you would only use cockpits compatible with the center torso
4) you would only use arms compatible with the side torso you put on the center torso (you could have different side torsos, but these must be compatible with the center one)
5) you would have to respect some rules about weight, minimum engine, heatsinks, etc

Why is this a bad idea?

i think it is a long way off from the current capabilities of the game, and you run a very high risk of making some or all of the traditional mechs thoroughly obsolete.

i love the idea but we need to carefully weigh the consequences.

[juxstapo]

Because the player base is mostly Battletech fans, and the BTech mythos does not have the Hawken / Armored Core / Chromehounds vibe.

However, customization is a huge part of what makes omnimechs what they are, (no, not Chromehounds style build ups) wait for the clans to invade.

[Praeses]

Ok, but with those rules the amount of valid mechs you can create is not much, basically you can make your own variant of a model but not much more than that, why we can 4 variants of an atlas but making your own 5th version is see as bad

[Noth]

Praeses, on 28 December 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

I don't get why being able to build your own mech is a bad idea?

There is some things I took for granted after reading the OP suggestion

1) each part would have hardpoints (you could take an arm with a laser hardpoint and another with a ballistic one for example)
2) you would only use leg parts that are equal and compatible with the torso
3) you would only use cockpits compatible with the center torso
4) you would only use arms compatible with the side torso you put on the center torso (you could have different side torsos, but these must be compatible with the center one)
5) you would have to respect some rules about weight, minimum engine, heatsinks, etc

Why is this a bad idea?

It would negate the chassis already in the game and make the game even harder to balance

[Praeses]

Noth, on 28 December 2012 - 09:35 PM, said:

It would negate the chassis already in the game and make the game even harder to balance

But you don't explain too much, why what you say will happen? can you give an explanation of why it can't end any other way?

edit: I'm asking because :

1) I don't know about the lore behind MW
2) I just play very little with MW4
3) I don't see too many explanations, just things like "no, this will not work" or "it will cause X" but without the "why" that would happen

Edited by Praeses, 28 December 2012 - 09:43 PM.

[Noth]

Praeses, on 28 December 2012 - 09:39 PM, said:

But you don't explain too much, why what you say will happen? can you give an explanation of why it can't end any other way?

Hardpoints were added to the game to make it easier to balance mech and keep the variants unique. By allowing us to build our own with whatever hardpoints we want completely invalidates why hardpoints and different kinds of mechs and variants exist. If you can understand that, i can't help you understand that.

[RadioKies]

Finally I'll be able to have no hand actuators on my atlas. Finally arm mounted PPC's with 2DHS. It would be nice. Make it an expensive upgrade like the XL engines. 4mil for a diffirent mechpart. How cool would it be to give my HBK-4SP stalker arms.. I would be even more godlike. 4*SRM6 and mlas for everyone!

[Praeses]

That would be the case if you don't put any rules when selecting mech parts and if you give all combination of part/hardpoint
you are trying to find all the things that would make this a bad thing without thinking if there could be a way to do it so it can work.
You are not impartial

[Noth]

Praeses, on 28 December 2012 - 09:56 PM, said:

That would be the case if you don't put any rules when selecting mech parts and if you give all combination of part/hardpoint
you are trying to find all the things that would make this a bad thing without thinking if there could be a way to do it so it can work.
You are not impartial

This has been brougt up before... Many times. It has been thought about. There is no way you could balance it without making it so restrictive that you can only make already built mechs.

[Praeses]

Noth, on 28 December 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

This has been brougt up before... Many times. It has been thought about. There is no way you could balance it without making it so restrictive that you can only make already built mechs.

For example, The is a cataphract variant (the first one) that have one ballistic hardpoint, is would be that unbalancing that I replace the part with the ballistic hardpoint with a energy one?

I would like to build my own mech but not if it's something that would have a negative impact on the game, I don't know much to defend the option of building your own mech that's why I wanted some explanations

[Noth]

Praeses, on 28 December 2012 - 10:09 PM, said:

For example, The is a cataphract variant (the first one) that have one ballistic hardpoint, is would be that unbalancing that I replace the part with the ballistic hardpoint with a energy one?

I would like to build my own mech but not if it's something that would have a negative impact on the game, I don't know much to defend the option of building your own mech that's why I wanted some explanations

Just buy the variant with one less ballistic and one more energy.

[Praeses]

Noth, on 28 December 2012 - 10:18 PM, said:

Just buy the variant with one less ballistic and one more energy.

There isn't one, at least the last time I look there is no cataphract variant with nothing but lasers

[Noth]

Praeses, on 28 December 2012 - 10:23 PM, said:

There isn't one, at least the last time I look there is no cataphract variant with nothing but lasers

That is called keeping the mechs flavor and is part of what disguinshes and even balances one mech to another, even one variant to another in some cases.

[Praeses]

Noth, on 28 December 2012 - 10:28 PM, said:

That is called keeping the mechs flavor and is part of what disguinshes and even balances one mech to another, even one variant to another in some cases.

Ok, you are right

[Aurien Titus]

I highly doubt they'll allow us to build our own 'mechs. They implemented a hard point system to limit customization, so I can't see them adding custom 'mechs.

Gremlich Johns, on 28 December 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

And you could not place items willy-nilly as you wished in TT until after omnimechs made it into the game.

Sorry to say, but you're incorrect there. You could freely modify and refit 'mechs any way you wanted in BattleTech TT. You just had to have a technician balance the 'mech afterwards to avoid penalties.

[blinkin]

Aurien Titus, on 28 December 2012 - 10:49 PM, said:

I highly doubt they'll allow us to build our own 'mechs. They implemented a hard point system to limit customization, so I can't see them adding custom 'mechs.

at the very least i think it will be a long way off, probably years.

[juxstapo]

Praeses, on 28 December 2012 - 09:56 PM, said:

You are not impartial

Exactly. Nor will we be. It's a Battletech/MechWarrior game, meant to appeal to fans of the franchise. Lego machines are not part of this story and the series would lose a significant amount of its "feel" if they were incorporated. Just as this franchise doesn't utilize energy shields or mechs that skate around on jets in their feet. Mechs don't combine to form super large machines. The closest the lore ever came to something that anime-esque is Protomechs, and they are pretty much universally hated.
We've waited over a decade for this game, and shant see it besmirched by such blasphemous nonsense now.

However, thank you for your input, we value your opinion.

EDIT: After making this defensive and asinine declaration, I saw where OP acknowledged the viability of the opposing viewpoints like a rational individual.
So.. uh... I guess, I apologize for the emotional outburst.

Edited by juxstapo, 29 December 2012 - 01:55 PM.