145 replies to this topic

[zer0imh]

http://www.seraphin.....uk/clanroe.php

[Damion Sparhawk]

Strum Wealh, on 17 October 2012 - 02:14 PM, said:

I recommend having a look at the weapons and equipment lists.

Classically, Clan-built weapons and equipment often weighed the same or less than the IS counterpart(s), required the same number of critical spaces or fewer than the IS counterpart(s), had equal or longer effective ranges as the IS counterpart(s), delivered equal or greater damage per salvo than the IS counterpart(s), and generally produced the same amount of heat per salvo as the IS version of the same item... often, all at once.

Altogether, this combination of characteristics meant that a given Clan-built item outclassed its IS-built counterpart in nearly every meaningful metric - it was simply equal or better in almost every possible way.

Hence, the concern that
1.) much of the playerbase will jump to the Clans the moment they become available, so that they can get easy access to the "superior" Clan tech,
2.) the result of (1) would be that the IS factions are drained to the point that the Clanners outnumber IS players by substantial margins (the opposite of "how it should be"),
3.) what IS players are left will have to generally, if not totally, abandon IS tech for Clan tech just to remain competitive with same-skill (or even somewhat lesser-skill) Clan players (who would then have overall population advantages in addition to the tech advantage... and who generally cannot be expected to adhere to Clan RoE, thus negating the the other primary offsetting point to the Clans' tech-based advantages), and
4.) the game on the IS-vs-IS side devolves into a race to see who can get the most "superior" Clan tech first, with IS tech largely going abandoned and unused.

though, realistically speaking, why would the IS even consider holding on to IS gear when the clan gear IS so obviously superior, which is kinda true to canon too, as quickly as they could get their hands on the clan gear they were trying to adapt it to their mechs, and reverse engineer them so they could reproduce them. No military would do otherwise truthfully, an individual mech pilot might go IS over clan but an organization is going to upgrade to the best weaponry it can get it's hands on if it wants to succeed.

[Cato Phoenix]

Suggestion to balance clan tech v. IS tech:

Simplest solution would be to have matchmaking balance on tonnage, rather than medium/heavy. So a clan tech weapon that weighs 1 ton, 1 ton less than the IS counterpart of 2 tons, counts as 1 ton for your mech but 2 tons for matchmaking. So if you take all clan tech in a medium, and you get an equivalent tonnage to a heavy, the game matches you up someone with in a heavy (or another clanner in a medium with equivalent tonnage).

So then its not a question of better tech- it's balanced by the other team having bigger firepower, so it will even it up towards piloting/style of play.

[Blue Shadow]

I'm more in favor of Clan tech restricted to clans and and IS to IS, keeps the IS and clans unique and will let the devs balance in other ways such as the IS fielding more mechs and using the matchmaking so the IS always have a greater number of heavier mechs. You could even give clan players incentive to take up a challenge to earn honor points to progress their rank within the clan.

Plenty of ways to balance them just need to think beyond the obvious "nerf the weapons" idea.

[Verbrand]

The way to do it is to have high costs (and therefore repair costs as these are a function of initial price) and limited availability.

The way I would do it is stick to the cannon prices but limit what you can buy and maybe having them randomly appear in the salvage or have PvE where you can earn clan components?

Also have it so when a piece of clan technology (that uses crit space) is destroyed (ie all it's crit slots suffer a critical hit, rather than just the location being destroyed) have that item destroyed so you have to go and earn another one.

EDIT: Also if playing as clan (if they do restrict you to make that choice) have XP penalties for breaking the clan rules of engagement (shooting a lighter target than you before being fired upon, charge attacks, ganging up on mechs, etc)

Edited by Verbrand, 25 October 2012 - 06:11 AM.

[Discordantone]

Easy solution: Being as they intent to involve both Politics and Out of Mech content... make it lore Make being a member of a clan dangerous, edgy, and you always run the risk of falling out of favor, which meant obtaining requisitions (your equipment and repair costs) would skyrocket. This means that, should 'everyone run to the clans for the better weapons' the 70th percentile are -not- going to be favored warriors and are going to have to pay a fortune in repair bills, obtaining mechs, and obtaining weaponry and ammo. You will find, very quickly (especially if you give them the option to) that most of the defect and return to the IS houses.

Verbrand, on 25 October 2012 - 05:44 AM, said:

EDIT: Also if playing as clan (if they do restrict you to make that choice) have XP penalties for breaking the clan rules of engagement (shooting a lighter target than you before being fired upon, charge attacks, ganging up on mechs, etc)

And that.

Edited by Discordantone, 25 October 2012 - 08:59 AM.