Odanan, on 25 September 2012 - 03:16 PM, said:
I just have one question: what about the variants?
We have only:
HGN-732 - 2x Medium Lasers, 1x SRM-6, 1x LRM-20, 1x Gauss Rifle
HGN-732b - 3x Medium Lasers, 1x SRM-6, 1x LRM-20, 1x Gauss Rifle
HGN-733: 2x Medium Lasers, 1x SRM-6, 1x LRM-20, 1x Autocannon 10
Not much of a variety...
And wasn't the Highlander extinct until the resume of production in 3057?
Well, I guess with that looks, the Highlander is welcome anywhere...
From TRO 3050 Upgrade, pg. 220:
Quote
Since the re-opening of StarCorps’ factories on Son Hoa in 3057, brand-new Highlanders have also been pouring into the ranks of Lyran BattleMech units, both regular army and mercenary. Assigned to pro-Katherine units prior to and during the FedCom Civil War, most remain within the Lyran armed forces, though some managed to find their way into the AFFS.
The HGN-732b was completely extinct by 2810 (near the end of the First Succession War).
The HGN-736 doesn't make its debut until 3059 and is exclusive to the Com Guards and the Blakists.
The HGN-734 doesn't make its debut until 3062.
The HGN-694 doesn't make its debut until the FedCom Civil War (3062-3067).
The HGN-738 doesn't make its debut until 3069.
That leaves the HGN-733 as the only truly timeline-appropriate variant.
Moreover, even if the HGN-732 was allowed, the HGN-732 and the HGN-733 would have generally-identical hardpoint layouts and generally-identical equipment set-ups; the latter exchanges the former's Gauss Rifle (and two tons of ammo) for an AC-10 (and two tons of ammo), two more tons of armor (with a change from FF to Standard; amounting to a single additional armor point on the front and rear of the Center-Torso), and a single additional Heat Sink, but is otherwise identical.
While Ask the Devs 18 seems to indicate that the Devs might shift the availability a little bit, depending on MWO's actual release date (specifically, the CTF-3D and CTF-3L models of the Cataphract being abailable in 3050, but the CTF-3D being featured in the BattleMech 11 release announcement from "May 3049"), selecting a 'Mech that "should" have effectively one variant available for the better part of a (in-game) decade is an... interesting choice.
Edited by Strum Wealh, 26 September 2012 - 03:52 AM.