22 replies to this topic

[Gwenaelle Focht]

Hi folks,

Recently, I was thinking, what if the developers add completely new mech types to the game ... battlemechs never been heard of before with completely new design/looks and configurations that you cannot find in the existing Battletech novels, sourcebooks, games or anywhere else because they are brand new? Wouldn't that be something to look forward to in MWO?

Let us assume just for a moment that Piranha Games/Smith & Tinker want to surprise us big time at some stage during the the game. Would you have a certain, novel mech design or mech equipment in mind that could add to the gameplay?

What weight class would you be most looking forward to or would you expect one new unique battlemech for each class (light, medium, heavy , and assault)?

However, you may think there are alreeady enough mech types and variants out there and only few have been confirmed yet and, therefore, there is no place for new concepts and ideas in the game ...

Edited by Gwenaelle Focht, 17 March 2012 - 08:21 PM.

[Alistair Steiner]

I suppose I'm a BattleTech/MechWarrior conservative. They brought in a new 'Mech in MechAssault. I don't think anyone was thrilled. Oh, and it had a new weapon. And an energy shield... Had either of those been in a sourcebook or novel, then I'd have been okay with it. But this is 3049. In the context of the BattleTech/mechWarrior universe, this is like the beginning of WWII here on Earth. What we're playing is a historical game in the context of the timeline. Plus, the BattleMech and equipment list is staggering. If they implemented even a fraction of all the designs, we'd be overwhelmed. But bringing in new stuff? I'm just not feeling it. Plus, what can I say, I like having an idea of what to expect. If I see a Catapult on the ridge, it's about to rain missiles. If I see a design I don't recognize, I can go to the wiki and get an idea of what to expect for a later battle.

Again, that's just me. Don't intend to offend or anything, just trying to balance out your argument from the other side.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

Couldn't vote because you couldn't separate new mech from new equipment. I'm happy with a new mech, particularly if it's a "new" variant. All equipment should be standard for the timeline however. There are more than enough weapons/equipment available.

[Siilk]

I'd say let them try. I truly believe FlyingDebris would not screw up the visual design while game balance would easily be narrowed down through gameplay testing. As for being non-canon, MWO is, to some point, a reboot of MW franchise, so, while they have such an awesome design team, why the hell not? Naturally, such things should be done with caution but I have nothing against them trying something new.

[CeeKay Boques]

I would say I dislike this idea if I didn't like the Uziel so much.

Damn you, Uziel.

[TheRulesLawyer]

Tons of stuff that is canon not implemented yet. Lets get all that done and decide then if we need more. FWIW the devs did say at one point that they were not planning on putting their own non-canon designs in. Of course that may change, but its the mood for now.

[Victor Morson]

All I can say is that MW4 introduced several 'mechs: The Osiris, the Chimera, the Hellspawn, Uziel, Argus, Thanatos, and Mad Cat MK 2. MechCommander 2 introduced more, including designs like the Men Shen, Lao Hu, Anubis.

My point? These designs are all classic go-to designs that have become canon since their release. Many people that have never even played MW4 think of these as mainstream 'mechs - not "game made" 'mechs and they're pretty awesome in the table top. In fact, I'd argue these are some of the finest looking 'mechs to enter the canon at any point in the game.

Long story short, we have a very talented concept art team here (Flying Debris was a great choice for this) and I see no reason to discourage them from retroactively adding some new designs into the game. CBT has added quite a few retroactive designs in recent years thanks to all that Jihad crap and I think we're overdue seeing some GOOD designs retroactively added instead, honestly.

All I'm saying is if the dev teams have a great idea for a 'mech, I'd love them to add it. I'd also love them to talk to Catalyst about injecting it into canon after, so that (most) everyone is happy: We get a cool 'mech and there's no canon debate. I have a feeling that anything they add will be properly balanced into the game and be an interesting addition, if they choose to do it.

.. I understand why some of you might be worried: We've all seen the horrors MechAssault wrought with non-canon additions, and adding non-canon stuff on the surface sounds like a way to depart with the BTU we love and want the game grounded in. But my counter-point is I'm a massive BattleTech fan and do not feel that carefully added 'mechs would hurt the game in anyway and might instead end up with us finding some new favorites. Hell, there's a petition to add the beloved Uziel to the game (which I voted against purely for timeline reasons) since it has a huge number of fans and just to re-state the Uziel was made for a MechWarrior game!

I'll understand if they don't want to add new 'mechs but I personally say go for it.

Edited by Victor Morson, 15 March 2012 - 11:18 AM.

[FinnMcKool]

it seems to me that the work Alex does makes everything seem new to me, there are so many already will he ever be able to do
them all?

Again they all seem new and Im happy with the balance using the stuff thats already there , just let Alex work his magic on them, and
If I dont sound pertinent , let Alex choose what he wants to do (yes this is a suggestion for the DEVs) I know that when an artist is let
loose is when they do their very best work.


That said I allways liked the chicken walkers.

[Egomane]

No vote option for me there.

New mechs are fine, new equipment is not! We have to deal with new equipment already. Modules where never before part of the mechwarrior universe are introduced into the franchise by MW:O. Anything else (new weapons, new armor, new other equipment) should stay out of the game, as they are not needed. Lets just wait for the stuff that will be introduced by the timeline, because that alone is plenty.

[Victor Morson]

Egomane, on 15 March 2012 - 11:36 PM, said:

No vote option for me there.

New mechs are fine, new equipment is not! We have to deal with new equipment already. Modules where never before part of the mechwarrior universe are introduced into the franchise by MW:O. Anything else (new weapons, new armor, new other equipment) should stay out of the game, as they are not needed. Lets just wait for the stuff that will be introduced by the timeline, because that alone is plenty.

There's a ton of lesser seen border-canon (canon, but found only in some obscure books) weapons that should give the devs options too - like Thumper Cannon that can be mounted on a 'mech and so forth. I'd like a return of the Thunderbolt missile from MW4 (a single shot, unguided rocket) that actually was canon from a Solaris book, etc.

There's lots of pretty obscure weapons available that really haven't been represented in MechWarrior games much, so I'm always interested in seeing them.

[Dlardrageth]

Imagine one day a new kind of mech, noone is familiar with, shows up...


and it looks exactly like a giant Pikachu! Yikes...

[Joeseph Pierce]

i would rather not see any new mechs, as i like canon. I think we have plenty of mechs to choose from, and with mechs that fit most roles, and a mechlab to make current mechs fit the remaining roles, why should we have any new mechs. i also think that if you can't find a certain weapon in canon, then leave it out....

[Kaemon]

Actually I'm a bit blase about this, there are so many mechs we already have, my only suggestions would be to not add new weapons, but just a new chassis.

I could argue either side:

Pros
- establish precedent for slight (I said slight) alteration of canon (this is really only to gauge the amount of nerd rage it may generate, in case you need to make changes in the future).
- Leave MW:O's mark on the IP, it's been 10 years, this is a significant event in the timeline of BT/MW, it should be marked by a new 'addition' to the IP.
- Allows FD to take a crack at something new (cause if I trust anyone to design a MW mech from the ground up, it's him).
- Shows MW:O is willing to take a chance to advance the IP, rather than just be 'MW5'

Cons
Neeeeeerrrrrrdddddddddd Raaaaaaagggggggeeeeeeeeeee! (bring your helmet)
Adding new weapons can cause imbalance issues (honestly what weapon do we even need at this point?)
People may complain 'why isn't <insert canon mech here> in the game but your new mech the 'Masoner' is?
Imbalance issues (real or perceived)
Time to create/test for no real (financial) gain for MW:O

***edits***

No freaking pandas! (unless it makes MW:O like 80 exogillion dollars, then Pandas only on regional servers until the dump trucks of money stop coming in, then all Pandas explode instantly).

Edited by Kaemon, 16 March 2012 - 06:39 AM.

[MaddMaxx]

I just got the weirdest feeling of "De Ja Vu".

Ah yes. Here it is http://mwomercs.com/...ch%20%20designs

I hope it passes quickly.

Edited by MaddMaxx, 16 March 2012 - 11:02 AM.

[Dragorath]

If an energy shield would be implemented I would leave the game in an instant. If you take all additional books of BT there is so much more Tech which could be used so it is not necessary to implement more at the moment and they want to stick to the universe.... so no new Mechs. If the timeline end is reached, of course only a few of us will be still alive, I wouldn't mind one or two new Mechs, but definetela not earlier.

[Morgana]

Nik Van Rhijn, on 15 March 2012 - 05:23 AM, said:

Couldn't vote because you couldn't separate new mech from new equipment. I'm happy with a new mech, particularly if it's a "new" variant. All equipment should be standard for the timeline however. There are more than enough weapons/equipment available.

I have to agree. No vote cast here.

I dont see why, after the Clan Invasion period, that a new mech couldn't be created from salvage. Couldn't it be possible, that the mech techs of the period, could piece together parts from a variety of mechs, and create a new design? Couldn't parts and pieces be gathered and stored in places like Caves, and maybe out of the necessity of survival, a new design be pieced together? I don't feel it would upset the canon all that much. However, I can't imagine them creating new weapon systems. The weapons would again, have to be from what already exists on the mechs of that era. (this is all of course, under the assumption, that mech parts, as well as weapons, would be considered salvageable.)

[beepbeepziptang]

I have been playing fasa+ games since all role playing games came out star trek d&d star frontier ect. and my fav wuz mechwarrior. Now i want aerotech LAMS (land air battlemech) it could be a later add on and i would make them a little tricker to pilot on account of them moving so fast on ground and damage little when hitting buildings and objects think of whear u could take this game in 1 year if you did aerotech add on! Y because games are open now(space planet side battles star trek online and a lot others out thair) i can see the future of gameing thats easy(first computer vic-20 then up through the ranks first home build apple 2e 1982 12 years old lol) so im just trying to give u a heads up because thair is only 1 MECHWARRIOR all others is just a simulation=). IM doining miner wars beta looking good so far. So please aerotech thank u=)

[Zhanna Kerensky]

Nik Van Rhijn, on 15 March 2012 - 05:23 AM, said:

Couldn't vote because you couldn't separate new mech from new equipment. I'm happy with a new mech, particularly if it's a "new" variant. All equipment should be standard for the timeline however. There are more than enough weapons/equipment available.

Agreed that these options are missing in the poll, but what I do not understand why a lot of people here appear so adamant about not introducing/including new gadgets (weapons, sensors, camouflage aids such as scramblers or smoke grenades, etc.) from MWO?

Take an energy shield for example, would it have to cover the entire mech (?), possibly not (if it were to be hand-held with one of the mech's hands, similar to the hand weapons or PPCs), would it take no training to use it effectively (?), also possibly not (extra weight/space required and control options to be managed), and last but not least would it grant protection against projectyle weapons and not be destroyed by them after the shield's armour is gone (?) ... well, I would sincerely doubt it. It all depends on how you introduce a new gadget and if there is at least one counter-measure against it that would render it significantly less effective for in-game balance, so that it is an option, but not necessarily of advantage in a battle (of course, one could possibly jettison it during battle but losing this C-bills investment for good then).

Another example could be a shockwave weapon (for instance, with a limited range slightly exceeding that of a flamer and only to be used on one mech at a time) causing no major direct damage to those affected/hit by the weapon, but it would challenge their piloting skills and might knock a mech over in combat, which could be crucial during a battle?

Thus, I think it could be beneficial if additional mech types/variants and gadgets will be made available for gameplay by the developers, maybe not now, but methinks at some stage most of the other options (implementation of all major mech types and equipment from the canon, hand-to-hand combats, fights in new environments such as in zero-G/space or challenging planetary environments, implementation of aerotech elements, etc.) will be integrated in the game and for MWO and BattleTech to evolve further, new additions such as new gadgets and mech types/variants will have to be considered.

[cinco]

heck i'd like a new mech, some of the old mech designs are real stinkers, it'd be good for when an original mech was required for balance, but was way too ugly, even to be redesigned. eg black knight.

Edited by cinco, 17 March 2012 - 08:17 PM.

[Gwenaelle Focht]

New options have been added for the second question of the poll!!!