StaIker, on 18 April 2012 - 09:37 PM, said:
Well, I like what they've done. But then I'm a MW player rather than a TT player.
I am a MW player, but I also know the TT construction rules inside and out. Since the MWO dev team is HEAVILY (if not exactly) basing their mech construction off of the TT rules, it means that I already know:
-the baseline hardpoint configuration for every mech released so far
-the customization possibilities for every mech so far
-and the likely consequences for gameplay
... and what I'm trying to tell you is that the system they have so far (which, credit to the devs, is probably not complete or final) would allow for too much flexibility in mech customization. By too much I mean that mechs will loose their "personality" (i.e. what makes them unique relative to other mechs), this leads to mechs overlapping their roles too much (didn't you in another thread say something about how you didn't want alot of redundant/obselete mechs?), and finally this will lead to alot of mechs becoming worthless.
Let me use some examples from MW4 so you can see what I mean. What the current system does is essentially disconnect size from hardpoint type, meaning that each section of the mech has a pool of space that can be used by any hardpoint. If you apply the same system to MW4 ...
-Consider the hellspawn. It has in each arm a single slot balistic and energy. So it has 2 slots per arm and a balistic and energy HP. This means that the hellspawn can carry a ERLL or LBX10 in each arm. One of the side torsos has a single slot balistic, single slot energy and a 2 or 3 slot missle. This hellspawn can now carry a HGR, or CapPPC. Is this still a hellspawn?
-Consider the madcat. Each side torso has a 2-slot omni and a 3 slot (4 slot? don't remember) missle HP. Under this system it now has a missle and omni hardpoint with 4-5 slots of space. This madcat can now carry 4xCapPPC or 4xERPPC (remember the arms), 2xHGR, or 2xLBX20. What, would be the point of using any other heavy mech (or any other heavy clan mech if in NBT's puretech environment)? The answer is "there isn't any."
-The Thanatos, by virtue of having 6 slots in the cannon arm, and a energy hardpoint can now carry a CapPPC/ERPPC.
-Every clan heavy, with the exception of the loki I think, can now carry 4xERPPC.
-Every clan assault can now carry 4xLBX20 (I think).
So you can see that when you disconnect hardpoint size from hardpoint type and just have hardpoints with access to a pool of space, then mechs quickly become unrecognizable and converge on a few configurations. Eventually, people will realize that there are only a few mechs worth taking (see madcat example). If engine and armor modification is allowed, then mechs will converge even more.
Personally, I don't want a mechwarrior game where you only have maybe 4 or 5 mechs being used in the endgame. I also think that the game looses strategic depth when you reduce the number of options. Imagine if Starcraft was nothing but space marines or TF2 was nothing but soldiers. Limitations are good for variety and strategic depth.
EDIT: edited for harshness.
Edited by zorak ramone, 19 April 2012 - 08:08 AM.