35 replies to this topic

[pesco]

This good point was brought up in the recent thread on PPCs:

MaddMaxx, on 28 March 2012 - 06:32 AM, said:

[...somebody else mentioned PPC-sniping from 1000m...]

Another MW4 misnomer. The PPC's max range is (18hexes x 30m) and the ERPPC's max is (23hexes x30m). Hopefully the actual ranges will be followed and you will have to poptart from ranges where the enemy can shoot back with effectiveness.

P.S. The PPC has a minmum range (3hexes x 30m)as well. None for the ERPPC sadly. If a knife fighter gets real close, the PPC gun bag may have more than HEAT to worry about. :)

I don't know if the 30m diameter for a hex is correct; I'll assume it is. That's 540m longest range for a PPC. I don't remember the figures from MW2 or MW3, but MWLL has it at 700m.

Have the devs any comment on how they're doing it with MWO? Not just for PPCs but other weapons as well? I'm sure weapon ranges are subject to tweaking for balance, but maybe there's a general idea.

[Naughtyboy]

well..i remember reading about hitting at longer ranges then the set one, but doing so does less damage for energy weapons, ballistic if remembered right you need to aim diffrently to hit at longer ranges then max range..

please correct me if im wrong

[pesco]

Naughtyboy, on 28 March 2012 - 10:51 AM, said:

well..i remember reading about hitting at longer ranges then the set one, but doing so does less damage for energy weapons, ballistic if remembered right you need to aim diffrently to hit at longer ranges then max range..

You're right, but that's the answer to a different question; which is also interesting: What happens after max range.

But I was asking about what the max ranges are. Or will be. Or might turn out to become eventually.

[Fetladral]

I think the ER PPCs can hit at 1,000 meters depending on targeting computer and atmosphere and other factors but I don't know that for certain. And even if all the conditions were right I think its very rare. might depend on manufacturer.

I did find this tidbit and I wonder if it could be allowed for mechs equipped with a ppc

PPCs are equipped with a Field Inhibitor to prevent feedback which could damage the firing unit's electronic systems.^[6] This inhibitor degrades the performance of the weapon at close ranges of less than 90 meters. Particularly daring warriors have been known to disengage the inhibitor and risk damage to their own machine when a target is at close range.

I think MW 4 had the max range of the ER ppc at 900 but that felt a bit too far for me since it was so close to LRM ranges. almost made the LRM kinda pointless with a weapon with almost the same range and damage and no ammo requirement. more heat but the benfits seemed to outweigh that

Edited by Fetladral, 28 March 2012 - 11:20 AM.

[Garth Erlam]

The ranges seem oddly short because the tabletop needed to make it so the game board wasn't 12 feet wide. Thus, when you hear about 'sniping from long range' it's not quite as far as you'd think. Amusingly, I believe a M16 has roughly the effective range of LRMs.

[Naughtyboy]

ah..ok i stand corrected

yea will be intresting to put that collingvest and neurohelmet and finally try it out.. I plan to make thing close and personal more depending on what mechs i am looking for then any other thing..

[Exilyth]

Well, what happens after a weapons long range depends... are you playing with extreme range brackets from MaxTech/TacOps or without?

Edited by Exilyth, 28 March 2012 - 11:48 AM.

[Stormwolf]

A hex is supposed to be 30 meters, but I wouldn't mind if they bumped it up to 60 or so.

So you'd get ranges like:
Clan Er Large Laser 1500 meters
IS/Clan Gauss Rifle: 1320 meters
IS ER Large Laser: 1140 meters
IS ER Medium Laser: 720 meters
IS Medium Laser: 540 meters
IS machine gun: 180 meters

My only request here is that the Clan ER Large Laser will outrange the Clan ER PPC like in the canon, they got this wrong in every single Mechwarrior game ever. It would make ER Large Lasers the more viable choice for sniping.

[Namwons]

that seems alittle extreme to me. 35 or 40 seems more reasonable. to me, LRM should be the longest reaching weapon at this time. it should lock on as far as radar range, 1000m. everything else should be below that.

Edited by Namwons, 28 March 2012 - 12:33 PM.

[TeaL3af]

I think this is one area where deviating from the tabletop games would be a good idea. 540m range on a futuristic space laser particle thing-a-ma-bob? That's pretty low. People snipe each other over longer distances in Battlefield 3 and their guns aren't the size of a bus.

Just build the maps, then balance the weapons based on what can be considered long, medium and short ranges for those maps. Give energy weapons ranged falloff and ballistic weapons semi-realistic physics to make them harder to use at long range.

Edited by TeaL3af, 28 March 2012 - 12:49 PM.

[Stormwolf]

Namwons, on 28 March 2012 - 12:31 PM, said:

that seems alittle extreme to me. 35 or 40 seems more reasonable. to me, LRM should be the longest reaching weapon at this time. it should lock on as far as radar range, 1000m. everything else should be below that.

You could extend the radar in MW2 to 2000m, I don't see the problem here.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

Radar in previous games has been totally wrong both in ramge and ability.

[Cochise]

God I hope we don't stick to canon on this kind of thing. Some things were written for this game for table top and waaaay before anyone ever thought of making it a computer game with huge maps that are many many kilometers across. Just won't make sense. Sniping is part of the deal. Different weapons have vastly different ranges in MWLL and you choose accordingly depending on your role and how you like to play. I hope this happens this way in MWO.

[Arctic Fox]

The ranges aren't only because of it being a tabletop game. The game's main aesthetic was supposed to feature 'Mechs blasting each other face to face at close range, and that's simply impossible when your weapon's range is measured in kilometers. But there shouldn't really be that much of a problem, nearly all BattleTech weapons can canonically reach out to the horizon, they're just significantly less accurate and effective at anything beyond the usual ranges found in the tabletop game, and I hope that's more or less how it will be portrayed in this game.

[Karl Streiger]

Don't see the need to argue...when i've got past information right, you need a LOS to the target to attack it properly. Next point is...when you increase the range of a LRM from 630m to 6300m...the range of a AC 20 is increased from 270 to 2700m - the only difference you need some more time to close the gap...let's see how the game is implemented...but long range sniping is for cowards - point blank for the brave and the bold

[Hao Yu]

I seriously doubt range, damage and even weights will remain as they are in the tabletop canon. Frankly, it doesn't make sense, especially since many stats in the tabletop game are imbalanced. You can't have a 1 to 1 translation of turn-based strategy to real time shooting sim. I'm sure they'll use some canon stats as a basis, then work their way from there.

[Paul Inouye]

If I see a hex anywhere in our game.. someone's getting a beat down.

[Petroff Northrup]

Paul Inouye, on 28 March 2012 - 03:26 PM, said:

If I see a hex anywhere in our game.. someone's getting a beat down.

I must now move my enemy's broken mechs to form a hex with their corpses after every battle now.

Edited by Petroff Northrup, 28 March 2012 - 03:40 PM.

[80sGlamRockSensation David Bowie]

Paul Inouye, on 28 March 2012 - 03:26 PM, said:

If I see a hex anywhere in our game.. someone's getting a beat down.

anywhere 'eh?



I think you need to have a chat with your friend Alex...

[Jake Valeck]

wait for beta then decide.