12 replies to this topic

[Solis Obscuri]

From yesterday's Mechlab Q&A:

InnerSphereNews, on 18 April 2012 - 09:00 AM, said:

How will engine upgrades (or downgrades) be handled in the MechLab? –Curon Hifor

[DAVID] You don’t really upgrade an engine so much as buy a new one to replace the old. If you buy an engine with a different engine rating and/or type (Standard, XL, etc.), you simply put it in place of the old one and your ’Mech’s new top speed will be automatically recalculated.

Now, I was doing a little poking around earlier today (actually trying to figure out why the VND-1AA seemed to be losing one more ton of armor than it should vs. the VND-1R), and I noticed that within a weight bracket, as the mass and rating on an engine increased, the mass of the gyro sometimes had to increase as well to compensate - look through a TRO at the Vindicator variants, or compare, say, the gyro used in an Awesome to those of a Zeus or Victor, and you'll see what I mean.

So, my question is, will the appropriate gyro be included along with the engine?

Or will the mechlab automagically adjust the mass of the gyro to compensate for a new engine?

Or will the gyro be a separate piece of equipment players have to figure it out themselves, and suffer along with stumbley 'mechs if they try to skimp on their gyro?

[Gun Bear]

Not sure... I'm thinking that both would change, the in game reason being no technician would not know that, but it would be funny to see someone who messed up stumble around.

Edited by Gun Bear, 19 April 2012 - 06:29 PM.

[Helmer]

Mmmmmmmm I love Gyros. Used to live near a place that sold the best Gyros and actually used Lamb.

<sigh>
Now I'm hungry. Thanks.





Cheers.

[guardiandashi]

gyros are easy

the formula is engine rating divided by 100 and gyros are available in full ton increments (until xl gyros become available)

so 5-100 = 1 ton gyro
105-200 = 2 ton gyro
205-300 = 3 tons
305-400 = 4 tons

[Ramien]

Since I don't believe that custom gyro types are due out for quite some time, I'm expecting the Gyro weight to be included with the engine weight when purchasing new engines. Hopefully they'll be listed separately so that people can see why the XL engines aren't exactly half the weight of the standards.

[Solis Obscuri]

Helmer, on 19 April 2012 - 06:32 PM, said:

Mmmmmmmm I love Gyros. Used to live near a place that sold the best Gyros and actually used Lamb.

<sigh>
Now I'm hungry. Thanks.





Cheers.

Oooooh, that sounds good... but not as good as a nice souvlaki! God, it's been forever since I had a souvlaki...

guardiandashi, on 19 April 2012 - 06:49 PM, said:

gyros are easy

the formula is engine rating divided by 100 and gyros are available in full ton increments (until xl gyros become available)

so 5-100 = 1 ton gyro
105-200 = 2 ton gyro
205-300 = 3 tons
305-400 = 4 tons

That makes perfect sense. I guess in that event it wouldn't really matter if the process was automagic or if the gyro came with the engine, so long as the mechlab has the right functionality. But in any previous MW game I've played, engine upgrades were either unavailable (MW2 Mercs) or were handled automatically without buying a new component (MW2, GBL, MW3, MW4). It occurred to me that if the gyro just suddenly became heavier, it could be very confusing for a player who just bought a new engine, and suddenly came out a ton heavier then they expected upon installation in their 'mech...

[Insidious Johnson]

falafel>gyro!

[Kiff Stevenson]

Solis Obscuri, on 19 April 2012 - 06:21 PM, said:

From yesterday's Mechlab Q&A:

Now, I was doing a little poking around earlier today (actually trying to figure out why the VND-1AA seemed to be losing one more ton of armor than it should vs. the VND-1R), and I noticed that within a weight bracket, as the mass and rating on an engine increased, the mass of the gyro sometimes had to increase as well to compensate - look through a TRO at the Vindicator variants, or compare, say, the gyro used in an Awesome to those of a Zeus or Victor, and you'll see what I mean.

So, my question is, will the appropriate gyro be included along with the engine?

Or will the mechlab automagically adjust the mass of the gyro to compensate for a new engine?

Or will the gyro be a separate piece of equipment players have to figure it out themselves, and suffer along with stumbley 'mechs if they try to skimp on their gyro?

I completely agree with guardiandashi on the matter of gyros. (i.e. - the Tabletop rules)

Regarding the subject that led you to this question: kind of makes you appreciate the superlative balance that is achieved in the design of the VND-1R, doesn't it?

[UncleKulikov]

Hope so. Since I don't want to calculate it myself, and I don't think the mech could walk with inappropriate gyros...

[Soule]

Solis Obscuri, on 19 April 2012 - 07:01 PM, said:

Oooooh, that sounds good... but not as good as a nice souvlaki! God, it's been forever since I had a souvlaki...

That makes perfect sense. I guess in that event it wouldn't really matter if the process was automagic or if the gyro came with the engine, so long as the mechlab has the right functionality. But in any previous MW game I've played, engine upgrades were either unavailable (MW2 Mercs) or were handled automatically without buying a new component (MW2, GBL, MW3, MW4). It occurred to me that if the gyro just suddenly became heavier, it could be very confusing for a player who just bought a new engine, and suddenly came out a ton heavier then they expected upon installation in their 'mech...

in MW2 mercs you could upgrade the engine, you could change to XL or standard and change the speed (which changed wieght)

[Felicitatem Parco]

In MW4:M you could often add better gyros at the expense of added weight... I say that would make a fun addition to MW:O. Players could add an extra ton of ammo at the expense of downgrading their gyro, or drop a ton of armor to make your Mech super-stable with an improved gyro.

This would affect: your likelyhood of falling after heavy weapons implact; the observed recoil force of firing your weapons; how badly your sights get knocked around while you're under enemy fire; your weapons' accuracy while moving; how much your Mech sways around while you change directions of travel, accelerate, or decelerate; actualized long range accuracy of direct-fire weapons; the amount of fall damage you take; and more variables.

All this stuff would be very fun to tinker with by manipulating your gyro.

[William Petersen]

guardiandashi, on 19 April 2012 - 06:49 PM, said:

gyros are easy

the formula is engine rating divided by 100 and gyros are available in full ton increments (until xl gyros become available)

so 5-100 = 1 ton gyro
105-200 = 2 ton gyro
205-300 = 3 tons
305-400 = 4 tons

This is quite accurate. It could be automatic, or they could make gyros their own part that has to be switched out. It could just give you an error when you try to put a 110 engine on a 'Mech with a 1-ton Gyro saying something like "Current Gyro won't support this Engine, please upgrade to a 2-ton gyro". /shrugs

[Solis Obscuri]

Kiff_Stevenson, on 20 April 2012 - 09:52 AM, said:

Regarding the subject that led you to this question: kind of makes you appreciate the superlative balance that is achieved in the design of the VND-1R, doesn't it?

Well, my opinion of the Vindicator is sadly tarnished by MW2: Mercs, where it was awful for anything but tanking, but I do have to say that from a TT/combined arms perspective, it's a pretty well rounded design with nice long-range firepower and impressive toughness for its size.

I'm still a bit more partial to the Wyvern in the 45 ton class, though, as I prefer its close range capabilities.

Edited by Solis Obscuri, 20 April 2012 - 12:13 PM.