7 replies to this topic

[Osiris1975]

Ever end up with a mech half a ton short from max tonnage? The only options currently seem to be CASE or adding armor.

PGI, can we please get some more half-ton options? Some ideas follow:

• Half-ton ammo packs. Very simply, take up 1 critical slot, for half a ton, providing half the ammo of the full-ton equivalent.
  
• Chaff packs. Half a ton per use (or balanced to be cheaper and lighter than ECM when it is introduced). Spoofs any incoming missile except for SRMs, and causes all locks to be lost.
  
• Smoke Grenade. Creates cloud of smoke for cover
  
• Speed Boost: A single-use item that boosts your mech's speed for a short period of time.
  
• Flares:Spoofs the missiles suggested below.

Another idea (not half ton item), is to introduce a infrared-based medium range missile as follows:

min range: 100m
optimal range: 400m
max range: 700m

Requires line of sight to lock. Can't be spoofed by chaff or ECM. If you wanted to get fancy, chance to hit could be pegged to the amount of heat the target mech is generating.

[Psydotek]

I agree that ammo should be able to be loaded by the 1/2 ton. It's in the Battletech rules and would help to round out weapon loads.

[Jabilac]

1/2 ton ammo packs sound great

[Derek Icelord]

Psydotek, on 24 November 2012 - 08:33 AM, said:

I agree that ammo should be able to be loaded by the 1/2 ton. It's in the Battletech rules and would help to round out weapon loads.

Only for machine gun ammo.

They're having enough issues balancing what's already here. We don't need to go adding in more crap that BattleTech never had. That's a sin MechAssault committed that does not bear repeating.

[ChaosGrinder]

i disagree. Those ideas sound good to me and i think they are worth talking about.

[Skyfaller]

Osiris1975, on 24 November 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

Ever end up with a mech half a ton short from max tonnage? The only options currently seem to be CASE or adding armor.

PGI, can we please get some more half-ton options? Some ideas follow:

• Half-ton ammo packs. Very simply, take up 1 critical slot, for half a ton, providing half the ammo of the full-ton equivalent.
  
• Chaff packs. Half a ton per use (or balanced to be cheaper and lighter than ECM when it is introduced). Spoofs any incoming missile except for SRMs, and causes all locks to be lost.
  
• Smoke Grenade. Creates cloud of smoke for cover
  
• Speed Boost: A single-use item that boosts your mech's speed for a short period of time.
  
• Flares:Spoofs the missiles suggested below.

Another idea (not half ton item), is to introduce a infrared-based medium range missile as follows:

min range: 100m
optimal range: 400m
max range: 700m

Requires line of sight to lock. Can't be spoofed by chaff or ECM. If you wanted to get fancy, chance to hit could be pegged to the amount of heat the target mech is generating.

Spoof missiles for half ton.. ok..when you also add a half ton - laser/autocannon/gauss/pcc immmunity device that is also half ton. Your suggestion removes missile boats from the game as half ton means anyone would gladly give up two or three tons to prevent lrm/ssrm damage.

Instead of half-ammo packs I'd prefer more toys be added for half ton.

[Strum Wealh]

Osiris1975, on 24 November 2012 - 06:06 AM, said:

Ever end up with a mech half a ton short from max tonnage? The only options currently seem to be CASE or adding armor.

PGI, can we please get some more half-ton options? Some ideas follow:

• Half-ton ammo packs. Very simply, take up 1 critical slot, for half a ton, providing half the ammo of the full-ton equivalent.
  
• Chaff packs. Half a ton per use (or balanced to be cheaper and lighter than ECM when it is introduced). Spoofs any incoming missile except for SRMs, and causes all locks to be lost.
  
• Smoke Grenade. Creates cloud of smoke for cover
  
• Speed Boost: A single-use item that boosts your mech's speed for a short period of time.
  
• Flares:Spoofs the missiles suggested below.

Another idea (not half ton item), is to introduce a infrared-based medium range missile as follows:


min range: 100m
optimal range: 400m
max range: 700m

Requires line of sight to lock. Can't be spoofed by chaff or ECM. If you wanted to get fancy, chance to hit could be pegged to the amount of heat the target mech is generating.

Only Machine Guns had the option of half-ton ammo bins; everything else is always allotted in full-ton increments.

BattleMech-sale Chaff Pods don't come into the timeline until 3066, and still weigh one ton each.

Smoke Warheads are one of the alternate munition types for both LRMs and SRMs, aren't invented until after the Clans invade, and are still not allotted in half-ton increments.

Flares, along with smoke warheads, are among the munition types available for Mech Mortars (which have yet to ever have been implemented in a BT/MW video game).

The only speed-boosters are Superchargers (which weighs one-tenth of the Engine's weight and consumes one critical), MASC (which weighs one-twentieth of the BattleMech's weight (rounded up) and consumes as many criticals), and TSM (consumes no weight, but consumes 6 criticals).

All MRMs are unguided "dumb-fire" missiles and they do not come into the timeline until 3058.

Edited by Strum Wealh, 24 November 2012 - 04:39 PM.

[Osiris1975]

Strum Wealh, on 24 November 2012 - 01:03 PM, said:

Only Machine Guns had the option of half-ton ammo bins; everything else is always allotted in full-ton increments.

BattleMech-sale Chaff Pods don't come into the timeline until 3066, and still weigh one ton each.

Smoke Warheads are one of the alternate munition types for both LRMs and SRMs, aren't invented until after the Clans invade, and are still allotted in half-ton increments.

Flares, along with smoke warheads, are among the munition types available for Mech Mortars (which have yet to ever have been implemented in a BT/MW video game).

The only speed-boosters are Superchargers (which weighs one-tenth of the Engine's weight and consumes one critical), MASC (which weighs one-twentieth of the BattleMech's weight (rounded up) and consumes as many criticals), and TSM (consumes no weight, but consumes 6 criticals).

All MRMs are unguided "dumb-fire" missiles and they do not come into the timeline until 3058.

I guess I'm not super concerned with what happens in the real BT universe, but since the game follows the timeline I'm fine with those things being introduced when they are in the BT timeline.

What I do push back against is the idea that only MG half-ton ammo could be included into the game because that is what canon has. You can't stifle innovation completely, if an idea would make for good gameplay, that should be considered as long as it doesn't break the game. As you guys know, the game doesn't stick to the rules 100% anyway. They tweaked weapons damage, for example.

If we are going to stick to TT rules so completely, we might as well stop clicking our mouses, roll the dice on our mouse pads, and type into chat whether we rolled a hit or not while making 'pew pew' sounds.