6 replies to this topic

[Victor Morson]

There's lots of talk on how to handle Omni 'mechs in the near future when they arrive. They're hard to handle, because if you make them true Omnis it destroyed 'mech personality. MW4 handled it by only providing a few Omni slots, which is a fine solution to the problem.

However, I was thinking of another interesting method to give Omnis a huge advantage, without removing what makes them special. Allow players to swap between Omni variants for a small fee / for free without buying a new 'mech, but leave the hard points locked.

What I mean is, for example, you own a Thor A (Or an experimental IS Omni, of course); now, for a minor maintenance fee you can swap it to a Thor D without re-buying anything, completely shifting it's weapon pods. Unlike regular 'mechs which need to be re-ranked and outright replaced, Omnis can be turned into variant for a fraction of the cost.

This would really go a long way towards making them feel very much like Omnis were intended (Swapping weapons between missions being extremely easy to do) and avoid all the pitfalls of the normal Omni slot systems. Anyway, just a thought for something that's not going to be an issue until the end of the year or so.

[Kudzu]

Actually, I think a better way is to give them pod space for any weapon load out they'd like without hardpoints... but don't allow armor/engine changes. It let's omni's keep their flavor while still allowing the IS to have some advantages in the mechlab.

[Jaroth Corbett]

Just use the pod system from MWLL. It is the truest representation of the Omni EVER made.

[Felicitatem Parco]

I think converting from a standard Mech to an Omni Mech would cost more than a "little fee..." You'd have to rebuild every single mount on the whole Mech. That's why Factories make OmniMechs and BattleMechs seperately - there is no interconversion scheme. Just sell your BattleMech and buy an OmniMech if you want an OmniMech because that would save you gobs of cash compared to converting a BattleMech to an OmniMech.

Also... One thing pilots will have to worry about is that OmniWeapons cannot be mounted onto BattleMechs and standard weapons cannot be mounted onto OmniMechs. So if you DID make that silly swap and paid the cost of a new Mech in technical labor fees, then you'd also have to buy all-new weapons because your old, standard weapons won't fit on an Omni.

Edited by Prosperity Park, 11 May 2012 - 07:11 AM.

[Jaroth Corbett]

The thing is the Clans are not money based *cough*Diamond Shark*cough*. Sure they have merchants but remember lots of their mechs are reworked IS original designs, hence the IICs e.g Hunchback IIC or Orion IIC. As they worked on new models, it was the scientists who developed the modular pod system implemented in the Omnis. Same thing goes with the Elemental suits. They were based off of preexisting pressure suits. Clan warriors do get salaries but it is just enough to buy some clothes, watch a movie, do some basic grocery shopping etc. It is not an exorbitant amount of money, nor do they live lavish lifestyles. The only people who will really have to buy Omnis moving forward will be the IS & that will be black market early on. Everything else will be salvage, & for the record in the early stages the clash with the Clans it is not simply a matters of "Oh I shot off the arm of this Thor, I will use the ERPPC in it, on my Atlas." The scientists took some time to learn how to get the Clan weapons to work on regular mechs. It is weapons & technology not instant coffee or noodles.

Edited by Jaroth Winson, 11 May 2012 - 08:37 AM.

[Pht]

Victor Morson, on 10 May 2012 - 10:12 PM, said:

There's lots of talk on how to handle Omni 'mechs in the near future when they arrive. They're hard to handle, because if you make them true Omnis it destroyed 'mech personality.

Omnis as true omnis DO have personality - you can't mess with their armor tonnage, and all non-omni equpment is fixed, in the same manner as in normal 'mechs, with the addition that you can't customize the fixed sections in any way that would restrict the omnipod spaces.

Beyond that ... they were concieved, designed, and *built* to not have that much of a "personality" equipment wise.

IMO, restrictions on omnis should be done outside of the 'mechlab... mostly by making them rare and expensive.

[Siilk]

Jaroth Winson, on 11 May 2012 - 05:46 AM, said:

Just use the pod system from MWLL. It is the truest representation of the Omni EVER made.

What he said.