ODonovan, on 10 December 2012 - 09:31 PM, said:
As Kaijin said, the armor values are a DIRECT 100% port, just doubled to make the games last longer. You mention a common denominator but there is NO common denominator. The Atlas has a tiny head hitbox which is unfair to drivers of other 'mechs which have larger hitboxes. Why should the largest 'mech with the most armor and the capacity to do the most damage also have the smallest chance to be hit in the head by FAR? You talk about not making the game easier. You make no sense. I'm talking about making the game more FAIR for everyone who DOESN'T drive an Atlas.
-Irish
You earlier mentioned an across-the-board standard head hitbox, for all mechs. That makes the game easier for people shooting many of the other mechs that are not the Atlas, as this will increase smaller hitboxes to whatever standard you decide is a "fair" size to produce the frequency of cockpit shots for pilots that you are desiring to add to the game. This also has the side-effect of making the mechs less physically interesting in a three-dimensional environment as the difference in them becomes less actual and more cosmetic. Following this design concept, it leads towards less diversity as mechs with different operational parameters could be called "unfair" instead of unique.
Why should the Atlas in particular be tough to cockpit? Aside from the fact that it's one of the most iconic mechs of the IP and should be a hardcase just on rep, dirtside it is way slower and less maneuverable than most other rides and is as tall as a multistorey building, and its main role in most matches is to eat as much fire as it dishes out. A tough cockpit shot on the thing keeps it viable in its battle role instead of being near-free salvage for a mediocre pilot with a half-decent alpha. An Atlas is not a raindancer, it is very easy to shoot and tough to avoid getting shot in, let alone also being a high-priority target for any enemy forces. You want to talk fair, look at the entire game. Assault mechs are supposed to be the hardest ride on the field, it's their entire point of existence. They pay for that hardness and firepower in speed and maneuver, and it's not like an Atlas is invulnerable everywhere except the eye. They're very strong, but hardly unbeatable. They do not need an extra inherent weakness just so people can shoot their eyes out a little more.
As far as oldschool rules go, Megamek is a closer port than MWO. I do not care about the actual TT rules in regards to MWO other than flavour, and I have the OG boxed set on a shelf behind me. MWO needs to FEEL right, to feel like we're actually inside the giant robots we moved across cardboard maps back in the day. This is a video game real-time representation of giant robot fights in the BT universe and is based on its ruleset; it is not a highly-accurate video game representation of a Battletech TT ruleset being played out. Practically none of the video games have been, ever. Things get changed for gameplay, tech limits, and concept. So armour is the 100% same, but doubled, you say? I'm pretty sure doubling core numbers makes the game play out differently, so it's already changed at a fundamental level. Armour values are a fairly integral stat to be re-setting and then claim an accurate port-over, let alone the myriad of tweaks already instituted. Look at the weapons systems. Many weapons aren't even the same as they were last month, let alone true to TT; they're tweaked and balanced against the live gameplay, each other, the new armour, the current mech hardpoint selections, and the new 1.4/2.0 mystery heatsinks. Look at ECM and see if it's even remotely close to its TT incarnation, or the MRM-style-firing SRM tubes everyone's packing. TT is a jump-off point for MWO, not a destination.
4
