Kraven Kor, on 12 December 2012 - 02:57 PM, said:
Uh... yes, this existed in Tabletop.
Not exactly as implemented, but it did exist in battletech.
They never put it into the other MW games, I don't think, and I'm not sure the reasoning there.
Passive / Active radar was the big "stealth" mechanic of previous MW games, IIRC.
Actually ECM was in other MW titles, just not a pile of broken OP BS like it is here. In MW 4 Mercs for example, it increased enemy lock on times with missiles, reduced their radar range/locks(by a few hundred meters, not to 200), and prevented BAP from detecting you through terrain. Similarity, the BAP increased radar range, reduced your own lockon time, and allowed detection through terrain. If both were in effect at the same time on opposing sides... they basically canceled each other out. If Piranha had any idea what they were doing, that's how they would have done it here. But instead we got the ECM doing much more than what it should, the BAP doing much less, and when matched up, there isn't even a fight. The BAP just does nothing at all. In order for the ECM to remain like it is now, the BAP needs a big buff and to actually do something vs the ECM. But I don't think they care about any of that... or they would have done it to start with.
For instance, if the BAP did this:
Decrease missile lock time.(Or put me to normal vs ECM)
Increase radar range(Or add several hundred meters vs ECM)
It would all balance out. But that would require them actually caring in the first place. Ironic thing is that Streaks are still OP as hell if you luck up and aren't being jammed or have an ECM of your own to force them to function. This is what happens when you drop in a device instead of just balancing the weapon itself. Streaks need a nerf on THEIR OWN RIGHT, while the ECM doesn't affect them so much. For instance, if you nerfed Streaks directly, then didn't have the ECM gut them so much, then it wouldn't revolve entirely around ECM vs no ECM. Then it would all balance out better. But again, who cares?
stjobe, on 13 December 2012 - 02:26 AM, said:
And I disagree; ECM has made the game a lot more fun (for me, I hasten to add). It introduced a very real fog-of-war, where you sometimes just have to stop staring at the minimap and look out the cockpit window and find the enemy.
It could have done that without being OP or game degrading like it is now. Making it gut Streaks doesn't affect what you said. And making it jam to 200m doesn't do that either. If it jammed to 500m vs BAP, people still wouldn't detect you all the way across a map or fire LRMs across a huge field at you. But since it is so overpowered, it does its intended role plus a lot more, when it should have just done its intended role. You know a device is clearly broken when the 1 variant out of the line up will be the only one most players use. Putting aside the talent tree req, there's no longer any benefit to using any non ECM Raven, or Cicada, or Commando, or Atlas. The K variant especially is useless because it sacrifices guns for another AMS. Why do that when you could just slot an ECM instead, not losing any guns, and be entirely immune to LRMs?
Edited by Bluten, 13 December 2012 - 02:40 AM.