13 replies to this topic

[Jordax]

I'm surprised this hasnt been implemented, in Mechwarrior 4 active radar would detect all the way to 1000m but made you easier to detect also, and if you switched your radar to passive it would be 1/3 the range (if i recall correctly) and difficult to detect. In matches this would make things very interesting, you had to play with your radar to snipe or prepare ambushes.

Also you had the crouch option for mechs wich was very usefull to hide behind cover and it's something i would like to see in this game.

[dezgra]

I miss the crouch function, passive radar, and rear view camera. Oh and also "super jump" and purple striders.

[General Taskeen]

MW:LL has the best Active/Passive radar implementation:

http://wiki.mechlivi...php?title=Radar

[StalaggtIKE]

General Taskeen, on 23 December 2012 - 05:26 PM, said:

MW:LL has the best Active/Passive radar implementation:

http://wiki.mechlivi...php?title=Radar

This is WELL done. Instead, we get MWO version of ECM.

[Velba]

couched lance charge...... That's what I thought when you said crouch.

[Alistair Winter]

I'm bumping this, and I don't understand why this thread isn't 100 pages long.

I was very surprised to find MWO without the ability to switch between passive and active radar. And crouching would be a good addition as well - it's not like sniping is a huge problem in MWO today. Very few people are successful with ER PPC, ER LL or gauss sniping. It's much easier to grab easy kills by boating LRMs (which doesn't require LOS), SRMs, SSRMs, AC20s or medium lasers.

[Zyllos]

I think Carrioncrow's suggestions are pretty good for fixing a lot of issues with ECM and Radar: Crow's Massive Suggestion and Feedback Thread

Quote

Intro:

I’ve been a fan of Battletech for as long as I can remember, I’ve stuck with the titles that have tried to stay true to Battletech and abandon the ones that are mockeries. I believe MWO is one of the ones that will stay true to it. I will try to be as brief as possible but in depth enough that I hope I can get my ideas across clearly.

I would like to help that along with some suggestions and Feedback.

Sensors, ECM and Electronic Warfare

My suggestion for this is to give all Battlemechs something called a Mech Signature, or M-SIG. The M-SIG represents at what distance your mech can remain undetected and UNTARGETABLE by another Battlemech. A simple version of doing this is to give all mechs a M-SIG of 800. This means that one battle mech could detect another Battlemech at a distance of 800m.

The complicated version is that most mechs would have a M-SIG of 800 but some would have a M-SIG that is greater or lesser than the standard 800. This would be different between Battlemechs but could also be different between variants to help give some Battlemechs or variants a uniqueness to them.

Now the opposite of M-SIG is sensor strength. Sensor Strength represents a Battlemechs ability to detect a Battlemech and target them. For instance a Battlemech with a BAP would have a Sensor Strength of 200 allowing it to see Battlemechs as if they had a M-SIG 200 worse than what they actually have.

So M-SIG is basically your stealth efficiency. The lower your M-Sig the more stealthy you are, the higher your Sensor Strength the more adept you are at sniffing out stealthier mechs.
A M-SIG cannot be reduced to less than 100.


ECM

Many if not most feel that ECM is unbalanced. I feel this way myself, now if we were to incorporate the M-SIG idea above we could then allow ECM to reduce the M-SIG of the mech carrying it but also other friendly Battlemechs with-in that 200m Range to also gain the benefits of it. What this would do is allow ECM to be a great tool but not the “Be-All-End-All” Equipment it is right now, certainly useful but not a requirement as it is now.

ECM would no longer JAM streaks or LRM’s. Though with ECM and Sensors offline a mech could get down to 100 M-SIG, but could still be spotted by a friendly mech under 100m or TAG’d, or NARC’d.

ECM set to counter mode would disrupt an enemy’s ECM and or other abilities such as ECM, Null Sig or any other abilities, the ECCM Counter mode would still only counter one opposing ECM just as it does now.

Sensors

In conjunction with ECM and M-SIG the next step is to allow Battlemechs to turn off their Active Sensors this is done so that a Battlemech can further reduce their M-SIG. Now when a Battlemech turns off their Active Sensors they will no long be able to Target enemy Battlemechs to see the condition of their mech and additionally be unable to lock on with Streak SRM’s and LRM’s. This feature helps put the Stealth or detection on their own hands and alternatively give a further role for scout mechs to discover them.

BAP

Beagle Active Probe works just as it did before but with one change, that change is a Sensor Strength boost of 200. This means that a Mech with a BAP can detect and Target a mech with a 200m Bonus to M-SIG

See Picture Attached Below:


Here is a list of both Positive and Negative effects that will Impact the M-SIG.

Things like ECM and Sensors off will reduce your M-SIG making you stealthier, alternative if you get hit by a TAG or a NARC they can significantly increase your M-SIG so that you can be detected and targeted from great distances.

ECM: -400 M-SIG
BAP: +200 to Sensor Strength
Sensors Off: -300 M-SIG
TAG: +600 M-SIG
NARC: +800 M-SIG
Heat: +0-100 M-SIG depending on heat level.

Electronic Warfare
Now with the M-Sig system in place the ability and role for scout mechs are even more important, though a Battlemech can now achieve a way to make them stealthier which allows for more dynamic combat and the importance of communication. Now as far as the spotting and transferring target locations as it is now, none of that has changed. That’s all the same, provided you have your sensors online. Which means that spotting is even more important against targets trying to be stealthy.

TARGETING and ARTEMIS

The Time it takes you to target a Battlemech with LRM’s or Streaks is entirely based upon the M-SIG of the Battlemech, the lower the M-SIG the longer it takes to lock on to the target. The Higher the M-Sig the faster you log on.

Additionally due to the change in M-SIG we can now have Artemis function purely off of M-SIG by not only having the lock on feature work but having the Missile Spread based upon M-SIG as well. The lower the M-SIG the bigger your missile spread but the higher the M-SIG of the target the tighter your Missile spread will be. Of course Artemis should once again be able to work indirectly.

Edited by Zyllos, 04 February 2013 - 06:46 AM.

[Taizan]

Talking about MW4 & MWO - does the "Invert Throttle" in the Key config actually do anything or is it just a tease?

[Hobo Dan]

I like the idea of being able to turn on active radar that allows you to see and target every enemy mech in your normal sensor range as long at it also lights you up like a candle to said enemies.

Also, you should only be able to share targeting info with teamates (as we do now) for the mech you currently have targeted.

[Citizen Erased]

Taizan, on 04 February 2013 - 07:04 AM, said:

Talking about MW4 & MWO - does the "Invert Throttle" in the Key config actually do anything or is it just a tease?

You can only bind it to a Joystick Button. It's for reverse the gaz throttle only.

[Penance]

crouching?!

khanz my mech goes pronez so i khanz wezley snipes?

[Lusankya]

Crouch would be nice, I'm neutral on active/passive radar.

[Livewyr]

I think Crouching would be a very good thing in this game..(I'd been asking about it many times, but to no avail.)
Would help with ambushes and passive scouting.

I think the active radar (1000 meter detection no matter what) was actually one of the bad things about MW4. It really shot tactical movements in the foot because unless they were ECM'd they couldn't do anything but shut down or go passive to avoid detection, which of course left them very limited.

I think the point of the scout would be severely diminished if not all altogether removed by adding in Active Radar. (who needs a fast agile scout to cover ground quickly to see around everything.. when a 107kph dragon or a 130kph Centurion could just wander in directions and pick up an enemy?)

Not to mention: Missile boats weren't as big a problem in MW4 because missiles were just plain laughable... Imagine a Adv. Sensor/BAP/Artemis Missile boat with Active radar NOW. (Even if they did put the missiles back to canon 1pt per missile.. it would be a gigantic missile war..Stalkers and Atlases with LRM 15s and 20s packing 3000 rounds of ammo firing non-stop..)

Active radar is a bane to tactical movement and use of terrain.

[Strum Wealh]

As already noted in another thread, the Devs already have/had(?) plans for passive radar, and for a whole host of other sensor-related goddies.