16 replies to this topic

[Eddrick]

I looked for a general discussion about Artillery weapons in MechWarrior Online. But, had no luck. So, I figured I would start one.

Arriow Vl http://www.sarna.net...ow_IV_Artillery
Sniper http://www.sarna.net...Artillery_Piece
Long Tom http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Long_Tom

Some balancing may need to be done.

Artillery weapons have a very long range (Entire maps, in the tabletop game). Deal more damage then most/if not all other weapons. However, every weapon needs a drawback for a game to be balanced. They need a spotter to help them aim, since they are shooting so far away they can't see what they are shooting at. They also, normaly have a very long reload time. They are hard to aim dew to the distance the shot is fired and the time it takes for the shot to get to its target (Atleast, everal seconds). They are very big and heavy too. They are not usefull against close range targets, because of the reload time.

Needless to say, they are not a primary form of attack. One good purpose I found for them is: "Disruption". They are great for disrupting enemy stratagies and tactics. Examples: A defence line is not going to hold when under artillery fire. Nore, will formations hold, either. Also, fireing randomly in the enemies general area can cause chaos among the enemy uniits.

For MechWarrior Online, some bigger maps would be needed to justify thier very long range abilities. Also, if melee attacks and weapons become available. I would like them to be added at the same time, to complement both being opposite extremes.

Discuss. Any other ideas on how artillery weapons can be used and how it can work in MechWarrior Online.

[Tennex]

i would love to see the long tom. Those weapons are so fun to use have to take arc/trajectory into account.
plus there are no real AoE weapons in the game right now


but with the way Torso vertical works now. it'd be hard to aim a toros mounted Longtom if you want it to go anywhere.

and if your arms go above a certain point, you cant even see the targeting reticle

Edited by Tennex, 06 January 2013 - 07:10 PM.

[Felix]

They set LRMs up as artillery type weapons in MWO.

People couldnt deal with them using their brains so they whined until the devs introd ECM.

It is unlikely we will see any artillery type weapons that cant be shut down by a 1.5 ton bit of equipment.

[Aznpersuasion89]

i dont see arti weapons as being necessary in this game right now. maps are way too small. and i imagine piloting one would take away from the team. 1 arti and 11 mechs vs 12 mechs. unless that arti gets off a lot of kills early on i imagine that he will be a sitting duck and a liability.

[General Taskeen]

Those things are already in the game files, fyi. All those weapons have mech mountable versions.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Victor (Check out the 9K2 custom victor)

There is also a 'blazer' listed in the game files, which is this thing:

http://www.sarna.net...i/Blazer_Cannon

Edited by General Taskeen, 06 January 2013 - 07:48 PM.

[Noth]

General Taskeen, on 06 January 2013 - 07:48 PM, said:

Those things are already in the game files, fyi. All those weapons have mech mountable versions.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Victor (Check out the 9K2 custom victor)

There is also a 'blazer' listed in the game files, which is this thing:

http://www.sarna.net...i/Blazer_Cannon

For those things to be mounted on a mech (not talking about the blazer cannon) you had to split the crits of teh weapon between multiple areas. We cannot split crits so they cannot fit on the mechs here.

[Trauglodyte]

According to data mined modules, there are Artillery systems that you can call in as fire support. Think of it like the Scoundrel/Imperial Agent abilities in that really really bad Star Wars MMO (not that I'm jaded).

[General Taskeen]

Noth, on 06 January 2013 - 07:51 PM, said:

For those things to be mounted on a mech (not talking about the blazer cannon) you had to split the crits of teh weapon between multiple areas. We cannot split crits so they cannot fit on the mechs here.

BT rules say you can split crits for big weapons (LBX20, AC20, etc.), that's why placeholders for them (long tom, arrow iv, etc.) have already been found in the MWO game files (lol?). Derp, gotcha Noth.

They will be made available later.

Edited by General Taskeen, 06 January 2013 - 07:57 PM.

[Scar]

"Mechs only" (c) PGI

[Felix]

General Taskeen, on 06 January 2013 - 07:55 PM, said:

BT rules say you can split crits for big weapons (LBX20, AC20, etc.), that's why placeholders for them (long tom, arrow iv, etc.) have already been found in the game files (lol?). Derp, gotcha Noth.

They will be made available later.

Just because they are mentioned in the game files doesnt mean they will ever be used. They could just be future proofing their game in the event that they dont screw it up within the games first year and they want to add it in.

Plus as mentioned there are plans to call in things like arty and UAV strikes from off map

[Tennex]

General Taskeen, on 06 January 2013 - 07:55 PM, said:

BT rules say you can split crits for big weapons (LBX20, AC20, etc.), that's why placeholders for them (long tom, arrow iv, etc.) have already been found in the MWO game files (lol?). Derp, gotcha Noth.

They will be made available later.

where in game files ? doubting the legitamacy ofthese claims

Edited by Tennex, 06 January 2013 - 08:09 PM.

[Kaijin]

Want , but would have to wait 5 years for.

Edited by Kaijin, 06 January 2013 - 08:09 PM.

[General Taskeen]

Tennex, on 06 January 2013 - 08:02 PM, said:

where in game files ?

Someone posted about it a while ago in the closed beta forums. They pulled the exact placeholder info, with whatever it is people use to do so, and posted it in the forums, and a Dev replied saying, "How did you know? Oh yeah, the game files." It was obvious back then that the Devs are contemplating on adding them in some fashion, since it was found among other things, a regular prototype "blazer cannon" and some other stuff I can't remember. MW4 had a lot of the quirky prototype stuff as well. MW:LL has Mech mounted Arrow IV. As far as artillery, the Assault maps are too small, but I see them kind of playing a role on larger maps and 12v12, either way a Mech using them would have to play a very specific role and probably won't be added for some time.

Edited by General Taskeen, 06 January 2013 - 08:21 PM.

[WarGruf]

Hey there check in th Command Chair for further info, just a taste for you

Commander Skills:

• • Order View – Allows the pilot to right click and request friendly BattleMechs to attack or defend areas/objectives on the BattleGrid
  
• • Command View – Provides a layer of information over the BattleGrid including objectives and any intelligence information passed back by scout Mechs on the front line
  
• • Call Air Strike – Calls in an air strike that does AOE damage in a straight line
  
• • Call Artillery – Calls in a land based artillery bombardment on to a target area
  
• • Call Naval Bombardment – Calls in Naval artillery bombardment that has a larger and more powerful result than regular artillery
  
• • Call UAV – Calls a UAV that passes overhead of the battlefield and relays ALL enemy positions to the command pilot
  
• • Call Predator Drone – Drops a heavy explosive device on a targeted area
  
• • Call Satellite Sweep – Full detail information is passed to the command pilot including enemy location/direction/speed
  
• • Danger Close – A short range radar detection system that lets the command pilot know of any nearby enemy BattleMechs

We get Arti later when the finnish Modules it seems.... Nice.

[Sears]

Yeah I can imagine artillery sticking to modules. 20 tons is a lot. And you'd be ripe pickings for light mechs, probably more so than LRM boats. But saying that, why not have the choice in anyway. I can see a lot of base camping and shelling though. Would be a good threat to blobbing teams.

[GuardDogg]

When long toms become the weapon in MWO, going to be a mess and angry players, but when fired heat is huge.

[Felix]

Sears, on 06 January 2013 - 10:56 PM, said:

Yeah I can imagine artillery sticking to modules. 20 tons is a lot. And you'd be ripe pickings for light mechs, probably more so than LRM boats. But saying that, why not have the choice in anyway. I can see a lot of base camping and shelling though. Would be a good threat to blobbing teams.

They could go the whole route of stealing World of Tanks shtick and have two different modes for it.

I have to say there would be a...great deal of pleasure in ramming a light down to its back then leveling a long tom at its face point blank and pulling the trigger.... Excuse me I need to go change my pants from that one.