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[Baudolino]

This is a two pronged suggestion. First suggestion will somewhat limit customization and the second will re-introduce customization in what i believe is a sensible way.

First off, like others have suggested, mechs should have better specified hardpoints. I`d like to see light, medium, heavy and super-heavy hardpoints.

Super-heavy hardpoints can hold any weapon of the lighter classes, but light hardpoints cannot hold medium or other oversized weapons.

This suggestion will limit excessive boating and increase focus on skill-based play as people will need a greater mix of weapons.

The downside is that this limits customization which is, despite the crappy mechbay, one of the most fun parts of the game.

So i came up with the idea of what i call "enginnering points". This might be a bit hardcore some peoples taste, but personally i think it`s fun.

The idea is that "enginnering points" are earned per match and used to customize all aspects of the mech that earned them. They are tied to the mech and fittings used to earn them. If you switch mech you need to earn new "engineering points".

ALSO - upgrades done with "engineering points" are lost when the mech is lost.

Example:
10 ep = +0.1 heat dissipation on a single DHS (for a total of 2.0 per DHS)
25 ep = -1 heat generation on a single weapon
25 ep = -0.5 tons of engine weight (for a total of 25% weight reduction)
50 ep = +1 damage on a single weapon
50 ep = +1 ton armor on the mech

this list could of course be made alot longer. Creativity is the only limit.

The idea would be that you can make 1-5 ep per match. Also, you need to cross an XP threshold before you start earning "engineering points"- lets say 200. Furthermore if you spend more than a certain amount of time powered down or end the match while powered down, you don`t earn EP. Earning EP is based on actually using the mech.

The point is to keep it restrictive so no one will ever unlock everything and also keep the menu large so that people can choose a wide range of development paths.

This will make people really scared of loosing their mechs, but since they don`t earn EP without committing to the game, they might be extremely motivated for teamplay.

1-5 ep might be a bit low- this reward should be balanced against BOTH the average lifespan of a mech AND the average lifespan of the top 10 percentiles.

This system will give "rage quitting" a whole new dimension..