5 replies to this topic

[Fut]

Last night, while tooling around in the Mechlab, I noticed something that struck me as odd.

My Mech is wasting internal space on pointless things like "Hand Actuators". Without the need to actually move my hands at all, and no melee weapons to grip, having articulating hands seems quite foolish. This got me thinking...

There should be an option to remove any/all of those Actuators from your Mech. When you remove one, that part of the mech will no longer function - So removing an upper arm actuator will mean that your arm can no longer move up/down (or side/side - not sure which actuator controls what). I'm fairly certain that there are some Mechs out there already that don't have as maneuverable appendages as the bulk, so it's not really unheard of. I simply ask for the option to make these sort of decisions for ourselves.

It might just be worth having an arm that can't swing side to side for the extra space to mount a larger laser, or a bigger AC.

Oh, just don't remove your leg actuators, the ability to actually move is quite essential to success.

Edited by Fut, 17 January 2013 - 12:54 PM.

[Eddrick]

This is possible in the tabletop game.

The effects actuators have in MechWarrior Online: It effects the range of motion on the arms. This can be observed with the differance between the Atlas, Awesome, and Stalker. I haven't seen much of what the hand acuator does. But, I have seen the differance between with and without upper arm actuators. Without them, the arms have almost no horizontal range of motion. Mostly, vertical. Without both upper and lower arm actuators: The arms would be locked in place.

If done, it would be great if it could be visualy seen (Without an actuator. What's the point of even having the joint at all?).

The problem with this: it is to easy to abuse. I could picture almost everyone doing it. Especialy, those that don't want the arms to move at all. Like, the people that never want the arms to move from the same crosshair the torso uses. The others would just want to fit the biggest weapons they can (Like, yourself).

[Alex Warden]

Eddrick, on 17 January 2013 - 09:52 PM, said:

This is possible in the tabletop game.

The effects actuators have in MechWarrior Online: It effects the range of motion on the arms. This can be observed with the differance between the Atlas, Awesome, and Stalker. I haven't seen much of what the hand acuator does. But, I have seen the differance between with and without upper arm actuators. Without them, the arms have almost no horizontal range of motion. Mostly, vertical. Without both upper and lower arm actuators: The arms would be locked in place.

If done, it would be great if it could be visualy seen (Without an actuator. What's the point of even having the joint at all?).

The problem with this: it is to easy to abuse. I could picture almost everyone doing it. Especialy, those that don't want the arms to move at all. Like, the people that never want the arms to move from the same crosshair the torso uses. The others would just want to fit the biggest weapons they can (Like, yourself).

agree... regarding the abuse.. what those actuators do for the most important part in MWO is limiting the space in certain mechs... it prevends most cents, dragons and cataphracts from having gauss rifles in the arms for example...

i don´t say i wouldn´t like the possibility to remove those parts... but i say no regardless...

Edited by Alex Warden, 18 January 2013 - 04:53 AM.

[Fut]

Eddrick, on 17 January 2013 - 09:52 PM, said:

The problem with this: it is to easy to abuse.

Alex Warden, on 18 January 2013 - 04:50 AM, said:

agree... regarding the abuse..

Hmm... Well, to be perfectly honest here (what else is the internet for if not honesty, right?), I hadn't actually thought about the potential for "abuse" with this suggestion. This would probably make a lot more people into non-stop Alpha Striking Machines, which already happens too often IMO.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Sears]

Mechs with hands should have a bonus to damage when charging, when charging gets implemented.

[Jakob Knight]

I think your suggestion is anything but 'dumb' (unlike some on these forums that clearly lack an attempt to think through all the possible ramifications before posting). As others have posted, this is possible in the original game.

However, along with weapon hardpoints, this is one of those things that impose artifical limitations on mechs, as well as give them distinctive characteristics. I think those are good things to keep one unit different from another, even if they are inconvenient and seem pointless on the surface.

Besides, who is to say they won't include a use for Hands at some point in the future, or melee combat (collisions are already slated to make a return)? Even though they seem likely to be useless at the moment, that may change later.

Lastly,others have noted that some mechs have greater arm movement and elevation than others, almost certainly due to the placement of actuators, so don't be so quick to discount them.

Edited by Jakob Knight, 18 January 2013 - 06:24 AM.