3 replies to this topic

[Deamhan]

Good Day,

I was thinking about weapon balance and believe that weapon mass should have an impact on the speed of torso twist and mech turning.

Let's say a Gauss user is standing still so they turn at their fastest speed. Another mech is circling that mech. If you consider that the speed of the circling mech goes unchanged, the angular velocity of that mech is greater the closer the mech is to the one standing still. Therefore if you can obtain an angular velocity that is faster than the stationary mech's ability to turn in place, you can always stay behind them and not get hit.

If the mass of the weapons equipped to a mech slowed that mechs ability to turn, then this would make it harder for them to keep their target within their line of fire. As it should be. Take the AC20 for example. It's a brawler's weapon with its shorter range but two of these can take out pretty much anything in 2 or 3 alphas. It should be that powerful right hook that is easy to dodge but if it lands, you're KO'ed. With LRMs you have the minimum distance and you have the fact they they take enough time to reach their target that they can get behind nearby cover. The AC20 and Gauss have no minimum range, and their ability to track is simply based on the mech's ability to turn. Then there is the ammo velocity. They basically become the powerful right hook that comes at you as quick as a jab.

So I say, slow the mechs ability to turn and torso twist in accordance to how much weapon mass they are carrying.

Thank You.

Edited by Deamhan, 27 January 2013 - 12:13 AM.

[Dirus Nigh]

i disagree for the same reason why I think engine rating and weight should not effect torso twist speeds. A mechs torso will weigh the same regardless of what weapons or engine is mounted in it.

[Deamhan]

Yeah, I came to the same realization when I was trying to get to sleep.

However, I still think there is an issue that needs to be resolved. IE equipping ppc's, ac 20's, and LRM 20's where LL, ac 2's, and LRM 10's were envisioned to go or boating ppc's, lrm 20's, ac 20's or gauss to the point where if it wasn't for the devs doubling the armor of the mechs, every mech who faced one of these boats would get insta'popped.

One of the great features of this game is the ability to customize your load outs so you definitely want to maintain this but perhaps too much freedom is the issue. How about, instead of trying to mess around with the physics, they just compartmentalize the critical slots around the hard points?

Take the C1. It has one launcher per arm, an energy hard point in each left and right torso and two energy hard points in the center torso.

The arms can have 5 slot compartmentalized each. This allows the C1 to have up to a LRM 20 in each arm.

The left and right energy hard points can be 2 slots compartmentalized, putting a limit on the size of the energy weapon that can go there to no bigger than a large laser.

The center torso can have the two hard points either having one critical slot each or they can share two. If they share two critical slots, then you can equip a large laser but at the cost of not being able to utilize the other hard point. In fact, hard points sharing crit slots is what can allow for more customization but at the same time still limit the number of weapons that can be equipped. For example take the C1. Give the center torso two 2 ballistic hard points. With 4 hard points sharing only 2 crit slots, the most you can bring is still six weapons. The same as it is now.

Only weapons would be restricted by the compartments. If you have a three slot compartment and you use only two up with a weapon, you can still equip a double heat sink in that third slot provided that you have two slots available outside the compartment within the body part.


Take the Cat A1, it could equip 4 LRM 15's and 2 LRM 5's. It can also boat 6 SRM 6's.

With the LRM route, it packs 144 dmg per alpha! and for 30 dps
With the SRM route, it packs 90 dmg per alpha (22.5 dps) but doesn't give the enemy mech time to duck behind cover and barely gives the AMS time to react if you get within 100m.

If they compartmentalize the hard points to 3-2-2 per arm, then you end up with...

One LRM 15 and two LRM 10s which reduces the alpha of both arms to 126. Much better considering that LRM's can be both avoided with cover and intercepted by AMS.

As for SRMs, it would be one SRM 6 and two SRM 4. This would bring the alpha of both arms down to 70.

This would also leave 3 slots left over per arm for other things like heatsinks, case and ammo, etc.


So long as you have 4 or more hard points of the same type, people will boat weapon. The only way to prevent this is to either never have more than three of one type of hard point (limiting the varients) or limite the size of the weapon that can be equipped to each hard point. I suggest the latter.

[Mad Cow Jenkins]

I would prefer your system to the current one any day, it will also allow for a more variations with the mechs in the future. Especially if we consider that new weapons will be added in the future that might be worse then SRM6 on a CAT A1 (i really hate those).
Then again maybe its just that some weapons are too good and the system is just to broken ti begin with....