Atlan
02/19/09 12:04 AM
123.255.30.20
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Now, it's obvious at a glance that most people here much, MUCH prefer Classic Battletech over the new Mechwarrior: Dark Age, both in game design and backstory. So I'd like to make it clear I'm not talking about which is better.
What I'm wondering about is the new Mech designs. Mechs like the Jade Falcon Gyrfalcon, Shrike and Eyrie. The new starter mechs- the Mangonel and the Jade Hawk. How do they, as mechs, compare to clasic mechs of the same weight class?
(I know that the Dark Age mechs have a totaly different system of playing, but the wiki here has information on several DA mechs on the wiki here)
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Lefric
02/19/09 09:01 AM
216.120.184.66
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I will preface this by saying that I have no experience with Mechwarrior:DA, so I will say only one thing: The Pheonix mechs, for example, are classics for a reason: There weapons mixes are very hard to improve on.
Take the Warhammer and the Archer, for example. Even in a universe of 3070+, with all the new toys anc mechs, the 3025 ARC 2-R is still a decent mech. Add in case and artemis, and the 3050 ARC-4M is still one of the best mechs in the game, IMO. Good damage at long range, nearly maxed armor, and CASE to protect your mechwarrior from those annoying ammo explosions.It's pretty hard to get a better mech than that.
The Warhammer, OTOH, has issues (mainly lack of armor in the pre-pheonix versions), but that dual PPC / SRM6/ 2 ML combo is tough to beat as a direct fire platform, period, and that's why so many "new" mechs try to emulate that weapons mix. And it looks so bloody cool... 
So, w/o knowing how the DA mechs work, I dare say that they are no better (or worse, for that matter)than older designs - just different.
Just my .2 C-bills worth.
"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence upon those who would do us harm." -George Orwell
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Kovax
02/19/09 09:59 AM
75.146.193.46
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The only thing I've seen of the MW:DA 'Mechs is the clickie-base versions, not a REAL weapon readout, so I can't compare them 1:1.
The click-base game mechanics lump all weapons into "categories", and produce a generic "average damage" figure at a "typical range", split into Energy weapons and Ballistic weapons. You either fire all your energy weapons or all your ballistic weapons at a target; those are your options. Compare that to the individual weapons of the CBT game, where you can fire whatever makes the most sense for the range and situation, within the limits of whatever heat your 'Mech can safely dissipate. The effect of weapons fire in the CBT game affects individual locations, making some 'Mechs more vulnerable than others, while MW:DA combines all armor into one linear sequence of clicks, each of which reduces the firepower and other stats, right from the first hit. Many of the CBT 'Mechs can take enormous amounts of punishment and still remain almost 100% combat-effective up until losing the last box of torso armor or suffering complete engine or gyro failure; others tend to get their main guns shot away early. Since the weapon and armor systems are so radically different in concept, it's really hard to make any judgement on how they would stack up against each other.
The improved technologies of the latest CBT 'Mechs leading into the MW:DA period (as with most of the CBT 'Mechs after the initial 3025 Level 1 designs) give those 'Mechs anywhere from a small to moderate advantage over the early "classic" designs, mainly in weapon ranges and heat dissipation, as well as more options to trade off things like engine weight versus vulnerability (XL engines give more free tonnage to add weapons, but at the cost of having engine crit slots in the torso sides), or armor weight versus space for the same amount of protection. A well-designed Level 1 'Mech (the basic 3025 designs) can usually put up a pretty good fight against the slightly more exotic Level 2's, and are a lot cheaper to field in terms of C-bills, if you're playing a Mercenary campaign where money matters. The poorer L1 'Mechs are even further outclassed, though.
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Prince_of_Darkness
02/21/09 02:49 AM
205.202.120.139
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Since too many of the MW: DA 'mechs have actual record sheets with actual weapons, it is hard to say. Some, like the Eyrie, are actually somewhat good in purpose and utility (if not from clan tech  ) while others...aren't (Mortis, anyone?)
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