MechWarrior Online: Mad Cat

[martian]

UPDATED TIMBER WOLF SCREEN SHOTS REVEALED

[Orin J.]

it's a little blocky for my liking. i think i just don't really enjoy the art style for the game much.

[martian]

I quite like the art style of the game (with some exceptions such as Orion's cockpit).

As for this Madcat:
Pros:
- more realistic cokpit without that pronounced hot-house

Cons:
- perhaps too massive legs - especially upper legs
- arms are too small

Yes-and-no:
- LRM launchers are smaller than I have expected, but on the plus side they don't look so fragile as in other games and various illustrations

[Jayof9s]

It's not awful or anything but I'm not a fan.

I know this is more or less the cookie-cutter look they have for their 'Mechs but... I feel like a Clan 'Mech (especially the Timber Wolf) should look a bit sleeker.

On the upside(?) it looks like the torso hitbox will be smaller than the arm or leg hit boxes. Well, side torsos might be fairly massive because of the LRM boxes.

[Fatebringer]

The arms are thicker in the upper parts and not as long as they should be in the lower based on the normal models we see. I can see how they added their boxy look to it without sacrificing the overall flavor and I wouldn't say the legs are "too big" either, just boxier in the upper portion like all their designs.

Overall it has the key element for myself, it LOOKS functional.

[BobTheZombie]

I really dislike the look of this; as martian pointed out the upper legs (thighs?) are just way too thick, and I think the arms just seem wrong. Perhaps it's the angle, but to me it looks crummy.

[glitterboy2098]

the legs are a bit smaller than they look.. perspective really doesn't flatter in that photo..

try this one

[Orin J.]

Pros:
- more realistic cockpit without that pronounced hot-house

i like the smaller cockpit area (although it feels a little too much like a tiny Daishi body to me), but the rest of the torso feels like....well, like there isn't a whole lot besides guns and cockpit inside it to me. way too much area devoted to being "visible hardpoints" instead of just main body.

Cons:
- perhaps too massive legs - especially upper legs
- arms are too small

the arms are too bulky- the big slabs are making them look shorter than they actually are which is kinda helping to screw up the torso' profile for me.....

Yes-and-no:
- LRM launchers are smaller than I have expected, but on the plus side they don't look so fragile as in other games and various illustrations

the launcher's size makes sense- the big box racks on the Madcat were partly because of the giant LRMs poking out of them if i recall....

[Cache]

Underwhelmed.  They went for the blocky armored look of all the IS 'Mechs rather than the sleek alien design the original Clan omnis represented.

Also not impressed with collision detection in this shot.  The underside of the nose is warping through the lower torso.

[Sapphirus]

Torso = decent (unabridged version- the torso is the only decent part of the Timberwolf)
arms = bit off and thus being to bulky (unabridged version- yeah I agree that they look too bulky)
legs = derpy (unabridged version- as for the legs, they look too derpy)
overall... I'll give it a rating of average or 6/10

[Maskerade]

Things I like:
+The arms don't look like they're going to fall off in a light breeze
+The cockpit doesn't look hugely vulnerable to shots to the glass
+Slightly redesigned laser apertures look good to me

Things I dislike:
-The legs are just a little too widely set proportional to the body of the mech
-The launchers are too small (need to be made longer)
-The rest of the body has too many blocks just sticking out, which I'm not fond of.

I actually prefer the blockier look to the sleek, streamlined approach. These aren't supposed to be pretty things we're dealing with here, they're supposed to clank, go pew-pew-pew BOOM, and generally be noisy and terrifying to everything smaller than them.

[Cyc]

Nose is bit too stubby, and legs a bit too bulky in the thighs for my liking.

[Maingunnery]

There are a few things that I like and a few things that I don't like, so my end result is neutral. This doesn't happen a lot.

[IAMCLANWOLF]

PGI has a real problem translating Alex's concept art into good looking 3D models. They always goof up the proportions. The Timberwolf is one of the worst. Blah!

Just give us this...

[SubtleAsAHammer]

I can't wait to KILL one with my Stalker-M AKA Harbinger Of Sorrows. }:) [drool]

[Jayof9s]

They've released screenshots of the Adder: https://mwomercs.com/news/2014/04/838-adder-screenshots-revealed

I have to say, I actually like how it turned out. Though, I'm curious to see it next to some other designs, it looks like a fairly large profile for a light but it could just be a poor sense of scale without anything else around.

[Maingunnery]

They've released screenshots of the Adder: https://mwomercs.com/news/2014/04/838-adder-screenshots-revealed

I have to say, I actually like how it turned out. Though, I'm curious to see it next to some other designs, it looks like a fairly large profile for a light but it could just be a poor sense of scale without anything else around.

It looks very good, but its hard points are so restrictive.....

[Orin J.]

It looks very good, but its hard points are so restrictive.....

it's a 35-ton 'mech. there's not much you'd have seen done with it from the current playerbase besides "cram all the lasers it'll fit" and "cram all the machineguns it'll fit". they ain't all that imaginative. this thing might encourage some more light snipers taking potshots after flanking the usual ball'o'nubs that congeals behind/atop the largest chunk of cover in most matches.

[Cache]

They've released screenshots of the Adder: https://mwomercs.com/news/2014/04/838-adder-screenshots-revealed

Looks much better than the MadCat.  Too bad there's only 2 crit slots in the CT.  That hardpoint is in the perfect location for sniping.

[glitterboy2098]

1 crit slot. fixed flamer, remember? (i'm of the opinion the fixed flamer is not being counted in regards to hard point count)

personally i'm hoping that the other omni configs they have include at least one missile HardPoint in the torso.. ideally one per torso. i can make myself a nifty faux-Cougar that way. 2 ERLL's, 2x LRM10, 1 ton of ammo. and the flamer. just have to dump the PPc's, the TC, andthe extra DHS. might run a little hot when using the lasers (would need to cycle fire them) but would be a lot of fun. if i can only get one torso LRM spot, i'd just switch to a single LRM20.

[IAMCLANWOLF]

Looks much better than the Timberwolf, because it closely resembles the concept art.

Wish they would announce what the TC actually does in MWO already. As it is, it feels like another command console.

[glitterboy2098]

i'm hoping it'll add a aiming circle ahead of the chosen target as it moves, to make it easier to adjust for target movement..

[Jayof9s]

Looks much better than the MadCat.  Too bad there's only 2 crit slots in the CT.  That hardpoint is in the perfect location for sniping.

Good news! It's Clan Tech, you don't need more than 2 crits for any energy weapons in this time frame.  :D

1 crit slot. fixed flamer, remember? (i'm of the opinion the fixed flamer is not being counted in regards to hard point count)

Have they confirmed fixed equipment? I haven't followed closely enough, which is why I ask. I get the impression they aren't bothering based on the Adder's write up at least.

[martian]

i'm hoping it'll add a aiming circle ahead of the chosen target as it moves, to make it easier to adjust for target movement..

As it used to be in MechWarrior 3?

[glitterboy2098]

Good news! It's Clan Tech, you don't need more than 2 crits for any energy weapons in this time frame.  :D

Have they confirmed fixed equipment? I haven't followed closely enough, which is why I ask. I get the impression they aren't bothering based on the Adder's write up at least.

yes.

"It also has a fixed mount Flamer which cannot be removed from the ‘Mech,"

[Wrangler]

The image reminds me of Mad Cat III way it looks.

I guess MWO going have heck of challenge keeping balance thing with Clan Tech verse Inner Sphere tech balance. I'd be whole sale converting to Clan tech just stay competitive.

[glitterboy2098]

The image reminds me of Mad Cat III way it looks.

I guess MWO going have heck of challenge keeping balance thing with Clan Tech verse Inner Sphere tech balance. I'd be whole sale converting to Clan tech just stay competitive.

apparently they are using things like recharge times and other items that battletech doesn't cover to try and balance things. so while the lasers do more damage for example, they have the same DPS as the IS ones they fire over a longer period. and weapons like LRM's without minimums have a degraded damage effect up close so they aren't outright superior in rank brackets.

apparently they are also making LRM's 'stutter' fire, spreading the missile in the volley's out more, which if i understand how AMS works right, ought to make clan LRM's more vulnerable to AMS..

they seem to be trying to bring clan tech into closer balance to IS builds.. whether it works is the question of the year though.

at least IS and clan tech cannot be combined. clan weapons on the "super customizable" IS chassis's would be way too powerful. while the way the IS mechs can be customized makes Omni's look less amazing than they ought to be, the fact the clan's omni-pod "build a hardpoint layout" approach, and the fact you can't play around with armor types, strucutre type, and engine size on Omni's means you basically get to load weapons and equip on only.. will lead to a very different meta for them. especially since it looks like clan omni's will be hard point poor, forcing players to mount bigger, heavier weapons than the current "ton of ML's!" meta to make full use of their tonnage.

[Wrangler]

They can't combine the techs???  That was the point of developing IS OmniMechs in the first place.   Aww well, that balancing issues.    IS Mech are were historically boweled over anyways

[Jayof9s]

yes.

"It also has a fixed mount Flamer which cannot be removed from the ‘Mech,"

Oh well, that's why I'm usually in bed by that time of night, my reading comprehension goes downhill quickly. But still, not too big of a deal, the fixed flamer just means no ER PPC or LPL in the center torso but it should still be able to hold a clan ER LL there. Of course, that's assuming they don't count the fixed flamer against the energy hardpoint, but that would be kind of dumb to even list it if that were the case.

[glitterboy2098]

They can't combine the techs???  That was the point of developing IS OmniMechs in the first place.   Aww well, that balancing issues.    IS Mech are were historically boweled over anyways

even with clantech being adjusted in the 'intangibles" to be more even vs IS tech, IS mechs using clan tech would be too disruptive to the game balance. so they chose to keep the tech bases seperate.

and btw, the reason for making IS omni's in battletech had little to do with using clan tech.. it was all the advantages of omnimechs in terms of logistics and role flexibility that sparked it. the ability to pod mount clantech was just a handy bonus. (and remember, the plans LAW gave to the other states for things like the firestarter omni and blackjack omni didn't come with clanspec compatible connections alongside the regular ones.. that was something LAW kept to themselves. makes it unlikely using clantech was considered the main reason, if the default design can't even use clan tech.. )

as for IS mechs being bowled over.. yeah, in tabletop BT they were. but most of those were 4th succession war tech 'stock' designs.. a single twelveman in MWO is often using way more DHS, XLFE, endo, Ferro, and advanced weapons than the typical IS regiment had in the canon early invasion period. the typical MWO mech build has way more in common with the mythical "Mk1 clan Omni's" than with the IS mechs of battletech's clan invasion period.

that is one of the reasons i suspect that clantech won't be as over powering as people think.. i mean, if the IS had the kind of teched-to-the-nines ubermechs we say in the jihad, that rock endo, XL, DHS, and advanced weapons all in one frame, in a widespread fashion during the arrival of the clans? the clan's butts would have been kicked hard..