So I've been playing ATB on MekHQ for a couple of years now, on and off, and it's incredibly fun. No better way to burn through your free time than managing a merc lance operating in lawless rim world space.
However, there is one thing I would love to see more than anything, as an option, in MekHQ for ATB games: The ability to disable enemy force generation being tied to your force's Battle Value, and have it be based on the contract's rating instead or something altogether separate. Or at the very least have some sort of option to increase the variance so that it's not always so static/predictable (and, for new mercenary outfits and newer players, not so consistently overwhelming). I would love the organic feel of not knowing whether a mission is going to be a breeze, a moderate challenge, or very difficult, and having to make decisions right there on the battlefield if I thought things were going to go south quickly.
The want for this sort of feature comes from several places, for one I just really want that organic feel, the same kind you would get in a real wartime scenario where the enemy's forces are not always perfectly matched to yours. For example, I feel like a pirate lair should be easily stomped by a lance of assault mechs, and the system already balances for this somewhat in operational costs, making fielding a lance of this kind for every mission a risky proposition. But probably more than that, I want it because I don't want every fight to be a fight for my life, it's sort of anti-immersive I guess. And as someone who, when they started playing, had a ton of trouble even completing my first contract, I feel like being able to pick contracts and actually have said contract have more of an effect on what you're going to go up against would be fantastic, both for old players and new.
Anyway, just some ideas/feelings I had on the subject. I'm sure many people will have differing opinions (which is great!) All I'm saying is that I would love to have some more fine control or option(s) regarding enemy force generation, for people like me who would love to be able to adjust things like this.
On a side note, the new stable version of MekHQ and it's associated programs just dropped, which is amazing! Thank you so much to the devs that maintain and update this incredible bundle of software. You are all fantastic people, and we all love and appreciate what you do!
TLDR: I would love to see an option or options to change how enemy forces are generated so their force is not always tied to your force's Battle Value, both for immersion reasons, and balance reasons.
PS: I am NOT suggesting that the current system is bad, or that people should not continue to enjoy it exactly as they are. I realize the current system is based on how enemy forces are supposed to be generated as per canon and the rules. All I'm saying is it would be awesome if there were options to change this if a person was so inclined.
