My problem with that is that pretty much whenever I shoot someone they're taking at least 20 damage, let alone over a 10s period, or if you combine fire from several mechs. The first LRM volley that hit you would mean you die -- look at how fast mechs already die when they're legged or knocked over from collision. I never thought the rule made much sense anyway. Knockdown from lasers? Knockdown from anti-armor rounds and missiles where all the energy goes into penetration?
Got to play around with the new LRMs a bit. Yep, they're stupid. Wonder how they'll be after the hotfix tomorrow.
Do you think the dev team actually tests any of this stuff out ahead of time? I mean, I understand iterative design, but generally it speeds things up substantially if you at least start with something in the vicinity of where correct ought to be. Or are they just that bad at understanding their own system?
I think they probably just screwed up. Sometimes things slip into a weekly or monthly release that you didn't intend. I've seen it happen to bigger and more experienced companies, with more serious software. This sort of thing is at times even let slip intentionally if it's found late enough in the release process, since there isn't enough time to retest everything and you're afraid of introducing even worse bugs. If a problem in beta is resolved in two days I'm not terribly worried about it.
Have they repeatedly changed the price of the artemis? When I went to buy it yesterday it was 750K. Then I saved up that much and it was 950K. Then I got that and it's now 1,050K. It's like I'm chasing a moving target. Edit: Ugh, hate night maps. Can't see shit.
No idea. It's always been 750k, but a buddy of mine also reported a different price with the same mech. Might be bugged so it depends on what weapons you presently have installed?
I might have changed from Streaks to LRMs after it was 750K, but I didn't do anything different after is was 950K.
Try heat vision? I find it can be good for those annoying situations where targets can't be locked but are perfectly bloody visible using magnified heat vision.
Yeah, I dunno. I only came across the night thing once. I stumbled out into the open, got shot at by missiles, and blew up before I could figure out where any cover was. If I had been more careful, maybe I would have been okay, but it was really disorienting.
Hrm. Were you coming through a tunnel? I used to get that bug when I was exiting a tunnel, right up until I was all the way out.
It was right when I started. It sounds like a bug since it doesn't seem like they've officially released any night maps yet.
Yeah, lack of maps is definitely something they could work on. Or just different starting/base spots.
The dark screen on the forest map is a known bug. You start getting hit and the screen goes 80% black.
Looks like the LRM fix is good! Artemis also maks SRMs potent again, though perhaps not quite as good as they were before they spread. I popped a Centurion with 4xSRM6 -- First volley stripped his armor, second volley BOOM! One shot several light mechs foolish enough to powerdown or sit still too.
Artemis just keeps the SRMs' spread fairly tight. Close range you can place them mostly in one spot, midrange you can hit with most of them, not quite sure about long range. So not really much comparison to Streaks which need a lock and home. I haven't tried streaks since their recent nerf, so can't really compare their relative spread. Artemis SRMs seem to have the same sine wave arc as LRMs, and so I'm wondering if there are sweet-spot range intervals where you can stick them all in one component. Gonna have to find a building at the end of some match and test it!
In other news, this last patch fixed the netcode problems with targeting, so I don't need to lag-lead anywhere near as much and can now reliably burn fast mechs with lasers.
Coincidentally, people are dieing faster. There is some speculation that this is caused by an internal structure bug or hidden nerf, but it's quite possible that lasers really suffered the most from the previous netcode problems.
I haven't seen any sort of "internal structure" problem, neither on my part, nor for the people I've been shooting. I suspect one or more of the following to be the source of this rumor: - people with XL engines are surprised at how fast they can die off a side torso coring. - engine criticals can occasionally make you die faster than expected. There are enough players that it's likely some have been hosed by a string of such crits. - unexpected head shots. The (previously) bugged vertical descent LRMs could hose you like this in a hurry. So can 6SL + 3ML. - people are skimping on repairs without realizing it means you die faster. - light mech pilots accustomed to dodging everything at point blank, and surprised it was merely the netcode that was hampering opponent's accuracy. - people simply not realizing how much damage they're taking -- e.g. 2 volleys of 4xPPC or 2 volleys of 4xSRM6. Especially for weapons fired from the same component with overlapping visual effects. I've had a number of people express surprise at how fast I killed them, when from my perspective it's just plain old fashion massive damage. Why yes, if I stick 150 damage mostly into your center torso you'll probably be toast. Or even 75 if you're a foolishly stationary light mech. By and large the posters on the official forum are... of average internet intelligence. Some of the stuff posted there is great, but it can be tricky to it sift out from underneath all the crap.
There is/was a problem, it wasn't people being stupid. The paper doll was not updating showing damage so when people died it showed them as still having armor in every location.
I actually heard people talking about an internals bug in game. They were saying that as soon as someone loses all their armor in one spot, the next shot blows them up. Of course I have no idea how internals are supposed to work, so dying the second your armor gets pierced isn't a bug I would even notice as a bug.
That is how it appeared, but it's because the paper doll was so far behind. Typically even with no armor you can take a few hits to an exposed area, just not focus fire
Ah, yeah I can see lag leaving damage display data out of sync. Definitely hadn't ever seen any bug where any shot after losing armor kills you. If anything a cagey target with a standard engine can take a surprising amount of punishment even after you strip his armor. Definitely nice to have 2 energy slots in your center torso!
If I recall, all armor in Battletech is supposed to be super magical ablative armor that absorbs all the kinetic energy of incoming fire and thus can't be penetrated by anything that doesn't destroy it. So the knockdown is supposed to be because you've suddenly lost a ton of mass on your side or whatever and can't keep your balance. It still doesn't make sense when you're driving a 50+-ton vehicle. There is a bottom, and I AM AT IT. Not sure if this applies, but, I seem to recall that in table-top BT you needed an Artemis module for every missile rack. So maybe they charge you based on the number of missiles you're mounting.
Yeah, they might be charging you like that, based on what you currently have installed. Thing is you buy it up front as an upgrade, regardless of if you have any missiles installed. Then any SRM/LRM launcher you install takes and extra ton and an extra space, but you can use already bought launchers so they don't cost more. The ammo is more expensive though!
Which platform / mech did you build the 4xSRM6 artemis with? I quite liked SRM6, like the idea of having a lot of them and being punchy. and 4 x PPC - Awesome on roids?
Based on my experiences from watching the Star Wars films, it's trivially easy to knock walking tanks over using anything from rope to logs.
I'm presently using an Awesome R for the job: - 285 Standard Engine - 19 double heatsinks - 4xSRM6, 3xML - 7 tons ammo, which is enough you can use the free 75% refills (and there's no room for more sinks or weapons anyway) I tried using a Catapult with 2xML and 4xSRM6 in the past, but it sucked due to the increased firing delay from the missile doors opening. Now that you can manually open them though perhaps that'd work... Might be hard to fit in the 4 extra tons for Artemis vs. before though. For the 4xPPC I've used either an Awesome Q or an Atlas RS. The Awesome is more maneuverable and doesn't have to peek out of terrain as much to fire. The Atlas has more armor, a smaller head, and better heat management (I like the Awesome better). It's a tricky mech to use because you (intentionally) overheat a lot, and need to be careful how you do it so you don't constantly blow yourself up or become target practice -- you can generally override shutdown, but don't fire again until you've cooled down! Seems like such a heat intense mech would suck, but the trick is you can still get 2 shots off (3 if you shutdown), and 80 damage stuck into one component is considerably more deadly than 60, plus with a 3s refire you can often stick two shots before they fully react. You wind up spending a lot of time out of LOS cooling down, but the decapitory effect is totally worth it. Find those 2xGauss K-Catapults that like to snipe, and make them pay -- you'll usually get in 80 damage to their 30, and since their head is right smack in the middle of their Center Torso sometimes it only takes one shot. Cue the QQing! :-) For a different style of play you can switch over to Large Lasers instead of PPCs for better heat management, sustained DPS and no min range (yet significantly less max range). Which is good too, but I think the Quad PPC still edges it out.
I must say as a player one of my deficiencies is a tendency to always reflexively aim at the CT - years of multi-game muscle memory based on all of the "hey if you miss you may still hit" logic, the fact that in many games recoil might kick up for a headshot anyway with various weapons, etc. Sometimes I'll see a target and woosh click, there goes that alpha on... an Atlas's CT. Not so ideal.
