Hi all, I was wondering if anyone else is looking forward to seeing a commander design with a missile launcher? I think it would be cool to see one small missile battery on a shoulder or perhaps as an arm instead of a regular cannon/laser. Cheers
Well actually I think that the alpha commander is the one you are looking for. it resembles the madcat from mechwarrior way too much not to have missile pods
Apparently the shoulders on the delta were originally going to be for some sort of missile weaponry but that idea was scrapped for some reason. I would've really liked that, since I have a fetish for shoulder mounted missile batteries.
I like the back mounted missile launchers more, like the high level high tracking ones in Armored Core 4. Also i love high mobility missiles way more than fast or 'big boom' ones.
I think Uber has already addressed this problem. They are going for a more simple design so commanders will only have one weapon, The Uber Cannon.
I dont think Uber is going to go this directions. They have mentioned they are creating a single unit set and they are looking to shy away from special abilities. The only special ability I would expect to see is the Commander's D-Gun (sorry, meant Uber gun) and I believe the only difference between commanders is going to be cosmetic.
You know where they said that? I'd be news to me. The Uber Cannon is meant to be similar to the D-gun from TA or Overcharge form SupCom/FA, given that nature it'd be foolish to make that the only available weapon among many other issues that would come up as well. Mike
In the Q&A section of the May 3 live cast they mention that units will not have special abilities because it encourages micro, which they are actively trying to avoid. The only special ability is the commander's uber gun. Based on the combat footage that was released it appears the commander will have a standard laser weapon that it uses normally, and a U-Gun that the player can choose to use.
I always thought that they should have several variants of the uber cannon, which would all functionally do the same thing, but be visually different. Namely, the Delta could have a missile swarm launched from its should pods that all land on the location targeted by the player. The Theta commander could have an explosive fist on a chain that slams the area. The Progenitor could have a rapid fire autocannon, and so on. Something that makes the commander be more unique than just another walking bot with differently shaped & colored bits attached.
So? The Commander is literally a unique unit, by it's very nature it'll be a prime candidate for micro, but that's okay. Regular rank and file units won't have abilities, but based on the response as you outlined it, that in no way stops the commander from having said abilities. Mike
Wait wait what? Hadn't it been established that each commander would have a unique pair of abilities?
Correct. daleeburg is inferring that "units won't have micro" includes the Commander. He/she is incorrect as his/her assumptions directly conflict with what Neutrino has already told us on the subject. This topic holds the answers: Commanders and what we know so far. Commanders certainly won't ALL have access to the D-Gun, but it is likely that they will have access to analogues that play up their specific preferences when it comes to War and combat doctrines. All Commanders are likely to have a "Combat" arm. What form this arm takes is mutable depending on the Commander chosen. - Nano
I like this idea - I don't want to worry about micro but I would like the commanders to have slightly different weapons. This could add some nice variety and possibly even allow players to make some slightly different play styles around them (some D-guns could be AOE while others are sniping etc).
The actual "value" of the Commander's abilities are unknown at this point. They could be major, core defining traits like weapons and defense systems. They could be minor perks, like radar or capture buffs or defense against some type of cheese. Commanders will be the only unique unit between players, which is a bad place to be when designing asymmetry.
Here's a very condensed list of relevant information. Just in case you're too lazy to read through the link I posted before. A Commanders Primary Arm is for Construction. No if's and's or but's about that. 'Missiles' as a Secondary Arm are a possibility. Missile barrages (ala ww2 calliope) as a Tertiary Ability are a... possibility... ... though I personally would assume that the Energy and Metal cost per activation may be steep, or involve some other limiting factor so they can't be "spammed" --- I must stress however that at the moment we are dealing only in the realms of possibilities. There are some things that will outright NOT be in the palette of commander abilities. Missile based weaponry is not one of those things. There's every expectation that some Commanders may use missiles. Until more information is released by Neutrino or other Uber Ent employees, these things are safe* to talk about including. However that does not mean that any suggestion regarding missile Commanders is beyond scrutiny. They are FAR from confirmed. *by "safe" I mean that no one can outright dismiss their inclusion based on any information a developer has released as of yet.
however, if there's some kind of ability / weapon you'd really like to see, the best thing you can do is telling it, maybe a lot of people will like it, that's what the backer's lounge is made for. i don't really care what they will do, i'm sure i'll find one i like =)
