Urbanmech?

[Imperator Icthyseus]

The Urbanmech's only real advantage aside from carrying an AC10 is that it can rotate its torso 360 degrees. However, in this game it can't seem to do that, unless I'm missing something...

[HurtfulPlayer97]

Nope, torso twisting and that sort of stuff is simplified in this game. You set your facing after you decide where you want to move. That's one of the advantages of Jump Jets. You can jump and choose any facing on landing.

[Imperator Icthyseus]

I like the way Jump Jets work in this game, but since the Urbanmech doesn't have them it seems kind of useless. If it could move full speed in one direction and then turn around to shoot behind it, I think that would preserve the utility of the 'Mech, even if it had to return to facing forward after the shot is made.

[HurtfulPlayer97]

In this game the Urbanmech does have jump jets.

[Imperator Icthyseus]

Originally posted by HurtfulPlayer97:

In this game the Urbanmech does have jump jets.

Oh! How did I not notice that... I guess that is something.

[wesnef]

Checking my original tabletop boxed sets, the Urbanmech has always had two jump jets.

Not sure when they added the 360-degree torso-twist rule, though. That was after my rulebooks, I think.

[Imperator Icthyseus]

Originally posted by wesnef:

Checking my original tabletop boxed sets, the Urbanmech has always had two jump jets.

Not sure when they added the 360-degree torso-twist rule, though. That was after my rulebooks, I think.

It looks like that ability might be a MechWarrior specific one. Perhaps it was an attempt to legitimize the Urbanmech as an actual competitor in urban conflicts. In MechWarrior 5 it mentions the 360 degree rotation as an advantage because it can rotate the torso freely to shoot down streets and alleyways, preventing it from being rendered helpless by a flanking maneuver and being able to respond with a deadly and unexpected counterattack.

I don't think this design quirk ever came into play outside those games, however.

[pete]

Another Urbiephile werido.

[Jamie Wolf]

Originally posted by wesnef:

Checking my original tabletop boxed sets, the Urbanmech has always had two jump jets.

Not sure when they added the 360-degree torso-twist rule, though. That was after my rulebooks, I think.

according to Sarna, the urbie has extended torso twist, which in TT means further twist then normal but not 360-degree. (Although Sarna also notes that in alpha strike rules that HBS bt is largely based on this does mean 360 degree)

Sarna also notes that mw5 gave the urbie 360 degree but explicitly notes it's not canon

[ITS COMMUNISM TIME]

Originally posted by Imperator Icthyseus:

The Urbanmech's only real advantage aside from carrying an AC10 is that it can rotate its torso 360 degrees. However, in this game it can't seem to do that, unless I'm missing something...

play battletech advanced 3062 mod, im pretty sure urbanmechs get to shoot every direction.

[Simon12]

yeah you gonna notice a lot of missed opportunities in the field of cool factor for this game.

[Jamie Wolf]

Originally posted by ITS COMMUNISM TIME:

Originally posted by Imperator Icthyseus:

The Urbanmech's only real advantage aside from carrying an AC10 is that it can rotate its torso 360 degrees. However, in this game it can't seem to do that, unless I'm missing something...

play battletech advanced 3062 mod, im pretty sure urbanmechs get to shoot every direction.

That's a mod specific thing

[Macdallan]

If you played campaigns or scenarios or even just matches where money mattered (c-bill limit instead of tonnage limit) there were plenty of situations where you might want a large number of smaller and cheaper mechs versus going with a couple of big and very expensive mechs. Fielding 6 or 7 Urbanmechs for the cost of about 3 or 4 mechs of a similar size could be a huge advantage in the right scenario.

Of course that doesn't matter so much in this game because we've got a 4 mech limit instead of a tonnage limit or c-bill limit on what we can deploy on a mission.

[Imperator Icthyseus]

Originally posted by Macdallan:

If you played campaigns or scenarios or even just matches where money mattered (c-bill limit instead of tonnage limit) there were plenty of situations where you might want a large number of smaller and cheaper mechs versus going with a couple of big and very expensive mechs. Fielding 6 or 7 Urbanmechs for the cost of about 3 or 4 mechs of a similar size could be a huge advantage in the right scenario.

Of course that doesn't matter so much in this game because we've got a 4 mech limit instead of a tonnage limit or c-bill limit on what we can deploy on a mission.

That is something that has bothered me a little. The inability to deploy more units is restrictive. I end up scrapping light 'Mechs because they just end up getting the MechWarrior killed, or at least putting them in unnecessary danger. I would also be nice to be able to deploy more types of support, like from aersospace fighters or artillery.

[Macdallan]

Originally posted by Imperator Icthyseus:

That is something that has bothered me a little. The inability to deploy more units is restrictive. I end up scrapping light 'Mechs because they just end up getting the MechWarrior killed, or at least putting them in unnecessary danger. I would also be nice to be able to deploy more types of support, like from aersospace fighters or artillery.

Yeah, would have been interesting if we could have upgraded our drop ship or had multiple drop ships. Limitations had to be implemented due to the overall design and balance, I suppose. People obviously wanted more options which resulted in a variety of mods that include a lot more complex gameplay and being able to field more than 4 mechs at a time.

[Lack of Stuff]

Originally posted by Imperator Icthyseus:

Originally posted by Macdallan:

If you played campaigns or scenarios or even just matches where money mattered (c-bill limit instead of tonnage limit) there were plenty of situations where you might want a large number of smaller and cheaper mechs versus going with a couple of big and very expensive mechs. Fielding 6 or 7 Urbanmechs for the cost of about 3 or 4 mechs of a similar size could be a huge advantage in the right scenario.

Of course that doesn't matter so much in this game because we've got a 4 mech limit instead of a tonnage limit or c-bill limit on what we can deploy on a mission.

That is something that has bothered me a little. The inability to deploy more units is restrictive. I end up scrapping light 'Mechs because they just end up getting the MechWarrior killed, or at least putting them in unnecessary danger. I would also be nice to be able to deploy more types of support, like from aersospace fighters or artillery.

Mods demonstrate both the pros and cons of adding more deployment slots. Difficulty very quickly goes out the window unless the opfor also scales but that can lead to absolute slogs. So for vanilla I can see why they kept it small, and if people want more there are some fairly comprehensive mods to dip into. Leaving it to player preference is the best compromise here IMO.