ECM

[Hammer]

i put some stuff in another thread, but will start a whole topic here.

first, go here and vote as well as look for other threads and give your opinion.

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/82309- ... -balanced/

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/80990- ... onsidered/

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/82963- ... -ecm-post/

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/82750-ecm-must-die/

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/82914- ... ng-device/

http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/82075- ... a-hitmiss/

OK, lots of ECM talk so go read and see what you can do to make the game better. it is still in beta so they can/will change things (hopefully for the better). If you do nothing else go to the first two and vote.

[VEGETA]

I would wait a little longer tell I change things. I am guessing a lot of people are still under the shiny new toy option. Hell they changed the ac2's config a while back and the next day everyone had 3 of them on there mech. I do think they will change something but I see a lot of Over powered posts any time a new toy hits. So I am always cautious. tho I am surprised people are not complaining about gauss exploding once armor breached and its hit (even tho thats normal from TT)

[Hammer]

agreed Veg. in my matches last night i saw some ECM, and even though i think my mech is capable of it (Cicada 3M)i do not have it. i would rather have weaps and armor.

is it correct that ECM is limited to 4 particular mech variants only?

i do think it is retarded that ECM disrupts any type of friendly communication.

[VEGETA]

agreed Veg. in my matches last night i saw some ECM, and even though i think my mech is capable of it (Cicada 3M)i do not have it. i would rather have weaps and armor.

is it correct that ECM is limited to 4 particular mech variants only?

Its extramurally limited, think its only on mechs that have it stock. Ie there is some ravens that can't have it and some that can. But there is one flavor of atles which gets it.

there initial testing they had all mechs able to carry it, that got changed after they found it to have massive un-ballinging issues.

[Buffalo Six]

Raven 3L, Cammando 2D, Atlas DC-D, Cicada 3M are the only mechs able to mount ECM

to review, ECM does:

a 1.5 ton 2 slot piece of equipment that can counter

Artemis,
BAP,
Tag bonuses (and the whole TAG system inside of 180m)
NARC - a system which takes more space, weighs more, requires real coordination and skill and has ammo.
other ECMs (terrible terrible idea that forces an arms race)
LRM locks (due to the mistakes of the past as well as the BS quartering of sensor range)
SRM locks (probably a good thing)
general targeting info
relegates AMS to almost pointlessness
has no exploding ammo
generates no heat
and cost less than a module by a factor of 15

here is a great explanation of what MWO plays like....."Double Blind"

You need to read the Double Blind rules. It is supposed to prevent Active Sensors from noticing opposing mechs until they are closer. 1/4 normal sensor range is a bit too much though, it should have been about 1/2.

For those who don't understand TT or the more advanced rules of TT Double Blind is a system where you do not get to see where your opponent is on the map. It requires three identical boards, one for each player and one that they both can see. A GM will make rolls to determine what is detected by various mechs and place those forces on the open board while players track their own "hidden" mechs on their private boards.

MWO is a "Double Blind" system. I can't see opponents on my map unless I can spot them with Sensors. I can still use the old Mark I eyeball however. It isn't a bad system. What is bad is that LRMs and SSRMs are reliant on Sensors when they SHOULDN'T be.

...It is supposed to. Read my explanation of Double Blind rules above. It should cut sensors in half and not allow mechs inside it to share their "r targeting". It is supposed to cut battlefield awareness. What should also be added though, is that BAP should allow you to notice areas of ECM on the map. So having a BAP mounted makes a reddish overlay roughly a circle show up within your sensor range(which BAP expands still). So while you wouldn't know exactly what is in the rough circle of "jamming" you could be pretty sure there was an ECM mech at the center. This sticks with TT rules as well as BAP will notice it is being jammed.

"In double-blind, ECM makes it harder to acquire sensor blips without LOS, but only so long as the spotting unit is within the jamming radius of the ECM suite. If the spotting unit has LOS, then ECM does nothing. If the spotting unit does not have LOS but is outside jamming range (180m), then ECM does nothing."

and after this went on in the MWO forums for 3 pages.............

Damn it... been playing Double Blind ECM wrong according to the actual wording of the rules. It strongly implies that it affects all sensor checks but has one sentence that changes the whole meaning to limit it to spotting mechs standing within the ECM bubble itself. I stand corrected and humbly eat crow. I even checked the Errata sheets to be certain.

ECM should not affect Sensor Ranges for mechs outside it's influence.

[Hammer]

yah, that last sentence is correct.

it also should not effect TAG at all, if it could regular lasers would nto be able to damage an EM equipped mech either.

if you look at my post on MWO forums in the first thread link above i have put the TT rules. going to look now to see if double blind is n the TT rules - i do not recall seeing that before. has anyone even played with double blind TT rules? it sure would make a game cumbersome.

EDIT: double blind is not part of the Battletech Master Rules, so it must be level three and optional for TT. can you link to that thread Buff? I want to know where this guy read his "advanced TT rules". is this guy a dev, moderator, or?