To be clear its been a long time since I'd played this game and I must say that installing the update gives it a fresh feel!
A couple of new balanced weapons (always nice), adjusted game mechanics, and other features I may not fully appreciate also.
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The biggest feature that I am missing from the old version concerns the after-battle screen. It appears that no longer can a player (eager to appreciate carnage) sift through not only the jocks but also the titans of all teams to see how the individual titans fared.
If the feature still exists then maybe my version is bugged. But it was definitely nice to see the results of 'play-testing' designs in Comp vs. Comp battles
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In terms of possible future improvements (yes I know this game is long past that phase - but no harm in voicing a few thoughts):
1 - New Weapon - Pod Charges - explosive weapons that can be thrown/ shot a short distance (Rng 3) and gains a special bonus in accuracy when dropped upon enemies in the same hex during jump flight.
2 - DCS increased functionality:
For those titans in dire straits - and who are fortunate enough to have got out of the line of fire - or that have been left alone in favour of more dangerous targets - a means of using the DCS to re-establish and reinforce internal structural integrity would not be amiss.
This would include a life-support-like function that slowly repairs individual points of internal damage (but not external armour). This is done through the setting of integrity compromised scrap metal into place with fast drying and rigid foam-like cement and it is presumed that a DCS has enough to serve for a battle - alternatively a set max of internal points repaired (e.g. 5 points per DCS Level)
Furthermore a DCS would have the possibility of expending this foam-like cement to re-establish a degree of structural integrity in locations 'destroyed' such as a leg or a torso section. Re-establishment of a section's integrity would not automatically reinstate integrity of the parts within but would open the possibility for repairs to be made to multi-location systems (cooling systems and actuators) to improve the survivability of a situation.
- Furthermore it would be great if friendly titans in the same hex could attempt to provide support to each other. This could perhaps be implemented through installation of a Hull Interfacer Claw module permitting repair attempts upon a friendly Titan at a 20% penalty. It could concievably also be used to attempt to damage an enemy Titan at a more significant penalty.
3 - Fist-Brace (or Agro-Band) - High density metalic banding for added close combat damage
Either +1 damage or 5 fixed damage - counts as a weapon - 1.0 T
4 - Leg-Brace (or Agro-Legging) - High density metalic banding for added close combat damage
Either +2 damage or 7 fixed damage - counts as a weapon - 2.0 T
5 - Defender Shield
An Arm-Mountable Shield serves to redirect and partially absorb some hits that would otherwise have been taken by other parts.
3 variants:
Variant 1 - Slots 2 - W 6 - Redirect 30% - Absorbs 1-2 Damage
Variant 2 - Slots 4 - W 12 - Redirect 45% - Absorbs 2-4 Damage
Variant 3 - Slots 6 - W 18 - Redirect 60% - Absorbs 4-8 Damage
Hits Received within Torso front arch enjoy the above re-direct %
Hits Received to sheild wielding arm from front arch enjoys double probability of redirect probability
Hits Received to shield wielding arm from pheripheral arches (non-blind zone) receive normal redirect probability)
Weapons mounted on same arm as shield suffer a cumulative -10% Accuracy Penalty
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The next suggestions would apply to a re-release or sequal of ToS...
1 - Inclusion of a world with various factions with their various ups and downs.
2 - Inclusion of randomly and not-so-randomly generated plot lines to boost the RPG element of the game. This can include travelling to different parts of the world - with their own arenas.
3 - An opportunity to use team and titans within multiple mission contexts (military, mercenary, arena, disaster relief, criminal, etc.)
4 - Inclusion of superior and inferior items within a given class (example - a speciality laser with -1 Damage and +1 Range; or an energy chainsaw requiring more PUs to operate with a shorter recharge time and -1 Ton Weight, or a microwave scanner taking up +1 slot, and a reduced range, but a significant bonus to its abilities within the reduced range, or a rusty engine producing less PUs and more heat).
Superior items would be balanced to be slightly advantageous and would be relatively rare scavenges.
5 - Inclusion of Non-Titan Units
Don't panic. I'm talking about military units that can spice things up and still fit into the ToS model without too great a modification.
The main added units would be 'tank-likes' and 'air-craft' - both with their ups and downs.
Tank-Likes (TLs) would be high capacity, low meneuvreability counterparts to Titans - They are simple and have fewer locations with a higher number of slots. They tend to support heavier armour and weapons for the same price range. They do not 'jump'.
A typical tank-like would have the following locations:
Main Turret
Front fuselage
Back Fuselage
Right Flank Fuselage
Left Flank Fuselage
L&R Fuselage would be where the drive-train would be installed - Included in the place of actuators
With that aside I think that the rest is straight forward enough (conceptually).
Vertical Takeoff Aircraft (VTA)
Tanks would be low capacity, high meneuvreability counterparts to Titans - They are simple and have fewer locations with a small number of slots. They tend to support lighter armour and weapons but can 'jump' indefinitely, also able to turn in flight - but not on the spot.
A typical VTA would have the following locations:
Center Front Fuselage
Center Back Fuselage
Left Flank Fuselage
Right Flank Fuselage
Left Wing
Right Wing
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Both the above types can come in various weight categories and can install titan parts. A few VTA-specialist weapons might be desirable however.
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4 - A rehaul of graphics to the standards of isometric 3D-like games (no names).
I would really like to see a version of ToS where the view is (zoomable) wide-angle first person, with titans represented in 3D, surfaces rendered accordingly to part condition, weapon pods rendered externally (and sparking and such when damaged), leaving trails of smoke and ionised steam when some systems are fired, where tiny chunks of 'matter' fly off them when hit, and spouts of earth expoding around them as shells miss their target, where you can see explosions ripping through the titans as ammunition melts down, and titans being forcibly blown out of hexes when bigger booms are afoot.
Add to this the ability to replay an entire battle in real-time and the game takes on another dimension.
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Well thank you for your attention in any case and for making such an addictive game. The above is intended to be an exercise in enthusiasm so anybody who found anything above insulting - peace ^_^