When can we expect to see a MechLab?

[DFDelta]

The main features to balance the mech lab will be BAs and aeros.  Why?  The preferred weapons to defeat those assets do not necessarily overlapped with with anti armor weapons.

LRM, 10-20 ACs, Grifles can be used but they take either a lot of luck or skill to use against those assets

Energy weapons, are good for their precision or splash (laser, ppc respectively) but still take a moderate level of skill to use.

Small caliber weapons, srms, pulse laser are all the preferred weapons to take out air assets and BAs.

As long as people field air and BA assets and remain a threat, most mech builders will have to keep that mind with building their configs.

Oh yeah, I can already see how this balancing will work.
10 people in a 10vs10 match will run around in a gauss or LRM boat and insult and scream at each other because <insert random boating  teammate> "is a f***ing nOOb who did not build a anti BA/ASF boat" to protect them...

[Aidan]

Because I've got cars on the brain...the engine is barely running, don't bolt on the aftermarket turbo or new headers until after you've got the engine running smooth, so to speak
in other words, mechlab should be low priority at this point.

Well I am in favor of a Mechlab even with this mod concept of "Combined Arms". But this Mechlab is going to take awhile. At least until Toth gets settled down to his new digs in Germany. 

[EvilMD]

I could live without it so it should be last on the to do list. The feature I am waitting for the most is terrain control. Fighting death match over and over is what gets old to me and imo is what is keeping people from playing more.

[Brainwright]

The main features to balance the mech lab will be BAs and aeros.  Why?  The preferred weapons to defeat those assets do not necessarily overlapped with with anti armor weapons.

Well, the greatest fear that comes with mech lab is the massive arrays of small weapons used to do insane amounts of damage.  I think between, as you say, weapon specialization and the pod system, we have a pretty good base to move forward on.

[benben10]

on a slight side note, how much configurability do you see the crysis engines being able to support? are we talking armor tonnage and individual heatsinks in specific body location here? ( would love to see someone make the mistake of putting all his heatsinks in his mech's arms to free up torso space and then forget about it until he alpha strikes too quickly with an armless mech resulting in an ever so beautiful reactor overload)

or is it just going to be weapons hard points like in the early videos. even though i'm a big fan of customizability (and not just to make new kinds of beat sticks but for creativity) limiting it to hard points can help maintain some balance by simply limiting options because of tonnage. (god help us all, the day we see the unarmored skeleton of a near engineless Firefly crawling at 20km/h almost buckling under the weight of 4 LRM 20s duct-taped to it)

[sgnl05]

The main features to balance the mech lab will be BAs and aeros.  Why?  The preferred weapons to defeat those assets do not necessarily overlapped with with anti armor weapons.

Well, the greatest fear that comes with mech lab is the massive arrays of small weapons used to do insane amounts of damage.  I think between, as you say, weapon specialization and the pod system, we have a pretty good base to move forward on.

I for one will by trying to fit 20+ MGs on an Atlas, to be sure.

[(TLL)Sky_walker]

I could live without it so it should be last on the to do list.

this made me laugh.

The main features to balance the mech lab will be BAs and aeros.  Why?  The preferred weapons to defeat those assets do not necessarily overlapped with with anti armor weapons.

Well, the greatest fear that comes with mech lab is the massive arrays of small weapons used to do insane amounts of damage.  I think between, as you say, weapon specialization and the pod system, we have a pretty good base to move forward on.

I for one will by trying to fit 20+ MGs on an Atlas, to be sure.

It'd be impossible even with current implementation. Atlas has like... 7 weapon slots, so you'd have 7 MGuns at most. Pathetic to say at least. Even 7 MBLs aren't super-damage-effective when mount of something that big as Atlas - waste of tonnage.

[Virt]

I've gone from being "of course you gotta have a Mechlab" to "worried that Mechlab will fatally undermine the game experience".

Perhaps we could have best of both worlds by making Mechlab available only in certain game modes (eg.  FFA, or an even a custom Lab Shootout mode ).

[MerfMerf]

never...the monstrosities that would insue would be horrifying

+1
At the current state anyhow.
Perhaps future updates will get me more inclined to wanting a mechlab, but even then I am very sure I would like a server parameter to allow only the preconfigured variants. As it stands now the quote from Azov about monstrosities seem to sum it up very nicely.

/Merf - Also like being able to tell roughly what equipment one can expect after having seen model and some armaments and fear this will not be possible to the same extent if a mechlab is introduced.

[(TLL) Zeh]

I am pretty neutral on the idea of a mechlab, because it could have a lot of forms.  I agree it should be a LATE LATE feature.

[Malecite]

God Damn I hope we never see the likes of a mech lab, I can just see near endless scenarios where weapon load outs would lead to abundant nerd rage/keyboard smashing. For instance, a quad srm vtol with a tag laser... or a heavy mech that had a masc and like 8 flamers on it... Not cool man, not cool.

[DaveTheArsonist]

Perhaps we could have best of both worlds by making Mechlab available only in certain game modes (eg.  FFA, or an even a custom Lab Shootout mode ).

This.  That seriously is the best idea I've seen passed around on the MechLab yet. 
I can see a fun 'messing around' Lab Test mode  for the people who just want to be Munchkins and fight with the most ridiculous/flashiest/ricer Mech they can.
Also they could try making 'MechLab' variants of all the major gamemodes instead of dedicating a gametype or two to it (i.e., if FFA were MechLab only, it's then considered poisoned by the anti-Lab group).

[KingLeerUK]

Perhaps we could have best of both worlds by making Mechlab available only in certain game modes (eg.  FFA, or an even a custom Lab Shootout mode ).

This.  That seriously is the best idea I've seen passed around on the MechLab yet. 
I can see a fun 'messing around' Lab Test mode  for the people who just want to be Munchkins and fight with the most ridiculous/flashiest/ricer Mech they can.
Also they could try making 'MechLab' variants of all the major gamemodes instead of dedicating a gametype or two to it (i.e., if FFA were MechLab only, it's then considered poisoned by the anti-Lab group).

Or... we could do what I'm proposing above and make MechLab generated designs a server-configurable option (a la cvar s_mechlab_enabled 1) so that they will be enabled/disabled for ANY game mode based on a simple server configuration.

[4204ME]

Malecite those are some fing great ideas! Well tag with srm is actually dumb as phuck but SRM boat sparrow would be a trip. AN osiris with a FB strapped to his chest would be my gift to you. Jihad on the anti lab bastards!!!!

[Dirg]

It'd be impossible even with current implementation. Atlas has like... 7 weapon slots, so you'd have 7 MGuns at most. Pathetic to say at least. Even 7 MBLs aren't super-damage-effective when mount of something that big as Atlas - waste of tonnage.

Yes but the 7 Light Guass with AMS, ECM ERoptics and MASC with all the armor it can hold Atlas heading everyone not using ELRM's and alot of fading would get old fast.