BFett wrote:
Hardpoints would have to be defined by type and restricted in number. A ship could have up to 4 energy hardpoints.
Urgh, arbitary hard limits are arbitary.
If my fighter can mount 4 turrets, why can my thousands of times more voluminous capital only mount the same number of them?
BFett wrote:
If I understand you, you're correct assuming that if both mounts are size one then neither can mount a size two turret.
No you dont
But your other points already somewhat remedied what i was thinking of.
Your statements made it sound like "take all the hardpoints that are on the ship and unify them to a single size x hardpoint"
Cornflakes_91 wrote:
With all the mech games its either fully text or 100% hardcoded placement of equipment, you dont have to account for the placement of the hardpoints, as every device has a pretty fixed point and orientation.
But in LT theres an infinite amount of devices, and those wont be fixed in location and orientation.
BFett wrote:Equipment isn't hard-coded in the mechwarrior games. For instance Mech Warrior Online allows you to place a heat-sink where ever you would like to. You are correct that hardpoint placement is predetermined in mech games.
and does it matter where you place the heatsink beyond torso/leg/ etc?
Does it even get visualised?
Point is, the things for which placement matters are hardcoded in placement.
BFett wrote: There are a limited number of slots which are divided up into sections which represent each section of the ship (Left most, left-center, center, right-center, right most).
arbitary limit is arbitary.
Why shouldnt i be able to mount a big spinal gun though the lenght of the ship?
Or a big hangar across the width of the ship?
Your system implicitly forbids that.
BFett wrote:
This system allows for ships to be designed for particular roles.
"Particular roles" only and only in terms of weapon placement.
What prevents me from insta-refitting a transporter into an impromptu battleship?
What prevents me from doing the reverse?
Why shouldnt i do it?
I dont have extra costs or much efficiency loss from doing so.
an arbitary point system after construction of the ship removes most of the specialisation from ship design.
You always want an as big as possible cavern which doesnt differentiate ship classes beyond their external hardpoint placement.
only combat ships have any semblance of specialisation at all, the rest are just variations of caverns filled with whatever is needed at the moment.
building your system on the absence of specialisation prevents specialisation very effectively.
Also: you didnt address how the whole thing should be manageable with size spreads being in the thousands.