Probably, when you're used to the way the factory works, titan construction flows really easily, but have pity on us novices.
I've read the game manual and the "Titan Design Manual", but would still like my hand held .. sort of.
Could one of you more experienced players please describe the steps you go through, from the initial idea to the final tuning on the pinboard?
In particular, I have problems with distributing the right amount of armour to the various locations.
Thanks.
Titan building tutorial
Moderator: MOD_TitansOfSteel
-
Peter Yearsley
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2001 8:00 am
- Location: London, England
- Contact:
Here's my 2c, hope it helps. These are just general guidelines, reading the manual and guide is still mandatory. Battle experience also helps a lot.
First you have to decide what kind of titan you want to design: support, spotter, guard, bruiser, CC, whatever. Weight class comes next, basically a choice between speed and durability - but also of playing style. Remember, every choice you make is a trade-off.
Then you have to choose what kind of weapons it'll be packing. A simplified rule of thumb, missiles for long range, cannons for medium range, energy for short range, CC for close range. There are exceptions of course, and then you have to factor in bulk and weight. Make sure you understand the strengths and weaknesses of special effects weapons before you use them.
Then, go for systems. The engine and heat reg are crucial, especially in energy-based titans. A good balance of offensive and defensive systems is advisable. Jump ports will give you added manoeuvrability and options. These are often limited by the locations where they can be installed, and by reserved space for weapons and armor.
Armor should be last, and as much as possible, but keeping the damage allocation table in mind. No use in having 50 APs in the side torsos if your CT or legs only have 30. Tweak weapons and systems if needed to get a balanced armor rating in all locations. Keep head armor as close to max as possible. Work with the different types of armor for maximum heat efficiency and protection.
Give your titan a powerful and meaningful name. Put your name in the designer box. Choose between making it a public design or a private design.
Note that there is a difference in designing duel titans and team titans. Team titans can (and should, to an extent) rely on each other to down opponents, having complementary weapons systems/ranges to provide flexibility and formation survivability.
I think this goes without saying, but before everything else you should first check the database for a similar design. If there is one, you can simply retrofit that design to suit your tastes instead of designing another one from scratch - but remember to check the engine and heat reg for compatibility.
Also, if you're designing a custom titan, use weapons and systems that match the skills of the jock that's going to pilot it.
There is one other thing, which is very important. The choice of chassis. Do not rush for the one with the most slots, which usually is the most unstable. Start with the one with the highest handling modifier, and work your way down if you need more slots. Remember, trade-offs.
First you have to decide what kind of titan you want to design: support, spotter, guard, bruiser, CC, whatever. Weight class comes next, basically a choice between speed and durability - but also of playing style. Remember, every choice you make is a trade-off.
Then you have to choose what kind of weapons it'll be packing. A simplified rule of thumb, missiles for long range, cannons for medium range, energy for short range, CC for close range. There are exceptions of course, and then you have to factor in bulk and weight. Make sure you understand the strengths and weaknesses of special effects weapons before you use them.
Then, go for systems. The engine and heat reg are crucial, especially in energy-based titans. A good balance of offensive and defensive systems is advisable. Jump ports will give you added manoeuvrability and options. These are often limited by the locations where they can be installed, and by reserved space for weapons and armor.
Armor should be last, and as much as possible, but keeping the damage allocation table in mind. No use in having 50 APs in the side torsos if your CT or legs only have 30. Tweak weapons and systems if needed to get a balanced armor rating in all locations. Keep head armor as close to max as possible. Work with the different types of armor for maximum heat efficiency and protection.
Give your titan a powerful and meaningful name. Put your name in the designer box. Choose between making it a public design or a private design.
Note that there is a difference in designing duel titans and team titans. Team titans can (and should, to an extent) rely on each other to down opponents, having complementary weapons systems/ranges to provide flexibility and formation survivability.
I think this goes without saying, but before everything else you should first check the database for a similar design. If there is one, you can simply retrofit that design to suit your tastes instead of designing another one from scratch - but remember to check the engine and heat reg for compatibility.
Also, if you're designing a custom titan, use weapons and systems that match the skills of the jock that's going to pilot it.
There is one other thing, which is very important. The choice of chassis. Do not rush for the one with the most slots, which usually is the most unstable. Start with the one with the highest handling modifier, and work your way down if you need more slots. Remember, trade-offs.
Iceman
armor
Average armor ratings I consider adequate for each weight class are (except for the head and CBT of course):
recon - 20
light - 30
medium - 40
heavy - 50
assault - 60
This is a rule of thumb, and as such there are exceptions, like supports generally have less armor, CCs may have more,...
recon - 20
light - 30
medium - 40
heavy - 50
assault - 60
This is a rule of thumb, and as such there are exceptions, like supports generally have less armor, CCs may have more,...
Iceman
-
Korgmeister
- Posts: 141
- Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2001 10:00 am
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Contact:
The pessimist's guide to TOS construction.
Aaah, Titan building, my favourite part of the game. The stasfaction of sweating over a brilliant design in the factory is merely validated by seeing it suceed in the field.
Perhaps the fact that I am an awful strategist, plagued by terrible luck in the battlefield has something to do with this. If a design suceeds with me at the helm, it is good!
There is one operative word in titan design: Weight
Saving Weight = More Armour = Not dying when the CPU opponents pull off 5 incredibly fluckey crital hits in a row.
Start with weapons. Your titan is there for the purpose of turning other titans into itty bitty bits, weapons are what do this.
One mistake I made as a newbie was underestimating how incredibly cool HtH weapons are. Quite frankly nothing matches twin chainsaws, pound-for-pound in terms of sheer, unadulterated mayhem!
And they don't even require a computer, which saves weight!
Melle weapons aren't everything, though (that would make this game into Roboforge, after all
) Energy weapons do not save you slots! Well, they do in the arms, but more space is taken up by a bigger engine and heat regs.
The bigger your heat reg, the more likely that it'll get damaged by a flukey shot, and that you will be ejecting to escape the impending meltdown.
Cannon weapons are nice, they produce less heat, require less energy (smaller engine = less weight) although they do take up a few more slots in the arms for ammo.
The solution, either whack a few in the LT/RT/CT or get a kickarse Close Combat skill so that by the time you run out of ammo, you will have got close enough to whale on his *** and finish him off.
Running out of ammo happens surprisingly rarely with Cannon weapons...unless the **** opponent scores a critical ammo hit.
That doesn't happen often, they're more likely to suffer 3 pilot-damaging headshots in a row (Yes, this happens to me with monotonous regularity.)
However, energy weapons aren't totally useless. Among other things, they're faster than cannons. When it comes to energy weapons, there are really only two that are worth the time of day to me: The Large Laser and the Black Ray Gun.
The Large Laser is the most average bloody weapon in existence. Good range, good accuracy, good heat.
The Black Ray Gun is so **** nice when it works. There is no satisfaction quite like repeatedly knocking over an enemy melee titan so that it never even manages to get close enough to scratch you.
The Small Laser and Pulse Laser are a waste of bloody time. Neither could hit the broad side of a barn to save your life.
What's more, a small laser will actually end up generating more heat than a Large one, despite its pissy damage and abominable accuracy. This is because it fires quickly.
Likewise, machine guns have some sort of usefulness that evades me. Oh yeah, they do double damage at close range, but big, fat hairy deal compared to a chainsaw!
Also, the Autocannon 20 has appaling accuracy. When it does hit, it is devastating, but I guarantee you that a pair of Autocannon 4's blazing away steadily will end up doing twice as much total damage.
Missiles again are another weapon I do not fully understand. They take up ungodly amounts of space, and rather than doing devastating pinpoint damage they will slowly and steadily turn enemy armour into swiss cheese. If that's your thing, go for it. However big damage = enemy falling over = enemy on ground = you kicking it's sorry, helpless arse.
So pardon me if I do not loudly extol the virtues of missiles at street corners.
Anyway, I think that's enough about weapons. By bigoted opinon being Chainsaws and Autocannons 4 & 7 ought to be your mainstay.
Now, other systems:
Life Support. Get the cheapest one and bung it somewhere out of the way. If there's some benefit to having a good one, I don't know about it.
Shields. Largely a waste of bloody time, except in Melee titans. A melee titan is vulnerable while it's charging an opponent. But keep in mind if any of your titans has a shield, then none of your opponents will have energy weapons. **** the AI cheats like hell!
Even a small shield can be a worthwhile investment, but it will require a sacrifice in terms of weapons potential, because these buggers are heavy.
Heat Regs: The bare minimum you will need to do is add up how much heat all your weapons will generate if being fired constantly.
Heat / Reload Time * The Number of the weapon you have. Repeat for each type of weapon.
Also add whatever heat the shield generates per turn.
I said this is the bare minimum because heat is generated also by moving about, being caught in a burning forest, and also by the shields if you've got any.
When playing against the computer, the mystical heat faeries will also transport some of your opponent's heat to you. Either that, or they will magically guide enemy weapons to hit your heat regs with uncanny accuracy.
Engine: I think the official documentation details this quite clearly. There's nothing I need to add. If your powerplant gets hit, you're almost always screwed anyway, so there's not alot of point in getting a bigger one than you need to.
If you followed my advice and went easy on the energy weapons, you'll only need a little one anyway.
Scanners: To my knowwledge, scanning an enemy is the only source of precious OXP. Thus if you have a crap scanner, you'll never be able to scan the enemy in time and thus never increase your attributes and end up getting creamed. Also, you need active scans to make called shots. Called shots are nice, there's nothing like the feeling of decapitating your opponent.
Target Computers: If you only have melee weapons, you don't need one of these. Period.
If you do, you need a good one. A 10% to hit bonus doesn't sound like much, but there's a big difference between a 25% to hit chance and a 35% to hit chance.
Flares: They suck, but they do not use power. But unless you have a good Defensive skill they really amount to little more than paiting a giant 'Kick Me' sign on your titan.
ECM: These are nice. Sure, they screw with guided missiles but these are good for two reasons. #1: They stop enemy scans, keep them guessing, I say! #2: The threat level lets you know how many people are currently trying to kill you. They draw power, though, which means you need a bigger engine, that's bad.
Jump Ports: IMO, installing these is like begging the computer to botch your piloting rolls at a vital moment, as you helplessly watch your prone titan get ground into the dust. They are nice on Melee titans, because you can pick a slower(lighter) frame and still have enough mobility to catch up with your enemy without getting bothered by pesky things like rivers and terrain.
Armour: Type 1 Armour (Millenia) is the most useless crud in existence, end of story.
Armour 2 (Titanium) is vaguely useful for situations where you're low on slots. But it's about as effective as strapping tinfoil across your titan, protection-wise.
Armour 3 (Vicenium) is IMO the best by a country mile. Weight is almost always the limiting factor with armour, and this stuff is the lightest. It is very bulky, so you need to leave 2 or 3 slots free to get half decent protection.
Armour 4 (Duralloy) sometimes offers you better protection, especially in smaller areas like the head. But it's heavy, so most of the time it will offer you less protection overall.
An armour index of 5-6 will make you a sitting duck.
6-7 is the very least to offer you a half-decent chance of surviving the battle in one piece.
7-8 is what you want to go for. Although it will leave you lightly armed, it's worth it for the fact that a lucky shot is not going to put you out of commission.
And seeing that the computer oppnents are about as lucky as Kate Winslet's boyfriend, that's definately an important thing indeed.
Well, I hope you find that enlightening. I think I need to go offline now as my computer is getting almost as cranky as I am due to to heat...bloody Australian summers!
Perhaps the fact that I am an awful strategist, plagued by terrible luck in the battlefield has something to do with this. If a design suceeds with me at the helm, it is good!
There is one operative word in titan design: Weight
Saving Weight = More Armour = Not dying when the CPU opponents pull off 5 incredibly fluckey crital hits in a row.
Start with weapons. Your titan is there for the purpose of turning other titans into itty bitty bits, weapons are what do this.
One mistake I made as a newbie was underestimating how incredibly cool HtH weapons are. Quite frankly nothing matches twin chainsaws, pound-for-pound in terms of sheer, unadulterated mayhem!
And they don't even require a computer, which saves weight!
Melle weapons aren't everything, though (that would make this game into Roboforge, after all
) Energy weapons do not save you slots! Well, they do in the arms, but more space is taken up by a bigger engine and heat regs.The bigger your heat reg, the more likely that it'll get damaged by a flukey shot, and that you will be ejecting to escape the impending meltdown.
Cannon weapons are nice, they produce less heat, require less energy (smaller engine = less weight) although they do take up a few more slots in the arms for ammo.
The solution, either whack a few in the LT/RT/CT or get a kickarse Close Combat skill so that by the time you run out of ammo, you will have got close enough to whale on his *** and finish him off.
Running out of ammo happens surprisingly rarely with Cannon weapons...unless the **** opponent scores a critical ammo hit.
That doesn't happen often, they're more likely to suffer 3 pilot-damaging headshots in a row (Yes, this happens to me with monotonous regularity.)
However, energy weapons aren't totally useless. Among other things, they're faster than cannons. When it comes to energy weapons, there are really only two that are worth the time of day to me: The Large Laser and the Black Ray Gun.
The Large Laser is the most average bloody weapon in existence. Good range, good accuracy, good heat.
The Black Ray Gun is so **** nice when it works. There is no satisfaction quite like repeatedly knocking over an enemy melee titan so that it never even manages to get close enough to scratch you.
The Small Laser and Pulse Laser are a waste of bloody time. Neither could hit the broad side of a barn to save your life.
What's more, a small laser will actually end up generating more heat than a Large one, despite its pissy damage and abominable accuracy. This is because it fires quickly.
Likewise, machine guns have some sort of usefulness that evades me. Oh yeah, they do double damage at close range, but big, fat hairy deal compared to a chainsaw!
Also, the Autocannon 20 has appaling accuracy. When it does hit, it is devastating, but I guarantee you that a pair of Autocannon 4's blazing away steadily will end up doing twice as much total damage.
Missiles again are another weapon I do not fully understand. They take up ungodly amounts of space, and rather than doing devastating pinpoint damage they will slowly and steadily turn enemy armour into swiss cheese. If that's your thing, go for it. However big damage = enemy falling over = enemy on ground = you kicking it's sorry, helpless arse.
So pardon me if I do not loudly extol the virtues of missiles at street corners.
Anyway, I think that's enough about weapons. By bigoted opinon being Chainsaws and Autocannons 4 & 7 ought to be your mainstay.
Now, other systems:
Life Support. Get the cheapest one and bung it somewhere out of the way. If there's some benefit to having a good one, I don't know about it.
Shields. Largely a waste of bloody time, except in Melee titans. A melee titan is vulnerable while it's charging an opponent. But keep in mind if any of your titans has a shield, then none of your opponents will have energy weapons. **** the AI cheats like hell!
Even a small shield can be a worthwhile investment, but it will require a sacrifice in terms of weapons potential, because these buggers are heavy.
Heat Regs: The bare minimum you will need to do is add up how much heat all your weapons will generate if being fired constantly.
Heat / Reload Time * The Number of the weapon you have. Repeat for each type of weapon.
Also add whatever heat the shield generates per turn.
I said this is the bare minimum because heat is generated also by moving about, being caught in a burning forest, and also by the shields if you've got any.
When playing against the computer, the mystical heat faeries will also transport some of your opponent's heat to you. Either that, or they will magically guide enemy weapons to hit your heat regs with uncanny accuracy.
Engine: I think the official documentation details this quite clearly. There's nothing I need to add. If your powerplant gets hit, you're almost always screwed anyway, so there's not alot of point in getting a bigger one than you need to.
If you followed my advice and went easy on the energy weapons, you'll only need a little one anyway.
Scanners: To my knowwledge, scanning an enemy is the only source of precious OXP. Thus if you have a crap scanner, you'll never be able to scan the enemy in time and thus never increase your attributes and end up getting creamed. Also, you need active scans to make called shots. Called shots are nice, there's nothing like the feeling of decapitating your opponent.
Target Computers: If you only have melee weapons, you don't need one of these. Period.
If you do, you need a good one. A 10% to hit bonus doesn't sound like much, but there's a big difference between a 25% to hit chance and a 35% to hit chance.
Flares: They suck, but they do not use power. But unless you have a good Defensive skill they really amount to little more than paiting a giant 'Kick Me' sign on your titan.
ECM: These are nice. Sure, they screw with guided missiles but these are good for two reasons. #1: They stop enemy scans, keep them guessing, I say! #2: The threat level lets you know how many people are currently trying to kill you. They draw power, though, which means you need a bigger engine, that's bad.
Jump Ports: IMO, installing these is like begging the computer to botch your piloting rolls at a vital moment, as you helplessly watch your prone titan get ground into the dust. They are nice on Melee titans, because you can pick a slower(lighter) frame and still have enough mobility to catch up with your enemy without getting bothered by pesky things like rivers and terrain.
Armour: Type 1 Armour (Millenia) is the most useless crud in existence, end of story.
Armour 2 (Titanium) is vaguely useful for situations where you're low on slots. But it's about as effective as strapping tinfoil across your titan, protection-wise.
Armour 3 (Vicenium) is IMO the best by a country mile. Weight is almost always the limiting factor with armour, and this stuff is the lightest. It is very bulky, so you need to leave 2 or 3 slots free to get half decent protection.
Armour 4 (Duralloy) sometimes offers you better protection, especially in smaller areas like the head. But it's heavy, so most of the time it will offer you less protection overall.
An armour index of 5-6 will make you a sitting duck.
6-7 is the very least to offer you a half-decent chance of surviving the battle in one piece.
7-8 is what you want to go for. Although it will leave you lightly armed, it's worth it for the fact that a lucky shot is not going to put you out of commission.
And seeing that the computer oppnents are about as lucky as Kate Winslet's boyfriend, that's definately an important thing indeed.
Well, I hope you find that enlightening. I think I need to go offline now as my computer is getting almost as cranky as I am due to to heat...bloody Australian summers!
Korgmeister - Mad scientist of pessimistic ToS design and unluckiest ToS player in history.
Please note that all comments that any weapon, design, tactic etc are better are: FROM AN ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW and should be recieved in such light
Please note that all comments that any weapon, design, tactic etc are better are: FROM AN ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW and should be recieved in such light
Disagree with some things here.
First, major limiting factor is usually slots and not weight.
Second, armor, as much as it might be, will not prevent all critical hits.
Third, a titan without a battle computer will have its lock time rocket skyhigh, which is not exactly in your best interest in a CC titan if you want to approach your target undetected. It also makes switching targets very difficult. And then there's the E.M.Pulser coming with WS.
About weapons, the Plasma Gun is one of the best energy weapons around. Others like the CLG and the NB are also powerful in particular situations, and the TB and FT rock in close quarters.
I don't know how you made the calculations about the AC20/2xAC4, but I think you should rethink them.
If you don't understand the power of missiles, then you haven't *really* played them.
I'm not going to comment on systems, or I'd be here all day. One piece of advice though. Read the manual and the guide, and I really mean *read*. The info is all there; not handed to you in a platter, granted, but that's not the goal. Use your head.
First, major limiting factor is usually slots and not weight.
Second, armor, as much as it might be, will not prevent all critical hits.
Third, a titan without a battle computer will have its lock time rocket skyhigh, which is not exactly in your best interest in a CC titan if you want to approach your target undetected. It also makes switching targets very difficult. And then there's the E.M.Pulser coming with WS.
About weapons, the Plasma Gun is one of the best energy weapons around. Others like the CLG and the NB are also powerful in particular situations, and the TB and FT rock in close quarters.
I don't know how you made the calculations about the AC20/2xAC4, but I think you should rethink them.
If you don't understand the power of missiles, then you haven't *really* played them.
I'm not going to comment on systems, or I'd be here all day. One piece of advice though. Read the manual and the guide, and I really mean *read*. The info is all there; not handed to you in a platter, granted, but that's not the goal. Use your head.
Iceman
-
Korgmeister
- Posts: 141
- Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2001 10:00 am
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Contact:
Oh I did read the manual, printed, read it repeatedly over many train trips and have it within arms reach whenever I play.
I'm merely commenting on my experience with the game. I readily admit that what I write isn't objective at all, it's just what has worked in my experience.
No, armour doesn't stop all critical hits, but having as much as possible makes it less likely for a run of bad luck to take you completely out of action.
Note my title 'The Pessimist's Guide to ToS Construction'. When I play, the ghost of Murphy himself invades the computer and plays against me. Hence I make titans with the prime purpose of survival in mind.
As for slots, I've rarely found them to be a major problem, usually a little juggling of locations sorts that problem out no worries.
I'm merely commenting on my experience with the game. I readily admit that what I write isn't objective at all, it's just what has worked in my experience.
No, armour doesn't stop all critical hits, but having as much as possible makes it less likely for a run of bad luck to take you completely out of action.
Note my title 'The Pessimist's Guide to ToS Construction'. When I play, the ghost of Murphy himself invades the computer and plays against me. Hence I make titans with the prime purpose of survival in mind.
As for slots, I've rarely found them to be a major problem, usually a little juggling of locations sorts that problem out no worries.
Korgmeister - Mad scientist of pessimistic ToS design and unluckiest ToS player in history.
Please note that all comments that any weapon, design, tactic etc are better are: FROM AN ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW and should be recieved in such light
Please note that all comments that any weapon, design, tactic etc are better are: FROM AN ENTIRELY SUBJECTIVE POINT OF VIEW and should be recieved in such light
-
Peter Yearsley
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2001 8:00 am
- Location: London, England
- Contact: