Okay, having fun again in Chapter 4 but I'm not done grousing about certain mechanics.
Dual laser rifle is super fun, feels outstanding, especially against chaff units and it's fun against ACs in the arena.
I think I may have made a mistake buying this on PS5 for nostalgia factor. Fully maxed out camera speed isn't enough, lol. "Target lock" is horse shit.
I need to get this off my chest.
My BIGGEST complaint about this game is the roadie run boost. There is a reason that the original roadie run in Queers of Whore by the late great Cliffy B on the greatest console of all time, the Xbox 360, was basically a cinematic feature that only increased your movement speed by around 10% while changing the camera angle. Clicking the analog stick to sprint is a mess, especially in a game requiring precise timing and movement like this. This 360 era shit shouldn't be in an otherwise fabulous game like this.
Regarding the thrust meter - why doesn't it deplete from using energy weapons? This was a great mechanic that balanced the power of energy weapons and their lack of reloads. It forced you to balance your AC's weight, generator, and energy usage for energy efficiency, to allow you to remain airborne. Most importantly - oldschool AC didn't have you gliding around on the floor like an iceskating rink without using any thrust. You had to walk. Therefore, tank tracks were slow as shit. Hover legs had an appeal. Lighter weight builds obviously meant greater energy efficiency, allowing for consistent use of boost and energy weapons, more air time and verticality, and usually faster on the ground movement.
Why do I regenerate boost faster when on the ground? You know, as opposed to turning off my thrusters while plummeting toward the earth? Figure 8 patterns used to work peachy to manage your thrust meter. Now, the game wants you to touch earth and ice skate. Anyway, thrust meter might as well be a dodge meter.
The iceskating slide mechanic doesn't make sense unless friction doesn't exist in this fake universe, but of course there are literally sparks coming off my feet when I am gliding on the surface. This makes no sense. It only exists for people who want muh high speed gliding. It also makes no sense that all the vernier thrusters constantly spitting fire off my shoulders and shins have no effect on my thrust meter despite being used to counter the motion of my massive mech. Mechs are supposed to have gravity, god damn it. They're supposed to walk around on their dope ass bipedal legs. Boosting should be for short boosts and create huge energy strain because you basically weigh as much as an M1 Abrams tank. Obviously, this is why in Gundam, they have base jabbers and gliders when in gravity. Mechs are inherently not aerodynamic. Tomino said when he created the first Gundam show that obviously mechs are stupid, hence why it had to occur in space, where there is no gravity.
Done bitching, about to go play some more.