What AC game should I start with? There's a great infographic (which I would post here if I had it, someone give me a link) but most players recommend Armored Core 2 or 3 for old style games, and Armored Core For Answer or Verdict Day for multiplayer.
BEFORE YOU PROCEED LISTEN TO OUR THEME SONG!!! instaud.io/jzI
AC pastebin: pastebin.com/z1bJS9gF Read that if you have any questions. If the pastebin doesn't answer whatever question you may have feel free to ask us in the thread.
Just to avoid confusion here is the image OP is referring to.
What gameplay mechanics, parts and/or features do y'all want to see returned in AC6?
Personally, I really liked Verdict Day, it took many of the good parts from Chromehounds and Armored Core and made a decent game. It's biggest weaknesses imo was the poor matchmaking and map design.
Bigger and more intricate maps with indoor, outdoor, water, city, nature elements would be great. Instead of a hard border limit players would get a count down from 5 and then be fired upon by normals and turrets.
Make the game 6 v 6 with a operator slot for a Unac or player. The operator can control the carrier vehicle, carrier vehicles can be customized to be a hover tank or airship with a variety of support weapon parts.
UNACs would be extremely important as they defend and attack territories even when your not online. You can even use UNAC programming to defend your title in the arena online.
Players can explore their garage as a customizeable pilot avatar and interact with other players in a hub city. Pilots carry jetpacks and a right and left hand support weapon.
When your Armored Core explodes the pilot automatically ejects. When the pilot is killed the player goes into a camera only mode until the end of the match. Pilots are much weaker than Armored Cores and can only play a support role when out of their mech.
A player must choose one of three factions when starting the game. The player can only defect to another faction up to twice in story mode. Each faction controls a Arms Fort. The more resources the faction controls the more weapons and armor the Arms Fort spawns with.
As you conquer more territories and gain more resources you can put Unacs, normals, turrets etc in maps you control. If these assets are damaged you'll have to pay to refix them or they will spawn damaged making your territory easier to conquer.
Jordan Lee
AC4 era maps were literally the worst, aesthetics were alright.
I would use ACVD as a combat template, but make a few tweaks: 1. Drop walljumping for air boosting again, but allow toggling (either through double-press or by gently holding the button instead of a full press) to hover in mid-air, slowly draining energy.
2. This is how I would utilize the best of ready position / UW / Back cannons / etc. from prior games
Weapons: Hand weapons (1): Normal guns. Right arm or left arm. You can store them on your back slots also, accessible after purging your main weapon.
Hand weapons (2): Dual hand weapons. These are your larger lasers, plasma, snipers, etc. and take up both arm slots. They cannot be stored on your back.
Normal Back weapons: Missiles, rockets, support, radar etc.
Special back weapons (1): Uses both back slots, these are giant missiles, area of effect weapons, or manual-aim cannons, very powerful but no tracking.
Special back weapons (2): Uses one back slot and the same-side arm slot. (think: cannon in hand, energy supply on back, or a large melee weapon. These have lock-on aiming (excluding large melee) and are generally less powerful than dual back weapons because of that.
Special weapons (3): Uses both back slots and one arm slot. These are similar to UWs. Only 1-3 uses, but instant kill if they hit. This is very similar to how most UWs in VD work.
So if you wanted to equip a normal arm weapon, you would select it > then select the slot (R Arm ,L Arm, R Back, L Back) to equip instead of the old menu style of selecting the slot first.
3. Procedurally generated missions. Every mission you embark on should pair up a map with a random set of objectives and enemies, getting harder and harder the more you progress through the game. You should also be able to queue up for multiplayer versions of these missions, too, so you can encounter actual player ACs.
Jayden Phillips
for the love of god don't make AC 6x6. We don't want it to become a Moba. More players are not better. Drop the fucking 'carrier vehicle operator idea'. It's absolutely unnecessary complexity to an already difficult multiplayer. To make 6v6 work without being a clusterfuck would require removing a lot of the mechanics that makes the games fun.
A campaign with a maximum of 2v2 is ideal, then leave your 6v6 up for unranked free battle, assuming they solve the historically bad netcode well enough to make it palatable.
Julian Howard
>Procedurally generated missions Maybe as an extra mode, but if you want a full campaign of that shit you need to kill yourself my man.
Zachary Hughes
Bump.
Daniel Wright
Use these rare abortion giblets to stuff your fucking AC into a Yharnam chalice dungeon.
Chase Cruz
Bump.
Logan Robinson
Bump.
Camden Ross
They're cool. I wish we could mix and match them.
Andrew Jackson
>mixing and matching weapon arms Most weapon arms in the 4 era seem to be crutches for low AMS pilots, but somehow I could see this looping around and causing the pilot to need retarded high AMS to mix and match them. It's probably just more efficient to use regular arms carrying weapons.
Eli Phillips
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Michael Brown
Man the chalice became more of a chore the more you play them, I was expecting a new and better serie of chalices with the DLCs, sadly it didnt happen
Samuel Sullivan
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Logan Morris
>Most weapon arms in the 4 era seem to be crutches for low AMS pilots
How do you figure that?
Wyatt Turner
Some of the weapon arms actually specify it in their descriptions (the shotgun arms come to mind). Then there's the fact that not many high ranking pilots use them, and the ones who do are usually GA affiliated (and GA is already known to produce parts that lessen the need for AMS aptitude). It's also pretty logical, since projecting your mind onto a humanoid arm and manipulating the fingers to control a held weapon is probably a lot more stressful than the more mechanical and straightforward weapon arms which can probably be used with simple control sticks and the like.
Joseph Ramirez
Here you go ranker, it'll download as some gibberish but here is the song title.
Armored Core For Answer - Someone is Always Moving On the Surface (31% Slower + Lowered Volume).wav
Hey not bad, is slightly different, but the same effect is there, nice one Xez.
I will take it.
Grayson Walker
Better than nothing right?
Dominic Jackson
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James Martin
I like how it turned out, I can see Wynne D. Fanchon kneeling down in defeat after losing to Thermidor and Strayed while this song plays in the background and the screen fades into black very slowly.
Brody Nguyen
My mental image is more like, a surviving kid from the cradles walking alone, shortly after they fell from the sky because of the closed plan coming into action, while the narrator says that despise the desolated and war torn surface, humanity still have hope to live among the stars, while the camera shows the sky full of small explosions from the assaults cells being destroyed.
Daniel Wood
I remember loving AC2 and 3 maps however AC4 era had a great design but I can't help but feel they were too easy for a AC game.
VD is a good template. Wall jumping is nice. Forces people to conserve energy and use the environment to attack.
I think UWs should be gone. One shots should be more difficult to pull off like melee attacks and such.
I see no problem with the way weapons can be chose in Armored Core though I simply want more old weapons to return like Orbit Cannons, Linear Rifles, Flamethrowers etc.
I'd rather they just give us a mission maker/map maker. Armored Core is a weird franchises that is all about customization it's a feature that would fit nicely and that few games rarely do anymore...
Carson Perry
ACVD is essentially 4 v 4 with bigger maps why shouldn't we get bigger matches. 6 v 6 would lead to longer and more complicated matches. It would feel more like a battle especially with turrets and gun batteries thrown into the mix. Maybe defending player gets normal squadron?
I like the idea of another thing for the operator to do because it didn't always feel necessary or relevant in VD however I don't agree with that one user that they should get a vehicle to pilot.
I liked the VD campaign just a prettier/bigger version of that would be fine for me.
Unranked free battle had up to 8 players. I don't see anything wrong with it.
Gavin Carter
Talking about customization as if it mattered in the era where you could slap together any old AC and still be fast as shit/murder everything.
Liam Ward
>pic >missile dong.
Anthony Thompson
AC Sex Machine cumming in
Julian Brown
>Last Raven >"fucking hard"
Nu-ravens everyone.
Luke Sanchez
I thought that was weird about the chart as well. I think VD has a steeper learning curve than previous games. I remember playing and beating LR as a kid pretty easily.
Austin Barnes
I'd rather see well designed and large maps/missions than a procedural mode.
Shit just give us some customization options for preexisting maps like in VD except more shit. Put down some MTs, gun batteries, trenches etc.
Christopher Martinez
So now that AC6 is confirmed what do you guys actually think it will be like? I see alot of wishlist ideas which is cool but what is your honest opinion?
I think it will be heavily influenced by the success of Dark Souls and will be like Verdict Day to an extent as it's their most recent game.
I hope the game takes Verdict Day as the base and adds more Chromehound elements and gives us a mission and map maker.
Also where the fuck is my Tenchu sequel From??
David Myers
I think everything depends on the publisher, AC isn't exactly the hottest franchise out there so it's going to be hard to find one who is willing to invest large sums of money into a project like AC6.
Personally, I just hope we go back to the design and gameplay of pre AC5.
Aaron Foster
All I know is AC is getting made and the director of AC4 and 4A is involved. The last game was Verdict and that felt more like a Chromehounds sequel than a AC game in a good way. AC4 felt like ps2 era and 4a was abit too easy and arcadey but i get why people like it.
I kind of agree with that other user. I think it'll be souls influenced even though i'd fucking hate that.
Leo Nelson
Boss fights and instead of stamina, it's our boost bar and we do cartwheels instead of rolls.
Jason Ramirez
A gunner build in Bloodborne felt at times kinda AC-ish and was actually pretty cool and fun to play, so maybe it could work.
Adam Brooks
I don't mind what we get. I just want something good. I felt that every AC had their strength, and if from doesn't screw the pooch, it'll turn out good either way.
Adrian Roberts
There are a few ways to measure difficulty:
1. Learning Curve ("newbie" difficulty) 2. Unavoidable Difficulty spikes 3. Avoidable Difficulty spikes (things that are only difficult if you don't know the right options) 4. Learning cap ("skilled" difficulty) 5. Bugs/Controls/Framerate
If you're a new player, only 1,2,3, and 5 count. If you're an experienced player, only 2,4, and 5 count.
2. Unavoidable Difficulty Spikes (example: unskippable story mission) ACNB Most unavoidable difficulty spikes AC2 ACVD ACLR Least unavoidable difficulty spikes
3. Avoidable difficulty spikes (example: skippable side mission or boss with hidden weakness) ACLR Most avoidable difficulty spikes ACVD ACNB AC2 Least avoidable difficulty spikes
4. Learning Cap (single player only. Most VD's multiplayer depth isn't necessary to beat the game/hardmode) ACLR Highest learning cap ACNB AC2 ACVD Lowest Learning cap
5. Difficulty due to bugs/controls/framerate (example: no analog stick, stop the surface weapon) AC2 Most bugs/framerate issues ACNB ACLR ACVD Fewest bugs/framerate issues
10-15 story missions with fixed characters and plot and no online
between each story mission you do procedurally generated missions based on the a set of maps/objectives/enemies. They could even customize the briefings by using different audio clips to match the output. The harder/longer a procedurally generated mission is, the more points you earn and the faster you unlock the next story mission.
That's basically what most AC games (AC1-MOA, AC2, AC3-VD) already do, they give you a bunch of side missions you have to beat before you get to a mission that actually effects the story. So why not make those side missions more dynamic by making them different each time you play?
Henry Ramirez
The only gameplay difference between pre-AC4 and AC4/FA is quickboosting, everything else is just numbers.
Lincoln Collins
It's a lot more than just that >AC4 removed ACLR's variable accelleration >ACLR has 2 energy output modes: consuming vs non-consuming. You don't get any energy output when you're consuming (boosting, firing lasers). AC4 turned it into a single rate so you still had energy output while draining energy, which is why you can permaflight in AC4 without feathering the boosters. >AC4 fixed the lock box to the center of the screen, and made the edges "fuzzy" with poor lock on, instead of having it able to move on its own. >Firing weapons in AC4 can cause stagger, but not in ACLR >PA works similar to heat, but simpler. Weapon 'heat' affects the same value (defense) in AC4 instead of its own unique value (temperature) in ACLR.
AC4 made a few questionable/dumb choices that simplified movement/mechanics to make the game easier
Kayden Powell
But those are all just numbers, increase the costs of vertical boosting in AC4 and there would be no permaflight. Same goes for most other points, change a few values here and there and you are back to ACLR, the only genuinely new gameplay mechanic in AC4 is quickboosting.
Oliver Walker
No, that's not just numbers.The mechanics for lock on and boosting are -actually- different.
LR turns off your energy recovery while boosting. AC4 doesn't. That's a huge difference in gameplay and that's why there's no boost hopping in AC4.
The lock on system works extremely differently also, so does firing stability/recoil, and PA vs heat. These are all major changes that affect how you play the game vs LR.
Samuel Morris
Energy usage in AC4 is closer to ACVD than ACLR because of that.
Ryder Bennett
Say, this is pretty cool. Hope you don't mind if I snag it for myself...
Also, would there be any reservations if it were used in possible projects? Probably wouldn't have to worry too much, though. Been far too lazy and/or busy lately, to actually get around to doing any recent projects...
Christopher Ramirez
It's weird how you say it's not just numbers but then give an example on how it's just numbers >LR turns off your energy recovery while boosting So what literally happens is that the game checks if you are boosting and if you do it, it sets the energy recovery to 0, that's a simple numerical change. It's also functionally the same as increasing the vertical boosting costs. Same goes for lockon, they changed the size of the box to encompass most of the screen and made it invisible but it's still there, nothing really changed except for a few values.
Sebastian Martin
Do whatever you want with it.
William Nguyen
If that's the argument you want to make, then ANY change to the game is just a 'numerical' change.
The lockbox isn't just "changed" to encompass the screen. It's fixed to the screen and has multiple layers to it and can't be moved.
Yes, LR shares some mechanics with AC4. But AC4 changed the game significantly in more ways than just 'adjusting numbers'.
Zachary Gonzalez
>then ANY change to the game is just a 'numerical' change. Not really, Quickboosting is a new mechanic that needs it's own dedicated button. I give you heat/pa though, that's another big difference.
Michael Parker
Bump.
Tyler Smith
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Asher Young
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Chase Morgan
We're talking about the fluff side of things, not gameplay.
Caleb Young
I need to try a bloodtinge build ASAP.
Jaxon Cox
How is pressing a button to make your arm weapons fire any different from pressing a button to make your ac's finger pull a trigger?
Xavier Baker
In most AC games it's probably not any different. NEXTs use the AMS system though, which while really vague, is implied to be some sort of psychic control system. So if you have to make the AC's arm become your own arm in order to pick up, aim, and shoot a held gun, it's probably a lot easier to skip that entirely and just attach a gigantic gun to the arm joint and control it the old fashioned way.
I'm just speculating and don't have much to back this up though. Maybe weapon arms are still controlled with AMS and are actually harder to use since they're non humanoid limbs. But then that raises some questions about reverse joints, tetrapods, and tank treads. What do you think about those since we're on the subject anyway?
Asher Morgan
AMS just makes you move faster. You're still piloting like you would any other AC.
Logan Perry
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Adam Moore
SNFA?
Kayden Cruz
Usually on Sundays
Jason Sanders
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Ethan Howard
How many actual NEXTs could this thing beat 1v1? Killdozer and Wonderful Body would probably be pretty even matches. Maybe it could beat Celebrity Ash?
Dylan Hill
I could see that comparison.
I think AC deserves a blockbuster level release. It's a long time series that has good and meh games but it's never been afraid to try new features or gameplay mechanics.
If From could manage to blend the best Armored Core elements together I believe it could make Souls type games look silly in comparison.
Hope so anyway.
Jacob Brooks
Honestly, I don't think the games are hectic enough. If you have halfway decent unacs and/or a team that coordinates fairly well then a 4 v 4 match can be over in under 30 seconds. I think the idea of having two more units (and bigger more complicated maps) on teach team would ensure that games aren't instant blow outs from piles, melee or uws. While I enjoy these kills sometimes when you watch 10 minutes to get a game and its over in under a minute you feel kind of cheated.
I agree completely on the campaign. Also don't like the carrier vehicle thing. Though operators don't always feel that relevant. Maybe they see through recons and control a squad of normals. Easily taken out but if played well can be nice support fire.
Asher Thomas
Nexus and Verdict Day were hard. All the other games were Easy or Medium I think.
Christian Roberts
AC2 was easy. Never tried NB was it really hard? It looked kind of meh and I didn't pick it up when it came out. I think I was still obsessed with 3 and LR at the time.
Blake Bailey
Who are your favorite AC characters?
How turned on would you be if they appeared in some version in a future game?
I think Hustler One and Nineball are pretty iconic though Leos Klein is probably my favorite AC character.
Jack Watson
I would like a reinterpretation of the ai controlled AC's at the end of AC3 but they appear throughout missions unexpectedly during AC6 with a remix of the Administrator soundtrack from AC3 playing in the background when they came into the picture.
Austin Brooks
I like characters the veteran pilots like Leo or Neo Nidus. Older character add to the world of AC and give you something to strive to beat
I'd just like to see characters like them in more than one or two missions
Isaiah Roberts
Eccentric Ravens like pic related. Newer AC is really lacking in that department. As for favorite characters, I'm a big fan of Rim Fire and Shamir.
Luis Reyes
Bump.
Camden Harris
because some of those "side missions" were memorable and challenging in their own right because actual effort went into their design
Wyatt Martinez
I want to see unmanned NEXTs as mid-boss enemies in the next AC game.
Nathaniel Russell
While eccentric pilots became rare in the recent games, there is still some, like killdozer on FA or the test pilot on VD
Sebastian Parker
It's a mass produced NEXT based off one of the highest tech NEXTs of the era, piloted by A.I. that were created as a result of a project to artificially create dominant pilots that could easily be controlled. It could probably defeat a majority of the NEXT pilots in 4/4A.
Wyatt Bailey
Forgot about them, Jack from VD was pretty fucking eccentric and crazy. His Japanese voice really drives home the crazy too.
Justin Reyes
I classified my favorite characters depending on their role, operator is Serena Haze with Fatman as a close second, allied pilots, Dan Moro and May; rivals would Zinaida and Berlioz, outright antagonist is Chief and Leos Klein, my bro for life is OldKing
Adam Robinson
Old King is where its at.
I was always partial to Stinger.
Grayson Parker
Liliana will rise once again my brother from another mother
Asher Perez
You forgot the Bees.
Caleb Moore
They were too serious and bonderline religious to take as "eccentric" at least on the sense of out of the norm/joke type, because the path of iron guys are aso a eccentric, having this martial art vibe when piloting mechas
Benjamin Brown
Is Jack-0 a reference to Jack? They didn't feel too similar.
Connor Parker
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Adrian Phillips
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Easton Carter
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Chase Taylor
Rotten Fly's emblem is a damaged version of Flame Fly's emblem. Flame Fly's pilot is called Jack Golding, while Rotten Fly's is just Jack. Doubt there's any correlation with Jack-O
Lucas Ward
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Connor Ward
I love all the subtle little details in this design. It makes me giggle.
>straight heavy AC legs with few curves to emphasize being one-ish >double 1 arms >1 shaped rockets >the number 1 is in his emblem 111 times (hope I'm not miscounting)
Xavier Butler
Just fishing in the dark, son...
Hudson Gomez
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Nathaniel King
Arms Fort sized AC's when?
Angel Gomez
You defeat by ramming it in the head using a VOB, maiking it fall into the ground
