MechWarrior Online Developer Blog #5, Screenshot
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Under normal operating conditions, a BattleMech generates a nominal amount of heat. When a BattleMech starts firing its weapon systems, it starts generating higher amounts of heat. This heat is accumulative and will overheat a BattleMech if it is not managed properly. Heat sinks will dissipate this heat fairly quickly but will not be able to dissipate the heat generated by constant fire.Hey, what's this? The very first in-game screenshot, and it's a view from the cockpit, no less.
When a BattleMech overheats, it will automatically shut down to prevent catastrophic events from occurring. While shut down, the BattleMech cannot move or fire its weapon systems and will remain in this state until heat levels return to a manageable level.
The MechWarrior (pilot) does have the ability to override critical heat shut-down but they do so at the risk of catastrophic failure and can result in internal ammunition detonations.
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In the lower left of the screen is the 'Mech's damage readout. It will be familiar to anyone who has played past MechWarrior games as it divides the 'Mech into its 8 hit locations (left and right arm, left and right leg, left and right torso, center torso, and head) as well as showing the rear locations for the three torso pieces. Each location is divided to show the state of the armor (the outline) and the internal structure (the solid shape inside). As the armor or internals of a location take damage, the corresponding image changes color, turning closer to red, until it is destroyed and the image goes dark.
In the bottom center of the screen are several elements that relate to the 'Mech's navigation and heat management systems.
