yep , what he said

In Mech Assault, "Strafing" was literally just the mech torso twisting at extreme angles and moving in another direction something which was always possible in Mechwarrior and Battletech but the motions in Mech Assault were unrealistic (in terms of animation and momentum).

Having a constant Side Stepping without torso twist is what I would call "Strafing" as that is how many FPS present it these days with bipedal motion. Something I wouldn't consider being fully advantageous for a range of motion due to the rigidity of most of the mechs hip and upper leg joints. Some mechs might look like they would do it better than others, but most of the static TRO 2D images don't convey a realistic sense of motion as far as side to side mobility. I have no doubts that stepping to the side would be possible, I just can't see a justification as to why we would need to add it.

I'm not saying anyone is right or wrong.
The questions I pose to this argument is simply as such.

Take a look at Battlemechs and our models.
Ask yourself, can the mechs actually "strafe"?

When I say look at it and ask yourself, what I mean is take a look at the actual geometry, analyze the models realistically as to how it would be built, created, and function in real life, physics aside. Draw conclusions as to how much work would need to be done to create the ability to strafe.

Would any mechs need their physical geometry changed?
If so, how much?
What parts need to be deleted?
What parts need to be added?
What parts need to be modified?
Will it require UV Mapping it again and recreating the textures?
Will the Modifications change the silhouette of the mechs?
Will they stay true to their CBT Counterparts with modification?
What's more important to the vast majority of the playerbase, canon designs or custom concepts?

These are just modeling questions I'd ask myself off the top of my head for each and every modified model, not even animation/rigging or coding, gameplay, or design questions. Each change requires research, review, time and consideration.

For many of these mechs to ability to strafe was never intended by design.

They have certain rotational limits in place on their base geometry that creates the freedom of motion we all enjoy. Ball Sockets, Hinge Joints, so on, all in specific places to perform a limited amount of articulation and freedom of motion for each mech. To change the articulation of each mech you have to consider what parts of these mechs need to change to accommodate the new range of motion required to perform these custom actions.

I'm not against it, but I'm not for it either.

I'm more concerned with releasing the game, and having the game playable within the deadlines and release date estimates we've set for ourselves. Would the vast majority of the playerbase be enthused delayed release to incorporate a particular feature? Highly unlikely. There are many things we'd like to add that may or may not make it into release since we all do this for free in our spare time. The majority of us go to school and work multiple jobs, as I myself go to college full-time, work a full-time job and part-time job 7 days a week but in whatever waking moments I'm not unconscious, I'm creating assets. If this game was our only job, and a primary source of income like a full game development studio we'd have ample time, effort, motivation and manpower to add whatever we'd like. Unfortunately that's not our situation.

I hope everyone understands our situation, and how hard we are working to create this game and have it released on time. We sincerely appreciate your inputs and insights but if things get kicked out, pushed back, or unconsidered I hope the community realizes it's in our best intentions.