More than 16 segments does generally mean paper tickets, yes. So that means finding a way of getting them mailed, or arranging a pickup at the departure airport (I have done the latter many times at CAI, once at TPE and once at CDG without any problems).

The alternative - particularly if you know you are going to need to reroute later anyway - is to issue a much simpler ticket to get you through the first few segments and then reissue somewhere convenient later. That way you can normally get e-tickets both times if that is what you want. You would also need to split the reservation so that you keep the later flights that don't have a corresponding ticket coupon at the first issue (but there should be no problem doing this since reservations & ticketing are separate things).