123 replies to this topic

[CCC Dober]

OP: As for the books, you're well advised to read selectively i.e. favorite faction/unit/person. Otherwise you could be spending the better part of a month to read all 100+ novels straight without pause. And then you prolly do it a couple of times again because you either like them or you want to fresh up on the details. I know I did the long haul a couple of times in the past and have to say that it gives you a bit more insight into what goes on beyond the borders of your faction of choice. It's also more or less necessary in order to see and understand factions and their interaction on a global scale. If you aim high enough that is.

Focussing on Solaris 7 might be a handy shortcut and all novels that deal with it. You get to know enough about the factions to understand the basics. The reason is that all factions are present on this planet and Solaris City is split into districts that are about as insular as the Factions in the universe, sometimes it goes even beyond that. Lyrans and Davions for example didn't mesh all that well as the alliance would suggest. Later events would justify their skepticisim. It's not for nothing that this world is called a mirror of the Inner Sphere. Definitely worth a read or two.

[Hollister]

Kobura, on 28 June 2012 - 03:56 AM, said:

If you'd like, private-message me with your Skype data or something similar! I'm a Battletech veteran and ultra-guru, and have brought many new folks into the welcoming arms of Blake over my (not many) years, so I've developed a bit of a science for what's important and how to make it sound interesting

You sound like a ROM agent.

[VonHenry]

@OP - To answer your question directly: No, I don't, not at all.
The lore is great and all, but as someone mentioned it won't help you win games.

Now - if you asked if I am a bit overwhelmed by everyone's knowledge of the MECHS themselves, then yes, somewhat...that's where I'm trying to study up, because the understanding of trade-offs (speed for armor, more ammo for less heat dissipation, etc) is capable of stealing many hours of life in and of itself. Luckily it's fun!

(I would add, though, I've had fun reading the lore as of late, but certainly don't feel 'less than' because I don't know it.)

[ScrapIron Prime]

The main thing all this extra knowledge is going to help with is mech lab mods. And there will be plenty of threads and guides for everyone else to follow along and use the same load outs.

[Idzuna]

Kobura, on 28 June 2012 - 03:56 AM, said:

If you'd like, private-message me with your Skype data or something similar! I'm a Battletech veteran and ultra-guru, and have brought many new folks into the welcoming arms of Blake over my (not many) years, so I've developed a bit of a science for what's important and how to make it sound interesting

Thanks man, I'll hit up the wikis to get started and give you a shout if I get stuck

VonHenry, on 28 June 2012 - 04:01 AM, said:

@OP - To answer your question directly: No, I don't, not at all.
The lore is great and all, but as someone mentioned it won't help you win games.

Now - if you asked if I am a bit overwhelmed by everyone's knowledge of the MECHS themselves, then yes, somewhat...that's where I'm trying to study up, because the understanding of trade-offs (speed for armor, more ammo for less heat dissipation, etc) is capable of stealing many hours of life in and of itself. Luckily it's fun!

(I would add, though, I've had fun reading the lore as of late, but certainly don't feel 'less than' because I don't know it.)

Yea, my anxiety was two-fold. I'm trying to remedy the latter by playing MW4 heaps.


Can I also digress and say that I really hope this community doesn't get spoiled on release. Everyone on GD is amazingly nice and well mannered

[cinco]

Idzuna, on 28 June 2012 - 03:25 AM, said:

Don't get me wrong, the discussion that goes on in GD is amazing to read, but I feel like I'm way behind on the curve compared to anyone else. I played MechWarrior 1-4 (nothing outside MW like MechCommander though) And I enjoyed every minute of it.

I guess I never really got into optimizing my mech as what I found fun was just jumping in with whatever I was given and going at it. I am REALLY looking forward to MWO but after reading GD I'm getting anxious about people really hammering me when I get out of the gate.

Anyone else feel this way? Or should I hit the books to catch up?

you have 6 posts. why don't you stick around and learn something instead of crying?

[Kodiak Steiner]

BduSlammer, on 28 June 2012 - 03:30 AM, said:

dont worry alot of us have been playing this game nearly 30 years

what he said

This game has been such a big part of so many lives for decades - alot of us know quite a bit of the back story and have been waiting... and waiting.,,, and waiting.... for this for so long!

[Idzuna]

cinco, on 28 June 2012 - 04:10 AM, said:

you have 6 posts. why don't you stick around and learn something instead of crying?

I wouldn't think that people would assume because I don't post, I don't read.

My post was only to gauge how many people felt they were in the same boat as me, rather than what you seem to assume as being an 'it's not fair' topic.

Edited by Idzuna, 28 June 2012 - 04:21 AM.

[CptBob]

Battletech has been around a long time, but it is not just for those that have been playing it from way back, it is also for people who are finding it for the first time, so to all those 'newbie s' don't worry you will pick it up real soon

[Hollister]

cinco, on 28 June 2012 - 04:10 AM, said:

you have 6 posts. why don't you stick around and learn something instead of crying?

He was more expressing his concern of battletech knowledge in that it might be lacking and see if there are others like him. And if he is lacking that he may need to start reading up more.



If it was crying it would be more like...

I cant learn all this information, this is stupid, why arent you all spoon feeding me, i cant find any information, mechs can have 7 or more variants i cant remember that, ect..

[LOKI the coyote]

If you ask me, except for some background in operating a 'mech, there is likely not going to be a whole lot of carryover in terms of weapons understanding. Pulse lasers, PPCs, LRMs and SRMs, electronic equipment, and many other aspects have all changes/upgraded as the series has progressed. The developers will always be tweaking aspects such as heat ratios and dissipation, recharge and relaod rates, lock times, other miscellaneous technologies, and even the very feel of how a 'mech will respond. My bet is that we'll see some significant changes from how MW4 felt in a lot of ways.

And we will probably see a number of similarities, too. But really, don't sweat the background stuff. All you need to know is the Clans have the most advanced equipment copared to the Inner Sphere, and they will probably be making their presence known a little while into the game. There is much speculation about how clan recruitment will work and how exactly they will be introduced, but one thing is almost certain - they will be badasses.

[CCC Dober]

Idzuna, on 28 June 2012 - 04:16 AM, said:

I wouldn't think that people would assume because I don't post, I don't read.

My post was only to gauge how many people felt they were in the same boat as me, rather than what you seem to assume as being an 'it's not fair' topic. Perhaps my generalisation of GD being nice was too soon.

I'd view his/her reposte as rather hostile than welcoming. Also, it's more or less a one-liner and easy to ignore on average. Intent and expression go hand in hand on this one.

[Toldor]

Idzuna, on 28 June 2012 - 03:25 AM, said:

Anyone else feel this way? Or should I hit the books to catch up?

I would recommend you to get the boxset for Battletech. Play a little TableTop and get into the "real" game for a while. I think it is better to understand some parts of the game. If not, it will be just an action-shooter like Quake. And believe me, Mechwarrior is MORE than just the very bad computer games of the past years. Also i would recommend your MegaMek, thats the free computer version of the TT. You will learn a lot about Battletech and the rules behind it.

[Gridian]

Do not worry. In 10 years, when those of us who have young children start introducing them to MWO you'll be one of the seasoned MechWarriors.

[Hiroshi Tachibana]

Go to sarna.net

Get lost in that wiki. I know I did.

[Idzuna]

CCC Dober, on 28 June 2012 - 04:23 AM, said:

I'd view his/her reposte as rather hostile than welcoming. Also, it's more or less a one-liner and easy to ignore on average. Intent and expression go hand in hand on this one.

Yea, I retracted my remark about judging GD too quickly. The responces in this thread alone are more than enough to convince anyone about GD's helpfulness

[R0N1N 31337]

I'm in the same boat regarding this thread, played MW 1-4 but never any table top or read any books.
I do enjoy reading the forums though and trying to get my head around it all, downloaded MW4 the other day but it just felt so dated and the controls felt so clunky, I'm hoping the control scheme's ive seen mentioned allow the casual gamer to enjoy this game and still stand a chance agaisnt the hardcore fans with thier joysticks and special setups.

[chumppi]

I don't have knowledge but I try to use sarna and google to my advantage

[Darius Bloodblayde]

Don't worry, I'm sure we will all get our ***** handed to us to start, until we have mastered the interface anyways but the main thing is instead of fighting somewhat predictable computer opponents as in MW 1-4 videogame, we will be facing human opponents, who think for themselves and not in a pre-programmed way.

Main rules of thumb, keep moving, use the terrain to it's full advantage, take the time to set-up a mech so it works with your own tactical mind (and is comfortable to you), and shoot at any target that shows itself to you (whether it be leg, arm, torso or head)....Oh yeah!! and watch your heat build-up (sux when your 100 ton Atlas overheats in front of a group of 25 ton mechs)

[CCC Dober]

God forbid, Toldor!
Do you even go with the times? Tabletop is an emulation of the lore, nothing more. As such it is severely limited because the vision of BT had to be shoehorned into a board game using dice and hex fields. That is not 'real' at all in BT terms. In fact, it's a crutch compared to the means available today. The immersion is another important aspect. Not everybody can identify with a clinically detached board of miniatures and combat results largely determined by lady luck alone. I guess mileage varies, but I'd trade a realtime environment for a turnbased, dice controlled tabletop any time. No questions about it. Not dissing, merely stating the facts as I see them. You read a couple novels and suddenly start to miss some very important things in TT. That's a first hint for you: combat was happening simultaneously in the lore, but not in TT. Combat damage was very articulated in the lore, but not in TT. Pilots could be hurt/killed inside their Mechs, even though their Mechs were fully functional and suffered only cosmetical damage. Again, this was present in the lore, but not TT.

I rest my case.