44 replies to this topic

[Paran01ac]

Thomas Hogarth, on 01 May 2012 - 11:02 PM, said:

Methodology: I think of a weight class, and pick the first three 'Mechs I think of.

Light: Stinger, Wasp, Locust.

Medium: Shadowhawk, Centurion, Phoenix Hawk.

Heavy: Warhammer, Thunderbolt, Marauder. (with Orion jumping up right after marauder, and wishing I could swap thud with onion)

Assault: Battlemaster, Atlas, Zeus.

At some time or another, all of those have either appeared on the cover of a BT/MW product, or would not have been out of place.

Real good pick for an IS. Agreed. Now pick 3 for each weight class for Clans.

[William Petersen]

Paran01ac, on 02 May 2012 - 12:48 PM, said:

Real good pick for an IS. Agreed. Now pick 3 for each weight class for Clans.

Fire Moth
Kit Fox
Adder

Stormcrow
Nova
Shadow Cat

Timber Wolf
Summoner
Mad Dog

Dire Wolf
Kodiak
Turkina

[Garth Erlam]

Mad Axe, on 01 May 2012 - 11:25 PM, said:

Light: Locust, Wasp, Stinger, Valkyrie, Commando, Javelin, Urbanmech, Jenner, Raven, Panther, Wolfhound

Medium: Assassin, Vindicator, Hatchetman, Hunchback, Centurion, Griffin, Bushwacker, Dervish, Shadow Hawk,

Heavy: Rifleman, Dragon, Catapult, Axman, Warhammer, Archer, Summoner, Marauder, Timber Wolf

Assault: Awesome, Victor, Zeus, Battlemaster, Stalker, Mauler, Highlander, Cyclops, Banshee, Atlas,

Those are, IMHO, the usual suspects of the beloved, iconic 'Mechs that consistently starred in the Battletech/Mechwarrior universe. Most if not all are a combination of an effective tabletop or vid-game design that also looked cool and believable in a real-world way, which is an important consideration.

Isn't that virtually every 3025~ 'Mech?

[Orzorn]

Garth Erlam, on 02 May 2012 - 12:59 PM, said:

Isn't that virtually every 3025~ 'Mech?

Those are the good ones!

[Donner]

Mad Cat, Atlas, Uziel, Bushwhacker

[Bengar]

being kinda new to the series (there are those here who have been playing mech games since before I was born 1993) and my only experience being Mech commander 2 and mech assault (this looks to be way better thank God) I have to say the the most iconic are:

Raven
Hunchback
Catapult (surprised I havnt seen this one)
Timber Wolf
and Atlas
I cant imagine a Mech property of any sort that didnt include them (assuming they belong in that time period)

[Davik]

I think you HAVE to put in a Masakari, it was the iconic mech of the arena of Mech 4 Mercs. And the Lao Hu was the best looking/heavy mech in Mechcommander 2.

[Reed496]

Timber Wolf for the Clans...and the Atlas for the Inner Sphere. Those 'Mechs are the first I think of when it comes to BattleTech.

[Zakatak]

Top 10? In my opinion...

• Mad Cat
  
• Atlas
  
• Vulture
  
• Marauder
  
• Warhammer
  
• Thor
  
• Zeus
  
• Urbanmech
  
• Catapult
  
• Locust

Bushwacker is pretty popular too, right guys? RIGHT GUYS?!

[Bengar]

Davik, on 02 May 2012 - 01:17 PM, said:

I think you HAVE to put in a Masakari, it was the iconic mech of the arena of Mech 4 Mercs. And the Lao Hu was the best looking/heavy mech in Mechcommander 2.

The Lao Hu was a good mech and it was deff a looker but I dont feel like its iconic.

Zakatak, on 02 May 2012 - 01:28 PM, said:

Top 10? In my opinion...

• Mad Cat
  
• Atlas
  
• Vulture
  
• Marauder
  
• Warhammer
  
• Thor
  
• Zeus
  
• Urbanmech
  
• Catapult
  
• Locust

Bushwacker is pretty popular too, right guys? RIGHT GUYS?!

Urban mech I cant believe I forgot that, even if only for its laughable but adorable lack of performance, at least in MC2.
As far as I am concerned the Bushwhacker can go die in a hole I never liked that mech.

[Mad Axe]

Garth Erlam, on 02 May 2012 - 12:59 PM, said:

Isn't that virtually every 3025~ 'Mech?

Heh heh, yeah, its many/most of them. But I was thinking about all of the various book covers, posters, video game appearances out there, and those were the ones I remember seeing the most. Given that Battletech is a game of specialized machines doing specific tasks, I think you need a good mix of different looks and different designs, and those are the 'Mechs that historically made up the ensemble cast for most stories. I realize that's a bit of cheating, of course!

If you were going to limit yourself to the top three for every weight class, IS vs Clan (which is a fair limitation) I'd pare that down to:

Inner Sphere:
Light: Jenner, Raven, Commando
Medium: Hunchback, Centurion, Shadow Hawk
Heavy: Catapult, Warhammer, Marauder
Assault: Awesome, Zeus, Atlas

Clan:
Light: Fire Moth, Kit Fox, Cougar
Medium: Shadow Cat, Black Hawk, Storm Crow
Heavy: Mad Dog, Summoner, Timber Wolf
Assault: Warhawk, Kodiak, Dire Wolf

Not surprisingly, the IS mechs include many of the ones chosen for inclusion in MWO, so far. I think that's because they both look good (which is critical for marketing) and are solid, well-written designs that can be played effectively. I picked up MW2 the first time because the Timber Wolf on the box cover looked so insanely bad-*** - I'll freely admit that. If the designers had put something as goony-looking as Penetrator or Imp on the cover? Probably would have passed.

As for the lack of post 3055 Mechs, in game terms they've been around a lot less and don't have the nostalgia factor. Consider the mystique of something like the 100+ year old 1911 pistol - there are lots of better designed, more modern pistols out there, but plenty of people who could choose something else still stick with that tested, proven design. Same thing with BattleMechs, I think.

Edited by Mad Axe, 02 May 2012 - 02:42 PM.

[BigPuma]

Light: Jenner, Valkyrie, Locust
Med: Phoenixhawk, Griffin, Wolverine
Hvy: Warhammer, Archer, Thunderbolt
Assault: Zeus, Battlemaster, Highlander

Clans: Uller, Nova, Timberwolf, Warhawk

[Ramrod AI]

The mechs that stand out in my mind are the ones used for Mechwarrior 1

1. Locust
2. Jenner
3. Phoenix Hawk
4. Shadow Hawk
5. Rifleman
6. Warhammer
7. Marauder
8. Battlemaster.....gotta love the Battlemaster!

[Paran01ac]

William Petersen, on 02 May 2012 - 12:53 PM, said:

Timber Wolf
Summoner
Mad Dog

Hell Yea!

[Dragon Lady]

DaZur, on 02 May 2012 - 04:50 AM, said:

Interesting...

As I'm reading these responses, I get the impression that post TR3055 Mechs are not necessarily as endeared / recognized as pre-TR3055 Mechs?

As far as I'm concerned, every 'Mech that is made with uber star-league technology or later shouldn't be in the list, because it mangles the balance original Battletech game had. But that's just me.

As for me, the iconic 'Mechs are: The Locust, the Phoenix Hawk, the Catapult, the Warhammer, the Archer, the Battlemaster, and the Maraduer. I'd add the Rifleman to the list, but that is one 'Mech that has serious design issues.

I will, however, admit that the Timber Wolf is iconic.

[midgetmormon]

Axman.... always wanted that in a game. Though I do not know how well one would be able to use the ax.
The original Marauder, Rifleman and Warhammer would be nice.

[Zakatak]

All the mechs Harmony Gold doesn't want us to have.

[fuguzawaz]

Light- Fire moth
Medium- Stormcrow
Heavy- Timber wolf
Assult- Dire wolf

Mechwarrior 2 anyone?

[DaZur]

Okay...

If I were to play a lighting round of Battlemech roshak testing... and had to blurt out the first mech that came to mind:

IS LIght = Jenner
IS Medium = Phoenix Hawk
IS Heavy = Warhammer
IS Assault = Battlemaster

Clan Light = Uller
Clan Medium = Blackhawk
Clan Heavy = Mad Cat
Clan Assault = Masakari

That said... In contrast my personal favorites are:

IS LIght = Jenner
IS Medium = Shadow Hawk
IS Heavy = Thunderbolt
IS Assault = Zeus

Clan Light = Dasher
Clan Medium = Blackhawk
Clan Heavy = Thor
Clan Assault = Daishi

Interestingly enough... Argument could be made to both sets being the truer "iconic" set.

Edited by DaZur, 02 May 2012 - 08:09 PM.

[RickDiasPK]

I'm going to be an unusual voice in this topic, since 'iconic' to me is very different from how most people feel about it. I have absolutely no nostalgic regard for the Unseen; some of them are good Mechs, but there are very few that I see and say "I must have that Mech in my army." Even the early-era Thunderbolt doesn't quite evoke that in me, even though it is one of my favorite chassis in 3055+ play. I find the Battlemaster overrated until some of its modern variants made things a bit more sensible.

Likewise, the Atlas outright bores me. I view most of its variants in a very negative light and its inclusion in a game is, to me, simply a 'default check-list' inclusion much like Ryu and Ken in Street Fighter games tend to be.

I mostly play in 3050+ era, Free Worlds League armies. To me the 'iconics' are the units that make up the bulk of our strategy; Awesome, Anvil, Cerberus 5M, Grand Titan 11M, Firestarter Omni, and so on. It saddens me that most (yes, the Awesome usually shows up) of these aren't featured more often in MW games, but they are fielded primarily by an unpopular faction so that isn't too surprising.

Still, those are the Mechs that are iconic in my mind and they are the ones that I think of when I hear the franchise name. They evoke a combined arms, mobile military strategy and that is what I care about in BattleTech. This will no doubt be an uncommon opinion, and making 'Mech selections in the game based on my interests would be a foolish use of development resources... but I hold out hope that I'll get the occasional bone tossed my way as time goes on. MWO looks like it will be fun even if that does not happen though, so it's all good in the end.

Edited by RickDiasPK, 03 May 2012 - 01:10 AM.