162 replies to this topic

[Myshal]

Orzorn, on 09 June 2012 - 01:13 PM, said:

The awesome part of Battletech is that the insane size of the universe means there's always questions to be asked.

Too true. After this game is a huge success, I hope someone will do Warhammer 40k the same justice

[CCC Dober]

I have to second sarna.net being a good source. I have not found any other page to date with more information and most of all precise/up-to-date information. And that brings up another point: there are people around here who 'believe' that their first edition of whatever book they bought is the holy grail or something. All should bow before it yada yada. My advise: give them a wide berth (option: inform the Inquisition) and try something that is accessible and that you can check up on instead, like sarna.net for example. Technically speaking, most of the information is available online in other places, even if the books are out of print. But you have to ask google either real nice or (if that fails) ask the 'right questions' and it will 'cooperate'. Google is 'flexible', if you know what I mean. And you know what I mean

Edited by CCC Dober, 23 June 2012 - 03:14 AM.

[Kvidar]

I've been hooked on battletech since i was 6 or 7 and playing Mechwarrior2 (19 now), so let me tell you my experience thus far as a kid in this community.
-As to choosing a mech for it's looks, it's not terrible to do that. i mean you gotta make sure you like the loadout, speed, heat dissipation, and armor of the chassis but it never hurts to look sharp while kickin *** ;D
-Most of this community is full of nice people, you can just look through forum posts throughout the website and you really don't see a lot of trolling. difference of opinion is abundant but people don't generally make ***** of themselves here and they are more than happy to share their knowledge of battletech with people who are new ^-^
-Tthe reason people hate mechwarrior 4 is because it stepped really far away from what the original mechwarrior games were striving for, and a lot of people played the TT game and wanted the original experience.
-and lastly, the battletech universe is INSANELY COMPLEX. literally hundreds of companies, manufactorers, industries, factions, etc. Not to mention that this isn't your standard first person shooter, in call of duty do you have to watch your heat gauge to make sure you're not going to shut down? do you have speed limitations based on your engine? Don't feel stupid or like you're ever going to ask something "wrong". The Only wrong question is one you didn't ask because you were afraid
Hell, feel free to send me a personal message if you're worried about asking a question in public, as a battletech nerd i know way more than i probably should and can probably answer it for you.

[Aegis Kleais]

Myshal, on 23 June 2012 - 02:58 AM, said:

To be honest, after many IS technological advances in the BT universe. Many mechs saw upgrades, role changes and flexibility. If you choose your mech based on how it looks, then find a way to arm it and use it in an effective role. There are always tweaks that can be made and ways a mech can fill a role better, but ultimately the choices are the Mechwarriors themselves. Ever since I learned all the rules for changing mechs in the mechbay for TT, I have altered variants to suit my play style and their roles. For example; the Hollander (BZK-F3) is a 35 ton mech with one weapon system. A Gauss rifle. However, I would upgrade to an xl engine, endo steel, dbl heat sinks in the engine and use the extra tonnage created for a TAG system and Null Signature system. Takes a scout mech and makes it very dangerous with onboard or offboard artillery (Arrow IV missiles ).

My original attraction to the Wolf was due on it's amazing ability to fulfill the primary and secondary roles that I most commonly played on the battlefield. It was at the perfect tonnage to provide me enough speed on the field without allowing so much weapons platforms that I'd be slowed down. Not to mention it also supported the tech that I most often used.

[GHQCommander]

yngvef, on 09 June 2012 - 04:22 AM, said:

I am a random poster, mostly lurker, on this forum. I am no expert on Battletech. I have played Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries when it was rereleased for free by Mektek, and I've read a bit on sarna.net, but when people are discussing the finer points of the "Jihad" or something, I don't know what they're talking about.

This i obviously quite ok. I like learning new stuff and reading up on the canon of the "universe", even though I don't have the time to read thick books on the subject.

I do however worry that some players and forum members have a "fear" of the experts that make them scared of saying "the wrong thing". There are many established "truths" about BT that most of us "novices" don't know much about.

I for one, like mechs like the Argus and the Hauptmann, mostly for their looks. If they were included in MWO, I would probably choose them because of this. I have no idea if this opinion is "wrong" in some way.

Another example: I thought MW4:Mercs with mekpak was a pretty good game. I actually liked the single-player campaign, and I'm not ashamed to say so. I've read many places on this forum that "MW4 has ruined a generation of mech-players" or something like that. The only reason I was attracted to MWO was because I learned about mechs and battletech through MW4, so it can't be that bad.

My point is: I hope we casual Battletech-fans, or even just "big-robot"-fans are welcome, despite not being able to recite the entire line of succesion in House Steiner.

Games are for fun. You have a right to play how you want and say what you want.

The biggest fans of anything, especially with a strong canon, get wrapped up in their little fantasy world so much that canon and their belief in how everything should be done becomes very important. Do or say things a little wrong or different and it ruins thier vision of how things should be.

Anything that is not real and has no chance of every being real during our lifetime is not THAT important.

Ignore them.

[Gremlich Johns]

@OP, Try to not make statements or pronouncements related to the BT universe that have not been throughly researched. If you are unsure about something someone has posted, LOOK IT UP in the sources available, before you respond - even if you are sure you know what you are talking about. Someone will call you on it and try to sharpshoot you.

And yes, there are indeed some real OCD types out there who know too much about canon that could use some better "bedside" manner.

Regarding the canon, ignore Jihad and Dark Age (and make things up all you want) - they are about an alternate universe other than the one the Clans rule in.

Like Star Trek: Enterprise is to Star Trek: Everything Else.

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 23 June 2012 - 04:37 AM.

[Jager Wolf]

Don't worry about it, everybody started the same way you did. When I bought Mechwarrior 1 the only thing I knew about it was the big robot on the front looked cool. It took alot of years to gather books up and learn the story behind the game. Know you have all the resources you need with a few keystrokes.

Just remember it's only a game. Play it to have fun in whichever way floats your boat.

Cheers,

[Grimarch]

Ask and dont be afraid to get something wrong, the game is diverse, my background is the table top game, the roleplaying game (which is slightly different) and the mech games up to MW4 Merc, i was active gamer until the 3060 technical read out but started doing other things after that but still play the board game succession wars...however its a slug of game to play often taking a few days!

Some people will get annoyed if you contradict them but who cares, no-one but the dev guys and a few others know this game yet and trust me alpha and beta versions sometimes take drastic turns before a main release.

Sadly i do think the dev guys will need to balance out the game a little to allow the Locusts to survive a treble PPC hit but it doesnt do that other game any harm when T10s fight T4s.

G

[abetterpilot]

TT player, that hated the learning curve of ANY PC game. I jumped in the pool at the tail end of Ven in mid 02, was getting real good in the 7erl nova when everyone I played with abandoned me to move on to Mercs and MechWarrior Leagues in Jan 03.
I joined them there by Feb, stopped playing in late 06 and came back when mektek did the download, still play daily.
I bought installed BK but found that to be so nhua heavy that I never got into it.
I do not know what the folks think microsoft did to the title, the only thing I never liked about Ven or Mercs is how easy and risk free it is to use jump jets. But hey theres ffp that helps a little and always a few servers that just restrict jump jets if you just cant deal with it.
Being a TT player It did/does blow my mind that mercs gets poo pooed (before and after mektek) by so many.
I mean, damn, mektek added a boat load of mechs/weps and have pushed the engine it was built on as far as they could, trying to keep it alive.
Mercs was always divided into 3 camps anyway, the players that only played in open servers, the league players that insisted on force first person, no respawn, waves, and strictly puretech (think NBT league), and most of the rest found homes at the MWL.
The 2 different league camps always poked fun and flamed eachother until recently.
The point being, there are over 170,000 signed up here and the vast majority do come across as thinking Mercs was beneath them when there were always options available to get them all pretty close to what they liked.
I never even tried MWLL because I want to pick a mech, customize it and play, gotta have a lab!
Dont like console games because I like 24 person servers so never did any of those.
Did Mech commander but it just did not have enough cow bell for me.

Hardcore cannon players are going to have to face the fact that MWO, like every other title is going to attract players that could care less who kerensky was and whos pure gaming skills are going to be owning them no matter how much they dumb down twitch skills for this game.

Edited by abetterpilot, 23 June 2012 - 05:03 AM.

[Alairan]

It could be worse. I'm jumping into this without any prior knowledge of Mechwarrior or Battletech in general. Saw gameplay videos, a few friends into the system mentioned it to me, and I decided I liked what I've seen. Past few days have been spent idly reading about the in universe canon, but I'm by no means desperately trying to research things. I figure I'll learn as I go along, and as I don't plan to take part in any big discussions about the in universe goings on, I'll be fairly safe untill I pick things up myself.

The community here seems pleasant and mature, so I'm not worried about 'slipping up'. Figure I'll just be corrected! A gal has to learn after all.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Yes, there are those of us who have memorized the weight of every battlemech engine in the game through long experience with the tabletop version of battletech. But other than esoteric design advice, that has little to do with the daily reality of fragging enemy mechs. On that we'll be pretty darn equal.

If you don't know mech design, you'll learn quickly, and you can always read up on the guides that will invariably be posted (often by some guy who has memorized the engine weights). This will lead you to the optimum load out for your mechs. Then it's a matter of tactics and combat, and we're all right there with you on that one.

Room for everyone to enjoy.

[Loki Farseer]

yngvef, on 09 June 2012 - 05:05 AM, said:

Ok, I need to correct one thing: I actually find the Argus to be a good mech in MW4 because my build is quite fast and packs a decent punch. The Hauptmann however was chosen because it was the first assault mech I ever tried, and I love it because the knees bend backwards. I don't like mechs that just look like big people.

I know you shouldn't choose mechs based on looks, but there are some mechs I cannot choose because they are simply too ugly

Since (currently) there is no 3rd person view your not going to be looking at your Mech but everyone else's (other then in the Mech Bay).

So hope everyone else likes them and you can play what fits you best and still get to see them on the battlefield.

[Zolaz]

Battle Tech snobs, book worms and bibliophiles will be of little concern in the game. Their knowledge of clan lore and being able to recite The Remembrance wont help them a bit. Being able to tell me that a Liao no longers holds Capella wont keep me from coring out your torso with an AC 20. So, like all the other Mech Warrior and Battle Tech games scoreboard matters. A carebears tears still taste as sweet.

That being said, I loved the books. You should buy them and read them. I read them long before I picked up a joystick and still fuels my desire to watch mechs ignite into a pile of scrap and sparks.

[GHQCommander]

Zolaz, on 23 June 2012 - 06:39 AM, said:

Battle Tech snobs, book worms and bibliophiles will be of little concern in the game. Their knowledge of clan lore and being able to recite The Remembrance wont help them a bit. Being able to tell me that a Liao no longers holds Capella wont keep me from coring out your torso with an AC 20. So, like all the other Mech Warrior and Battle Tech games scoreboard matters. A carebears tears still taste as sweet.

That being said, I loved the books. You should buy them and read them. I read them long before I picked up a joystick and still fuels my desire to watch mechs ignite into a pile of scrap and sparks.

Good way to put it. In short, if your stupid about the canon, don't worry, just kill everyone all the same

[Tymanthius]

Soviet Alex, on 09 June 2012 - 03:02 PM, said:

Sourcebooks won't stop PPC blasts.

Depends on how deep you stack 'em. And if you water log 'em too.

Sorry, couldn't reisist, I'm at work & bored.

[Erebisius]

I was playing BT when it was tabletop, before the Unseen/Reseen shenanigans. I actually still have two ro three boxes full of metal mechs stashed somewhere, along with maps, books, and some other stuff.

Given the setting of 3049, I feel right at home. Honestly, that was, for me, the Golden Age of BT and the one that matters most. I occasionally followed up on the current going on in the BT universe, but was disappointed with what I found.

Anyways, glad to have found this, hoping that it will be awesome!

[Saevus]

The anti-MW4 guys are just loud. It was a fun enough game, and I too reinstalled it not to long ago and ran through some campaigns with the new community content. It was fun. If anything, all it did was make me (A hardcore BT fan who still plays Tabletop after 20+ years) really look forward to MWO. The bottom line is, this is a video game, ultimately right now not everything is known about the game and a lot of the "experts" out there are just blowing wishes out of their ***, when the game launches and all parts of it are implemented, it will be, IMO, a compromise of what the hardcore guys want and what the reality of online gaming gives them. Some will be pissed, most won't care, all in all, this game looks to be on track to be a great addition to the Battletech universe and Mechwarrior games. In the end, we are all starting from zero on this particular title, I wouldn't worry too much. Besides, a lot of the truely hardcore guys are old like me, and I can promise my reflexes are not what they used to be when it comes to online gaming.


Of course, I built a mech in my backyard years ago, when I lose a match, I am just going to stomp over to the winners house and step on his car.

[Daxten]

I've started with Earthsiege 2 and played nearly all Mech games since then, still I think I dont know anything about the Mechwarrior Universe.

I like good stories but in the end this is a game, not a book.. I just want to blow up **** with my lasers..

and this is an competitive online games, so most likely there won't be too much story

Edited by Daxten, 23 June 2012 - 07:41 AM.

[captn rentoshi]

Big robots rule. I dig big robots online forum me likey.

[Braedin]

GrizzlyViking, on 09 June 2012 - 05:30 AM, said:

The reality is that the majority of players that are presently in the community played MW4 and liked it. There are a few loud anti-MW4 activists out there that are similar to the Occupy movement in the US in that they are a very small number of people with a lot of visablity due to their loud whining. If you ignore them, they will eventually quit posting. heheheheh

there are alot of people who played mw4 and liked it. me personally i thought it sucked. i loved mw 1,2,3. hated 4, just my preference. i dont hold it against anyone who liked 4. that is what makes this game a great game. not everyone will agree on everything.