7 replies to this topic

[BerryChunks]

Find out here.

http://bg.battletech...iverseGuide.pdf

Edited by BerryChunks, 07 January 2013 - 09:31 PM.

[MagicHamsta]

Quote

WHAT MAKES BATTLETECH AND MECHWARRIOR TICK?

Hundreds of these:

[TVMA Doc]

I imagine that the reason that your animated gif was cut so short was that the cat promptly smacked the guy in the spider over onto his keister? Oh, sorry, on second glance that appears to be a hamster.

[Krazy Kat]

Great link! Thanks!

[wickwire]

+1

[Tex1013]

nice link...

for my own part, looking back on it all, there were a few key components of Battletech that drew me to the universe, that set Btech apart from just giant people-tanks with guns...

1 - Politics - the Empire politics, rivalries and distinctions really gave you a sense of flavor AND personal investment. People had favorite empires, they had their favorite empires to hate - each empire had things to like about it and things to despise - even the "good guys", weren't ENTIRELY good, and the "bad" guys weren't really ENTIRELY bad - it's important, I think, when getting immersed in a game, that the game mechanics are supported by a strong sense of world, and Btech had that.

2 - Mech design. It's funny, because I know firsthand that mech design was a great way to BREAK the balance of Btech, but the part of Btech that I personally loved, was mech design. I enjoyed tweaking my favorite models, striking a balance between trimming the fat, and appealing to my personal play preferences (I was an energy weapon fetishist - ammo is for chumps!) - when the clans came out, I discovered a new calling - creating custom Inner Sphere mechs using only inner sphere weaponry to KICK THE CREAM out of those punk-*** clanners. Ah, mighty C3, how you changed the field of battle...

3 - Mech's - Mechs were ASTONISHINGLY distinctive, in my mind. You didn't just fall in love with an empire, you fell in love with a chassis. You learned to hate certain chassis, you learned to love the stupidest chassis (poor, poor urbanmech, how we loved you!) - you enjoyed knowing that certain chassis had histories, from where they were built, what their initial design flaws were like, which empires preferred to use them


maybe there was more, but those are the top three that stuck out in my mind, and sadly enough, two of the three KEY MISSING COMPONENTS in Mechwarrior online. Oh, don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed my man-shaped-tanks-with-guns game, but so far, that's all it really is. There is no discernible presence for ANY of the empires in MWO, and most of the ancillary game material, from dropships and vehicles to world conflict histories to merc companies and distinctive house units are utterly absent from the current game.

Now, MWO *does* have a reasonably impressive mech design and customization system...but somehow, it, again for my own perspective, manages to be both more permissive AND less distinctive. I find myself feeling like I'm being shoved down certain builds, which, I'll admit, was a bit of a problem in Btech for me as well, but with the inconsistency of map presence, with some being SOOO very accommodating to specialized builds, while others NEED more general builds, while some even feel like they're *punishing* varied builds, the inconsistency in enemy presence, the relatively narrow range of engagement locations, the almost non-issue of mission objectives...

I really feel like weapon and general design choice would be far more...impactful, if there was more to do than clump up and focus fire, or duck in and out of cover and snipe.

In any event, thanks for the link - here's hoping some of that fluff material makes an appearance in Mechwarrior Online!

[StoneMason]

Much like the Imperium in Warhammer 40k, there is so much diversity in human cultures and settled worlds, you can have close to unlimited freedom in creating characters and events that suit you. For me Davion-Capellan border militia is engaging, it's a weird mix of morals, freedom, militarism and racism. For others it's cool to be semi-sentient bird people who somehow got their hands on Mech's.

I think a big draw compared to contemporary sci-fi is that there are no hostile alien cat people to fight, Humanity is perfectly capable of sustaining endless, hellish war on it's own thank you very much.

[SethAbercromby]

StoneMason, on 23 September 2013 - 05:49 PM, said:

I think a big draw compared to contemporary sci-fi is that there are no hostile alien cat people to fight, Humanity is perfectly capable of sustaining endless, hellish war on it's own thank you very much.

I point to the first two Sucsession Wars. Everything-goes war where civilians were brutally slughtered and production facilties destroyed, almost sending technology back into the Dark Age (which later leads to clans and ComStar having those technological advantages in the first place). Oh yeah speaking of Houses, I really like the Kuritan milltiary with its mix of warrior's honor, tradtional arts and a more than healthy dose of loyality. The House itself had to suffer a lot from backstabbing and assisinating each other, but in the end there was always a brilliant leader to pick up the slack (Yes Theodore, I'm looking at you). Looking at it from that angle, it's surprising that even with all the backstabbing and treachery in within House Kurita, the Draconis Combine has always remained largely the same.