37 replies to this topic

[Captain Nice HD]

Some other tips:

• Gunnery and piloting skill increases are limited to +5 each per mission.

• Gunnery skill is increased by one for every 'Mech kill and/or 5 vehicle kills.

• Piloting skill is increased by taking damage, or by 1 for jumping 6 times.

In the early missions, it is advisable to prevent certain pilots from hogging all of the kills to themselves, as to not 'waste' gunnery skill-ups . Likewise, it is prudent to put your MechWarriors in jump-cabable BattleMechs, and exercise the use of that ability at every opportunity.

It is a popular (if somewhat beardcheesy) campaign tactic to field as many pilots as possible early on by using only light 'Mechs (preferably jumping ones), and power-level them all to a high rank. This becomes increasingly less viable as heavy and assault 'Mechs become more common in the opposition's forces. Still, it is nice to have a pilot flown in who isn't totally green when you salvage a downed assault mech.

Edited by Captain Nice HD, 23 November 2011 - 02:47 PM.

[Ghost]

I hope everyone's ready for this... It's the Thanksgiving Weekend Mechstravaganza!

I've got the rest of Mission 6 recorded (technically Missions 7, 8 and 9, but they're presented as one mission with multiple parts to the player).

Let's start off with the second mission of our lightning series of raids.



Repairs are starting to become more and more useful. I'm starting to really have to watch out for whichever of my 'Mechs earns the ire of the AI, for they will not rest until it is dead. This is more often than not the fastest, and weakest, member of the lance.

[Ghost]

Oh no! It would appear I've reached the "posted media limit." I'll provide links for future videos while I get info on this.

Our briefing reveals we took a contract with a guy that has a few screws loose. I remodel the Laser Boat into the Cannon Crusher. Love the new Shootist variant. It rocks faces. My variant of the Anubis, the Caltrop, turns it into a short-range crit-seeking harasser that rivals other 'mechs of higher classes in close combat punch.

Here's the first, second, and third parts of the mission.
(You are allowed to laugh when Claymore's Atlas gets its arm blown off under concentrated fire and he has to eject.)

That mission didn't go entirely too badly. That ridge stands as one of the most useful geological features I've ever fought over in a MechCommander game.

I remodel the Atlas and get rid of the machine guns in favor of more armor and cooling for its pulse lasers. Not bad. I also give Longshot a Medium Autocannon. Why not? Also I completely forgot about the Raven. Derp!

Here are the first, second, and third parts of the mission.
Yikes, those Swarm LRMs hurt if you don't keep moving. The "boss" Liao heavy goes down with a whimper. The Starslayers guarding it put up a much better fight.

Here's a teaser for the Second Campaign. What a twist!

Edited by Ghost, 26 November 2011 - 11:00 PM.

[Ghost]

Parts one and two of the first mission we take under the auspices of the Liao. I swap the autocannons of my usual lance for their ultra versions, even though that means I'm losing the accuracy bonus from "medium autocannon specialist." Thinking about trading the Catapult in for something with a bit more long-range punch.

[Ghost]

Patriot, on 27 November 2011 - 06:50 AM, said:

What you need is MechCommander Omnitech my friend.

http://www.hard-ligh...php?board=210.0



Makes for a much more challenging experience, seeing as you need to buy weapons for your stockpile, and it adds alot of extra units and alters unit composition in the campaign(no more Starslayer in Mission 1..)

Oh yeah, I tried it out. It's pretty nice. I'm using the older original version though because MCO is missing the cutscenes.

[Ghost]

Part one and part two of the first half of our second mission for Liao.
See if you can spot my silly, silly mistake towards the end of part two.

[Captain Nice HD]

Good to see that you've remembered why you bothered salvaging all those Fire Ants and UrbanMechs. Now you've got a nice slush fund handy for acquiring the really nice 'Mechs.

I'll say that skipping ahead to the convoy mission wasn't the smartest move; you made things awfully hard on yourself. The stealth mission that you were supposed to do first was relatively easy by comparison, and positively showers you with goodies which would have been of great use here. You're lucky that none of your pilots had to eject, let alone killed; had you been playing on a higher difficulty setting, they probably would have been massacred.

As for the 'silly mistake': Walking over your own mines happens; the AI isn't smart enough to remember the minefields you've laid down, let alone go around them. The problem, I'd say, is that your mine deployment was suboptimal (putting them beside the road isn't generally as effective as putting them on the road) and if you were going to lay mines at all you probably should have done so earlier. Anyway, I suggest you learn all of the advanced unit controls, like how to force a 'Mech to fire at the terrain; it's useful for clearing minefields and destroying things that you can't ordinarily target.

One thing I've noticed is that you go poking around the map, presumably looking for resource bunkers. The problem is, you're generally looking in the wrong places. While RPs often tend to be squirreled away in obscure locations, their placement is not random. Outside of military bases, the best places to look are islands, industrial parks, and rural villages--in that order. Follow the roads, be they paved or otherwise, and be properly thorough. Pause at the start of the mission and get the lay of the land, if you have to. In this mission just now, you missed a bunker in the industrial park just across the highway from that piece of suburbia you triple-checked.

Oh, and you don't have to keep pausing to check your objectives. There's a little button with a checkmark symbol on it in your console for that.

[Ghost]

Time to storm a bunch of bases with captured 'Mechs! I was really playing point-and-click and blundering through the enemy this time, and it shows. I catch myself before ordering my 'Mechs into a minefield, though! (Pay no attention to the headshot that forces Steel to eject from the Shadowcat. :V)
Links: Part one and part two of the second part of "mission eight."

I was delighted by the next mission. We're going to the moon! You would never have seen someone attempt this kind of map in the original. I can tell that it was a bit high-concept for the developers though--the usual low-gravity rules you'd expect to see in play aren't in effect. By only bringing three big 'Mechs I concentrated my firepower (and the armor I could not deploy a repair truck to fix). And then I went out in style, stomping outposts until I'd managed to cross through all the sensors they could put up to detect me. Once everyone knew where I was it was just a matter of having one big long epic fight against just about everyone on the map at the same time. I was really having fun with that one. You can skip a lot of what happens after because I spend a while capturing objectives with almost no defenders using my very slow heavy 'Mechs and then discover a repair base on the east side of the map I could have used all along. The duel with the Clanners was pretty intense. I'm glad I brought Longshot in the Vulture--I've discovered that LRMs are headshot machines thanks to their ballistic profile as you get closer to the enemy. I capture a great deal of Clan tech during this mission which will necessitate a complete redesign of the 'Mechs I am using. I'm thinking about building a Catapult with a truly absurd number of Clan LRMs. Any ideas guys?

Part one, part two and part three are all there on Youtube.

[Alex Wolfe]

It's all fun and games until (*SPOILERS*) you end up allied with Davion again, and sort-of-join a rebellion again, as literally always.

I don't mind the faction itself, but the way they were being sucked up to by pretty much every computer Battletech game ever was kind of off-putting. MC2 started strong story-wise, but then it turned out they're making us repeat the old song and dance of "young and beautiful (you) vs. the old, ugly and/or goatee-d" (/end spoilers).

Still, apart from tired cliches and probably worst AI since MW3, it is a decent game.

Edited by Alex Wolfe, 01 December 2011 - 01:41 PM.

[Ghost]

Operation 10 is a series of strategic and tactical strikes for the Liaos now that we've ****** off ComStar sufficiently enough to ensure we're probably not getting a contract ever again!

The first mission is a covert strike against some orbital guns. I had some fun with this one, it really emphasized making do with limited resources.

Part one, part two, part three.

The next mission was all about taking down some supertanks. Terrain was definitely used for my advantage, but I probably should have taken some faster units.

Part one, part two, part three.

After that I was dispatched to go take and hold a base that'd been pretty much been destroyed via orbital bombardment. I redeem myself with the minelayer! (It counts a Shadowcat and the dreaded Mad Cat as kills.) Also you will not believe your eyes as an autocannon turret decapitates a Vulture with one shot.

Part one, part two.

After all my successes, one would think that the Liaos would love me! Instead I get bargained away. I left my original run through this level intact. It's dramatic, both in content and personal narrative. I flee from the pursuing 'Mechs and fight my way into an idle base to make a last stand. We defeat the first two waves easily enough, but then I start running into something that happens a little too frequently for my liking--headshots and running straight into reactor explosions (which are happening much more frequently now that I'm using powerful weapons). So I lose Claymore and Palerider, but I'm determined to stick it out to the end. So when the resistance leader contacts me I book it out of there. There's a screen of light hovercraft that gives my 'Mechs time to breathe before they're back in the fight. Longshot gets clobbered, but not before taking another two down with her. The resistance artillery even claims a victim! But then it's down to a one-on-one duel. Despite getting knocked down twice by hammer blows, Steel shows why toughness is a virtue in a MechWarrior, and counters by blowing off his opponent's arm. The enemy is short work after that. Heavily damaged, Steel surveys the field, barely eking out a victory. He gets promoted to Ace for that, and rightly so. I give him Sharpshooter.

Part one, part two, part three.

Edited by Ghost, 03 December 2011 - 10:10 AM.

[Captain Nice HD]

Now that your pilots are starting to cap out at 80% gunnery, your pilots are often hitting with their whole alpha strike, plus you're focus their fire on a single target. The simple truth of the matter is that you're completely gutting the torso sections (depleting their internal structure points) before the enemy pilots have a chance to eject.

If you're going to make any use of that sharpshooter skill, you're going to need to learn how to order called shots. You'd best look up how to do that by checking the default control settings in the options. Incidentally, head-shots are a good thing; they neutralize the target quickly and leave it mostly intact for salvage. Kill the meat; save the metal.

[Alex Wolfe]

Captain Nice HD, on 05 December 2011 - 12:37 PM, said:

Now that your pilots are starting to cap out at 80% gunnery, your pilots are often hitting with their whole alpha strike, plus you're focus their fire on a single target. The simple truth of the matter is that you're completely gutting the torso sections (depleting their internal structure points) before the enemy pilots have a chance to eject.

If you're going to make any use of that sharpshooter skill, you're going to need to learn how to order called shots. You'd best look up how to do that by checking the default control settings in the options. Incidentally, head-shots are a good thing; they neutralize the target quickly and leave it mostly intact for salvage. Kill the meat; save the metal.

Sharpshooter pretty much breaks that game over the knee, sadly - once you have 2-3 pilots you chew up most assaults with your opening salvo. Which is OK I guess, with the amount of headshots computer opponents are getting... if you want more challenge though, skip SS and go for Gauss spec or Assault piloting!

[Ghost]

Captain Nice HD, on 05 December 2011 - 12:37 PM, said:

Now that your pilots are starting to cap out at 80% gunnery, your pilots are often hitting with their whole alpha strike, plus you're focus their fire on a single target. The simple truth of the matter is that you're completely gutting the torso sections (depleting their internal structure points) before the enemy pilots have a chance to eject.

If you're going to make any use of that sharpshooter skill, you're going to need to learn how to order called shots. You'd best look up how to do that by checking the default control settings in the options. Incidentally, head-shots are a good thing; they neutralize the target quickly and leave it mostly intact for salvage. Kill the meat; save the metal.

Yeah I've been noticing this in the after-action salvage reports. Most of the mechs are missing their torsos completely. I'll look up the called shot thing ASAP!

Alex Wolfe, on 05 December 2011 - 01:04 PM, said:

Sharpshooter pretty much breaks that game over the knee, sadly - once you have 2-3 pilots you chew up most assaults with your opening salvo. Which is OK I guess, with the amount of headshots computer opponents are getting... if you want more challenge though, skip SS and go for Gauss spec or Assault piloting!

Oh my god. You have no idea how many times I had to restart the mission I'm encoding tonight for my birthday special because they killed my pilots with incredible headshots! As it stands the recording I'm sticking with shows Claymore charging in with a 70-ton Shootist and receiving headshot after headshot. (I was alarmed at how many times he reported receiving injuries. This guy is tough! In other videos, just listen to how many times my pilots are reporting injuries. I'm just glad it doesn't seem to have much of an effect in-game.) He was forced to eject from a completely undamaged 'Mech minus the cockpit. Though it does strike me as hilarious that a guy going by Claymore is getting his 'Mech's heads chopped off several times so far. "There can be only one!" He also doesn't appear on the Active MechWarrior listing at the end of the mission. I'm guessing he was recovered by SAR and spent the rest of the mission recovering in the hospital.

[Ghost]

Mission 11 in three parts. It's a birthday celebration! (My birthday is totally today.)

Part one, part two, part three.

I was inspired by my success with the minelayer in a previous excursion so I decided to give artillery a try. I use it to great effect. Note to self, abuse artillery when being attacked by slow, heavy mechs in large groups.

Edited by Ghost, 05 December 2011 - 06:58 PM.

[Ghost]

The next operation is a multipart blitz of the new Steiner-Liao alliance to keep them from crushing us. In what is rapidly becoming the most hilarious expected result of a mission (enemy looks at Claymore funny, he gets his cockpit blown off), Claymore goes down in the second mission. At least he took a 'Mech with him! Definitely was not expecting the dropship to be guarded and should have. I am beginning to suspect you take much more serious hits from enemy attacks if you have a pilot that is not specialized in the weight class of the 'Mech they are piloting. It really makes that much of a difference. Twitch is practically invincible behind the controls of a medium, as you will see in my next video.

Night raid: Part one, part two, part three

I'm also starting to question the usefulness of short-range weaponry when the entirety of my fights seem to be taking place at long ranges. They're good at keeping the faster lights and mediums from getting inside the minimum ranges of the big long range guns I mount on my 'Mechs, but MechCommander has always appeared to be a game about the alpha strike to me.

Dropship down: Part one, part two, part three

I need to design a strike force for a heavy assault into Liao territory, and they've been quite evil about running their mediums and heavies straight into my 'Mechs to strike at close range. I'm thinking about giving a lot more thought to close range, but it is hard to adjust after directing my MechWarriors to develop long range skills. Twitch is pretty much the only guy I've got even partially suited for the job. I'll probably stick him in a Ryoken and watch how he does with Clan Heavy Large Lasers / Clan Heavy Lasers. I get Thunderbolts in the next mission, so I'll probably stick Longshot in a Mad Cat with a load of LRMs, and a Clan Ultra Medium AC. Other than those two I'm drawing a blank. Probably going to go with twin Zeus 'Mechs with different loadouts--one focused on range and the other on close-in punch ups with an absurd number of pulse lasers, which I am convinced are the most useless weapon in MechCommander 2 after the machinegun and the Long Tom. As for Palerider, he'll get a Cyclops rolling with Clan Gauss and twin ERPPCs instead of the LRMs he's packing. I just need a screen to keep the mediums from getting inside minimum range...

[Ghost]

Two more missions to round out operation 12. The difficulty curve is steadily creeping upward. I'm now regularly losing at least one 'Mech a mission, usually the fast one that runs out in front of my lance and gets focused on. I'm also seeing a lot of "game ignores my input" and bizarre pathfinding errors. Also swarm LRMs really really hurt and can't seem to decide whether or not they're tracking or artillery.

Night raid: Part one, part two

Quick and quiet.

Storming the Liao Palace: Part one, part two

The palace took a few attempts. You really have to be careful to manage your visibility on this mission because if you run through the middle you'll be facing 20+ 'Mechs in no time flat.

[Ghost]

And finally, the epic conclusion. The computer is getting entirely too many headshots by this point, and the pathfinding is getting worse...

Spaceport assault: Part one, part two, part three

I really built some funny-looking 'Mechs to take down the Steiner commander. My favorite design has got to be the Nuclear Option, an Atlas with two Thunderbolt launchers, four clan LRMs and some Heavy Lasers.

Party at Renard's place: Part one, part two, part three

All in all, I had a lot of fun playing MechCommander 2 with you guys. Making new 'Mech designs was interesting and watching my plans come to fruition was satisfying. The storyline was decent enough, and the live action cutscenes really gave it a Command and Conquer vibe that I find appealing.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've been putting off playing Arkham City and Skyrim for way too long. :V

[Alex Wolfe]

Ghost, on 09 December 2011 - 10:24 PM, said:

And finally, the epic conclusion. The computer is getting entirely too many headshots by this point, and the pathfinding is getting worse...

Spaceport assault: Part one, part two, part three

I really built some funny-looking 'Mechs to take down the Steiner commander. My favorite design has got to be the Nuclear Option, an Atlas with two Thunderbolt launchers, four clan LRMs and some Heavy Lasers.

Party at Renard's place: Part one, part two, part three

All in all, I had a lot of fun playing MechCommander 2 with you guys. Making new 'Mech designs was interesting and watching my plans come to fruition was satisfying. The storyline was decent enough, and the live action cutscenes really gave it a Command and Conquer vibe that I find appealing.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've been putting off playing Arkham City and Skyrim for way too long. :V

I'll try and watch some when I have some time, but yeah, I agree - it's always either nothing or a headshot. The AI was horrible in this otherwise fun game (way worse than MC1 even) and compensated by cheating with headshots and damage values, to the point that I was contemplating Toughness or Spec-Assault for my pilots, so that I don't feel like reloading if I lose a prized one (you will be missed, Payback, you dirty Clanner scum).

Some time around Liao palace I pretty much gave up and started filling my lances with stock Blood Asps, one Cyclops and just headshot-gauss snipe everything above 65 ton, and fill the otherwise undamaged mechs with my own pilots until the critical mass.

Say, ever tried MechCommander Gold? Tons of fun, very involved missions and decidedly less cheating on the computer's part (the mission setups themselves are mean and full of painful, surprise Hunchbacks though).

Edited by Alex Wolfe, 12 December 2011 - 06:50 AM.