205 replies to this topic

[Zaskaszh]

Now that I think about it...this guy has probably thrown together the best approximation of one of those pods for use with MWO.

[Kommunisator]

heh, I remember when I played the tabletop game I read about these in a pack in when importing stuff from the US. Unfortunately we had nothing close to these here in Germany, so I mailed the guys running these (Virtual World it was at the time I think) and asked for any kind of information material. Some weeks later a big envelope arrived in the mail with a genuine instruction booklet, lots of photos and a handwritten letter That's some kind of customer service!

[NamelessPFG]

I got my first taste in a Jillian's location in Virginia, around the early 2000s. I believe it was part of the Waterside building, and they were running the older-gen Tesla pods with Battletech 4.10 or some version around those lines, along with Red Planet.

Needless to say, sitting in one of those things was the coolest thing ever with all the MFDs. They even lost vertical hold when you took a really hard hit! I would have preferred a more sophisticated HOTAS, though...the throttle in particular was extremely basic with just a reverse button and could have done with a few extra buttons for things like jump jets. I also would've added a second hat switch to the stick for targeting purposes.

Later on, I played them at the Marietta/Atlanta Dave & Buster's years ago, though I wasn't pleased to learn that Battletech: Firestorm on the Tesla II pods was basically MechWarrior 4 (I didn't like MW4 much compared to MW2 and MW3), and that Red Planet was now gone, forever depriving me of the chance to play it.

Unfortunately, I haven't been to said D&B in over five years, and the last time I went, their Virtual World pods were gone. Now, going by that Google Maps page, there are NO pods left in Georgia, Virginia, or almost all of the US East Coast, for that matter. I should have played in them more often, while I still had the chance. As it stands, I didn't really "know" anyone in the Virtual World community or get any pins or whatnot because I wasn't playing often enough. It was quite expensive per play compared to just buying one of the PC MechWarrior titles and being set for life, after all.

The closest I'll probably get to having that sort of experience again is if I built my own MW2 simpit, complete with a Win98-era PC that doesn't have problems running MW2: Mercs 1.1 with the MeX client, a nice old Thrustmaster or CH Products HOTAS + pedal setup, and if I can get one, a Forte VFX-1 neurohelmet-I mean VR headset with head-tracking. That last part would be a sweet touch that even the VW pods don't have and a bit more in line with the Battletech 'verse (the various novels mention MechWarriors wearing neurohelmets all the time to give the 'Mech a sense of balance and even having their heads shaved in places for said helmets to work), but it unfortunately won't do anything about the lack of MFDs or generator/coolant loop management that the pre-Firestorm versions of VW Battletech had.

[syngyne]

Worked at the old VW Dallas center.

[Lowlight]

/sigh....Yeah for years I dreamed about doing this.. We moved here to San Antonio, and the Dave and Busters near here had them.. Well kinda did- they were always down. Finally I went in for my big day, and they'd removed them..Still a dream. I think you can BUY them in groups of 8, for upwards of $40k + delivery.

[Slackratchet]

There is a place about 5 min from where I live that still has them running.
http://the-airlock.com/
Just north of Seattle. Personally I've not played them since the Wizards of the Coast Gaming Center closed its doors.