205 replies to this topic

[vorrt]

So, out of curiosity, how many people here know of/played in the Virtual World Entertainment Battletech pods?

They used to be set up in site all around the US and the world (Tokyo, and I'm pretty sure a few in Europe). Now a days, they are mostly in the hands of private collectors who have either setup private sites (for themselves and their friends) and a select amount of public sites. Some even travel to major game conventions (GenCon, DragonCon, AKon, and so forth).


I know that my introduction of Mechwarrior 4 led me to the pods (that and friends who knew some people).

[Madurai]

Virtual World, Dallas. It was a fun afternoon out, and a brave attempt at a business.

[wolf74]

I would have loved to play more there are a bit for for me to travel.

[Tyra]

I just told my wife about these things 20 minutes ago! I never got to play in them, and I wish I could have.

[sigma]

The traveling ones you see at cons are from Houston, the Mekcorps. Still kicking around with Battletech Firestorm and lots of mektek goodies added.

I had a blast last time I got to jump in one.

[everybodypanic]

I use to work at the original VirtualWorld Btech/Red Planet in Memorial City, Mall - Houston TX. Ah the good ol' days.

[CobraFive]

They've never been near me I want to badly though.

[Vidiot]

We would go an play at Virtual World in the south bay. Awesome place, had a nice hunting lodge/bar look with huge mech arms and monitors all over the place.

[SnowWolf06]

Seen them in action at a Race Track on Hwy 6 in Houston and a MW4 Pod/Arcade style game at Dave and Busters.

[JellyFish72]

I guess I'll go ahead and be the first person from Dallas to stop in and say hi! There's still 8 pods going strong here and open to the public! I got addicted last summer during A-Kon and, being local, followed the pods back to their home site, so I'm the proof that you can still find them and hop in.

[Sauron]

I played in the set that was in the Palisades Dave and Busters and loved it so much that when the put the pods up for sale at the end of the lease era with D&B, I bought the 8 pods that were there and put them in my basement in northern NJ. I ran them there from September of 2005 until I sold them in November of 2009. My beloved old set is now in Minnesota and still operational. This year I moved from NJ to the Dallas, TX area, I just could not bare being too far away from the pods, so now I'm near 2 sets of pods, the Dallas set and the Houston set, though I do need to make a trip down to Houston, this past summer was just tad hotter than I expected to find here in Texas.

If you have not yet played in a pod, or you have and you are looking for a set near you to play in check: http://getinthepods....-locations.html I believe that is the most up to date page at this time with the current locations of VWE Tesla II pods running Battletech : Firestorm. GET IN THE POD! Maybe we can get Piranha to consider figuring out a way to get the new game into the sim pods also. To date, no version of Battletech on a computer beats playing the sim in a pod! (IMHO)

[Sauron]

JellyFish72, on 31 October 2011 - 11:08 PM, said:

I guess I'll go ahead and be the first person from Dallas to stop in and say hi! There's still 8 pods going strong here and open to the public! I got addicted last summer during A-Kon and, being local, followed the pods back to their home site, so I'm the proof that you can still find them and hop in.

LOL< I was typing my post when you snuck yours in.

[JellyFish72]

Sauron, on 31 October 2011 - 11:13 PM, said:

LOL< I was typing my post when you snuck yours in.

I'm just that awesome, and you know it!!! xD

[erokk]

Virtual World Chicago! What a riot it was with a group of about 6 of us. Wish I could put a few in my basement

[Brixx]

Bring them to Germany, plox.

[Atlas3060]

Sauron, on 31 October 2011 - 11:13 PM, said:

LOL< I was typing my post when you snuck yours in.

JellyFish72, on 31 October 2011 - 11:15 PM, said:

I'm just that awesome, and you know it!!! xD

Oh jeez you two are here, that's it. Attention Inner Sphere: These two will waste your 'Mechs just let them fight for the honor of Terra in 3050 or so and just send everybody else home!

Good to see some more Dallas folks represent.

Edited by atlas3060, 01 November 2011 - 03:49 AM.

[Lily of Thrace]

Unfortunately, I have never had the chance to use one of the pods, although I may have seen one in a "public" place many years ago.
Not really sure if it was one that I saw, but I guess I will never know now.

[Helmer]

Drove 6 hours in a old Truck to play at the VW in Chicago back in '94. Unfortunately I only got 1 game in that day as business was slow, and no one would play. Got to play a second one against one of the guys who worked there and got slaughtered.

[Flame]

I played once a few years ago at the Dave & Buster's in Cincinnati when I was there for a friend's wedding. I think there were eight of us in the pods. They let me pilot a Highlander, which is the only reason I did as well as I did ;;

[jodahtame]

First played them back in the late 90s at D&B with my old man and brother, found them again at A-Kon thanks to VGCorps and then when I migrated to Houston found MechCorps pods and have been playing strong ever since. I must agree with Sauron, as a simulator nothing tops being inside the pods in a full advanced no return game. Absolute mechwarrior bliss.