12 replies to this topic

[Ferrum Deus]

Awhile back I was searching the web for any decent Mech based MMO. Jumping from 3rd rate mech MMO to another. I came across this a few months ago. I'm going to be honest I don't know a dang thing about the universe beyond its mech based and the assorted trailers on the web I've seen on YouTube. Ive heard of Mech Warrior before and had always been curious about the franchise.

So my question is to the veterans of the franchise, what should I do to familiarize myself with the franchise to avoid making a boob out of myself? Which Mech Warrior game would give me the best experience to ready myself? Or is there a database or something I can read to ready myself. I'd prefer a free option.

If this is in the wrong category just move it I'm sorry I'm just getting started here.

[Blood Crow]

My personal favorite MW game was 3. However, it won't run well on newer systems. You can download MW4 for free now, though many criticize it of being more "arcade-like" and less in the spirit of a "tank simulator" as other MW games are. I'm not exactly a living wiki on Battletech myself, though you can go here to answer any specific questions you have about anything Battletech-related: http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page

Also, feel free to get your hands on and read some of the Battletech novels/watch the tv show (lol).

[Nacon]

I think the best way to start is by playing MechCommander 1 and 2. You can download it for free at...
http://www.shacknews...-gold-free-game
http://www.shacknews...der-2-free-game

It would be best place to start. You'd get to know most of the mechs by its name and its types. As you play, you'd also learn a bit more about the fractions and its history in the game. MechWarrior is a spin-off from BattleTech. The history behind that is quite a long one, maybe more than 10 years of reading material/documented historys. Playing MechCommander game should bring you up to speed, in my opinion. Even though it's a RTS type of game than typical FPS game that MechWarrior started out with. Bear with it for now though...

After you played them both, play MechWarrior 4: Mercs. Which was the latest FPS game. (not counting MechWarrior Living Legend mod) You should have no problem practicing the general idea of that kind of gameplay.
Which is also free too! You can download it at...
http://www.mektek.ne...4/download.html

Enjoy and hope to see you in MWO some day.

EDIT: fixed links.

Edited by Nacon, 07 July 2012 - 07:28 AM.

[Ferrum Deus]

Wow, thanks a bunch. Yeah I figured they wouldn't run as smooth on newer systems. But thanks guys this really really help. I've accepted that due to my new comers status I won't get in the beta. That's alright I can wait, in the mean time I can just play the current titles and educate myself as best I can.

Edited by Ferrum Deus, 07 July 2012 - 07:30 AM.

[Blood Crow]

You never know, you could get lucky, heh.

[Wolfclaw]

Welcome to the best Mech game you will ever play!

A community that is 30 years strong, and still going. You can't go wrong in your choice to join in!

[Ferrum Deus]

I very much look forward to it, hell if the franchise is older then me and is still around you must be doing something right.

Edited by Ferrum Deus, 07 July 2012 - 09:17 AM.

[Catamount]

If you want to know specifically where to go to get up to speed on the basics of what this universe is and who the players are, start by skimming these specific pages

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Star_League

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Amaris_Coup

http://www.sarna.net...uccessor_States

http://www.sarna.net...s_%28History%29

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Clans


In a brief nutshell, the Star League was a united interstellar government of the Inner Sphere, the realm of human settlement. An ultimately failed but very destructive coup tore it apart, and in the aftermath, different factions squabbled over who would get to rule and put it all back together. In disgust, the majority of the Star League Defense Force (SLDF, the military) left, seemingly never to be heard from again. The squabbles among the remaining factions eventually grew into war after war, and the inner sphere bombed itself almost back to the stone age. None of these wars ever accomplished or changed anything of note (except that the Capellan Confederation seemed to get a bit smaller each time ). As they realized the mistake over hundreds of years, and the first glimpses of alliances and potential stability came (amidst admittedly continued conflict, on a smaller scale), the Clans, the descendants of the old SLDF returned, never having lost most of the technology from all the wars in the Inner Sphere, and began a brutal conquest. Enter mid 3049 and here we are.



Mechwarrior as a game is not your typical mech game in many ways. Battles are partly shooter-based, but there's a lot of emphasis on position, heat management, coordination, and how you design your mech. Successful piloting will rely more on caution, good evaluation of your situation, and keeping a close eye on your mech to try to manage heat and keep already-damaged, exposed facings away from enemy fire, more than running in and having slightly better boom headshot skills (aka COD).



Welcome to the forums and the game.

Edited by Catamount, 07 July 2012 - 10:20 AM.

[Lucan]

If you want to get an idea of what MWO is like combat wise, try MechWarrior Living Legends, a full coversion mod for Crysis Wars. I play under the name DraggoonPlaton (typoed, had originally intended to be DraggoonPlatoon) and i love it. It's easy to get if you use Steam and have about $20 to burn to get Crysis Warhead which comes with Crysis Wars and the mod download is free off of the site: http://www.mwlldownload.com/ . Hope so see some people there while waiting for this.

Just watch out if your my enemy though, i'm a ***** with some mechs

[Ferrum Deus]

Catamount, on 07 July 2012 - 10:18 AM, said:

If you want to know specifically where to go to get up to speed on the basics of what this universe is and who the players are, start by skimming these specific pages

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Star_League

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Amaris_Coup

http://www.sarna.net...uccessor_States

http://www.sarna.net...s_%28History%29

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Clans


In a brief nutshell, the Star League was a united interstellar government of the Inner Sphere, the realm of human settlement. An ultimately failed but very destructive coup tore it apart, and in the aftermath, different factions squabbled over who would get to rule and put it all back together. In disgust, the majority of the Star League Defense Force (SLDF, the military) left, seemingly never to be heard from again. The squabbles among the remaining factions eventually grew into war after war, and the inner sphere bombed itself almost back to the stone age. None of these wars ever accomplished or changed anything of note (except that the Capellan Confederation seemed to get a bit smaller each time ). As they realized the mistake over hundreds of years, and the first glimpses of alliances and potential stability came (amidst admittedly continued conflict, on a smaller scale), the Clans, the descendants of the old SLDF returned, never having lost most of the technology from all the wars in the Inner Sphere, and began a brutal conquest. Enter mid 3049 and here we are.



Mechwarrior as a game is not your typical mech game in many ways. Battles are partly shooter-based, but there's a lot of emphasis on position, heat management, coordination, and how you design your mech. Successful piloting will rely more on caution, good evaluation of your situation, and keeping a close eye on your mech to try to manage heat and keep already-damaged, exposed facings away from enemy fire, more than running in and having slightly better boom headshot skills (aka COD).



Welcome to the forums and the game.

Sounds like to me its a bit more realistic then lets say the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, thats good, running around with an OP suit kicking the hell out of you opponents is fun for awhile but no challenge, no means to better yourself gets boring.

[Ferrum Deus]

Bit of a snag, went to install MC2 and it freezes on the start up. I use Windows 7 64 bit. Is there a way around this?

[Nacon]

Ferrum Deus, on 07 July 2012 - 12:53 PM, said:

Bit of a snag, went to install MC2 and it freezes on the start up. I use Windows 7 64 bit. Is there a way around this?

Yes, forgot to mention that you should run it in compatibility mode for WinXP.

Right click the EXE, Properties, then go to Compatibility tab, check the box, set drop down menu to WinXP and enjoy! You should do the same for MC1 and maybe MW4:Merc if need to.

[Fanatic]

Maybe this can help you to get some Battletech Background knowledge->

Universe Guide (PDF)

it's from here -> http://bg.battletech.com/?page_id=3498