98 replies to this topic

[Kraftwerkedup]

Im excited either way. Its going to be a good game. Half the team from Dragon is still on for this project. Namely the writer, lead, and producer. Thats all I need to know.

Whether its Shadowrun with Mechs, or something more like Mech Commander, or like a graphical, yet simplified Megamek AtB campaign, ill still be happy.

That I hear no Clams?

Even, freaking, better.

[stjobe]

Cathy, on 26 September 2015 - 01:57 PM, said:

I'm undecided on supporting it, I want to know its format

You could start reading here:

Quote

Nic: BattleTech has been in many forms since its inception obviously. From tabletop to PC to Virtual World to MechWarrior to MechCommander. What style game is this? How will the players be interacting? With a MechWarrior or a ‘Mech? Or both?


Mike: Both! We’re making a turn-based, tactical squad combat game. You’re going to command a lance of 4 ‘Mechs on the battlefield. It’s going to be a single-player mercenary-style campaign. MechWarrior 2 is a good reference for that. You’re going to choose which missions you want to take. You’re going to hire new MechWarriors, upgrade your ‘Mechs, get salvage. All that good stuff, from mission to mission.

Mitch: And develop your MechWarriors too.

Mike: Yes! MechWarriors will grow. We’re careful not to guarantee specific features here, but we’re looking at MechWarriors with different quirks, personalities, strengths and weaknesses that might manifest over time.

Quote

Mitch: I just wanted to add to that. It’s important to us, that when we made the Shadowrun game for example, it’s Shadowrun. It’s true to the canon. It’s true to tone that people expect. We do our own thing, and we tell our own stories, but it’s steeped in that setting. It’s the same thing with BATTLETECH. We want to tell a real, classic BattleTech story. That’s what people want. And that’s what we damn well will give them!


Mike: You’ll be commanding a small mercenary outfit in the game. That’s one of the things we think is cool about the 3025 era. You’ve got “peace time”, but it’s not really peace time. As a mercenary, you a deniable asset for a variety of the great houses, so there will be all sorts of interesting, cool story lines. We’re talking about developing the periphery in some ways too.

And no, I don't think it's "going to suck". I think it's going to be glorious.

[Signal27]

Kraftwerkedup, on 26 September 2015 - 01:53 PM, said:

Thats why PGI has done such a bad job at this, and why Activision and Zipper did bad jobs too. When you make the game linear, it ceases to be Battletech. Then its just big stompy robots.


That everything can go unbelievably wrong in Battletech is a huge part of its charm and success. Nothing beats getting cracked in the face by a large laser, losing your life support, your pilot going unconcious, your mech falling faced down in level 0 water, and your pilot drowning, then the autoeject going off, sending your now dead and bloated pilot, careening into the chest of the mech that fell you.


THAT is Battletech.

Uh... that's never been my tabletop BattleTech experience. Nor has it been the experience of anyone else I've played with or I've known to play. Not saying your own experience is invalid, just that I'd argue that sort of masochism isn't the main draw for most long-time BattleTech fans.

In fact, I'd argue it was mainly the "big stompy robots" that was the main draw. Simple as that.

stjobe, on 26 September 2015 - 01:54 PM, said:

They haven't "brought the guy on", it's his company. He started it, and they're making computer games based on the pen-and-paper or tabletop games he has created. So far, they've been really successful with three Shadowrun games partially funded by Kickstarter. All have been delivered on time and met all the promised goals.

Then I admire the guy. He's obviously learned a few things and adapted with the times over the years since he originally wrote the games.

[Kraftwerkedup]

Signal27, on 26 September 2015 - 02:08 PM, said:

Uh... that's never been my tabletop BattleTech experience. Nor has it been the experience of anyone else I've played with or I've known to play. Not saying your own experience is invalid, just that I'd argue that sort of masochism isn't the main draw for most long-time BattleTech fans.

In fact, I'd argue it was mainly the "big stompy robots" that was the main draw. Simple as that.

Nope. Its this:

"Hey All,
I am finally getting around to writing about the strangest dang game that I have ever had. About a month and a half/two months ago I was playing a game via chat for a campaign with my merc unit. The scenario was that my unit was raiding Roadside and fighting a trial of possession for some supplies that were stockpiled on that planet. Further, my opponent had agreed to fight sequentially against one of my pilots who is a former Jade Falcon and would like to convince them to reclaim him. After he was defeated, we would "pair off" and fight individual duels. Whichever side had a mech or mechs left standing at the end was the winner. At least, that was the plan.

OK, so it began with my guy in a Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) S facing off against a Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) A. First bound of the battle he walks on the board and I jump to a heavy woods. We are 22 hexes apart. His two ER PPCs miss and I hit him with the LPL, in the head...and I roll a 12 for crits! That was easy, too bad that I can not capture the pilot, he was a 0/1.

On to the next battle against a Stormcrow (Ryoken) A. I maneuver towards him taking light damage from his LRM 20. When I get to range 8 I let loose with the SRM 6 racks missing with three of the four but hiting him with the LPL and 2 MPLs. I only did armor damage except one of the SRMs was a center torso (possible crit) and I proceeded to roll three crits, all engine. Two down.

My next opponent was a Hellbringer (Loki) B. We started close to each other and he peppered me pretty good, his Gauss Rifle almost ripping off my right arm but doing no crits. I returned the favor with the six racks and MPLs. He flubbed his pilot roll, fell on his back and proceeded to knock his own engine out doing three crits to himself.

The fourth mech in the enemy star was a Mad Dog (Vulture) Prime. My LPL was a left torso possible crit. I did one crit and hit the LRM ammo. He proceeded to go unconscious, fall on his right side, did a crit to himself and finished off his engine.

The last opponent was also a Mad Dog (Vulture) Prime. We basically charged at each other and I don't recall hiting anything but his center torso. I never got a crit but his torso was cored. My guy was standing there with two internals on his left leg, seven on the right leg, RT/RA gone, LA with one point of armor, LT with four internals and CT with two internals. No hits to my head or back.

Both Tom and I were utterly amazed. We decided to keep the results of that battle for campaign purposes but do the fight over again because we both wanted to play and we had only taken about a half an hour. So we start over and his Timber Wolf hits me with both PPCs, each in the head! After that, someone must have shutdown the improbability drive and things setteled down to "normal" rolls. I still won the battle but it sure was a LOT closer!

Thanks for your time and attention,
Chris Damour"

Old testimonial from 2001. Pretty much sums up what makes Battletech great.

Its how a detailed and fluid story emerges out of random chance. Its the possibility for anything and everything to happen, that can quickly turn the tables, or bring on crushing defeat. No two games ever play the same, yet, if you play enough of it, you start to see trends and patterns emerge, the "meta" if you will. The game systems propensity for handing you scalding hot life lessons about that SOB Murphy is seriously the reason it has charm, and success.

Big stompy robots gets you through the door.

The game handing you your ass constantly keeps you coming back.

Landing on a level 4 roof, and crashing down through its floors, to kill a hidden infantry unit you never knew was there, will keep you coming back for more. Rarely is there as much joy in table top gaming, as laughing as some pilot ejects himself into a lake, or loses their head to a PPC in the first round, or explodes a series of fuel trucks that lead to a building collapse that drops your Highlander to its doom.

Its alot like Dwarf Fortress. The sheer volume of ways your little paper pilots can meet their epic doom, is what keeps people coming back again, and again, and again, and again. Because theres always another epic thing that can happen, that you havent seen yet.

Edited by Kraftwerkedup, 26 September 2015 - 02:29 PM.

[C E Dwyer]

stjobe, on 26 September 2015 - 02:03 PM, said:

You could start reading here:





And no, I don't think it's "going to suck". I think it's going to be glorious.

ta

[Apnu]

Waiting for the pitch. Will probably help out because I've played battleteh since the mid 1980s.

[Summon3r]

Aethon, on 26 September 2015 - 07:41 AM, said:

Hopefully, art is the only influence PGI will have on the new Battletech game.

this times infinite and beyond.

[Aethon]

stjobe, on 26 September 2015 - 02:03 PM, said:

And no, I don't think it's "going to suck". I think it's going to be glorious.

[MechWarrior5152251]

It will be great when I am too old to play real games!

I still have my Rockem Sockem Robots....

[Mycrus]

Will need further scrutiny... i just barely dodged the mwt bullet...

[Signal27]

Mycrus, on 26 September 2015 - 05:15 PM, said:

Will need further scrutiny... i just barely dodged the mwt bullet...

The best thing to do is if you're iffy about contributing to the Kickstarter, then just plain don't. Wait for the game's full release, ask what other people think about it, read some reviews, and make your decision then.

[GreyNovember]

So, throw digital dice rolls? Stock mechs? Exploit AI Flaws?

I'm seeing flashbacks of XCOM.

[Mavairo]

Aethon, on 26 September 2015 - 07:41 AM, said:

Hopefully, art is the only influence PGI will have on the new Battletech game.

A thousand times this.

[Death Proof]

Kushko, on 26 September 2015 - 07:48 AM, said:

If im not mistaken, the guys making it are the guys that made Shadowrun, which means it should be pretty interesting. Shadowrun but in the battletech universe with mech battles? Heck yeah!

The guys that made Shadowrun are also the guys that made BattleTech.

[Impyrium]

One thing I'm very curious about is the exact format of gameplay. Personally I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's going to be a 1:1 representation of the TT game. I have a feeling it's going to be inspired and representative of it, but perhaps more its own thing. They really haven't given any details of it yet, which is interesting; not once have they said "it's going to play exactly like BattleTech".

Certainly I'd caution against anyone expecting a commercial, polished version of Megamek. Megamek is more or less a simulator for the TT game, whereas I'd bet this is going to be more along the lines of BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks Inception where the rules are adapted in a story-game format.

[Signal27]

Dingo Red, on 26 September 2015 - 06:40 PM, said:

One thing I'm very curious about is the exact format of gameplay. Personally I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's going to be a 1:1 representation of the TT game. I have a feeling it's going to be inspired and representative of it, but perhaps more its own thing. They really haven't given any details of it yet, which is interesting; not once have they said "it's going to play exactly like BattleTech".

Certainly I'd caution against anyone expecting a commercial, polished version of Megamek. Megamek is more or less a simulator for the TT game, whereas I'd bet this is going to be more along the lines of BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks Inception where the rules are adapted in a story-game format.

If I were a betting man, this is where I'd put my money.

[Kushko]

Death Proof, on 26 September 2015 - 06:26 PM, said:

The guys that made Shadowrun are also the guys that made BattleTech.

Ahh...so it comes full circle! Did not know that.

[stjobe]

Dingo Red, on 26 September 2015 - 06:40 PM, said:

One thing I'm very curious about is the exact format of gameplay. Personally I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's going to be a 1:1 representation of the TT game. I have a feeling it's going to be inspired and representative of it, but perhaps more its own thing. They really haven't given any details of it yet, which is interesting; not once have they said "it's going to play exactly like BattleTech".

Certainly I'd caution against anyone expecting a commercial, polished version of Megamek. Megamek is more or less a simulator for the TT game, whereas I'd bet this is going to be more along the lines of BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks Inception where the rules are adapted in a story-game format.

See my post further up this page, with quotes from this interview. It's not going to be "Megamek with 3D graphics", it's going to be a lance-sized mercenary company open-ended campaign set in 3025, with heavy RPG aspects as well as 'mech combat.

[Bloody]

hmm i was hoping they would not follow TT exactly. But i guess values can be moded as required

[Steinar Bergstol]

Dingo Red, on 26 September 2015 - 06:40 PM, said:

One thing I'm very curious about is the exact format of gameplay. Personally I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that it's going to be a 1:1 representation of the TT game. I have a feeling it's going to be inspired and representative of it, but perhaps more its own thing. They really haven't given any details of it yet, which is interesting; not once have they said "it's going to play exactly like BattleTech".

Certainly I'd caution against anyone expecting a commercial, polished version of Megamek. Megamek is more or less a simulator for the TT game, whereas I'd bet this is going to be more along the lines of BattleTech: The Crescent Hawks Inception where the rules are adapted in a story-game format.

I believe you're probably right about the game not turning out to be a 1:1 translation of the TT game. After all, the Shadowrun games were not a 1:1 translation of the pen and paper RPG, and I'm certain there are probably things about classic Battletech that have irked Jordan for decades which he's wished he could change. That said I do think it will be the closest we've gotten yet to a TT translation in a polished commercial product, at least as far as the spirit of Battletech goes.

Now, as far as it being Shadowrun with mechs as some people have feared I'm sure there will be _some_ similarities, but they're building a new engine for this game, not just reusing their old Shadowrun stuff. Also, when asked about the two games they've said in interviews that Shadowrun was a storybased RPG with tactical elements, but Battletech will be a tactical game with a strong story and with RPG elements (modifying mechs, your mechwarriors developing as in an RPG, stuff like that). So I'm thinking more apt comparison is a TT Battletech game using elements of the PnP Mechwarrior RPG system to expand the game out of the mechs, but with big stompy robot action remaining the focus.