64 replies to this topic

[Miles Tails Prower]

Macross would be a better comparison than Gundam.

But Battletech is very western, it focuses on mechanical muscle is appealing to the west, rather than the flashier style that the east embraced.

[Iron]

This is from the first paragraph from the introduction of SHRAPNEL,Fragments From The Inner Sphere.At the time he never says the show or show's by name

-Jordan K. Weisman
The BattleTech game, supplements, scenarios, and other related fictional products are all offshoots of an idea that came to me in 1984, when my own imagination was captured by the strong images that the Japanese had created for their animated television series featuring huge, walking battle machines. Though the graphics for these man-like and insect-like monoliths were fantastic, the Japanese storylines still left my Western mind unsatisfied. And so I set off to create my own fictional universe where men used fearsome. 10- or 12-meter tall monsters of destruction called BattleMechs to carry their endless struggles for domination across the stars.

[Pht]

Hayden... would you be the Hayden from KD in mw4?

[BattleMasterAtlas45]

Ah, I see I guess Macross is the more dominant influence to Battletech. Surprised me though I'll admit.

[Sitting Lyra]

I believe FASA did not step on Gundam because Bandai had a repulation of having one of (still standing) nasty legal department for a toy/entertainment group.

What FASA did do was take some of the names from Sunraise (owned by Bandai) other series just for the heck of it (grey death legion anyone?)

The folks that did Macross actually gave the okay to FASA to used their designs.... and of course, Harmony-gold didn't like that at all.

[Holmes]

I'm sure it influenced it in the "big robots are popular" sense, but not directly in style.

If anything, the mechs of BattleTech remind me of regular mobile suits and the military craft, not the insane space Angels we call Gundams.

[ice trey]

Well, I can say for sure that Battletech did not draw anything from the Gundam series.

Many people tend to liken Battletech to Macross, if only because Macross is the only of the three that they're familiar with, but personally, I've always felt that Battletech is most heavily inspired by Dougram

Consider that

• Dougram Robots are slower, more sluggish.
  
• Dougram Robots jump, but don't fly
  
• Dougram is a story rife with political intrigue, as well as military actions
  
• Dougram starts out with the team conducting small-scale raids for supplies, eventually leading up to conquering the planet.

While the Macross designs were the most popular of the unseen, by far, Dougram was the real inspiration that set the tone of the Battletech universe. I'd suggest it to anyone that likes the succession wars.

What I would say, though, is that there were some common traits between the Clan Invasion and Macross worth noting

• Macross has an invasion by an advanced warrior race intent on conquering earth
  
• Macross has said ultra-advanced raiders be gimped when their naivety is used against them.

I'd initially watched Macross to get a feel for Battletech's roots (As well as dougram and crusher joe), but while Crusher Joe has nearly nothing to do with Battletech, Macross is quite distant as well, with most of the designs that were ludicrously popular in Battletech being treated like footnotes in Macross, anyway. It's really hard for me to see how so many people can claim that Battletech is primarily inspired by Macross, when 90% of Macross combat took place in space - in fighter mode, no less.


Why they never made a Macross OAV about Destroid users (Rather than the constant Battroid shows) is beyond me, but to be quite honest, based on how great Dougram was, I'd all the sooner prefer seeing an animation studio revisit the Dougram series.

Edited by ice trey, 07 December 2011 - 11:05 PM.

[Holmes]

If there was ever a Gundam game with the level of nerd-detail-simulation that MechWarrior has, I would cream my pants. Unfortunately, I think the market is too small for it to ever happen.

[Anthony Kufahl]

Saurok, on 07 December 2011 - 12:50 AM, said:

What?


Anyway. There are some things which are similar to other mecha series.
And 08th MS Team had very similar mech combat compared to Battletech.
But at the end, Battletech is far from common Gundam or other anime.


And that is Zaku for you
http://www.sarna.net...%28Peregrine%29

not a whole lot of zaku in there i think closer to Dark Army suits from Mobile Fighter G Gundam

[Huntsman]

I believe in fact BT was Gungan inspired

[url=

Gungan says: "mesa think anime robots are even more stupider than me!"

edit: *** is up with posting images on this forum?

Edited by Huntsman, 08 December 2011 - 03:12 PM.

[Brenden]

Here's what I remember, some of the early images and Miniatures from Technical Readout:3035 where from these series with their respected names:
Dougram:
Shadow Hawk - Dogram
Thunderbolt - Hastie
Macross:
Marauder - Glaug
Warhammer - Destroid Tomahawk
Crusher Joe:
Locust.

[Holmes]

Huntsman, on 08 December 2011 - 03:11 PM, said:

Gungan says: "mesa think anime robots are even more stupider than me!"

....Anime robots are "stupid." What the hell? Where do you think your precious game even came from (inspiration design wise.)

[Ran Ito]

I'm sure all forms of mecha were used as source material for Battletech in some shape or form.

That said though Battletech mechs tend to be of the 'lumbering stompy type' as opposed to the 'nimbly dance around dodging everything type'.

[Karyudo ds]

ice trey, on 07 December 2011 - 11:01 PM, said:

Well, I can say for sure that Battletech did not draw anything from the Gundam series.

Battletech specifically not so much... but consider the following.

http://www.sarna.net...ile:Ryoken2.PNG Gundam/GM Ground type shields are on BOTH forearms. The Panther and Centurion had them over their back mounted jump jets (Gundam had lots of backpacks too...)

Dark Age Spider While not as obvious the fang things flanking the cockpit and forearms are dragons from one of the Gundam Wing suits and if you can find a picture of it the back of the Arbalest and I think the Ryoken II have what look oddly like the backpacks the GM's had in the original series.


Not Battletech but DarkAge blatantly ripped off bits and pieces of various Gundam series. Apparently Jorden has trouble finding artists with much creativity

But yes otherwise it was a few Macross designs, mostly Dougram ones and a couple Crusher Joe ones. I didn't thing Big West ever gave anyone permission to use Macross, not even Harmony Gold, but one of the companies that helped make Macross assumed they had the rights to sell the IP to anyone they wanted. That was in the Japanese courts till 2001ish. Overall I wouldn't call anime much of an influence as the art was blatantly just ripped off as if they didn't think this internet thing would catch on. On that note you should go watch Dougram off Youtube. Granted there may have been some actual licensing but I mean if they managed to somehow license X-Wings a bunch of Starwars guys would have been screaming for their heads anyway

[Mason Grimm]

(peaks in just to make sure everyone is behaving themselves as it looks like this one could get heated)

[Huntsman]

Holmes, on 08 December 2011 - 03:34 PM, said:

....Anime robots are "stupid." What the hell? Where do you think your precious game even came from (inspiration design wise.)

I don't know where the idea with Battletech started (nor I suspect, do you), but I can tell you that I'm thankful that anime robots are not where the game has gone.

Any modern incarnation of the game in the last 15 years has done an amazing job of making mechs "realistic", heavily armored walking tanks as they should be in my mind.

By and large they avoid hands and completely avoid melee combat. They've thrown that sleek non-functional look into the garbage pail and adopted the look of something that actually appears combat worthy.

If you want kartate robots this would be the wrong game.

[Seventy Times 7]

I think you'll find this page instructive on influences in Battletech. http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Unseen

[Kenyon Burguess]

both east and west entertainment has been borrowed. but thats what makes it great. battletech is really just a game of numbers written in tons and slots on paper. but when it comes to pictures of the mechs and how players imagine themselves, everything great about giant mechs can be used. at the end of the day, 20 tons, 2 machine guns and a medium laser can look like anything...or something crusher joe tinkered with.

[Huntsman]

Seventy Times 7, on 10 December 2011 - 05:10 PM, said:

I think you'll find this page instructive on influences in Battletech. http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Unseen

I knew about the unseen but was unaware they were the very first mechs used by BT. Thanks for helping me understand why the artwork on sarna is largely a pile of poo. Glad to see the game have matured beyond its roots.

I was initially leary of this game due to time in which its set. The mechs universally looked terrible save for a couple of more war machine looking ones like the Warhammer. The artists of MW:O have done a masterful job however of redisigning these old machines.

[Slepnir]

CBT was most classically influenced for borrowed designs by
macross for -
.warhammer
.rifleman
.archer
.stinger
.wasp
.pheonix hawk
.marauder

dougram-fang of the sun for
.battlemaster
.shadow hawk
.griffin
.goliath
.thunderbolt
.wolverine

the locust came fromt he crusher joe movie.