52 replies to this topic

[El Bandito]

I'm just playing D.Va, and getting stomped.

[Anjian]

Long time ago, this is how the Golden Age of Mecha started, and with it, the Golden Age of Anime.

Exactly 45 years ago, it started with this anime/cartoon, first broadcast in Japan.



This show became a runaway hit. It was the like the Dragon Ball Z and Naruto of that era. It spawned sequels and side-quels, including other super robots from Go Nagai's imagination.





And spawned more robots series one after another till it dominated the decade, including gems like...



The increasing sophistication of the shows also paved way to other science fiction shows that show elaborate mechanical and technological design.






Such shows would pave the way to Gundam, Macross, and even to shows more familiar in the US, such as Voltron and the Transformers.

This year, Mazinger Z celebrates its 45 year anniversary with a movie currently on works. The Granddaddy of all stompy giant robots returns.

http://us.blastingne...-001436803.html

Edited by Anjian, 22 February 2017 - 07:05 AM.

[Alan Davion]

Bishop Steiner, on 21 February 2017 - 07:31 PM, said:

Starblazers (as us muricans knew it)

The people that own the Starblazers license did a "Starblazers 2199" after the recent Yamato 2199 series, but literally the only thing they did was change the subtitles so that instead of "Yamato", you saw "Argo", while the spoken dialogue still said "Yamato", and there are a hundred other places throughout the series where "Yamato" is emblazoned in BIG FAT LETTERS, especially up in the captain's cabin.

Starblazers died after the english dub as far as I'm concerned.

You're better off sticking with the official Japanese releases these days.

That said, the second season, Yamato 2201, should be coming out this year I think? Last I heard the "movie" versions start in March, and the actual "episodic series" starts around December.

[MeiSooHaityu]

razenWing, on 21 February 2017 - 07:22 PM, said:

Why does everyone clamor for Battletech? You guys realize that it's turn-base game right? Like you are literally NOT playing a stompy robbit. It's for people that like to play the tabletop game and/or enjoy the lore (and that last bit is questionable, as BT has one of the weakest cliche story of all science fiction genre)

It's appeal will be larger than just table top fans. Of coure it won't appeal to pure FPS fans, but if you were a fan of the MechCommander series or liked the mechanics of games like XCom or Front Mission (another mech turn based game), then I think a lot of enjoyment will be had with the new Battletech game.

As for a weak and cliche story, I disagree with you there.

[Anjian]

If the look of this show seems familiar its because its by Leiji Matsumoto, who did Space Battleship Yamato, Galaxy Express 999 and Captain Harlock.



Yoshiyuki Tomino also worked on these series, before moving on to what became Gundam.

Directed


Contributed

[MeiSooHaityu]

Bilbo, on 21 February 2017 - 08:36 PM, said:

No idea. MWLL, for instance, holds no interest for me.

+1

I installed it a few weeks ago, tried it several times, and I just never got into it. It is a bit too unpolished (JJing through buildings, stuck on terrain, etc...), has some design choices I am not a fan of (radar is a bit funky, mechs handle very sluggish), and suffers from some of the same problems I had with Crysis multiplayer (creates a widening divide between better players and lesser players as the match goes on).

I think it is worth it for people to try because, hey why not! Still, it really didn't appeal to me.

[rolly]

cazidin, on 21 February 2017 - 06:44 PM, said:

So, realistically, anyone could make a game about giant robots and if it was competently made, it'd be successful?

Perhaps. Its not like Hawken lasted very long though. Heavy Gear 1 & 2 did a fair job competing with MW2, Armoured Core did well but its not on the same platform.

[Almond Brown]

cazidin, on 21 February 2017 - 06:07 PM, said:

Battletech looks pretty good, yeah. That's coming out in March?

BattleTech Beta Countdown

[rolly]

MeiSooHaityu, on 22 February 2017 - 07:33 AM, said:

I think it is worth it for people to try because, hey why not! Still, it really didn't appeal to me.

I agree its worth a try. Its certainly a different take on MW. I do like the active/passive and the maps are much more open with better immersion. Something MWO has suffered from the beginning. There is actual basic info/warfare in MWLL that does add depth and the objectives are believable.

Even then the intent as a Community project is a refreshing change from the used car salesman approach I'm so used to seeing here.

Edited by rolly, 22 February 2017 - 08:08 AM.

[rolly]

Bilbo, on 21 February 2017 - 06:16 PM, said:

A limited Beta on the 15th of March.

They have no more competition now or in the near future than they had when they released MWO. Battletech is a completely different type of game and MWLL was around before they even started working on MWO.

For the sake of discussion I'd argue against that.

Many of MWO's strongest supporters are ardent Battletech fans, and MWO has its roots in Battletech. It certainly makes MWO's title of "Thinking man's" game laughable because the IP is back to its roots for a wider audience. So will MWO have competition, I argue yes, some if not many will play BT for what MWO lacks and continues to fail to deliver. Reasons may vary but if you're not getting full satisfaction why not go with a fresh pure BT experience if you're a BT/MW fan. Especially if you don't mind stepping away from the CoD twitch gaming FPS.

MWLL was around for some time, but I still think its a viable alternative to MWO.
Hell, they have realistic objectives, reasonable map design, greater depth of play, and variety. These are problems that have plagued MWO since day 1. MWLL addressed these issues back in 2009. Its telling.

Put another way, HBS achieved all their backer objectives. How much has PGI achieved after its initial promised outlined objectives? I'd say that's competition.

Edited by rolly, 22 February 2017 - 08:22 AM.

[C E Dwyer]

razenWing, on 21 February 2017 - 07:22 PM, said:

Why does everyone clamor for Battletech? You guys realize that it's turn-base game right? Like you are literally NOT playing a stompy robbit. It's for people that like to play the tabletop game and/or enjoy the lore (and that last bit is questionable, as BT has one of the weakest cliche story of all science fiction genre)

Because it'll take more brains to play maybe.

In M.W.O to be good you need situation awareness, and to be quick on the finger, and have the equipment, to have the game run fast.

Battle tech, you'll need tactical awareness at higher levels to be good at it, which you don't need here.

Also in the campaign game you'll need to be able to plan your overheads, know which are the correct contracts to take, and have a mind that can think beyond oh look a bad guy lets shoot it.

The campaign game for battle tech has everything that P.G.I said would be in Faction Warfare here, which they now try to claim they never said, was going to be part of it.

While the facts are on the interwebs, clearly demonstrate Bryan Ekman standing on a stage during P.G.I's launch party telling everyone these things that P.G.I now say are false, if the exchange between Russ and Bombadil at the last round table is not part of Trumps fake news.

H.B.S deliver, P.G.I don't that's why people are excited by its launch this year.

El Bandito, on 21 February 2017 - 11:13 PM, said:

I'm just playing D.Va, and getting stomped.

Albatross D.Va ?

[Valdarion Silarius]

rolly, on 21 February 2017 - 04:49 PM, said:

Hello all,

Does anyone else feel that perhaps we are entering a new age of Stompy Robbits?

Back when I was a kid, you had Voltron, Transformers, Godzilla (with stompy robbits fighting him) then Macross/Robotech. As computers came into their own, then came Mechwarrior, Crescent Hawks's Inception, MW2, MechCommander. I would argue that this Age ended with MW4 and Mech Assault, and Harmony Gold/Tomy and the end of FASA.

Certainly, MWO started things with many promises then led us on a merry wallet milking for 4 years. NOW, we the consumers of BT/Mecha/Stompy Robbits are entering a new age of choice. Heck even Battletech is back with HBS and Classic Battletech.

In less than a month Battletech will be in Beta and those of us who are more "hardcore" and craving lore will undoubtedly be driven to this new and more concise version to the BT lore many of us are drawn to. PGI's endgame promise play is to cast the lure of MW5 and see how many of us bite and keep being lead on with the promise of stompy mechs. I see their next step is to ramp up development of MWO and then when their is a slump in demographic to BT or otherwise, then make the port of MWO to the MW5 engine as interest wanes. If all else fails develop faster than the past 4 years, and revisit the forum wish list.

On the other end of the spectrum we have the freeware MW:LL which offers a "home grown" true free-to-play alternative to MWO. However long it will be developed or if it will see a resurgence is anyone's guess. Its still an interesting alternative and viable alternative to get the fix.

Now we even have the return of Voltron, "Transformers" a la Michael Bay and even Pacific Rim, to support our love of the big robots in media.

I think this year will be really interesting because now PGI can no longer rest on its laurels.
Anyone else think the recent developments in media, gaming and table top point to this?

How much do you think PGI will deliver in terms of original promises made now that it literally has real stiff competition?

Do you think its coincidence that they're rolling in a time advance to 3068 now and doing things like engine/mobility cap removal now after years of forum postings wanting for such things to happen?

Now we as consumers actually have more media and actual choice for our love of stompy robbits. Hence at Mechcon we got the MW5 pitch and sharing of resources with HBS.

Does anyone else see that we are entering a new golden age of mecha to feed our stompy robbit fix? Agree or disagree?

For Mecha in the media? Probably. For Battletech/Mechwarrior? I'm gonna say no since is still a niche franchise. Voltron, Transformers, and Pacific Rim even though involve "giant stompy robots" as everyone put it is still drastically different from Mechwarrior and Battletech. These titles marketed themselves well to the public hence why everyone knows about them. I think if the current IP holders of the Battletech license would advertise better (cough cough PGI) and took the time to put more lore into the game, then I'm almost certain it would take off in the public.

When someone asks me what Battletech/Mechwarrior is all about I simply just tell them "Think about Game of Thrones in outer space." That sparks ALOT of interest since Game of Thrones is a well known title that people can relate to. If I were to say to them "It's about futuristic warfare that involves giant pilotable robots with very in depth lore" then that might create a quick loss of interest for most.

PGI is losing hard, or just doesn't care about how much more money that they could be making if they took the energy to advertise what Battletech is all about. Instead they rely on simply putting their product on steam and not featuring it, disgruntled vets and justifiably angry supporters not spreading the title due to word of mouth, and hopes that MW5 won't be a disaster when it's released? Let's not forget the failed crowd funded merchandise that was way overpriced for most people.



TL:DR Mecha in the media might gain in popularity. Battletech/Mechwarrior will probably not unless a new IP holder takes over the franchise.

Edited by Arnold The Governator, 22 February 2017 - 08:56 AM.

[MeiSooHaityu]

rolly, on 22 February 2017 - 08:07 AM, said:

I agree its worth a try. Its certainly a different take on MW. I do like the active/passive and the maps are much more open with better immersion. Something MWO has suffered from the beginning. There is actual basic info/warfare in MWLL that does add depth and the objectives are believable.

Even then the intent as a Community project is a refreshing change from the used car salesman approach I'm so used to seeing here.

With the radar, I don't out right hate it, but I don't love it either. It's ok.

The large maps are nice though.

[MeiSooHaityu]

rolly, on 22 February 2017 - 07:41 AM, said:

Perhaps. Its not like Hawken lasted very long though. Heavy Gear 1 & 2 did a fair job competing with MW2, Armoured Core did well but its not on the same platform.

Around the MW2 era there was also Metaltech's Earthsiege (1 & 2) by Dynamix. Good games in their own right. I would classify it as Terminator with mechs (the whole genocidal A.I. trying to destroy humanity thing).

Battledrome (also Dynamix) was a good mech game. It has A.I. bots, but it was really made to be a multiplayer title over LAN.

They were both fun MechWarrior alternatives for their time.

[jonfett]

rolly, on 21 February 2017 - 04:49 PM, said:

Does anyone else see that we are entering a new golden age of mecha to feed our stompy robbit fix? Agree or disagree?

You forgot the resurgence in the Battletech books we are also seeing. The old books are getting both reprinted and made into epubs, while we are getting new books from M Stackpole (HBS Battletech) and the new story about the Minnesota tribe (which is turning out to be a good read so far).

WOLVERINES!!

Anjian, on 21 February 2017 - 07:15 PM, said:

A stompy robot revival is still a big question mark in PC.

But on mobile, and I will keep on telling you people, you have a new big contender.

https://play.google....xonic.wwr&hl=en

WWR came out about 2 or so years ago, so not exactly new, but it has been growing its player base and getting constant new updates. One issue with the game I have, is I maxed out my workshop tier (15) and player tier (30) a year ago, so the grind became really stale to me.

[Bilbo]

rolly, on 22 February 2017 - 08:21 AM, said:

For the sake of discussion I'd argue against that.

Many of MWO's strongest supporters are ardent Battletech fans, and MWO has its roots in Battletech. It certainly makes MWO's title of "Thinking man's" game laughable because the IP is back to its roots for a wider audience. So will MWO have competition, I argue yes, some if not many will play BT for what MWO lacks and continues to fail to deliver. Reasons may vary but if you're not getting full satisfaction why not go with a fresh pure BT experience if you're a BT/MW fan. Especially if you don't mind stepping away from the CoD twitch gaming FPS.

MWLL was around for some time, but I still think its a viable alternative to MWO.
Hell, they have realistic objectives, reasonable map design, greater depth of play, and variety. These are problems that have plagued MWO since day 1. MWLL addressed these issues back in 2009. Its telling.

Put another way, HBS achieved all their backer objectives. How much has PGI achieved after its initial promised outlined objectives? I'd say that's competition.

Like I said, Battletech is a completely different type of game. If I want to personally shoot big stompy robots, Battletech does not allow me to do that. I'm not even going to get into MWLL. That dead horse was beaten into a pile mush long ago.

[Appogee]

razenWing, on 21 February 2017 - 07:22 PM, said:

Why does everyone clamor for Battletech? You guys realize that it's turn-base game right? Like you are literally NOT playing a stompy robbit.

XCom 2 shows just how enjoyable turn-based games can be.

The robots are still stompy, incidentally. You are just looking at them from much further away.

[Skrapha]

Does anyone know how to get into the Battletech beta? Will it be closed and invite only?

[Bilbo]

Skrapha, on 22 February 2017 - 09:41 AM, said:

Does anyone know how to get into the Battletech beta? Will it be closed and invite only?

Open to backers of a certain level($50).
https://community.ba...ms/threads/2953

[MeiSooHaityu]

Skrapha, on 22 February 2017 - 09:41 AM, said:

Does anyone know how to get into the Battletech beta? Will it be closed and invite only?

The Battletech Beta is a closed Beta with a target date to go live on March 15th. You can still get into the Beta through the Battletech Backer kit page (https://battletech.b...preorders/75904) and purchasing the MechWarrior - Reinforcements Package ($60) which also comes with the full version of the game on release, a novel, and a custom Atlas color/camo scheme I believe.




The Beta is distributed exclusively through Steam, but the final release can be distributed through your choice of Steam, GoG, and I think a couple others (forgot what they are).

There are some other lower price pre-order packages, but they do not come with Beta access.

Also, the Beta is allowed to be streamed and photos taken, so if you decide to pass on the Beta, there will still be coverage of the Beta to look into.