11 replies to this topic

[simon1812]

what happened?

[pattonesque]

sometimes games will change during the course of development

[Bud Crue]

I remember the trailer, etc. but I remember it being for MW-5 in like 2008 or 2009 (I'm not looking it up), not MWO. PGI and IGP maybe guilty of mismanaging expectations, reaching beyond their means at the time, etc. but I don't recall that trailer ever being used as an advertisement for MWO such as is indicated. Perhaps I am misremembering.

[Tarl Cabot]

That was the original MW5 trailer 15 years ago. A proof of concept but they could not obtain the capital, and the use of the Warhammer. PGI/IGP then ended up crowdfunded Mechwarrior Online via the Founder's Program. $5 million was raised to get it started, which was the vehicle used to eventually obtain the backing and generate funds for MW5+ series.

https://www.gamedeve...out-kickstarter

Quote

IGP president Kelly Zmak, a veteran game developer and former president of Radical Entertainment, adds, "We've sold over 70,000 Founder's packages. The basic demographics were 35 percent at the $30-dollar level, 30 percent at the $60-dollar level, and the remainder at the $120 level." He says that founders are split between younger action fans and older players, some of whom have been fans of the franchise since the 1980s.

Edited by Tarl Cabot, 15 April 2025 - 05:36 PM.

[w0qj]

==>Remember the original MechCommander? Its own video when before the game started shows AI lancemates being commanded by a "waypoint" system (go to A, then turn to . That was never implemented into MechCommander 1. Never.
Unfortunately these kind of things happen in games.

- - - - - - - - - -
I joined MWO specifically because of this video!
I thought that an Atlas that can destroy a building by plowing through it to surprise enemy mech was very cool!

~Still somewhat miffed that this feature never made it through...

Bud Crue, on 15 April 2025 - 01:55 PM, said:

I remember the trailer, etc. but I remember it being for MW-5 in like 2008 or 2009 (I'm not looking it up), not MWO. PGI and IGP maybe guilty of mismanaging expectations, reaching beyond their means at the time, etc. but I don't recall that trailer ever being used as an advertisement for MWO such as is indicated. Perhaps I am misremembering.

[LordNothing]

marketing, nothing more.

[a 5 year old with an Uzi]

I kind of hate that UI/HUD.

Edited by a 5 year old with an Uzi, 15 April 2025 - 08:59 PM.

[Ilfi]

This was a VERY old teaser by (IIRC) Smith & Tinker that they peddled around while looking for a publisher for (what they were hoping would be) MechWarrior 5. At the time, MechWarrior 4 was still reasonably fresh in our memories, so a direct sequel was logical to aim for. I believe they were planning to have the story revolve around a young prince getting embroiled in the Succession Wars? Regardless, because it was strictly a vertical slice cinematic, all they needed to sell the idea was a Warhammer, Jenner, Atlas, basic HUD elements and a few destructible buildings.

As you can tell, this pitched version of MechWarrior 5 never came to fruition. Instead, the IP was sold off and CryTek and PGI used what interest they had to build MWO-- with a whopping three maps and four Mechs (the original Forest Colony no longer existing). A lot has changed since then, notably the lack of gyro overload/falling over, the game swapping from 8v8 to 12v12, and Mechs becoming cube-ified whenever you add a weapon (despite how gaudy it looks), among other things.

It's a small shame that we never got the old Succession Wars story that was originally pitched, but MWO's cult success is the only reason we got A MW5 at all-- even if the story, game design and graphical fidelity is completely different.

[Saved By The Bell]

Reality is turned to broken arcade, and you can shoot in shutdown moth with uac20+2 errp PPC, and shoot again uac20+2 err PPC, and all hitting, and moth power up and alive, and you dead.

Edited by Saved By The Bell, 15 April 2025 - 11:09 PM.

[Davegt27]

PGI was always good at there marketing videos

I still wonder where does smith and tinker end and PGI begin

[Gasboy]

Davegt27, on 15 April 2025 - 11:45 PM, said:

PGI was always good at there marketing videos

I still wonder where does smith and tinker end and PGI begin

When S&T failed to secure funding for MW5, they sold the rights to the license to PGI. PGI created MWO. There's a pretty solid line between the two.

[East Indy]

Very Steel Battalion. But as others have said, it's an elevator pitch, not a game.

MWO may've been broken from the start but it's had an incredible commercial run. And I'm confident most of that longevity is from how Russ & co's love for the franchise resonates with players.