483 replies to this topic

[hoax]

Paladin1, on 27 January 2012 - 12:59 PM, said:

Exactly, the Clanners have this `Mech look thing down...



...except when they don't.

Please don't make me whip out the 3055TRO...

Hey, even genetically bred, super soldiers can't always get it right

[CoffiNail]

Hey you leave my Incubus alone. That thing was damned fun during MW2GBL

[Paladin1]

hoax, on 27 January 2012 - 01:15 PM, said:

Hey, even genetically bred, super soldiers can't always get it right

True, they usually get it right...



...well, almost always...



...okay, most of the time...



...dear God in Heaven, what have they done?!?!?



I warned you against me whipping out the 3055 TRO...

[The Count]

Hey guys...wow...I realize that certain Mechs have hands...like the Dragon I like that Idea. I want it to stay true to the TT as close as possible. I was just making an example that I dig the art from that manual more than the Dragon they have gone with. Thats All...LOL

[Arbalister]

Paladin1, on 27 January 2012 - 01:11 PM, said:

Actually I don't think it's that. The newer "look" had more to do with how the early models were generated and put into production by Ral Partha.

Yeah, there's that too.

[Yogibear24]

MW4 mechs are waaaaaay different looking than gundams.

I was huge gundam wing fan back then. (Gundam Heavyarms was the best!)

Besides, I liked the style of MW4 mechs, they seemed very modernized.

I think the people who are working on MWO are doing professional designs, similar to MW4 mechs.

They do not look like gundams at all. They look like Battletech mechs.

Which is why I also don't understand how there was some controversy with robotech.

Their mechs can transform, fight with swords, and look like gundams.

They aren't even similar to MW mechs except for the name, "mechs." lol

[Paladin1]

I have my own theories about what happened with the whole Harmony Gold / FASA debacle but it would get me banned from ever using the interwebs again. It involves a Marauder, a Catapult, the MadCat and Rule 34, go figure it out yourself.

[Grithis]

As a reply to not liking humanoid mechs or hands in general, here's this. Battlemechs are designed to be the ultimate all terrain vehicle. They can operate under water, in space, in any climate conditions. They're capable of going across almost any terrain imaginable, climbing mountains, traversing jungles and deserts, etc. The humanoid form is the most versatile form possible to fit these needs.

Now, to address the "Rock star mohawk". For those of you out there that don't know the BT lore, mech factories in general aren't extensions of the military. They're private corporations, much like Ford and Chevy are today. How many car designs nowadays are absolutely rediculous looking? And while most mechs are in house military service, private military and even Solaris VII and Galatea arena fights are also considerations.

People need to stop connecting "I don't like it!", with "It's not realistic!"


P.S.- Also, people are shouting "Anime alert!" all over the place just because it's got giant robots in it. From bulky and clumsy looking, to sleek and streamlined, anime has had robots that run the gamut in it at some point. This accusation is pretty childish.

[hoax]

Paladin1, on 27 January 2012 - 01:23 PM, said:

True, they usually get it right...



...well, almost always...



...okay, most of the time...



...dear God in Heaven, what have they done?!?!?



I warned you against me whipping out the 3055 TRO...

Forgive me for being a product of the MW2 generation and not having a solid grasp of the "history".

Edit: I think most of the incongruities comes from the fact that all of this is based on something that was created in the 80's. Of course what was dreamt of then is going to look crazy to us.

Edited by hoax, 27 January 2012 - 01:47 PM.

[Robert Knight]

the mass of the 3025 mech are anime in style. thats what time period they have chosen. so most of the mechs you see will be that style.

[Tsen Shang]

CoffiNail, on 27 January 2012 - 01:03 PM, said:

Given how big the Atlas is, I'm pretty sure there's an orphanage's worth of blood on that street lamp he's holding.

[Paladin1]

Not a big deal really, it was just an excuse to post some `MechPr0n, ya know?

[Paladin1]

Tsen Shang, on 27 January 2012 - 01:46 PM, said:

Given how big the Atlas is, I'm pretty sure there's an orphanage's worth of blood on that street lamp he's holding.

Considering that they're Bronies, is that really a bad thing?

[Zakatak]

Tsen Shang, on 27 January 2012 - 01:46 PM, said:

Given how big the Atlas is, I'm pretty sure there's an orphanage's worth of blood on that street lamp he's holding.

A Brony orphanage.

Justice is served.

[Paladin1]

hoax, on 27 January 2012 - 01:45 PM, said:

Edit: I think most of the incongruities comes from the fact that all of this is based on something that was created in the 80's. Of course what was dreamt of then is going to look crazy to us.

I hate to do this, but the 3055TRO that all of these pictures came from was published in 1992. That was also the year that Ral Partha finally put their foot down as far as trying to make sculpts of minis. There's still minis from that TRO that didn't get made because of this, unlike the others since then.

The real problem though is that FASA was still using Victor Musical Industries and Studio Nue for their designs. I've been told that neither of those groups were ever allowed to work on the Battletech line again after that point.

Edited by Paladin1, 27 January 2012 - 02:04 PM.

[Semyon Drakon]

Paladin1, on 27 January 2012 - 11:21 AM, said:

Honestly? I've wondered that for literally decades and have never heard a legitimate answer given. I haven't got a clue.

Actually the way fallen mechs get up in the animations on mechcommander do it well. If you cycle the gyro and use your neurohelmet you can get the mech pitching sideways and it will roll onto its feet, provided you have enough undamaged leg actuators to support the weight.

Semyon

[KingCobra]

To be honest to the OP of this post the new Centurion is so much better than any incarnation of this mech by anyone so far.In some ways not to dissuade you from your opinions but your trolling.

[Marauder3D]

Semyon Drakon, on 27 January 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

Actually the way fallen mechs get up in the animations on mechcommander do it well. If you cycle the gyro and use your neurohelmet you can get the mech pitching sideways and it will roll onto its feet, provided you have enough undamaged leg actuators to support the weight.

Semyon

Look at a Stalker. I still don't see that working.

But yeah, as an in-universe explanation, its at least approaching plausible.

http://www.solaris7....%20Stalker1.jpg

[Dakkonn]

I'm pretty sure he is trolling. If not then why bother arguing with him? You'll get a better discussion from a cat.

[Planerunner]

For any newcomers to the BT universe, THIS thread is what typical BT fans are like. That's a compliment BTW. See, there ain't no making an omelette without breaking a few eggs. Nerdrage and trolling (as distasteful as they can be) on BT forums are typical and a sign of an active community.

As Emperor Palpatine once said, 'GOOD, GOOD!'

The reason for this complex disagreement is rather simple. The battletech fanbase is very fractured and spreadout. One point to remember about hands/no hands, and gundam versus realistic . . . Battletech is almost 30 years old (started in '84). Since then, there have been several waves of 'art' that were layered in as the game progressed, declined, died, resurrected, died, resurrected, ad nauseum. I mean, you could write a college dissertation on the history of BT's TRO art alone (nevermind the novels, et al).

So blanket generalizations WILL create general disagreement as a matter of course. Battletech has pockets of fandom that jumped on at different times, through different products, for VERY different reasons. Example, there are still a handful of people who are fans of the old 90's cartoon and want to ignore the tabletop game completely. There are tabletop fans that want to ignore the cartoon like it was a bad dream. There are likely as more types of fans than there are World of Warcraft factions. That is the background problem ANY developer of ANY Battletech game is going to face on ANY project. It comes with the territory.

Piranha took the art quality of a TRO cover (technical readout manual, for you non-tabletop fans), put it on steroids, and plugged it into Mechwarrior. If you are going to do a quality revamp of Battletech, this was a great way to do it. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Even if this game disappoints or just plain fails (its happened before), the artwork alone will be a welcome addition to the universe. I hope it spreads over to the tabletop game and unifies both general sets of fans. More people might become interested in the table top game if there is a unified art style.

My 2 cents:
(FYI, if you want to see where some of the design ques for this Centurion MIGHT come from, go look at the Jihad TRO mechs for the Word of Blake. Especially the Seraph and the Malak. We may see more coming.)

(FYI, I like the WoB mechs visual design, too. They seem to be inspired by Front Mission, which are akin to Japan's version of Battletech stompy mechs. Front Mission is well known in Japan, but VERY hard to find in the states, much like Robotech/Macross back in the day. Out of 11 titles, a grand total of 3 were made for the US, including a 4th nintendo DS title. These mechs also veer toward more 'realism' than far out Gundam designs. Which is ironic, since Gundam is considered the originator of the 'Real' robot genre [Gundam, Votoms, Macross], instead of being considered Super Robots (Sūpā Robotto) [Great Mazinger, Gigantor, etc). Battletech has far more in common with Gundam than you might think at first glance.

TL:DR - Making art that Battletech fans will agree on (let alone like) is like herding cats. The new art should help unify all these different fan groups to some degree, due to the quality, if nothing else.