483 replies to this topic

[Two Hands]

WhirlpoolBrewer, on 27 January 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

I've been playing the computer games since Mech Warrior 2, and I have always preferred mechs that don't remind me of gundams... like alomst every inner sphere mech does. I prefer the war simulation side of it all, not the arcade Mech Assault meets Gundamwing thing that most inner sphere mechs scream. Nobody can claim that they want Mech Warrior to be more sim than Mech Assault was and like mechs with hands. For pete sake the last mech to come out had a Mohawk. It looks like instead of shooting me, he is going to pull a guitar out and play heavy metal rock.

There are respectable Inner Sphere mechs out there that I'm praying they come out with. I'm happy to hear about the catapult, and I really hope they put the uziel in as well. There are acceptable mechs on the Inner Sphere side, but whenever a mech with hands comes out everyone just gets all excited about it, and my hope for a good mech warrior game drops a little more.

Don't get me wrong I still plan on playing it, specially when Clan mechs become available, but until then its just a little depressing. Heres to hoping for less 50 ton jokes and more 50 ton machines of war.

I'm all with OP here. In my eyes the 'Mechs are walking tanks. They should have this gritty, tanky feeling to them. I dislike the Japanese design of robots, extreme colours, Katana wielding, humanoid looking robots.

It's kinda hard to explain but the the Awesome, Thor, Atlas, Mauler, Vulture, Shadowcat, Uziel and Catapult looks all fine to me but then we come to the 'Mechs like Wolfhound and the Goshawk http://browse.devian...letech#/d3218ll.

Well I don't know. I just feel like the immersion broke.

[Max OConnor]

lahyenne, on 16 March 2012 - 03:46 PM, said:

Uh if we're just throwing around artwork here, I've got some more FD stuff:

A MACKIE! HEGEMONY STRONG!





Mr. Iglesias is the best thing to happen to BattleTech in a long time.

Where did you find the Mackie pic?

[mockingfox]

WhirlpoolBrewer, on 27 January 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

I've been playing the computer games since Mech Warrior 2, and I have always preferred mechs that don't remind me of gundams... like alomst every inner sphere mech does. I prefer the war simulation side of it all, not the arcade Mech Assault meets Gundamwing thing that most inner sphere mechs scream. Nobody can claim that they want Mech Warrior to be more sim than Mech Assault was and like mechs with hands. For pete sake the last mech to come out had a Mohawk. It looks like instead of shooting me, he is going to pull a guitar out and play heavy metal rock.

There are respectable Inner Sphere mechs out there that I'm praying they come out with. I'm happy to hear about the catapult, and I really hope they put the uziel in as well. There are acceptable mechs on the Inner Sphere side, but whenever a mech with hands comes out everyone just gets all excited about it, and my hope for a good mech warrior game drops a little more.

Don't get me wrong I still plan on playing it, specially when Clan mechs become available, but until then its just a little depressing. Heres to hoping for less 50 ton jokes and more 50 ton machines of war.

you are not alone

[Moosehead]

Quote

So... FASA "acquired" the rights to the images from another company (this "TCI") that (allegedly) "acquired" them from the company that helped fund Macross (this "Tatsunoko") in exchange for "various rights" (including the ability to sub-license, the ability to collect royalties, and author's rights)?

Back in the mid '80s, Twentieth Century Imports was a distributor to get Japanese sci-fi(really wasn't flagged as anime back then) model kits here in the USA, like Star Blazers, and the Crusher Joe and Mospeada stuff too.

really hard to get, otherwise, like know somebody in Japan and have them ship back APO

Edited by Moosehead, 19 March 2012 - 05:30 PM.

[Paladin1]

WhirlpoolBrewer, on 27 January 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

I've been playing the computer games since Mech Warrior 2, and I have always preferred mechs that don't remind me of gundams... like alomst every inner sphere mech does. I prefer the war simulation side of it all, not the arcade Mech Assault meets Gundamwing thing that most inner sphere mechs scream. Nobody can claim that they want Mech Warrior to be more sim than Mech Assault was and like mechs with hands. For pete sake the last mech to come out had a Mohawk. It looks like instead of shooting me, he is going to pull a guitar out and play heavy metal rock.

There are respectable Inner Sphere mechs out there that I'm praying they come out with. I'm happy to hear about the catapult, and I really hope they put the uziel in as well. There are acceptable mechs on the Inner Sphere side, but whenever a mech with hands comes out everyone just gets all excited about it, and my hope for a good mech warrior game drops a little more.

Don't get me wrong I still plan on playing it, specially when Clan mechs become available, but until then its just a little depressing. Heres to hoping for less 50 ton jokes and more 50 ton machines of war.

To Quote from today's Dev Chat:

[EVAN][color=#CCCCCC] I’ve always wanted to work on robot games. I grew up with Macross, Gundams, Patlabors and other Japanese ‘mechs and always been fascinated with the details of the machines.[/color]



I guess that means the Depressing Mech Choices will continue. OH NOES, MECHWARRIOR IS RUINED!!!!1111!!!!!!!!

[Stone Profit]

maxoconnor, on 19 March 2012 - 10:24 AM, said:

Where did you find the Mackie pic?

Goto deviantart.com and search for battletech or mechwarrior for general art, or flying debris for Alex's art.

[AC]

WhirlpoolBrewer, on 27 January 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

I've been playing the computer games since Mech Warrior 2, and I have always preferred mechs that don't remind me of gundams... like alomst every inner sphere mech does. I prefer the war simulation side of it all, not the arcade Mech Assault meets Gundamwing thing that most inner sphere mechs scream. Nobody can claim that they want Mech Warrior to be more sim than Mech Assault was and like mechs with hands. For pete sake the last mech to come out had a Mohawk. It looks like instead of shooting me, he is going to pull a guitar out and play heavy metal rock.

There are respectable Inner Sphere mechs out there that I'm praying they come out with. I'm happy to hear about the catapult, and I really hope they put the uziel in as well. There are acceptable mechs on the Inner Sphere side, but whenever a mech with hands comes out everyone just gets all excited about it, and my hope for a good mech warrior game drops a little more.

Don't get me wrong I still plan on playing it, specially when Clan mechs become available, but until then its just a little depressing. Heres to hoping for less 50 ton jokes and more 50 ton machines of war.

You do realize that some of the mechs in MW4 were totally made up by Microsoft right? Uziel being one of them, and the Argus being the other. The Hellhound looks nothing like the Microsoft version and is actually huminoid as well.

[Hayashi]

If you don't like humanoid 'Mechs...

*Points at UrbanMech*

[Red1769]

Quote

Uziel being one of them, and the Argus being the other.

Uh...those two are real mechs...and they were even used in some of the novels.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Argus

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Uziel

Anyway, I do like certain mechs over others, but I just won't pilot the ones I don't like. Plain and simple. Just don't pilot the ones you don't like.

[AC]

Mechwarrior 4 has been out for over a decade. These were added to the BT universe, and are now real mechs for all intents and purposes. When the mech was originally introduced plays a huge roll in its looks. Some of the mechs people don't like the looks of, (Centurion for example) was introduced in the 80's. As our real technology advances as a human society, so does our dreams of what is possible and our visions of what the future looks like.

I guess that was my overall point...

[Peiper]

I don't know why you guys are even worried about whether some look this way, or some look that way. I despise some, and I love some, and I'm indifferent to most. If you don't like them, shoot them first! If you do like them, shoot them first so you can be the only one to have one.

What's the big deal?

Yeah, and mechs have hands. Look at all the robots we use in manufacturing today. Hands, grips, suction cups. Come on! Chill out.

[Girochen]

WhirlpoolBrewer, on 27 January 2012 - 10:27 AM, said:

I've been playing the computer games since Mech Warrior 2, and I have always preferred mechs that don't remind me of gundams... like alomst every inner sphere mech does. I prefer the war simulation side of it all, not the arcade Mech Assault meets Gundamwing thing that most inner sphere mechs scream. Nobody can claim that they want Mech Warrior to be more sim than Mech Assault was and like mechs with hands. For pete sake the last mech to come out had a Mohawk. It looks like instead of shooting me, he is going to pull a guitar out and play heavy metal rock.

There are respectable Inner Sphere mechs out there that I'm praying they come out with. I'm happy to hear about the catapult, and I really hope they put the uziel in as well. There are acceptable mechs on the Inner Sphere side, but whenever a mech with hands comes out everyone just gets all excited about it, and my hope for a good mech warrior game drops a little more.

Don't get me wrong I still plan on playing it, specially when Clan mechs become available, but until then its just a little depressing. Heres to hoping for less 50 ton jokes and more 50 ton machines of war.

I have to disagree, but I have a reason. Have you ever read the books about the Knights of the Inner Sphere? Basically, a portion of the concept to me that made a lot of sense dealt with the anthropomorphism of the Battlemech. Basically, the book described an identification of the masses to the larger than life, humanoid looking, defender of the people. Just because the Gundam people came along later and stole imagery is no cause to reject the line of thinking. Also, per another post, I agree that claws are probably easier than hands, but once again, you get into the terror aspect of the Battlemech when you go there. Think it through, these people are the workers and taxpayers that continue to support the system that allows the Battlemech to exist. Just from an economic perspective, you want their support and loyalty. This means, for the most part, 'Mechs they can identify with. There are plenty of non-humanoid 'Mechs and I agree they should be included, like the Marauder or the Catapult or the Raven or the Stalker, but don't forget to provide the Heroic side. The large man in armor type look that thrills the populace.

As for thin versus thick, I would say that the amount of armor would make a difference. I would not want to have the Hatchetman (45 tons, 6.5 tons of armor) with the same "bulk" as a Vindicator (45 tons 9 tons of armor). The bulk also has to do with fluff values such as material used. Steel versus Ferro-Fibrous armor. Ferro is much bulkier than steel armors taking up additional internal slots in order to be mounted on a mech which would assume an outer extra dimension as well in my opinion. Additionally, I would assume that mech construction and design must take into account inner ear construction in a human since much of the balancing of a mech is based on the balancing mechanism in the inner ear. One would have a more difficult time balancing an unbalanced distribution of weight in my opinion but that is not reflected in the game. Also, that would be the reason for pilot checks when you lose a major chunk of armor in one round (20 points of damage = a pilot check).

Lastly, hands again. I mentioned early that claws are more likely to evoke terror than hands. Additionally, claws are ackward to use fighting. One of the aspects of the original Battletech game, which by the way has been out for 25 years back when I originally got into the game, is the use of a blown off arm of leg as a club. Out of missiles, find where Charlie's mech lost his arm, pick it up and start bashing. Looks like some of that won't be in the first blush of the game, but it will be later.

The thing is the mix. There are reasons for all the differences in mechs. Some are cultural based on which Inner Sphere house you are talking about, others are based on functionality. If you have no arm actuators other than shoulder, you can flip arms and shoot behind you, like the Rifleman. Reasons. All valid, all fun in different ways. Let's not whine something out of existence because we are prejudiced, allow each of us our preferences.

My two cents.
ZGuillotine/Girochen

[Soviet Alex]

Here's a thought: When you are sat in the cockpit, you can't see what your mech looks like. So it doesn't matter if it's ugly or has external features that you don't like. The important things are the feel when piloting and what it can do. If you don't want to see it, avoid 3rd-person views. Simples.

[Trevnor]

Also, on this topic, I don't like the Gundam style mechs, not for the looks(Although it plays a factor) but for the simple fact that they jet around at unrealistic speeds, have full articulation, and pull massive G-forces. And unless Gundam has some seriously strong material to build them out of, they would rip apart from G-forces alone. That's the only real reason I don't like Gundam mechs. Battletech mechs, on the other hand, don't move around like that, not even remotely. They have their limitations, and even the models with hands have their purpose, just as Girochen explained.

[Kommunisator]

The reason why HG finally went to court was the Battletech animated series "First Somerset Strikers" (there's also a sourcebook available). Together with this series there were plastic action toys produced by, iirc, Tomy.
Since that directly interfered with the markets of Harmony Gold (Robotech = Movies and toys, there was a RPG/tabletop, but largely forgotten by then), they finally went to court.
If they didn't their ongoing silence could've been misunderstood as a gesture of good faith and Fasa might have created toys on the older designs.

So if it wouldn't have been for that ****** series there's a good chance we still would be fielding the designs of old, although they would've probably been updated too - the Marauder II was already a subtle move, and the IIc - variants of most mechs were more drastic ones. Although I really liked the Phoenix Hawk IIc, a huge mean beast, even as a mini it looked like it could go head to head with an Atlas. The Marauder IIc on the other hand looked more like a spaceship.


As long as my little buddy, the King Crab, will make it in I'm good ^^
Heck, I'd settle for an Awesome, too. That was a REALLY mean machine back in 3025.

[Soviet Alex]

The last time I saw Mechforce UK at a convention, they were showing that series on a TV on their stand all day. Yes, it was that long ago.

Anyway, we have 7 mechs already, & we'll undoubtedly see more before launch. There must be one that appeals to each of us. So it's not the uber-mech you had in Living Legends or MW4. Seize the opportunity to try something new.

[Hans Von Lohman]

I've found another Atlas that is pretty good that I wouldn't mind having in the game, but FD did a great job.

[Shiinore]

I'm not a particular fan of 'Mechs with hands either (except for maybe the Nova/Blackhawk, because it's adorable), but the new designs I'm seeing make me nerdgasm every time they're revealed. They still have hands, sure- but they also have a very distinctly "MechWarrior" vibe to them.

[Sychodemus]

I don't worry too much about it.

I figure that even if the artists could crank out one 'Mech a day, it would take over two years for them to finish. I am sure that somewhere during all that time, just about everybody will find something that they absolutely adore and a bunch that they despise.

Gee, just like the tabletop game.

Edited by Sychodemus, 30 March 2012 - 11:38 PM.

[Hayashi]

They have to deal with the engine mechanics first before adding extra content. Like, you normally build a site's framework, during which point next to no content is added. Then after that, when the framework is set, you can work at full speed in adding content.

Can't say this with any authority since I'm not a Dev, but I would believe that at launch we'll probably have at least 20 'Mechs, and they can be added as time goes by, which makes it very different from the previous games in which the only way to expand would be to buy 'Mech packs.

But from my own personal experience of building a site, I had about 5-10 products listed for the first month. And within the third month, we had 350 listed.

Either way, patience...