8 replies to this topic

[yngvef]

Hi all!

I just joined the forum, because I just recently found out about Mechwarrior Online.

My interest in Mechwarrior began just last year when I discovered that MW4: Mercenaries was free. I always wanted to try that game back in 2002 or whenever it was made, but I didn't have my own gaming pc back then, and when I did, it was no longer for sale.

Anyhow...
I have played MW4 a lot now, but only offline because I have problems making multiplayer work properly for some reason. I really like the game mechanic. Shooting up mechs, tanks, helicopters and jets in my Hauptmann or Warthog is great fun. (I just really like mechs with backward bending knees for some reason)

MWO looks very promising, although I am a bit concerned about the lack of screenshots... Or are there any that I haven't seen yet? If so, please tell me where. I am also concerned about multiplayer, as I am with ALL multiplayer games. What is the average age of a Mechwarrior in online gaming? Is it normal cool guys that play the game for fun and try to follow objectives and work as a team... or is it french 12-year-olds swearing like longshoremen and questioning my sexuality every time I kill them? (yes, i've played COD and BF)

Also, the mechs that have been presented so far look very nice. The Catapult concept drawings looks much more like a machine of war now . However, I thought I read somewhere that clan mechs would not be included at first, is that correct?

I have another question too (as a pure Battletech newbie):

How can I learn more about the "lore" of the Battletech universe?

In MW4, I've seen words like houses, clans, Steiner, Davion, Steiner-Davion and so on... but I don't really understand them. I know the clans were some secluded bands of warriors that disappeared from known space and returned with a vengeance (and some really cool mech designs), but not much more.

Where can I get a better understanding of what you're talking about?

[Philipe von Rohrs]

For a general place to gather a LOT of info (most ca non and approved but some not) is Sarna.net.

Have a browse and get an idea of the timeline and points that are relevent to your interests.

As to the Clans. They technically don't appear until later this year according to canon. And I expect their availabilty will be very limited...

[Win44]

Welcome to MW:O!

Your question regarding screenshots and the like: There hasn't been anything officially posted, the Development team has come out and said to expect some of that to start popping up in April. I guess they plan to keep things a secret until they hit some of the big gaming conventions that happen around then.

Considering the age question: Heh, a quick poll will probably show that a majority of the people on the forum here might be over 30! That will probably even out when the game is launched though.

I think most of us are hoping that game mechanics done properly will even the score against those 12 year olds with quick reflexes.

[100mile]

Easy ones first...1) You are correct the clans wont' be available at first...timeline wise they should become available after year one or so..(that's an estimation)...from everything i've read...
2) Most everything in this game will be ruled by time line from the over all history of the story/universe...including what mechs will be available at start...We'll have to wait and see how many starters the dev's give us in each weight class...

The hard to answer question...I could write for, literally, hrs to try and explain all the background history of the battletech story...try searching Battletech history story line...should bring up the battle tech wiki...
The basics...The houses mentioned (minus the clans) are all empires with in the inner sphere (known space) they have all been simultaneously at war/allied with each other for hundreds n hundreds ( a really long time) of years...The clans went away after the destruction of the star league...the star league once ruled the whole inner sphere but fell apart due to the corruption of it's core values..(basically human nature showing thru)...The clans came back later , after developing a highly developed warrior society with the specific purpose of unifying the inner sphere into another star league..but that's in the future history of our game...The houses are all competing ,at the time we will launch the game, for the right to rule the whole inner sphere....I could go on and on...but hopefully you get the idea...and if you go and look up the history of battletech on line it should fill in all the, admittedly large, holes in my explanation...

[Mason Grimm]

Lore of the Battletech Universe over at Sarna.net

As for MWO itself please read the FAQ as well as the DevBlogs

Screenshots (and More) will be released within the next month after during and after GDC (Game Developers Conference)

The only screaming 12 year old around here is Paul (a Dev) and he will tease you with his "Spoiler" warnings and then when you click you will be left unsatisfied, biter and alone. Do not trust me!

[Eidolon]

Welcome!

Here's a brief explanation of the universe: http://www.battletech.com/eras/
The "Home" tab at the top of the page will take you to a portal page where you can explore all the facets of the Battletech/Mechwarrior franchise.

Here's an official rundown of the history of the universe: http://bg.battletech.com/?page_id=23

[yngvef]

Thank you all, for giving me some pointers, as well as making me feel welcome

I'm going to check out those links you told me about, so thanks for that. I'm really looking forward to seeing screens and gameplay videos. I can't imagine how beautiful those mechs must look in a modern graphics engine.

I just hope the developers make the game accessible AND deep at the same time.

I'm glad to hear that the community doesn't consist purely of 12-year-olds. I hope it will be representative for the online community when it is released.

One more question: The game itself is free-to-play, so what costs money? I couldn't figure it out from the FAQ or the game info.

Sorry if this should be "basic knowledge"... but it isn't. I've never played a free-to-play game before, so I don't know what to expect.

[Joseph Calvert]

Welcome yngvef, glad you've joined the fun.

I think your questions have been answered already. You're playing MW4, so happy reading on the dev blogs here and Battletech history sites mentioned above.

[Joseph Calvert]

might have to pay for premium accounts to earn extra xp or certain Mechs. Could be high tech weapons as well. That we'll all have to wait and see.

Edited by Joseph Calvert, 05 February 2012 - 10:40 AM.