188 replies to this topic

[Tsen Shang]

This introduces the possibility of heat control modules as well, so you can overheat a bit more before shutdown or have less of a chance for your ammo to explode.

The possibilities are endless!

Gonna be makin bacon in my Black Knight (eventually).

[Karyudo ds]

Listless Nomad, on 01 March 2012 - 09:58 AM, said:

They were more canon from TT and from the novels - i'm not sure if any of the computer games ever dabbled in them

Yeah Mechcommander had "variants" but they had nothing to do with Battletech though I remember MW2 had alt configs.

[Listless Nomad]

Karyudo-ds, on 01 March 2012 - 10:02 AM, said:

Yeah Mechcommander had "variants" but they had nothing to do with Battletech though I remember MW2 had alt configs.

Oh I was talking more about ammo explosions. Variants have to do with how mechs were constructed normally. In the BT universe, essentially when you bought a mech - you had those weapons. There was no way to swap them out without a lot of hard work and rewiring etc. So you had variants. Mech chassis' could be modified in the factory for specific requirements - but once purchased were just as unmodifyable. Nothing like the mechlab ever existed in the BT universe. Now, when the clans arrived - they brought what are called omnimechs - which allow you to swap out weapons and things similar to the mechlab from the games. Those were limited to the clans until much later in the time line, however.

The devs haven't released yet how the mechlabs will work - or how much customization will be available at launch. Bryan has been particularly forthcoming later, but they might be saving that type of info for a much larger release.

[Karyudo ds]

Yeah I'm pretty familiar with Battletech. Always though the Mechlab was just a cheap way to not have to build every mech but give people the options to make and play them anyway. At least in Front Mission when you did that you could see the weapons...and that was an SNES game.

Listless Nomad, on 01 March 2012 - 10:08 AM, said:

The devs haven't released yet how the mechlabs will work - or how much customization will be available at launch. Bryan has been particularly forthcoming later, but they might be saving that type of info for a much larger release.

Well if...

Spoiler

You can't decide which reticule your weapons use...

...then you either don't get to Mechlab them up or location is important.

[Listless Nomad]

He posted this later in response to a followup

Spoiler

There are two cursors. One for arms and one for torso. Players are not able to customize which weapons go on which cursor, as this is a function of BattleMech design. No arm weapons, no arm cursor.'

Edited by Listless Nomad, 01 March 2012 - 10:23 AM.

[Reno Blade]

Karyudo-ds, on 01 March 2012 - 09:49 AM, said:

Nice, so variant mechs will have a purpose and appearance of their own. Huge step up right there. This heat gauge is sounding fun though...don't remember ammo explosions being in Mechwarrior much.

MW2 Mercs had ammo explosion. you still could go up to maximum of the red bar, but eventually blow up if im not mistaken

[Tsen Shang]

But did it follow canon rules? Did you actually blow up the amount of ammo you had? Will ammo bins be relatively target-able, and will we be provided ammo locations on mechs so we can specifically aim for them? Will there be modules that make it more difficult for your ammo to explode?

There are all sorts of new things that could be done, it's all very promising.

[Phelan Adam Davion]

What is it with this E - Killboard Monitor?

Ther is no such thing in Battletech..... besides...... it`s not about killing - its about the mission.
(okay, it´s an online game.... but just for the correct feeling I think a Kill-Counter is not a good idea.... thats not what Battletech stands for.)

There is one novel dealing with the topic of bodycounting in war...... it`s a perversion of war by fanatic Blakes Word Warriors when enemys become just numbers.

Edited by Phelan Adam Davion, 01 March 2012 - 10:41 AM.

[Aegis Kleais]

Phelan Adam Davion, on 01 March 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

What is it with this E - Killboard Monitor?

Ther is no such thing in Battletech..... besides...... it`s not about killing - its about the mission.
(okay, it´s an online game.... but just for the correct feeling I think a Kill-Counter is not a good idea.... thats not what Battletech stands for.)

Yeah, I agree with you in full, that MW is about the mission objective, and not a personal KDR (this will throw a lot of new players).

I wonder if they are going so far as to make certain features available based on kills, so it gives you a kill count that might reset when a feature is used. The thought itself isn't something I think I'd be too fond of, but yeah, I'm confused as to why they have that counter there as well.

[Tsen Shang]

Battletech doesn't stand for anything, it's not an acronym!

That said, they're putting the scoreboard into the universe to keep it from being distracting. I like that. I'd rather have it the way they've put it in than have some painfully out of place box on the screen showing the score, or have to push shift + home to find out the score.

Aegis, don't even joke about killstreaks. Killstreaks are a game ruiner.

Edit: Think about it this way instead: When you're going company vs company, it's useful to know how many mechs your team has left and how many the other has left. That may not be what it is right now, but that'd be a better purpose for it perhaps.

Edited by Tsen Shang, 01 March 2012 - 10:43 AM.

[Arnold Carns]

Phelan Adam Davion, on 01 March 2012 - 10:38 AM, said:

What is it with this E - Killboard Monitor?

Ther is no such thing in Battletech..... besides...... it`s not about killing - its about the mission.
(okay, it´s an online game.... but just for the correct feeling I think a Kill-Counter is not a good idea.... thats not what Battletech stands for.)

There is one novel dealing with the topic of bodycounting in war...... it`s a perversion of war by fanatic Blakes Word Warriors when enemys become just numbers.

That's why killboard is set in "". I didn't had a better matching description for it, and on the monitor it reads "Mission Kills=0"
If a "killcounter" is a bad idea or not is written on another sheet. The main purpose of a BattleMech is to blow things up... mainly other 'Mechs. And there are numerous other games which counts the players kills and deaths.
And I guess many counted in the TT who blew up who how many times.

[CoffiNail]

BattleTech and MechWarrior may not have it, but a lot of new players will be expecting it. I think it was smart to put it in. They probably know elitist mechwarriors will whine and complain but they will hear more of it from the generic population who go 'Hey where are my kills, i want to know how many guys i killed!'

[Karyudo ds]

Hmm I look at it this way, depending on the other GUI information available that kill counter could also be the only clue you have as to how many enemies are still roaming. That be important if losing contact is easy.

[Phelan Adam Davion]

yes... I fully agree. In the end I want to know the highscore and the kills.... even in battle it might be intresting - but I could push a button to view that list.....

but a Battlemech Cockpit is definitely not the right place for such a monitor.

Battletech is about rules and conventions in war.

http://www.sarna.net...res_Conventions

What differentiates Battletech from other "Killer-Games" is the noble spirit of armored knights fighing each other - not killing for scores.

[Tsen Shang]

Phelan Adam Davion, on 01 March 2012 - 11:03 AM, said:

What differentiates Battletech from other "Killer-Games" is the noble spirit of armored knights fighting each other - not killing for scores.

The knight or duelist mentality largely died with the clans. It'll be gone shortly after launch, and dialed up to full blown no-holds-barred warfare, excluding nukes and other undesirables of course.

[Bryan Ekman]

Don't fret the killlboard screen. All will be explained soon.

[TheRulesLawyer]

Bryan Ekman, on 01 March 2012 - 09:50 AM, said:

Someone asked this earlier. Yes the HUD is projected and follows the player's head tracking.

players head tracking...... As in track IR support?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

[Evinthal]

TheRulesLawyer, on 01 March 2012 - 11:25 AM, said:

players head tracking...... As in track IR support?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

If this IS the case then I will be buying myself one! Already looking to get a bigger monitor and a flight sim set up for this.

[Arnold Carns]

Evinthal, on 01 March 2012 - 11:27 AM, said:

If this IS the case then I will be buying myself one! Already looking to get a bigger monitor and a flight sim set up for this.

That already gave me the idea to build a "neurohelmet" with TrackIR (FreeTrack) and a Head Mounted Video Display. It may look stupid but would be way to cool!

[Helmer]

Kudos to whomever at PGI slipped something into Bryans coffee today. He's a wealth of information.

Personally, I think he's doing it to out spoiler Paul, and I'm ok with that.


Thanks for the info Bryan!