47 replies to this topic

[Mucia Prata]

I'm somewhat new to the BattleTech universe. I actually had a TON of BattleTech and MechWarrior Dark Age novels given to me for free. Literally almost every single one. I had them for a couple of years, but never got to read them because of various things in my life. Then, I was desperate for money and had to sell them all (which gave me a pretty penny). I regret it, but money was more important at the time.

I've wanted to go back and read the old novels. A friend of mine was giving away one of the OLD board games, and I have it sitting in my house. Just never got around to taking it out and playing with it. I also played, for a little bit (though I can barely remember it), one of the MechWarrior games. I think MechWarrior 4.

Chicken-walker is my favorite type of design. Not sure why. In the same vein, I love AT-STs. I'm a huge mech fan, but never get around to watching much anime or other shows about it. Used to watch Gundam and such, but in the realm of sci-fi, space ships trump mechs.

Anyway, I did a little looking into the lore of BattleTech, and read that chicken-walkers are more rare on the battlefield.

How does MWO answer this? Is it not necessarily that the chicken-walkers are rare on the battlefield, but that the designs themselves are rare? That would make sense, since there is only one (except for light) chicken-walker design mech for each class.

Or is MWO kind of ignoring/retconning some aspects of BattleTech canon?

Or, since I just read it on a wiki, should I just shut the frak up since I don't know what I'm talking about?

[Kraven Kor]

Geek out on the lore to your heart's content - some good stuff there, some bad, some high-lariously awful.

Don't be surprised if MWO doesn't match up 100%, but they are trying.

To actually answer your question? I have no idea.

[Farmer]

In the current time period, digitigrade mechs are making a major resurgence actually. So you'll likely see more and more come out, especially as we move into the 3050's proper.

[Cebi]

Well in previous incarnations the Stalker always had forward pointing knees, Piranha gave it chicken legs. So I guess a lot of mechs could potentially be made into chicken walkers regardless of lore.

[Spiketail Drake]

The old Stalker looked like it could fall backwards when it fired any missile. I like the new one, it looks massive.

[Pr8Dator]

Cebi, on 18 December 2012 - 05:36 PM, said:

Well in previous incarnations the Stalker always had forward pointing knees, Piranha gave it chicken legs. So I guess a lot of mechs could potentially be made into chicken walkers regardless of lore.

OH RIGHT!!!! No wonder I felt something different about the Stalker this time round, its the chicken walker legs!

[Nathan Foxbane]

From a lore standpoint they were less popular for piloting and gunnery reasons. The legs give them a bobbing or jerky, strutting gait when they move. Inner Sphere pilots are not particularly keen on that though most like them better than quads, though as long as it is bipedal most clansmen do not seem to have a preference as they are so well trained that they can control the 'Mech well enough those traits are smoothed out and a non issue. Remember, part of a pilot's ability to control a 'Mech comes from the neurohelmet, so with human like legs, piloting is more intuitive.

Pr8Dator, on 18 December 2012 - 05:59 PM, said:

OH RIGHT!!!! No wonder I felt something different about the Stalker this time round, its the chicken walker legs!

Stalker legs were always just a bit weird in the art. They were set so far back they seemed to almost need to be double jointed in the knee to actually walk and can you imagine how bizarre the leg animations would look for that?

Edited by Nathan Foxbane, 18 December 2012 - 06:31 PM.

[Secundus]

Fun over canon, just like in any other game adaptation of IP.

[Vassago Rain]

[Mr 144]

Always Good for a Laugh Vass...even your joke posts

Mr 144

[The Last Blade]

Honestly I love Battletech and I've played it since a kid. I personally think all these mechs PGI are pumping out look like Absolute garbage. That's right, All the mechs Look Like ABSOLUTE Garbage. Why would I dare say such a thing? Because someone has to say it. They all look like terrible garbage. Honestly.

Pgi isn't coming out with the streamlined great looking mechs because they are scared of some Japanese Gundam Lawyers because back in the day, FASA had some japanese dude draw the good looking mechs, who just happened to be the same artist for old school Robotech mechs. Robots are a big deal in Japan, but honestly you can't copyright every single mech drawing, in fact, these Japanese fools are just scaring PGI. Japan has all sorts of different studios and they all make mechs, from anime to toys, an infinite amount of humanoid looking mechs, and I've really never seen a Gundam look like a battletech mech, so they are just putting the fear of Lawsuits into PGI. You really can't blame PGI though, I mean, why get sued by a huge japanese toy/anime studio, win or lose, when they are still in the beta stages of making their game? Why waste design time on a mech they might have to pull to avoid a lawsuit they would win, but lose money on court fees on? Hopefully someday we will see the Madcat and the rifleman and the widowmaker and the hatchet man, but right now they are playing it safe, and you really can't blame them unfortunately.

[Karyudo ds]

The Last Blade, on 18 December 2012 - 07:33 PM, said:

...FASA had some japanese dude draw the good looking mechs, who just happened to be the same artist for old school Robotech mechs.

I highly doubt Shoji Kawamori did a single Battletech drawing ever. Least not any of my TRO's.

[The Last Blade]

Karyudo ds, on 18 December 2012 - 07:37 PM, said:

I highly doubt Shoji Kawamori did a single Battletech drawing ever. Least not any of my TRO's.

I don't know the name of the guys, But it's called Google bro.

[Karyudo ds]

The Last Blade, on 18 December 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

I don't know the name of the guys, But it's called Google bro.

Then use it. Shoji Kawamori designed Macross which was ripped off for Robotech, Robotech had no artists on the show and my TRO says "Loose". Don't need Google to know my shows "bro". The designs were used but the original artists probably don't even know what Battletech is.

Unless you meant maybe the toy/model box art etc?

Edited by Karyudo ds, 18 December 2012 - 07:55 PM.

[Wired]

...It isn't a japanese company. It's an American Company named Harmony gold, which took over Robotech.

[DowncastAcorn]

The Last Blade, on 18 December 2012 - 07:33 PM, said:

Honestly I love Battletech and I've played it since a kid. I personally think all these mechs PGI are pumping out look like Absolute garbage. That's right, All the mechs Look Like ABSOLUTE Garbage. Why would I dare say such a thing? Because someone has to say it. They all look like terrible garbage. Honestly.

You seem to be of the minority, of all the people I've seen talk about the mechs (non-representative sample, so grain of salt and all), most seem to love PGI's mech designs, myself included. Hell, that's what drew me personally to battletech in the first place, that mechs actually looked like machines, and more than that machines that you would actually take into battle. I feel that clunky, utilitarian asthetic is important for differentiating western giant robots from the impossibly smooth, physics-defying Japanese Sci-fantasy mechs.

Back on topic, I actually find myself in OP's camp and like the chicken-walkers more just because it seems more utilitarian to me. Chicken-legs allow a mech to be seated lower to the ground, allowing you to take cover behind lower hills and offering a smaller target profile. The cauldron-born was the mech that drew me into mechwarrior when I was but a young oak flower, and until MWO made me love commandos by giving me my darling Dakota, I always thought humanoid mechs looked kind of silly.

Edited by DowncastAcorn, 18 December 2012 - 08:13 PM.

[The Last Blade]

Karyudo ds, on 18 December 2012 - 07:50 PM, said:

Then use it. Shoji Kawamori designed Macross which was ripped off for Robotech, Robotech had no artists on the show and my TRO says "Loose". Don't need Google to know my shows "bro". The designs were used but the original artists probably don't even know what Battletech is.

Unless you meant maybe the toy/model box art etc?

Honestly, YOU USE IT, I just told you to google, how infantile are you? it's really not that hard, in the address bar, you type in google.com and do a search. Honestly, you do need to google because you are ignorant of what I am explaining, hence I'm telling YOU to google to cure your ignorance. if you refuse to google because you think "you know your shows" when I was talking about battletech, it's really not my fault you wallow in ignorance and bluster on an obscure forum thread.

DowncastAcorn, on 18 December 2012 - 08:00 PM, said:

You seem to be of the minority, of all the people I've seen talk about the mechs (non-representative sample, so grain of salt and all), most seem to love PGI's mech designs, myself included. Hell, that's what drew me personally to battletech in the first place, that mechs actually looked like machines, and more than that machines that you would actually take into battle. I feel that clunky, utilitarian asthetic is important for differentiating western giant robots from the impossibly smooth, physics-defying Japanese Sci-fantasy mechs.

Back on topic, I actually find myself in OP's camp and like the chicken-walkers more just because it seems more utilitarian to me. Chicken-legs allow a mech to be seated lower to the ground, allowing you to take cover behind lower hills and offering a smaller target profile. The cauldron-born was the mech that drew me into mechwarrior when I was but a bud on the tip of my tree's branches, and until MWO made me love commandos by giving me my darling Dakota, I always thought humanoid mechs looked kind of silly.

Yes... it's my opinion they look like garbage, and someone should really say so. I love mechs, but I don't like having huge walking chicken trashcans as my weapon of choice. I'm hoping they actually go back to the good looking mech sooner rather than later.

[gregsolidus]

Because chicken legs make perfect sense?

The Last Blade, on 18 December 2012 - 08:15 PM, said:

Honestly, YOU USE IT, I just told you to google, how infantile are you? it's really not that hard, in the address bar, you type in google.com and do a search. Honestly, you do need to google because you are ignorant of what I am explaining, hence I'm telling YOU to google to cure your ignorance. if you refuse to google because you think "you know your shows" when I was talking about battletech, it's really not my fault you wallow in ignorance and bluster on an obscure forum thread.

Admittedly, Shoji Kawamori was the principal artist for Macross and after owning multiple examples of his work I can tell you he didn't draw anything for BT. They may have copied his work but he never did it directly.

[DowncastAcorn]

The Last Blade, on 18 December 2012 - 08:15 PM, said:

Honestly, YOU USE IT, I just told you to google, how infantile are you? it's really not that hard, in the address bar, you type in google.com and do a search. Honestly, you do need to google because you are ignorant of what I am explaining, hence I'm telling YOU to google to cure your ignorance. if you refuse to google because you think "you know your shows" when I was talking about battletech, it's really not my fault you wallow in ignorance and bluster on an obscure forum thread.

The rage is strong with this one.

The Last Blade, on 18 December 2012 - 08:15 PM, said:

Yes... it's my opinion they look like garbage, and someone should really say so. I love mechs, but I don't like having huge walking chicken trashcans as my weapon of choice. I'm hoping they actually go back to the good looking mech sooner rather than later.

Well... it's not likely to change anytime soon man. The art department's settled into it's groove, found the look they want for the game, and they're not going to go drastically redesign everything when they're actually one of the few parts of PGI that are actively drawing praise from the majority. Besides, shouting out "Someone should really say so," as if it were some glaring, critical issue is a bit pretentious. You're in the minority, recognize that your opinion differs from everyone elses, and deal.

Out of curiosity, could you post an example of what you think a good looking mech would look like?
Also, it might be worth your time to check out Mechwarrior tactics, their mechs might be more your speed.

[Vassago Rain]

DowncastAcorn, on 18 December 2012 - 08:25 PM, said:

The rage is strong with this one.


Well... it's not likely to change anytime soon man. The art department's settled into it's groove, found the look they want for the game, and they're not going to go drastically redesign everything when they're actually one of the few parts of PGI that are actively drawing praise from the majority. Besides, shouting out "Someone should really say so," as if it were some glaring, critical issue is a bit pretentious. You're in the minority, recognize that your opinion differs from everyone elses, and deal.

Out of curiosity, could you post an example of what you think a good looking mech would look like?
Also, it might be worth your time to check out Mechwarrior tactics, their mechs might be more your speed.

Inb4 madcats and dark age atlases.