2 replies to this topic

[Candyman]

Alright, i'm going to put this out here as it's something that i think deserves some mention. And yes, alot of you die-hard long term fans of Battletech are probably going to disagree with me.

The devs have decided to set the game's current setting at 3050. A good year when it comes to balancing stuff that's going on, technology/ mech variants and general awesomeness. I can see where people are going with setting it during this era, but i can see a major problem with the game that's coming, funnily enough this year.

And that problem is the Clans. Now, before i start getting Trials of Grievance in my mail box and being called a Surat, i'd like to say i'm a diehard Clan Jade Falcon fan. I love them, i love the concept of them as well as what they did to the main plotline in Battletech. However, with them coming on the scene, assuming time will be progressing in real time as stipulated by the devs, it could cause several potential problems:

• Thats a whole load of new tech that needs playtesting. We're talking Clan variants on all weapons, Clan mechs and even neurohelmet interfaces. It's probably the least problematic of the issues being brought up, since it's part of the plan, but will this lead to us hitting a time period where, with the current mech development time, we're still playing catchup when new mechs are supposed to be being rolled out at the 'present day'
  
• The Clans *will* dominate matches with said tech, especially during group play. In their early time in the universe, Clan tech is *Vastly* superior, with each mech being twice or three times more effective than their IC counterparts (it's always seemed to be 2 IS to 1 Clan with my limited experience with the game at this point). This is more of a problem with any potential meta-game, but even with random matches, all you'll get is people just using Clan tech, and throwing everything used previously out of the window. In this regard, also see point 1
  
• I don't know about anyone else, but i'd like to see more low tech, 80s low tech Sci-fi. Not a resurgence of more advanced technologies as the game's focal point For the same reasons i like Warhammer 40,000 as a sci-fi setting, i like battletech in it's sense of it's technology being in the state of regression. Between 3025 and 3050 you have that sense of faded grandeur, mechs being considered a rare and valuable thing, low tech. Rust, grinding gears, flickering HUDs. With the Clans coming along, and tech getting the massive boost as a result of battlefield salvage, this rapidly becomes a thing of the past. I for one would like to see a bit more old school 80s sci fi, than the more polished universe Battletech became in the 90s (However machiavellian it remained). This leads onto my final point:
  
• Haven't we been sat in the same era with mechwarrior games for long enough? Mechwarrior 2: Clan. Mechwarrior 2 mercenaries: Inner Sphere leading to Clan invasion. Mechwarrior 3: Operation Bulldog. Mechwarrior 4: Civil war but with heavy Clan influence. The point is, most of the more recent games have been set where your average technology is on the up, where combat was more technologyically superior than early eras. Also? Clans, Clans, Clans.

In short, i'm concerned that by shoveling the Clan invasion in a game that hasn't yet left open beta and been allowed to stew and ferment will cause all sorts of problems, most of which being that it wont settle as a game. The Clans seem to be poised kick everything up in the air before things even have a chance to settle down. Why not work on it for the long term, rather than being set to introduce them in just a few months



My few suggestions are as follows:

• Freeze the timeline. Stick the game to January 4th, 2050 for now, at least until we've left Open Beta. That way, we get a few months of 'finalized' game play until the Clans arrive, and means that when time starts passing normally, the devs are poised to immediately work on the Clan-related content
  
• Change the year. Even setting back the game's year by two to three years gives us time to play the game's setting before the massive upheaval the Clans cause the setting, whilst allowing the Clans to be a foreseeable, and reachable goal several years down the line, when the game is hopefully going from strength to strength.
  
• Go all Star Trek. No, i don't mean suddenly turn the universe into a shiny utopian state with an utterly unrealistic society and economy. I mean do what the last movie did: Alternative reality. Set it at 2050, and let player action decide the future of the Inner sphere. This would probably utilize the property in ways that will be impossible, so it's the most outlandish method. That way, the Clans can be introduced later, at a time the devs feel would help the game most, and also offer all sorts of interesting ways the game can turn out. Hell, even go half and half, and go for a mutable universe that nonetheless has a few set in stone plot points. Either way, it means we get to stay in the same time frame without worrying about the game being upended by what is supposed to happen in the background.

Anyway, thats my thoughts on the matter.

[cmopatrick]

it has been a regular request since at least the month before CB ended that they at least back up one year to give themselves breathing room before the Clans show up. i completely agree that backing it up a year (two at the most, imo) would be the best for the game's longevity.

i understand you have rationally thought out the other options, but would definitely oppose them should they be floated (not that my opinion matters to the devs anyway).

[Critical Fumble]

They also may not want us fighting for or against the Clans at the start, given that they're supposed to steamroll(lolololololololololol) everyone in their path initially, and that would cause a rain of (frankly legitimate) tears that would make Niagara Falls look like a leaky faucet. Or if we could defeat Clanners, there may be an equally apocalyptic reaction from the lore-centric community.