KickStarter BattleTech Pre-Release Thread

[DeepOcean]

I think a balance between the rule of cool and having clear and logical rules for the setting is what makes BattleTech interesting. I don't like animu mechs too with their completely ridiculous super awesome world ending firepower that ruins suspension of disbelief but going too realistic would mean weapon systems firing guns at each other from huge distances what wouldn't be as dramatic as two mechs shooting each other on close range.

 

[Ninjerk]

Inner consistency once more. When you put in weeaboo Mech ninjas with laser swords that do spinning jump kicks and shoot galaxies at each other, you've jumped every possible species of shark. Big, massive mechs that stomp buildings, sink in water, overheat but can take a ton of punishment = my suspension of disbelief can manage that.

This is one thing that I really appreciated about 08th Mobile Suit Squadron--I don't remember that it was particularly "realistic," but it moved the slider closer and the animation quality was pretty stellar IIRC.

 

[Darkzone]

Battletech is somehow modern recognisable and at the same time Sci-Fi. The Mechs are based on known to us technologies, that are just taken one step further, but they are not far enough to say it is total bullshit. And the exceptions that are naturally the JumpShips, Comstar HGP, Mech Reactors and etc we can swallow, because they are a mean for making this world possible.

 

[agris]

I don't know where to put this, but this thread got me to check out MechCommander Gold and blah blah here's the no cd version of the .exe hacked to support these 16:10 resolutions:

768x480
960x600 (perfect pixel scaling for native 1920x1200 monitors)
1280x800
1920x1200

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vbpegsbx4rek7xv/MCX nocd.7z?dl=0

IMO the first two options are the best. Don't forget that the '+' key zooms in!

 

[Beastro]

Or have a futuristic version of AC-130 flying at a ten klick distance, peppering the easily visible Mech?

A plane like the Ac-130 can only operate in an environment with zero air defence. Even something like the A-10 has its gun rendered useless by MANPADs and it's primary weapon for the past 15 years has been PGMs, not it's beloved 30mm gun. Today fast moving jets with PGMs are better at providing CAS than their of the two above mentioned varieties. The problem is today's common knowledge is decades behind, hence all the push to keep the A-10 in service using arguments that were good in the 90s but simply don't work these days. Another problem, especially in the US, is that politicians that have a history in the military keep supporting certain things because their idea and knowledge of war is stuck back to when they served, hence why so many like McCain are all for the A-10 and other things that would have been wonderful in Vietnam but not today (just as his generation has to fight over those with WWII experience to get what was needed in the Cold War.

A funny thing encountered in Afghanistan with the above mentioned two planes is how air defence can clear the skies above 10,000 feet. Even a few MANPADs can do that, but once the planes are gone the opposition dumps the MANPADs and allows the planes to go lower until the cycle starts over again.

The funny thing about today's air warfare is that it's finally catching up to where it was suppose to be in the late 1950s before Mach 3+ strike aircraft were nixed thinking that ICBMs made them obsolete. Stealth can only do so much, speed can do so much more and always has.

Battletech is somehow modern recognisable and at the same time Sci-Fi. The Mechs are based on known to us technologies, that are just taken one step further, but they are not far enough to say it is total bullshit. And the exceptions that are naturally the JumpShips, Comstar HGP, Mech Reactors and etc we can swallow, because they are a mean for making this world possible.

One also has to keep in mind how much of it's world building and tech are pretty much completely lifted from Dune, only the center of the world is mechs and much of real modern industrial warfare, not a melee focused knightly culture.

Jumpships = Heighliners
Comstar = Spacing Guild
Houses and Inner Sphere infighting = The Landsraad and War of Assassins

Hell, even the Clans are something of a Fremen super-barbarian hybrid mixed with high technology instead of hyper-evolutionary elan.

 

[Werdna's Revenge]

I hope they go for a more 3025 setting with what they do. The slow decay of knowledge that was leaving everything in tatters and mysterious, and the neo-feudal societies that sprang up was so much better than all the later stuff with the clans and the WoB.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Ac-130 can only operate in an environment with zero air defence

It's certainly not built for penetrating air defense networks but it's not a sitting duck. Plus, note I wrote "10 klicks". That's not exactly primary shoulder-ranged SAM area.

Even something like the A-10 has its gun rendered useless by MANPADs and it's primary weapon for the past 15 years has been PGMs, not it's beloved 30mm gun.

Citation required. AFAIK, A-10's most common munition has been bombs. Also, MANPADs aren't quite that effective. Their engagement zone is certainly limited and while seeker technology has advanced significantly since the the Blowpipe and Strela were confused by the sun or a single flare, they aren't guaranteed to hit.

The problem is today's common knowledge is decades behind, hence all the push to keep the A-10 in service using arguments that were good in the 90s but simply don't work these days.

Sorry bro but now you went off the deep end. A-10 should be retired but because the airframes are getting so damn old. It should be replaced with a plane that is capable of similar CAS performance. The reason Air Force wants to get rid of it is largely inter-service rivalry and high maintenance costs. Everybody wants to be a fighter jock dreaming of that Top Gun moment dog fighting with Ivan and Cheng. Neither F-22 nor F-35 can do what the A-10 can do as effectively or as cheaply.

Open a thread in GD and tag me if you want a damn essay on modern air war from the AA/AD point of view, I did that shit for living for years but we shouldn't derail this thread more since it won't have anything to do with Mechs.

 

[Beastro]

Open a thread in GD and tag me if you want a damn essay on modern air war from the AA/AD point of view, I did that shit for living for years but we shouldn't derail this thread more since it won't have anything to do with Mechs.

Oh I've read plenty from those both in and out of service and in those with experience in system analysis, namely Stuart Slade and his board.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Is that the Salvation War guy?

 

[Beastro]

Is that the Salvation War guy?

Yeah, I avoid his fiction though. Not my cup of tea and not all that great at that. The thought and research he's put into his stuff I find more interesting.

 

[Darkzone]

One also has to keep in mind how much of it's world building and tech are pretty much completely lifted from Dune, only the center of the world is mechs and much of real modern industrial warfare, not a melee focused knightly culture.

Jumpships = Heighliners
Comstar = Spacing Guild
Houses and Inner Sphere infighting = The Landsraad and War of Assassins

Hell, even the Clans are something of a Fremen super-barbarian hybrid mixed with high technology instead of hyper-evolutionary elan.

Two things:
1) The AC-10 is not my comment. But AC-10 is definitly to slow for the modern warfare, the only thing that could save her usage in the military would be stealth. But the F-35 is a bad replacement.
2)
Jumpships = Heighliners (OK, because this concept is not often used in Sci-Fi.)
Comstar = Spaceing Guild (OK, because the spacing guild is also a neutral house that has political power, that provides service to all the warring factions.)
Houses and Inner Sphere infighting = The Landsraad and War of Assassins (Not quite.)
Some ideas are inspried by Dune, but overall Dune is something different and has far other concepts then BattleTech.
What is the spice? Where is the transhumanism in BattleTech? What are the Fremen and their religion in BattleTech? And etc etc.

 

[Beastro]

What is the spice? Where is the transhumanism in BattleTech? What are the Fremen and their religion in BattleTech? And etc etc.

I didn't say everything was lifted, just the parts that most effect a setting and themes of Battletech, make it a never ending war (Battletech's houses lack a overarching power to keep them in line and moderate their fighting, hence the, incessant, internecine warfare) and one fixed on planets, not in space.

 

[Sykar]

Seems like Microsoft allowed the entire MechCommander series to be released for free at some point, so I guess they are in charge.

They were originally released in 2006 here, I think: http://web.archive.org/web/20060614023910/http://www.mechcommander.org/downloads.html

Seems like there are no seeders for the games. Pity.
Edit: Ok this one really takes a long time to start. At least now the DL rate is fairly high. Will keep seeding these games.

Question to veterans, is there a major difference between Mechcommander and Mechcommander Gold?

 

[Owl]

Hire Jeehun Hwang as the composer. Mechwarrior 2: best video game music ever.

 

[JamesDixon]

Seems like there are no seeders for the games. Pity.
Edit: Ok this one really takes a long time to start. At least now the DL rate is fairly high. Will keep seeding these games.

Question to veterans, is there a major difference between Mechcommander and Mechcommander Gold?

Mech Commander is just the base game while MC Gold includes the expansion pack.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries soundtrack had some sweet adrenaline pumpers.





Probably too hectic for TB gameplay.

Also pity that MechTek version is no longer available.

 

[Sykar]

It is a pity that Mechwarrior 1-4 are not available on GoG.

 

[Siveon]

I just got some russian repak for the Mechwarrior games. If anyone wants a link I could send you a PM, it has all 4 games, the expansions and even the SNES version of MW1.

 

[LESS T_T]

Audio interview with director Mike McCain: http://traffic.libsyn.com/zerofortitudenetwork/MikeMcCainGenCon2015.mp3

- The new engine is Unity 5
- They're looking at multiplayer PvP arena mode as a stretch goal
- While Shadowrun games are RPGs with turn-based tactical combat, BattleTech is a game of turn-based tactical combat with RPG elements. BattleTech's story is more macro level than Shadowrun games' personal story
- They're working on this about a few months. There's a very early prototype
- About console and mobile release: Right now they're focusing on PC, Mac and likely Linux

 

[Infinitron]

- The new engine is Unity 5

He also says the game will be fully 3D.

 

[JamesDixon]

Unity is a good engine for this sort of thing. With the amount of free and paid assets out there to speed development it will help in the long run.

 

[Jedi Exile]

He also says the game will be fully 3D.

So it's going to be MMO, right?

 

[JamesDixon]

So it's going to be MMO, right?

It could be since there are many assets, from Unity and 3rd party publishers, that allow multiplayer.

 

[Infinitron]

Yes, they're totally going to Kickstart an MMO just months after the bankruptcy of Shadowrun Online and while there's already a Mechwarrior MMO.

 

[Jack Dandy]

There was also some Mechwarrior Tactics MMO.. F2P. Crashed and burned, hardly anybody talked about it.

MechWarrior Tactics was a free-to-playturn-based tacticsvideo game set in the BattleTech universe. It was originally under development by Roadhouse Interactive and ACRONYM Games, but was taken over by Blue Lizard Games and published by Infinite Game Publishing for the Unity Web Player platform.[1] The game remained in closed beta for two years, with Founder Packs allowing players to purchase instant access, but development has been on hold since of end of 2013 and the game's website has been unavailable since the end of August 2014.

Pretty damn sure that Harebrained won't try going down that path.