Putting the 'role' back in role-playing games since 2002.
Donate to Codex
Good Old Games
  • Welcome to rpgcodex.net, a site dedicated to discussing computer based role-playing games in a free and open fashion. We're less strict than other forums, but please refer to the rules.

    "This message is awaiting moderator approval": All new users must pass through our moderation queue before they will be able to post normally. Until your account has "passed" your posts will only be visible to yourself (and moderators) until they are approved. Give us a week to get around to approving / deleting / ignoring your mundane opinion on crap before hassling us about it. Once you have passed the moderation period (think of it as a test), you will be able to post normally, just like all the other retards.

Game News BattleTech Kickstarter Update #2: Story Campaign Unlocked, New Stretch Goals

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,236
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Tags: BattleTech; Harebrained Schemes; Jordan Weisman

The BattleTech Kickstarter campaign has successfully raised a million dollars, unlocking its Stage 2 single player story campaign in just 25 hours. Harebrained Schemes have not been caught flat-footed and the Stage 2 stretch goals are already prepared. The latest Kickstarter update has the details on those, as well on the progress of the campaign's social media "Backer Missions". Oh, and a video from Jordan Weisman explaining this week's "Bonus Mission". Here's some of that:



MechWarriors of the Inner Sphere, Harebrained Schemes High Command salutes you!

That was a truly astounding first day of backing and we are awed that in one 24 hour period you came together to unlock:
  • Combined Arms
  • Expanded Mission Objectives
  • Expanded Environments
But you did more than just complete these worthwhile STAGE 1 objectives! Through your valiant efforts, we have achieved STAGE 2 and unlocked the Single Player Story Campaign in a single day!

The Global BattleTech Community has spoken with one voice and affirmed that BattleTech is more than just big stompy robots battling it out. It’s a dynamic, centuries-spanning science fiction setting filled with intrigue and cutthroat politics - a fertile environment for rich storytelling. And thanks to your efforts, the Single Player Story Campaign is a reality. We thank you.

Now, MechWarriors, it’s ONWARD towards our next major objective: STAGE 3 - The Extended Mercenary Campaign!

As you will see, we have added several key targets on our march to STAGE 3.
  • $1,100,000 - Cinematic Transitions: We'll add short cutscenes for various events in game - such as deploying your forces to the battlefield - and for key moments in the single-player story.
  • $1,200,000 - Player-Character Origin Stories: In BATTLETECH, you’ll create your own mercenary character to star in the story. If we hit this funding level, you'll be able to choose one of six origin stories for your mercenary commander's career. Are you the only heir of a once noble family that has since fallen from favor? The bastard child of a famous MechWarrior? You decide.
  • $1,350,000 - Voice Acting: We'll record a cast of talented voice actors to act as your advisers, provide mission briefings, and record battlefield emotes. We’ll also add voice acting to the animatics for important moments in the story.
  • $1,550,000: 3D MechWarrior Portrait Customization: We'll build a complete 3D portrait customization system for you to customize the look of both your MechWarriors and your own Mercenary commander.
And how do we reach our STAGE 3 objective? Together.

BattleTech has turned out to be the fastest-funding turn-based Kickstarter in a very long time, and unless it suffers a Bard's Tale IV level of mid-campaign decline, it seems likely to hit all of its stretch goals. I guess that even in 2015, a popular license and an underserved audience can go a long way. Harebrained Schemes, you're playing in the big leagues now.
 

Shammy

Learned
Joined
Aug 21, 2015
Messages
200
Location
California
Wow, I'm surprised that they got this much funding so quickly. Granted Battletech freakin' sweet, but I didn't realize how many folks out there were hankering for a new game. Glad to see it become a realization though.
 

Crooked Bee

(no longer) a wide-wandering bee
Patron
Joined
Jan 27, 2010
Messages
15,048
Location
In quarantine
Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire MCA Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
I'm excited about BattleTech but I'm skeptical of HBS' abilities, so I'm sitting this one out. Will pick up on release.
 

Drowed

Arcane
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
1,676
Location
Core City
Well, look at that, that's really fast! I mean:

dailypledges.png

Against:
dailypledges.png


Not that we can deduce anything by this alone, but 710k in the first day is a fucking lot.

I can't imagine a scenario where they don't reach all stretch goals.
 
Last edited:

Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
97,236
Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Those charts are misleading since the two Kickstarters didn't start at the same time of the day.
 

Deleted member 7219

Guest
It's not an RPG. What are we, RPG Watch now? Covering action games as news.
 

Cosmo

Arcane
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
Messages
1,387
Project: Eternity
I'm excited about BattleTech but I'm skeptical of HBS' abilities, so I'm sitting this one out. Will pick up on release.

Same here, except if they clearly explain they plain on having good AI and a challenge level not aimed at toddlers.
As for their track record, on the one hand there's the S:R trilogy with its linfamous piss-poor challenge, on the other their Necropolis project tends to prove they can opt for difficulty...
 
Last edited:

Zeriel

Arcane
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
13,383
I think this pretty much proves that the early Kickstarter booms were due to underserved audiences. Pent-up demand is a powerful thing. (Also, a reminder that publishers are retarded for leaving all this money on the table.) Likewise, the decline in recent Kickstarters can be attributed to a now relatively crowded market ("isometric RPG" is no longer a dead genre, hence will not do gangbuster numbers at the fundraising well).

I'm excited about BattleTech but I'm skeptical of HBS' abilities, so I'm sitting this one out. Will pick up on release.

Yeah, this is how I feel too. The opportunity to soak up the ambience of the Battletech universe is what interests me about this project, what terrifies me is HBS trying to do a combat-focused game when they've shown zero ability to inject difficulty and challenge into their products.
 

agris

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Apr 16, 2004
Messages
6,764
I'm excited about BattleTech but I'm skeptical of HBS' abilities, so I'm sitting this one out. Will pick up on release.
I feel similarly, except that HBS shows a level of self-awareness that gives me confidence in their ability to execute. The most telling, to me, is in how they describe their games. Their description of the SR games as "RPGs with tactical elements" and this new Battletech game as a "tactical game with RPG elements" shows their degree of focus on the tactical elements. Honestly, based on all the SR games, I have more confidence in their ability to produce a tactical game with a sprinkling of RPG components than vice-versa. I enjoyed the SR games, but they weren't great RPGs.
 

Zeriel

Arcane
Joined
Jun 17, 2012
Messages
13,383
Maybe not but an action game it is not.

It's definitely a strategy game, but if we call it that then we have to relegate it to Tacticular Cancer, the website that no one ever goes to, and no one ever will.
 

Darkzone

Arcane
Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
2,323
I'm excited about BattleTech but I'm skeptical of HBS' abilities, so I'm sitting this one out. Will pick up on release.
I'm torn apart about this, my love for BTech requires backing at the $50 level, but the knowledge that the one responsible for the shit that is SR:HK is also leading the design of BTech, prevents me from backing it. Fuck....
 

Jaesun

Fabulous Ex-Moderator
Patron
Joined
May 14, 2004
Messages
37,241
Location
Seattle, WA USA
MCA
It's not an RPG. What are we, RPG Watch now? Covering action games as news.

I don't think you quite grasp what is an action game. This is a turn based tactical game with RPG elements, based on the BattleTech pen and paper rule system... :M
 
Joined
May 5, 2014
Messages
1,677
You can be 100% sure it won't resemble the TT game mechanics in any shape or form. XCOM with mechs.

SR was originally intended to be smaller and primarily designed for tablets.
This is being made primarily for desktops.
Theres some hope to be had.
 

As an Amazon Associate, rpgcodex.net earns from qualifying purchases.
Back
Top Bottom