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KickStarter BATTLETECH - turn-based mech combat from Harebrained Schemes

Galdred

Studio Draconis
Patron
Developer
Joined
May 6, 2011
Messages
4,346
Location
Middle Empire
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
None. There is no setting that gives no weapon on reconstruction. They took the easy way out and just gave you a brand new 'mech. It is very obvious when you fight bog-standard 'mechs and end up with uber shit that is stronger than LosTech.

You might as well play DnD, fight goblins and roll up a +4 sword as loot. At level 1.

Shit game for dumbfucks.
Actually, there is one now. You can also adjust the number of pieces needed to regrow mechs.

This game doesn't have an economy either.
Yeah, I was meaning to say you didn't get any of those things. Though maybe the devs have realised the campaign sucks too, since the new patch is going to have a mode which disables it and just has you play randomly generated missions. But the randomly generated missions aren't really very fun either, so I'm not sure why anyone would bother with that.
Randomly generated missions was one of the dumbest thing you can do with a Battletech game. You only have so many different chassis and variants and so many random maps. People will experience them all very quickly. After that, it is all tedious repetitions.

Games like BTech requires crafted encounters, set-ups and scenarios. Individual maps, a campaign, and the like. Much like what Mechcommander did. That is what keeps the game interesting as you will basically be facing the same foes over and over again. You need to make sure those foes come in different combinations and tactical considerations.

Of course, HBS is a fucking screwed up pack of monkeys banging away at a typewriter, and so they predictably went for the easiest and laziest "campaign" style. What a bullshit company.
That is partially true, but Klei managed to make some consistently good tactical levels in Invisible Inc, so it is possible. Whether they can also pull it out or not is another story.

One thing I dislike in BTech comes from the TT rules themselves:
Armor hit points for each location makes flanking meaningless unless you flank with several mechs.
I would have preferred Armor to be counted for both sides of a location, with a multiplier for rear shot damage, or not armor HP at all (but a Damage reduction or armor roll), as in most tactical wargames.
 

Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,295
None. There is no setting that gives no weapon on reconstruction. They took the easy way out and just gave you a brand new 'mech. It is very obvious when you fight bog-standard 'mechs and end up with uber shit that is stronger than LosTech.

You might as well play DnD, fight goblins and roll up a +4 sword as loot. At level 1.

Shit game for dumbfucks.
Actually, there is one now. You can also adjust the number of pieces needed to regrow mechs.

He was asking if you can get a chasis without weapons. That is a negative. No matter how many pieces you need, you end up with a fully equipped and functional 'mech.

This game doesn't have an economy either.
Yeah, I was meaning to say you didn't get any of those things. Though maybe the devs have realised the campaign sucks too, since the new patch is going to have a mode which disables it and just has you play randomly generated missions. But the randomly generated missions aren't really very fun either, so I'm not sure why anyone would bother with that.
Randomly generated missions was one of the dumbest thing you can do with a Battletech game. You only have so many different chassis and variants and so many random maps. People will experience them all very quickly. After that, it is all tedious repetitions.

Games like BTech requires crafted encounters, set-ups and scenarios. Individual maps, a campaign, and the like. Much like what Mechcommander did. That is what keeps the game interesting as you will basically be facing the same foes over and over again. You need to make sure those foes come in different combinations and tactical considerations.

Of course, HBS is a fucking screwed up pack of monkeys banging away at a typewriter, and so they predictably went for the easiest and laziest "campaign" style. What a bullshit company.
That is partially true, but Klei managed to make some consistently good tactical levels in Invisible Inc, so it is possible. Whether they can also pull it out or not is another story.

One thing I dislike in BTech comes from the TT rules themselves:
Armor hit points for each location makes flanking meaningless unless you flank with several mechs.
I would have preferred Armor to be counted for both sides of a location, with a multiplier for rear shot damage, or not armor HP at all (but a Damage reduction or armor roll), as in most tactical wargames.
Flanking is good because you can hit the rear of the torso sections, and that is extremely desirable due to the fact that the torso contains bits that is non-negotiable to the functioning of the 'mech, and the fact that 'mechs always have a much weaker rear armour (a rule of thumb is roughly 3:1 front:rear armour).

I won't comment on whether HBS is capable of anything even remotely good because the answer is obvious.
 

Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,295
What really fucking gets me is that, in a universe as full of crazy/retarded/cool shit as Battletech's, HBS' Battletech campaign was the best they could come up with. A synopsis of it seriously reads like something off of Fanfiction.net.

EDIT: Seriously, you want to know how crap-ola it is? I've seen better BT stories on SomethingAwful's old BT thread. We're talking goons who were basically just kind of winging a revisionist-history version of BT, and they were doing a pretty decent job compared to HBS.
I have seen Macross/BTech crossovers that are better than the HBS shit. Heck, I have seen Battlestar Galactica 2003/BTech crossovers that are better, even one where the Cylons started making giant sized uber-centurions to mimic battlemechs. I won't even talk about some of the fanfics where they have a unique Caspar class ship that is completely autonomous and has an AI on par with/superior to Star Trek/Star Wars androids.

They are all better than the HBS shit.
 

Galdred

Studio Draconis
Patron
Developer
Joined
May 6, 2011
Messages
4,346
Location
Middle Empire
Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
None. There is no setting that gives no weapon on reconstruction. They took the easy way out and just gave you a brand new 'mech. It is very obvious when you fight bog-standard 'mechs and end up with uber shit that is stronger than LosTech.

You might as well play DnD, fight goblins and roll up a +4 sword as loot. At level 1.

Shit game for dumbfucks.
Actually, there is one now. You can also adjust the number of pieces needed to regrow mechs.

He was asking if you can get a chasis without weapons. That is a negative. No matter how many pieces you need, you end up with a fully equipped and functional 'mech.

No, there really is an option to get a barebone mech after assembling it. Only the armor is added "freely", no weapon or no equipment are included. The problem is that you can only select this option when starting a campaign, and you cannot skip the tutorial...
 

Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,295
None. There is no setting that gives no weapon on reconstruction. They took the easy way out and just gave you a brand new 'mech. It is very obvious when you fight bog-standard 'mechs and end up with uber shit that is stronger than LosTech.

You might as well play DnD, fight goblins and roll up a +4 sword as loot. At level 1.

Shit game for dumbfucks.
Actually, there is one now. You can also adjust the number of pieces needed to regrow mechs.

He was asking if you can get a chasis without weapons. That is a negative. No matter how many pieces you need, you end up with a fully equipped and functional 'mech.

No, there really is an option to get a barebone mech after assembling it. Only the armor is added "freely", no weapon or no equipment are included. The problem is that you can only select this option when starting a campaign, and you cannot skip the tutorial...
The utter stupidity overfloweth. Someone call Adam Quark!
 

Bohr

Arcane
Joined
Nov 20, 2012
Messages
1,878
(In the hope of earning more autism ratings) Couldn't help chuckling at this PR effort
<Insert Stalinmeme.png>

30bLfz49_o.png




https://tweetsave.com/shadowvasterra/status/1065245908688875521
 
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PorkBarrellGuy

Guest
(In the hope of earning more autism ratings) Couldn't help chuckling at this PR effort
<Insert Stalinmeme.png>

30bLfz49_o.png




https://tweetsave.com/shadowvasterra/status/1065245908688875521


The way they unperson people so quickly would make Stalin's head spin.

E: Just noticed where "Kiva" is in that photo. They have the figure of a barrel.


They're basically all aspiring Stalinists so this shouldn't be surprising.

I actually keep thinking back to the goon BT reboot thread and honestly, I think the only thing that COULD really revive Battletech/Mechwarrior, really and truly, is a massive reboot. Undo all the retarded shit that happened with Dark Age and Jihad eras, somehow make the Clan Invasion something other than a shitshow spawning Mary Sues and OP clantech, something like that. Kind of just discard most of the blatant Mary Sue characters from Phelan to Kai and so on, put more focus on the various more interesting and genuinely compelling ones from Minobu to Anastasius Focht (that's kind of a maybe, though, because I'm not sure he's not effectively a Mary Sue). I dunno. Something new. But for god's sake keep the project far, far away from these soy-guzzling queers.
 
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Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,295
(In the hope of earning more autism ratings) Couldn't help chuckling at this PR effort
<Insert Stalinmeme.png>

30bLfz49_o.png




https://tweetsave.com/shadowvasterra/status/1065245908688875521


The way they unperson people so quickly would make Stalin's head spin.

E: Just noticed where "Kiva" is in that photo. They have the figure of a barrel.

Once again, everyone is looking straight at the camera while that barrel has got his head tilted down menacingly for the kewl creds.
 

Zed Duke of Banville

Dungeon Master
Patron
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
11,760
I actually keep thinking back to the goon BT reboot thread and honestly, I think the only thing that COULD really revive Battletech/Mechwarrior, really and truly, is a massive reboot. Undo all the retarded shit that happened with Dark Age and Jihad eras, somehow make the Clan Invasion something other than a shitshow spawning Mary Sues and OP clantech, something like that. Kind of just discard most of the blatant Mary Sue characters from Phelan to Kai and so on, put more focus on the various more interesting and genuinely compelling ones from Minobu to Anastasius Focht (that's kind of a maybe, though, because I'm not sure he's not effectively a Mary Sue). I dunno. Something new. But for god's sake keep the project far, far away from these soy-guzzling queers.
Any Battletech/Mechwarrior game should take place no later than the Fourth Succession War. It was a mistake to add an overarching plot to the setting and to (repeatedly!) advance the timeline. Game companies do this as a ploy to boost short-term sales at the long-term expense of balkanizing their fanbase and generating decline in their setting.
 

PorkBarrellGuy

Guest
I actually keep thinking back to the goon BT reboot thread and honestly, I think the only thing that COULD really revive Battletech/Mechwarrior, really and truly, is a massive reboot. Undo all the retarded shit that happened with Dark Age and Jihad eras, somehow make the Clan Invasion something other than a shitshow spawning Mary Sues and OP clantech, something like that. Kind of just discard most of the blatant Mary Sue characters from Phelan to Kai and so on, put more focus on the various more interesting and genuinely compelling ones from Minobu to Anastasius Focht (that's kind of a maybe, though, because I'm not sure he's not effectively a Mary Sue). I dunno. Something new. But for god's sake keep the project far, far away from these soy-guzzling queers.
Any Battletech/Mechwarrior game should take place no later than the Fourth Succession War. It was a mistake to add an overarching plot to the setting and to (repeatedly!) advance the timeline. Game companies do this as a ploy to boost short-term sales at the long-term expense of balkanizing their fanbase and generating decline in their setting.

Fourth Succession War would be a very safe route to take. If the franchise were at any point to fall into significantly more competent hands than those of PGI, HBS and Catalyst and Hasbro in general, I could see a rebooted franchise with Clantech being made significantly less retarded and Lostech/some of the nu-IS toys from FedCom Civil War era making an appearance without completely upending shit, but that is probably never going to happen. It's not that I particularly like what the Clan invasion did - I think it was ultimately disastrous in nearly every way - but I hate having the loose ends of the SLDF exodus unaddressed and I can imagine someone who wasn't a complete fool doing the whole thing better than it was done (not that that would be terribly difficult)

I know there would be people crying "but muh Timby, muh iconic Clan Omnis", though. There would have to be redesigns all the way down the line, because I really think that Clan scientists, genetically-engineered smarties or not, should not have been able to magically shave tonnage, critspace and such off of things in the fashion that occurred. Also, I don't really understand the whole "we're using Stars of 5 now, not lances of 4" switch. The whole idea of a lance being 4 mechs was (IMO) an intelligent decision because it echoes the "Finger-Four" formation used in contemporary aircraft formations. A Star adds that extra commander unit for... what reason exactly? I'm sure they have some explanation for it in the silly Clan culture but eh.
 
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Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,295
I actually keep thinking back to the goon BT reboot thread and honestly, I think the only thing that COULD really revive Battletech/Mechwarrior, really and truly, is a massive reboot. Undo all the retarded shit that happened with Dark Age and Jihad eras, somehow make the Clan Invasion something other than a shitshow spawning Mary Sues and OP clantech, something like that. Kind of just discard most of the blatant Mary Sue characters from Phelan to Kai and so on, put more focus on the various more interesting and genuinely compelling ones from Minobu to Anastasius Focht (that's kind of a maybe, though, because I'm not sure he's not effectively a Mary Sue). I dunno. Something new. But for god's sake keep the project far, far away from these soy-guzzling queers.
Any Battletech/Mechwarrior game should take place no later than the Fourth Succession War. It was a mistake to add an overarching plot to the setting and to (repeatedly!) advance the timeline. Game companies do this as a ploy to boost short-term sales at the long-term expense of balkanizing their fanbase and generating decline in their setting.

Fourth Succession War would be a very safe route to take. If the franchise were at any point to fall into significantly more competent hands than those of PGI, HBS and Catalyst and Hasbro in general, I could see a rebooted franchise with Clantech being made significantly less retarded and Lostech/some of the nu-IS toys from FedCom Civil War era making an appearance without completely upending shit, but that is probably never going to happen. It's not that I particularly like what the Clan invasion did - I think it was ultimately disastrous in nearly every way - but I hate having the loose ends of the SLDF exodus unaddressed and I can imagine someone who wasn't a complete fool doing the whole thing better than it was done (not that that would be terribly difficult)

I know there would be people crying "but muh Timby, muh iconic Clan Omnis", though. There would have to be redesigns all the way down the line, because I really think that Clan scientists, genetically-engineered smarties or not, should not have been able to magically shave tonnage, critspace and such off of things in the fashion that occurred. Also, I don't really understand the whole "we're using Stars of 5 now, not lances of 4" switch. The whole idea of a lance being 4 mechs was (IMO) an intelligent decision because it echoes the "Finger-Four" formation used in contemporary aircraft formations. A Star adds that extra commander unit for... what reason exactly? I'm sure they have some explanation for it in the silly Clan culture but eh.
You know what would be good? What would give us Star League tech without Clan shenannigans? What has never been done before in any BTech game I know? One that will give us lots of fun stuff that post-3060 did without Clans? FIRST Succession War.

And fuck Harmony Gold if they decide to try and fight that.
 

PorkBarrellGuy

Guest


Are custom user-defined categories for devs available? I think you can do it with games, but not sure about entire devhouses.

EDIT: Shit, looks like they got rid of the user-definable category altogether. Piss poor show, Gayben. That was prime shitpost generation material.

Yeah, it's pretty difficult to make a decent joke with the few predefined categories. Steam is apparently going full humorless cunt about their little awards show.
 
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Infinitron

I post news
Staff Member
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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
https://www.pcgamesn.com/battletech/battletech-flashpoint-new-mechs

The mechs of BattleTech – Flashpoint: the blade, the brain, and the beast
Each of the three mechs in BattleTech's Flashpoint expansion brings new specialisms to the battlefield

battletech-flashpoint-header-hatchetman-2-900x507.jpg



Harebrained Schemes launches the first expansion for its turn-based strategy game about big, stomping mechs today. BattleTech – Flashpoint adds a new style of mission, in which you must play across a string of matches without the opportunity to repair your mechs. It also adds a new biome – a tropical landscape full of water, dangerous spore clouds, and beat down on by a hot sun. And, most importantly of all, there are three new mechs.

The Hatchetman, King Crab, and Cyclops may not be at the top of the list when you think of iconic BattleMechs, but some of the more famous machines won’t be available until the in-universe timeline has moved on. Mechs like the Mad Cat likely won’t turn up for another 20 in-game years. Harebrained hasn’t made clear if that will be through future expansions or a sequel.

However, each of the three new mechs brings something special to the battlefield. A big axe, a big brain, and a big… well, the King Crab is just really big, ok?


HATCHETMAN
Generally, in BattleTech, if you end up in melee combat you’ve done something wrong. That might step on the toes of some fans (appropriately), but your walking tanks are loaded with lasers, missile racks, and autocannons for a reason: ranged warfare is what this game’s all about. You don’t want your enemies to get any closer to each of your mechs than their minimum firing ranges.



That’s why Hatchetman is a curveball. As its name suggests, it’s equipped with a multi-tonne axe for an arm, and if you want to use it you have to get as close as you can to the enemy.

The hatchet weapon is fixed to a hardpoint on the medium-sized mech’s right arm and it gives a bonus +70 modifier to your melee attack damage. This means Hatchetman mechs are able to dish out a whopping 110 melee damage in combat, which puts it in the same league as the significantly heavier, slower assault class mechs.

The Hatchetman’s lower weight class means it can be swift on the battlefield. I often lean into this and sprint my Hatchetman mechs into combat, sacrificing the opportunity to fire in favour of getting into melee range faster. Sprinting towards the enemy has the added bonus of buffing your evasion significantly, making it much harder for the enemy to hit you on their turn.

However, it’s very easy to overstep with the Hatchetman. While it can dish out melee damage equal to mechs two classes higher in the food chain, it has the armour of a medium mech. Once you get close enough to an enemy to hit them with a melee attack, you’ll have to come to a halt, and that means all your evasion protection will disappear. If you’re too far behind enemy lines, your Hatchetman can be cut to shribbons. And that right arm is particularly vulnerable. If the hatchet is blown off you’re left with a very lightly armed medium mech.

I found the open battlefields of BattleTech really didn’t play to the Hatchetman’s strengths. Where it could come into its own is the teased Urban Warfare expansion – due in summer 2019 – the tight streets and sightline-blocking buildings could let you get up close to an enemy mech without being vulnerable to attacks from its lancemates.



CYCLOPS
The Cyclops, by itself, is a tad dull. It’s an assault mech you can kit out with autocannons, missiles, and lasers, but not in the quantity of the other machines in its weight class. It moves faster than the King Crab but it’s hardly Usain Bolt. Still, in a fight, it’ll be able to take on most lighter mechs through the sheer bent of its substantial armour.

What makes the Cyclops special is a new item that Harebrained has added with it: the Battle Computer. This device, fitted into the Cyclops’s head, pushes up the initiative score of every mech in your lance – a powerful buff.

In BattleTech, turn order is determined by a mech’s initiative score, and that is dictated by the weight class of the machine. Light mechs go first, then medium, heavy, and assault mechs go last. Attacking first offers a huge advantage: you could knock down your opponent, damage a vital weapon system, or even destroy the enemy before they can get a shot in. Pilots can learn abilities that buff initiative, allowing them to push a heavier mech to go earlier in the turn order, but opting for that ability locks them out of picking other, equally powerful skills. So an item that pushes every mech in your lance up a rung in the turn order is a hugely powerful ability. It’s just a shame you have to field a pretty dull mech to use it.



KING CRAB
The AC/20 is one of the most powerful weapons in BattleTech. The autocannon can deal a massive 100 damage, generates very little heat, and can punch a hole straight through most mechs. The King Crab can be equipped with two of them. If you have a pilot in the cockpit who has the multi-target ability then your can fire each cannon at separate mechs, potentially one-shotting two light mechs in a single move.

The standard build in BattleTech sees the King Crab also sport a large laser and rack of LRMs. It’s a beastly machine to field, able to slam the enemy with heavy ordnance as soon a lancemate has them in sight.

There’s room for versatility, too. You could opt for smaller autocannons to free up weight and equip four missile racks or four lasers (though, c’mon, who can turn down two AC/20s?).

You can probably guess the limitations of the King Crab. It’s an assault mech with enough weapons to kit out three smaller machines. It moves slow. In a skirmish where I was fielding Hatchetman mechs and King Crabs, the heavier mechs fell far behind, leaving my lighter mechs unsupported and exposed to fire. I won the battle when my Crabs finally arrived, but the Hatchetman mechs were long dead. If you’re going to field King Crabs, be prepared to slow the advance of your whole lance.

At least we’ve finally got a totally coherent, in-universe justification to yell ‘Giant enemy crabs’ while playing a game.

It’s great seeing Harebrained lean into BattleTech’s weirder machines so early in the game’s life, especially as legal trouble in the pasthas encouraged game developers to stick to a familiar stable of mechs.
 

Bohr

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Messages
1,878
Except the King Crab was in the game already, they are adding the Crab :M

NEW BATTLEMECHS
Expand your 'Mech arsenal with the armor-chopping power of the Hatchetman, the speed and versatility of the Crab, and the battle-computer-equipped Cyclops.
 

Vaarna_Aarne

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MCA Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2
Herpaderp on part of the article, CRAB is the new 'mech, not its bigger assault brother since King Crab was already in the base game. I have been taken for a ride.

However, it's sort of futile to add Hatchetman and Crab into the game tho, since they are of utility only in a small fraction of the game due to the way the game's mechanics enforce bigger=better probably more than any BTech vidya ever has. Especially after they made bigger also resist stability damage better too so the bigger mechs' only weak spot was removed. Cyclops obviously stands as the one you always want, assuming it doesn't have effective tonnage Banshee style.
 

Bohr

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HBS game lore/events coming to tabletop next year :shittydog:

Cael

Coming Soon - House Arano: The Aurigan Coalition!
Release Date: March 1, 2019

High Lady Kamea Arano dispatched the usurpers who stole her throne, dismantled their dictatorial government, and restored peace to the Aurigan Coalition. Now her true battle begins…

The Arano Restoration has succeeded, and High Lady Kamea rules over the reunited Aurigan Coalition. But all is not well—the Coalition’s hardscrabble planets teeter on the brink of collapse, while its powerful neighbors await another chance to subvert House Arano. More than ever, the Coalition needs warriors willing to do whatever it takes to claim victory.

Step into the Aurigan Coalition in this PDF and Print-on-Demand product which brings the setting of the hit PC strategy game BattleTech into the long-running tabletop experience. Learn the proud history of the Coalition and its hope for the future, then take up the defense of the Arano dynasty with four all-new scenarios picking up where the game left off. "House Arano: The Aurigan Coalition" is authored by Harebrained Schemes' Andrew McIntosh and Kiva Maginn, writers and developers of the BattleTech PC game.

To survive on the fringes of the Inner Sphere, those of noble birth must once again call on champions of mercenary mind.
 

Bohr

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Nov 20, 2012
Messages
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https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-and-localization-beta-release-notes.1131637/
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...to-mechwarrior-abilities-1-3-release.1131627/

Welcome to BATTLETECH 1.3! This release contains a number of quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes, as well as some cool new features. Today we'll also release the Flashpoint paid expansion and the Beta version of French, German, and Russian localizations.

1.3 HIGHLIGHTS: Career Mode, Revision to MechWarrior Abilities, Revisions to Reputation, Revision to Stores… See details in the “New Free Features & Content” section below.

BATTLETECH: Flashpoint expansion now available: Beyond adding over 30 hours of exciting Flashpoints (branching, multi-mission short stories) to BATTLETECH, this paid expansion comes complete with three new ‘Mechs (including the highly anticipated Hatchetman), a challenging new mission type, and a new tropical biome for the biggest and most challenging BATTLETECH experience yet. Purchase the Season Pass to get a deal on Flashpoint plus the next two expansions!

uPLiq6ee_o.jpg


Note for Paradox Plaza users: After purchase of the Flashpoint expansion, you will need to be logged in within the game in order to see Flashpoint content.

Localized Beta versions of the game: Localization is officially in Beta on Steam and GOG for all OS versions! Select the “public_beta_localization” branch to opt-in, then select German, Russian, or French in the in-game Settings menu. This Beta includes translated Flashpoint paid expansion content for owners of Flashpoint. We will continue to work on bug fixes (including updating any missing string translations), improving the quality of the translations, and updating this beta branch. We also look forward to hearing your feedback on in this thread. Habe Spaß! Повеселись! S'amuser!

Localization known issues:
  • If you switch to a different language and it isn’t showing up on screen, you may need to back out to the main menu so that the language pack can refresh.
  • Subtitles may play quite fast in cinematics.
  • Some text in labels, Career Mode, Flashpoints, and multiplayer may appear unlocalized.
  • There may be some minor cosmetic issues with text formatting.
  • The test language we used to develop our localization system is visible in the settings menu. It is strongly advised that you do not play the game with this enabled.
  • There is no noun declension in procedurally generated contracts.

Linux Beta update: The Linux Beta along with fixes and updates has been integrated with the main game version and is available on Steam, GOG, and Humble!

Linux known issues:
  • The game must have write access to the installation directory. If you get infinite loading screens on launch or when starting a new game make sure the directory is writable: sudo chmod -R 777 BattleTech_Data
  • Non-English Linux systems may experience infinite loading screens. Please opt-in to the Localized Beta (below) or use the launch option work-around: LC_ALL=C

We hope you enjoy our latest BATTLETECH releases!

-- HBS

IMPORTANT: Additional note for players who mod various game files… Reminder that modding is not officially supported. If you have saved a game with any mod active, that saved game will not work after an update has been applied unless you replace all modded files exactly as they were when the save game file was created. Saved games require the exact same data state in order to function properly.

As always, if you experience further issues please contact Customer Support at: https://support.paradoxplaza.com

New Free Features & Content

  • All-new Career Mode - Career Mode challenges you to begin the game with the Argo in a random system, with a random group of MechWarriors, with no story missions to rely on for big payouts. Wander the Periphery taking contracts (and Flashpoints, if you own Flashpoint!) and manage and grow your mercenary company to earn a final score. Career mode is played in Ironman mode by default, so it is also possible to “lose” this mode unrecoverably. (But Ironman mode can be disabled, and all the same granular difficulty settings from the campaign can also be adjusted in Career Mode.)

  • Revamped MechWarrior abilities - We heard a bunch of feedback about the Bulwark ability and how you HAD to take it to finish the campaign and it got us thinking… and then revising Bulwark… and realizing that we should just rebalance the whole dang set of abilities. Then we put it out as an opt-in Beta and got some great feedback - thanks! We’ve been working on it ever since and we’ve released the revised abilities in 1.3. You can read the complete details in this forum post. The first time you load any game session after updating to 1.3, you'll see a popup informing you that all of your MechWarrior skills have been refunded, so that you can review the new abilities and respec accordingly.

  • Revisions to the Reputation System - We’ve increased the rate at which reputation rises and falls so you can really feel the effects of your actions. When you reach the maximum possible reputation with a faction, you become eligible for an Alliance. By entering into an Alliance, you mark yourself an ally of that faction - and an enemy of that faction's enemies.

  • Faction stores - In addition to making higher difficulty contracts and salvage available, Alliances also allow you to access faction-specific stores containing items you might not find anywhere else.

  • Black Market stores - If you play your cards right, criminal elements will allow you to buy access to the Black Market, where you’ll find some equipment that fell off a transport…

  • New Events, including cameos from two Legendary MechWarriors (these were part of our “social sharing” Backer reward from the Kickstarter, and we expect the other two cameos to make it into the next free update.)

  • New mercenary contracts - now you can take jobs from Pirates!

  • New inventory items - including rare LosTech from before the fall of the Star League!

  • New Achievements - 19 new mercenary and story achievements have been added to the campaign and career modes!

Improvements
  • Increased the number of possible encounter types on existing maps for more variety.
  • Star Map updates for new Stores and the Black Market
  • New space travel animations added
  • New camera angles added in group conversations
  • Players can now move 'Mechs from one Mech Bay slot to another. Organize away!

UI
  • Many added, updated, and fixed Tooltips
  • Priority items now remain visible on the salvage list after confirming their selection
  • Fixed the broken Settings toggle for auto-selecting units outside of combat
  • Fixed an issue which would cause the portrait and description on the “Arrived at Destination” popup message to occasionally be cut off
  • Fixed an issue which caused Reputation indicators to be partially cut off on the Negotiation screen
  • Removed Reputation status icons for Locals’ (and certain other factions you cannot gain or lose Reputation with) from Stores and AAR. This will keep Reputation focused on the Factions that matter.
  • Fixed an issue which caused the pattern selector in the Mech Bay to stop responding after switching patterns too rapidly
  • Fixed an issue which caused the 'No existing save games' prompt to display after quitting from the 'Load Game' menu evoked after running out of C-bills
  • Made the Settings Menu able to be dismissed using the ESC key
  • Fixed the Morale tooltip to not always show '0' value for the Current Morale
  • Fixed an issue which caused the background behind the Leopard to change when navigating between screens
  • Fixed an issue which could cause the 'Load Save' button on the Out of Funds pop-up not respond for the user's input
  • Fixed UI visual anomalies which could occur after using the Pattern selector or the Refit menu in the Mech Bay
  • Items in 'Store' and 'Storage' menus are now sorted more by types
  • Various small UI and messaging improvements

Accounts
  • Special characters are now allowed in account creation passwords (!@#$%^&**()_-=+[]<>)

Bugfixes

  • Fixed multiple spawn spots on maps where ‘Mechs would get stuck
  • Collision improvements to existing maps
  • Fixed a soft lock players could occasionally encounter after commanding fire at the first test dummy ‘Mech in the campaign tutorial
  • Fixed an exploit where the player can perform Called Shot on ‘Mechs that are not knocked down by using the keyboard
  • Fixed an issue in Character Creation which caused the last screen of 'Your Background' to be missing its background image after returning from the 'Your Appearance' tab
  • Fixed an issue which caused the 'Sprint' skill to not be toggled for the next selected Mech if the user attempted to use it on an unstable Mech
  • Fixed an issue which caused Player 2/Guest UI to be missing Heraldry Image in Lobby & Combat UI
  • Fixed a lighting issue on OSX for some graphics cards. For more info, see: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...e-1-2-mech-lighting-graphical-issues.1116636/
  • Fixed an issue which enabled users to join the lobby of a multiplayer match that was completed
  • Fixed a save/load issue which caused overheated ‘Mechs to appear in their shutdown pose after loading a combat save
  • Fixed a save/load issue which caused increased map lightning in particular biomes after loading a combat save
  • Various small graphical bug fixes on existing maps
  • Fixed an issue in the Liberation of Weldry mission that caused you to remain in interleaved turn mode after all your first set of enemies were defeated.
  • VFX improvements on some weapons!
  • Fixed an issue in the Mech Bay which could cause Filters to be reverted to the default state after deleting a custom 'Mech
  • Collision and pathing improvements to certain maps
  • Improvements to beacons and objective communication

  • Many additional small improvements and bug fixes

Known Issues (to be hotfixed asap)
  • Flashpoint owners cannot currently play multiplayer games against non-Flashpoint owners.
  • Turret generator destruction can distort audio in Target Acquisition missions. Restarting the title fixes this.
  • Skirmish Mech Bay - Deleting any customized 'Mech causes a 'Mech from the custom list to duplicate. This is a visual-only problem and is resolved on re-launch of the game.

Hi folks! I wanted to share the final set of revisions to our MechWarrior abilities in BATTLETECH 1.3. We'd like to thank all of you in the community for your feedback and playtesting of these new abilities, and we can't wait to hear what you all think!

Piloting 5 (Evasive Movement) is now Sure Footing.
PASSIVE: 'Mechs piloted by this MechWarrior gain one bonus Evasion charge after moving (can exceed the unit's maximum). If the move is not a sprint, jump, or charge to melee, the 'Mech also gains ENTRENCHED (50% stability damage reduction).

Tactics 5 (Sensor Lock) imposes a penalty to the hit chance of the target.
This is in addition to the former effects of revealing the target and removing evasive charges. This penalty is identical to, and stacks with, the penalty from being hit by a PPC.

ACTION: Select a target within sensor range to reveal it until the end of the current round and remove two of its EVASIVE charges. The target also gains +2 SENSORS IMPAIRED effect.

Guts 5 (Bulwark) was substantially redesigned.
A MechWarrior with Bulwark increases the value of Cover or Guarded by 20%. If both Cover and Guarded are in effect, Bulwark only increases the total damage resistance by 20%. Additionally, both Cover and Guarded are each worth only 20% Damage Resistance, and they stack. The possible states a Mech can be in are thus:
  • No Bulwark, in the open: 0% DR
  • No Bulwark, in cover: 20% DR
  • No Bulwark, guarded: 20% DR
  • No Bulwark, in cover, guarded: 40% DR
  • Bulwark, in the open: 0% DR
  • Bulwark, in cover: 40% DR
  • Bulwark, guarded: 40% DR
  • Bulwark, in cover, guarded: 60% DR
PASSIVE: COVER and GUARDED states both provide 40% damage reduction rather than 20% damage reduction. COVER and GUARDED together provide 60% damage reduction.

Guts 8 (Juggernaut) is now Coolant Vent.
ACTION: This unit will remove 50 extra heat this round. For the next three rounds, this unit will gain an extra 8 heat. There is a 4 round cooldown.

Note that the heat removed applies at the end of the ‘Mech’s turn, when heat would normally be reduced; this is a bonus to that normal heat reduction. Also note that Coolant Vent does not consume a movement or firing action; the user can trigger it at any time during the unit’s turn, before the unit fires, and still take all the unit’s normal actions. Any action that would normally end the unit’s turn will do so without providing an opportunity to trigger the ability, though.
 

Infinitron

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https://af.gog.com/game/battletech_flashpoint?as=1649904300

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/2355427

LIVE - BATTLETECH Update 1.3, Flashpoint Expansion, and Localization Beta Release Notes

Welcome to BATTLETECH 1.3! This release contains a number of improvements and bug fixes, as well as some cool new features. We have also released the Flashpoint paid expansion and the Beta version of French, German, and Russian localizations.

1.3 HIGHLIGHTS: Career Mode, Revision to MechWarrior Abilities, Revisions to Reputation, Revision to Stores… See details in the “New Free Features & Content” section below.

BATTLETECH: Flashpoint expansion now available: Beyond adding over 30 hours of exciting Flashpoints (branching, multi-mission short stories) to BATTLETECH, this paid expansion comes complete with three new ‘Mechs (including the highly anticipated Hatchetman), a challenging new mission type, and a new tropical biome for the biggest and most challenging BATTLETECH experience yet. Purchase the Season Pass to get a deal on Flashpoint plus the next two expansions!


Note for Paradox Plaza users: After purchase of the Flashpoint expansion, you will need to be logged in within the game in order to see Flashpoint content.

Localized Beta versions of the game: Localization is officially in Beta on Steam and GOG for all OS versions! Select the “public_beta_localization” branch to opt-in, then select German, Russian, or French in the in-game Settings menu. This Beta includes translated Flashpoint paid expansion content for owners of Flashpoint. We will continue to work on bug fixes (including updating any missing string translations), improving the quality of the translations, and updating this beta branch. We also look forward to hearing your feedback on the PDX Forum. Habe Spaß! Повеселись! S'amuser!

Localization known issues:
-- If you switch to a different language and it isn’t showing up on screen, you may need to back out to the main menu so that the language pack can refresh.
--Subtitles may play quite fast in cinematics.
--Some text in labels, Career Mode, Flashpoints, and multiplayer may appear unlocalized.
--There may be some minor cosmetic issues with text formatting.
--The test language we used to develop our localization system is visible in the settings menu. It is strongly advised that you do not play the game with this enabled.
--There is no noun declension in procedurally generated contracts.

Linux Beta update: The Linux Beta along with fixes and updates has been integrated with the main game version and is available on Steam, GOG, and Humble!

Linux known issues:
--The game must have write access to the installation directory. If you get infinite loading screens on launch or when starting a new game make sure the directory is writable: sudo chmod -R 777 BattleTech_Data
--Non-English Linux systems may experience infinite loading screens. Please opt-in to the Localized Beta (below) or use the launch option work-around: LC_ALL=C

We hope you enjoy our latest BATTLETECH releases!

-- HBS

IMPORTANT: Additional note for players who mod various game files… Reminder that modding is not officially supported. If you have saved a game with any mod active, that saved game will not work after an update has been applied unless you replace all modded files exactly as they were when the save game file was created. Saved games require the exact same data state in order to function properly.

As always, if you experience further issues please contact Customer Support at: https://support.paradoxplaza.com

New Free Features & Content

All-new Career Mode - Career Mode challenges you to begin the game with the Argo in a random system, with a random group of MechWarriors, with no story missions to rely on for big payouts. Wander the Periphery taking contracts (and Flashpoints, if you own Flashpoint!) and manage and grow your mercenary company to earn a final score. Career mode is played in Ironman mode by default, so it is also possible to “lose” this mode unrecoverably. (But Ironman mode can be disabled, and all the same granular difficulty settings from the campaign can also be adjusted in Career Mode.)

Revamped MechWarrior abilities - We heard a bunch of feedback about the Bulwark ability and how you HAD to take it to finish the campaign and it got us thinking… and then revising Bulwark… and realizing that we should just rebalance the whole dang set of abilities. Then we put it out as an opt-in Beta and got some great feedback - thanks! We’ve been working on it ever since and we’ve released the revised abilities in 1.3. You can read the complete details in this forum post. The first time you load any game session after updating to 1.3, you'll see a popup informing you that all of your MechWarrior skills have been refunded, so that you can review the new abilities and respec accordingly.

Revisions to the Reputation System - We’ve increased the rate at which reputation rises and falls so you can really feel the effects of your actions. When you reach the maximum possible reputation with a faction, you become eligible for an Alliance. By entering into an Alliance, you mark yourself an ally of that faction - and an enemy of that faction's enemies.

Faction stores - In addition to making higher difficulty contracts and salvage available, Alliances also allow you to access faction-specific stores containing items you might not find anywhere else.

Black Market stores - If you play your cards right, criminal elements will allow you to buy access to the Black Market, where you’ll find some equipment that fell off a transport…

New Events - including cameos from two Legendary MechWarriors (these were part of our “social sharing” Backer reward from the Kickstarter, and we expect the other two cameos to make it into the next free update.)

New mercenary contracts - now you can take jobs from Pirates!

New inventory items - including rare LosTech from before the fall of the Star League!

New Achievements - 19 new mercenary and story achievements have been added to the campaign and career modes!

You'll find more improvements and the full release notes at this forum post.

And, finally, we're excited to share that our friends at Catalyst Game Labs will be releasing a new House Arano sourcebook with contributions from Kiva and Andrew on March 1st - be sure to check it out when it lands!

f252d9b2e34c9b5a0bcab9952a93b2d9_original.jpg
 
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Vaarna_Aarne

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Joined
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Messages
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MCA Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2
Well, getting a respec is very nice of them, even if I figure it's not too hard to save edit one for yourself. Even though the patch nerfs guarded and Bulwark, meta will probably still stay on Bulwark/Master Tactician being the best skill combo. Actually, it might not really be a nerf in this regard, since you'll just jump from cover the cover with it instead now, while both Cover and Guarded without bulwark have extremely reduced value.
 

Cael

Arcane
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
20,295
The Hatchetman was an experimental 'mech that entered production 3023 exclusively for the Lyran and FedSun armies. Kurita managed to capture a couple. It was definitely not offered to mercenary companies as even the Wolf's Dragoons were trying to lay their hands on one in 3028 (and succeeded, mind you; read Wolves on the Border for this one), and definitely not offered to some unknown band in the middle of bumfuck Periphery.

"Very knowledgable about the BTech universe", my ass! FAIL!

As Bohr already noted, it was already in the game. If you are talking about a Crab, that is a totally different beast altogether.

"Very knowledgable about the BTech universe", my ass! FAIL!
 
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