Game News BattleTech Released

[Infinitron]

Tags: BattleTech; Harebrained Schemes; Paradox Interactive

Two and a half years after its highly successful Kickstarter campaign, Harebrained Schemes have released BattleTech to the world. We've covered BattleTech despite the fact that its status as an RPG is in dispute - because it's turn-based, because it's tabletop, and because it's Harebrained Schemes. It's the biggest project they've ever done, and its fate will determine what comes next for the studio that gave us three Shadowrun RPGs. You've read the updates, you've watched the streams and dev diaries, so all that's left is to post the launch trailer:

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Reviews of BattleTech have been quite positive, one notable exception being the review by Rock Paper Shotgun's Alec Meer, who finds the game ponderous and lacking in variety. Some of the other reviews echo similar concerns, but don't seem as bothered by them. Here are all of the reviews I was able to find:

GameGrin 10/10
GamingTrend 95/100
PC Invasion 9/10
GameWatcher 9/10
PCGamesN 9/10
PC Gamer 85/100
Strategy Gamer 4/5
DarkStation 4/5
Destructoid 8/10
TheSixthAxis 7/10
Eurogamer Recommended
Rock Paper Shotgun
GameSkinny 8/10
GamingBolt 8/10
MMOGames 8/10
​

It's become clear from developer Q&A that Harebrained have had to leave a lot of mechanics on the cutting room floor, and the Codex's tactical combat grognards have been unhappy. What I'm interested in, though, is how our horde of Dragonfall fans will receive the game. If you didn't back it on Kickstarter, BattleTech is available now on Steam and GOG for the price of $40.

 

[Ruzen]

Apparently, the game asks you which pronoun do you wanna use he, she or them.

 

[Fenix]

Less then 3 minutes between posting and blocking. Have fun.

Spoiler

 

[tindrli]

so did anyone tryed it? does it delivers?

 

[Fenix]

It surely delivers - you can't create a character with blonde hair, you can with blue but not with blonde.

 

[frajaq]

RPS mentioned it was boring as fuck, suspect it might be true, pirating anyway to see whats what

 

[Spectacle]

So... best to wait for the Enhanced Directors Cut Game of the Year edition?

 

[ArchAngel]

Apparently, the game asks you which pronoun do you wanna use he, she or them.

I chose them. Finally a game then lets me be an attack helicopter.

 

[Latro]

So... best to wait for the Enhanced Directors Cut Game of the Year edition?

you could just play the front mission series

 

[Feyd Rautha]

It surely delivers - you can't create a character with blonde hair, you can with blue bit not with blonde.

yeah that was actually pretty odd. where is the blond hair? and also, no cute female faces only

 

[Eyestabber]

It surely delivers - you can't create a character with blonde hair, you can with blue bit not with blonde.

yeah that was actually pretty odd. where is the blond hair? and also, no cute female faces only

Beautiful women = objectification
Ugly women = empowerment

Get on with times you bigot.

 

[Blaine]

yeah that was actually pretty odd. where is the blond hair? and also, no cute female faces only

I called this ages ago.

This is SJWtech. The "oops, we ACCIDENTALLY forgot" lack of blonde hair, the lack of masculine male faces at character creation (according to some of the many negative reviews on Steam), sasquatch female faces, the female Muslim with a headscarf and multiple doctorates prominently displayed mid-dialogue on the Steam preview video/images marquee, and, well, the fact that Harebrained's staff are a bunch of SJWs. Unsurprisingly, even normies think the gameplay is also boring and too easy with waves of cannon fodder enemies.

Though, the main reason it's currently sitting at a Mixed rating on Steam seems to be that it's a buggy, crash-y, badly optimized pile of jank in no state to be released.

Anyway, this is where their little journey comes to a screeching halt. RIP

 

[oldmanpaco]

Well I gave these guys $25 2.5 years ago. Since then nothing they have said or done has made me happy about that decision.

Fucking kickstarter man.

 

[Bohr]

Although the "two trannies in standard 4 starting mechwarriors + no blonde hair for you" thing will get attention initially, I think in the longer run the requirement to be logged in with a Paradox account to access multiplayer or KS backer items may linger in the memory longer. Some backers were pretty butthurt about the PDX link to begin with anyway, and the server problems today aren't helping.

Spoiler

(from GOG thread)
Ok, more news about this.

FYI, that free DLC they offered with a Shadowhawk and an Atlas variant? It has DRM. You need to be logged on your Paradox account (in game) in order for the game to show the variants to you. As soon as you log out or block the game in your firewall, the extra content disappears.

It is not as the rest of games here on GOG where you have a little patch to add the extra content to your game. It is active just while you are online logged to Paradox :S

So that new note at the bottom of the requirements in the store page that says you need an account to redeem your codes for the extra content? Well, it's just half the truth, because you also need the account to play with the content. I can understand this for Steam but, for the GOG's classic installers?

Finally, i would like to make clear that those variants are usable single-player, it's not something for MP. You just need to enter a SP skirmish game and select them in your Mechbay to use them...if you are logged on a Paradox account.

I am very sad to discover that HBS let Paradox force this kind of things into a DRM-free game. A shame.

Edit: this things didn't happen when HBS was it's own publisher (see Shadowrun games). A real shame.

 

[Infinitron]

Spoiler

(from GOG thread)
Ok, more news about this.

FYI, that free DLC they offered with a Shadowhawk and an Atlas variant? It has DRM. You need to be logged on your Paradox account (in game) in order for the game to show the variants to you. As soon as you log out or block the game in your firewall, the extra content disappears.

It is not as the rest of games here on GOG where you have a little patch to add the extra content to your game. It is active just while you are online logged to Paradox :S

So that new note at the bottom of the requirements in the store page that says you need an account to redeem your codes for the extra content? Well, it's just half the truth, because you also need the account to play with the content. I can understand this for Steam but, for the GOG's classic installers?

Finally, i would like to make clear that those variants are usable single-player, it's not something for MP. You just need to enter a SP skirmish game and select them in your Mechbay to use them...if you are logged on a Paradox account.

I am very sad to discover that HBS let Paradox force this kind of things into a DRM-free game. A shame.

Edit: this things didn't happen when HBS was it's own publisher (see Shadowrun games). A real shame.

Absurd Ubisoft-tier move by Paradox. Do they have any other games that do that or is this one the first?

 

[karnak]

This is SJWtech. The "oops, we ACCIDENTALLY forgot" lack of blonde hair, the lack of masculine male faces at character creation (according to some of the many negative reviews on Steam), sasquatch female faces, the female Muslim with a headscarf and multiple doctorates prominently displayed mid-dialogue on the Steam preview video/images marquee, and, well, the fact that Harebrained's staff are a bunch of SJWs. Unsurprisingly, even normies think the gameplay is also boring and too easy with waves of cannon fodder enemies.

Yep. It seems the future of "Sci-Fi" will be "Social-Fiction-Justice".

 

[ArchAngel]

Spoiler

(from GOG thread)
Ok, more news about this.

FYI, that free DLC they offered with a Shadowhawk and an Atlas variant? It has DRM. You need to be logged on your Paradox account (in game) in order for the game to show the variants to you. As soon as you log out or block the game in your firewall, the extra content disappears.

It is not as the rest of games here on GOG where you have a little patch to add the extra content to your game. It is active just while you are online logged to Paradox :S

So that new note at the bottom of the requirements in the store page that says you need an account to redeem your codes for the extra content? Well, it's just half the truth, because you also need the account to play with the content. I can understand this for Steam but, for the GOG's classic installers?

Finally, i would like to make clear that those variants are usable single-player, it's not something for MP. You just need to enter a SP skirmish game and select them in your Mechbay to use them...if you are logged on a Paradox account.

I am very sad to discover that HBS let Paradox force this kind of things into a DRM-free game. A shame.

Edit: this things didn't happen when HBS was it's own publisher (see Shadowrun games). A real shame.

Absurd Ubisoft-tier move by Paradox. Do they have any other games that do that or is this one the first?

I didn't even get that far. As soon as I read I need a paradox account to get my custom mech I just gave up on getting one.

 

[Bocian]

 

[Latro]

seems like this whole game is a hare-brained scheme

 

[Ruzen]

Spoiler

(from GOG thread)
Ok, more news about this.

FYI, that free DLC they offered with a Shadowhawk and an Atlas variant? It has DRM. You need to be logged on your Paradox account (in game) in order for the game to show the variants to you. As soon as you log out or block the game in your firewall, the extra content disappears.

It is not as the rest of games here on GOG where you have a little patch to add the extra content to your game. It is active just while you are online logged to Paradox :S

So that new note at the bottom of the requirements in the store page that says you need an account to redeem your codes for the extra content? Well, it's just half the truth, because you also need the account to play with the content. I can understand this for Steam but, for the GOG's classic installers?

Finally, i would like to make clear that those variants are usable single-player, it's not something for MP. You just need to enter a SP skirmish game and select them in your Mechbay to use them...if you are logged on a Paradox account.

I am very sad to discover that HBS let Paradox force this kind of things into a DRM-free game. A shame.

Edit: this things didn't happen when HBS was it's own publisher (see Shadowrun games). A real shame.

Absurd Ubisoft-tier move by Paradox. Do they have any other games that do that or is this one the first?

Thay have the same thing with other games as well. Little content packs music to unit packs

 

[Cynicus]

Why must these self-absorbed, emotionally unstable cumstains taint everything worthwhile?

 

[Naraya]

^ The Codex still stands!

 

[Kem0sabe]

Trainwreck of bad publicity which will lead to an inevitable hilarious response by HBS blaming everyone but themselves.

 

[SausageInYourFace]

For me, HBS has always delivered with the SR games and I wish them the best on their BT release day.

 

[Blaine]

Trainwreck of bad publicity which will lead to an inevitable hilarious response by HBS blaming everyone but themselves.

They already got a head start on that when people expressed concern about the pre-nerfed enemies and they basically said that they knew better and to fuck off.