Preview BattleTech Kickstarter Update #30: Super-Pre-Alpha Gameplay Footage

[holla_cabezas_de_mierda]

jesus, most of you people seem impossible to please. Are you sure you even like games, especially TBS games? How would a turn based strategy game be 'faster' or more 'exciting'? By having camera jump around confusingly, an 'action cam'? By actually not being turned based?

 

[Infinitron]

This reminds me of Vault Dweller's classic RPS interview:

Vince: Let me ask you one of them rhetorical questions. Is turn-based for everyone? No. Will chess appeal to anyone? No. Casual players prefer to load a game, hit a few buttons and watch their characters kick some ass. They don’t want to play games like XCOM where a single mission can easily take a few hours. Yes, a few hours to kill 20 aliens. Should we be really surprised that in an age of weapons with DPS stats – that’s damage per SECOND – and avg expected kills of 10-15 monsters per minute, spending 2 hours to kill twenty aliens doesn’t sound like fun to some people?

This game is being designed as a tactical combat game rather than an RPG, so perhaps we should expect the pacing of one.

 

[a mod]

They have the physical scale wrong. The trees look like grass and the mechs look like children's toys.

 

[Orobis]

Graphics look fine. Gameplay looks a bit too simple, hopefully they will add more depth down the road.

Wonder what the system requirements will be.

 

[Kem0sabe]

jesus, most of you people seem impossible to please. Are you sure you even like games, especially TBS games? How would a turn based strategy game be 'faster' or more 'exciting'? By having camera jump around confusingly, an 'action cam'? By actually not being turned based?

Have you played any tactical rpgs from consoles? My favorite strategy mech game is front mission 3, and it was turned based, made battles look awesome, and the overall gameplay was very deep.

 

[a mod]

You would think a mech game would be the ultimate formula for an easy slam dunk of awesomeness, but the reality seems to be different for some reason. There's lots of stuff that can ruin such a game. But I am still agnostic about it. I didn't back, but any mech game is something I keep an eye on and will likely buy.

 

[ArchAngel]

They have the physical scale wrong. The trees look like grass and the mechs look like children's toys.

Although I found tha pre Alpha video fine I also have to agree with this.
They have to find a way to make us feel we are controlling huge metal pilot controlled robots. If they cannot sell the atmosphere the game will fail.

 

[Grotesque]

I hope we get portraits along these lines but I guess they're more expensive to make.

Compared to Mechcommander 2, the 3D renders/graphics are light-years away in the right direction.

Next it should have a skeumorphic UI where light and shadow plays a big part in aesthetics and the way to an immersive gameplay experience is paved.


edit: also I hope lance movement will be in real time when out of combat

 

[Kem0sabe]

Yeah, the size of the mechs is bothering me as well. Unlike the size of the landing ship, which was a nice scale to the surrounding buildings, the mechs themselves looked like toys.

 

[Darkzone]

I fail to see a problem with the trees. Reason:
A (3030) mech dependend on the model has a size of 9.2 m to the Atlas with 17.6 m. That is also around the average sise of Aspen, Redcedar, Post Oak, Sassafras to Pin Oak, Arborvitae, Hemlock and etc. Most Pines, Walnut, Linden, Red and White Oak reach a avg hight of below 24 m.
So what trees are this? We don't know.
Height of trees are also dependent on the technique the tree uses to pump its water to the leaves, the climate and the ground, that the trees anchors in.
What climate is this? We don't exactly know, besides that it is not that arid or semiarid and definitly not arctic or tundra. My guess would be that this is either subarctic, humid continental or Maritime climate zone.
The ground seems to be rocky so no large (above 30m) trees can anchor themself effectively in the ground.
Now to the water transportation mechanism of the trees:
The capillary action is dependend of the density of the fluid, the gravity and radius of the tube. So what do we know about the gravity on this planet? That it is not that far off of earth so between 3.0 g and 0.5 g, because of the use of jumpjets in the video.
This means that if the gravity is around 1.5g, then the trees will be smaller in the same fashion due to the hight of the water column.
Now the the most obvious thing: How old are the trees? We don't know.

So are the trees to small? No. Are the trees to high? No.

 

[Semper]

They have the physical scale wrong. The trees look like grass and the mechs look like children's toys.

Although I found tha pre Alpha video fine I also have to agree with this.
They have to find a way to make us feel we are controlling huge metal pilot controlled robots. If they cannot sell the atmosphere the game will fail.

it doesn't help that the trees are swinging like grass, and don't break but get bent when a mech walks through the woods. instead they tried to express weight through a screen shaking effect which is just annoying... hopefully this shit is optional. dunno about the gamplay. they made it appear to look dull with alpha strikes and simple heat management.

 

[Kev Inkline]

They have the physical scale wrong. The trees look like grass and the mechs look like children's toys.

Although I found tha pre Alpha video fine I also have to agree with this.
They have to find a way to make us feel we are controlling huge metal pilot controlled robots. If they cannot sell the atmosphere the game will fail.

The snowy hills in an early graphic test conveyed that feeling pretty well, what say you?

 

[jungl]

I'm not shitposting btw these are my honest thoughts. The old mech warrior games look more graphically impressive. It was awesome customizing and watching a mech that shot one giant set of laser beams then overheating lol. This game looks like the same shit like all of hare brained schemes games. Games that are not even worth playing if its $20 dollars on steam.

 

[ArchAngel]

They have the physical scale wrong. The trees look like grass and the mechs look like children's toys.

Although I found tha pre Alpha video fine I also have to agree with this.
They have to find a way to make us feel we are controlling huge metal pilot controlled robots. If they cannot sell the atmosphere the game will fail.

The snowy hills in an early graphic test conveyed that feeling pretty well, what say you?

Not really. It showed us prettier map.

Let me compare this with 2 xcom games (original and 2012) because due to KS pitch this is how I understood them imagining this game as well.

1994 Xcom sold us horror atmosphere. It had big groups of grunts going against impossible odds and dying by the dozen while doing it, often from darkness. The art and sounds supported it.

2012 Xcom sold us a very high detailed (not talking about mechanics) combat game of special few vs alien invaders. It sold us camaraderie and desparation of Earth last defenders. Both camera, sounds and graphics presented this well. It was also very personal with everyone having a name, a background and all soldiers were very customizable.

Battletech needs to sell us something and for now it is not. It will have small powerful teams like 2012 xcom but when that tiny "large" Atlas fell I cared not for it or its pilot.
The camera needs to get closer, mechs need to show oil, hydraulics and proper sounds that show the player that this is a 100+ tone beast, and its pilots need character presented through voice.
Everything in the game must be presented in the way that furthers this narrative and atmosphere.

Now I understand that this was early alpha and that they might already have all these in design plans but I can still note it is missing for now.

I just hope the camera will not stay this way.

 

[Morkar Left]

Graphics look good. A lot better than expected and in the right style. Gameplay I will look at when it's done.

 

[Endlösung]

Scale doesnt translate well cause it lack people, not because of '''trees'''. Most concept art that want size to register puts a mannequin in there to get a feel. And we dont see any infantry.

 

[Grotesque]

I just hope the camera will not stay this way.

^ One of the most atmospheric games ever made without the bells and whistles you're talking about.

 

[*-*/\--/\~]

they could of least made the battles cinematic and zoom in on your mechs when they fire. Front mission, ring of red 10+ year old games do this why can't we have it now? This battletech shit looks like it was quickly whipped up in rpg maker. who the fuck kickstarts these hacks a million dollars?

Fuck off with that, those retarded "cinematic cameras" or whatever are the first thing I turn off anywhere.

 

[Excidium II]

Top down games with perspective camera will always look like arse to me.

 

[ArchAngel]

I just hope the camera will not stay this way.

^ One of the most atmospheric games ever made without the bells and whistles you're talking about.

It is hard to see that from this picture. By picture alone it just looks like another generic RTS.

 

[Grotesque]

I just hope the camera will not stay this way.

^ One of the most atmospheric games ever made without the bells and whistles you're talking about.

It is hard to see that from this picture. By picture alone it just looks like another generic RTS.

Have you played Mechcommander?
I did two years ago for the first time and I had too much fun with it than I expected with a game that was 15+ years old.
So that is the standard for me and not some cinematic experience a la newXcom.

 

[ArchAngel]

I played some mechcommander game long time ago, it was a rts that let you customize mechs. Don't remember much more than that.

 

[a mod]

I played a long time ago, didn't like it even though I liked crescent hawk's inception a lot, and mechwarrior 1+2. If it was an RTS that is probably why. I think dune 2000 is probably the only one I ever liked.

This one is at least turnbased but still skeptical. Somehow it seems easy to mess up these mech games, most of them after MW II are pure crap.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Mech commander had a cool atmosphere, but it was real time, hence shit combat.

 

[l3loodAngel]

The only project i dont regret on backing thus far...