KickStarter BattleTech Pre-Release Thread

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Fawk joo, only slackjawed faggots use chickenwalkers over a proper humanoid mecha.

 

[Cyberarmy]

Both Atlas and Mad Cat are my favorite mechs for different reasons. Love them both equailly.

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

Fawk joo, only slackjawed faggots use chickenwalkers over a proper humanoid mecha.

If you want mecha, go play some Jap games instead.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

If you want mecha, go play some Jap games instead.

I assume you don't know much about BattleTech's origins?

 

[Infinitron]

The result of adding BattleTech sourcebook add-ons:

 

[Turtle-Zone 3000]

I assume you don't know much about BattleTech's origins?

I know what you're gonna say, all i'm saying is dont diss the good ones.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I know what you're gonna say, all i'm saying is dont diss the good ones.

Well in that, we should be honest and admit that MOST BattleMechs for most of the IP's history have looked... Kinda ass due to the *very* low quality artwork and its long-haunting presence (Japanese boxed edition's good rework and Victor Musical Industries' high quality artwork notwithstanding; Victor Musical Industries' Phoenix Hawk IIC, Jenner IIC, and Locust IIC are arguably the best BTech artwork there was hands-down up until very recently). Atlas is one of those few exceptions among humanoid 'mechs too, like Black Knight. One thing Mad Cat and Catapult have that made them survive BTech's art quality so well is that the designs are HARD to fuck up thanks to having a good simple basic structure.

... But the only thing a chickenwalker exists for is so an Atlas can suplex it.

 

[ArchAngel]

Together with Paypal it is now less than 50k away from expanded SP campaign

 

[Trojan_generic]

Looks a bit dead. If we get reasonably close (~75 %) to the goal I promise to donate.

 

[Ulminati]

The result of adding BattleTech sourcebook add-ons:

I prefer the projection graph

The lowball figure is probably going to hold until 48hrs before the end. That's when the surge usually starts as alerts go out to people watching the project. Barring any huge announcements that makes this jump, they're going to be at ~2 mill once the surge starts and require 250k/day for PvP

 

[khavi]

The result of adding BattleTech sourcebook add-ons:

I'll be disappointed if sourcebooks are all they can offer due to not being able to get the rights for add-ons of other sorts. When they get around to making additional digital only tiers I expect another increase.

 

[Bubbles]

Barring any huge announcements that makes this jump, they're going to be at ~2 mill once the surge starts and require 250k/day for PvP

Codex can make it happen.

 

[khavi]

Ask them about the single player gameplay mechanics.

I'll definitely ask the ones that they haven't covered. For some of these, I expect we'll get the canned answer that they are still prototyping the skirmish mode and don't have all the specifics ironed out, but maybe I'll be surprised.

I've answered some of your questions from what they have already said in kickstarter comments and podcasts/livestreams. Direct HBS comments are in quotes.

>>How do initiative and rounds are decided in combat?

We’re prototyping different approaches during pre-production.

>>How are actions and attacks resolved? Same as their previous game? If not, explain further and in detail.

HBS has said it will be very different from Shadowrun, but they have not released any specific details.

We’re prototyping different combat control schemes and haven’t decided yet.

@white-devil >>>I really do not want to back this game only to find out that it has the shadowrun combat but with mechs.
Shadowrun is a cRPG with tactical combat. BATTLETECH is a tactical ‘Mech combat game with a story and RPG elements. Very different animals, white-devil. While I can’t share specifics until we’re ready, I will say that you can look forward to some serious tactical depth.

>>Does ammunition is kept track off in actual numbers or will be abstracted away as in Shadownrun Returns?

Nothing known, will ask. I expect it to be abstracted in the way Btech is done. 1 round of firing equals whatever amount for the weapon you are using.

>>Do you keep track of the health of each mech parts separately or will be just one mech, one hp bar?

Not known, but I would expect to have the same components as the tabletop, and we have seen concept art with armor values for the mech locations. A huge part of btech is location specific damage so I cannot imagine them just giving each mech a flat HP amount. Can still ask, though.

>>How many types of mech are you planning to put in the base game? Can the players mix and match each parts of the mechs with other parts from different mechs?

Here is the announced mechlist. It was stated in a livestream that weapons and some internal components would be universal (actuators, engines, etc).

>>How many type of weapon are available in the game? How will weapon range be calculated?

Weaponlist for 3025:

AC 20
AC 10
AC 5
AC 2
Machine Gun
PPC
Large Laser
Medium Laser
Small Laser
SRM 2
SRM 4
SRM 6
LRM 5
LRM 10
LRM 15
LRM 20

Range: Discussed in a podcast that they may re-interpret tabletop range values because they are highly unrealistic and were originally done as such because of the space required for tabletop play.

>>If this is a turn based game, what tiles are you using? Squares or hexagons?

Neither.

We’re exploring free movement but we’ll see what happens in prototype.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

If they can get the sort of free movement as Silent Storm did,

 

[FuriousGamer87]

If they can get the sort of free movement as Silent Storm did,

Silent Storm is using isometric squares though like Shadowrun Returns. If you check the engine code, it pretty much that.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Silent Storm is using isometric squares though like Shadowrun Returns. If you check the engine code, it pretty much that.

Now you're just nitpicking there, the end result between a game defined by 1x1 foot grid like Shadowruns, and a game where the grid is really really really small grid of possible positions like Silent Storm is vastly different, and in that context there's no argument that Silent Storm has a free movement system.

 

[anus_pounder]

Together with Paypal it is now less than 50k away from expanded SP campaign

So close, yet so far. I'm holding off on spending monies on this until and unless we get the expanded campaign.

 

[Kem0sabe]

I hope all threads related to this generation will be moved from the rpg forum, dunno how many times the devs need to say it's not an rpg before Infinitron takes the hint.

Reading their answers, they pretty much don't have a clue on how to design the actual game, everything seems to be 'we will see, we will try, we will experiment, not sure, maybe'

HBS should have been much better prepared during pre-production of the KS release, especially when the goal is to make a pc strategy game based off a tabletop mech strategy game, with a rabid and minutiae focused fan base, maybe they would have gotten more money, or at least less scepticism...

 

[khavi]

I hope all threads related to this generation will be moved from the rpg forum, dunno how many times the devs need to say it's not an rpg before Infinitron takes the hint.

Consider it similar to the argument that people have over JA2--on the top 50 cRPG list, even being a tactical game with RPG elements. Would JA2 be relegated to the strategy subforum if it was being developed today?

New interview with Jordan Weisman, but no new information.

http://pressa2join.com/battletech-interview-with-jordan-weisman/

One thing reinforced that has been discussed recently.

PA2J: Can you give some insight into the level of control players will have when it comes to the Mech’s load-outs, what kind of freedom is there?

Jordan Weisman: Our vision is for players to be able to load out their ‘Mechs in fantastic detail – and not just weapons, ammo, armor, and heat sinks. We want them to be able to dive deeper and modify engines, gyros, actuators, and even shock absorbers to change the performance of the ‘Mech, if they wish.

 

[Infinitron]

Update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/1382833

Mike's AMA on Reddit is starting in just a few minutes - so head on over to hang out with Mike and ask your questions! Since he’s a much newer face to the BattleTech community, we’ve asked him to say a little bit more about himself here before the AMA.

A Peek Behind the Curtain with Co-Director Mike McCain

Callsign: DropShadow

House or Company Affiliation: Hansen’s Roughriders

Favorite 'Mech: Atlas

Hey, Kickstarter!

So last night I was trying to figure out what to say about myself here. (This whole writing about yourself thing is weird!) I ended up thinking, “Just how the hell did I get here, anyway? Lucky enough to be making the kind of games I wanted to make growing up?”

I met Jordan almost a decade ago now, when I was still in school at UW. I just happened to run into a friend in the hall after a class, and we started talking about what we’d be up to after graduation. (Me? No clue.) He mentioned a class he’d just finished taking where Jordan had been a guest lecturer and offered to pass my art portfolio on to him. I’m still pretty amazed that Jordan saw something in that portfolio (it’s making me cringe a bit to remember it) but he contracted me for some concept work and that was my first real “in” to the game industry. It’s pretty crazy to think if I hadn’t run into my friend in the hall that day, the arc of my career might’ve been completely different!

In the years since, I’ve worked on and contracted for a variety of game projects as an artist and graphic designer. In both areas I’m pretty much self-taught, and if there’s one core lesson about art that I’ve learned in my career so far it’s that you can never stop learning. Outside of art, I’ve always been drawn to games, particularly RPGs and immersive story/world experiences. (Here’s my Gamer Motivation Profile. Some of my favorite games of all time include Deus Ex,Mass Effect 1, XCOM:EU, Gone Home, and Planescape: Torment). I’ve always been really interested in game-making at the “big picture” level - trying to figure out how the art I was making fit into the design and experience of a game as a whole, and how I could find visual solutions to make games both look and play great.

Harebrained Schemes has been my creative home for over 4 years now. It’s really been a fantastic experience collaborating with Jordan and Mitch, and growing alongside the rest of the studio ever since our origin story working on Crimson: Steam Pirates together. I’ve had a great time making Shadowrun games - and Dragonfall will always have a special place for me as my first tour of duty as Game Director - but I’m also extremely excited to take everything that I‘ve learned over the course of Shadowrun development and apply it to a brand new project. I want BATTLETECH to be another big step in the evolution of our games here at HBS. (And, while we’re on that topic, a big thank you for your support towards making that possible!)

As you probably saw in our Kickstarter video, MechWarrior 2 and Ghost Bear’s Legacy were among the first PC games I played as a kid. The thing I remember most about those games isn’t the ‘Mechs themselves, or even the gameplay (though I’ll always have a soft spot for the Joystick-era of gaming.) It’s how real and layered and complex the *setting* felt at the time. The comm chatter during missions. The bits of lore and glimpses of the larger happenings of the universe I’d glean from mission briefings. And, of course, the cutscenes with all the detailed information about ‘Mechs and ‘Mech components exposed in the ‘Mech lab.

Unlike the other games I’d played at the time, MechWarrior 2 made me feel like I was participating in a far broader world. It wasn’t a setting that had been built around ME for the purposes of a game - it felt like a setting that would exist long before and long after, and I was just playing a part in it for a time. So that’s one of the things I’m most excited about bringing to BATTLETECH - that sense of setting and that breadth of worldbuilding. Doing everything we can across our art, design, and storytelling in the game to make this feel like a grounded, living, breathing, grimey, fallen, human world that you’re experiencing.

Also, robots are pretty neat.

-- Mike (Twitter: @mmccain)

 

[Kem0sabe]

Consider it similar to the argument that people have over JA2--on the top 50 cRPG list, even being a tactical game with RPG elements. Would JA2 be relegated to the strategy subforum if it was being developed today?

New interview with Jordan Weisman, but no new information.

http://pressa2join.com/battletech-interview-with-jordan-weisman/

One thing reinforced that has been discussed recently.

HBS has gonne out of its way to make sure fans know this is not an RPG... If the devs themselves say it isnt an rpg but a strategy game, then i figure we might as well put it down as a strategy game.

 

[Quigs]

Fuck Atlas. The chicken walkers (Mad Cat, Vulture, Raven, Catapult...) Are the cool mechs

ATLAS SAYS NO.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Atlas better have access to melee specialization equipment like Triple Strength Myomer (really, if there's gonna be limitations to customization, Atlas needs to have spec for that since it's one of the things that are part of its canon hype that it can chokeslam smaller 'mechs and is supposed to be abnormally strong physically).

Of course, I also hope they don't use the PnP rules for TSM since that shit is super-cheese.

 

[Quigs]

Atlas better have access to melee specialization equipment like Triple Strength Myomer (really, if there's gonna be limitations to customization, Atlas needs to have spec for that since it's one of the things that are part of its canon hype that it can chokeslam smaller 'mechs and is supposed to be abnormally strong physically).

Of course, I also hope they don't use the PnP rules for TSM since that shit is super-cheese.

No-Dachi 2K0 man. There has never been a better brawler.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I was talking in terms of canon hype, not rules presented (since ruleswise Atlas doesn't have any distinction from other 100 tonners in melee, despite its flavour text).

In terms of rules, the No-Dachi isn't the best melee if custom mechs are used. IIRC, the mathematically best Triple-Strength Myomer weight class is 55 tons so speed, armor and base melee damage are at optimum ratio.