KickStarter BattleTech Pre-Release Thread

[Jason Liang]

I'd rather they take the money and invest it in decent ai.

 

[veevoir]

How is it a separate game? They've got a skirmish mode that is like a standalone multiplayer match but against the computer.

Well.. shit. then it is 350k for a netcode, matchmaking and some barebones UI to match. In a game that is fortunately TBS, so less $ spent to fight with lags/synchro issues.

In Potatoland 350k$ would be enough for the whole game, but who knows how much you can buy in Seattle for that. Bagels?

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Well.. shit. then it is 350k for a netcode, matchmaking and some barebones UI to match. In a game that is fortunately TBS, so less $ spent to fight with lags/synchro issues.

In Potatoland 350k$ would be enough for the whole game, but who knows how much you can buy in Seattle for that. Bagels?

I've never been a fan of calculating the exact costs of features based on KS goals (and if it makes pvp I guess they'd possibly invest more of their own money if necessary as it will reach a bigger audience) but it seems to involve more than "netcode, matchmaking and some barebones UI" from the description:

The neutral planet of Solaris VII is home to the Inner Sphere’s most famous gladiatorial 'Mech combat arenas. Here players can challenge each other to casual PvP battles or enter our matchmaking system to be matched against an appropriately experienced opponent.

Each Great House maintains an embassy and a namesake arena on Solaris VII and each has very different gameplay features - from the Roman-inspired Steiner Coliseum to the frozen glaciers of Davion’s Boreal Reach (or one of Davion’s many other holographic environs).

Tournaments and Leagues will reward the victor with various prizes and Leaderboard fame.

 

[veevoir]

That reads as each house will have a level designed for them, probably the same levels you can play in skirmish with AI.

 

[khavi]

Fuck all you haters, I would kill for hotseat/IP/lanplay in this game. Stab. People. In. The. Face.

I'm all for the single player campaign and will play that shit into the ground, but I'm not sold on HBS getting AI or difficulty right, even with the focus on it, and MP would solve the challenge itch for me (or modding the hell out of it like SR).

If multiplayer doesn't fund by the end of the kuckstarter, it'll fund with paypal cause they leave that up for a few months extra. So shit on you. It's a turn-based game, like you would need top-notch netcode and latency anyway.

 

[Bubbles]

(or modding the hell out of it like SR)

I haven't paid much attention to this, but has high moddability been confirmed?

 

[khavi]

I haven't paid much attention to this, but has high moddability been confirmed?

They aren't releasing tools or a campaign editor, but they are not going to be making it inaccessible on purpose, and the modding I'm talking about didn't get tools in SR for anyway (editing the AI scripts and such).

Q: Will there be a campaign editor for user-generated content that can be shared?

A: A campaign editor is out of scope for this game. However, you'll be able to control a variety of game parameters during Skirmish play - such as the map you're on, the composition (and sometimes location) of player & enemy forces, the mission objectives and victory conditions for the skirmish, and possibly more!

That said, we have no intention of obfuscating our file formats (except in the case of Unity-specific files) so you will have access to them.

 

[Infinitron]

They're at 2 million dollars now. There should be a Kickstarter update soon.

 

[khavi]

They're at 2 million dollars now. There should be a Kickstarter update soon.

Been F5'ing for a bit to see if I can beat you to the punch.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

10 minutes to Twitch stream
http://www.twitch.tv/ngngtv
They will probably do KS update after it.

e. I was wrong.

 

[khavi]

I'm again listening to the livestream and posting about heretofore unknown or interesting information.

Q: Development schedule?

A: Looking at keeping an 18th month development timeline.

Q: Will recruitable/hirable mechwarriors come with their own mech?

A: No, you’re hiring the talent, so you provide the hardware. Next stretch goal “legendary mechwarriors” will come with their own mech, but they will not be able to be employed permanently.

Q: Do your mechwarriors have morale? Will they follow you until death, or?

A: They want to address it and have some depth. Factions may play into mechwarrior loyalty, equipment condition, payscale, deployment conditions. Would like to see mechwarriors up and quit if you treat them poorly.

Q: Camera POV? Fixed, movable?

A: With the 3D engine they want to allow a high amount of camera control. May have fixed POV for some cinematic events.

At that point the feed was lost, so, waiting on reconnect.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

So probably no mid-mission repairs and definitely no health potions/pick ups?

I wonder how they are going to implement infantry.
Perhaps infantry will occupy emplacements & buildings for ambushes. And is only mobile when driven around in APCs/IFVs which automatically deploy them when vehicle stops. Like in old old old M1 Tank Platoon.
No individual soldiers modeled; only squads.

Q: Do your mechwarriors have morale? Will they follow you until death, or?

A: They want to address it and have some depth. Factions may play into mechwarrior loyalty, equipment condition, payscale, deployment conditions. Would like to see mechwarriors up and quit if you treat them poorly.

What about possible effects of morale on battlefield?

 

[khavi]

Here's the rest of the livestream questions I transferred.

Q: How much control will we have over our weapons systems during gameplay? Will we be able to choose to fire individual weapons of a type to fire to maintain a certain heat level? Will we be able to jettison ammo? Etc..

Q: Any update on merchandise items for kickstarter or after?

A: Working with TOPPS to acquire rights to do so.

Q: How much control over heat/ammo?

A: Managing those two resources and having explicit control over them is a very high priority.

STATEMENT: When asked about the endless campaign (procedurally generated missions after the main story is over), Jordan Weisman stated he does not ever want the game to turn into wack-a-mech at any point during the campaign. You should always be balancing your expenses and your income.

Q: What kind of graphical fidelity or variation will be able to control on the mechs. Paint, weapons, etc?

A: At minimum, customize your own mercenary logo and color scheme to apply to your mechs. Primary, seconday, tertian colors plus pattern scheme. Weapon load out will be represented on the mech models.

Q: JORDAN: What would you change in Btech history if you could.

A: Han shot first. He doesn’t think that actual events should really be changed in a setting that is cherished by fans. However, while he wouldn’t necessarily change any history, he would change the tone. More technological decline, less recovered technology. He would push the tech rediscoveries much later in the timeline. He finds the earlier eras much more engaging in terms of the above theme.

Q: Can we expect field repairs or a mobile field base?

A: Battletech is an ablative system, in terms of armor, equipment, etc, which is harder to do in a video game environment and still be fun. However, they do not want it to be arcade-like in any fashion, and still maintain the gravity of taking damage and managing your forces tactically.


Q: Will our mechs have lights?

A: Yes. Not hard to do given the models and engine.

Q: Fog of war? Sensor capabilities.

A: Design goal is to support Fog-of-War and sensor ranges. Feel it helps give purpose to lighter mechs and scouting. Turn-based also allows for more sensor warfare and surprise mech-sexing.

Q: Using Unity, what is possible for destructive elements?

A: Real answer is “dunno,” but they would like everything man-made to be destructible. Also, trees, footprints, etc. Looking at damage states rather than completely physics-based destruction.

Q: Autocannons. Wat do? Also, ammo types, c/d?

A: Starting position is that auto cannons will visually be burst weapons but mechanically will not spread damage across a mech. More of a precision weapon.

Q: Any thoughts on how heat will work?

A: Turn-based allows heat to be implemented in a fashion much closer to tabletop. Actions will generate heat, heatsinks and environment will dissipate that heat and allow you to make informed judgement calls about what to do. Heat management will be a conscious and calculated effort. You will be able to run heat up to dangerous levels, etc.

Q: Will your mechwarriors be able to pass out? Have status effects?

A: They would love for the mechwarriors to be able to fall unconscious, take wounds, etc during the course of gameplay, but it really comes down to whether the implementation is fun or not.

Q: Called shots? Aimed shots?

A: Would like to, but not committed, ties into precision weapons and having them be able to target specific areas on a mech.

Q: Power up and power down mechs to hide sensor signature?

A: Yes, would be one of the tools at your disposal for sensor warfare.

Q: Weapons fire while jump jetting?

A: Too specific, still prototyping movement and the nature of combat. In Btech the nature of movement and firing has been contentious. Separate.

Q: Will turn-based only be for combat situations?

A: If you are on the battlefield you will be in turn-based mode throughout.

Q: Custom logos able to be imported?

A: No, will be an emblem generate. No uploading of custom emblems.

Q: Will ammo cooking off be instant death like the tabletop or more reasonable?

A: Likely more reasonable.

Q: Timeline sticking to 3025 timeline or will it move past?

A: Timeline advances month by month but they are not certain how it will proceed on the grander Inner Shere timeline. Measuring time on the length of your career rather than the historical time. No matter how long you play you will not reach the 4th succession war, etc.

Q: Will mechs be able to go prone?

A: Not in the current model. We want them to be able to fall, stumble, get back up, but not prone. We’re exploring something we’re calling knee down, but that isn’t for sure yet either.

Q: When do we get forums?

A: After the kickstarter. Working on them now.

Q: If you fail a mission, will there be missions that branch off of that?

A: We want there to be incentive for the player to continue after a failed mission, and that recovering from a failed mission could actually lead to more interesting gameplay than reloading from a previous save. Think of it more as game systems and less scripted events. Failing a mission will influence your reputation which may affect your mission choices, etc.

 

[khavi]

So probably no mid-mission repairs and definitely no health potions/pick ups?

What about possible effects of morale on battlefield?

They joked about health potions, then stated that there will be no arcade based gameplay, but did not rule out mid-mission repairs. They specifically stated that they wanted to avoid the player getting 25-30 minutes into a mission only to realize that they had in fact failed it in the first 5 minutes.

Did not cover morale affecting a mechwarriors battlefield performance.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Did not cover morale affecting a mechwarriors battlefield performance.

Yeah. It is possible subset of mechwarrior status effects.

 

[Rhapsody'n Blue]

What about possible effects of morale on battlefield?

They've dropped the XCOM: Enemy Unknown comparisons enough that I have to assume it'll be akin to the moral failures seen there (you temporarily lose control, and they act randomly / independently). XCOM's system was based around fear, though -- this system seems more robust and complex, like they might legitimately turn against you based on faction related metrics, etc.

 

[Rhapsody'n Blue]

Q: If you fail a mission, will there be missions that branch off of that?

A: We want there to be incentive for the player to continue after a failed mission, and that recovering from a failed mission could actually lead to more interesting gameplay than reloading from a previous save. Think of it more as game systems and less scripted events. Failing a mission will influence your reputation which may affect your mission choices, etc..

BEST BEST BEST news yet. Failure state reactivity, when consciously integrated into a game, tend to be the most enjoyable aspect of play (hell, some games, like the Sims, almost live off the appeal of their failure states alone).

 

[noisenerd]

BEST BEST BEST news yet...

Indeed. Several good bits of news in there though. Thanks for the updates, khavi!

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

They've dropped the XCOM: Enemy Unknown comparisons enough that I have to assume it'll be akin to the moral failures seen there (you temporarily lose control, and they act randomly / independently). XCOM's system was based around fear, though -- this system seems more robust and complex, like they might legitimately turn against you based on faction related metrics, etc.

That turning against you probably happens between missions.
Mercenary x will become unhappy and leave if you take too many missions against faction y. Or assault mech specialist will become unhappy if forced to use scout mech.

 

[Rhapsody'n Blue]

Taka, likely. At least the stuff based on the metrics they tossed out. No real point in dissecting it too deeply, however, as I doubt they've hardcoded much just yet. Details will likely change.

 

[Branm]

hard coded stuff? wut? They haven't coded shit yet....prototyped...perhaps...

 

[gestalt11]

Well.. shit. then it is 350k for a netcode, matchmaking and some barebones UI to match. In a game that is fortunately TBS, so less $ spent to fight with lags/synchro issues.

In Potatoland 350k$ would be enough for the whole game, but who knows how much you can buy in Seattle for that. Bagels?

Two developers for 1 year. Or one good developer and some testers for 1 year.

 

[khavi]

Update #13 - Good info on latest goal.

Customizable Home Base Unlocked! It Might Be Humble - But It's Home! And… Another Backer Mission Reward Unlocked!

Well, that was fast! Thanks to your generous support (and our new INITIATE OF THE ORDER reward level), we’ve unlocked the Customizable Home Base funding goal. HUZZAH!

It Might Be Humble - But It's Home
The Order of Valhalla rallied our forces to make a Customizable Home Base a reality. As we discussed before, our current idea is that you're refitting a derelict ship one module at a time, expanding its functionality based on the needs of your mercenary outfit as you go. (We know many of you are interested to know what sort of ship to expect and we are exploring the possibilities. That will be a topic for a future Kickstarter update some time during production.)

Just like construction in the real world, refitting will take money, time, and judgment as you figure out how you want to allocate the space available for the modules you want to add.

We are just starting to work out the different types of modules, but here are some that we think will be available:

• ’Mech Bays are the heart and soul of your operation. We see having two types of 'Mech Bays - repair bays and refit bays. One Repair Bay is required for each ‘Mech in your outfit’s inventory where your MechTechs can perform repairs to the internal structure, components, weapons, and armor of the resident ‘Mech. Refit Bays are required for the much more intensive work needed to change a 'Mech’s weapon systems and/or internal components.

• Space can be dedicated to 'Mech Simulators instead of housing more real 'Mechs or vehicles. During travel, and/or instead of being deployed to the battlefield, MechWarriors can be assigned to the training bay in order to improve specific skills.

• Adding a MechTech Fabrication Bay will increase your technical teams’ ability to jury-rig, repair, and even improve your 'Mechs.

• A Sick Bay will treat MechWarriors’ minor wounds, but a Ship’s Hospital will be required to stitch a seriously wounded MechWarrior back together and then convalesce enough to return to battle ready condition.

• Among others!

We want the design and construction of your home base to be fun, to provide interesting choices, and ultimately to provide long-term benefits to your mercenary outfit.

The next target of opportunity on our march to Stage 4: PVP Multiplayer is…

• $2,150,000 - Legendary 'Mech & MechWarriors: In addition to the game's standard 'Mechs and customizable, procedurally-generated MechWarriors, we'll include rare legendary 'Mechs to find, and rare hero MechWarriors to hire - including some famous characters from BattleTech history. Such legends may not stick around for long, but will be well worth hiring if you can afford them.

Backer Mission Reward Unlocked
The Global BattleTech Community roars on! We just hit 400 #favBTmech tweets and 6.5k Likes of our Facebook Announcement:

https://www.facebook.com/HarebrainedSchemes/posts/890152257719609:0

Through your combined efforts, 38 points have been earned, unlocking a cameo in-game appearance for Morgan Kell of the Kell Hounds in the story campaign!

Congratulations, MechWarriors!

That puts us in striking range of an Alcohol-Fueled Live Streaming Twitch Q&A with Jordan, Mike, and Mitch. No other Mission Reward has caused more fear from Harebrained Schemes than this one. Two gray beards and a young buck sucking down booze while answering your questions? What could possibly go wrong? It’s not like any of these guys are loose cannons…

Keep your #favBTmech tweets coming! Here are the social media links to help us get to the drunk livestream and beyond:

Like and Share this Facebook Announcement

Retweet this Announcement Tweet

Like our Facebook Page

Follow our Twitter Feed

Two points away from DrunkCast. Slurred typing incoming.

 

[khavi]

From that I want to know what downtime is planned for mech repairs and refitting. Five days until this piece of shit is ready for ops, sah!

If they are planning the dropship upgrades to take time, you'd think that mech repair/refit would also.