KickStarter BattleTech Pre-Release Thread

[Janise]

...
..
.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

The Q&A was interesting, given it's the first one since people really got a chance to play the game and the questions got more into the mechanics and specifics, but there was a fair bit of waffle and joking around at the beginning and between questions, so I'll repost a transcript once the usual BT forum sperg produces it.

One takeaway - patch in "a weekish", but no commitment on whether it will include multiplayer yet, probably coming afterwards.

Not on YT yet, as far I know, but here is the Twitch video:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/151833524?t=11m29s

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Alienman]

Beard required to work for Harebrained Schemes?

 

[Kem0sabe]

Beard required to work for Harebrained Schemes?

Do you mean a fake girlfriend to hide your homosexuality or just a normal beard?

Both seem likely.

 

[Alienman]

Had to google that one.

 

[Infinitron]

lol, wtf is this? https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/8555



Looks like there's already a full-fledged modding scene for this game: https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/categories/41

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Yep, saw that, started with people messing around modding the Catapults... then she decided to use this as a soundtrack for the chicken theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwebKkEg5gk

(she seems to specialise in lulzy stuff, did a scenario called "Bridge over the River Liao" with the Bridge over the River Kwai soundtrack)

It's getting to that point, while people wait for the beta...
Some started working on a mod manager: https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/8473

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/8677

For the last year and a half, the BATTLETECH Ask the Devs sub-forum has been a place for our team to answer direct questions and provide information about development of the game in our spare time while we worked on prototyping, pre-production, our super-pre-alpha demo, piles of production work, and the Kickstarter Backer Beta.

We’ve really enjoyed this interaction and being able to clarify things for you but now that the Backer Beta is out, the team needs to hunker down and focus on the next phase of hardcore game development.

Now, we don’t want to say, “That’s it for now!” and abruptly call it a day, so the Ask the Devs sub-forum will LOCK a week from today on Wednesday 6/28/17. We’ll still continue our monthly livestreamed BATTLETECH Dev Q&As and the team will still jump into forum threads when they have the time.

As development continues, many answers in the locked Ask The Devs sub-forum may become outdated but we'll do our best to keep you informed through updated FAQ's, Kickstarter/Project Updates, and our monthly livestreamed BATTLETCH Q&A's.

And, remember, you can always see our comments or replies using the Dev Tracker on the front page of the forum.

Thanks for the questions, the support, and the encouragement!

Mitch and the team

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/1917393

Beta & E3 Reactions, Beta HotFix Incoming, and More!

Thanks to all our Backer Beta participants for the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the BATTLETECH single player skirmish mode release! We really appreciate all the great feedback you’ve given in your after-action surveys and on the BATTLETECH Beta Discussion forum - useful stuff. It’s been an absolute pleasure for us to read your comments, see your amazing screenshots, and watch your livestreams and YouTube videos.

CLICK ME FOR VIDEO. Warning: Strong Language, NSFW! Also, French!



In addition to our Backers, the Press had plenty of nice things to say about the game, too! Check out some of the great previews below:

VICE - 'BattleTech' Brings 'MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries' into a Post-'XCOM' World
“I have to admit that Weisman and Harebrained seem to have accomplished both of their seemingly mutually exclusive objectives. It's the BattleTech I remember, but new and different in all the right ways.”

Rock, Paper, Shotgun - BATTLETECH is the ‘Mech game I’ve always wanted
“...it’s likely to be one of my favourite games of 2017. I’ve only played the skirmish mode, against AI opponents, so I can’t assess the quality of the campaign. But the actual mech clashes are absolutely glorious, and as spectacular as any turn-based battles I’ve ever seen.”

Destructoid - BattleTech Let’s You Unload Mech Mayhem XCOM-style
“The maps (you can currently choose from a few at varying times of day/weather conditions) are gorgeous and the battle bots look solid. I've had a New York accented pilot who's just tyna pilot a mech ovuh heyuh, which is delightful.”

CGMagOnline - BATTLETECH Preview - Complex But Approachable
“...get a couple games under your belt, and start to play around with some of the Mechs and pilots in the drop screen, and you’ll quickly realize that there’s an awful lot going on under the hood.”

PC Gamer - Wrecking mechs on BattleTech's tactical battlefields
"With all these tactical considerations and customisation options, BattleTech seems pretty clever, but nothing is as satisfying as the simple pleasure of watching two mechs box."

Beta HotFix is Live
A small update to the Single Player Skirmish Beta is live and Steam will update your game automatically. This update fixes several stability issues and allows more players on lower-end machines to play the game (Huzzah!). It also contains some minor combat interface upgrades.

Full release notes are HERE.

Multiplayer Backer Beta Update
The hard work continues on our multiplayer update to the Backer Beta and we can definitely tell you that it will not release in June. While diagnosing some particularly nasty bugs, the team took a step back and realized that sections of our networking architecture needed to be reworked rather than bandaged up. That work is underway but we have no ETA to share with you at this time.

What we can tell you is what you can expect beyond the addition of multiplayer. First and foremost, it will contain a substantial update to the single-player AI. For example, the enemy will know how to Reserve their actions, use light units more effectively, and call shots on fallen or shut down ‘Mechs. The multiplayer update will also contain some incremental balance changes based on feedback from our surveys and the forums. Those changes will be listed in a Kickstarter Update when we release multiplayer.

In addition to the above, expect some minor improvements in the “lance configurator” - the interface in which you choose your ‘Mechs and MechWarriors for Skirmish play, including the ability to play skirmish matches with unlimited Lance Values.

And last, you’ll find the complete Settings menu, including options for audio, video, custom key binding, and more!

Can we expect more updates for the Backer Beta after that?
We’ll update the Beta as needed to fix high-impact and game-breaking bugs but we have no plans to update the Backer Beta with additional features or content beyond the scope of the Beta Kickstarter reward. This is a targeted Beta to get data on BattleTech combat with our Backers, not an Early Access game release.

Quick Production Update
There’s a ton of stuff going on in the game’s development beyond the work we’ve done on the beta and multiplayer update.

• All the story missions in the game have been designed and implemented and each one contains placeholder voices so we can hear how the story is working before we bring in professional actors.
• All the story cinematics have been written & storyboarded and placeholder voices have been recorded so we can work on the timing of each shot.
• All story conversations with your mercenary crew aboard the Argo have been written and are ready to put into the game.
• All open-ended mission types have been designed and implemented across a large variety of biomes and maps.
• Every room and every character in the Argo has been designed and 3D modeled and the majority are fully lit and textured in the game.
• And last but DEFINITELY not least, we hit a major milestone on the project and were able to play the mercenary simulation core game loop for the first time. That means traveling to a system, navigating crew events aboard the Argo, choosing and accepting a contract, managing your reputation, purchasing equipment, using the MechLab, hiring new MechWarriors, simulating the outcome of the mission (from complete failure to complete success), getting paid, and taking salvage.

That’s some fantastic progress, for sure. There’s still a TON of important work left to do including designing and implementing the UI for the entire single-player campaign, a boatload of campaign balance and iteration work, iteration and polish on the story and missions, creation of our story cinematics, reactions to feedback from the beta, and a bunch of stuff we haven’t listed. The best part is that the more things come together, the more excited we get about the game - a nice place to be, indeed!

Take a Look at These!
HBS at the E3 PCGamer Event
Jordan and Mitch headed down to E3 earlier this month to share a look at BATTLETECH at the E3 PC Gamer event. They showed off a fun new trailer, a tour of the Argo, and some new combat footage. Take a peek if you missed it!



June 14 Dev Q&A

And, in case you missed it, here’s the link to June’s Livestreamed Dev Q&A. Mitch interviewed Ryan Burrell (HBS_RedMenace on our forums) about how he became a designer, what the toughest design challenge has been in retaining the spirit of BATTLETECH, how he lost to Eck and more. And then McCain joined them to answer your questions live. Take a look!

OKAY, BACK TO WORK!

--HBS

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/8717

Below you'll find the list of updates to the Single Player Skirmish Beta that happened today.

This update fixes several stability issues and allows more players on lower-end machines to play the game (Huzzah!). It also contains some minor combat interface upgrades. Steam will update your game automatically.

• Greatly reduced the amount of RAM used by individual game levels.
• Resolved an issue that could cause application to crash when exiting from skirmish.
• Optimized loading to improve user experience.
• Resolved an issue that allowed for critical hits to occur in non-destroyed locations.
• Resolved an issue that allowed random option in lance configurator to ignore battle cost.
• Resolved an issue that caused Catapult, Centurion, and Panther to have incorrect movement distances.
• Resolved an issue that could allow ‘Mechs to occupy the same location under specific conditions.
• Resolved an issue that could cause ‘Mech blips to have weapons visible.
• Resolved an issue that could cause some combat UI to display incorrect values.
• Resolved an issue that could cause Vindicator to perform melee attacks with missing limb.
• Improved animation transitions of mechs attacked when performing idle animation.
• Improved audio and some visuals of damaged mechs to make them feel more damaged.
• Improved combat damage floaties to improve readability.
• Improved LRM clustering to reduce the number of missiles that are allowed to hit the a ‘Mech's head per volley.
• Improved usability of combat tooltips.
• Improved usability of the Lance Configurator screen.
• Improved logic for visual effects of missed weapon fire.
• Improvements to combat UI.

 

[ArchAngel]

So everyone is praising that combat. I hope the campaign can save the game.

 

[Kem0sabe]

Wasn't codex reaction to combat 'it's boring, banal, shit'?

 

[ArchAngel]

Wasn't codex reaction to combat 'it's boring, banal, shit'?

Yes, but we are not the place HBS are catering for. Casuals and Mechwarrior fans are those.

 

[almondblight]

Wasn't codex reaction to combat 'it's boring, banal, shit'?

Did any Codexer actually play it?

 

[Grotesque]

Wasn't codex reaction to combat 'it's boring, banal, shit'?

it is

Did any Codexer actually play it?

is it cracked yet?

 

[Janise]

The game has mechanics that could make it solid if properly balanced. I mean they got that multiplayer goal...
It has movement, due to flaking mechanics, jumpstomp, melee.
It has rock-paper-scissors with the weapon tradeoffs.
And it has incomplete information.
It could be decent.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/8787

Ever wonder why Flamers didn't make it into the beta?
Because they're completely, hilariously, overpowered.

Now, why am I making a threat on them even though they're not in the beta, which shows that HBS knows they Flamer needs a lot of work, still? Well, because I'd like to talk about what Flamers should and should not do, maybe as to provide HBS with some input on the weapon.

As you might have guessed, the four Flamers on the FS9-A allowed me to shut down enemy 'Mechs indefinitely. Four Flamers put out a sufficient amount of heat to immediately overheat an enemy 'Mech within a single turn, and with how LoS works, you can do just that, killing the LoS in the process and thus force the enemy lance to approach and stumble right into your ambush. Once there, they can be kept locked down indefinitely by engaging them in melee. I modded Flamers onto other 'Mechs as well and having one or two is far less gamebreaking. It still allows for a serious level of crowd control, especially against engergy heavy 'Mechs, but you can't play the lockdown game as easily.

So, I guess what I want the community's opinion on is the following:

1. Should Flamers stack to the point where a single 'Mech can effectively stunlock another?
2. Should Flamers fire in melee or be adjusted to be "normal" weapons, as to prevent stacking damage and heat at the same time?
3. Should Flamers be able to be swapped into MGs and SLs hardpoints?

I guess the biggest question is, do we want a weapon that can potentially lock an enemy down? Regardless of how things were handled in the Tabletop version of BattleTech, there's a lot of potential for frustration and "cheesing" here, even if the heat output of the individual flamer was to be lowered (I'd assume that you'd still want a single Flamer to do something without allowing four to six of them to completely lock someone down, right?).

 

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

I have watched a few gameplay videos and it frequently devolves into "take turns to run around enemy mech and buttseks him in the rear armor".
Someone should tell them that things like zones of control, attacks of opportunity and such were invented for a reason.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Still no word on PvP. Wonder if they're bringing in outside help.

(insert "inject T" joke here)

 

[Alienman]

90's jogging shoes. 100% programmer.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Wonder if news on PvP will be forthcoming, about time for an update

July 12th Livestream Q&A:

It's Dev Q&A time again and, this month, Mitch will be interviewing our Animation Team, Hollie Mengert and Steven Rynders.

Hollie has been an HBS animator since our early days working in a rented storage closet. She's worked on Strikefleet Omega, Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun Dragonfall, and Necropolis. Her biggest animating challenge for Battletech so far has been tackling the look of 'Mech Melee.

Steven is a Technical Artist and has worked on Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun Dragonfall, and the challenging animation system of Necropolis during his time here at HBS. Steven has worked character models, animation rigs, the animation pipeline, and even vfx work. On Battletech, he's keeping his hands full making sure all of our mechs and characters are rigged while solving additional technical art challenges.

Mitch will interview with both of them during the first half of our Dev Q&A (so let us know what kind of animation and art questions you'd like him to ask) and then he'll take questions live from chat.

We'll be hosted on Twitch by our friends at No Guts, No Galaxy once again!

 

[J1M]

I want to like this, but they need to triple the animation speed.

 

[Country_Gravy]

Quadruple. At least give an option.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Watched the Q&A. The animation stuff was fine, if you're interested in that, but the takeaway on multiplayer is they were still pretty vague about it, just talked about "rebuilding from the foundations, better in the long run for the project, even if it isn't what HBS mgt/backers wanted to hear at the time" etc. Doesn't sound like a week or two.

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]