KickStarter BattleTech Pre-Release Thread

[circ]

I want to be a mechwarrior

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Anyone interested in the history of Battletech, the unseen and the legal shenanigans over the years should check out this fan-made research effort, they've really thrown everything in there, incl artwork over the years:

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/9113?page=25

Sigil
Backer
Posts: 1350
13 hours ago

For those of you are interested in such things, here's a link to my latest work, a research project, ironically entitled "Unseen."

https://wlu.box.com/shared/static/5yubptf7u0c0hp3m82a47xcfglmcnydd.pdf

 

[Kem0sabe]

Anyone interested in the history of Battletech, the unseen and the legal shenanigans over the years should check out this fan-made research effort, they've really thrown everything in there, incl artwork over the years:

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/9113?page=25

Thanks, im a sucker for things like this.

 

[Jason Liang]

Ah. It's because of the upcoming Robotech movie (and presumably toys and video games).

Well, HBS better concede immediately then, and move on to the next Shadowrun.

No wonder HBS rushed out that shitty beta demo to the backers. As this point, that's likely the only version of the game that will ever get released.

 

[Black]

I want to be a mechwarrior

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/mechwarrior-living-legends.113167/

 

[J_C]

that shitty beta demo to the backers. As this point, that's likely the only version of the game that will ever get released.

Yeah, I'm sure they will can the whole project right before the finish.

 

[Drakron]

Ah. It's because of the upcoming Robotech movie (and presumably toys and video games).

Haha - IF it gets made after the disaster of Ghost in a Shell and how Robotech is nothing but a Frankenstein montage of 3 different anime series, also another potential snatch is that they actually gone to court in Japan over who owned who and this is the Japanese ruling, basically Tatsunoko Productions owned the animation to SDF Macross, the original tv series and Big West owned the line art, the designs, the logos, the characters ... well they own Macross franchise basically, now since Harmony Gold got their rights from Tatsunoko Productions that got then from Big West but those were only the international distribution and merchandising rights, meaning Harmony Gold owns shit as far the designs go since those belong to Big West.

Ever wonder why FASA lawsuit as settled out of court? because last thing Harmony Gold wants is someone pointing out just because they brought the footage doesnt mean they own whats IN the footage, all the Macross mech designs are owned by Big West/Studio Nue/Kawamori, even if it unlikely to affect the Robotech Live Action movie legally (as they can come up with their own designs) it will certainly affect them in other ways because as Rototech was made from other series they cannot use those series because they dont those series designs, just their footage.

 

[Beastro]

it's

"Its"

Great, not I have Monty Python's beginning in my head now.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Couple of pieces on the legal stuff:

https://pcgamesn.com/battletech/battletech-robotech-lawsuit

http://www.gamepressure.com/e.asp?ID=1588

 

[Destroid]

I've always liked these full weeb versions: http://www.gearsonline.net/series/battletech/mecha/

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

 

[Janise]

Oh gee, already not a fan of that music. That shit is gonna cycle the whole mission...?

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

There was some speculation there wouldn't be a Q&A this month, with the inevitable deluge of lawsuit and multiplayer questions, but it seems to be going ahead:

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/9167

It is once again coming up on the second Wednesday of the month (boy, a month goes by quickly these days!) which means it's time for another BATTLETECH livestreaming Dev Q&A hosted by our friends at NGNGTV @12pm PT.

Last month, we asked which topic you'd like to hear about and you clearly wanted to hear more about AI! So we've enlisted (okay, drafted) our AI team, Dave & Kevin, to join Mitch for this month's Q&A.

As always, post your questions about Dave and Kevin, AI in general, or BATTLETECH AI specifically in this thread.

Here's a little bit about Dave and Kevin:

Dave LeCompte joined HBS to work on Battletech, but has worked on Tornado Outbreak, Online Chess Kingdoms, Lord of the Rings: Tactics, Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku, The Matrix Online, Total Annihilation Kingdoms: Darien Crusades, Total Annihilation: Galactic Wars, Lords of Magic, and Civil War Generals 2: Grant, Lee, Sherman. As our AI Engineer, Dave built the behavior tree and influence map systems for the AI, as well as non-AI systems, including the fog of war and timed effects systems.

Kevin Maloney has been with HBS as a Level Designer since production of Shadowrun Returns began and continued with each and every Shadowrun release. As time went on, he added more and more AI duties to his level design responsibilities including the design of the AI overhaul in Shadowrun: Dragonfall - Director's Cut. He's now the AI Designer for Battletech and spends his days peering though AI logs and building up the AI brick by brick alongside the talented Dave LeCompte.

 

[Lampros]

This looks like one of the few sci-fi games that may draw my interest.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Change of plans... bet the main thing people would like to ask is the one he can't really talk about, the HG suit. Still, will prob check this out

HBS_Dagger
Admin
Posts: 168
9 hours ago

Hey All!

Due to a scheduling snafu, we're going to postpone the AI conversation with Dave and Kevin BUT we have a great pitch-hitter lined up!

Mitch will spend the first 1/2 hour of our Dev Q&A interviewing Jordan K. Weisman (you've heard of him, right) so let us know what you'd like to ask him!

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

And further info on the beta changes coming up, beyond just adding MP

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Latest Q&A

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Unfortunately when Jordan started going into something interesting Mitch would tend to interrupt and ramble on. But the main takeaway is there will be an update "very, very soon" about MP and the beta update. When asked if "the game is still on for 2017" they said info on that was also coming in the update, so I guess no.

edit: According to Mike expect update "between the next two GoT episodes"

 

[veevoir]

I guess Mitch is keeping him frombsaying something that will excite the backers but may be cut out at any moment.

Backers are like volatile, highly explosive mushrooms. Feed them shit and keep them in the dark.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/1962295

A Skirmish Beta Update is Coming! A Double-Secret Multiplayer Beta Test Is Coming, Too! And a Launch Window Update!




Skirmish Beta Update This Week
Great news! An update to our Single-Player Skirmish Beta is coming later this week (we’ll send out another Kickstarter Update when it’s live). Thank you SO MUCH for all of your time submitting survey responses and discussing the Beta on the forums. This communication has been invaluable, and we've pushed a pretty significant set of gameplay & balancing changes to the Beta in direct response to your feedback.

The details will be in a complete change log and in your updated Beta Manual upon release, but here are some highlights:

• Evasion, Sensor Lock, and Evasive Move have received major revisions.
• Morale has been replaced with a new system intended to reduce the snowball effect of early game advantages.
• Weapon balance has been tuned on a variety of weapons.
• Crits are more frequent and powerful. Components and ammo now require only one crit to be destroyed, while weapons become damaged on the first crit (+2 Difficulty to-hit) and destroyed on the second.
• A/C damage has been reduced (previous: 25/50/75/100, current: 25/45/60/100) for AC2, 5, 10, and 20 respectively.
• Global heat has been tuned down by about 10%.
• Water doesn't increase heat dissipation as much (previous: 200%, current: 150%)
• Stability damage accumulates slower and also bleeds slower, and in larger discrete chunks.
• MechWarriors now have two abilities, which increases their usefulness and flexibility.
• An eyeball icon appears on enemy units if they will have LOS on you after you make the move you’re plotting.

Beyond these gameplay mechanics, this beta update also includes:

• A big, tasty update to AI that includes enemies using MechWarrior abilities, making called shots on prone or shut down units, using Death From Above, and generally messing up your life.
• A Settings Menu that allows you to change your settings and remap your keyboard shortcuts. (Currently only available from the Main Menu.)
• Some UI changes/enhancements both in combat and the skirmish setup screens.

Enjoy! And please continue to fill out your surveys after each match. They’ve proven very valuable! We'll publish a complete list of changes when the Beta Update goes live.


Double-Secret Multiplayer Beta Test This Week, Too!
Still more good news - the BATTLETECH Multiplayer Beta is almost ready for primetime! Before releasing it to our entire Backer Beta population, we’ll be running a Double-Secret Multiplayer Beta Test on Steam this week (it might NOT start the same day as the Skirmish Beta update) for those hearty souls willing to opt-in and help stress test the system in the wild. Are YOU a hearty soul? Cuz, we could use your help! Again, we’ll send out another Kickstarter Update when it’s live.

All Backers with Beta Access are invited to participate but by opting-in, participants accept that they may experience connection issues, crashes, and dropped games - that’s what you’re looking for in the first place!

Once we’re comfortable that we’ve eliminated enough bugs and issues (it’ll probably take a couple of weeks), we’ll shut down the Double-Secret Beta Test and automatically update the Beta for everyone to include 1v1 Multiplayer. Then, all of you can take your hard-won experience with the Single Player Skirmish Game and apply it against your wiley human opponents in stompy head-to-head action.


Launch Window Update
Hi everyone,

As you may remember, the original release estimate listed in our Kickstarter campaign was for delivery of the BATTLETECH Base Skirmish Game. With each additional Funding Stage unlocked - Single-Player Story Campaign, Expanded Mercenary Campaign, and PVP Multiplayer - more time and team members were added for the additional work.

We’d previously been projecting a late 2017 release but now that we’ve revised our AI & combat mechanics in reaction to your feedback, completed a thorough review of the work remaining on the game, and are poised to release the Multiplayer Backer Beta update, all indications are that Paradox & HBS will release BATTLETECH in early 2018.

Throughout development, the message we’ve received has been clear, “Don’t rush it, just make it great.” and we have taken that to heart. All of us - HBS, Paradox, and our Backers - share a deeply personal attachment to this project and we are committed to delivering a game that not only meets your high expectations but introduces BattleTech to a new generation of players.

With that said, I’m happy to report that solid progress continues across the project! We are now able to play the open-ended mercenary campaign “loop” and I have to say that when you’re counting your C-bills and caring about your MechWarriors’ health and survival, you approach combat missions differently which imbues every turn with a ton of dramatic tension. And the upcoming upgrade to our AI is going to make you think hard about how you engage the enemy!

As Mitch mentioned in our last update, we’ve made a ton of progress on all the component pieces of the game and this phase of development is all about bringing them together - the core combat game, the mercenary simulation aboard the Argo, the single-player story and cinematics, the open-ended mercenary mission system, the ‘Mech customization system… it’s a lot of stuff and it’s exciting to see it all getting stitched together and “upleveled” with art, audio, UI, and writing.

It really is an exciting time on the project and I can’t wait to share it with you when it’s finally done. Thanks again for all your support!

Jordan

 

[Taka-Haradin puolipeikko]

Morale has been replaced with a new system intended to reduce the snowball effect of early game advantages.

I haven't been following beta.
Does anyone have any idea how it worked before and what is the new system?

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Morale has been replaced with a new system intended to reduce the snowball effect of early game advantages.

I haven't been following beta.
Does anyone have any idea how it worked before and what is the new system?

It was called "inspire", and when the meter filled up you could use it and get 95% to hit, wasn't too popular overall and became known as "sniper god mode" etc. Think the original plan was to speed up the snowball effect and end matches quicker, which they now want to walk back a bit. No info yet on what replaces it.

 

[Infinitron]

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.

So much for that. The delay is no surprise.

 

[Morgoth]

I hope this will be better than XTURD 2.

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

People still butthurt about Urbies headshotting their Atlas. HBS responds:

HBS_TwoCents
HBS Dev

Gameplay Engineer

Regarding the AC tuning... all of the head internal structures are also being tuned up by one point (to 16), so the AC10 will only be capable of one-shotting a Commando (or Spider) once the patch goes out.