KickStarter BattleTech Pre-Release Thread

[Black]

Do you suck dicks, private?

What Codexers do in their spare time is their binnes.

 

[Cael]

Oh I definately agree, tonnage is the sort of good compromise you have to make in order to present the tabletop game in an easily understandable and useable manner, along with all the stats derived around tonnage like engine power -> movement values. Only thing where it sort of doesn't work is calculating BV where I think you can't really make BV work out too well with simple calculations due to how many factors contribute to a 'mech's effectiveness, hence why I prefer deciding match unit's with gentleman's agreement based on educated guesses of each side's theoretical effectiveness.

But when it comes to video games, I did mention earlier in this same thread that I believe that a 'mech simulator game can greatly benefit from taking a more complex approach than just tonnage.

Tonnage is a good indicator in that well built 'mechs of similar tonnages should have a similar performance vis-a-vis each other. Of course, the tonnages are not an absolute, and the dice has a say in whether a 55 tonner can take down a 60 tonner. If tonnage has no bearing, then a Locust would have a chance against an Atlas, but that is simply not the case.

The key point there is "well built". The problem with stock 'mechs is that few of them are. Take the stock Shadow Hawk. It is a grotesque monstrosity of lackluster... not even mediocrity, really. Just about any other 55 tonner would kick it in the nuts and walk away laughing. Heck, an Assassin could probably have a great showing against it, and I would question its chances against a Panther. And then we have the Dragon. Mediocre at long range, pretty bad at short. Even the Catapult and the Archer, the iconic fire support 'mechs, outgun it at short range, and most definitely will kick its ass at long range. I'd pit a Marik variant Wolverine against the Dragon and expect the Wolverine to come out on top.

The game system also has certain tonnages which are... problematic. This has mainly to do with the engine weight. 60 tons is a problem point, as are 90 and 95. There are good reasons why the 'mechs that are universally regarded as good 'mechs in the BTech universe fall in certain weight ranges: Marauder/Mad Cat/Thor/Orion/Warhammer/Archer are all 70/75 tons. Battlemaster/Masakari are both 85 tonners. These are breakpoints in the system. 70/75 tons is the breakpoint of a 5/8/5 movement profile. 85 tons is the breakpoint of the 4/6/4 movement profile. Any higher or lower and you have reduced payload for that movement profile.

 

[Cael]

UrbanMech4Life

Urbie is actually a better mech than people give it credit for. Going by BV it's actually a fantastic mech in the right environment, particularly because the AC10 is actually a really solid weapon (you can quite literally decapitate a lot of mechs with it on a lucky roll). You don't want to put it in open field line battles or anything, obviously, but as long as you have enough time to get them into position in the right places you can harry the hell out of much heavier mechs on the cheap.

Why not open field? The AC10 has the same range as a Large Laser. Few weapons outrange it. AC5 and LRMs are the only significant ones that spring to mind. The PPC outranges it only marginally. At 10 damage, it actually does more damage at that range than most other weapons. In fact, 10 is more throw-weight than a Shadow Hawk could field at that range with all of its weapons combined. I'd expect 2 Urbies to win a match against a single Shadow Hawk.

Yes, it is a slug of a 'mech, so don't use it for scouting or hit-and-fade missions. In defend and assault missions, the Urbies are pretty darned economical for its combat abilities, especially if you are playing mercenaries style where C-Bills is more the factor than BV.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

Oh I definately agree, tonnage is the sort of good compromise you have to make in order to present the tabletop game in an easily understandable and useable manner, along with all the stats derived around tonnage like engine power -> movement values. Only thing where it sort of doesn't work is calculating BV where I think you can't really make BV work out too well with simple calculations due to how many factors contribute to a 'mech's effectiveness, hence why I prefer deciding match unit's with gentleman's agreement based on educated guesses of each side's theoretical effectiveness.

But when it comes to video games, I did mention earlier in this same thread that I believe that a 'mech simulator game can greatly benefit from taking a more complex approach than just tonnage.

Tonnage is a good indicator in that well built 'mechs of similar tonnages should have a similar performance vis-a-vis each other. Of course, the tonnages are not an absolute, and the dice has a say in whether a 55 tonner can take down a 60 tonner. If tonnage has no bearing, then a Locust would have a chance against an Atlas, but that is simply not the case.

The key point there is "well built". The problem with stock 'mechs is that few of them are. Take the stock Shadow Hawk. It is a grotesque monstrosity of lackluster... not even mediocrity, really. Just about any other 55 tonner would kick it in the nuts and walk away laughing. Heck, an Assassin could probably have a great showing against it, and I would question its chances against a Panther. And then we have the Dragon. Mediocre at long range, pretty bad at short. Even the Catapult and the Archer, the iconic fire support 'mechs, outgun it at short range, and most definitely will kick its ass at long range. I'd pit a Marik variant Wolverine against the Dragon and expect the Wolverine to come out on top.

The game system also has certain tonnages which are... problematic. This has mainly to do with the engine weight. 60 tons is a problem point, as are 90 and 95. There are good reasons why the 'mechs that are universally regarded as good 'mechs in the BTech universe fall in certain weight ranges: Marauder/Mad Cat/Thor/Orion/Warhammer/Archer are all 70/75 tons. Battlemaster/Masakari are both 85 tonners. These are breakpoints in the system. 70/75 tons is the breakpoint of a 5/8/5 movement profile. 85 tons is the breakpoint of the 4/6/4 movement profile. Any higher or lower and you have reduced payload for that movement profile.

Dragon is an overengined monstrosity. 60 tons is a problem tonnage, yeah (it even remains one in most video games, Dragon's considered a shitmech in MWO for example). Shawk is a pretty machine but I wouldn't bother with any variant save maybe the 2K (and even that is a questionable choice). Ballistics are a risky choice for sub-Heavy mechs in general, as the tonnage/crit reqs are far more pronounced on lighter machines. Heatsinks and energy weapons are generally the safer choice for Mediums and Lights, and once XL engines come into the picture CASE becomes meaningless and thus energy weapons and heatsinks are practically MANDATORY because IS CASE does exactly jack and shit for an XL engine. (and yes, if you have a torso ammo bin on an XL engined mech YOU WILL DIE HORRIBLY, possibly by failing a piloting roll on a steep hill.)

Why not open field? The AC10 has the same range as a Large Laser. Few weapons outrange it. AC5 and LRMs are the only significant ones that spring to mind. The PPC outranges it only marginally. At 10 damage, it actually does more damage at that range than most other weapons. In fact, 10 is more throw-weight than a Shadow Hawk could field at that range with all of its weapons combined. I'd expect 2 Urbies to win a match against a single Shadow Hawk.

Yes, it is a slug of a 'mech, so don't use it for scouting or hit-and-fade missions. In defend and assault missions, the Urbies are pretty darned economical for its combat abilities, especially if you are playing mercenaries style where C-Bills is more the factor than BV.

Mostly because the one time I did something like that in MegaMek (just to see how well it would work) my Urbie lance got its shit pushed in (may have been more bad luck than anything, really). They got advanced on very rapidly and chopped to bits by things like unlucky TACs. AC10 ammo makes a pretty big boom when superheated.

 

[Cael]

Dragon is an overengined monstrosity. 60 tons is a problem tonnage, yeah (it even remains one in most video games, Dragon's considered a shitmech in MWO for example). Shawk is a pretty machine but I wouldn't bother with any variant save maybe the 2K (and even that is a questionable choice). Ballistics are a risky choice for sub-Heavy mechs in general, as the tonnage/crit reqs are far more pronounced on lighter machines. Heatsinks and energy weapons are generally the safer choice for Mediums and Lights, and once XL engines come into the picture CASE becomes meaningless and thus energy weapons and heatsinks are practically MANDATORY because IS CASE does exactly jack and shit for an XL engine. (and yes, if you have a torso ammo bin on an XL engined mech YOU WILL DIE HORRIBLY, possibly by failing a piloting roll on a steep hill.)

Why bother with a IS XL engine at all? Just pop double heat sinks in a normal engine and walk away laughing. Just the double heat sinks alone would make any medium 'mech into an energy weapons platform worth of fear.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

Dragon is an overengined monstrosity. 60 tons is a problem tonnage, yeah (it even remains one in most video games, Dragon's considered a shitmech in MWO for example). Shawk is a pretty machine but I wouldn't bother with any variant save maybe the 2K (and even that is a questionable choice). Ballistics are a risky choice for sub-Heavy mechs in general, as the tonnage/crit reqs are far more pronounced on lighter machines. Heatsinks and energy weapons are generally the safer choice for Mediums and Lights, and once XL engines come into the picture CASE becomes meaningless and thus energy weapons and heatsinks are practically MANDATORY because IS CASE does exactly jack and shit for an XL engine. (and yes, if you have a torso ammo bin on an XL engined mech YOU WILL DIE HORRIBLY, possibly by failing a piloting roll on a steep hill.)

Why bother with a IS XL engine at all? Just pop double heat sinks in a normal engine and walk away laughing. Just the double heat sinks alone would make any medium 'mech into an energy weapons platform worth of fear.

This is very true (IS XLs are dogshit and the LFE was a godsend, if far too late). DHS are honestly almost gamebreaking if you have the critspace (they facilitate critpadding really well because of their bulk, actually).

So they're keeping TT heat scale in this new BattleTech game, I hope, and not cribbing MWO's retarded heat scale system.

 

[Grotesque]

^the That Damn Dog level of stupid

 

[thesheeep]

Baby's first tattoo
But hey, at least it is not a bunch of stars or the name of the current lover...

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Personally I would have gone with Marlon Brando in his get-up from Godfather looking cross-eyed and very drunk.

(But really, why get an isolated tattoo on your shin? The places for tattoos that aren't part of a larger pattern are upper body and arms)

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

^the That Damn Dog level of stupid

I see I've upset you. Allow me to offer my middle fingers as recompense.

Actually isn't the dumbest tattoo I've seen, but all tattoos are pretty stupid IMO

 

[Grotesque]

^the That Damn Dog level of stupid

I see I've upset you.

yes yes
I am very upset

 

[Cael]

(But really, why get an isolated tattoo on your shin? The places for tattoos that aren't part of a larger pattern are upper body and arms)

I think that is a thigh, not a shin...?

 

[SmartCheetah]

People tend to tattoo themselves with much worse things so I don't see anything wrong in that particular lineart mech(except for overall simplicity)
First of all, it's easy to get rid off and even easier to cover up if the guy gets bored of it. Second of all, it's pretty high, so probably only a person sucking his cock could see it (and maybe someone on the beach/swimming pool, depending on the shorts)
Color me unimpressed, and I see a lot of shitty tattoos in my life.

 

[Country_Gravy]

(But really, why get an isolated tattoo on your shin? The places for tattoos that aren't part of a larger pattern are upper body and arms)

I think that is a thigh, not a shin...?

It's a cock

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

(But really, why get an isolated tattoo on your shin? The places for tattoos that aren't part of a larger pattern are upper body and arms)

I think that is a thigh, not a shin...?

It's a cock

 

[Grotesque]

 

[Grotesque]

 

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

"... allow the AWS-Q8 to deal out massive punishment at extreme range."

Judging by the current gameplay videos, this means fire twice and shut down from overheating. :D

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/2089189

State-of-the-Game Update

Happy New Year Everyone!

We’re excited to report that the team hit their end-of-the-year goals and are on track for a great launch this year. While we don’t have a release date to announce yet, we definitely feel good about the state the game is in.

It’s an amazing feeling to have all the pieces in place and to finally play the game we imagined over two years ago! During the week between Christmas and New Years, we took a step back to review our progress and look for areas that need more attention and now we’re back in the thick of it, fixing bugs, balancing the game, PLAYING the game, and taking action to improve the experience day-by-day.

By and large, BATTLETECH is surprisingly close to the vision we originally pitched in the Kickstarter in September 2015. As anyone who’s made a video game can tell you, it’s incredibly rare to finish a game with all the features you envisioned when you start making it. So while we’re surprisingly close, we’re not perfect.

With release in sight in the next few months, we want to tell you about a few features that were part of our Kickstarter Campaign, but need to be delivered post-launch in order to focus development and testing as we move towards release.

• Linux support
• Legendary 'Mechs and MechWarriors
• Ability to play different types of missions in Skirmish mode (The campaign itself still has plenty of mission types though.)
• Some Valhalla-tier reward items (specifics TBD)
• Famous character cameos in the campaign (a Social Mission Bonus from the Kickstarter Campaign.)
• Famous AI Lances in Skirmish mode (another Social Mission Bonus from the Kickstarter Campaign.)

Rest assured that we are still committed to delivering these features after the game’s initial launch and at no additional charge to Backers.

One other change - instead of a multiplayer experience focused around competitive tournaments & leagues, we've opted for a more friend-focused model of multiplayer functionality. Players can invite each other to matches via Steam/GoG, create private games, and browse public games from the lobby.

Because of this change in direction, we also won’t be delivering a Solaris-themed multiplayer experience at launch. Instead, the game will ship with a diverse set of multiplayer maps across all the game’s biomes to battle on. We recognize that Solaris VII is a great setting for BattleTech experiences, and in success, we still hope to explore different ways to bring Solaris VII to life.

And finally, a feature that wasn’t a Kickstarter commitment but that we talked about online a bunch is Ironman Mode. Unfortunately, that won’t make it in for launch but we’d love to add it later.


Mech_Con 2017
Before we go, we want to thank everyone who came out to Mech_Con 2017 last month. We had a blast hanging out with everyone and hope you did, too. There’s really nothing more invigorating for us than meeting you face-to-face and sharing our mutual excitement for BATTLETECH.

Mech_Con 2018!!

The highlight of the evening for us was watching Jordan & Mitch go head-to-head in an epic (though tactically challenged) Battle of the Gray Beards™ with McCain doing color commentary. The two combatants fought a Trial of Honor with the loser kneeling before the winner and pledging to be his Bondsman for one horrible week. You can check out the duel between Jordan and Mitch at this link around the 5:56 mark.


Okay, back to the grindstone. We’re starting back up our Livestreaming Dev Q&As on Wednesday, February 14th hosted by our friends at No Guts No Galaxy. See you then!



See you then! -- HBS

 

[ArchAngel]

I guess self enforced Ironman will have to do.

 

[OSK]

With release in sight in the next few months, we want to tell you about a few features that were part of our Kickstarter Campaign, but need to be delivered post-launch in order to focus development and testing as we move towards release.

• Linux support

FUCK!

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I'm not much of a fan of this whole 'Mech with +1 enchantment bonus thing.

 

[Cael]

"... allow the AWS-Q8 to deal out massive punishment at extreme range."

Judging by the current gameplay videos, this means fire twice and shut down from overheating. :D

Just once if they use the Mechwarrior style of heat sinking. The problem with the MW style is that it dissipates heat over time, but the heat gained is instantaneous. Mount enough energy weapons on a 'mech and you overheat shutdown yourself before the heat sinks get a chance to kick in.

 

[PorkBarrellGuy]

I can't believe they're so dumb that they're not going to use TT heat rules. Oh wait, yes I can believe that.

 

[Grotesque]