KickStarter BATTLETECH - turn-based mech combat from Harebrained Schemes

[Average Manatee]

The HBS game actually does the facing thing decently, and you do get increased chances of hitting one side than the other depending on facing.

Yes, only on cardinal directions. This makes it completely useless in 99% of all situations. It's clearly running off boardgame rules that make the chance to hit completely divorced from both reality and what the game is presenting. It also takes away virtually all potential tactical play in positioning your mech. In Mechwarrior if my left is damaged I can swing around so the enemy is on my right and shoot them while protecting my left and torso. In Battletech I cannot do this, because only cardinal directions matter and if you swing to the side enough to "activate" the sideways CTH calculations you now can't shoot at the enemy.

 

[Cael]

The HBS game actually does the facing thing decently, and you do get increased chances of hitting one side than the other depending on facing.

Yes, only on cardinal directions. This makes it completely useless in 99% of all situations. It's clearly running off boardgame rules that make the chance to hit completely divorced from both reality and what the game is presenting. It also takes away virtually all potential tactical play in positioning your mech. In Mechwarrior if my left is damaged I can swing around so the enemy is on my right and shoot them while protecting my left and torso. In Battletech I cannot do this, because only cardinal directions matter and if you swing to the side enough to "activate" the sideways CTH calculations you now can't shoot at the enemy.

The whole pitch of the HBS game was that it is TB and true to tabletop. That was what roped players in in the first place when they announced the Kickstarter. That they went haywire after that is an indication of the depths of criminal deception that HBS engages in.

You are basically screaming: It is not according to reality! It is not according to reality!!!!

My answer to that is: So fucking what? It is a GAME of BIG STOMPY ROBOTS. Reality can go hang!

 

[Cael]

Here is something I have been wanting to show ever since I saw it:

Spoiler

A Periphery nation fielding a WarShip in 3025, folks. You heard it at HBS first.

Motherfuckers not only raped the lore so hard that it is bleeding out, they threw its dying, abused body to their pet trannies for a second round.

 

[Spark Mandriller]

One of the greatest tragedys of the last century. MechCommander 2 was from that time and was really good but probably has the same issues running it today.

MechCommander 2 is pretty awful compared to 1 so that's no great loss. That game was almost as big of a letdown as this one. You want good level design? It's gone. You want good game design in general (remember how between that and the well made levels MC1 actually kept lights useful even in the endgame?)? It's gone. You want interesting salvage? It's gone. It also shipped with completely broken AI, but at least they patched that. Yeah, for all the people who didn't play MC2 at release, the original AI didn't allow enemy mechs to run or to switch targets until their first target was dead. So you got their attention with a fast mech and then had it play keep away and they'd ignore your mechs that were shooting them. It's like they were trying to roleplay Clanners, except even dumber.

 

[Nutria]

MechCommander 2 is pretty awful compared to 1 so that's no great loss.

Dammit. I never played MC1. Now I'll probably never get the chance unless I spend hours setting up a Win98 virtual machine.

 

[Cael]

One of the greatest tragedys of the last century. MechCommander 2 was from that time and was really good but probably has the same issues running it today.

MechCommander 2 is pretty awful compared to 1 so that's no great loss. That game was almost as big of a letdown as this one. You want good level design? It's gone. You want good game design in general (remember how between that and the well made levels MC1 actually kept lights useful even in the endgame?)? It's gone. You want interesting salvage? It's gone. It also shipped with completely broken AI, but at least they patched that. Yeah, for all the people who didn't play MC2 at release, the original AI didn't allow enemy mechs to run or to switch targets until their first target was dead. So you got their attention with a fast mech and then had it play keep away and they'd ignore your mechs that were shooting them. It's like they were trying to roleplay Clanners, except even dumber.

That was why I always had at least one Sha Yu in the field with full armour and jumpjets until the last mission :D

The best part was that you don't even have to tag them. All you had to do was show your face and run like hell.

 

[Nathaniel3W]

I loved MechCommander. Does it have to run through Windows? I don't suppose DosBox will launch it? To be honest, I hadn't known about the sequels. That's too bad it went downhill.

 

[Cael]

MechCommander 2 is pretty awful compared to 1 so that's no great loss.

Dammit. I never played MC1. Now I'll probably never get the chance unless I spend hours setting up a Win98 virtual machine.

You don't need to. There is a MC1 download somewhere that allows you to play it on modern machines. I think it is free, too.

 

[Matalarata]

Guys, since I more or less squeezed MW5 for all the fun it could give me and this one was on sale on my choice reseller for a few peanuts, I decided to buy it, to keep scratching that stompstompstomp hitch. MW5 only left me wanting for moar and I ache thinking about the old titles more than ever.

I'm not really interested in the campaign, is it worth it? I've also skimmed through the last few pages and checked a few mods on nexus, BTA 3062 looks interesting and still light enough to be maybe considered for a first playthrough. Should I go modded or vanilla? My :autism: is not as strong as that of other experts, but I know my way around BT lore and (most importantly) weaponry and chassis. As such, complexity isn't really an issue, I just wish to know if the vanilla game is even worth a try.

BTA is already a compilation of mods, if I understand it correctly, so stacking other mods on top of it is ill advised. Is there anything else you consider a must have? Like interface mods or similar? Bonus bananas if you can also tell me if they are already integrated into BTA or otherwise compatible.

thx in advance!

 

[rashiakas]

BTA has all you need, and you can do the campaign a well if you want (as flashpoints).

 

[lightbane]

The whole pitch of the HBS game was that it is TB and true to tabletop.

Until they added their own thing as well as making an obtuse interface, which doesn't work well with 20+ years-old games.

Here is something I have been wanting to show ever since I saw it:

That's nothing compared to the uber-space station/ship you get as part of the game, which is blatant lore-raping and an excuse to introduce nu-XCOM mechanics. Then again, BTech games always took some liberties with the lore to make gameplay fun. These two are nothing compared to the fact a backwater system that probably didn't exist outside of this mech has access to dozens of non-primitive heavy and/or assault mechs.
Even then, I bet many would be fine as longa s the game was fun, but it is not the case, sadly.

BTA is already a compilation of mods, if I understand it correctly, so stacking other mods on top of it is ill advised. Is there anything else you consider a must have? Like interface mods or similar? Bonus bananas if you can also tell me if they are already integrated into BTA or otherwise compatible.

I wanted to make a list of what I play once I start tinkering with mods, but some already did (see links below). There's one that supposedly speeds up loading times (the Turbine one), no idea if it still works.
https://www.fandomspot.com/best-battletech-mods/

Here's also links to the backer manuals and a guide, since there's no actual manual for the game:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/www.harebrained-schemes.com/backer-beta/manual.pdf

 

[warcrimes666]

Yes, little reason to plow through vanilla. There's a real lack of mechs and the tweaks they made to the rules just made it too easy, as per Cael. Performance is awful and the sjw campaign made me sick with violent rage. Dont do it.

BTA 3062 and Extended 3025 are similar. It mostly depends on when you got into battletech and what you want for tech level. Extended ends in 3057 so any mechs or tech developed after will only be in BTA. Roguetech has basically everything ever mentioned in a technical readout but performance is overall worse than vanilla, worth to play but save for last. Everything is quite adjustable in all three but you can adhere much more closely to tabletop rules and that makes it actually difficult to stay alive as it should be.

My run now is with Extended which I like the best at this time although for all intents and purposes BTA is equivalent. I'm using these extra mods:

full mission control and bigger drops - option with extended, mostly played without but i added to realistically play in the clan invasion, one lance versus 3 or 5 stars of clanners is an exercise in futility playing tabletop simulation. Adds AI lances to your team to mix things up a bit
https://www.nexusmods.com/battletech/mods/387?tab=files
longer jump distance - turns 90 day jumps into 20-30 days
https://www.nexusmods.com/battletech/mods/216?tab=files
sound replacement pack - switchs out the weapon sounds from MW4, a little more visceral than stock
https://www.nexusmods.com/battletech/mods/37?tab=files
zoom out further - gives a big increase to zoom not perfect but is useful
https://www.nexusmods.com/battletech/mods/503?tab=files

All 3 require community asset bundle, dont bother getting the 9 gigs off nexus. Just use the CAB installer, it downloads at high speed
https://www.nexusmods.com/battletech/mods/393?tab=files

I think most of the mods from the fandom link are already included in extended and bta and probably roguetech as well but I havent checked that one for about a year. I'm interested to see the reactions to the mods as for me they've brought the game from basically unplayable to decent with good aspects.

edit- need current version to install mods...cough cough...ahem...'gog-games'

 

[Matalarata]

Thanks everyone for the info! In the end, I'm tempted to settle with BTA because MW5 starts in 3025 and the timeline advances up to 3049, so I've recently binged on level 1 tech and older 'mech models. I'd like some more advanced weaponry and clan toys to play with.

edit- need current version to install mods...cough cough...ahem...'gog-games'

I rarely sail the high seas nowadays, although I'm not judging anyone who does so by any means. I either buy the product directly to support the devs or I buy it from a reseller (like in this case) when I wish to vote with my wallet. Functionally very similar, since I got the base game and flash point for the price of a single coffee but it saves me the hassle of keeping my unremoved inventory up to date, life is a biotch, quality gaming time is limited.
Although this could sound petty, I still vividly remember the baffling decision HBS made when originally designing the game and the general demeanor some of the 'devs' mantained when interacting with the 'old grognard' who, as far as I'm concerned, should be the number one priority when reviving a franchise that slept for 20 years. To put things into perspective, I did buy every Shadowrun game regularly, to show support. Just my 2c and not exactly on-topic so I will stop rambling and excuse myself.

One last question, before I settle with a specific overhaul. Atm I lack Urban Warfare and Heavy Metal, they are pretty cheap but seem definitely overpriced for what they add to the base game. While reading docs and various install instructions, I stumbled upon an year old comment with a number of upvotes stating that both Extended and Advanced have some issues if you lack some DLCs, especially Heavy Metal. Should I care or is it just drama?

 

[Cael]

Here is something I have been wanting to show ever since I saw it:

That's nothing compared to the uber-space station/ship you get as part of the game, which is blatant lore-raping and an excuse to introduce nu-XCOM mechanics. Then again, BTech games always took some liberties with the lore to make gameplay fun. These two are nothing compared to the fact a backwater system that probably didn't exist outside of this mech has access to dozens of non-primitive heavy and/or assault mechs.
Even then, I bet many would be fine as longa s the game was fun, but it is not the case, sadly.

The fucking cunts had to admit it on Sarna.net that they had to make shit up in order for the Argo to even be possible (i.e., DropShip carrying a DropShip attaching to a JumpShip). The only shield they have is for that old fucktard Jordan to claim he was the creator of BTech. The whole lot of them have no fucking clue about the setting. Not a single one. I'll bet you Jordan was just the money man and not the actual brains behind the setting. The magnitude of lore raping and just fucked up shit they put in there is ludicrous, even for a Star Trek franchise, let alone a BTech one. And let's not forget the retarded trannies actually allowed Directorate generals to lease assault vehicles from the Restoration. What. The. Fuck?

 

[lightbane]

full mission control and bigger drops - option with extended, mostly played without but i added to realistically play in the clan invasion, one lance versus 3 or 5 stars of clanners is an exercise in futility playing tabletop simulation. Adds AI lances to your team to mix things up a bit

How many units can Mission Control let you use at once? Ideally it would be 2 lances, aka 8 units, but I wonder if you can go bigger before the game breaks down (even more).

I either buy the product directly to support the devs or I buy it from a reseller (like in this case) when I wish to vote with my wallet.

Resellers such as? I haven't checked many yet.

Although this could sound petty, I still vividly remember the baffling decision HBS made when originally designing the game and the general demeanor some of the 'devs' mantained when interacting with the 'old grognard' who, as far as I'm concerned, should be the number one priority when reviving a franchise that slept for 20 years. To put things into perspective, I did buy every Shadowrun game regularly, to show support. Just my 2c and not exactly on-topic so I will stop rambling and excuse myself.

That's what happens when devs go full retard or go full tranny.
I remember you could make a timeline of sorts where you could clearly spot when they began losing their mind and going further beyond.

One last question, before I settle with a specific overhaul. Atm I lack Urban Warfare and Heavy Metal, they are pretty cheap but seem definitely overpriced for what they add to the base game. While reading docs and various install instructions, I stumbled upon an year old comment with a number of upvotes stating that both Extended and Advanced have some issues if you lack some DLCs, especially Heavy Metal. Should I care or is it just drama?

In my case, I have the vanilla GOG game and I acquired the expansions through "other means", but the game works just fine.
You already paid them once, so it's fine.

The fucking cunts had to admit it on Sarna.net that they had to make shit up in order for the Argo to even be possible (i.e., DropShip carrying a DropShip attaching to a JumpShip). The only shield they have is for that old fucktard Jordan to claim he was the creator of BTech.

I dunno why they bothered to make the whole game canon to begin with, or that stupid ship. Chances are the snowflake princess, once her plot armor is gone, immediately fucks up and is assassinated and her territory taken over by one of the bigger Houses.

By the way, is the thing where you have to connect to the Paradox servers to use a special skin still a thing, or did they change it?

 

[Cael]

The fucking cunts had to admit it on Sarna.net that they had to make shit up in order for the Argo to even be possible (i.e., DropShip carrying a DropShip attaching to a JumpShip). The only shield they have is for that old fucktard Jordan to claim he was the creator of BTech.

I dunno why they bothered to make the whole game canon to begin with, or that stupid ship. Chances are the snowflake princess, once her plot armor is gone, immediately fucks up and is assassinated and her territory taken over by one of the bigger Houses.

By the way, is the thing where you have to connect to the Paradox servers to use a special skin still a thing, or did they change it?

No idea. I am hardly the person to ask about skins and stuff. Superficialities don't really interest me.

 

[Matalarata]

Resellers such as? I haven't checked many yet.

Always check sites like:

https://www.allkeyshop.com/blog/buy-battletech-cd-key-compare-prices/

To compare prices. I personally often use Kinguin and I never had any problem with them. The single time I remember the key being a few minutes late, I contacted their chatbot and the issue was solved in one minute or less. Some say it re-sells stolen keys or keys bought via stolen credit, but I'm pretty sure it's all bullshittery. Yesterday BT was on sale, I got the base game for 0.89e and flashpoint for 0.49 iirc. I could have bought the Shadowhawk skin for 30 but:

a) It's shit
b) I'm not a sucker that pays for cosmetics
c) They explicitly released it as a "Thank you" for the backers. Then, in typical Paradox style, the sold it for 5 eurobucks on steam. Uncool.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

MechCommander 2 is pretty awful compared to 1 so that's no great loss.

Dammit. I never played MC1. Now I'll probably never get the chance unless I spend hours setting up a Win98 virtual machine.

I was able to download it free from the official wiki page and play it with no issues on a Windows 7 laptop. There are mods for it too, but I can't attest to their quality. I also concur that MC2 is crap compared to MC1. I think there is a MicroPose page where you can also download it as I'm sure it was officially made freeware.

 

[Cael]

MechCommander 2 is pretty awful compared to 1 so that's no great loss.

Dammit. I never played MC1. Now I'll probably never get the chance unless I spend hours setting up a Win98 virtual machine.

I was able to download it free from the official wiki page and play it with no issues on a Windows 7 laptop. There are mods for it too, but I can't attest to their quality. I also concur that MC2 is crap compared to MC1. I think there is a MicroPose page where you can also download it as I'm sure it was officially made freeware.

Both MC1 and MC2 were made freeware.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

roguetech inside:
switching from wolfhound to firestarter has been an epiphany. renouncing to the ams and little else i managed to squeeze in a much better engine, 2 mgs and 2 flamers more. free roasting.

is there a better vehicle than the drillson? 6 evasion pips to dodge pretty much anything, 1 large laser to open, 6 srm2 to inflict pain, 2 mgs to eat everything inside. i'll have an answer as soon as i understand why this vehicle can dodge better than cassius clay while a 7 pips vtol gets routinely rotflstomped.

 

[lightbane]

I should have expected it, but the shittyness of HBStech extends to Mod Support: first, despite being a clean and legal GOG installation, the so-called "Mod Manager" doesn't recognize my BTech game, even though I put the thing in the same place where the game is installed. Modtek seems to work, but it doesn't tell you much about "why" some mods don't work or failed to load. I tried some mods and they seem to work, but sometimes it doesn't seem to be the case despite the game telling me they should.
Also, not sure if it's related to installing mods, but the Borderless Window mode was fucked up and reverted to regular Windowed mode, not sure why.

 

[Matalarata]

A question for any local BTA 3062 expert, I'm at the beginning of my first career. I've just done half a dozen missions so far so I'm sticking to contract rated from half a skull up to 1.5 to keep it easy. Got two contracts that require me to travel to another system, both rated 1 skull. I tried both of them and the first one (which admittedly has a bit of fluff about a "powerful commstar 'mech") spawns 2 lances of Heavy 'mechs while the second one just sends in 1 Mauler (healthy except for a missing ERLL), 1 Catapult, 1 P.Hawk and another medium I cannot currently name. I manage to kill the PK and get the mauler down to half health and the game drops a reinforcement lance of similar tonnage, right behind my squishy LRM boat.

I attempted both mission twice and I noticed that during the loading screen with the Leopard dropping your lance, the first mission is now rated 4.5 skulls and the second is "just" 4 skulls. I double and triple checked, those were both listed as 1 skull, in the list of operations.

Is this normal behaviour? Known bug? Engine limitation? I understand having some variability in difficulty, but this is a bit too extreme imho. Am I missing something?

 

[lightbane]

Just to be sure I'm doing this right: Battletech Mod Manager no longer works with the 1.8 and above version, right?
And the 3025 mod is actually a bunch of separate mods rolled together, is that so?
Is it normal that the character you control has no voice, or is it there a voice selector somewhere I haven't found yet?

 

[Cael]

A question for any local BTA 3062 expert, I'm at the beginning of my first career. I've just done half a dozen missions so far so I'm sticking to contract rated from half a skull up to 1.5 to keep it easy. Got two contracts that require me to travel to another system, both rated 1 skull. I tried both of them and the first one (which admittedly has a bit of fluff about a "powerful commstar 'mech") spawns 2 lances of Heavy 'mechs while the second one just sends in 1 Mauler (healthy except for a missing ERLL), 1 Catapult, 1 P.Hawk and another medium I cannot currently name. I manage to kill the PK and get the mauler down to half health and the game drops a reinforcement lance of similar tonnage, right behind my squishy LRM boat.

I attempted both mission twice and I noticed that during the loading screen with the Leopard dropping your lance, the first mission is now rated 4.5 skulls and the second is "just" 4 skulls. I double and triple checked, those were both listed as 1 skull, in the list of operations.

Is this normal behaviour? Known bug? Engine limitation? I understand having some variability in difficulty, but this is a bit too extreme imho. Am I missing something?

It happens even in the base game. And it was a known thing back when the game was in early access. HBS calls it a "feature": "Your intelligence is not 100% accurate."

 

[Lone Wolf]

Is this normal behaviour?

From memory, there is some mechanic whereby the contract ratings don't always reflect the difficulty of the mission (sort of an operational 'fog of war'). One clear example would be Clanner missions (as in, Clans as OPFOR), where a half star contract is the equivalent to three or four stars in vanilla.