Harebrained Schemes General Discussion Thread

[Lambach]

hong kong had the best team for sure. racter and gaichu > everyone else. i also always put gobbet in the team as the token female. that lolsorandumb gamer girl is0bel and that whiny fag duncan were left behind at the base.
the dragonfall team was just okay. i didn't like dietrich and blitz. eiger wasn't bad i hated her at first but she got better. glory was my waifu. my ideal shadowrun team would honestly be gaichu, racter and glory. wish i could just shoot the rest.

Kinda sus that half of your ideal squad is made up of literally soulless psychopaths.

 

[Harthwain]

Kinda sus that half of your ideal squad is made up of literally soulless psychopaths.

Sounds like a team made of real players!

Seriously though - I would really love to see how psychopatic NPCs screw players in various ways when they think they can benefit from it.

 

[Viata]

can we have another Shadowrun Returns but without cyberspace thing and actually non-linear?

We don't deal with good games here.

 

[DeepOcean]

On Gayfinder: Wrath of the Marvelous, the only characters that you dont wish to murder with extreme prejudice are all souless psychopaths, so they might be our only hope in the future.

 

[Darth Canoli]

can we have another Shadowrun Returns but without cyberspace thing and actually non-linear?

Why Returns when Hong Kong was superior in everything but the cyberspace? (and you want to remove it anyway)

Cyberspace should be reduced to a CYOA/dialog mini game.
Maybe add the astral plane (not like the actual cyberspace, something way more focused) to add options to go through locked doors or check characters auras.

Would Harebrained be able to deliver it though?
I seriously doubt it.

 

[Roguey]

Job posting from last month that confirms one of their two current projects is a turn based strategy game:

Harebrained Schemes is looking for a mid-level Producer to join our production team midway through development of a new turn-based strategy game. If you are a thoughtful collaborator who enjoys working with a highly creative and talented team and supporting smooth and predictable outcomes, we'd love to talk with you.

This is a full time, individual contributor role that can be fully remote for candidates able to work Pacific Time hours with preference given to those who are available to work on-site two days a week in our hybrid Kirkland, WA office.

All interviews will be done virtually.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience as a game producer working in a scrum-based Agile environment
• Ability to communicate effectively with people in all disciplines that come together to make a game: Engineering, Art, Design, Audio, UX/UI, QA, and others
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Seasoned people skills: humility, backbone, team support, listening, trust building, sense of humor, creativity
• Growth mindset - for yourself and in support of other producers, the project team
• Experience with Jira / Confluence

Producers at HBS

• Get results - they ship a game, not a process
• Reduce ambiguity in all aspects of a project
• Exercise solid judgment using data, experience, and input to make wise decisions, involving studio leadership at the appropriate time
• Get problems solved through listening, negotiating, collaborating, assimilating, and communicating
• Think strategically, managing risk vs. reward, profit vs. goodwill, effort vs. results
• Lead with empathy, optimism, enthusiasm, humility, candor, and respect, treating teammates like talent, not resources

Nice to Haves

• Knowledge of tactical strategy games
• Understanding of 3D character and environmental art pipelines
• Familiarity with Unity development
• Knowledge of both PC and console development processes
• Experience with shepherding effective collaboration within a hybrid office setting

Employment Eligibility Requirement

Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident and not require Visa sponsorship to be eligible.

It's been nearly four years since Battletech. I'm aware remote work has slowed game development down considerably, but I hope they have something to announce this year.

 

[PorkyThePaladin]

Shadowrun games are pretty good. If they kept the same quality of writing and general design, but added more exploration and larger open levels, would be great.

 

[Anonymous Wife Scholar]

Job posting from last month that confirms one of their two current projects is a turn based strategy game:

Spoiler

Harebrained Schemes is looking for a mid-level Producer to join our production team midway through development of a new turn-based strategy game. If you are a thoughtful collaborator who enjoys working with a highly creative and talented team and supporting smooth and predictable outcomes, we'd love to talk with you.

This is a full time, individual contributor role that can be fully remote for candidates able to work Pacific Time hours with preference given to those who are available to work on-site two days a week in our hybrid Kirkland, WA office.

All interviews will be done virtually.

What You’ll Bring

• Experience as a game producer working in a scrum-based Agile environment
• Ability to communicate effectively with people in all disciplines that come together to make a game: Engineering, Art, Design, Audio, UX/UI, QA, and others
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
• Seasoned people skills: humility, backbone, team support, listening, trust building, sense of humor, creativity
• Growth mindset - for yourself and in support of other producers, the project team
• Experience with Jira / Confluence

Producers at HBS

• Get results - they ship a game, not a process
• Reduce ambiguity in all aspects of a project
• Exercise solid judgment using data, experience, and input to make wise decisions, involving studio leadership at the appropriate time
• Get problems solved through listening, negotiating, collaborating, assimilating, and communicating
• Think strategically, managing risk vs. reward, profit vs. goodwill, effort vs. results
• Lead with empathy, optimism, enthusiasm, humility, candor, and respect, treating teammates like talent, not resources

Nice to Haves

• Knowledge of tactical strategy games
• Understanding of 3D character and environmental art pipelines
• Familiarity with Unity development
• Knowledge of both PC and console development processes
• Experience with shepherding effective collaboration within a hybrid office setting

Employment Eligibility Requirement

Must be a US Citizen or Permanent Resident and not require Visa sponsorship to be eligible.

It's been nearly four years since Battletech. I'm aware remote work has slowed game development down considerably, but I hope they have something to announce this year.

Thank you Roguey anon! Good strong friend anon! I do want cute new HBS Shadowrun Singapore game anon with many cute cyberpunk wifes romance anon because Cyberpunk game was worthless American California brain disease Polish Popamole game anon! It is true anon! It is! You are a good strong friend anon!

 

[Lacrymas]

Did anyone even like Battletech?

 

[ShaggyMoose]

Yes.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Battletech was both horrendously optimized and extremely buggy on release. Although it has 3D graphics, the models are fairly simple and combat is turn-based, yet graphics cards struggled to cope with the battles or even with the fairly static ship room environments. Moreover, one of the bugs caused the game to slow down as the number of save files increased (!), and another bug would sometimes result in time not incrementing properly during a space voyage which prevented you from ever arriving; the only solution to the latter bug was to reload an earlier save, and I recall at least two Codexers encountering this bug after having deleted all saves prior to the start of the voyage due to the former bug.

The storyline was a complete mess full of cliches, one-dimensional characters, contradictions between mission briefings, and violations of Battletech lore.

They even managed to mess up the combat system itself, so that it revolves around use of called shots to concentrate on and eliminate at least one enemy each round, without much else in tactics.

Though it did have a cool opening video (not the one that plays when starting a new game, but the one that plays when loading up the game and doing nothing) showcasing the backstory of Battletech technology and politics, but even this ended abruptly with the creation of the Star League rather than carrying through to the demise of the Star League and the Succession Wars.

 

[Infinitron]

even this ended abruptly with the creation of the Star League rather than carrying through to the demise of the Star League

What, this one?



Looks pretty demisey at the end.

 

[Anonymous Wife Scholar]

Did anyone even like Battletech?

Give me cute Sumire wife!

 

[Lacrymas]

This tells me they should go back to cyberpunk RPGs. Don't use Shadowrun if you can't, make your own universe.

 

[fantadomat]

Did anyone even like Battletech?

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[rusty_shackleford]

compare the shadowrun credits to battletech, they aren't even the same people anymore. Don't expect anything good to be released from them.

 

[T.Ashpool]

This tells me they should go back to cyberpunk RPGs. Don't use Shadowrun if you can't, make your own universe.

they should use the WoD license now that they are at paradox. bloodlines 2 is not coming anytime soon, a vampire, hunter or even changeling crpg could be nice

 

[Roguey]

Did anyone even like Battletech?

It's the reason Paradox bought them. 82% positive on Steam and an estimated 1 million+ in sales (which would make it their best selling game).

 

[DeepOcean]

Really dunno about Harebrained anymore, their Shadowrun games now seem more like a lucky fluke and even them only had solid storyfagness with the gameplay being just a dumbdown version of the PnP game, the story on Battletech was boring and full of cliches with shit one dimensional characters, so I dont think they can even deliver the same storyfagness. A vampire RPG like the shadowrun games but with a bit more investment from Paradox would be great, I just dunno if the Harebrained that exist now can pull it off, I lost my faith in them with Battletech.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

not even sure why battletech is popular, I found it boring as shit.

 

[razvedchiki]

a strategy battletech game!

 

[Harthwain]

Did anyone even like Battletech?

I kinda did.

The idea of running huge mechs on a battlefield is something I enjoy since I first played Mechwarrior 2. It being turn-based and tactics-oriented was another reason for me to be interested. The idea of having a mercenary band running contracts across the galaxy is a good one. I also like the feudal system combined with futuristic combat, because it give you the possibility for political scheming while keeping the almost modern-like warfare and such settings are not exactly something you see often (outside of Warhamme 40.000, I guess). I am surprised nobody tried to make a grand strategy out of it yet.

The execution was flawed, but it was still somewhat enjoyable for what it was.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

not even sure why battletech is popular, I found it boring as shit.

Everyone dreams of becoming a mechwarrior:

 

[Roguey]

Did a bit of linkedin digging. The lead designers of their two unannounced projects are Campbell Tran and Patrick Lipo. Tran's list of credits include

Specializing in systems design, in charge of gameplay across (usually) multiple titles.

Shipped titles include:
- Nike+ Kinect Training
- Ryse
- Killer Instinct (2016)
- Sunset Overdrive
- Quantum Break
- ReCore
- State of Decay 2
- Crackdown 3

Responsible for ensuring that the gameplay vision for each title exceeds expectations. The method varies per team: contributions are sometimes paper designs, sometimes written and verbal feedback, and often will entail getting into the tools and building or prototyping something myself.

And Lipo's been at this since 1993.

Patrick Lipo is a game design specialist with over 25 years of experience in AAA video game creation. X-Men Legends, Heretic II, Soldier of Fortune 1 & 2, Star Wars: Jedi Outcast, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, Brass Tactics, Dead Space 2 & 3, Bioshock Infinite, Lord of the Rings Online. He's been doing this for a while.

Specialties: Overall game vision, action and RPG game design, multiplayer, weapons, melee combat, character control and design, third-person camera, special effects, RPG and multiplayer game balancing, AI and enemy behavior, game proposal development and presentation, network game optimization, engine and toolpath development, licensed engines and technology.

Tran appears to keep to himself, but Lipo's revealed he's working on a turn-based game in an original setting.

Making cool turn-based tactical games with a great team.

https://twitter.com/patrick_lipo/status/1490697467347673092

Harebrained is a fantastic place to work. Great people, cool new IP, sweet #turnbased gameplay. It can even be remote, so check this out!

The lead writer on one of these titles is Jill Scharr whose previous credits include Destiny 2. According to her twitter bio, she's one of those heckin' cute and valid enbies.

Another relatively new writer is Anthea Carns whose background is in theatre. That's uh, pretty unique for the game industry.

And finally there's Shobo Coker who worked in Nigerian television for a few months and is a "writer of Videogames & Comics with a focus on Afro-futurism and Afro-Fantasy." Another atypical hire.

 

[The Wall]

Another pozzed beyond parody game studio, that hates straight white males, while making games for straight white males. Did you all forget that there was LITERALLY Z E R O straight white males in space, in their Battletech. Did you forget all transexual, Muslim, queer 15.6% Canadian, 30% Somalian, 3% German, 22% Indian Battletech pilots?!It's their, no longer yours Battletech. How do you think they envision that future becoming reality?

Play ATOM:Trudograd, and gossip about ATOM Team's next game (announcement coming this year). Instead of sucking tranny cock of pozzed Devs that hate you