MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries by Piranha Games - now on Steam and GOG

[razvedchiki]

is this the real bradylama from the ancient days?

 

[thesheeep]

It's simple: if you engage with the game through the co-op mode then it's functionally an MMORPG. The only thing that's missing is player-to-player communications in the field, which should be simple enough to realize because you're already "intercepting" communication packets from opfor.

I don't even know where to start with this.
You do know what the first "M" stands for, right? And what that means for a game's technical infrastructure?
Just because something has rudimentary multiplayer support, doesn't mean it's functionally an MMORPG.
Just because some sound clips are playing to create the illusion of chatter, doesn't mean they are just a step away from having voice chat. Although voice chat really isn't hard to implement if you have co-op working otherwise already.

... are you messing with us here?

 

[Yosharian]

Since Valve has updated the regional pricing I decided to pull the plug. Any good mods for this?

I have a modlist you can use if you like

If you can you can post it here with a short description of what you're using organized by priority.

If it's too big, just a list is fine too.

 

[Bradylama]

It's simple: if you engage with the game through the co-op mode then it's functionally an MMORPG. The only thing that's missing is player-to-player communications in the field, which should be simple enough to realize because you're already "intercepting" communication packets from opfor.

You're saying that scripted communications that come from AI somehow help them in implementing a voice chat for players? And that will make this game an MMO? Are you aware that friends you invite in this game just replace the roles of bots in your lance and progress works for you alone?

Uh yeah, of course. Being able to roleplay as Mechwarriors with your lancemates is what makes Mech 5 a role playing game. So long as you can intuitively understand Singlish logo you're set.

 

[Bradylama]

It's simple: if you engage with the game through the co-op mode then it's functionally an MMORPG. The only thing that's missing is player-to-player communications in the field, which should be simple enough to realize because you're already "intercepting" communication packets from opfor.

I don't even know where to start with this.
You do know what the first "M" stands for, right? And what that means for a game's technical infrastructure?
Just because something has rudimentary multiplayer support, doesn't mean it's functionally an MMORPG.
Just because some sound clips are playing to create the illusion of chatter, doesn't mean they are just a step away from having voice chat. Although voice chat really isn't hard to implement if you have co-op working otherwise already.

... are you messing with us here?

Every new DLC has its content available in the base game if you pay close enough attention. You can get career starts from the Rasalhague Republic, for instance, even without the DLC. What the DLCs really do is unlock more toys to play with, and extends the inner sphere's timeline. That means they've probably got plans for even more modules to flesh out Clanner gameplay once they arrive on the scene. That means power armor, player piloted air & ground vehicles, the whole 9 yards. The skeleton for a fully realized multiplayer galaxy is already there, it just has to be fully realized.

 

[Latelistener]

Since Valve has updated the regional pricing I decided to pull the plug. Any good mods for this?

I have a modlist you can use if you like

If you can you can post it here with a short description of what you're using organized by priority.

If it's too big, just a list is fine too.

Thanks. That's actually a nice and creative Reshade preset. I don't know yet how playable it will be, but it's interesting what it does.

Spoiler

 

[Yosharian]

I turned off some of the effects. Mostly it just makes things a little darker and grittier

 

[Chippy]

Unless I'm mistaken, GoG's pricing @ 50% off is:

MW5: Mercs £12.50
Heroes of the Innersphere £8.00
Legend of the Kestral Lancers £8.00
Call to Arms £5.70
Rise of Raelhague £12.00

Total = £46.20 / $55.52

I'm assuming you don't get the hi res backgrounds with the standard edition, so they want you to pay twice as much for the deluxe edition that just adds that and soundtracks. Plus they've added the Mech stats to a £2.00 digital content DLC which was effectively the best part of the original manuals. Gave me a hard on reading the mech stats in the manuals back in the day.

So I was thinking about it...but no.

Edit: £96.80 / $116.33 for a game at full price with all DLCs. I haven't bought a game in years, but this is nuts.

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

it can be found somewhere else for 0 dollars.

 

[Yosharian]

Unless I'm mistaken, GoG's pricing @ 50% off is:

MW5: Mercs £12.50
Heroes of the Innersphere £8.00
Legend of the Kestral Lancers £8.00
Call to Arms £5.70
Rise of Raelhague £12.00

Total = £46.20 / $55.52

I'm assuming you don't get the hi res backgrounds with the standard edition, so they want you to pay twice as much for the deluxe edition that just adds that and soundtracks. Plus they've added the Mech stats to a £2.00 digital content DLC which was effectively the best part of the original manuals. Gave me a hard on reading the mech stats in the manuals back in the day.

So I was thinking about it...but no.

Edit: £96.80 / $116.33 for a game at full price with all DLCs. I haven't bought a game in years, but this is nuts.

Just get everything off CDKEYS it's way cheaper, don't pay that much for it

 

[Beowulf]

What's the best way to play this?
Kb +m or Kb + joystick?

 

[Yosharian]

I can't imagine that playing it with a joystick is very appealing, it's a PGI game after all

 

[Beowulf]

Some sims are better with joystics (and I don't mean flight sims) - e.g. controlling tank turrets in Steel Beasts. I haven't played any MechWarrior game in ages, so don't really know what is the recommended setup (and I only had kb +mouse then).

 

[Yosharian]

Some sims are better with joystics (and I don't mean flight sims) - e.g. controlling tank turrets in Steel Beasts. I haven't played any MechWarrior game in ages, so don't really know what is the recommended setup (and I only had kb +mouse then).

Yes of course, what I'm saying is that this game is closer to an action game than it is to a sim

 

[Yosharian]

I'm actually in the process of making a music mod for the game right now. Nearly finished with it, took me a while to get to grips with the audio system but I've got it now.

The vanilla music is really fucking bad, and there's not many music mods available right now. Certainly none that are of sufficient quality for me personally.

 

[Yosharian]

Mod released:

https://www.nexusmods.com/mechwarrior5mercenaries/mods/823

 

[Jason Liang]

What's the best way to play this?
Kb +m or Kb + joystick?

 

[GhostCow]

VR is gay and HOTAS is a shitty way to play MW5 because it's far more FPS-like than the previous titles. It's designed to be played with a keyboard and mouse.

That aside, I bought the newest DLC since it was on sale. The game has actually improved so much since the initial release that I can finally recommend it. It's no MW2, but they fixed enough of my complaints that it's the second or third best title in the series now. Your AI teammates are actually useful now and the missions are much more manageable because of it. Shit doesn't spawn directly behind you anymore either. They also added a ton of hand crafted missions with the DLC that are both challenging and fun, especially the ones from the newest DLC. As of today, I would rate the game with all of the DLC added as an 8/10.

 

[markec]

VR is gay and HOTAS is a shitty way to play MW5 because it's far more FPS-like than the previous titles. It's designed to be played with a keyboard and mouse.

That aside, I bought the newest DLC since it was on sale. The game has actually improved so much since the initial release that I can finally recommend it. It's no MW2, but they fixed enough of my complaints that it's the second or third best title in the series now. Your AI teammates are actually useful now and the missions are much more manageable because of it. Shit doesn't spawn directly behind you anymore either. They also added a ton of hand crafted missions with the DLC that are both challenging and fun, especially the ones from the newest DLC. As of today, I would rate the game with all of the DLC added as an 8/10.

Which DLC would you say are mandatory? Do all of them add new content to the main campaign or are their stories and content all standalone?

 

[GhostCow]

VR is gay and HOTAS is a shitty way to play MW5 because it's far more FPS-like than the previous titles. It's designed to be played with a keyboard and mouse.

That aside, I bought the newest DLC since it was on sale. The game has actually improved so much since the initial release that I can finally recommend it. It's no MW2, but they fixed enough of my complaints that it's the second or third best title in the series now. Your AI teammates are actually useful now and the missions are much more manageable because of it. Shit doesn't spawn directly behind you anymore either. They also added a ton of hand crafted missions with the DLC that are both challenging and fun, especially the ones from the newest DLC. As of today, I would rate the game with all of the DLC added as an 8/10.

Which DLC would you say are mandatory? Do all of them add new content to the main campaign or are their stories and content all standalone?

All of the DLC is worth getting except for Call to Arms, which mostly just added melee shit that no one cares about. It also adds a short chain of missions, but I didn't play them. The one that adds the best missions is the newest DLC, Rise of Rasalhague.

These DLC missions will come to you via transmissions you can view from your ship and are optional, though the ones from the Rasalhague DLC show up at certain points in the timeline and must be accepted within a certain time frame or you will miss out on them. I think all of the others can be completed any time after they show up in your transmissions with no time limit. These show up in both of the game modes and are not part of the main story.

I didn't really care about Call to Arms, but I bought it anyway to fund MW6 or whatever the next Mechwarrior game they recently announced ends up being.

 

[Fedora Master]

https://mw5mercs.com/dlc/the-dragons-gambit

The dedicated Weeaboo DLC.

No idea who this is aimed at since it's just one mech, a few variants and a bunch of missions.

 

[GhostCow]

I'll probably buy it because I keep hoping that if I give them enough money, we'll get Mechwarrior 6 and it will be good.

I'm a retard, I know.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

I purchased Mechwarrior 5, and the Heroes of the Inner Sphere, Kestrel Lancers, and Rise of Rasalhague DLCs. And I can now declare that this is the best shit game I've played in a long time.

+ It takes place in the pre-3050 Inner Sphere, which was my favorite era of BattleTech from back when I played the FASA tabletop version regularly
+ I enjoyed choosing between the different House factions. I went with Liao mostly, but also supported Kurita and Marik. I've always found Steiner a bit bland and Davion too sanctimonious and blind to their own atrocities. Kurita is brutal but not blind to what it is, but also a bit dull like Steiner once you get passed the Asian motifs. But Marik with its constant civil strife and Liao with its insane cults just make for a more interesting experience
+ I often got to be the Kool-Aid man since Heavy and Assault mechs can walk through the outer walls of settlements. I can't tell you how many times a tank got surprised and stomped by me when I burst through and behind them
+ All my old favorite mechs are here. The Locust, the Jenner, the Pheonix Hawk, the Hunchback, the Archer, the Warhammer, the Maurader, the Atlas. Later as the game progresses mechs like the Raven appear. I always hated the mech, but it was always a joy to see the retarded Charger on the other team
+ One of the DLCs allowed interaction with mercs, so I did enjoy running into outfits like the Wolfs Dragoons even if the encounters were brief and pointless
+ I liked the feel of the controls and the weapons. I also enjoyed being able to make modifications to my mechs, but wish I could modify them further and not be held back by the variant restrictions
+ Hero mechs from the DLCs were also a welcome addition. I really had a blast with my hero Archer, loading it up with 2x LRM-15s and 2x SRM-5s and sending my crew to run interference while I blew mechs up from afar. The hero Griffin was a workhorse, and I also liked the Hunchback variant that swapped the AC-20 for a Gauss Rifle
+ I loved watching the history unfold and the map change due to in canon events
+ The mercenary campaign from the DLCs is a better experience than the story-driven campaign in the base game. Just pick a region of the map and go
- The game is still shit though
- Taking a lance into combat was like handing a bunch of retarded 8th graders off of a short bus, giving them AR-15s, and taking them bear hunting
- Short bus retards continuosly shot me from behind and stomped on allied tanks, even when there were no threats around us
- The mission designs on fixed missions are dull and boring with little variation besides destroy waves of mechs of equal tonnage to your lance
- The randomly generated missions were full of bullshit such as enemies teleporting in right next to your lance at the start of the mission. I had one mission where I was guarding a base in a settlement surrounded on three sides by cliff walls. So I set my lance on the edge of the settlement so we could pick off incoming mechs. Somehow the mechs teleported behind me
- The design team must have known that they fucked up the AI and the mission designs, so most of the missions from the base game deal with you meeting a mission objective, then trying to get evacuated from a landing zone while wave after waves of enemies take pot shots at your back armor. This is what the dev team considered as fun and exciting gameplay. Or maybe they just gave up and just decided to publish an unfinished game since the DLC missions are much better and remove the end of mission wave attacks. This turns into a more arcady experience as you get to practice shots into enemy cockpits to slow the hoards down
- Without the end of mission wave attacks, the DLC missions are too easy if you know to bring extra money, pilots and backup mechs into the campaign. The DLC missions are still more fun
- Star League did nothing wrong in the main campaign. Yeah, Star League is a faction of assholes in a game full of asshole factions, but the main character and his father are in the wrong. During the first mission the two characters see a bunch of mech dropships land on their planet. Instead of doing the sensible thing and get back to their HQ and figure out if they should bug out or not, the two instead decide to loot the storage facilities on the planet and get trapped, leading to the father's death... and I'm supposed to feel bad? The guy was trying to rob the government of the planet he was contracted to. And multiple dropships usually mean multiple mechs. Why did you think that using only two mechs to try to rob the place was a good idea?
- Later you find out there is a greater conspiracy, because there's always a fucking greater conspiracy in these corporate video games. And you then hunt down the dudes that killed your father and find out in the great reveal that... your dad was an even bigger asshole than you first thought and Star League had every right to see him as a threat, hunt him down, and try to find out his secrets. And nothing valuable was learned.

But seriously... play the mercenary campaign with some of the DLCs and ignore the main game. Treat this like a Mechwarrior sandbox with no true ending, and you should have a blast.

 

[deama]

I purchased Mechwarrior 5, and the Heroes of the Inner Sphere, Kestrel Lancers, and Rise of Rasalhague DLCs. And I can now declare that this is the best shit game I've played in a long time.

+ It takes place in the pre-3050 Inner Sphere, which was my favorite era of BattleTech from back when I played the FASA tabletop version regularly
+ I enjoyed choosing between the different House factions. I went with Liao mostly, but also supported Kurita and Marik. I've always found Steiner a bit bland and Davion too sanctimonious and blind to their own atrocities. Kurita is brutal but not blind to what it is, but also a bit dull like Steiner once you get passed the Asian motifs. But Marik with its constant civil strife and Liao with its insane cults just make for a more interesting experience
+ I often got to be the Kool-Aid man since Heavy and Assault mechs can walk through the outer walls of settlements. I can't tell you how many times a tank got surprised and stomped by me when I burst through and behind them
+ All my old favorite mechs are here. The Locust, the Jenner, the Pheonix Hawk, the Hunchback, the Archer, the Warhammer, the Maurader, the Atlas. Later as the game progresses mechs like the Raven appear. I always hated the mech, but it was always a joy to see the retarded Charger on the other team
+ One of the DLCs allowed interaction with mercs, so I did enjoy running into outfits like the Wolfs Dragoons even if the encounters were brief and pointless
+ I liked the feel of the controls and the weapons. I also enjoyed being able to make modifications to my mechs, but wish I could modify them further and not be held back by the variant restrictions
+ Hero mechs from the DLCs were also a welcome addition. I really had a blast with my hero Archer, loading it up with 2x LRM-15s and 2x SRM-5s and sending my crew to run interference while I blew mechs up from afar. The hero Griffin was a workhorse, and I also liked the Hunchback variant that swapped the AC-20 for a Gauss Rifle
+ I loved watching the history unfold and the map change due to in canon events
+ The mercenary campaign from the DLCs is a better experience than the story-driven campaign in the base game. Just pick a region of the map and go
- The game is still shit though
- Taking a lance into combat was like handing a bunch of retarded 8th graders off of a short bus, giving them AR-15s, and taking them bear hunting
- Short bus retards continuosly shot me from behind and stomped on allied tanks, even when there were no threats around us
- The mission designs on fixed missions are dull and boring with little variation besides destroy waves of mechs of equal tonnage to your lance
- The randomly generated missions were full of bullshit such as enemies teleporting in right next to your lance at the start of the mission. I had one mission where I was guarding a base in a settlement surrounded on three sides by cliff walls. So I set my lance on the edge of the settlement so we could pick off incoming mechs. Somehow the mechs teleported behind me
- The design team must have known that they fucked up the AI and the mission designs, so most of the missions from the base game deal with you meeting a mission objective, then trying to get evacuated from a landing zone while wave after waves of enemies take pot shots at your back armor. This is what the dev team considered as fun and exciting gameplay. Or maybe they just gave up and just decided to publish an unfinished game since the DLC missions are much better and remove the end of mission wave attacks. This turns into a more arcady experience as you get to practice shots into enemy cockpits to slow the hoards down
- Without the end of mission wave attacks, the DLC missions are too easy if you know to bring extra money, pilots and backup mechs into the campaign. The DLC missions are still more fun
- Star League did nothing wrong in the main campaign. Yeah, Star League is a faction of assholes in a game full of asshole factions, but the main character and his father are in the wrong. During the first mission the two characters see a bunch of mech dropships land on their planet. Instead of doing the sensible thing and get back to their HQ and figure out if they should bug out or not, the two instead decide to loot the storage facilities on the planet and get trapped, leading to the father's death... and I'm supposed to feel bad? The guy was trying to rob the government of the planet he was contracted to. And multiple dropships usually mean multiple mechs. Why did you think that using only two mechs to try to rob the place was a good idea?
- Later you find out there is a greater conspiracy, because there's always a fucking greater conspiracy in these corporate video games. And you then hunt down the dudes that killed your father and find out in the great reveal that... your dad was an even bigger asshole than you first thought and Star League had every right to see him as a threat, hunt him down, and try to find out his secrets. And nothing valuable was learned.

But seriously... play the mercenary campaign with some of the DLCs and ignore the main game. Treat this like a Mechwarrior sandbox with no true ending, and you should have a blast.

I recently played through it myself, this was pretty much the introduction to the universe for me, I only did a bit of playing of mechwarrior 4 a long time ago.

I was also quite dissapointed in the customization, though luckily I found some mods to fix it and add more equipment and mechs. I even modded it to add in super heavies later on past 3070s.

I wish it was more sandboxy. At first I thought my actions had an impact on the world map, but it didn't. Once I finished the main campaign and did the some dlcs and missions, I didn't have much else to do, I even got a 175 tonn spidermech, there's nothing else for me to do other than spam missions until the universe ends. I wish there was more to the endgame, like at least the map changing to your mission actions and stuff. Maybe they'll do that in the sequel.

Also, I was quite dissapointed with the sizes of mechs. I installed some mods to add in super heavies like the 200+ tonn orca, but they're the same size or just barely bigger than something like atlas? Very dissapointing, I was hoping by the end game I would be piloting mechs that are almost double the size of atlas.
At least they had the supercharger engines, I liked those, being able to burst to 200km/h is nice.

 

[Jason Liang]

Hm. I got this game several months ago for PS5 and played it. I thought I wrote a reaction post but I guess I didn't.

I liked the game and thought it was fun enough. My biggest criticisms were the limited gameplay variety and missing several obvious features.

The gameplay loop of mission -> loot -> repair/ mechlab -> travel -> shopping -> recruiting -> mission works. The map with Conflict Zones, Industrial Hubs, political factions and special missions also works. It would obvioously have been cooler if each planetary system of conflict zone had its own unique bespoke missions/ side plot but that's kind of unrealistic.

I also really dug the setting - when the game starts, the 3rd Succession War hasn't even ended yet. When you get the newsfeed message that the 3rd Succession War has been ongoing for 100 years, that sort of sends a chill down your spine. And even the Centurion you begin the game with feels immensely powerful and destructive.

Missing features-
- knockdown/ getting knocked down
- Actual Aero Fighters (game only has VTOLs)
- Infantry
- Water maps
- Zero G maps
- Rain?
- Blizzard/ Ice Storm
- Extreme Mountain maps
- Death from Above
- Challenges and Duels
- Duelling/ Solaris missions
- Imaging technology such as infrared and night vision
- Assault on a fortified base missions
- Arm flipping/ Rear firing weapons
- Alternative missile payloads/ ammo

Would have also liked the ability to salvage and build your own Frankenmechs (like the Big Steel Claw in HBS Battletech game). Also would have liked the ability to be awarded a home planet like the Dragoons, Highlanders or Grey Death Legion/ been able to spend money on recreation, furloughs, etc...