When will we finally get another solid Battletech video game?

[elf25s]

am i rhe only one that enjoyed mechwarrior 3 story and how you get to command the lance? tbh mobile bases and ability to send your lance or individual unit to a way point was innovative for its time and it annoyed me that new game of mw5 did not bring that to the table...

[Maingunnery]

am i rhe only one that enjoyed mechwarrior 3 story and how you get to command the lance? tbh mobile bases and ability to send your lance or individual unit to a way point was innovative for its time and it annoyed me that new game of mw5 did not bring that to the table...

The command system was quite fun and should have been refined in the future, but the most exceptional thing that I remember of MW3 are the mission briefings, those were great.

[Colt Ward]

The briefings were the best, the recon flight data letting you see how the terrain was and the way points set up.

[Nightlord01]

. . . MC2 story was Operation Guerrero?  It was a story about mercs working the sides in a conflict- yes it reinforced the Davion white-hat syndrome.  The whole thing was not too different than what we get for some scenarios and fiction.  The mechanics still had you taking lights b/c they were the sensor platforms, like MC.  Story was pretty simple- the FedCom garrison hires you off IIRC Outreach to come hunt bandits . . . and then you find out they are Liao backed insurgents who are linked to the former Liao nobles of the planet.  Then the commander of the FedCom unit declares for Katherine and uses you to try to keep the Victor loyalists in line- because your paid troops are more reliable than the two thirds who follow the CO for Katherine.  Then we get the obligatory double cross due to shifting alliances.  And because of the placement of the world used, the independence movement actually takes . . . heck, IIRC BT even changes the name of the planet for a little bit.

But MC2 duplicated the limited drop weight/slots of MC- the Lyran single mech drop to raid the support areas for the Cho nobles, the Davion single mech drop for the prison break, and a few more.  The situation gets broken when you had the field recovery VTOL . . . start the battle with a pair of mechs, end it with a full company using your MFBs to repair everything as much as possible to cut between mission costs.  But that is part of the horrid mechanics Micro$haft put in the game- I think I already ranted further up topic about the AI.

The story is typical BT.

The fact that a Mercenary company, which largely only fights for money, assists a group that can't pay them to overthrow a dictatorship, the standard method of government in the entire universe, and a great house aids, and recognises independence of a planet that was theirs is not a Battletech ending, it's a Hollywood ending.

am i rhe only one that enjoyed mechwarrior 3 story and how you get to command the lance? tbh mobile bases and ability to send your lance or individual unit to a way point was innovative for its time and it annoyed me that new game of mw5 did not bring that to the table...

Not by a long shot, I wrote above that I loved the story of both MC and MW3, they were incredible in universe stories.

[Lorcan Nagle]

The fact that a Mercenary company, which largely only fights for money, assists a group that can't pay them to overthrow a dictatorship, the standard method of government in the entire universe, and a great house aids, and recognises independence of a planet that was theirs is not a Battletech ending, it's a Hollywood ending.

[Elmoth]

Well, the death legion really returns it to the previous ruling nobility and the Lyrans, not independence but I see your point

[Lorcan Nagle]

Well, the death legion really returns it to the previous ruling nobility and the Lyrans, not independence but I see your point

To be fair, there's a compelling argument to be made that the novels are basically in-universe movies, like how officially the visual and plot discrepancies between different Macross TV shows and movies are because they're historical dramas in-universe.

[Colt Ward]

The fact that a Mercenary company, which largely only fights for money, assists a group that can't pay them to overthrow a dictatorship, the standard method of government in the entire universe, and a great house aids, and recognises independence of a planet that was theirs is not a Battletech ending, it's a Hollywood ending.

Also, the comments were "can't pay you much" but at that point, with the Lyran commander betraying you and being trapped on world . . . well, it was just gravy.  In addition, a contract like that would offer very generous salvage rights- your pay is going to mostly be in what you can haul off the battlefield.  AFAIK, while the Davion side was working with the guerillas, the FedSuns did not actually recognize their independence . . . or IF the Major did, its not the same as coming from New Avalon.

And the GDL are not the only ones-

Crescent Hawks landed to help rebels on WoB held Ruchbah
Burton's Brigade supporting Count McNally on Hall
and those not mega-units in FM Mercs can be found taking that marginal contract vs Blakists or the Clans

[Nightlord01]

Also, the comments were "can't pay you much" but at that point, with the Lyran commander betraying you and being trapped on world . . . well, it was just gravy.  In addition, a contract like that would offer very generous salvage rights- your pay is going to mostly be in what you can haul off the battlefield.  AFAIK, while the Davion side was working with the guerillas, the FedSuns did not actually recognize their independence . . . or IF the Major did, its not the same as coming from New Avalon.

And the GDL are not the only ones-

Crescent Hawks landed to help rebels on WoB held Ruchbah
Burton's Brigade supporting Count McNally on Hall
and those not mega-units in FM Mercs can be found taking that marginal contract vs Blakists or the Clans

All valid points, but yes, that major did indeed sign up the FC to recognising the independence, it was in a Jihad SB, IIRC where they defined Liberty *blurgh* falling and finally losing it's independence.

As for pointing out a novel, not a scenario, it was a scenario that was mentioned and that I specifically asked for, apparently it happened several times, I'm waiting to know which ones. This is not just sematics, novels, while entertaining, were all over the shop with tone. They are the Battletech equivalent of a block buster movie. Many things happen in the novels that are effectively impossible in game just because it's cool.

As for that specific novel, it had other features that kept the atmosphere more than just painted on. The GDL novels epitomised the Mad Max feel of the universe, true scavenger tech.

I'll concede that I'm somewhat biased in this, and I'm perfectly cool with people liking the storyline, I just only get a Hollywood feel from it.

[Colt Ward]

GDL did it later again as part of a set up.  Burton's Brigade was FM Mercs (R) and the novel about the Stealthy Tigers.  Chaos March SB is full of mercs signing up with independence movements- as part of the Chaos March.  Sarna Supremacy IIRC had some mercs that jumped with them.

[Nightlord01]

GDL did it later again as part of a set up.  Burton's Brigade was FM Mercs (R) and the novel about the Stealthy Tigers.  Chaos March SB is full of mercs signing up with independence movements- as part of the Chaos March.  Sarna Supremacy IIRC had some mercs that jumped with them.

Under consideration here, I think I'm going to bow out, we've gotten way off topic, might be time to move on. :-)

[Colt Ward]

Nah, just pointing out MC2 was a trope that BT had visited plenty . . . I mean it was literally the trope manifest.

Which DOES IMO raise a interesting point b/c it was a well worn rut- which is why I said MC's storyline was really good and gave you a plausible reason to start so light/easy.

Does MW5's new story travel the same rut?  And how do you create a story for a campaign that is not a race to assault for turret warfare?

[Nightlord01]

Nah, just pointing out MC2 was a trope that BT had visited plenty . . . I mean it was literally the trope manifest.

Which DOES IMO raise a interesting point b/c it was a well worn rut- which is why I said MC's storyline was really good and gave you a plausible reason to start so light/easy.

Does MW5's new story travel the same rut?  And how do you create a story for a campaign that is not a race to assault for turret warfare?

It's a good point. :-)

I think you could achieve a good mix through a variety of methods, drop tonnages, mission types that require speed without fire power like recon/smash and grab/objective destruction. There's plenty of available options, but is it what the majority of the MW playerbase would want? This is the pertinent question, from my own experience, most of the players only want to go heavier and heavier. It may well be that PGI and HBS are just giving the playerbase what they want. As we've seen just from this thread, we all want different things, making broad market appeal for a game like Battletech is a fine art.

If they were going to keep things quick, I'd like any mech heavier than a medium to be rare as hens teeth, and assaults to be pretty much absent from the game. No more acquiring assault mechs on backwater periphery planets.

Come to think of it, you could have a kind of rumour mill in game, with odd rumours of caches and the like discovered in random places, just to add that little bit of anticipation.

[MarauderD]

Mw5 is indeed race to assault mechs.  And a lot of grind and repetitive drops at that.

[elf25s]

Mw5 is indeed race to assault mechs.  And a lot of grind and repetitive drops at that.

i waited for it 2 years...just so i can give up after 20 hours...because of repetition mw3 may had sucked graphic wise but story and mechanics was way better

[S2pidiT]

i waited for it 2 years...just so i can give up after 20 hours...because of repetition mw3 may had sucked graphic wise but story and mechanics was way better

I've been thinking about buying it when it comes to Steam, only because it's a BattleTech game... I've read that there are some good mods for it, though that shouldn't be a selling point of the game...

I may have to play MechAssault 1/2 again, given my BT video game library currently consists of that, HBS BT, and MegaMek.

I'd love it if the older BT games got a remaster, or at least an official "we made it work as-is on Win10 and released it" version. I'd buy...

[Jim1701]

I backed the HBS Kickstarter and I have 862.5 hours in HBS Battletech and I still think it's awesome fun. I'm currently playing the campaign again.  I haven't done it since the all the DLC came out so I thought I'd give it another go.  Is it the same as TT Battletech?  Nope.  Do I still like TT Battletech?  Hell yes.  I just don't see how the one affects the other.  My only real criticism is that they went a little overboard with the power creep though I give them props for doing it by turning TT "crap" weapons into weapons of doom.  I almost giggled the first time I unleashed quad UAC-5's on an enemy heavy and just shredded it.   :thumbsup:

Still hope to see a sequel from them in a few years.   :drool:

[MarauderD]

I backed the HBS Kickstarter and I have 862.5 hours in HBS Battletech and I still think it's awesome fun. I'm currently playing the campaign again.  I haven't done it since the all the DLC came out so I thought I'd give it another go.  Is it the same as TT Battletech?  Nope.  Do I still like TT Battletech?  Hell yes.  I just don't see how the one affects the other.  My only real criticism is that they went a little overboard with the power creep though I give them props for doing it by turning TT "crap" weapons into weapons of doom.  I almost giggled the first time I unleashed quad UAC-5's on an enemy heavy and just shredded it.   :thumbsup:

Still hope to see a sequel from them in a few years.   :drool:

Power Creep?  My Mad-3R with 3 Ultra AC/2 and 4 ER Medium lasers that headshots every other time it fires?  Nawwwwww.   ;D

[Jim1701]

Even with all the new fangled weapons my favorite mech is still the Grasshopper with 6-7 ML and 6SL loadout.   :)

[Aotrs Commander]

On the one hand MechCommander 2 is one of my favourites, as it is in the very rare category of games period I have played through more than twice.



On the other hand, I have done precious little since June BUT play HBS BT (It's not like I could do anything else) and it has now exceeded all other logged time in games on steam - 541 hours (bypassing Crusader Kings II, which is 450 hours on but a single playthrough not yet completed...) And my previous play through on about 1.2 before the first expansions clocked in about only 138 of those.

After a career run (and all the new toys from the three expansions), I installed BattleTech Advanced 3062 - which has a lot more toys (though no +++ gear) and is pretty close to TT in the mech bay, down to engine swapping. (I'd be playing it right now, actually, but the lastest release broke a fair few things, and I had such a bad mission last time I have left it alone for a few days until they get it back into shape.)

[elf25s]

so far my bt bug itch had been scratched and got satisfied with a mod for hbs battletech with rouge tech with newest update i came across 2 types of lams non official urbie lam and stinger lam...as for power armor clanner toads which btw tore my trebbie apart in 2 rounds and few gnats that were not in original game....now if the game went rts i would be in heaven ohh one particular thing i enjoy is false info on some missions at random just because you got 1 skull mission it is a 1 skull mission..

[Metallgewitter]

What I would like to see would be an FPS in the Battletech universe like being part of DEST and then climb on Battlemechs to disbale them. Or perhaps something more akin to Battlefield. You know huge battles with everything the BT universe has to offer: Mechs, tanks, fighters, VTOL, infantry. Though that seems to be most unlikely because the balance would probably be all over the place

[Adastra]

What I would like to see would be an FPS in the Battletech universe like being part of DEST and then climb on Battlemechs to disbale them. Or perhaps something more akin to Battlefield. You know huge battles with everything the BT universe has to offer: Mechs, tanks, fighters, VTOL, infantry. Though that seems to be most unlikely because the balance would probably be all over the place

I think to some extent the Mechassault games were kinda like that. The one I'm thinking about took place among the clans, and you had access to battlearmor that could hijack mechs and such.

EDIT: Okay Mechassault 2: Lone Wolf is what I was thinking of. It's an old game, so chances are its multiplayer is stone dead, but it definitely seemed to be along the lines of what you described. You had tanks, mechs, battlearmor, though I don't think VTOLs are available.

In terms of games that aren't completely dead, there's Mechwarrior: Living Legends, which is a standalone crysis mod that also had combined arms warfare. Battle armor, VTOLs, hovercraft APCs, Long Toms, the works. Some dedicated people are still working on it, and the multiplayer isn't completely barren.

[elf25s]

What I would like to see would be an FPS in the Battletech universe like being part of DEST and then climb on Battlemechs to disbale them. Or perhaps something more akin to Battlefield. You know huge battles with everything the BT universe has to offer: Mechs, tanks, fighters, VTOL, infantry. Though that seems to be most unlikely because the balance would probably be all over the place

there is a mod for that itch its called battlech legends for crysis and can be found on moddb

[MacDanMc]

I have no problem sticking with the older games until something quality comes out. Of course, there are a lot of differences between old games and new games. First of all, it's the graphics. The old games were popular but they did not have as good graphics as newer games. Also, they have different kinds of animation. Old games have very pixelized graphics but the new games have very smooth graphics. One of my favorite games at the moment is Battlefield 6. I love everything about it. You can get a cd key if you want to have the game but you don't have enough money to buy the game and enjoy it at your home.

[garhkal]

Would folks be interested in a Btech like game, based say on the Command and Conquor like games??

[Daryk]

Who wouldn't be?  ???

[rjhancock]

Who wouldn't be?  ???

A non-believer that must be shunned.

[elf25s]

Would folks be interested in a Btech like game, based say on the Command and Conquor like games??

ummm missed the boat? mechcommander 1 and 2?
if interested try modb and do search there

[Maingunnery]

ummm missed the boat? mechcommander 1 and 2?
if interested try modb and do search there

Think Mechcommander 1, but add:
- Engineer vehicle to modify terrain
- DS/SC/VTOLs delivering cargo pods
- Engineer vehicle consuming cargo pods to place structures.