That combined with the attrition of the game, really puts Battletech in the "Light Tactical Game" genre, which by its very nature really should be a pretty short game. I put Battletech in about the same category as X-Wing when it comes to "tactical weight", the difference is that an X-Wing match takes about 30-45 minutes to complete, while Battletech, on a good day with everyone acting quickly takes 3-4 hours, but more realistically 4-6 hours.
But, that's the thing. For me, BattleTech is less a game and more of a social event. While each player works through a portion of combat, we're kinda chatting about other things. Hence, the tactical depth is great for that. You don't have to think too hard to map out your turn, and then you can change focus for a few minutes while talking about a random subject, and then still be able to come back to my plan without any issues.
Commentary is very much a part of this game for our group.
I will admit that we have come to this pretty quickly when we first started playing as a group. So, we kinda expect it.
Maybe it's the expectation of the game, compared to more modern games, that is the problem.
In some recent RPG sessions, I notice we do the same thing. And, those can take a few hours to resolve what in actuality are very minor scenes in a larger story. One or two in a night, maybe with combat, maybe without. I don't see people complaining about length of RPG sessions. But, a lot of people expect it.
Sure, a social event does not a tournament game make. But, I recall running through a grinder with fresh players and a veteran or two, and the banter, the interaction was there, and enjoyable. I ask anyone who went to GenCon and participated in one of the major story-line games that lasted pretty much all day if they weren't gabbing and bantering with the other players.
That's the era this game came out of. That's the style of game it really is.
And, I still find the detail to be very engrossing, because, when something unexpected happens, like a failed piloting roll taking off a limb from falling damage, we spend minutes going back and forth illustrating with words what we think happened, or should have happened. Sometimes, when someone rolls snake-eyes on a to-hit roll, someone will joke about the target healing a point, or something to that effect.
I've played X-wing and Trek: Attack Wing, and I didn't get that kind of interaction or creativity.
So, I feel torn in that I do want a BT game that is faster and can resolve a battle more promptly, maybe with less pip tracking and some form of refined damage tracking system, somewhere in between BT Core and Alpha Strike. But, at the same time, I enjoy the social event.
It also helps that a lot of the games we run are campaign style missions. Coming up with a reason to fight, who against, and what makes a win is actually kinda fun outside the actual game session. Then, being able to make a presentation of it to my friends, and see how they enjoy it is a big boon. Just about like a GM working up the next session for the group or different parts of it.