Is it like Mech Commander?

[Buddy Dee's Ghost]

I've never played BM online (cause Im old) but the game trailer and description looks to me a lot more like the classic Mech Commander series than the old Mech Warrior series.

Will this game have a good single player campaign? Also, will the isometric style of play be similar to the old Mech Commander?

Either way...
Big Death Dealin' Robots = Cool

[XWolven]

Every mech game was either Action FPS style, (control only 1 mech at a time) RTS, or very very simplified mech to mech turn based that was really missing most everything Battletech had. I've seen most everything including all the spreadsheet style open-source battletech style games. Mechwarrior Tactics was really great but it never got completed, it was the best replication I've seen so far. I don't think I've heard of Front Mission. Must have been a Console game series?

[obliviondoll]

joelc23님이 먼저 게시:

Every mech game was either Action FPS style, (control only 1 mech at a time) RTS, or very very simplified mech to mech turn based that was really missing most everything Battletech had. I've seen most everything including all the spreadsheet style open-source battletech style games. Mechwarrior Tactics was really great but it never got completed, it was the best replication I've seen so far. I don't think I've heard of Front Mission. Must have been a Console game series?

So Front Mission never happened, then?

K.

[The Fifth Horseman]

joelc23님이 먼저 게시:

Every mech game was either Action FPS style, (control only 1 mech at a time) RTS, or very very simplified mech to mech turn based that was really missing most everything Battletech had.

Mission Force: Cyberstorm would like a word about that.

I don't think I've heard of Front Mission. Must have been a Console game series?

Yep, console series.

[Knoxx212]

obliviondoll님이 먼저 게시:

joelc23님이 먼저 게시:

The way hit locations/armor/heat generation is totally unique to BT universe

...until you realise there were about a billion mech games in the 90s that did the same thing including the excellent (also turn-based) Front Mission series. Although most of them didn't handle things quite the same way.

That wasn't a mech game though they were "Wanzers" walking tanks. See the difference?

LOL Just kidding it was a fun console game.

[obliviondoll]

Knoxx212님이 먼저 게시:

obliviondoll님이 먼저 게시:

...until you realise there were about a billion mech games in the 90s that did the same thing including the excellent (also turn-based) Front Mission series. Although most of them didn't handle things quite the same way.

That wasn't a mech game though they were "Wanzers" walking tanks. See the difference?:cgrazz:

LOL Just kidding it was a fun console game.

They were "walking tanks" that were humanoid robots with guns. So yes, totally different from mechs.

And still had location-based damage (which wasn't even exclusive to mech games even though it's been a long-standing staple of the genre). That was the point being made. Actually, that brings up a point... plenty of non-mech-based RPGs from the 90s... like Fallout... lots of games with location-based damage, often with location-based armour on top of underlying limb HP values.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Front Mission's damage model is simpler, though: in Battletech, mechs have three distinct torso sections, each with separate front/rear armor, and all locations have two "stages" of damage - after the armor is gone, the damage affects the mech's internal structure in that location, with a chance to damage components in that area or destroy the location outright.

[wwiiogre]

@Buddy,

The people that made mech commander 1 & 2 are the same people making this game. It is different in many ways yet similar.

Mech Commander was a real time strategy game yet you could pause to give orders.

Battletech is a turn based game more similar to the tabletop game of the same name. Note I said similar since it is not a true 1:1 translation of tabletop.

There are lots of changes both big and small. I love some of them, I like most of them and a few I am not sure about yet until I play the game.

The game is designed as a single player mercenary campaign. There is a story campaign but it is optional because the campaign is open ended. The story campaign will have unique rewards and is time sensitive, so if you ignore it to long it will end in a negative way.

The only way to lose this game is to run out of money and go bankrupt. So it is very different than Mech Commander where if you kept winning missions you could not lose. Here you have to make cbills to pay your pilots and upkeep your equipment.

It will be similar to playing combined Mech Warrior Roleplaying game and Battletech Tabletop in that you will create your Commander and you create NPC mech pilots backgrounds that setup their skills.

You gain experience and then use that to advance your mech warriors skills and abilities. You can hire pre made NPC mech pilots but that would be way more expensive than training up your very own. The NPC's are fully customizable in that you can change their name and their pilot picks. I imagine we can choose their voice packs too. I bet the modders will have tons of images, voice packs, etc. I cannot wait to get a Cartman Style voice pack or R. Lee Ermey style voice pack. Who doesn't want a pilot named 'Gunny' who gives you the Marine D.I. treatment?

So the game is highly moddable. That was proven during the backer beta. The campaign story seems also to be very moddable and I expect fans to create their very own story campaigns so this game will be highly replayable.

Because this starts in 3025 it is 25 years before the clan invades. So no omni mechs, just standard Tier 1 Inner Sphere mechs available but they have hinted finding possible star league era mechs/tech could happen. Speculation on my part, but I will be trying to play the story campaign to a successful end. Because if anything is gonna give you goodies it will be completing the story campaign.

The campaign is random, has 3 major houses on the map, hints at the other houses being present. Two Major periphery states and of course lots of independent planets and of course outlaw/pirates and commercial industry giants you can work for and gain reputation with or lose reputation with.

So its like Mech Commander, then it isn't quite like Mech Commander. Its a role playing game, then its not really a role playing game. Its kinda like X Com, yet its uniquely Battletech Mercenary Simulation.

It comes out in April so we will learn more then.

Chris

[子不是字]

no. similar but not the same

[Starstryke]

obliviondoll님이 먼저 게시:

joelc23님이 먼저 게시:

The way hit locations/armor/heat generation is totally unique to BT universe

...until you realise there were about a billion mech games in the 90s that did the same thing including the excellent (also turn-based) Front Mission series. Although most of them didn't handle things quite the same way.

Yep, Front Mission Rockes. got 5 working via emulator and english patch recently.

[Starstryke]

Starstryke님이 먼저 게시:

obliviondoll님이 먼저 게시:

...until you realise there were about a billion mech games in the 90s that did the same thing including the excellent (also turn-based) Front Mission series. Although most of them didn't handle things quite the same way.

Yep, Front Mission Rocks. got 5 working via emulator and english patch recently.

[Buddy Dee's Ghost]

joelc23님이 먼저 게시:

Mech Commander is an RTS and had all the limitations of a RTS. (Not being able to comand multiple units with any real tactics.) This game allows you to finally play Turn Based like the original game and take advantage of multiple mech group tactics of speed, heat management, armor and many variables of weapon and equipment loadouts. There's never quite been a Battletech style PC turn based game... and I've been looking for one for over 20 yrs. At least nothing of decent quality. XCOM or Jagged Alliance are similar but its quite different from those kinda battle tactics too.
We've had tons of RTS though and there's just not a real good way to control mulitple units tactically in an RTS game without it turning into a jumbled chaotic clicking mess. The way hit locations/armor/heat generation is totally unique to BT universe making battles very intense and different results can happen every game.

That was the way I remembered MC also for some reason, but now that I have it up and running I realize there's a crapload of strategy there. It was just overshadowed by great story telling. It's also kind of offset by the lack of interface options and yeah sometimes it becomes a jumbled clicker mess; but at the worse this only reminds me of Mike Tyson's one and only famous quote: "Everybody has a plan till they get punched in the nose!"

Some key strategic features of the original MC:
1. Pick the right loadout for the mech
2. Pick the best pilot for the job
3. Meet the weight limit
4. Use the high ground (better view and more accuracy)
5. Stay out of the enemy sensor range
6. Sneak up and use arial strikes wisely
7. Burn a swath through the forest and avoid the thick enemy patrols
8. Capture the gun turrets and turn them against the enemy
9. Close quickly on support mechs with longer range weapons (they suck up close)
10. Lay down a minefield and hold your position
11. Use buildings and trees as cover
12. Channel the enemy into a narrow passage with a fast mech and have your heavies wait on the other side to gang. (The AI tends to pursue one target if you can sucker them in)

More strategy than that too. You can select a mech in realtime and speed up to avoid enemy salvos. There was still some strategy there, but I agree, not as much as a turn-based might offer, but still MC's RTS gets the adrelanin pumping. I hope they can maintain that factor.

[PocketYoda]

The Fifth Horseman님이 먼저 게시:

joelc23님이 먼저 게시:

Every mech game was either Action FPS style, (control only 1 mech at a time) RTS, or very very simplified mech to mech turn based that was really missing most everything Battletech had.

Mission Force: Cyberstorm would like a word about that.

I don't think I've heard of Front Mission. Must have been a Console game series?

Yep, console series.

Front Mission was a side scroller Front Mission2 was a jrpg akin to final fantasys but sci fi with mechs and customizations.

To be honest front mission 2 was amazing and second best to Mechcommander imo, only issue was it was only in japanese and you to use a player built mod to turn it to English, which was only 99% completed.

[The Fifth Horseman]

DanteYoda님이 먼저 게시:

Front Mission was a side scroller Front Mission2 was a jrpg akin to final fantasys but sci fi with mechs and customizations.

You mixed up the original Front Mission[www.mobygames.com] (which was a turn-based tactics game) with it's spinoff Front Mission: Gun Hazard[www.mobygames.com] (which indeed was a sidescroller).

The original game eventually made it to English-speaking countries with the 2007 Nintendo DS port.

[PocketYoda]

The Fifth Horseman님이 먼저 게시:

DanteYoda님이 먼저 게시:

Front Mission was a side scroller Front Mission2 was a jrpg akin to final fantasys but sci fi with mechs and customizations.

You mixed up the original Front Mission[www.mobygames.com] (which was a turn-based tactics game) with it's spinoff Front Mission: Gun Hazard[www.mobygames.com] (which indeed was a sidescroller).

The original game eventually made it to English-speaking countries with the 2007 Nintendo DS port.

You are right i did been so many years.., but front mission 2 was a jrpg akin to ff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g37gFIbaz20

Gun hazard was garbage but the rest were awesome games.

[Sticky Wicket]

joelc23님이 먼저 게시:

Mech Commander is an RTS and had all the limitations of a RTS. (Not being able to comand multiple units with any real tactics.) This game allows you to finally play Turn Based like the original game and take advantage of multiple mech group tactics of speed, heat management, armor and many variables of weapon and equipment loadouts. There's never quite been a Battletech style PC turn based game... and I've been looking for one for over 20 yrs. At least nothing of decent quality. XCOM or Jagged Alliance are similar but its quite different from those kinda battle tactics too.
We've had tons of RTS though and there's just not a real good way to control mulitple units tactically in an RTS game without it turning into a jumbled chaotic clicking mess. The way hit locations/armor/heat generation is totally unique to BT universe making battles very intense and different results can happen every game.

Actually Mech Commander was a very tactical game; with numerous different ways to do each mission making use of the terrain and world objects (such as the gas tanks and bridges) in combination with mech loadouts and configurations. I did not find it a jumbled clicking mess either.

I am very much looking forward to the in depth strategy of the turn-based system in Battletech. A different way to play that will be equally as interesting I'm sure.