Battletech

[SirAndrewD]

Where's the fun in playing with yourself?

My teenage self would have been able to answer that....

My many many years married to my best friend self can also answer that.

At least she wants to watch.   >:D

[MetalDog]

^^ Set'em up.  Knock'em down.  Good answers fellas ;)

It's a wargame, not and action / sim. And most wargames want to go solo.

But if you ask me, if they have done SP Skirmish, MP skirmish is actually not hard to pull off. Wonder why they need extra cash for that.

A lot of gaming can be done with a game with just SP and MP skirmish like Pike and Shot.  The canned scenarios are just extra.

I'm familiar with Battletech from back in the 80's.  Played a lot of it with my friends.  Most of our 'adventures' were salvage/find Lostech/attack/be attacked scenarios.  I would say that's action/RPG/wargame. 

And I disagree with your assertion that most wargames 'want' to go solo.  I think that mindset is what wargamers are trained to as the hobby is rather niche and opponents are not usually plentiful.  So, if you want to wargame, you HAVE to do it solo.  I asked it rather flippantly, but, the question is serious, who wants to play with themselves?  Wouldn't you prefer a human opponent?  Someone to strive against or someone to partner with to take on the 'bad guys'?

[Nefaro]

My point was that the stretch goals are kinda backing up my fears that Harebrained (the dev) have raked in a shit-ton of Kickstarter cash for the Shadowrun series they've done, and intend to repeat the same level of complexity for BT. 

This is both good and, possibly, disappointing.  Good .. because a Battletech game with proper tabletop lineage is coming out of this.  Their Shadowrun Returns games have been generally liked for the writing, and capturing the theme fairly well.

But also the possibility of being disappointed if Harebrained rakes in over $1.8 Million and pops out another tablet-level game.   It may end up capturing the setting properly, but with dumbed down mechanics that have little resemblance to the original (if it turns out as SRR did).  Many of us were also disappointed that the extremely successful SRR Kickstarter series just ended in a very simplified custom version of Shadowrun, with a short canned campaign and lacking emphasis on many mechanical facets of the IP.  The end result was pretty thin for almost $2 Million in KS funding alone, not to mention post-release sales.  :-\  That magic $1.85M number looks very familiar.

This wariness presumes they'll give it the same type of Tablet Game treatment as SRR got, instead of a full-fledged PC translation with plenty of content & features.  Hopefully I don't have any reason to doubt in the end, but I'm a bit hesitant at the moment.

[jomni]

They should stick to table top roots. Random map skirmish with army purchasing mechanic for SP and MP.

[Yskonyn]

Well I think I might just stick to MegaMek and MekHQ. 100% Battletech, 100% fidelity, 1% graphic goodness! :D

[JudgeDredd]

...who wants to play with themselves?...

I love playing with myself.

[SirAndrewD]

My point was that the stretch goals are kinda backing up my fears that Harebrained (the dev) have raked in a shit-ton of Kickstarter cash for the Shadowrun series they've done, and intend to repeat the same level of complexity for BT. 

This is both good and, possibly, disappointing.  Good .. because a Battletech game with proper tabletop lineage is coming out of this.  Their Shadowrun Returns games have been generally liked for the writing, and capturing the theme fairly well.

But also the possibility of being disappointed if Harebrained rakes in over $1.8 Million and pops out another tablet-level game.   It may end up capturing the setting properly, but with dumbed down mechanics that have little resemblance to the original (if it turns out as SRR did).  Many of us were also disappointed that the extremely successful SRR Kickstarter series just ended in a very simplified custom version of Shadowrun, with a short canned campaign and lacking emphasis on many mechanical facets of the IP.  The end result was pretty thin for almost $2 Million in KS funding alone, not to mention post-release sales.  :-\  That magic $1.85M number looks very familiar.

This wariness presumes they'll give it the same type of Tablet Game treatment as SRR got, instead of a full-fledged PC translation with plenty of content & features.  Hopefully I don't have any reason to doubt in the end, but I'm a bit hesitant at the moment.

Thanks for that.  I wasn't a Shadowrun guy, so I'm not tremendously familiar with the development on that title. 

They SEEM to understand that people want a faithful representation of the tabletop game on PC.  If this busts $2 million and a tablet game results, I'll feel a bit ripped off. 

They posted up some of the $1-1.5 million milestone goals, and they look to be putting an emphasis on cinematics, immersion and voice acting for the coming stage.  Not really where I wish they'd put their emphasis up front, but ok.

[Nefaro]

My point was that the stretch goals are kinda backing up my fears that Harebrained (the dev) have raked in a shit-ton of Kickstarter cash for the Shadowrun series they've done, and intend to repeat the same level of complexity for BT. 

This is both good and, possibly, disappointing.  Good .. because a Battletech game with proper tabletop lineage is coming out of this.  Their Shadowrun Returns games have been generally liked for the writing, and capturing the theme fairly well.

But also the possibility of being disappointed if Harebrained rakes in over $1.8 Million and pops out another tablet-level game.   It may end up capturing the setting properly, but with dumbed down mechanics that have little resemblance to the original (if it turns out as SRR did).  Many of us were also disappointed that the extremely successful SRR Kickstarter series just ended in a very simplified custom version of Shadowrun, with a short canned campaign and lacking emphasis on many mechanical facets of the IP.  The end result was pretty thin for almost $2 Million in KS funding alone, not to mention post-release sales.  :-\  That magic $1.85M number looks very familiar.

This wariness presumes they'll give it the same type of Tablet Game treatment as SRR got, instead of a full-fledged PC translation with plenty of content & features.  Hopefully I don't have any reason to doubt in the end, but I'm a bit hesitant at the moment.

Thanks for that.  I wasn't a Shadowrun guy, so I'm not tremendously familiar with the development on that title. 

They SEEM to understand that people want a faithful representation of the tabletop game on PC.  If this busts $2 million and a tablet game results, I'll feel a bit ripped off. 

They posted up some of the $1-1.5 million milestone goals, and they look to be putting an emphasis on cinematics, immersion and voice acting for the coming stage.  Not really where I wish they'd put their emphasis up front, but ok.

That just reinforces my wariness.  While immersion is great, I'm not sure if the greatest emphasis should be placed on voice acting & such in the port of a hex-based tabletop wargame which has an additional managerial-style campaign facet.  Hopefully they don't turn half the game into RPG-like dialog, but instead do the tabletop justice with the dual-layer wargame/mercenary management strategy it's known for.

[KyzBP]

Out of curiosity -- is anyone round here playing MechWarrior Online?  It looks incredible, but the purely multiplayer combat environment doesn't especially appeal to me...

I just started to dabble in it this past weekend.  I like that a match tends to last less than 10 minutes, which is about all the time I seem to have lately.  I'm hoping to get into the factions and clans once kids' sports season ends.

[SirAndrewD]

Out of curiosity -- is anyone round here playing MechWarrior Online?  It looks incredible, but the purely multiplayer combat environment doesn't especially appeal to me...

I just started to dabble in it this past weekend.  I like that a match tends to last less than 10 minutes, which is about all the time I seem to have lately.  I'm hoping to get into the factions and clans once kids' sports season ends.

You'd best have some tricked out elite/master level pay to play Mechs and a preset group if you play the faction part.  That portion, as far as I have experienced, is all about premade groups that have spent a LOT in time and real money on their rides.  It's a pretty quick ticket to death in a pickup group.

[Pinetree]

My point was that the stretch goals are kinda backing up my fears that Harebrained (the dev) have raked in a shit-ton of Kickstarter cash for the Shadowrun series they've done, and intend to repeat the same level of complexity for BT. 

This is both good and, possibly, disappointing.  Good .. because a Battletech game with proper tabletop lineage is coming out of this.  Their Shadowrun Returns games have been generally liked for the writing, and capturing the theme fairly well.

But also the possibility of being disappointed if Harebrained rakes in over $1.8 Million and pops out another tablet-level game.   It may end up capturing the setting properly, but with dumbed down mechanics that have little resemblance to the original (if it turns out as SRR did).  Many of us were also disappointed that the extremely successful SRR Kickstarter series just ended in a very simplified custom version of Shadowrun, with a short canned campaign and lacking emphasis on many mechanical facets of the IP.  The end result was pretty thin for almost $2 Million in KS funding alone, not to mention post-release sales.  :-\  That magic $1.85M number looks very familiar.

This wariness presumes they'll give it the same type of Tablet Game treatment as SRR got, instead of a full-fledged PC translation with plenty of content & features.  Hopefully I don't have any reason to doubt in the end, but I'm a bit hesitant at the moment.

Thanks for that.  I wasn't a Shadowrun guy, so I'm not tremendously familiar with the development on that title. 

They SEEM to understand that people want a faithful representation of the tabletop game on PC.  If this busts $2 million and a tablet game results, I'll feel a bit ripped off. 

They posted up some of the $1-1.5 million milestone goals, and they look to be putting an emphasis on cinematics, immersion and voice acting for the coming stage.  Not really where I wish they'd put their emphasis up front, but ok.

That just reinforces my wariness.  While immersion is great, I'm not sure if the greatest emphasis should be placed on voice acting & such in the port of a hex-based tabletop wargame which has an additional managerial-style campaign facet.  Hopefully they don't turn half the game into RPG-like dialog, but instead do the tabletop justice with the dual-layer wargame/mercenary management strategy it's known for.

I think your worries are going to be unfounded as they will reach the expanded merc campaign goal easily.They also said in the twitch stream that the emphasis on this game is tactical combat first, rpg items second with lots of chrome. Also unlike Shadowrun Returns, they are not creating an editor this time (for the first game at least) as they realised it impacted too much on development of the actual game. These guys seem to learn from their mistakes and they also listen to what people want (without getting getting carried away and promising the moon) so I'm getting good vibes off this one.

[Nefaro]

Good.  I hope the good vibes continue and aforementioned plan is achieved.  O0

[Pinetree]

Reached the expanded merc campaign today. O0

The STAGE 3 EXPANDED MERCENARY CAMPAIGN puts you in full control of your life as a mercenary.

    The single-player story campaign is now open-ended - charter JumpShip transport for your mercenary outfit to travel to various hot-zones across the Periphery and Inner Sphere, and continue your career even after the game's main story arc is resolved.
    You'll be able to choose your contracts and alliances, with both the 5 Great Houses and other sub-factions within the Inner Sphere.
    A procedural contract-generation system will ensure that you always have fresh contracts available, wherever your Mercenary career may take you.
    The missions you choose to accept and the objectives competed in those missions will determine your reputation as a mercenary, affecting the contracts and contract terms you may be offered in the future.

Funding Goals Update

Now, MechWarriors, it's ONWARD towards our next major objective: STAGE 4 - PVP Multiplayer!

HBS Command has identified two high-value targets on our march to STAGE 4.

• $2,000,000 - Customizable Home Base: As part of the ongoing campaign, you'll acquire a home base (likely in the form of a derelict DropShip) for your mercenary outfit to call home. At this funding level we'll also allow you to adjust its appearance, repair and upgrade its functionality, and grow and evolve your base as your outfit grows and evolves.
• $2,150,000 - Legendary 'Mech & MechWarriors: In addition to the game's standard 'Mechs and customizable, procedurally-generated MechWarriors, we'll include rare legendary 'Mechs to find, and rare hero MechWarriors to hire - including some famous characters from BattleTech history. Such legends may not stick around for long, but will be well worth hiring if you can afford them.

[SirAndrewD]

ALPHA STRIKE!  Time for me to pledge....a lot. 

For House Davion!

[Nefaro]

Reached the expanded merc campaign today. O0

Awesome.  That's what it needs to have.  O0