New Mechwarrior

[R. Daniel 01]

Looks like we're getting back to basics.

Debut Trailer

I liked how MechAssault 2 made nods to tanks, powersuits, and Aerotech. Indeed, there should be roles for combat forms besides battlemechs. However, the whole arcade-like gameplay was not keeping in the sim-tradition of the franchise. I'm glad they're taking lessons from the oldschool again.

Also: Inner Sphere power-struggles. Awesome.

[Brooklyn Luckfield]

The bloom, good god! Arcade style game play? Seems they are taking the Bethesda route and dumbing it down as much as possible.

[paul1290]

Not necessarily.

They've stated repeatedly that this won't be a repeat of MechAssault.

"We want you to feel like the guy piloting the mech rather than the mech itself", or something to that effect.

[Brooklyn Luckfield]

"We want you to feel like the guy piloting the mech rather than the mech itself", or something to that effect.

Ah, seems reasonable enough.

[R. Daniel 01]

Arcade style game play? Seems they are taking the Bethesda route and dumbing it down as much as possible.

What gave you that impression? If it's because the cockpit didn't have any weapon groupings or heat gauges and what-not, keep in mind it's a trailer meant to be as pretty as possible.

Both the Atlas and the Warhammer fire different weapon groupings. Mechs lost individual body parts. The good old days must be back.


I like the idea of scout drones. Also, I hope that jumpjets actually serve a purpose in this game. It would be nice if Mechwarrior had something inbetween the walking tank and the hyperactive Japanese mecha.

I just read the 6-page IGN interview. My inner fanboy is creaming his pants right now.

[Brooklyn Luckfield]

It's just companies have a tendency to dumb down gameplay in favor of pew pew pew action and bloom filled visuals. Although from reading a bit more, it seems like this isn't one of the cases thankfully.

[Char Aznable]

*hasn't yet watched trailer*

I don't really care, after I got done with the Mech 4 series, I got depressed because FASA went FUBAR with...some game that tanked. They were all (and this is what I was told by the guy that got me hooked into MechWarrior back in first grade) "Let's put a bunch of money into some game that we think will do well that's completely new instead of go with something that has been doing well" and the game tanked, thus killing FASA. So someone had to buy the rights to make a new game...I forgot who...again...some three letter company. (yes, really broken information. Anyway...) And I was hoping that it would pick up where the Mech 4 series left off, bringing the battle of Word of Blake. Well, if it stayed Inner Sphere, that's where I wanted it to go...I want to be the clans again, like in Mech 2. Mech 3 went Inner Sphere, called my Timberwolf MKII a MadCat, and gave us the wiping out of clan Smoke Jaguar.

MechAssault gave us WoB battles, but was NOT MechWarrior. It loosely (LOOSELY) followed storylines, and the mechs couldn't be customized. What if I wanted to pull an Aidan Pryde and put jump jets on a TimberWolf MKII (which I have done before, back when you could...)? Which is actually a big thing about 4 that bugs me. I can't put Jump Jets where they shouldn't go, but you know you can do it because `Mechs are very customizable, especially an OmniMech.

...I have to go to work...otherwise I'll ramble all day...

____________________________________
*watches trailer while getting ready*

Graphics are so pretty...

So, looks like one opponent is House Kurita...that makes me sad. It's one of the houses I like. Anyway, It also looks like it's during the Third Succession War, which ended 3025. I have an Inner Sphere breakdown in front of me from CBT Tabletop.

Looks like Star Colonel Snake Marcato will be coming back to life...

[paul1290]

Smith and Tinker gave Mektek permission to release Mechwarrior 4 for free after this was announced.

It should be available for download pretty soon.

http://mektek.net/

[R. Daniel 01]

I want to be the clans again, like in Mech 2. Mech 3 went Inner Sphere, called my Timberwolf MKII a MadCat, and gave us the wiping out of clan Smoke Jaguar.

The way the clans have been handled in the videogames so far is boring. They're too pure, too one-dimensional in their adherence to Kerensky's vision. It's worse when they're mysterious antagonists, and we don't even hear any of their internal debates or politics. I'd rather not hear from the Clans at all, unless they're acting as strange bedfellows to an Inner Sphere entity, or if the game gets swept up in some deep personal drama (which I don't trust a Mechwarrior game to handle).

Mechwarrior 3 may have been dumb with the legging mechanics, but the crater-mechanic, plus the strategic positioning of the mobile repair base was pretty cool.

So, looks like one opponent is House Kurita...that makes me sad.

You're just saying that because it saddens your inner Weaboo! Instead of lamenting the fall of Kurita, you should celebrate the opportunity to give a bunch of war-lovers what's coming to them.

[Char Aznable]

You're just saying that because it saddens your inner Weaboo! Instead of lamenting the fall of Kurita, you should celebrate the opportunity to give a bunch of war-lovers what's coming to them.

Spoken like someone who is not of the Crusader, but Inner Sphere knows little of Warden and Crusader. To what house do you take to? House Davion? Steiner? Perhaps you might even be a WoB Surat? I shudder at the thought that I might be in civil conversation with a supporter of the Word of Blake.

The way the clans have been handled in the videogames so far is boring.

Well, While I would suggest that the violence level was lacking in MechWarrior 2, taking place before the Wolf/Jade Falcon Anti-Aggression Treaty, also consider the capacity of video games at the time. Were they to remake that game, They could do so much more with the clans. I wish I could go so far as to say to re-create the battle of Tukyyid, but the game would be fully predestined, and those who have read the texts or the holo-archives (which is another thing I miss from MechWarrior 2)

the strategic positioning of the mobile repair base was pretty cool.

Very much so. Especially when in MechWarrior 4 Mercs my lance is in need of repairs, and no repair bay can be found.

[R. Daniel 01]

Spoken like someone who is not of the Crusader, but Inner Sphere knows little of Warden and Crusader. To what house do you take to? House Davion? Steiner? Perhaps you might even be a WoB Surat? I shudder at the thought that I might be in civil conversation with a supporter of the Word of Blake.

Oh, so I suppose the clans respect Kurita for its condescending political policy? Is that why you bring up the Clan stuff?

I'd support House Marik, fool! Combined arms is more interesting than straight-up mech. Plus, they have a troubled history, and I dig that. More problems to tackle means more drama!

consider the capacity of video games at the time.

It doesn't take programming skills to write an interesting script, or to have missions sort of branch off at a couple story points.

Ah, Mechwarrior 2 Mercenaries... such fond memories.

Especially when in MechWarrior 4 Mercs my lance is in need of repairs, and no repair bay can be found.

Mech 4 was so hammy. I played it during High School, and if my family was around while any of the actors were delivering their lines, I was extremely embarassed. Also, lulz at the token black mechwarrior. I forget what happened, but I assume he died.

[Char Aznable]

Don't remember a Black Mechwarrior dying. Back to `Mech character...

I'd support House Marik, fool!

Despite the history of House Marik and the lack of internal Civil War within the Free Worlds League, I would just as soon not trust any House of the former Star League, who so turned against Alexandr Kerensky upon his righting of the wrong that was the usurper Stefan Amaris, and come back to him after breaking apart to attempt to gain his allegiance for the army of each individual Lord.

All in the Inner Sphere have lost their hope in and forgotten their hero the great Kerensky. The Batchall needs to draw to a close so that Terra can be reclaimed in his rightful honor.

Mech 4 was so hammy.

<.<...>.>...I don't even remember Mech 4 that much, aside from the live action in it. But Mercs just has...pictures and voices.

Played tabletop recently. I found that to be a lot of fun. I had a T-Wolf and I clanned an Uziel (there were four of us, each running one heavy and one medium, around 120 tons each person, then we broke into two teams of four Mechs) each with my own variants. One of my opposing Mechs was also a Timby. We went into, for all intents and purposes, Zellbrehen (sp) at point-blank range and both fired Alpha-Strikes. The opposing Mech ended up, between his A-Strike and the damage that mine had done, blowing up from overheating. Mine was Moderately damaged, but destroyed when a nearby Summoner Fired an ERPPC, rolled boxcars, and...well....pilot just...gone...evaporated...ERPPC does 15 damage...head has 9 external and 3 internal armor slots. Just....poof...dead Timby by luck. In the end, my Uziel got mostly ignored, despite the fact that it was consistantly hitting the torso with 6 ERMLSR and the occasional LRM 15. The kicker in all of that though, was the Guillotine in the match, that had two Gyro slots hit and toppled at the hands of a Hellhound. The Hellhound moved into close range and kicked it, and in the next attack phase, the Guillotine essentially rolled onto its side, fired everything it could into the Hellhound, and destroyed it, still unable to stand.

I just watched that trailer again and noticed something: That Atlas has no hands. Why does Atlas has no hands?

[R. Daniel 01]

Despite the history of House Marik and the lack of internal Civil War within the Free Worlds League, I would just as soon not trust any House of the former Star League, who so turned against Alexandr Kerensky upon his righting of the wrong that was the usurper Stefan Amaris, and come back to him after breaking apart to attempt to gain his allegiance for the army of each individual Lord.

I don't quite understand this massive sentence, but I think you're saying: you don't trust Inner Sphere in general, but Marik is especially eggregious.

The kicker in all of that though, was the Guillotine in the match, that had two Gyro slots hit and toppled at the hands of a Hellhound. The Hellhound moved into close range and kicked it, and in the next attack phase, the Guillotine essentially rolled onto its side, fired everything it could into the Hellhound, and destroyed it, still unable to stand.

That's friggin awesome.

I just watched that trailer again and noticed something: That Atlas has no hands. Why does Atlas has no hands?

Hmm, maybe it will get hands later on. In some renditions of the Atlas over the years, its hands are very stylized, almost unnoticeable, so maybe that was the case with the trailer. From another perspective, though, the designers might have decided to exclude the hands because they serve no purpose in the game.

Did you catch how, as the warhammer was walking forward at the beginning, the car bounces on its suspension? Nice detail.

I don't know if computers these days can handle it, but I would love to see a game that could show off the practical reasons for a battlemech. If ruined buildings left piles of rubble that only walkers could traverse, or if the walkers could tear down walls or push aside obstacles, that would mark the perfection of a mech simulation.

[Char Aznable]

Marik is especially eggregious.

Quite the contrary. While it is true that I do have a great lack of trust for the Inner Sphere, Marik seems, according to holo-archives, to be the most honorable to its people.

the designers might have decided to exclude the hands because they serve no purpose in the game

Well, one day they will integrate an Inner Sphere tactic that me and my friends like to call "Atlas Punch". In tabletop, you can actually utilize the fact that a Mech has hands and Hand actuators.
Exhibit A:
http://fungafufu.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/battletech-brutal-punch.jpg

If ruined buildings left piles of rubble that only walkers could traverse, or if the walkers could tear down walls or push aside obstacles, that would mark the perfection of a mech simulation.

Or perhaps a hill a bit too steep for any vehicle that isn't a bipedal BattleMech or the Quad Tarantula?

[paul1290]