Battletech

@Hellbore: Which was possible in some editions of the tabletop game-the later editions added the Plasma Gun as a viable replacement for overheating builds, being more potent and efficient while using limited ammo and being much heavier.

edited 12th Jun '18 10:04:46 AM by ViperMagnum357

^ It's quite a bit later in the timeline, though. Also surprisingly it's one of the things the Clans actually reverse engineer from IS.

Hence 'later editions', since they usually advance the timeline with major releases.

Not too long after Patch 1.1 came out with balances for overheating values, patch 1.1.1 is now out and it fixes the Glitch showing up extra times in the Hiring Hall bug, as well as an oversight that lead to more Headshots being rolled than normal.

Slightly related, but the Harmony Gold lawsuit that has plagued the franchise for decades has been settled.

http://www.sarna.net/news/harmony-gold-and-piranha-games-lawsuit-has-been-resolved/

Excellent, those Robotech IP Trolls deserve to lose all their licenses.

As the post say, it's actually kind of interesting they settled.

Started this game in earnest last night. I just salvaged the Argo and met up with Kamea again. Pretty pumped because I managed to head cap that pirate's Quickdraw and recover her totally intact.

^ Awesome! Shame I didn't do that when I played it...didn't fully understand the salvage system back then.

Best part is that I did it entirely by chance. I just flanked the thing, realized that Called Shots to the legs and head had a horribly low chance, and just fired all effective weapons. On the 2nd Mech's salvo, Off with Her Head!.

RIP Jenner, that Directorate lance decided to obliterate everything but your head and legs, instead firing on the Heavy and Mediums that were an actual threat. I scrapped it when I realized it would be far cheaper to just build a new one than it would be to buy a new loadout and repair the thing.

RIP my first ++component, a Medium Laser. Nice while it lasted.

Also RIP Medusa, I guess.

I hate playing as Kamea and her Lance of amateurs (defined as people who don't have Called Shot Mastery and higher Heat thresholds) almost as much as I hate the Taurian Concordat. And that was a lot before I played this game.

I need to get back into it. The learning curve is STEEP and the game loads oooh so slowly.

I'm also slightly worried about my ability to actually BUILD a properly loaded out mech, or scavenge properly. I love the aesthetic and the "travel anywhere" mercenary feel. But I always feel in games where you can optimise builds that I'm "doing it wrong".

Any early game recommended loadouts?

Post-patch makes the large lasers more worthwhile to use :D

Having to play as Kamea and her Lance of clowns (can't shoot properly, can't resist heat in some hot running mechs, and their Called Shots are next to worthless) makes me appreciate my 10/10/10/10 crew that much more. Seriously, shit pilots make even SLDF tech near worthless....

I have a feeling that Kamea will force her mediocre self onto my mission again, but hopefully her friends (who I head canon as typical, technically trained but lacking real combat experience BT nobles) stay away from my company for the rest of the campaign.

And I knew that the Taurians were a depraved empire, but hiring evil!Adam Jensen into ranks to fight me (and by fight I mean spam assault mechs and easily dodged artillery while ranting over the comms like a one shot Mass Effect villain). Sorry Sumire, but you and your kind just aren't human beings to me.

As an update: it took all of two cutscenes for the Concordat to leap over the Moral Event Horizon (the Directorate did so in the prologue); acting like poorly equipped Smoke Jaguars. I like this game, but its about as nuanced as some of Stackpole's old novels are.

Edited by Rationalinsanity on Aug 6th 2018 at 11:46:51 AM

The Concordat have always been the most blatantly evil faction between the fall of the Rims World Republic and the Jihad. The Draconis are bastards through and through, but they are not complete and utter monsters from top to bottom in the way the Taurians are. When the most notable thing about your civilization is how much you like using weapons of mass destruction, something has gone very wrong. Literally their only redeeming quality is their opposition to slavery, and even then their attitudes suggest that is more a matter of circumstance rather than a moral stand.

Edited by ViperMagnum357 on Aug 6th 2018 at 11:44:59 AM

Yeah, having decent civil liberties don't make up for consistently committing wanton and gratuitous atrocities in paranoia-fueled conflicts. A solid portion of them go on to team up with the fucking Word of Blake for Kerensky's sake.

But holy hell, is the Directorate's leadership nasty. Espinosa, if this game makes it into the greater canon (decent chance given how well its selling), stands out as an atrocity vendor. And when your contemporaries are Maximilian Liao, Takashi Kurita and Hanse Davion... And I'm only at the campaign's midpoint.

What do you expect? He's an authoritarian who rebelled purely because he thought the Arrano family was too soft.

We've got a decent sized DLC coming for November (according to Steam).

First BATTLETECH Expansion, FLASHPOINT Coming This November! posted by emmasterakia @ 06:14AM on August 21, 2018 High-stakes Short Stories, New Biome, New Battle Mechs and a Multi-Territory Encounter.

The first-ever BATTLETECH expansion FLASHPOINT will be available in November 2018, complete with three new ‘Mechs (including the highly anticipated Hatchetman), a challenging new mission type, and a new tropical biome, along with its featured namesake, Flashpoints.

Flashpoints are high-stakes branching short stories, comprised of procedural mercenary missions linked together with new crew conversations, special events, critical choices, and valuable rewards. To ramp up the intensity, some Flashpoint stories will feature “Consecutive Deployments” in which players won’t be able to repair their ‘Mechs between missions.

Key Features: Flashpoints - Test your command skills in a series of action-packed short stories, completing extended contracts to earn big bonuses.

New Biome - Navigate a lush tropical beach environment, with sunny shores and just a pinch of alien flare, for good measure. Sunscreen optional.

New Battle Mechs - Get your ‘Mech on with the armor-chopping power of the Hatchetman, the speed and versatility of the Crab, and the multi-range firepower of the Cyclops.

New Encounter - In “Target Acquisition”, you’ll put your light and medium ‘Mechs to good use by taking control of three territories on the map to prevail!

I was personally holding out for a new campaign, possibly set during the 4th SW, but this is a good start and a sign that support will continue post-launch.

I hope we eventually get to duel with famous NAMED merc forces like the Grey Death Legion, Snord's Irregulars, and maybe even Wolf Dragoons.

Would be hilarious if there was a quest chain triggered by fielding the Artu SLDF mechs against the latter two and they approach you after-mission to ask you about them.

Someone managed to clear the campaign using only Medium Mechs (and Kamea's Atlas when required, obviously).

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-medium-lance-only-campaign-attempt-spoilers.1121628/

Flashpoint is up for pre-order, with a release of Nov.27th. Meanwhile, the Season Pass (covering FP and two more as yet unnamed expansions) is 20% off if you buy it before the 25th.

Of October?

Aff, (should have made that a bit clearer).

Also, apparently the 2nd Expansion has been named as Urban Warfare, with a tentative release date of Summer 2019.

I like the sound of that one. Any other details on it?