Page 3 • Battletech (2018 PC game) • Gaming • PC • Eurogamer.net

StarchildHypocrethes 27 Apr 2018 08:51:41 33,537 posts
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Yeah, that's the point I'm up to. This is so good.

The only issue with it so far (other than the hopefully patchable delays after some actions), is that I can almost feel myself getting pulled down the rabbit hole of trying out the board game...

MikeP 27 Apr 2018 12:16:40 2,974 posts
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You say that like it's a bad thing.

MikeP 27 Apr 2018 19:50:24 2,974 posts
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Alec Meer over at RPS has changed his mind about it. He's become a lot more positive, now (as I read it) he understands the game systems better.

He's prepared to admit he might've missed something, given how well people he respected reviewed the game, gone back and it's clicked. Fair play to him.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/04/27/learning-to-love-battletech-an-evolving-opinion/

MikeP 27 Apr 2018 19:50:24 2,974 posts
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Post deleted

Rogueywon 28 Apr 2018 14:06:28 10,707 posts
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Just captured a Thunderbolt-class heavy fully intact after a lucky head hit. That's going to come in damned handy. My first heavy - and a PPC-sniper to boot.

Rogueywon 4 May 2018 13:02:31 10,707 posts
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The first major patch for this gave some additional speed-up options and quality of life tweaks. I don't think I found the pacing as bad as some people did, but this was still welcome.

Mattblack13 11 May 2018 20:15:55 4 posts
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Been playing and enjoying this for the last week. Only (first) complaint, are all the light/medium mechs redundant once you get deeper into the game. They seem too glass and not enough cannon

StarchildHypocrethes 11 May 2018 20:30:35 33,537 posts
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The light mechs are definitely very situational/redundant late on. I still rock out a couple of mediums on some missions though. I'm finding the Shadow thingy you start with is still an excellent mobile melee unit about 40 odd hours down the line.

Straight up one of the best turn-based games I've played in ages. Think it out does Xcom 2 for me.

Edited by StarchildHypocrethes at 20:30:53 11-05-2018

THFourteen 11 May 2018 20:49:57 53,863 posts
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I mean light mechs were generally meant for scouting, you had them as well as your heavy mechs not instead of them.

Rogueywon 11 May 2018 20:59:21 10,707 posts
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Light mechs becoming redundant in the late-game has been a feature of every Battletech/Mechwarrior game I've ever played. This is no different. I'm still getting some value from mediums, though.

This has been taking up most of my gaming time this week. It's an excellent game and the patches have really improved quality of life.

Rogueywon 11 May 2018 22:53:24 10,707 posts
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And oh my word I just got a pair of Assault Mechs. A Highlander and a Battlemaster.

Jesus, the Battlemaster hasn't been really prominent in a Battletech/Mechwarrior game since the very first Mechwarrior, on the PC way back in 1989, when games still asked you whether you wanted to play in EGA or VGA.

I always think of it alongside the Phoenix Hawk and Marauder - the "banned" mechs that vanished from the setting because they were ripped off from Macross designs and Harmony Gold, who owned the US rights to Macross, sued FASA over them. That said, the Battlemaster was a unique design, not a ripoff, so no reason it shouldn't show up in newer games.

mrharvest 12 May 2018 06:29:08 5,644 posts
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Rogueywon wrote:
Light mechs becoming redundant in the late-game has been a feature of every Battletech/Mechwarrior game I've ever played. This is no different. I'm still getting some value from mediums, though.

Except maybe the first Mechwarrior?

I completed the whole story arc with a Locust. Doesn't matter if you die from a single PPC if you don't get hit with a PPC because you're constantly out of their firing arc.

ChiefGB 12 May 2018 10:50:35 13,210 posts
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StarchildHypocrethes wrote:
Straight up one of the best turn-based games I've played in ages. Think it out does Xcom 2 for me.

Arrgghh comments like this get me moist, please stop

Skirlasvoud 12 May 2018 23:10:16 4,039 posts
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mrharvest wrote:

Rogueywon wrote:
Light mechs becoming redundant in the late-game has been a feature of every Battletech/Mechwarrior game I've ever played. This is no different. I'm still getting some value from mediums, though.
Except maybe the first Mechwarrior?

I completed the whole story arc with a Locust. Doesn't matter if you die from a single PPC if you don't get hit with a PPC because you're constantly out of their firing arc.

In Mechwarrior on-line, they're kinda crucial for scouting the enemy and guiding friendly LRM volleys to hit their target. Friendly artillery mechs can launch their payload through indirect fore, upon a light mech's artillery spotting.

Rusty_M 13 May 2018 08:33:02 7,171 posts
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Skirlasvoud wrote:

mrharvest wrote:

Rogueywon wrote:
Light mechs becoming redundant in the late-game has been a feature of every Battletech/Mechwarrior game I've ever played. This is no different. I'm still getting some value from mediums, though.
Except maybe the first Mechwarrior?

I completed the whole story arc with a Locust. Doesn't matter if you die from a single PPC if you don't get hit with a PPC because you're constantly out of their firing arc.

In Mechwarrior on-line, they're kinda crucial for scouting the enemy and guiding friendly LRM volleys to hit their target. Friendly artillery mechs can launch their payload through indirect fore, upon a light mech's artillery spotting.

Pretty sure the Crysis mod Mechwarrior Living Legends had the same ability.

d_h1234 13 May 2018 09:27:49 298 posts
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It'd be really great if there was some sort of range indicator percentage hint guide thing, like green orange and red circles around your mech, so that you can better plan movement. A few times now I've had a weapon at like ~70% chance, and I'm not sure if I move closer or farther away, and if so how much.

Or is there a better way and I've just missed it?

StarchildHypocrethes 13 May 2018 09:55:23 33,537 posts
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There are chevrons that appear around an enemy if you hover over them for each weapon type you have when you are choosing where to move. Red is bad, white is ok, orange/gold is optimal.

d_h1234 13 May 2018 09:58:26 298 posts
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Oh cool! Thanks!

Rogueywon 13 May 2018 10:06:46 10,707 posts
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I'm hitting a bit of a difficulty spike now. I've got two assault mechs, but am struggling to get any more. Missions either seem to be fairly easy, but centered on large numbers of medium/heavy mechs and vehicles, or else impossibly difficult, with multiple lances full of assault mechs. Main story missions have all fallen into the former camp for a while.

Really hoping the next one actually sends an assault mech or two my way that I can salvage, because I'm feeling a bit gated at the moment.

Edit: ok, managed to break through this particular wall. Went to a different faction's territory and the procedurally generated missions started putting me up against sensible numbers of assault mechs.

Edited by Rogueywon at 15:54:04 13-05-2018

Rogueywon 15 May 2018 11:30:50 10,707 posts
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Starting to get a handle on those 4+ difficulty rated missions now - the ones that put you up against vastly superior numbers and tonnage. Beat two last night.

The first had me assaulting a base protected by four of the heaviest turrets (1x LRM, 3x Sniper), with a full supporting lance of assault mechs. I went into this with my best lance, which was a pair of assault mechs (a Highlander and a Battlemaster) and a pair of heaviest (an Orion and a Grasshopper). I'd previously been getting my arse handed to me with that lance in many mission with a 4 rating or higher.

This time, I managed to get through it. A quick berserker charge on the base managed to knock out the LRM turret (by far the most dangerous type). With all of the beyond-line-of-sight turrets destroyed, I legged it away from the base as fast as possible (the Grasshopper getting a bit shot up in the process) and holed up in a box-canyon where the other turrets lacked line of sight. The assault mechs pursued me, but the terrain broke them up, so that they only came into line of sight 1 or 2 at a time. This let me focus-fire them down, knocking their stability away and dissecting them while they were prone. With the whole assault lance dead (and no friendly losses), mopping up the base was easy.

The second mission was much nastier. I went in with the same lance (hadn't fully salvaged any new mechs on the previous mission) for a straightforward brawl. Two full enemy lances against me; the first with a pair of Banshee assault mechs, a Dragon and an Orion. The second with a PPC-armed Catapult and three - yes three - of those LRM-focussed Jagermechs. This mission kicked my arse several times, until I restarted and focussed on flanking the Jagermech lance, drawing it as far as possible from the other lance. Get the Jagermechs into close combat and they go from being among the deadliest heavies in the game to being a bit of a joke. Had the whole of the Jagermech lance dead or crippled beyond being a threat by the time the Banshee lance arrived. At this point, I was basically holed up on a mountain-top with four moderately damaged mechs, while four pristine ones circled below. However, I managed to use line of sight tricks to take them down 1 at a time, fully salvaging both Banshees in the process. Basically, a protracted exercise in defeat-in-detail.

Unfortunately, the Banshee is pretty awful (a high-speed assault mech with a very light armament), so I can probably only switch one of them at most into my primary lance.

Do like how much a change of tactics can change the flow of a battle in this and how insurmountable odds can be picked away.

Phattso 15 May 2018 13:45:26 26,481 posts
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Hmmmm. Critical mass is building for me on this title. There's you guys in this thread banging the drum, plus some IRL peeps are speaking very highly of this. Hrnnnngggg. Must. Resist.

Perhaps next on the list after Destiny 2 and Pillars 2 are done.

Keep the tales from the battlefront coming, but maybe throw in a few more gripes and moans to help my self control!

Rogueywon 15 May 2018 13:57:18 10,707 posts
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@Phattso It�s an excellent game. Other than some difficulty spikes, which are somewhat integral to the experience anyway, my only gripes have been technical.

In common with many Unity games, there is a fair bit of stutter. Load times are substantial. You need to manually clean up your saves from time to time to avoid menu slowdown. But these are worth putting up with for the gameplay.

onestepfromlost 15 May 2018 14:07:07 2,721 posts
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wish this was coming to console, my PC gfx card is on the way out and i certainly cant afford a new one.

Rogueywon 15 May 2018 14:51:41 10,707 posts
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@onestepfromlost A console version shouldn't be impossible. The UI is very similar to XCom's, so even though a controller will never be the optimal way to play, it should still be possible.

I suspect the main thing they'd need to focus on for a console version would be performance optimisation, particularly if they want it playable on the base XB1 and PS4.

The PC version has apparently sold significantly over expectations and the developers are talking up plans for an expansion pack/sequel. Funding for a console version should be available.

StarchildHypocrethes 15 May 2018 14:54:17 33,537 posts
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On the other hand there was never even a sniff of a console version for any of the Shadowrun games, so I wouldn't get too excited.

THFourteen 15 May 2018 14:55:39 53,863 posts
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They all came out on Android and iOS though...

ChiefGB 15 May 2018 14:59:02 13,210 posts
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@Rogueywon I noticed it was fairly heavily discounted for the weeks heading up to launch, that may have had something to do with its sales? Mind you same with pillars 2.

Rogueywon 15 May 2018 15:02:15 10,707 posts
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ChiefGB wrote:
@Rogueywon I noticed it was fairly heavily discounted for the weeks heading up to launch, that may have had something to do with its sales? Mind you same with pillars 2.

Maybe. Though the noises coming out of the devs seem to be genuinely happy about the money they've made and the future of the franchise. I doubt that would be the case if this really were just deep discounting driving a sales spike.

It's not an AAA game and doesn't need AAA prices or sales to be profitable. Mid-ground price-points may well be the way forward for games like this (though I've had 40 enjoyable hours or so from it so far and am still going strong, which many AAA games don't match).

StarchildHypocrethes 15 May 2018 15:04:26 33,537 posts
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Think it was a kickstarter too wasn't it? So any post release sales would be straight up money in the bank.

Battletech (2018 PC game) • Page 3