Yeah... it just feels kind of wrong for a mech to have a battle value of X, and then you add a bunch of weapons, and you end up with a value of Y that's less than X.
BattleTech
D.Shaffer
First Post
As someone who was around to see the really REALLY ugly backlash when Mechwarrior
ark Age was announced? Yeah. It didnt matter that the game was fun, and that the backstory was an outgrowth of things already in planning. It was DIFFERENT and thus WRONG and I know people who STILL use terms like 'DorkAge' and 'Whizkids', and complain about Wizkids ruined things forever. I do think Battletech needs a balance based rewrite when it comes to the construction formulas. Autocannons need an overhaul (They're practically useless with DHS and energy weapons), DHS are WAY to effective, and I'd like a bit more leeway in assigning crits (IE, why do ALL engine and Gyro crits need to be in the exact same location?), and the various component costs make little sense (Autocannons are, supposedly, easier to maintain and build...you wouldnt really know it from the cost and availability tables). But I think the fans would have the mother of all hissy fits if you tried, so we get stuck with patches over the wonky parts.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Hero
All this talk makes me still want to run a session of BattleTech. And it wants me to create my own Mech combat system.
I am still repressing the urges by installing Mechwarrior 3 and 4 again (MW 4 doesn't run on my Vista, apparantly) and getting Mech Commander 2 (released under M$ Shared Source license and free!)
I am still repressing the urges by installing Mechwarrior 3 and 4 again (MW 4 doesn't run on my Vista, apparantly) and getting Mech Commander 2 (released under M$ Shared Source license and free!)
Loincloth of Armour
First Post
Watch and dream, mechwarriors,
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvPiu-bBMws&feature=PlayList&p=F8EC7477F194070F&playnext=1&index=21"]Wolf Hunters assault a Republic base[/ame]
Watch and dream...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvPiu-bBMws&feature=PlayList&p=F8EC7477F194070F&playnext=1&index=21"]Wolf Hunters assault a Republic base[/ame]
Watch and dream...
gill_smoke
First Post
Video review
WOW! that was awesome. Much better than the cut scenes in the video games.
WOW! that was awesome. Much better than the cut scenes in the video games.
Hehheh. I have the same thoughts every so often.All this talk makes me still want to run a session of BattleTech. And it wants me to create my own Mech combat system.
MC2 is my favorite Battletech computer game - I still have it on my computer and replay the Carver V campaign from time to time.
Are you saying that they released the code? If so, do you know if anyone is actively working on modding the game, or even just creating some new scenarios?
BTW, anyone looking to simplify the board game should look at MC2. Mech design and customization is much more streamlined, and many of the choices are better balanced (though I still think autocannons are not quite good enough to match up with lasers).
Mustrum_Ridcully
Hero
They've released the code, apparantly some time ago. The installation package comes complete with the source code and the final build (so you don't need the XNA Framework or Visual Studio 2005+ to compile it.)
I haven't investigated the modding community so far, but maybe this helps:
1) A link to a 3-parter regarding modding (It's a webcast):
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/W...lture=en-US&EventID=1032296434&CountryCode=US
2) The download for the source code at Microsoft
Download details: Microsoft MechCommander 2 Shared Source Release
I am afraid the rest is up to you and your favorite search machine on the web for now, I haven't digged deeply yet.
---
Are you trying to pressure me in pre-empting you? Nah, I doubt I'll get anything done soon.
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RangerWickett
Legend
Man, this is tempting. I love me some rules-writing, and I adored Battletech back in the day, but I so do not have time for this. I wish I did.
*fondly recalls the oddest Battletech memory ever*
And friend and I had planned to spend our week-long 11th grade Thanksgiving vacation playing a huge Battletech scenario: a planetary invasion. We used, what was it, the Tactical Manual? Something like that? It had rules for fusion engines going critical, is all that matters.
Well, we each bought a regiment worth of mechs and vehicles and supplies, and we set up a few terrain locations using Geo-Hex (those wonderful styrafoam molded terrain pieces), and we planned to have a battle or two every day until one side won.
The first battle took place at a canyon that was sort of a moat defending the planet's capital city. Mechs from both sides descended into the canyon, and soon a close quarters brawl had ensued. Then I decided to focus fire on ... I think it was a Mad Cat. Pumped way too much damage into that mech in one round, and the engine went boom.
We eagerly flipped to the rules on engines exploding, and figured that with a 375 XL engine, it would do a ton of damage to all the mechs within 3 hexes. So we started assigning that damage, checking for critical hits as a few of the lighter mechs had their armor peeled away. Some ammo exploded, which dealt hundreds of damage to a medium mech.
Its engine subsequently exploded.
At this point we started laughing, as we realized that nearly every mech on the field was within 2 squares of another mech. We proceeded to spend an hour figuring out how far this chain reaction would go, as engine after engine went critical. Sure, a few mechs actually survived, but they had been half-slagged, and a lot of the ones that didn't explode were still crippled.
Of the twenty mechs that went into that battle, only 4 managed to walk out, leaving a nice radioactive crater in the middle of the canyon. We decided we could never top that, so the invaders just threw up their hands in frustration and left, and we played Goldeneye for the rest of the vacation.
*fondly recalls the oddest Battletech memory ever*
And friend and I had planned to spend our week-long 11th grade Thanksgiving vacation playing a huge Battletech scenario: a planetary invasion. We used, what was it, the Tactical Manual? Something like that? It had rules for fusion engines going critical, is all that matters.
Well, we each bought a regiment worth of mechs and vehicles and supplies, and we set up a few terrain locations using Geo-Hex (those wonderful styrafoam molded terrain pieces), and we planned to have a battle or two every day until one side won.
The first battle took place at a canyon that was sort of a moat defending the planet's capital city. Mechs from both sides descended into the canyon, and soon a close quarters brawl had ensued. Then I decided to focus fire on ... I think it was a Mad Cat. Pumped way too much damage into that mech in one round, and the engine went boom.
We eagerly flipped to the rules on engines exploding, and figured that with a 375 XL engine, it would do a ton of damage to all the mechs within 3 hexes. So we started assigning that damage, checking for critical hits as a few of the lighter mechs had their armor peeled away. Some ammo exploded, which dealt hundreds of damage to a medium mech.
Its engine subsequently exploded.
At this point we started laughing, as we realized that nearly every mech on the field was within 2 squares of another mech. We proceeded to spend an hour figuring out how far this chain reaction would go, as engine after engine went critical. Sure, a few mechs actually survived, but they had been half-slagged, and a lot of the ones that didn't explode were still crippled.
Of the twenty mechs that went into that battle, only 4 managed to walk out, leaving a nice radioactive crater in the middle of the canyon. We decided we could never top that, so the invaders just threw up their hands in frustration and left, and we played Goldeneye for the rest of the vacation.
