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derFunkenstein wrote:

derFunkenstein wrote:

Ohhhhhhhh...whoops.

So I replayed it and now I get it. All the hexes where you'll get squashed have red outlines. I'm such a dolt.

I stumbled upon this fortunately BEFORE such a thing happened. I thought the red outlines were mines or something. Ohhh... Yeah, let's not go there.

YellaChicken wrote:

I wish there was the MadCat, TImberWolf, Loki and Vulture in here, I loved those.

They're all Clan mechs, from a different time period in Battletech lore. They wouldn't fit with the story (and I hate them, Inner Sphere til I die ).

I'm totally addicted to this game at the moment too.
Love that there's new interest in Battletech games at the moment. Hope it keeps momentum.

Haven't scored my 1st Heavy or Assault in the campaign yet. I've collected parts for the Grasshopper, Orion and Dragon so far but haven't got a 3rd part for any of them yet. Love that you have to cobble together the salvage this way though, it's a simple enough idea not to keep you in the mech lab half your life but still means you have something to work at to increase your stable.

Ahhhh! Thanks. I've played MW 3 & 4 and MC 1 & 2 but never payed any attention to the Lore. I just want to jump into Mech's and blow stuff up in grandiose form.

I've got 2/3 salvage for 3 different heavy mech's...just need...one more piece. Darn it, not another medium!

I had a similar talk with one of the guys hoping it'd add clans at some point. If they do it will probably have to be as an expansion or dlc or BT 2. Either way, I too hope they come. Clans made for some awesome tech advances for the Inner Sphere and then we'd have Elementals!!

As big of a Mechwarrior guy I am, I never really got into the RTS/TBS Mech games, but I have started to consider this one. How is the mech lab? Are you stuck with stock variants that have fixed weapons or can you actually modify the loadouts on your mechs?

Philldoe wrote:

As big of a Mechwarrior guy I am, I never really got into the RTS/TBS Mech games, but I have started to consider this one. How is the mech lab? Are you stuck with stock variants that have fixed weapons or can you actually modify the loadouts on your mechs?

The mech lab is pretty good tbh, though I think it's missing a"refit all" button. You have to manually refit your mech if you lose components rather than just ask the techs to replace everything as is.

You can mod mechs to an extent but only armour, weaps and equipment. You can't change engines MWO style. So a twin PPC "godfist" Panther running 115kph is out of the question, you can have the PPC's but it's still gonna be slow as hell.

And you need to bear in mind, all those mods use up cash and engineer time. 2 things you won't always have a lot of. So some balance and forethought are necessary. I really like the way it works tbh.

I'm somewhat annoyed by the hardpoints for various weapons, but it does make sense given the timeframe the game takes place in. I hope they add an expansion or something moving forward that adds back Omnitech mechs. The limitations do require you to be a bit more careful with how you build out your lance.

YellaChicken wrote:

You can mod mechs to an extent but only armour, weaps and equipment. You can't change engines MWO style. So a twin PPC "godfist" Panther running 115kph is out of the question, you can have the PPC's but it's still gonna be slow as hell.

I did something similar in MW4. 35 Cougar with 2 ER PPC's and engine maxed. Took it into arena and would just around the perimeter alpha striking the mech's that were busy duking it out with each other.

YellaChicken wrote:

And you need to bear in mind, all those mods use up cash and engineer time. 2 things you won't always have a lot of. So some balance and forethought are necessary. I really like the way it works tbh.

As much as I hate this aspect, I love it. Much more realistic. Although it's a PITA when you strip a mech and put all new stuff only to see it'll be out for 60 days! SORRY? Is he manually dragging a 8T PPC up the scaffolding himself? But yes, the time management is very important.

That's good that you can swap weapons. Now I can pull out an old MWO 3xPPC HGN-733P build for funsies. I doubt we'll see a time skip in the game to open up more advanced mechs but I bet they'll add more time relative variants.

Sargent Duck wrote:

Although it's a PITA when you strip a mech and put all new stuff only to see it'll be out for 60 days! SORRY? Is he manually dragging a 8T PPC up the scaffolding himself? But yes, the time management is very important.

I thought this at first but after a while I noticed (don't know if you've already spotted this or not) that the techs only work on one mech at a time. If you've got a few in the work queue already and add a major refit on the end the techs will do all the previous work first. Just another thing you've got to be careful of.

Philldoe wrote:

I doubt we'll see a time skip in the game to open up more advanced mechs but I bet they'll add more time relative variants.

Hope so. I'm kind of glad there's no Clan tech in at the moment though, don't know how much you know about the tabletop game when clans came out but it basically broke the entire game. It was massively unbalanced towards clans. If you were fielding Inner Sphere mechs you'd need at least twice the tonnage just to stand a chance. That's why they nerfed them in MWO before introducing them. And why they made Omnitech more restrictive and complex. Clans would have just walked over everything already in the game.

YellaChicken wrote:

Sargent Duck wrote:

Although it's a PITA when you strip a mech and put all new stuff only to see it'll be out for 60 days! SORRY? Is he manually dragging a 8T PPC up the scaffolding himself? But yes, the time management is very important.

I thought this at first but after a while I noticed (don't know if you've already spotted this or not) that the techs only work on one mech at a time. If you've got a few in the work queue already and add a major refit on the end the techs will do all the previous work first. Just another thing you've got to be careful of.

I haven't committed the money to expanding my Bays but I wonder if bringing a 2nd bay online would let you fix 2 mech's at once?

YellaChicken wrote:

Philldoe wrote:

I doubt we'll see a time skip in the game to open up more advanced mechs but I bet they'll add more time relative variants.

Hope so. I'm kind of glad there's no Clan tech in at the moment though, don't know how much you know about the tabletop game when clans came out but it basically broke the entire game. It was massively unbalanced towards clans. If you were fielding Inner Sphere mechs you'd need at least twice the tonnage just to stand a chance. That's why they nerfed them in MWO before introducing them. And why they made Omnitech more restrictive and complex. Clans would have just walked over everything already in the game.

I'm well aware. Everyone at my local shop went nuts over clan stuff. I do wish PGI had been able to do asym-balance for clans. Let them keep the op as **** gear but just limit their numbers to 8-10 vs 12. But it just wasn't doable at that point in the games life. It's a shame too because the route they went meant clan AC's were worthless.

Upgrading your mech bay adds space for more mechs to be overhauled while still fielding an operable lance. It could also let you keep mechs of various types prepared for different mission profiles (martian world = take low-heat mechs, escort mission = take faster mechs, etc.). Adding the second mech bay and other available ship upgrades increases your "MechTech point" total, which determines how quickly repairs are made.

The speed of your mech is governed by the initial speed of that model and then by how many jump jets you have mounted. More jump jets = more speed, even on the ground.

What are the required/recommended specs for playing the game? I'm rocking a GeForce 560 and i7 2700k.. I wasn't planning on upgrading soon, but this may convince me

druidcent wrote:

What are the required/recommended specs for playing the game? I'm rocking a GeForce 560 and i7 2700k.. I wasn't planning on upgrading soon, but this may convince me

https://store.steampowered.com/app/637090/BATTLETECH/

You're close. Minimum is i3-2105 and GTX 560 Ti with 8GB of RAM and 30GB of disk space. It runs fine on medium settings at 1080p with my MBP's Radeon Pro 555, but there's a big difference between one 560 and the next.

Also, Fermi support has been discontinued by Nvidia so it just might fail to run altogether, and if it runs poorly it'll never get better. https://techreport.com/news/33484/nvidi ... ng-systems

JustAnEngineer wrote:

The speed of your mech is governed by the initial speed of that model and then by how many jump jets you have mounted. More jump jets = more speed, even on the ground.

Wait...what? That's annoying. I don't recall that being in the ruleset I used to play by at least, but my memory is fuzzed by 20 years of nostalgia as well.

Waco wrote:

JustAnEngineer wrote:

The speed of your mech is governed by the initial speed of that model and then by how many jump jets you have mounted. More jump jets = more speed, even on the ground.

Wait...what? That's annoying. I don't recall that being in the ruleset I used to play by at least, but my memory is fuzzed by 20 years of nostalgia as well.

I also didn't recall this so I dug my Battletech box out of the closet. I don't see anything in that rulebook. I also don't see anything in this (much more recent) edition of the rules (although I'm mostly skimming both versions here): http://www.darkagepress.com/files/BTInt ... yRules.pdf

So that's kind of weird.

derFunkenstein wrote:

Waco wrote:

JustAnEngineer wrote:

The speed of your mech is governed by the initial speed of that model and then by how many jump jets you have mounted. More jump jets = more speed, even on the ground.

Wait...what? That's annoying. I don't recall that being in the ruleset I used to play by at least, but my memory is fuzzed by 20 years of nostalgia as well.

I also didn't recall this so I dug my Battletech box out of the closet. I don't see anything in that rulebook. I also don't see anything in this (much more recent) edition of the rules (although I'm mostly skimming both versions here): http://www.darkagepress.com/files/BTInt ... yRules.pdf

So that's kind of weird.

It's not.. the rules with JJ's were that you could only get as many movement points out of them as you had walking speed as max, I think there was ShadowHawk or Griffin variant that was 5/8/3. Also for light mechs, JJ's were .5t, for Med and Heavy each JJ was 1 ton, and I think it was 2 tons or 2 slots for assault mechs. (can't remember that). There were some variant rules for ground effect, or hover jets which allowed you to cross rough terrain or swamps with no movement penalty.

I haven't installed it yet, but I know they made a few tweaks to the tabletop game ruleset to account for playing on the computer.

druidcent wrote:

It's not.. the rules with JJ's were that you could only get as many movement points out of them as you had walking speed as max, I think there was ShadowHawk or Griffin variant that was 5/8/3. Also for light mechs, JJ's were .5t, for Med and Heavy each JJ was 1 ton, and I think it was 2 tons or 2 slots for assault mechs. (can't remember that). There were some variant rules for ground effect, or hover jets which allowed you to cross rough terrain or swamps with no movement penalty.

I haven't installed it yet, but I know they made a few tweaks to the tabletop game ruleset to account for playing on the computer.

I just came back to link this interview/article here where they talk about some of the other differences: https://www.pcgamesn.com/battletech/battletech-rules

All the same, it's both really fun and still feels like Battletech, even with the additions.

The bit about the jump jets affecting ground speed was unexpected. I was trying a mech configuration trick that was extremely overpowered in MechCommander 2 because of the way that game over-simplified heat. I pulled all of the jump jets off of a Mech to make room for more weapons and armor. I was then surprised at how slowly it ran when I took it it planetside. I added jump jets one at a time until the "movement" bar increased and the mech was more mobile for the next contract.

JustAnEngineer wrote:

The bit about the jump jets affecting ground speed was unexpected. I was trying a mech configuration trick that was extremely overpowered in MechCommander 2 because of the way that game over-simplified heat. I pulled all of the jump jets off of a Mech to make room for more weapons and armor. I was then surprised at how slowly it ran when I took it it planetside. I added jump jets one at a time until the "movement" bar increased and the mech was more mobile for the next contract.

I know they extended the usefulness of JJ's in the game by increasing the max jump distance to 1.5 times walk (used to be equal to walk distance in TT) but didn't see anything about them directly affecting walk speed too. I wonder if it's a bug. Weird.

Previously, I thought improving 'Mechs and pilots would make the game easier. I was rudely disabused of that notion this weekend. Some missions are still easy but some I find myself replaying 3 times. And the random missiles to the head injuring pilots is really annoying. I have one pilot who's my best gunner who has been in the hospital so many times she would be shaking like Muhammed Ali when he was old.

The story mission where the trucks are running with the ammo. You have to fight 2 lances, plus turrets, plus find time to kill these trucks. You can blow up the ammo to hurt enemy 'Mechs but the computer was very savvy about positioning them just outside the blast zone. Have not made it past this yet

Yeah, man. This game is getting to be pretty brutal. Not a complaint, because so far I've been able to get through them, but especially where you have a time crunch (x turns before something happens) it's seriously challenging.

Hawkwing74 wrote:

Previously, I thought improving 'Mechs and pilots would make the game easier. I was rudely disabused of that notion this weekend. Some missions are still easy but some I find myself replaying 3 times. And the random missiles to the head injuring pilots is really annoying. I have one pilot who's my best gunner who has been in the hospital so many times she would be shaking like Muhammed Ali when he was old. [/spoiler]

Upgrade the "guts" for the pilots, you can get them to 5 health.

Hawkwing74 wrote:

The story mission where the trucks are running with the ammo. You have to fight 2 lances, plus turrets, plus find time to kill these trucks. You can blow up the ammo to hurt enemy 'Mechs but the computer was very savvy about positioning them just outside the blast zone. Have not made it past this yet

Lifting the spoiler tag as it doesn't give the story away.
I had 3 Mech's heavily armored with short range and 1 dedicated long range mech. Take out the turrets closest to the body of the water and keep your 3 mechs around the lake to engage the enemy mechs. Move your LR mech so that it can see the truck when it deploys. The enemy will come to you, no need for you to move past the lake into the buildings.

Sargent Duck wrote:

Lifting the spoiler tag as it doesn't give the story away.
I had 3 Mech's heavily armored with short range and 1 dedicated long range mech. Take out the turrets closest to the body of the water and keep your 3 mechs around the lake to engage the enemy mechs. Move your LR mech so that it can see the truck when it deploys. The enemy will come to you, no need for you to move past the lake into the buildings.

I agree, I was trying to do a similar strategy on my 2nd attempt. But my LRM boat was too slow. I have since tweaked with some jump jets so I will try again at some point.

Hawkwing74 wrote:

I agree, I was trying to do a similar strategy on my 2nd attempt. But my LRM boat was too slow. I have since tweaked with some jump jets so I will try again at some point.

I tried again last night. Was pretty knuckle-clenching but was able to pull it off. I lost a 'Mech but not any valuable components so was able to repair it. Glitch, my hapless gunner, got put in the hospital for 94 days.

Is there a setting for difficulty level that I have ignored? I ask because other than having to go back to restart from an earlier load to avoid bankruptcy and rethink my financial strategy, I've never lost a mission, never had to replay a mission and never had to withdraw from a mission--BUT, none of this was in the main story mode. The only possible explanations are that the game is set to Extreme Moron for me (which is appropriate) or the main storyline is much tougher...which is why I'm building pilot XP and cash reserves in the random-ish contracts before getting into the main story.

Neutronbeam wrote:

Is there a setting for difficulty level that I have ignored?

No. They are thinking of adding it based on feedback. Some people want it easier and some harder. Some want Ironman mode.

Neutronbeam wrote:

I ask because other than having to go back to restart from an earlier load to avoid bankruptcy and rethink my financial strategy, I've never lost a mission, never had to replay a mission and never had to withdraw from a mission--BUT, none of this was in the main story mode. The only possible explanations are that the game is set to Extreme Moron for me (which is appropriate) or the main storyline is much tougher...which is why I'm building pilot XP and cash reserves in the random-ish contracts before getting into the main story.

Maybe you are just a better player than me. I haven't had any financial problems, but I found the story missions to be difficult at times. The AI is very good about focus firing damaged 'Mechs. I hate losing ++ weapons so have reloaded at times for that.

I have had some good results using "Precision Strike". In the beginning I was ignoring how morale abilities worked. *FAIL*

Hawkwing74 wrote:

I have had some good results using "Precision Strike". In the beginning I was ignoring how morale abilities worked. *FAIL*

That, and the evasion system. I've learned it well over the course of playing but the tutorial is sorely lacking in explaining UI elements.

Sniping off legs is incredibly useful once you've got a morale surplus for called shots.

When first closing to within sensor range of the enemy... Sprint your mechs to cover (but not so close that you establish visual contact with the enemy). The sprint will give you high evasion against the enemy's first attacks. Combat mode will begin on the next round after sensor contact is made. If you accidentally make visual contact, combat begins immediately, and your units that have already moved do not get to move again. On the first combat round, reserve your units for as long as possible, letting the enemy move into visual range.

Once you're attacking, most of your mechs will want to move far enough to get some evasion bonus and still end up in cover. This reduces the damage that you will take. Warriors with the guardian skill get buffs for not moving. For everyone else, "speed is life", since it gives you evasion >>> arrows.

Prioritize targets based on their squishiness and the amount of damage or stability damage that they cause. LRM and SRM carriers should be destroyed with extreme prejudice because they deal more stability damage than you'll want to deal with. Strikers are easy to squish, and also get priority from me due to their missile attack. Remember that vehicles are more vulnerable to stomping melee attacks than mechs are. After that, pick the nearest mech with the least armor to target (or one that has low armor for its attack capability like the -D version of the Shadowhawk).

Use a precision strike against the closest leg of the target mech. If one of your warriors has the "High Spirits" buff, it costs half as much morale as normal to make this attack.

Concentrate your fire on the chosen target. Have your other units attack the same mech from the same side. Even if you're not using precision strike, attacks from the side will frequently hit the leg. Blowing a leg off of a mech knocks it down and gives it a -1 initiative penalty. Use your weapons that cause the most stability damage. Even if you can't take off the leg in one round, knocking the mech down with stability damage is almost as good. Because the enemy mech regains some stability each time that it moves, this is the reason for concentrating your entire lance's stability damaging fire on one target at a time.

Once the mech is knocked down, you get free called shots from all of your remaining units until that mech moves again. If your target had already moved this round before you knocked it down and you've reserved movement of your lighter mechs until later initiative phases, you will get to attack this round and then again in the early initiative phases of the next round before the enemy gets his turn to stand up. Target the legs with your free called shots. If the one-legged enemy stands up, use a precision strike on the remaining leg.

Once the mech is legless, it is rendered hors de combat. You'll normally have the opportunity to salvage two out of the three possible pieces of the mech chassis. If your called shots were accurate, you've also probably not destroyed as many valuable weapons and equipment components as you would if you destroyed the left and right torso of the mech.

Neutronbeam wrote:

Is there a setting for difficulty level that I have ignored? I ask because other than having to go back to restart from an earlier load to avoid bankruptcy and rethink my financial strategy, I've never lost a mission, never had to replay a mission and never had to withdraw from a mission--BUT, none of this was in the main story mode. The only possible explanations are that the game is set to Extreme Moron for me (which is appropriate) or the main storyline is much tougher...which is why I'm building pilot XP and cash reserves in the random-ish contracts before getting into the main story.

Story missions pay quite well, so if you're going broke while evading the main story, that might explain it. There are also a handful of early story missions that unlock some really great stuff. So if you haven't played any story missions you're missing out.