Battletech - The New Single Player game from those who made the new Shadowrun

[satael]

Battletech developer bought by Paradox. If they were going to be bought by someone I guess Paradox is probably the best option by far.

[Teleku]

That’s actually pretty good news.  Paradox gives them deeper pockets to pull from, and is probably the only major publisher out there that would give them the freedom to do what ever non standard horseshit they want to try.  While I always enjoy a good kickstarter (and Shadowrun/Battletech have to be some of the most successful examples of a video game kickstarter), hopefully this means they’ll get the funding to go all out on their next games without worry about crowdfunding anything.

[HaemishM]

You know what that means? Battletech is about to have the mother of all DLC dumps. 

[satael]

You know what that means? Battletech is about to have the mother of all DLC dumps.  

I wouldn't mind that since something like CK2 is over 5 6 years old and thanks to the DLCs it's still getting updates that actually add content and gameplay mechanics (even for those who don't buy the DLCs)

edit:5->6

[calapine]

I am scared to read the thread due to spoilers, so just a quick build question:

Would going Ace Pilot on my "Personal Mech" makes sense? Or do I have to Master Taction / Bulwark to be viable? I just like idea idea of my "Cala Mech Leader" being more flexible.

Or if that is total nosense, what build would you recommend?

[Polysorbate80]

It unfortunately boils down to how you like to pilot "your" mech.  Which really means experimentation.

For me, I have two pilots in primarily LRM platforms and one SRM brawler (with some direct fire energy weapons for backup, but they almost never run dry of ammo).  The SRM pilot has jumpjets to help her get in range, the LRMS do not.

I go Jack-of-all-Trades -- load my mech with jumpjets and a mix of medium and long direct/indirect fire weapons, and tank it out to play spotter and finisher -- charge up to reveal the enemy, take a beating while the others pound it to death, and shoot at whatever's most threatening or not dying fast enough.  That means BOTH survivability passives and Ace Pilot, and without end-game gear it means I'm unlikely to do well at soloing enemy mechs which will always outgun me at their optimum range.

But, others love multitarget and sensor lock.  There's nothing at all wrong with them, they just don't work well with my playstyle and I find myself not using them, although as "finisher" I could sometimes find uses for multitarget to kill more than one wounded mech.  Breaching shot, eh, I usually drop enough missiles on the target to knock it down quickly.  

The only really wrong choice is the melee one.  Don't get me wrong, melee is super fun, but if you're landing melee hits with the right mech you'll be knocking things down often enough that they'll get pushed back in initiative anyway.

[Lightstalker]

• Breaching Shot and Multishot go together well, but only getting one weapon through isn't usually that important.  Just knock them into unstable and everyone can open up.  Value drops off over time.
  
• I find Ace Pilot situational.  Occasionally annoying when someone else has it, but hard to use well (you'd need to pop and scoot behind hard cover to break LOS to get full value, the extra evasion is irrelevant and if anyone has LOS they are going to knock you down with LRMs anyway).
• I was opposed to Bulwark on principle, but in the end game it matters (so much so it is worth going down the guts line even when you'll never be interested in the 2nd tier ability).  I just went back to my first game where I avoided it and everyone ends up taking loads more damage.  
• Juggernaut?  The push back in turn order one is just a bad choice.
• Master Tactician is the other way to deal with incoming damage in that you can delay your way to a lower stability level (if they aren't overwhelming your ability to keep up).  I like to carry one on the field, but I'm re-evaluating that more and more.  Being able to move earlier in turn order is handy, but more so when enemies survive more than one round of massed blaster fire.

In the end game (after the campaign) movement pips stop being important, for the most part.  In Tabletop a 4 skill was average, and they've brought much of that feel forward with great fidelity, so by the time you are running 10 Gunnery Pilots vs. 10 Gunnery Pilots it rarely matters how many evasion pips they've got (in both that the skills overmatch it and the heavier Mechs you need to handle 3 waves of assaults tend to build up fewer pips).  

One can also stop doing the story missions where the game-feel is just right for you and tool around taking contracts forever if you like.  Contract difficulty is linked to story progression so eventually lights and mediums stop being relevant.  You can still run the whole campaign with only lights, if that's your thing, but the usual progression is to always field the heaviest possible lance at all possible times.

[calapine]

link=topic=25013.msg1493126#msg1493126 date=1524839168
I actually sit there and watch the title sequence each time the game starts up.

You are me!

[Father mike]

1.1.0 Beta is available!  Instructions for updating thru Steam and a massive list of changes found on Paradox Forums

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/beta-battletech-update-1-1-release-notes.1106263/

 

[HaemishM]

Being able to buy weapons and shit while in the MechLab is a HUGE win.

[ezrast]

Those stability changes are going to make my missile boats sad.

[Falconeer]

Looks like every single weapon except for medium lasers now generates less heat. I am not sure this was needed? Or maybe debuff the mediums but why decrease everything else?

[Teleku]

Large lasers of all types generated so much heat I completely stopped using them about half way through the game.  Nothing but missiles and autocannons, with one mech dedicated to a shit ton of medium/small lasers for point blank targeted shots.  This seems like that should balance all that a little more.

[Ironwood]

Large Lasers were just shit.

[Falconeer]

Yeah but they changed everything not just LL.

[Teleku]

LL seemed to have gotten a proportionally bigger heat reduction than the others.  Mediums got a heat raise.  This seems very targeted at the issues I ran into in game, so hmmmm.

[Lightstalker]

Fast play in the beta is handy.  Stability of the beta itself is not so good, I'm pretty sure it is tripping over my video card / driver because it is bringing down the OS with no chance to capture a dump or crash report (a 5yr old GTX 780).

I guess things don't fall down as much, but that just leads to less salvage.  Still loads of headshots, and just sad when a lance of Thunderbolts come at you (poster child for why CT ammo is bad). 

[Strazos]

I suppose the heat changes will allow for loading of more weapons, use of more weapons, and allow for more slugfests rather than stability/knockdown contests.

[Ironwood]

I haven't had a chance to play due to Poland, but from what I can read, the stability changes are a welcome addition that just make sense.

[Hoax]

I don't get why everyone takes on the BTech IP then doesn't use the more heat = move slower and less accurate. And then they spend the entire life of their game re balancing all the weapons.

[Samprimary]

because even if they did the heat = slow thing, it might negatively impact gameplay while not actually reducing balance concerns

[Polysorbate80]

I haven't had a chance to play due to Poland, but from what I can read, the stability changes are a welcome addition that just make sense.

It does make sense that my 100 ton assault mech should be harder to knock down than it is, but I might have to re-think my missile mechs.  It might (maybe but probly not) make the guaranteed-knock-down melee hit a useful thing though.

[calapine]

Finished my first playthrough. Ironman mode but "generous payment" difficulty-setting to take the edge off a bit. No save-scumming really helps with staying focused.

Gameplay very good.

Same for the story, some people said it was cliche, but meh. Very girly-power really ^.^

I played post 1.1 patch, the changes made sense:

- LL went from just bad to really good. Maybe over-buffed a bit.

- PPC change (less heat) was needed, and it's still situational. 35 heat is just...so much. Unless one uses it for the hit-debuff, style or really long range sniping the LL is a better choice. (The +20 stab (=50 total) damage version is nice)

- Light mech buff  - (+1 innate evade), good, could have been even more. Late game they are still very fragile.

- Stability buff for heavier mechs - As you said, really needed. At the end of the campaign, I still knocked down Assault Mechs left and right. A "Delta" Brand LRM20++ does 60 stability damage per volley...


My first encounter with a 100 ton Dual-AC20 King Crab was  . Slowly lumbering, turn by turn, towards my 1Heavy+3Medium lance, which outranged its weapons but was backed against a mountain. Trying to grind it down before it got into AC20 range. Think Jackson's Lord of the Rings, Siege of Gondor: "BRING IT DOWN, BRING IT DOWN!"

Glitch is : "'You get a headshot and YOU get a headshot!" / "I feel bad about shooting the little guys / "When I shoot you, you'll take it, and like it".

[Strazos]

Anyone messing with the Roguetech mod? More mechs, weapons, less story, etc. Seems promising.

[calapine]

Anyone messing with the Roguetech mod? More mechs, weapons, less story, etc. Seems promising.

Good. But somewhat janky balance. More sandbox focused.

Personally, I spent +100 hours in the vanilla game, so my mech urge is satisfied for now.

[Teleku]

Yeah, played the hell out of this, and in my post game adventures have multiple king crabs and other top end mechs.  Had a blast with the game, but think I'm going to give it a good long break until some great mods come out before jumping back in (or maybe they'll just quickly make an even better sequel like they did with Shadowrun).

[Father mike]

Yeah, the thought of the inevitable Clan Wars sequel ...

[Father mike]

In the same vein as sequels ... first expansion announced!

https://www.paradoxplaza.com/battletech---flashpoint/BTBT01ESK0000001-MASTER.html?utm_source=stcom-owned&utm_medium=social-owned&utm_content=post&utm_campaign=flas_bt_20180821_pla_ann

Three new mechs: Crab, Hatchetman, and Cyclops
New map biome -- beach
new game mode - Flashpoints (procedurally generated mission chains)

In all honesty, sounds a bit anemic.  I guess it will come down to how engaging the Flashpoints are.  But I had so much fun with the base game that I'll probably shell out for the expansion just to support them.

[Khaldun]

I played the hell out of this and yet I barely remember having played it. I don't know what that means.

[Falconeer]

I agree, it sounds anemic. I guess I did not want an expansion, I wanted a new game as they did for the Shadowruns.

[Hoax]

I was hoping for an increase in scale but any content is welcome

[Teleku]

Hopefully they just do a few small expansions to keep people happy while they work on Battletech 2 with a more robust engine.  Then building off that platform, they can proceed to launch 200 DLC's for it over the next decade.

[Falconeer]

Urban Warfare announced! Cool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOl1CvdcOew

[Strazos]

One thing I wish they'd do is build in reasons to continue using lights and mediums, even at the end game. Towards the end, I was just using all heavies and assaults...because why not?

[Teleku]

Yeah, I think that's a structural issue they wont fix until they make a sequel.  All the top difficulty missions are hordes of heavies and assaults, and end game I was just stomping around with a 3 assault 1 heavy Lance.  They tried to address this on the last DLC by including speed missions that sort of require you to have smaller faster mechs to win, but I'd end up just skipping them, or could still (barely) pull them off with my normal lance sometimes.

Having said that, did another play through after the last DLC with the career mode.  Did a faction mission that netted me a Star League era medium mech.  Put a pilot with speed/initiative skills into it, and loaded it out top to bottom with los tech and +++ rated mods and SRM's.  Dude could fly around the map with top evasion, and alpha strike an assault mech to death from behind.  Fragile, but that was a lot of fun and was viable well into the end game.