[Getter Robo G]

I almost never come to this section of HLP, but I just found out about this Crysis mod in development here is the trailer I nearly had a mechgasim. Especially seeing the aerofighters take on a Dropship!!!

http://64.246.3.50/MWLL_ingame_alpha.wmv

Here's the forum:
http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,36/

[WMCoolmon]

Yup. I've seen it, it looks good. I know one of the guys on the team who ran his own BT-based site for awhile and apparently does weapons modeling for them, he's pretty damn good.

It'll be interesting to see a new Battletech game that goes back to the roots of the game.

[Ashrak]

good that i bought a PC to play crysis on then

[Cobra]

IThere's only one mech in the trailer though, and it doesn't even look like a true Catapult.

[Sarafan]

I've seen the trailer, it looks good for an alpha but there's still a lot of work that has to be made.

[Unknown Target]

It's nice that they're exploring other aspects, but there is far too little mech in that game IMO - all the previews haven't shown much of anything related to mechs.

[Getter Robo G]

Apparently it's absent on combined arms (back to the roots of classic BT/novels) you got your ground pounders with vehicle support, MechWarriors, and Aerojocks.

Give them time Cobra, there is a whole thread there for the Catapult and configurations. I'm MORE excited how they stated they want to trim polys as much as possible and use high res bump maps to both increase the visual aspect but lessen strain on systems.

Unfortunately my tower just broke me and I need to buy another gig (mim) of ram to play Crysis, never mind the mod!!!  (2gig ram minimum req)

[Nuke]

i saw this too in the vid that announced btrl as the winner of the moddb thing. pretty impressive. i hope that crysis gets proper joystick support. i find it ridiculous that that game only supports xbox gamepads. i have my $400+ gin ch gear + track ir working in mechwarrior 2, i dont see why a modern game engine wouldnt support this stuff. it would have to be an actual sim for me to consider it a mechwarrior game.

[brandx0]

The one thing I'm iffy about is the actual combined arms aspect of the game.  Yes, on one hand, BattleTech originally was somewhat of a combined arms universe, where mechs were rare and most of the fighting was done without their use because of their rarity.  On the other hand, what made MechWarriors special was their ability to pilot these machines.  Despite the fact that mechs were rare, every single story or important character piloted, or was centered around Mechs.  Infantry was secondary, vehicles fell before the might of these awesome machines.  Only Battle Armour could present a decent threat to a mech, and it took a half dozen of them even to do so, and yet still soon pilots learned ways defeat them easily.  The BattleTech universe is, and always has been, about Mechs.

Now we bring in Living Legends, a game which has taken the hold of the much coveted but never developed MechWarrior 5.

However, the game seems to be focusing on a combined arms aspect of warfare.  It has been present in the universe for a long time, but never the focus.  Honestly, who would prefer to be an infantry sniper or a vehicle crew over that of being in the cockpit of a giant robot?

I think this game has simply been given a poor direction caused by differences in battletech canon versus battletech fluff:

Canon says that most operations are combined arms efforts
Fluff says that tanks and infantry are cannon fodder compared to mechs.

It has been a duality which has existed for a very long time in the game and novel line, and shows no sign of slowing.

Simply put, Battletech can't decide between what it wants to be, is it about the mechs as written in the fluff, stories and novels?
Or is it about honest real military technology, where tanks, infantry, air support and mechs each have their own place in the grand scheme of things?

Living legends has strayed towards the latter.  It is one interpretation of the universe as presented by FASA and later WizKids, but honestly, it seems to be like your dad used to say, do as I say and not as I do.

Use combined arms because it's real.  However, Mechs are the kings of the battlefield and do everything as well as, or better than, everything else.  Which is it?  Why do you think vehicles and Infantry get only a passing reference in most BattleTech books?

Because Mechs are cool.  Battletech exists because Mechs are cool.  Why would I want to pilot anything else in such a universe?

[Nuke]

i still havent got to fly an aerotech or whatever theyre called. i think that would be kinda cool. the hovertank mission in mercs was pretty awesome as well. its a same you dont get access of some of the other vehicles in any of the other games. ive never read any of the books so i really dont care whats canon and whats not, i do however remember how cool mechwarrior 2 was, and so thats the kind of gameplay i want.

[Prophet]

Its a pre-alpha of a mod.

It won't be released for at least a couple of years (I'm optimistic). That gives lots of time for changes. And it is certain there will be drastic changes. For that is the nature of modding.

What that video tells me, is their weapon effects look good and their models look good. Though I agree the Catapult didn't look like a Catapult, but as I said they'll have time to redo it.


Though there are hordes of Mech geeks out there desperate for more, and it looks like the modding team is quite big already. Maybe it will be glorious. Until then, people will whine.

[NGTM-1R]

Or is it about honest real military technology, where tanks, infantry, air support and mechs each have their own place in the grand scheme of things?

To be quite honest, anyone familar with the FedCom Civil War or Operation Bulldog would understand that BattleTech has been adopting a more combined-arms approach. In fact, you're reading things rather backward. In the beginning the game didn't include rules for including infantry and vehicles. Those came later. Yes, it's true that in a fight between a 'Mech and a vehicle of similar tonnage the 'Mech probably will win. But vehicles are cheaper and more numerous than 'Mechs. And they have a fighting chance even so.

To be honest, that has for me always been one of the great appeals of the BattleTech universe. One person, on foot, alone, could take down a BattleMech. It's not common and it's not easy, but it can be done. (There's even a set of novels that feature someone as a main character who specializes in doing this, you must have missed those.) The 'Mechs are powerful, but unlike things like Gundam or damn near every other mecha franchise out there, they are not the be-all and end-all. Unarmored infantry on foot can be lethal to a 'Mech if they can get close enough. A 25-ton Pegasus hovertank, well-handled, can outfight a 35-ton Urbanmech. In Clan trials, aerospace fighters are widely feared because they almost invariably mount a lot more weaponry for their size than a 'Mech of similar tonnage.

[redsniper]

One person, on foot, alone, could take down a BattleMech.

How is this done?

[General Battuta]

One person, on foot, alone, could take down a BattleMech.

How is this done?

Her name was Cassie Suthorn and she was the Inner Sphere's only woman-to-'Mech martial artist!

The one scene I remember, she got onto the shoulders of a Battlemaster from a neighboring building, found the emergency release used by rescue crews to get unconscious pilots out of their cockpits, opened the 'pit, and shot the pilot.

She then stole the 'Mech and got about thirty seconds of use out of it before another 'Mech shot it out from under her. I believe she was having some issues with the neurohelmet not being adjusted to her.

Which just goes to show why combined arms is still useful in BattleTech: if that Battlemaster had been accompanied by a couple platoons of infantry to sweep the surrounding buildings, she would've had a much harder time getting close.

[redsniper]

[Prophet]

Not really. Even you could take out an abrams if you get close enough unnoticed and have the knowledge. How many russian tanks lost one-on-one to a farmer armed with a bottle of booze during the winter war? A lot.

Yet mech is, well, a mech. In Battutas example there was a extraordinary person with terrain advantage. Average soldier in a "normal" battle environment would need some equipment to get the job done. But it would still be possible. We are talking about a hulking machine with ridiculous amount of moving parts. Legs, naturally, are the most vulnerable target. And the mech will have great trouble seeing the grunts in the rubble.

Infantry will always have an edge against armored vehicles. So it has been, so it will be.

[General Battuta]

There are infantry units trained in swarm attacks against Battlemechs -- they place satchel charges in the knee actuators.

These aren't power armor, just regular infantry.

Mind, it's pretty much suicide if the unit has to approach the 'Mech unsupported. It's not easy, by any means.

Hmm, also, Cassie Suthorn once disabled a 'Mech by dropping a high-voltage power line on it.

[NGTM-1R]

How is this done?

The simplest way is a grappel rod or two and a demo charge. In one case in the novels someone took down a Blackjack by using a grappel rod to get up to waist level, another to reach the head, then put a demo charge on the cockpit screen and set it off. Instant pilot kill. Anti-'Mech infantry are trained to go for the joints: ankle, knee, and hip. Once it loses one of those, it will lose a lot of its mobility. It might even fall over, in which case you can go for other joints or the cockpit. There are countermeasures, of course, like the field modification of putting antipersonnel mines on the legs or the factory-issue A-Pod, but they're not foolproof. One of the campaign books (IIRC the Coventry one) describes an anti-'Mech infantry platoon attacking a Uller that mounted A-Pods. They took 34 casualities, but the Uller still lost both hip joints, effectively locking it in place.

[Prophet]

blahblahblah...  A-Pods  ...blahblahblah

Refresh my memory, what were those again?

[Unknown Target]

Not really. Even you could take out an abrams if you get close enough unnoticed and have the knowledge. How many russian tanks lost one-on-one to a farmer armed with a bottle of booze during the winter war? A lot.

Stories?


By the way, the mod would be awesome if it implemented this stuff. Otherwise I'd find it to be sorely lacking in balance.