RPGWatch @ Gamescom - Battletech

Battletech was one of those games I looked forward to seeing at Gamescom. This article, about Battletech, is also the last article covering the games I saw at Gamescom, so here it is:

I was looking forward to checking out Battletech at Gamescom, even if it was the only game I would check out that wasn't really an RPG. The presentation of Battletech started with Mitch Gitelman from Harebrained Schemes providing us with some information on the history of Battletech and what Harebraines Schemes is making. He discovered that many of the journalists he spoke to never heard of Battletech before. As it has such a very rich history, he wanted to share some of it by means of a few slides.

The Battletech franchise is over 30 years old and was created by his partner Jordan Weismann as a tabletop wargame. From there it went on to be all sorts of things. There have been hundreds of additional game supplements all about the game settings, different factions and its history. The Battletech setting goes on for hundreds of years, so there are different eras of Battletech. Over 200 novels have been written and they are still being written today. There is an animated cartoon and several derived video games, from the MechWarrior, where you were inside the cockpit, to the MechCommander series, an RTS game Mitch worked. MechAssault was the very first multiplayer game on Xbox Live. The last turn-based Battletech game was released in 1990, 27 years ago and Harebrained Schemes is now working on the next one, going back to the roots of that tabletop wargame.
The game was funded in an hour on Kickstarter in 2015 and raised over 2.7 million dollars and is still getting money to this date by late backers.

More information.

Here is the last article about the games I saw at Gamescom.

Thanks Myrthos, this is one of my most anticipated titles next year.

Originally Posted by tomasp3n
Thanks Myrthos, this is one of my most anticipated titles next year.

Mine too.

I was looking forward to checking out Battletech at Gamescom, even if it was the only game I would check out that wasn't really an RPG.

I do find there is a thin line between rpg and strategy, just like there is a thin line between action and rpg, depending on personal preference. Battletech as a table top game on a campaign level, lets you develop and improve a troop over time, and so elements like character buiding and inventory and story are present, just like in Warcraft III, Starcraft, Jagged Alliance, Battle Brothers, or Heroes of Might and Magic 1-7. For me most of these are more related to actual pen and paper rpgs (from which we get the term) than a game like Bioshock (which I also enjoyed), but maybe that's because my experience with RPGs comes from actually playing games like Battletech, Dungeons and Dragons, The Call of Cthulu, and Vampire:The Masquerade in the original before ever playing a computer rpg.

Dear Harebrained, please don't F this up. If you do, I'll be bringing a pack of sandwiches……and you can guess what will be in the other hand!

I've been considering this a hybrid RPG, myself, much like X-Com. You've got your party of mercenaries that I believe you can pick some skills on and otherwise develop, inventory, quests, a story, and so on. I doubt it will be very deep character development with all the concentration on combat so not a "full fledged" RPG but definitely enough to be appealing.

Yes I consider this a purely tactical game with some RPG elements. The difference with a similarly tactical game like D&D is character development. In D&D a level 1 warrior has absolutely no chance against a level 20 warrior, no matter if he's in full plate and the level 20 warrior is naked. That to me is one of the main aspects of an RPG. In this game it feels to me like the difference is basically the mech, the rookie character in a heavy mech will destroy an experienced pilot in a light mech, so basically the measure of power is the mech, not the character, and you don't really 'grow' the mech, you just customize it with parts. Granted, you may not be able to afford the big mechs in the beginning but that's akin to how most shooters' story modes introduce the bigger guns as the story progresses.

Still, probably my most awaited game right now (until they announce Victoria 3 whenever that happens!).

He discovered that many of the journalists he spoke to never heard of Battletech before.

I hope those "journalists" were not "game journalists."

Didn't have time to play the updated beta yet, but I'm very much looking forward to play this in campaign mode early (hopefully) next year.

Originally Posted by wolfing
Yes I consider this a purely tactical game with some RPG elements. The difference with a similarly tactical game like D&D is character development. In D&D a level 1 warrior has absolutely no chance against a level 20 warrior, no matter if he's in full plate and the level 20 warrior is naked. That to me is one of the main aspects of an RPG. In this game it feels to me like the difference is basically the mech, the rookie character in a heavy mech will destroy an experienced pilot in a light mech, so basically the measure of power is the mech, not the character, and you don't really 'grow' the mech, you just customize it with parts. Granted, you may not be able to afford the big mechs in the beginning but that's akin to how most shooters' story modes introduce the bigger guns as the story progresses.

Still, probably my most awaited game right now (until they announce Victoria 3 whenever that happens!).

Absolutely no chance?
What if lvl20 guys rolls all 1s and lvl 1 rolls all 20?
You might want to edit your post

They were game journalists, but as 'game journalists' go, I am old. A lot of them look to be early 20. However in the session I had there was one person, younger than me, who actually recently played the original

Hairy Brainless already done a mediocre job, compared to awesome Mech Commander.

Originally Posted by Archangel
Absolutely no chance?
What if lvl20 guys rolls all 1s and lvl 1 rolls all 20?
You might want to edit your post

Well, even crits from a level 1 character would put a dent in the armor of a level 20 one now would it? The battle would just drag on forever….

Originally Posted by tomasp3n
Well, even crits from a level 1 character would put a dent in the armor of a level 20 one now would it? The battle would just drag on forever….

Forever? More like 20 rounds or so.

Nice article. Seems like an interesting game, though I'll have to see some more of the actual space management/travel/exploration bit before deciding if it's worth giving a go.

After HK, I'm more interested in what these guys are up to, but more in the finish this, so you can get back to Shadowrun sense!

Originally Posted by mercy
Hairy Brainless already done a mediocre job, compared to awesome Mech Commander.

Hairy Brainless? Like this:

Originally Posted by Maylander
Nice article. Seems like an interesting game, though I'll have to see some more of the actual space management/travel/exploration bit before deciding if it's worth giving a go.

I don't think there'll be much in that department. In this game you are a team of giant mech mercenaries, someone asks for your services, you go there, kick arse, get paid (or get your arse kicked and not get paid) and come back. The strategic part is how you manage your finances to make a successful mercenary company, and then tactically which mech teams to use for each situation, trying to maximize efficiency, because it's not just about winning the battles, it's about winning them without losing money as mech repairs and ammo cost money.

Apparently next to the maintenance/repair of the mechs there is upgrading them. Don’t know if there is much more to it. You can keep on doing that forever as there will always be new contracts.

For what its worth in the tabletop game, each pilot has two stats which can improve over time. Each pilot has a mech. Light mechs are cheap, heavy mechs are expensive. Each mech has components which can be customized. There are also more expensive components which cost more but are more efficient. So there is a lot of equipment management in a campaign. Do I buy a new mech or upgrade the one I've got? Plus there is a plethora of different weapons and different mechs, which have varying speed and armour values, and weapon loadouts. So deciding all of this means you can have wildly different squads in combat, even for the same money value. Of course, I'm not sure how much HBS is going to implement in this game. That remains to be seen.

There's also salvaging going on. They've mentioned in a few videos I've seen that cockpit-shots can be real valuable as you can disable a mech without mangling the thing.

There's also another game along these lines coming out: a single player version of the MechWarrior Online game.

P.S. "Boss, me and the other pilots want to make our own nicknames. I know you're the boss and all but… Teriyaki? Ham Hocks? Garlic!? And why are there always damp wood chips in the cockpits before we go into battle??"