Mechwarrior Online coming 2012 and it's free

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:29 pm

Well hope it's fun and has a dynamic battlefield that changes day to day.

LINK to story

Don't forget to follow the link in that story to register your pilot name now so someone else doesn't get it. I reserved Daehawk for mine.

Set in the year 3049 during the early stages of a massive interstellar war, MechWarrior Online puts you in command of the most powerful war machine to ever walk the field of battle, the mighty BattleMech™. Command your Mech™ and customize it to suit your battlefield role; upgrade systems, replace weapons, and tweak armor with endless options.

MechWarrior Online lets players command at will: go head-to-head online alone or with friends in high- octane Conquest and VS modes. Band together and form your own Mercenary Corp, invite friends and battle other player-made Merc Corps for prestige and power. Pledge your allegiance to one of the five great houses and fight for control of precious Inner Sphere planets.

You will play a key role in a dynamic and ever-changing universe where player exploits impact the world around you and daily story updates and frequent content additions create epic changes to the Inner Sphere universe and its many inhabitants.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:05 pm

Why does the Battletech look like the Borderlands?

Debris · Post by **Debris** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:06 pm

Awesome! I do loves me some multi-player Mechwarrior. I do hope they do something to remove circle-strafing.

The only thing that I'm not real happy about is the time it is taking place, 2049. The exact year the clans showed up and started ruining the tabletop game.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:29 pm

It's long overdue.

MW (not modern warfare) would have worked great as MMORPG if there's some way to resolve the battles in a more action-y way. Now the bandwidth and hardware supports that. And mercs is a great to get yourself into the universe. Heck, you can be a ONE-PERSON Merc company if you really want to.

Won't get any really good missions, but that's the digs!

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:35 pm

I'm so glad it's Inner Sphere based though. I LOVE IS. Always been a freeborn fan. Can't wait to see if they include all houses and such. I wonder what the micro trans will feature...if any.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Oct 31, 2011 11:41 pm

I can almost see how this plays out.

Newbies are assigned to kick pirates and bandits driving wimpy urban mechs and light mechs, and can call in reinforcements if it's a bit too overwhelming for them.

Once you're more accomplished, you'll get ability to choose tougher missions, for more credits, of course.

When you're really a merc (got enough to get bonded for your own merc corp) you can bid on contracts for the houses and whatnot.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:55 am

I'll finally get to play my favorite mech again..the Hunchback

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 8:10 am

Daehawk wrote:Don't forget to follow the link in that story to register your pilot name now so someone else doesn't get it. I reserved Daehawk for mine.

The pilot name is already registered!

Looks like I'll have to go with a fallback. There are a surprising number of "Paingod" people in the world. I now get to be "Rackminster" - the same as World of Tanks. It's suitable for the setting, methinks.

If this is done properly, this may be the first "Free to Play" game that manages to weasel money out of my wallet. I'm a HUGE mechwarrior fan, have been since MechWarrior 2.

*EDIT: I'm seeing mentions so far of some Mech customization, Pilot "Training" roles (Scout, Attack, Defend, Command), and larger conflicts between houses. This really could be a lot of fun.

BooTx · Post by **BooTx** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 8:27 am

And another one bites the dust.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:27 am

These Nigerian bankers are getting pretty savvy.

As usual, this sounds good on paper. I hope they balance the different classes of mechs though, so piloting around one of those stumpy goofy-looking Jenners against heavier mechs is a viable strategy. Im not saying it should be able to stand toe to toe with an Atlas, just that in the right circumstances the Jenner could out perform it and win.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:36 am

Archinerd wrote:As usual, this sounds good on paper. I hope they balance the different classes of mechs though, so piloting around one of those stumpy goofy-looking Jenners against heavier mechs is a viable strategy. Im not saying it should be able to stand toe to toe with an Atlas, just that in the right circumstances the Jenner could out perform it and win.

Reading through their info, it looks like they're really stressing team play. Odds are that the "best" groups will be a couple Scout mechs (25t-45t) to find targets, a couple Attackers (50t-75t) to bring them down, a couple Defenders (65t-90t) to keep the Scouts and Commanders alive, and a Commander (75t-100t) to relay sensor info and provide support like Artillery.

It really doesn't talk about solo play at all. I'm thinking World of Tanks - on legs. You fire up and get dropped into a PvP battle with a group of random pilots, or you join a squad and get dropped with them.

They also discussed wanting to "fix" issues like circle-strafing (I didn't know it was a problem, but maybe they simply locked torso rotation into a 90º arc) and sniping (an alpha volley of PPC can really ruin your day).

You'll also be building your pilot - by Role it seems - so you'll probably have a skill tree to climb.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:47 am

Well, all you need to do was circle strafe around your target and aim at the legs. You never saw that in the pen and paper game it was based on (sure, you tried to maneuver to get behind the target, but the more you moved the harder the shot) nor did you ever see that tactic in the novels. The bigger mechs should be too cumbersome for that tactic, though a Locust or Wasp probably could

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 11:25 am

Paingod wrote:stuff I was hoping to hear.

This sounds promising. Fingers crossed.

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:20 pm

Still smells like vaporware to me, especially from a dev with a rather poor track record and apparently a publisher with no track record at all.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 12:48 pm

I hope they bring back the destroyable legs that MW4 left out. I really missed seeing those legs get blown off and the mech falling over for salvage

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:04 pm

Are those mech drawings new? They're definitely updates of some classic mechs to a more modern style. But, I'm not sure if that was done for this game, or done recently in the latest edition of battletech and just colored for these promo images.

Liking the new atlas proportions and look.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:09 pm

I think they're new. I was just looking on FanPro's battletech site and most of the artwork seems to be back from the FASA Battletech age, and the new stuff I saw were all of unknown mechs

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:23 pm

I know the original attempt at MW5 got derailed because of mech licensing issues.

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:31 pm

Paingod wrote:
Daehawk wrote:Don't forget to follow the link in that story to register your pilot name now so someone else doesn't get it. I reserved Daehawk for mine.
The pilot name is already registered!

Dirk was taken too so I had to go with my backup but at least you can have a full name, not just a first name.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 1:39 pm

Debris wrote:The only thing that I'm not real happy about is the time it is taking place, 2049. The exact year the clans showed up and started ruining the tabletop game.

This. I hate clan mechs and I think their crazy ability is affected in video game. As much as I loved going to Chicago in the late 80s to hit the BattleTech Center, I still hated that we were playing in Clan mechs and the game was more twitchy than hukly.

But I know I'm the minority.

IceBear wrote:Well, all you need to do was circle strafe around your target and aim at the legs. You never saw that in the pen and paper game it was based on (sure, you tried to maneuver to get behind the target, but the more you moved the harder the shot) nor did you ever see that tactic in the novels. The bigger mechs should be too cumbersome for that tactic, though a Locust or Wasp probably could

My favorite mechs were custom built 20 or 25 ton mechs that could walk at 9 or more basically getting the full movement defense bonus while still only getting penalized for walking. You get enough of them with no armor, no heat sincs and a bunch of machine guns and who cares if they get blown to bits, you will always have them hanging out behind a big huge mech that can only hit back on box cars even at close range.

This was especially effective in that we played by tonnages, so if we played a 250 ton battle, you might have a squat of five mechs. So I'd come to the table with 8 thereby guaranteeing that I always had the last move.

Good times.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 2:28 pm

LordMortis wrote:
Debris wrote:The only thing that I'm not real happy about is the time it is taking place, 2049. The exact year the clans showed up and started ruining the tabletop game.
This. I hate clan mechs and I think their crazy ability is affected in video game. As much as I loved going to Chicago in the late 80s to hit the BattleTech Center, I still hated that we were playing in Clan mechs and the game was more twitchy than hukly.

Note:
Their FAQ states that the game is "currently" set in 3048. When we roll over to 2012, the game will be in 3049. I imagine that if this was the cusp of the Clan being introduced, they also have plans to include that over time as well - I imagine that as the game chronology moves forward, so will the inclusion of different techs/mechs/clans.

The FAQ is surprisingly interesting to me.

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:23 pm

Q. Will MechWarrior® Online™ have co-operative gameplay?

A. This is something we wanted to implement, but right now we are going to focus on multiplayer only.

This sounds exactly like World of Tanks. Don't know what I think about that but I'll be there will bells on to try it out.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:48 pm

Paingod wrote:
LordMortis wrote:
Debris wrote:The only thing that I'm not real happy about is the time it is taking place, 2049. The exact year the clans showed up and started ruining the tabletop game.
This. I hate clan mechs and I think their crazy ability is affected in video game. As much as I loved going to Chicago in the late 80s to hit the BattleTech Center, I still hated that we were playing in Clan mechs and the game was more twitchy than hukly.
Note:
Their FAQ states that the game is "currently" set in 3048. When we roll over to 2012, the game will be in 3049. I imagine that if this was the cusp of the Clan being introduced, they also have plans to include that over time as well - I imagine that as the game chronology moves forward, so will the inclusion of different techs/mechs/clans.

The FAQ is surprisingly interesting to me.

Q. Will the Clans make an appearance or cameo?

A.

Not thrilled and yet I'm still here watching.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:04 pm

I just tell myself that the Inner Sphere eventually defeated the Clans. I'm just annoyed I never found out if Katrina got her just desserts

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:18 pm

I personally don't mind the Clans, but then I was introduced to Battletech right when the 3050 tech books were coming out, so I never knew it before the Clan invasion.

That said, would the Clans really be a big deal if you were still limited to Inner Circle 'mechs for yourself?

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:23 pm

Don't know.

This reminds me though. I need to get a USB flight stick... and then figure out how to get Tie Fighter to work on 7x64...

DD* · Post by DD* » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:28 pm

Registered as "DangerDude" (the long form of DD). Haven't played under that handle since the Unreal Tournament days...

And I am soooo registering the "Octopus Overlords" Merc Corp, unless one of you guys beats me to it....

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:54 pm

LordMortis wrote:Don't know.

This reminds me though. I need to get a USB flight stick... and then figure out how to get Tie Fighter to work on 7x64...

It works with DosBox. I tested the collector's edition I got off ebay and played some of the first mission. It was fine. Not sure if the whole game plays as well though.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:14 am

Zurai wrote:I personally don't mind the Clans, but then I was introduced to Battletech right when the 3050 tech books were coming out, so I never knew it before the Clan invasion.

That said, would the Clans really be a big deal if you were still limited to Inner Circle 'mechs for yourself?

There would still be the issue of IS Omnimechs. They should have set this up during the Third or Fourth Succession wars.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 10:40 am

Daehawk wrote:
LordMortis wrote:Don't know.

This reminds me though. I need to get a USB flight stick... and then figure out how to get Tie Fighter to work on 7x64...
It works with DosBox. I tested the collector's edition I got off ebay and played some of the first mission. It was fine. Not sure if the whole game plays as well though.

Flight stick first... Tie Fighter second... (Fighting in Mechs third) That's the problem with ordering shit online. I'm lazy and I'm cheap, so it never gets done. If I could still go out Best Buy or Software Etc, it'd actually be easier to go "I want a flight stick" and then see what they go and buy one. Going to Amazon is like walking into a record store without a plan to buy a specific CD. I get so overwhelmed with figuring out what I want and if I really need that I forget the whole thing and just walk out with nothing.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:30 am

Am I the only one here who really liked the Clans? I always thought the inner sphere guys were a bunch of infighting douches, so I was pulling for the Clans to clean their clocks. Also because Kerensky was a bad ass.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:49 am

El Guapo wrote:Am I the only one here who really liked the Clans? I always thought the inner sphere guys were a bunch of infighting douches, so I was pulling for the Clans to clean their clocks. Also because Kerensky was a bad ass.

It's not the Clans that sucked. It's how Clan mechs changed the game that sucked.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Wolf%27s_Dragoons" target="_blank

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:53 am

The Grey Death Legion were always my favorite

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Grey_Death_Legion" target="_blank

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 4:32 pm

Circa Mechwarrior 2 I loved the clans. I loved the mechs and the weapons. But for the last 10 years or so I've been a Inner Sphere fan. They're scrappy and tough with down to Earth mech designs that look the part. I hate the Clan's elitist views and love stomping their ass with Freeborn skill any time i can

I joined The Grey Death Legion in Mercenaries MW4. Very fun. Played all the groups.

Debris · Post by **Debris** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 5:05 pm

LordMortis wrote:
El Guapo wrote:Am I the only one here who really liked the Clans? I always thought the inner sphere guys were a bunch of infighting douches, so I was pulling for the Clans to clean their clocks. Also because Kerensky was a bad ass.
It's not the Clans that sucked. It's how Clan mechs changed the game that sucked.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Wolf%27s_Dragoons" target="_blank

+1, especially the tabletop game.

DD* · Post by DD* » Thu Nov 03, 2011 6:47 pm

LordMortis wrote:
Daehawk wrote:
LordMortis wrote:Don't know.

This reminds me though. I need to get a USB flight stick... and then figure out how to get Tie Fighter to work on 7x64...
It works with DosBox. I tested the collector's edition I got off ebay and played some of the first mission. It was fine. Not sure if the whole game plays as well though.
Flight stick first... Tie Fighter second... (Fighting in Mechs third) That's the problem with ordering shit online. I'm lazy and I'm cheap, so it never gets done. If I could still go out Best Buy or Software Etc, it'd actually be easier to go "I want a flight stick" and then see what they go and buy one. Going to Amazon is like walking into a record store without a plan to buy a specific CD. I get so overwhelmed with figuring out what I want and if I really need that I forget the whole thing and just walk out with nothing.

FWIW, I bought a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro at Best Buy this past weekend.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:17 pm

DD* wrote:FWIW, I bought a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro at Best Buy this past weekend.

What it might be worth is a trip to Best Buy this weekend.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:51 pm

I own one of these. Got it back when Wing Commander 4 or so was new...still works great........

Microsoft Sidewinder Precision 2

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Sidewin ... B00005NIMA" target="_blank

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 5:25 am

MWO to use CryEngine3!!

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:59 pm

More info stuff

The HUGE map .

The VERY informative blog

A little snippet.....

Players will be able to pledge allegiance to a particular faction, join a mercenary company, or remain neutral. This choice alters the effects of loyalty points (earned through dutiful service, winning matches, and generally destroying of enemy Mechs). Faction members gain ranks and privileges (skins, xp, membership in elite units) with their loyalty points. At the highest ranks, faction members will have a say in grand strategy, helping to determine which planets their faction targets. Mercenary companies work differently, with ranks divvied out by the mercenary leader. Loyalty points gained by mercenaries are shared by their company and collectively determine the type of contracts they may bid on. Loyalty points earned by lone wolves have no positive or negative effects.

As mentioned previously, there are planets to conquer. Here is a rundown of the types of worlds in the game.

Core Worlds – Are managed by the dev team. These are worlds that necessary for future planning and part of major historical events.
Faction Worlds – Are fought over by Faction players. These planets buffer core and border worlds, and do not play a significant role in major historical events. Rewards for controlling these planets are directly linked to global bonuses and abilities associated with a player’s Faction.
Border Worlds – Are fought over via a contract bidding system by player run Mercenary Corporations. These planets change hands on a regular basis, and have no impact on historical events. Rewards for controlling a boarder world are significant and go directly to the occupying Merc Corp.