BattleTech coming back via Kickstarter

[LordMortis]

That's awesome. So the weapon is more precariously mounted, but more accurate. Dammit...

Think of it as the weapon being more aim-able and therefore having the potential to be more accurate.

I hover over a lot of things. Just not everything, apparently.

Yep...

man I want to home a see everything I discovered while reading this thread today.

[IceBear]

Yeah that's the logical place for it. I skipped all those....ooops

[NickAragua]

In tabletop, the main benefit to having weapons on your arms is that you can fire them in a wider angle (or, for some mechs, flip the arms over and fire backwards). Makes sneaking up behind mechs not entirely risk-free.

As for the arm tooltip, when you're "locked-in" on a target and about to fire, mouse over an individual weapon in the bottom right list. It'll give you a breakdown of odds to hit and current modifiers for that weapon. One of them is "arm mounted". The bonus is relatively small, pretty sure it's 5%, not 15%. Probably they wanted to give you an incentive (other than hardpoint limitations) to put weapons in the arms.

[Paingod]

As for the arm tooltip, when you're "locked-in" on a target and about to fire, mouse over an individual weapon in the bottom right list. It'll give you a breakdown of odds to hit and current modifiers for that weapon. One of them is "arm mounted". The bonus is relatively small, pretty sure it's 5%, not 15%. Probably they wanted to give you an incentive (other than hardpoint limitations) to put weapons in the arms.

If you only see the tooltip on an arm-mounted weapon, it's likely I'd not see that anyway... I've been avoiding arm weapons for a while now except on some stock builds - and I probably haven't checked their ToHit pop-ups. I have looked at those, though. Just not enough.

That same "Basics" video author has another that I'm listening too. I tend to have four Mechs I love to use. Everywhere. He suggests that I might want to have hotter builds for cold planets and cooler builds for hot planets to maximize effectiveness in terrain. This makes good sense as I always know which type of planet I'm about to land on and have been largely ignoring it up to now. This would mean I might actually make different Lances in my MechBay to take advantage of all that space I have in there.

[IceBear]

Yeah....I think you're right and it's only 5%. Just remembered that I was firing a bunch of medium lasers and some where 80% and some were 75% because of the arms. I'll verify soon and report back if it's not 5%

[NickAragua]

Unlike in the Mechwarrior series, where your arms would come off given a slight breeze, mechs are pretty sturdy here, so it's not too big a risk to put weapons on the arms.

Well, at least for the bigger ones. When they're not on the ground taking called shots to the center torso.

[IceBear]

So it just says Arm Mounted -1 and I think -1 is equal to 5%

[Paingod]

So it just says Arm Mounted -1 and I think -1 is equal to 5%

So it might be fair to guess that +1Acc on a weapon is actually +5%?

[Rip]

As for the arm tooltip, when you're "locked-in" on a target and about to fire, mouse over an individual weapon in the bottom right list. It'll give you a breakdown of odds to hit and current modifiers for that weapon. One of them is "arm mounted". The bonus is relatively small, pretty sure it's 5%, not 15%. Probably they wanted to give you an incentive (other than hardpoint limitations) to put weapons in the arms.

If you only see the tooltip on an arm-mounted weapon, it's likely I'd not see that anyway... I've been avoiding arm weapons for a while now except on some stock builds - and I probably haven't checked their ToHit pop-ups. I have looked at those, though. Just not enough.

That same "Basics" video author has another that I'm listening too. I tend to have four Mechs I love to use. Everywhere. He suggests that I might want to have hotter builds for cold planets and cooler builds for hot planets to maximize effectiveness in terrain. This makes good sense as I always know which type of planet I'm about to land on and have been largely ignoring it up to now. This would mean I might actually make different Lances in my MechBay to take advantage of all that space I have in there.

What I do is have a couple fairly neutral mechs and couple that run hot and a couple that run cool. Six bays can meet all your weather needs.

[gbasden]

Yes, but 12 bays gives you bonus repair as well as space to refit newly acquired mechs.

[Rip]

Yes, but 12 bays gives you bonus repair as well as space to refit newly acquired mechs.

You sound like the car salesman who was trying to convince me I needed an SUV......

[Cylus Maxii]

Yes - the expansion mechbays add tech points as well as spaces.

[gbasden]

Yes, but 12 bays gives you bonus repair as well as space to refit newly acquired mechs.

You sound like the car salesman who was trying to convince me I needed an SUV......

Hey, it's fine if you want to tool around in your space Yugo, but I need more room to stretch.

[coopasonic]

Yes - the expansion mechbays add tech points as well as spaces.

Just remember all those extra mechs and all that extra space has a monthly cost... and the bigger the mech the bigger the cost. I didn't realize until last night that the mech bay expansion gives tech points. I would have bought it long ago had I noticed that. Things are already pretty fast with the other two tech upgrades I have. I feel like I may finish upgrading the Argo before I am brave enough to try Smithon again.

[NickAragua]

Yeah, I'm up to like 700k a month. Of course, each contract pays ~1M max, so it's not a big deal. Still going to need to downsize, as I have a pretty significant upgraded equipment buying habit. I don't really need twelve mechs, that's just me being OCD.

[IceBear]

I have space for 12 but anything I don't think I'm going to be using immediately gets out in storage even if there's room in the bays for it

[jztemple2]

I tend to have a different play style than many people I think. Just like in pretty much any shooter I play, I like to hang back and shoot, so I'm not optimizing any mech for melee or even getting close to the enemy unless it's to finish off a damaged mech. Of course this will be a hindrance in timed missions and the like, but I'm reasonably pleased with how things are going so far.

By the way, I really like the maps. Each location feels different and the layout is quirt detailed. I'm enjoying the challenge.

[Bakhtosh]

I'm upgrading the mech bay so that when I do pull a full mech of salvage, I can choose to keep it out. If you have a mech in for refit or needing repairs, you can't send it to storage from the after action screen. You either have to send your brand new mech into storage then pay & wait to get it ready, or you have to scrap something.

Lost my SRM+++ last night. It was a particularly grueling mission to pick up some scientists from a lab. Thankfully, there was nearby water because my mechs were glowing red.

[wonderpug]

I'm upgrading the mech bay so that when I do pull a full mech of salvage, I can choose to keep it out. If you have a mech in for refit or needing repairs, you can't send it to storage from the after action screen. You either have to send your brand new mech into storage then pay & wait to get it ready, or you have to scrap something.

I think you just click on the mech to make it appear in the box on the right, then click the 'send to storage' button.

[jztemple2]

Holy moly, I'm playing a two skull battle against four very good mechs, equal to my four mechs. And my plan of keeping back and shooting when all to hell of course. I've destroyed three of their mechs and am about to destroy the four, but I wanted to mention that the enemy used Death From Above not once, but twice in the battle! Sadly for the AI, the second time was with a mech that was already in bad shape and overheating, so the DFA caused a lot of damage to it as well.

[Cylus Maxii]

I'm upgrading the mech bay so that when I do pull a full mech of salvage, I can choose to keep it out. If you have a mech in for refit or needing repairs, you can't send it to storage from the after action screen. You either have to send your brand new mech into storage then pay & wait to get it ready, or you have to scrap something.

I think you just click on the mech to make it appear in the box on the right, then click the 'send to storage' button.

Send-to-storage only works for mechs that don't have any structural damage.

[jztemple2]

Now I am in command of the Argo. Finally. That Liberation of Weldry was no picnic, but I managed not to get anyone killed or lose a mech, but they are all in bad, bad shape.

By the way, an update is now downloading for the game.

[Max Peck]

I've been holding off on the Liberate Smithon contract partly due to the war stories and partly because I wanted to hone tactics and build up my lance (I'm one of those rare birds who never played table-top BattleTech, so my practical knowledge started from scratch). I'm planning to run it today, so I look forward to discovering whether the mission is difficult to survive, or if it's simply difficult to pull off all the individual victory conditions.

That went better than I feared it would. I achieved all of the mission goals and the only serious damage I took involved losing an arm on my commander's mech. Unfortunately, it was an arm with two ++ Medium Lasers mounted on it.

[DD*]

How... to... fix... the... slow... as... shit... game... pace... of... Battletech... and... remove... the... oh... so... annoying... pauses...

Doesn't do crap for the horrible UI or the possessed camera, but speeding play is godsend for this title. Details at RPS.

And here is a video that shows the results. Will be doing this to my game later tonight.

[IceBear]

Maybe it's just my machine but I don't find it too much slower than XCOM which given the lumbering nature of mechs seems appropriate. Granted I turned off or down the frequency of a lot of the chase camera early on

You must be a glutton for punishment given that you seem to absolutely fucking hate the game and yet are still playing it

[IceBear]

Holy moly, I'm playing a two skull battle against four very good mechs, equal to my four mechs. And my plan of keeping back and shooting when all to hell of course. I've destroyed three of their mechs and am about to destroy the four, but I wanted to mention that the enemy used Death From Above not once, but twice in the battle! Sadly for the AI, the second time was with a mech that was already in bad shape and overheating, so the DFA caused a lot of damage to it as well.

DFA was always a desperate last ditch go out in a blaze of glory move

[$iljanus]

Holy moly, I'm playing a two skull battle against four very good mechs, equal to my four mechs. And my plan of keeping back and shooting when all to hell of course. I've destroyed three of their mechs and am about to destroy the four, but I wanted to mention that the enemy used Death From Above not once, but twice in the battle! Sadly for the AI, the second time was with a mech that was already in bad shape and overheating, so the DFA caused a lot of damage to it as well.

DFA was always a desperate last ditch go out in a blaze of glory move

I have yet to try a DFA move but perhaps for the last story mission I might go for it with some obscenely heavy mech.

[IceBear]

I had one mission where my mech was armless and weaponless and my pilot was badly hurt. I knew that after he went the next round would start and he'd go before the AI so I did a DFA and then ejected the next round.

[DD*]

Maybe it's just my machine but I don't find it too much slower than XCOM which given the lumbering nature of mechs seems appropriate. Granted I turned off or down the frequency of a lot of the chase camera early on

You must be a glutton for punishment given that you seem to absolutely fucking hate the game and yet are still playing it

Not so - my feelings for the game pretty well mirror the reviewer from RPS, and I backed it via Kickstarter. That does not mean that I don't recognize its very real (and IMHO very avoidable) issues:

1. Piss poor tutorial, aka how to play the game. "Guessing" is not a really solid strategy.
2. Horrific UI. Why can't I see my inventory of stuff when building a Mech? Why can't you access the store from the Mech Bay, but instead have to exit out completely, buy everything you hope you need, then go back in. Click click click click.... Why can't you one-click filter on weapon types, instead of the bass-ackward way they have it configured today? Why does the list of 'stuff' always reset to the top after you buy something? Oh, you wanted multiple MLs? Scroll scroll scroll scroll.... Why does the description for the star map vary in size and block some systems, and of course you cannot scroll the map to get the hidden stars out from behind the giant text box. Click out, click back in, pray you can find the system you're looking for...
3. The piss poor (and designed in!) performance, which was the point of last post with tweaks to fix it.
4. The horrible pilot injured mechanic. You're in 65 tons of armored, walking tank, yet a little piss ant mech with a machine gun can hit the cockpit and knock out a pilot consistently. The overall injury rate is waaaaaay too high and recovery takes waaaay too long (in general).
5. The camera has a life of its own - hey, look, its following this enemy on his turn, great! Now lets see wha --- oh shit, scrolled across the screen and I have no idea what that enemy fired at, with what, or from where.

These are not just my observations - the forums, reviews, and Reddit are full of the same. I'm playing the game despite these issues, but the fun/pain in the ass ratio is starting to tip in favor of PITA. Eliminating or reducing the absolutely painful way it processes turns should hopefully tip the balance back to the fun side of things.

[Max Peck]

DFA was always a desperate last ditch go out in a blaze of glory move

Rumour has it that, early in his career, my commander spent 3 months in the medbay because he decided to try out a DFA attack when his mech's legs were... unsound. Reputedly there was much blaze but little glory.

[LordMortis]

I don't care for the pauses either. The pace doesn't bother me (or maybe it does unconsciously and expresses itself in how the pauses bother me) but I hat when it goes mech to mech and I'm waiting and think it must be may turn and I'm baked out of my gord playing euchre mode. But then I click on one of my mech and a few seconds later an enemy mech acts.

I assumed it was my machine, which isn't an artifact but isn't modern $3000 gaming rig either.

[IceBear]

Maybe it's just my machine but I don't find it too much slower than XCOM which given the lumbering nature of mechs seems appropriate. Granted I turned off or down the frequency of a lot of the chase camera early on

You must be a glutton for punishment given that you seem to absolutely fucking hate the game and yet are still playing it

Not so - my feelings for the game pretty well mirror the reviewer from RPS, and I backed it via Kickstarter. That does not mean that I don't recognize its very real (and IMHO very avoidable) issues:

1. Piss poor tutorial, aka how to play the game. "Guessing" is not a really solid strategy.
2. Horrific UI. Why can't I see my inventory of stuff when building a Mech? Why can't you access the store from the Mech Bay, but instead have to exit out completely, buy everything you hope you need, then go back in. Click click click click.... Why can't you one-click filter on weapon types, instead of the bass-ackward way they have it configured today? Why does the list of 'stuff' always reset to the top after you buy something? Oh, you wanted multiple MLs? Scroll scroll scroll scroll.... Why does the description for the star map vary in size and block some systems, and of course you cannot scroll the map to get the hidden stars out from behind the giant text box. Click out, click back in, pray you can find the system you're looking for...
3. The piss poor (and designed in!) performance, which was the point of last post with tweaks to fix it.
4. The horrible pilot injured mechanic. You're in 65 tons of armored, walking tank, yet a little piss ant mech with a machine gun can hit the cockpit and knock out a pilot consistently. The overall injury rate is waaaaaay too high and recovery takes waaaay too long (in general).
5. The camera has a life of its own - hey, look, its following this enemy on his turn, great! Now lets see wha --- oh shit, scrolled across the screen and I have no idea what that enemy fired at, with what, or from where.

These are not just my observations - the forums, reviews, and Reddit are full of the same. I'm playing the game despite these issues, but the fun/pain in the ass ratio is starting to tip in favor of PITA. Eliminating or reducing the absolutely painful way it processes turns should hopefully tip the balance back to the fun side of things.

I never said that you were the only one with issues. It's just that you seem like you ABSOLUTELY HATE the game from the language you use. People point out issues and that's fine. The way you talk about the issues it's like it's personally hurting you. I was just pointing out why play it if it's such a pain. I'd shelf it and wait a few patches before trying it again.

All of the issues listed are minor annoyances that I don't even notice for the most part. I guess the UI and tutorial I never even noticed because of the time in the beta and watching streamers. Given there was a manual I really don't know why they didn't include it in the final but I'd hardly call HBS the worst developers in the world like you have implied

Anyway I guess I'll leave this discussion as I shouldn't be aggravated by someone else's words like I am. I'll go back to lurking

[jztemple2]

BATTLETECH 1.0.1 Release Notes (Updated):

Spoiler:

Thank you for playing BATTLETECH! We appreciate your patience and support as our team works to quickly investigate and address reported issues with the game. Release 1.0.1 is now available for all users on Steam and GOG. It will be available for Paradox Launcher and other platforms on 5/3/2018. Note that we are aware of and continuing to investigate OS-specific video player issues and hardware-specific GPU issues that a small number of users are experiencing.

If you experience any issues after pulling this update, the first step we recommend is to restart your computer, and then verify integrity of game files. Occasionally the Steam update process can act weird - this will ensure that the update has been properly applied.

As always, if you experience further issues please contact Customer Support at: https://support.paradoxplaza.com

Release 1.0.1 Notes, 5/2/2018

Trial fix for an issue where save games could sometimes fail to appear upon re-launching the game.

Trial fix for some occasional crashes when loading back into the sim-game scene.

We now immediately apply changes to the windowed mode and fullscreen monitor selection settings.

Added the ability to change the Callsign associated with your multiplayer profile.

Fixed issues with the Vsync setting sometimes not applying correctly.

Setting Vsync to be ON by default.

Capping framerate at 120 when Vsync is OFF.

Fixed an issue where redeeming a valid unlock code could cause a long loading screen.

Fixed an issue where 'Mech model variants unlocked using an access code could be seen clipping through other Argo UI screens, after selecting the unlocked 'Mech in the Mech Bay.

Fixed minor graphical issues with the pre-order Shadow Hawk Umbra skin.

Fixed an issue where enemy AI could sometimes act slowly during Defend Base contracts.

Improved loading sequence stability when alt-tabbed.

Support for non-standard Steam install directories (directory paths with special characters like "=" in them.)

Removing debug F6 pilot-injury hotkey.

Adding version number display to the Main Menu.

Adding protections for errors in the GOG Galaxy client when playing through GOG.

Making DirectX 11 a required component in Steam and GOG installers.

BATTLETECH: What's Next?

Spoiler:

First of all, to our Backers and new players alike - thank you for your incredible outpouring of love and support last week following the launch of BATTLETECH, and for sharing so many of your amazing game experiences with us. As a small developer, these stories mean the world to us. It's why we do this.

From the heartfelt reactions of our Backers, to the kind words from reviewers, to the epic marathons on YouTube, to the hysterical reactions on Twitch, to the goofy memes floating through social media, this week has been a whirlwind and we are thrilled to be on this ride with you.

Extra kind words and fun clip links:

Waypoint[waypoint.vice.com]
Polygon[www.polygon.com]
GameWatcher[www.gamewatcher.com]
Twitch Clip 1[clips.twitch.tv]
Twitch Clip 2[clips.twitch.tv]
Twitch Clip 3[clips.twitch.tv]

We could easily fill this entire post and more just rounding up press and fan reactions to the game - but we'd rather talk about what's next. From the start of this project, we've viewed launch not as the end of the road, but as the birth of a living product. Over the course of development, you might recall that we often answered speculative questions about post-launch features or content with, "in success, all things are possible."

Well - thanks to you, this is the success we hoped for. And many things are now possible! We're working with Paradox on a roadmap for the next year of BATTLETECH development. This will include regular bugfixing, quality-of-life improvements, and free Updates adding new features to the game. Here's a look at the next few months of that roadmap.

****BATTLETECH Post-Launch Roadmap****

1. Compatibility / Performance Investigations
Our launch last week wasn't perfect. A subset of players are experiencing hardware/system compatibility and performance issues that our team is working hard to investigate. Solutions for critical issues are always our top priority, and will be released as soon as they're available and tested. Typically, we will release patches to our public_beta branch on Steam for a few days for testing before we push them to the default branch.

On that note - last Friday we released our first patch to the public_beta branch for testing. Today, that 1.0.1 Patch went live - you can read the full changelog here. We expect to release more patches to public_beta in the coming days and weeks.

2. General Bugfix (Late May)
We expect to release at least one general bugfix/improvements patch later in May.

3. Localization (French, German, Russian) and Linux support
These are both Kickstarter commitments and high priorities for our post-launch roadmap. (Along with a couple other Kickstarter commitments that didn't make it in for launch.) We don't have a more precise ETA yet for these items but will update you as soon as we do.

4. Update #1: Customization & Player Options (June/July)
We're already beginning work on our first larger free Update to BATTLETECH. This Update is all about customization and reacting to common pieces of feedback that we've received from you on the game. Here's a list of items we're currently looking at for Update 1 this summer:

Accelerated combat options - We're working on options for players who would like to accelerate the pace of combat missions.

MechWarrior customization - We know that many players would like to change the appearance, callsign, name, and voice of all their MechWarriors, not just their Commander. This didn't make it in for launch but we'll be adding it in Update 1.

Granular difficulty settings - A set of discrete options for players to customize the challenge level of the game in different areas.

MechLab / Store / Salvage quality-of-life improvements - Interface additions to reduce friction when buying and salvaging new items.

Tutorial-skip option - Allowing players who have already played the prologue missions to skip those missions when starting a new campaign, and get right to the Leopard.

Addressing difficulty spikes - We'll be working on smoothing out some issues with unexpectedly hard (or easy) content. Not to remove all difficulty variance, but to address clear outliers.

Live-streaming quality-of-life improvements - Audio persisting when alt-tabbed, for example.

It's important to note that the exact contents of Update 1 may shift during development. Please consider these general directions and priorities. We'll post a more detailed and updated list of what's in the Update closer to its release.

5. More BATTLETECH!
The above is just the beginning! We'll be continuing with more free Updates after Update 1, and we'd also love to release a larger paid content Expansion or two - but right now we're staying focused on bugfixes and immediate reactions to launch feedback. With your support, we could not be more excited to continue making BATTLETECH even bigger and better.

Thank you,
HBS

[jztemple2]

They give a valid story reason (at least in the aftermath of some story missions) as to why things are getting harder.

Remember this is in the Periphery which is like a 3rd World Nation. When the Inner Sphere gets involved there's going to be better mechs and mechwarrior as well. Where I was...in the middle of the conflict...was 3 to 3.5 skulls. Decided to make my way to the next story mission via a long "scenic" route and when I got far enough away I was still finding 2 skull worlds (which, granted might have nothing to do with how close it was to the war zone and just randomly determined but since my brain is hardwired to roleplay that's why in my mind)

You know, this rather makes sense. I guess I'll back out that mod that alters the difficulties until I really needed it. Thanks!

[NickAragua]

Found my first real bug. It seems that HBS has included a purple mech night vision mode with its latest patch.

Unfortunately, when I reloaded, they went back to normal.

[Paingod]

How... to... fix... the... slow... as... shit... game... pace... of... Battletech... and... remove... the... oh... so... annoying... pauses...

Maybe it's just my machine but I don't find it too much slower than XCOM which given the lumbering nature of mechs seems appropriate. Granted I turned off or down the frequency of a lot of the chase camera early on

I'm running a computer that's a couple years old but was $2000 when new. I'd say BattleTech runs a little worse than XCOM, and I'm annoyed by the seemingly abundant pauses while it contemplates everything's next move. I've disabled almost all of the cinematics (chase cams) for battle except for having a rare "Enemy Arrival" cam for some close-ups.

Found my first real bug. It seems that HBS has included a purple mech night vision mode with its latest patch.

Not a new bug. I've had this since release. It takes long enough to load the game that I don't bother to try and fix it when it shows up. I know what my Mechs look like.

No more story missions last night, but I did acquire my third complete Orion. I promptly sent every Mech to Storage and re-arranged and re-designed my Lance. Now all three Orions are identical. SRM6 (1t), AC10 (2t), and LRM20 (2t) - No Jump Jets. The fourth Mech I've got out is a Shadow Hawk, acting as a scout. It's interesting to see the difference pilots make when you're running identical Mechs on the field. Some do feel more effective in the Orion. The Mutli-Target skill is pretty potent on Mechs with a wide spread of weapon ranges. I'm probably going to shift the Orion Trio back to unique builds - as much as it worked well, they move like synchronized dancers. Everyone Do-si-do, pound that Light into the ground. Grab a Medium and fling him 'round! Yee-haw!

I completed my first Quickdraw, too. I'm not sure what to do with it considering my other Mechs. I stuffed it into the Storage closet with all my other Mechs. My Mechbays are mostly empty and sound echos when Yang walks through there.

All of this farting around was due to the lag time of 94 days to get back a Pilot after the last story mission. Now that Behemoth is healed up, I'm ready to go back to the next story mission.

[coopasonic]

No more story missions last night, but I did acquire my third complete Orion.

...and I just got my first third of an Orion!

[Paingod]

No more story missions last night, but I did acquire my third complete Orion.

...and I just got my first third of an Orion!

I don't know what's up with my luck on them. A fair number of my "Assassination" missions have one at the end, and when I fight Heavy lances, there's usually one in there. With three complete Orions, I should stop picking them up. All three are the "ON1-V" variant, and I think there's another I've only seen once, a "K" maybe?

One of my personal goals is to collect one of every variant of each Mech in the game.

[LordMortis]

I completed my first Quickdraw, too. I'm not sure what to do with it considering my other Mechs.

I keep mine active because it's my largest mech and if I step down my entire series of mechs by removing the Quickdraw my heaviest I can possibly muster 200 ton lance becomes 170 ton lance.

But it's not a very efficient mech. I have two pieces of 2nd shadowhawk. If I get a third, I'd take it over my Quickdraw.

[DD*]

How... to... fix... the... slow... as... shit... game... pace... of... Battletech... and... remove... the... oh... so... annoying... pauses...

Maybe it's just my machine but I don't find it too much slower than XCOM which given the lumbering nature of mechs seems appropriate. Granted I turned off or down the frequency of a lot of the chase camera early on

I'm running a computer that's a couple years old but was $2000 when new. I'd say BattleTech runs a little worse than XCOM, and I'm annoyed by the seemingly abundant pauses while it contemplates everything's next move. I've disabled almost all of the cinematics (chase cams) for battle except for having a rare "Enemy Arrival" cam for some close-ups.

Found my first real bug. It seems that HBS has included a purple mech night vision mode with its latest patch.

Not a new bug. I've had this since release. It takes long enough to load the game that I don't bother to try and fix it when it shows up. I know what my Mechs look like.

No more story missions last night, but I did acquire my third complete Orion. I promptly sent every Mech to Storage and re-arranged and re-designed my Lance. Now all three Orions are identical. SRM6 (1t), AC10 (2t), and LRM20 (2t) - No Jump Jets. The fourth Mech I've got out is a Shadow Hawk, acting as a scout. It's interesting to see the difference pilots make when you're running identical Mechs on the field. Some do feel more effective in the Orion. The Mutli-Target skill is pretty potent on Mechs with a wide spread of weapon ranges. I'm probably going to shift the Orion Trio back to unique builds - as much as it worked well, they move like synchronized dancers. Everyone Do-si-do, pound that Light into the ground. Grab a Medium and fling him 'round! Yee-haw!

I completed my first Quickdraw, too. I'm not sure what to do with it considering my other Mechs. I stuffed it into the Storage closet with all my other Mechs. My Mechbays are mostly empty and sound echos when Yang walks through there.

All of this farting around was due to the lag time of 94 days to get back a Pilot after the last story mission. Now that Behemoth is healed up, I'm ready to go back to the next story mission.

The "pauses" are not the game engine doing any sort of calculations, they are built in (by design) and can be edited out - see my previous post above for a link on how to do it. I guess the designers wanted it to seem more dramatic and "weighty", which is OK the first few times. After instance 328 it starts to get very old...