BATTLETECH |OT| Kill the meat, save the metal

[Deleted member 2507]

"New inventory items, including rare LosTech from before the fall of the Star League!"

I had a mod that slowly allowed for the resurgence of LosTech across the map as time progressed, felt really organic and natural. I hope this might be following that same idea?

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I'm gonna assume it will be random. Like, your first mission might pay out a Gauss Rifle, your second just gives you +++-rated stock targeting module or something like that. Don't think it will affect stores either.

How much LosTech was in the game anyhow? Medium pulse lasers, ER large laser, ER PPC, Gauss Rifle, Double Heat Sink?
Of those, only GR and DHS are truly worth something, the others are bad without DHS.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

There's a new dev diary on reputation system:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/developer-diaries-5-reputation.1124961/
EDIT By the way, only Great House Flashpoints, no Pirate (or other faction) Flashpoints, though HBS stated they would like to add those later on.

Also saw a HBS post that explicitly denied LB-X and Streaks, so i reckon we can be pretty sure there won't be new LosTech in this expansion at least. The only one left that isn't complex (like ECM or BAP or TAG or Arrow IV, etc.) is the Ultra AC/5, but i'm doubtful they'll include it either.

 

[Hella]

Piratical alliances! YES!!

Pirate alliances should give access to cool 'Mech paint jobs. They made not be rich, powerful, or liked, but they look cool while doing it.

 

[Kaffeemann]

I honestly don't give a fuck anymore if certain weapons are appropriate for the time period. I just want more stuff to play with.
What's included in the base game is simplistic and nowhere near enough for long campaigns and replayability.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

I honestly don't give a fuck anymore if certain weapons are appropriate for the time period. I just want more stuff to play with.
What's included in the base game is simplistic and nowhere near enough for long campaigns and replayability.

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I'll note that "more weapons" wouldn't fix that. Most BT weapons, even if adjusted for video games, are variations on a theme.

And, even if support for more variety of weapons could be added to the game, it seems unlikely support for various 'Mech options, such as internal structure, engine types, and so on, are not not possible or it would be significant amount of work.

This is one reason i regard the constant focus on 3025-era, and even 3050, a bad idea.
Start at 3067, there's a lot of tech around and the Jihad would offer significant amount of further tech (most of it experimental and frankly utter shit, but it can be corrected in video games) and very mustache-twirling villains in the Word of Blake.
Or just jump to Dark Age...

 

[Kaffeemann]

I made sense to start in 3025 to not overwhelm newcomers to the setting with billions weapons and gear options. But now that they're adding paid expansions such things are a MUST, otherwise I'm not interested in buying.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

"Overwhelming newbies" is such a bad argument. A lot of games have massive amount of stuff (and occasionally far more complicated things than anything in BattleTech) and no one ever thinks it is too much for newbies. Only in BattleTech, for fuck's sake.

I suspect the later expansions will add more new gear, Urban Warfare sounds like a good place for the Raven and ECM and BAP systems (prototype EW equipment for the Raven, LosTech Guardian and Beagle as loot/rewards perhaps), and depending where the final DLC is going, it might offer a place for some other tech.
But this one, probably not. They're just making what's available in the campaign more available elsewhere. Probably.

 

[Tamanon]

I would love to be able to expand out to a Company, even if it was a mixed arms company.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

With my Humble Monthly Subscriber bonus discount, the Season Pass is $36, plus I get $2 back in rewards, and I already have $7 in rewards to apply to this purchase. I guess I might as well pull the trigger.

 

[spiritfox]

I don't mind seeing Dark Age if we get to use agri-mechs.

 

[Banderdash]

I wouldn't mind being able to hire an aerofighter for a strafing run or 2...

 

[PanzerKraken]

I made sense to start in 3025 to not overwhelm newcomers to the setting with billions weapons and gear options. But now that they're adding paid expansions such things are a MUST, otherwise I'm not interested in buying.

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Advancing the timeline too much is going to be adding a huge amount of content to the game, which is unlikely going to happen. They are gonna save that for the sequel which is no doubt happening with all the new hiring the company is doing.

Flashpoint is a hint of the size of the content additions being done along with the free updates, any huge additions wont come till the sequel just like Shadowrun

 

[Dennis8K]

How challenging is the default (Normal) difficulty?

For my first playthrough I want a challenge but not to be needlessly frustrated. I loathe strategy games that are too easy.

 

[TC McQueen]

For my first playthrough I want a challenge but not to be needlessly frustrated. I loathe strategy games that are too easy.

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Honestly, the difficulty is alright, it's just that the game is a massive slog, especially when you're transitioning from one mech weight class to another.

 

[boybrushdRED]

How challenging is the default (Normal) difficulty?

For my first playthrough I want a challenge but not to be needlessly frustrated. I loathe strategy games that are too easy.

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Its similar to XCOM (Firaxis) wherein the difficulty is in reverse. Meaning the early game is hard (frustrating for me, and yeah I played Normal), with just the starting medium mechs, and then you will be pitted against heavies etc., and repairing a mech takes forever.

Then mid to late game becomes easy as you acquire heavy and assault mechs, and progress your research/base building.

 

[PanzerKraken]

I wouldn't mind being able to hire an aerofighter for a strafing run or 2...

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Yea I think more options besides just mech combat would add lot of options to the game. Let us have air support options, artillery support, etc.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

There was a dev diary about the Hatchetman development:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...diaries-6-the-making-of-a-hatchetman.1127078/

Think it turned out pretty good given that they must aim to match PGI's (awful) art. The shape of the head is very close to the original Hatchetman art, though they did end up interpreting that one sensor pod thing as the cannon rather than putting it in the chest. The retracting hatchet is an interesting detail, one that admittedly works well given that the game doesn't feature true melee weapons. Wonder if it will have weight assigned to it or if they'll grant the 'Mech extra armor or weapons and just have the chassis feature bonus melee damage?


I wonder if the future DLCs will feature further HBS-made 'Mechs? Despite the lawsuit being over, the classic Stinger and Wasp seem to be unlikely for MWO (on the account of their light weight and apparent overlap with the Locust and Flea though they do feature jump jets unlike those chicken-walker bugs) but i could see one of them being made by HBS for this game.
MWO does have quite a few era-appropriate 'Mechs that are missing from BattleTech though, perhaps those will be a priority, list below:

Flea
Javelin
Raven (given its ECM and Active Probe, would be excellent fit for Urban Warfare)
Wolfhound (strictly speaking 4th SW design debuting in 3028 but close enough IMO)

Assassin
Phoenix Hawk
Vulcan (designed for urban warfare, so good fit thematically for the next DLC)

Archer
Champion (downgraded variant exists during the Succession Wars)
Marauder
Warhammer
Rifleman

Annihilator (Wolf's Dragoon's 'Mech, so rare but whatever, era-appropriate)
Charger (upcoming for MWO, actually shit design but stupid enough it should be in the game all the same)

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[Vela]

Damn Woorloog that list of mechs made me all hot and bothered. If only... :'(

We'll see what the next two expansion packs bring, although that won't be until the end of 2019

 

[Deleted member 2507]

I hope we'll either get some 'Mechs in a patch for free, or that they'll make a 'Mech pack (i'd rather take official versions than mods, far easier and less glitches probably) that includes 'Mechs from that list. I don't mind if it is not part of the season pass, i ended up getting that so i might as well get other DLC too.

 

[Tamanon]

I would love a dang Wolfhound and Warhammer.

 

[Vela]

With all this news of Microsoft acquiring studios left and right, I'm super happy that HBS ended up with the much more comfortable Paradox (even though the Battletech digital license is still with Microsoft)

 

[Hella]

I was just thinking the exact same thing.

 

[boybrushdRED]

Nominated for Best strategy game on this year's Game Awards https://thegameawards.com/awards/#best-strategy-game

 

[Vela]

Nominated for Best strategy game on this year's Game Awards https://thegameawards.com/awards/#best-strategy-game

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Cool to see, but I think Into the Breach will take it. It's such a tightly designed experience

 

[Isee]

Bought the Season Pass when it became available and forgot that the first DLC is dropping soon.
Is there an ETA for when it becomes available on GOG.com?

 

[Hella]

Bought the Season Pass when it became available and forgot that the first DLC is dropping soon.
Is there an ETA for when it becomes available on GOG.com?

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It releases tomorrow, probably 28 to 30 hours from this post, I'd reckon. IIRC the release timers are similar to Steam's.

Be warned that patches on GOG can be a lot slower to appear, so if there's any hotfixes post-release you might be waiting an extra couple hours, or even a day or more.

 

[Vela]

Anyone wants to make a thread on this new expansion? Or maybe just a review thread or something and still use this as the main hub?

 

[Isee]

It releases tomorrow, probably 28 to 30 hours from this post, I'd reckon. IIRC the release timers are similar to Steam's.

Be warned that patches on GOG can be a lot slower to appear, so if there's any hotfixes post-release you might be waiting an extra couple hours, or even a day or more.

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True for NMS and a couple other releases, but battletech was on par with steam (so far).
It's not a GOG problem, but more of a "when do Devs decide to push the update to GOG problem".
Ah well, I was hoping there was a unlock table somewhere. But it's the good old, get back from work and hope it's there releases.

 

[Kaffeemann]

Anyone wants to make a thread on this new expansion? Or maybe just a review thread or something and still use this as the main hub?

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I don't think there will be enough interest in the DLC to warrant a new thread.

 

[Vela]

I don't think there will be enough interest in the DLC to warrant a new thread.

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Dam this forum and its disinterest in PC games.

Well, a review thread or impression thread might be warranted.

Is anyone making a MechCon Live Stream thread this coming weekend?

 

[Isee]

 

[Kaffeemann]

So I don't think that I'll be getting Flashpoint yet. It just doesn't add enough content to the game.
The flashpoints themselves seem interesting but most of the content used in them was already in the game.
Guess I'll wait for the next DLC or even unit all of the DLC is out before doing a new playthrough.

 

[Isee]

Guess I'll wait for the next DLC or even unit all of the DLC is out before doing a new playthrough.

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Sure, but Flashpoints are meant to be played after the campaign. That's at least what they said during one of the Q&As. They won't even appear till you finish the last mission.
Just replying because you mentioned doing a new play-through...

 

[Kaffeemann]

^By new playthrough I meant a new career mode run. There's no way I'll ever play the story campaign again ^^

Patch notes are live btw:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/foru...-and-localization-beta-release-notes.1131637/

 

[Deleted member 2317]

Dam this forum and its disinterest in PC games.

Well, a review thread or impression thread might be warranted.

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I love Battletech- personal GOTY, backed it on Kickstarter- and even I believe that the DLC might be worth two pages of discussion, maybe.

It's honestly too piecemeal at this point for me to care really. With how much of the fundamentals they're shaking up, I'm waiting again to see what mods I'll still need and what stays. Flashpoints feels like a very small addition after looking at stuff like Roguetech.

 

[Isee]

update on GOG.com is out

 

[Shake Appeal]

So excited for this. I already have 120 hours in the base game, and a freeform career mode with scoring is just perfect.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

How do i know if Flashpoint DLC is installed/active? Menu says "available now" but that doesn't mean anything really. I have the season pass.
Are the new 'Mechs supposed to be available in skirmish mode or not? They're not in the 'Mech Bay in main menu certainly.

 

[Hella]

Man I wish I could get Flashpoint, but between the Crusader Kings 2 expansion (Holy Fury) and Smash in a couple weeks, there's just no time or money for it.

Maybe for the holidays, or at worst when the next DLC comes out.

How do i know if Flashpoint DLC is installed/active? Menu says "available now" but that doesn't mean anything really. I have the season pass.
Are the new 'Mechs supposed to be available in skirmish mode or not? They're not in the 'Mech Bay in main menu certainly.

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On Steam, you can confirm it by restarting Steam, making sure the DLC box is checked, and verifying the game cache. If Steam is open when a DLC deploys, sometimes it doesn't detect them until restarting Steam, IIRC. (Plus very rarely, games patch weirdly and this procedure will fix them.)

Not sure if you're on GOG. There's a DLC tab on GOG Galaxy, I think, and maybe a verify feature, too? Don't recall how reliable they are though.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

GoG version for me. Apparently the new 'Mechs are supposed to be available in skirmish. Restarted GoG galaxy, let's see if it has effect.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

Nah, the fucking thing doesn't work for me.

EDIT For the record, i did verify files. No effect.

 

[Hella]

Nah, the fucking thing doesn't work for me.

EDIT For the record, i did verify files. No effect.

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Double check the version numbers, but you should be able to download and apply the expansion manually (GOG's DLCs are basically downloadable patches IIRC). So Battletech > More > Backups & Goodies, and it should be listed there.

Though make sure you have the new patch too. (I'm assuming that's a separate download. It would have to be applied before the DLC.)


And check the website too, if you don't see it. e.g. I had an issue with Expeditions: Viking's patch not showing up, and it turned out that it was fine on the website, but missing from GOG Galaxy. Though actually finding this out took a week-long back and forth with support...

 

[Deleted member 2507]

I have the patch and the season pass but Flashpoints doesn't show up for me anywhere. And i mean anywhere. And per Paradox forum, i'm not alone either.
Fucking pissed off.

 

[Hella]

I have the patch and the season pass but Flashpoints doesn't show up for me anywhere. And i mean anywhere. And per Paradox forum, i'm not alone either.
Fucking pissed off.

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Welp, that's a bummer. Sorry dude!

I think the only resort left is to contact GOG support and pray.

 

[Deleted member 2507]

So, if anyone else has the same issue, HBS is "aware of the problem and working to fix" but that's all they've said.

For fuck's sake.

EDIT Hmm, looks like the DLC installer has appeared on GoG's site for me but not in Galaxy (even after reboot). What the... EDIT And the installer gives 404.

EDIT Below: Always used Galaxy for launching the game but that didn't have any effect.

 

[BrokenFiction]

 

[Deleted member 2507]

Fucking finally.
The website "offline backup installer" works, though Galaxy still doesn't think the DLC exists.

EDIT Really? They fucking named the Crab CRB-27 even though it is the CRB-20 model? Why is it so hard for HBS to use the proper designations... the Black Knight is another one with this issue.


EDIT The hatchet on the Hatchetman is fixed equipment that adds 70 melee damage and takes up three slots and three tons, with unique description. Just thought this was interesting.

 

[Hella]

I'm curious... Does the Hatchetman have a unique slashing animation, since it's the only 'Mech (AFAIK) with a melee weapon?

 

[Isee]

I'm curious... Does the Hatchetman have a unique slashing animation, since it's the only 'Mech (AFAIK) with a melee weapon?

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He sometimes kicks and sometimes slashes with his axe. Damage is the same.

 

[QFNS]

Whelp. Guess I gotta reinstall this so I can play flashpoint. I should start a new Merc career this time I think. If I go in with my endgame crew it will probably be too easy? Excited to try the new stuff!