LTTP: Battletech + DLC is the best tactics game ever?

[Sulik2]

After kick-starting it and owning it for years I finally got around to playing Harebrained Studios masterpiece. I played through the campaign once, then added the DLC and I am just blown away by this game. The balance of damage/pilot health/finances and time just created an incredibly fulfilling strategy layer that the tactics game plays right into. It's the only tactics game I've ever played where the strategic consequences of toughing out a close tactical fight actually leads to withdrawing vs taking the win. It's just a sublime game that marries a fantastic tactical design, which keeps using lighter mechs useful even in the assault tonnage drops, with a masterful strategic layer. That's not even getting into what you have on hand, what you have salvaged and what chassis you have that makes designing your mechs incredibly fulfilling.

Heavy Metal is a great additional campaign with a really fun mech out of it and some great fights. The urban maps add a nice map variety to the game and the new mechs and weapons are exactly what the game needed. Flashpoints are the missing mission puzzle with tonnage requirements and consecutive deployments adding a layer of difficulty and complexity to missions the base contracts are missing. This is some of the best DLC ever made and you shouldn't play without it. It's that good.

After a 100+ hours in the last two weeks I might be ready to move XCOM2: War of the Chosen from it's throne and call this the best tactics game ever made. HBS just does not miss when they make a game.

 

[Genetrik]

Ohh game looka great but I presume PC only right, which eliminates this old console player here

 

[Karlinel]

For a second thought you were talking about mechwarrior 5 and got excited…

 

[MerluzaSamus]

It's good, but in a world where the XCOM games exist... I'm afraid it's not good enough.

 

[bushmonkey]

Steam keys are only a couple of pounds for this game. I'm gonna pick it up to play on the steam deck. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[5taquitos]

I love HBS and this has been languishing on my wishlist for years, I should probably just get it.

 

[Khezu]

I'm sure it's a fine game, but watching the trailer just made me really want another Front Mission.

 

[barjed]

Battletech is definitely great but in my opinion the strategic layer does not reach the peaks of WOTC or Phoenix Point. The layer is fun, it's certainly much better than Gears (which has nothing) but it's not as in-depth although of course the mech customization is very fun.

Battles are difficult to compare since BT is slow and methodical, more akin to a ship to ship combat game like Battlefleet Gothic than XCOM / Phoenix Point / Daemonhunters infantry skirmish.

I would rate it a strong 8. Shadowrun had worse gameplay but superior writing and storytelling (from DF onward). I am very excited for whatever HBS cooks up next.

 

[Katbobo]

I've always struggled to get into it. I love tactics games, enjoy mechs, it should be extremely for me -- but every time I try to dive into it I find myself bouncing off compared to other tactics games.

It's definitely a game I respect the hell out of though. Like the old Waypoint videos of them playing Battletech is a great time.

 

[Enduin]

I love it. The art and story direction are phenomenal. Wonderful characters and just really great to dive into and immerse yourself into the setting. Some outstanding mods and community content too. Sadly it has some major performance issues still and load times are very painful. Easily the worst of all the Unity kickstarter games when it comes to that. I like the core of the combat, but the TB nature makes it incredibly slow(made worse by some of the performance issues), encounters can take forever and it really doesn't pay to have anything but pretty heavy mechs that can really decimate enemies as a result. I think it would be fantastic as a RTwP game. Or if it did something more inventive like what Phantom Brigade is doing. I would kill for a sequel. They did such a great job, but could really make it shine with some changes and improvements here and there.

 

[gyrspike]

It's not as good as XCOM 2 WotC. It's up there though, better the Phoenix Point. On the same level as gears tactics or the recent 40k chaos gate: deamonhunters if we don't include mods. Once mods come in, I would put it just behind XCOM 2.

The intro though is an amazing piece of art. Perfectly captures of the essence of the history of Battletech universe.

It's slower combat and without mods the combat can feel a little dull after a while.

But after some modding it gets much better, the fun of customizing with the expanded mech and weapon options modding brings really helps.

The combat though will always be a slower burn though due to the tabletop design.

The fun of playing in the huge sandbox of hundreds of worlds really brings the classic tabletop experience to life.

 

[Decado]

It is a great game and has 3 huge overhaul mods that really elevate it to another level. Crazy mod scene.

The tactical layer in XCOM can get old because of the annoying pod system. That isn't an issue in Battletech.

 

[Anno]

I don't think it supplants XCOM 2, but yeah it's v. good. I really do wonder what HBS is doing now.

 

[Hella]

I'm still in awe with how much Harebrained Schemes knocked Battletech out of the park on their first try. Doing that with a tactics/strategy game is every kind of difficult; but they had the presentation, polish, and mechanics all on point to make for an instant classic. It's just awesome in the most genuine sense of the word.

Whatever they do next, it's gonna be worth the wait.

 

[War95]

It got old very quick, i dont think theres enough variety in Battletech. Worth it if you love giants robots tho

 

[Mesoian]

If it ran better, maybe.

But man that game runs poorly.

 

[ryushe]

Yes, I just wish it weren't so verbose.

 

[Mesoian]

Yes, I just wish it weren't so verbose.

Click to shrink...

That's just the mechwarrior series. They're all pretty chatty, even Mech Assault, which is as arcady as you can get, was pretty big on the exposition. It's part of why people like the series, a story of kingdoms and knighthoods where the armor and steeds are big fucking robots.

 

[gyrspike]

If it ran better, maybe.

But man that game runs poorly.

Click to shrink...

That's true. Even worse when you put some mods in, loading times can get real rough even on a SSD and frame rates can really tank in urban maps especially.

 

[Volimar]

Probably my favorite tactics game after XCOM 1 and 2. I hope they'll make another, maybe set in the Clan invasion like the cartoon.

 

[Phionoxx]

What are some of the mods people would recommend? I played vanilla through the campaign and messed around with some of the generic contracts after finishing the campaign. I have the DLC and haven't replayed though, which could be fun to do with some mods.

 

[Kyougar]

It got old very quick, i dont think theres enough variety in Battletech. Worth it if you love giants robots tho

Click to shrink...

Psst, kid, do you wanna try the mod Roguetech?

2600 mechs (with Protomechs and LAM (Land/Air Mechs)
1000 vehicles (with ground vehicles , air vehicles and VTOLS)
the whole inner sphere, outer rim and clan homeworlds
Multiplayer (if selected, other people will conquer worlds on the online map or you can conquer worlds and paint the map your factions color)
12 mechs/vehicles in the field instead of 4 (with loadouts locked to a specific type so you can't go full mech or vehicle)
1000 different types of equipment and more places /equipments to change on the mech.

Just look at the vanilla loadout

in comparison to roguetech

and much much more.

 

[War95]

Psst, kid, do you wanna try the mod Roguetech?

2600 mechs (with Protomechs and LAM (Land/Air Mechs)
1000 vehicles (with ground vehicles , air vehicles and VTOLS)
the whole inner sphere, outer rim and clan homeworlds
Multiplayer (if selected, other people will conquer worlds on the online map or you can conquer worlds and paint the map your factions color)
12 mechs/vehicles in the field instead of 4 (with loadouts locked to a specific type so you can't go full mech or vehicle)
1000 different types of equipment and more places /equipments to change on the mech.

Just look at the vanilla loadout

in comparison to roguetech

and much much more.

Click to shrink...

Okay this looks cool as fuck, i have to try it

 

[AuthenticM]

I bought the game and its expansions a while ago on sale. I should check it out at some point.

 

[Herman The Tosser]

Mods mods mods.

Roguetech is a mess, but try BEXCE or BTA3062, they make the game shine without bogging it down with so much superfluous bullshit.

 

[Mudcrab]

For a second thought you were talking about mechwarrior 5 and got excited…

Click to shrink...

Mechwarrior 5 with mods is incredible

A fact I recently discovered

 

[Drek]

I would consider it the only true competitor to XCOM 2 that I've played to date, yes.

 

[Remmy2112]

Roguetech is overwhelming to get into if you don't have a solid understanding of the Battletech systems and mechanics. The mods that Profanity recommended, like Battletech Advanced 3062 are much easier to get into for first timers. After you get some time with those then maybe Roguetech would be a good thing to look into.

 

[dreamstation]

Still waiting for a decent sale on the DLC. It sucks when you can get the complete version of a game cheaper than just the DLC. I backed the game on Kickstarter so you'd think that would count for something but nope.

 

[Sulik2]

Still waiting for a decent sale on the DLC. It sucks when you can get the complete version of a game cheaper than just the DLC. I backed the game on Kickstarter so you'd think that would count for something but nope.

Click to shrink...

GOG had the game plus DLC for $30 just a couple of weeks ago so I ended up buying the bundle there since the total was still cheaper then the DLC on steam. I cannot recommend the DLC enough. It's really good.

Mods mods mods.



Roguetech is a mess, but try BEXCE or BTA3062, they make the game shine without bogging it down with so much superfluous bullshit.

Click to shrink...

I'm gonna try Battletech extended when I finish my current career.

If it ran better, maybe.

But man that game runs poorly.

Click to shrink...

When I play tactics games I always turn off every possible fancy camera trick and animation mode. The speed up mode in battletech is excellent I bet would get rid of many of the issues you saw since it's turn off all the fancy close up stuff to speed up the game.

Mechwarrior 5 with mods is incredible

A fact I recently discovered

Click to shrink...

I could not get into how mech 5 controlled. It just felt off compared to what I remembered from MechWarrior 4 no matter what I did.

 

[Mesoian]

That's true. Even worse when you put some mods in, loading times can get real rough even on a SSD and frame rates can really tank in urban maps especially.

Click to shrink...

YURP. 3 minute loads on an SSD, lordy. So many instances of "wait...did it crash? N...y...no no, it's going"

 

[Kyougar]

Roguetech is overwhelming to get into if you don't have a solid understanding of the Battletech systems and mechanics. The mods that Profanity recommended, like Battletech Advanced 3062 are much easier to get into for first timers. After you get some time with those then maybe Roguetech would be a good thing to look into.

Click to shrink...

I don't think that the other two full conversions help that much in preparing for Roguetech.

YURP. 3 minute loads on an SSD, lordy. So many instances of "wait...did it crash? N...y...no no, it's going"

Click to shrink...

Roguetech did some magic in their latest release and seriously improved load times and graphic lag.

 

[Remmy2112]

I don't think that the other two full conversions help that much in preparing for Roguetech.



Roguetech did some magic in their latest release and seriously improved load times and graphic lag.

Click to shrink...

No, they do help. They help teach you about the more intricate mech modifications possible, like armor and structure variations and subsystems that the base Battletech didn't really allow you to tinker around with, as you either got a mech that had that stuff preinstalled or you didn't and you couldn't change it outside of certain things.

Roguetech takes all that and dials it up to eleven.

 

[Kyougar]

No, they do help. They help teach you about the more intricate mech modifications possible, like armor and structure variations and subsystems that the base Battletech didn't really allow you to tinker around with, as you either got a mech that had that stuff preinstalled or you didn't and you couldn't change it outside of certain things.

Roguetech takes all that and dials it up to eleven.

Click to shrink...

As I said it doesn't help that much.
Knowing how to stick together the edges of a puzzle doesn't help you with the rest of the puzzle. You just learned the most basic start that you also could learn in the full product.

Or going back to real examples. learning the expanded Mech loadouts doesn't really help knowing about ECM, ECCM, ASM, TSM, C3, the new sensor system, the fact that little mechs or vehicles can fuck your medium or heavy mech up, that the nice flying helicopter is a weapon of mass destruction, that the little Raven will paint targets on your mechs while it has too much evasion for you to kill it fast enough, etc.

If you like to play Battletech extended with the narrower scope but still deeper than Vanilla, great. But it is a waste in gaming hours if you just play it to "learn" enough to play Roguetech.

 

[rickyson33]

If it ran better, maybe.

But man that game runs poorly.

Click to shrink...

this is the main reason I didn't play it more than I did

I really wanted to like it and did still end up playing it 26 hours according to steam but the performance stuff really grated on me

 

[Unicorn]

Phantom Brigade (EGS for now) is also super amazing. Think armored core meets frozen synapse

 

[medyej]

I played the main game a bit on launch but found it so slooooow when in battles. Felt like everything took forever, so I gave it up. I did read that they sped things up at some point though. Looking at it now all the DLCs on Steam have mixed reviews, which is kind of concerning.

 

[AOL Power User]

I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH

 

[AOL Power User]

Mechwarrior 5 with mods is incredible

A fact I recently discovered

Click to shrink...

What mods would you recommend? Been wanting to try MW5 for ages

 

[Hella]

Mods mods mods.

Roguetech is a mess, but try BEXCE or BTA3062, they make the game shine without bogging it down with so much superfluous bullshit.

Click to shrink...

Looked these up and they sound rad. Is there one you'd recommend over the other? I'm leaning towards BEXCE because of some of the features listed on their site, but stuff like performance and AI improvements sound good in BTA3062.

In any case, glad to know about them both!

 

[Banderdash]

I loved this game.

One of the underrated things about it though... is how they, and mechwarrior, and battletech minis all consolidated their art so the mechs all look the same across all media.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

Great game. I went in for the awesome mechs, and found myself surprised how much I got pulled into the plot and characters. They weren't anything groundbreaking, but they were well executed. Game got hard as fuck by the end though. I am ashamed to say I had to turn on cheats for last two missions. I never touched DLC either. Need to dive into it sometime.

We ever getting a part 2?

 

[Hella]

Great game. I went in for the awesome mechs, and found myself surprised how much I got pulled into the plot and characters. They weren't anything groundbreaking, but they were well executed. Game got hard as fuck by the end though. I am ashamed to say I had to turn on cheats for last two missions. I never touched DLC either. Need to dive into it sometime.

We ever getting a part 2?

Click to shrink...

I don't think we know what Harebrained Schemes has been up to since they got bought by Paradox.

 

[Burt]

Battletech was excellent, but felt a little pared down in the end. The reward curve is satisfying, but it's basically just (weapon type) -> (weapon type)+ -> (weapon type)++ -> (weapon type)+++, and acquiring heavier and heavier mechs. I can't help but associate it in my head with like how something like Chrono Trigger sits in terms of JRPG complexity, where it's not the bare-bone beginner's set, but it doesn't really have a compelling amount of mechanical depth either either.

Roguetech is incredible and just goes insane with the depth in the best way possible, but I also can't get it to run like not-shit.

 

[gyrspike]

Looked these up and they sound rad. Is there one you'd recommend over the other? I'm leaning towards BEXCE because of some of the features listed on their site, but stuff like performance and AI improvements sound good in BTA3062.

In any case, glad to know about them both!

Click to shrink...

Depends on what you want. BEXCE is great if you want to play through different eras of the inner sphere and watch as new mechs and weapons slowly get added.

BTA3062 is better if you just wanna play with all the later gear and do some of the crazy stuff.

Both are great in their own way. Like as a fan of tabletop Battletech, getting a chance in BEXCE to build up my mercenaries for a couple years before the clans invade and then getting to play through the invasion as systems started falling was something special.

 

[Igniz12]

Battletech is definitely great but in my opinion the strategic layer does not reach the peaks of WOTC or Phoenix Point. The layer is fun, it's certainly much better than Gears (which has nothing) but it's not as in-depth although of course the mech customization is very fun.

Battles are difficult to compare since BT is slow and methodical, more akin to a ship to ship combat game like Battlefleet Gothic than XCOM / Phoenix Point / Daemonhunters infantry skirmish.

I would rate it a strong 8. Shadowrun had worse gameplay but superior writing and storytelling (from DF onward). I am very excited for whatever HBS cooks up next.

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This is what I heard a while back and it made me remove it off my wishlist. Slow combat especially seems like something that would grate on me over time and make me less likely to stick with it.

 

[Gloomz]

Not even fucking close.

I am glad that you dig it though. I've been patiently waiting to see what Harebrained Schemes do next.

 

[Mechaplum]

I liked it tons more than xcom but that's because mechs turn me on but aliens don't.

Seriously though it's a really competent romp in the universe and I can recall some of the close shaves even though I played it years ago.

 

[Kalamour]

It's a great game, and as also a fan of their Shadowrun games, I am eagerly awaiting to see what Harebrained Schemes is working on now. A new original IP from Weisman?

 

[barjed]

This is what I heard a while back and it made me remove it off my wishlist. Slow combat especially seems like something that would grate on me over time and make me less likely to stick with it.

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Yeah and the general feel of the combat is much different too. In something like XCOM or Phoenix Point you usually go for extreme alpha strikes (WOTC especially) because if your guys are getting shot it is usually is a very bad thing since they are so fragile. In BT your mechs can withstand huge amounts of punishment so you often spend turns exchanging salvos with the enemy forces.