Support NeoGAF

[Lime]

Since people are talking about Mechwarrior 2 on the previous pages, I thought I would link a 1997 interview with Jeehun Hwang. It's interesting to read about his story of getting on board on MW2.

Like all good job-seekers, Jeehun left a copy of his CV with his friend, in the hope that if something came up there he'd be the first to be considered. "The very next day I got a call from the producer of Mech Warrior 2, the game currently in development that was probably going to be make or break for Activision. They were looking for a production assistant, and when they found out I had a musical background they thought I'd be able to help them with finding a composer. I thought 'Why not? I can still do my music at nights.'"

"The producer had a very distinct idea of what he wanted. It was to be very classical, like an orchestral movie score. It wasn't what I thought the project needed, but that's what he wanted," Jeehun remembers. "We listened to all the tapes and there was only one composer who we thought did orchestral scores well enough, so we signed him on to the project. However, there were problems: the music didn't come over how Activision wanted it, but no-one could convey how they wanted it to change. So finally I said, 'Look, I'll put some songs together for you that I think might work and if you like them you can use them'."

"I was literally learning as they were paying me," he remembers. "It was the very first time I'd used a computer sequencer: prior to that, I didn't even know they existed! They also wanted me to score the movies -- the intro and outro -- so I got an old VCR with timecode and pretty much scored everything in real time and then went back over them. It wasn't really the conventional way of doing things and it took a long time, but I worked very hard on it."

His score was unconventional to say the least. Streets ahead of other video game music of the time, it seamlessly blended orchestral and contemporary sounds with elements of both classical music and hip hop.

"I was just trying to be experimental, and as I didn't have any experience writing for orchestra I just built the songs up with the sounds I liked, without adhering to one particular style," he says.

 

[Zaptruder]

Since people are talking about Mechwarrior 2 on the previous pages, I thought I would link a 1997 interview with Jeehun Hwang. It's interesting to read about his story of getting on board on MW2.

Probably the best game OST of all time and woefully underappreciated.

Still sounds amazing in this day and age.

 

[Lime]

Probably the best game OST of all time and woefully underappreciated.

Still sounds amazing in this day and age.

Yes, it really does. It's a shame no one has distributed it digitally.

Timothy Seals made a tribute/cover version of selected tracks of MW2 that actually sounds decent.

 

[epmode]

Probably the best game OST of all time and woefully underappreciated.

It's definitely one of my favorites. The music works so goddamned well with the mech startup sequence.

To my eternal shame, I never played Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. But since its soundtrack is by the same guy as MW2, I took a listen. ..I really don't like all of the guitar. Feels out of place.

 

[Lime]

It's definitely one of my favorites. The music works so goddamned well with the mech startup sequence.

To my eternal shame, I never played Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. But since its soundtrack is by the same guy as MW2, I took a listen. ..I really don't like all of the guitar. Feels out of place.

MW2: Mercenaries do have some tracks that are similar to the more ambient and orchestral stuff with its drums and percussion from MW2 and GBL. Stuff like:

Scalpel
Phoenix Dawn
Glittering Gold
Back Door
Tick Tock
Crystal Storm
Night Wolf
Leg Breaker
Beserker
Gotterdamerung
Starlight Hunt

I actually love all of those.

 

[AlStrong]

Starlight Hunt

That cut-scene is playing in my head right now. XD

Scalpel

<3

 

[FrontalMonk]

It's definitely one of my favorites. The music works so goddamned well with the mech startup sequence.

To my eternal shame, I never played Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. But since its soundtrack is by the same guy as MW2, I took a listen. ..I really don't like all of the guitar. Feels out of place.

I never played Mercs or GBL, only the original MW2. I would love for MW2 to get picked up on GOG some day, because holy CRAP did I have some solid memories of that game.

 

[Sinatar]

To my eternal shame, I never played Mechwarrior 2: Mercenaries. But since its soundtrack is by the same guy as MW2, I took a listen. ..I really don't like all of the guitar. Feels out of place.

I actually like the Mercenaries soundtrack more then vanilla 2. The guitars really fit the grittier low tech vibe that comes from playing an Inner Sphere mercenary.

 

[Woorloog]

It's too bad that they don't include the Unseen since those were supposed to be the absolutely most common 'Mechs from that era. At least we should be getting a number of them in this game.

TRO3039 has the fluff and stats for the Unseen.

The images are Project Phoenix silhouettes though, the justification is that the TRO is published after '67 in-universe, so the PP silhouette is far more common than the original looks.
Obviously the old Unseen images cannot be used.

With the Unseen getting new art, it is possible the TRO 3039 will get a reprint at some point but that is purely speculation.
The Marauder for an example: http://40.media.tumblr.com/76865e82c44c8ebe0bbd9d605258deb5/tumblr_inline_nusbxuDZI21s9c9hj_500.jpg
(The art proper will be showcased in the upcoming Combat Manual series, each will included a mini-TRO.)

 

[Lime]

Since we're talking about the soundtracks once again, I found it a tad disappointing that Jon Everist didn't mention the music of MW2 or Jeehun Hwang in the interview in this recent update. When you are being made part of a legacy or standing in the shadow of one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time, isn't it customary to address the legacy that one is contributing to? Comparisons to the old soundtracks will be made, I assume.

His work on Shadowrun was formidable though, so I hope he's up to the challenge this time around.

 

[Purkake4]

Throwing in the Sourcebook PDFs is a really good move. I'd have throws some extra cash towards Shadowrun for some legacy sourcebooks, there's some good stuff in there.

 

[afternoon delight]

What are peoples' impressions of the Handbooks and Field Manuals? I doubt I'd get in on the table top action but I fucking love tech specs, talk, lore, history, informationals, etc. For reference I bought the Homeworld art book just to see close ups of beautiful tech layouts.

 

[FrontalMonk]

I have a Tech Readout from ... 3050 or 3052, I think, and it was pretty awesome. I loved seeing the drawings of all the different mechs and the background on the design of them.

 

[Karak]

I have a Tech Readout from ... 3050 or 3052, I think, and it was pretty awesome. I loved seeing the drawings of all the different mechs and the background on the design of them.

Yep I have a ton of those old books as well. Loved their layout

 

[Woorloog]

What are peoples' impressions of the Handbooks and Field Manuals? I doubt I'd get in on the table top action but I fucking love tech specs, talk, lore, history, informationals, etc. For reference I bought the Homeworld art book just to see close ups of beautiful tech layouts.

As i said on the previous page, the Handbook series is wonderful stuff.
They have history and a lot of non-military details (like the government and overview of the state's culture) about the Successor States.
Very good stuff, very interesting. I had been dismissive of the Free Worlds League before i read Handbook: House Marik, and frankly, it made me a fan. (Unfortunately the FWL 'mechs tend to suck (or are ugly) and they play somewhat minor part in the affairs of the Inner Sphere, which keeps them from being my favorite.) And the CapCon book solidified my love for them.

Field Manuals tell more about the militaries, industrial capabilities, force locations, short overviews of units, uniforms, ranks, and some other details like the Capellan Confederation Augmented Lance system.
In some cases, they're among the only sources of information, so if you like the Rasalhague Republic, i recommend getting Field Manual ComStar (probably the biggest source for the RR).

I'd say the Field Manuals are good but they're something that interests me terribly.

And the Technical Readouts are fun and interesting, they have fluff ranging from unit capabilities and specs to notable pilots and events the units have been involved in, even if you don't play the board game.

 

[Lime]

If you are going to get the source books and field manuals, then I would say that you will get tons of text and lore, but that the art itself is sparse. I would recommend getting the Battletech: 25 Years of Art & Fiction if you want to get as much art as possible.

Otherwise, I highly recommend this "Art of Battletech" Tumblr that collects all the art from both the material released throughout the years in the Battletech books:

]

Spoiler

I may or may not have something to do with this thing

 

[Kaffeemann]

Looking at these pictures reminds me how nonsensical mechs are.
What can a mech do what 20 tanks can't?
Destroy one of his legs and he's useless. Most mechs would sink into the ground, they have unarmored weapon systems and so on.

Just wanted to get this of my chest

 

[Aselith]

Looking at these pictures reminds me how nonsensical mechs are.
What can a mech do what 20 tanks can't?
Destroy one of his legs and he's useless. Most mechs would sink into the ground, they have unarmored weapon systems and so on.

Just wanted to get this of my chest

I would think of mechs as an evolved form of power armor for humans rather than replacements for tanks. Tanks have a crew, a mech is a single operator machine. Tanks have heavier armor and mechs have more versatility for various support functions plus their typical combat functions etc. It's more of one more tool in a combined arms toolchest rather than replacing other types of units.

I mean if a human loses a leg they're pretty useless also. Should we replace those?

 

[4Tran]

Looking at these pictures reminds me how nonsensical mechs are.
What can a mech do what 20 tanks can't?
Destroy one of his legs and he's useless. Most mechs would sink into the ground, they have unarmored weapon systems and so on.

Just wanted to get this of my chest

Battletech features 'Mechs because they're fun, not because they'd be practical in real life. This is acknowledged in-game as well as vehicles have a number of rules to tone them down compared to 'Mechs. And even so, there are a bunch of tanks that would do serious damage to 'Mechs. There's also the legend of a Mars assault tank that took down a bazillion enemy 'Mechs at a convention.

 

[Steel]

Looking at these pictures reminds me how nonsensical mechs are.
What can a mech do what 20 tanks can't?
Destroy one of his legs and he's useless. Most mechs would sink into the ground, they have unarmored weapon systems and so on.

Just wanted to get this of my chest

Eh, they're unrealistic, but the fact of the matter is, in fiction/games, it's the only concept for a land vehicle that can be all-terran, amphibious, destroy buildings, and take on both ground and air forces in close to long range combat(and, depending on the series, mechs can outright fly). And that one-man army versatility what makes them awesome. They're basically a way for a player to experience all layers of combat in one package.

 

[mrpeabody]

What can a mech do what 20 tanks can't?

Shut up they look awesome ok.

 

[Robottiimu2000]

Looking at these pictures reminds me how nonsensical mechs are.
What can a mech do what 20 tanks can't?
Destroy one of his legs and he's useless. Most mechs would sink into the ground, they have unarmored weapon systems and so on.

Just wanted to get this of my chest

Yeah. Battletech has never been too much on the realism side of things, but you just have to close one eye and enjoy what is awesome about it

On the other hand if they were really light, fast and agile, then they would actually have a use...

 

[More_Badass]

Looking at these pictures reminds me how nonsensical mechs are.
What can a mech do what 20 tanks can't?
Destroy one of his legs and he's useless. Most mechs would sink into the ground, they have unarmored weapon systems and so on.

Just wanted to get this of my chest

Mainly maneuverability and versality. A tank can't clamber up inclines or wield melee weapons. A mech could dodge a tank shot then crush the tank underfoot or rip the turret right off if it's a mech with arms/hands

 

[Lime]

I trawled Jon Everist's twitter and found this tweet:

oh boy

 

[BrokenFiction]

I trawled Jon Everist's twitter and found this tweet:

oh boy

 

[Robottiimu2000]

Battletech nerds are the weirdest bunch <3

Edit: oh btw... Just remembered. Try reading the battletech novels like they are "erotic" novels.

"His particle cannon glowed hot, too hot, after shooting it's deadly load on the opposing mechs torso"

They will never be the same...

 

[BrokenFiction]

We're about $30K away from Stage 3. Definitely this weekend!

*itshappening.gif*

 

[Mudcrab]

I trawled Jon Everist's twitter and found this tweet:

oh boy

 

[Nete]

There's an AMA with Mike McCain happening right now.

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3p0i7m/hi_im_mike_mccain_a_creative_director_at/

 

[Steel]

Interesting. Here's from the AMA:

[&#8211;]mmccain_hbs 9 points 55 minutes ago
You're welcome!
We would love implement co-op play in the future, post-launch. If we fund past the $2.5m mark on KS, we're looking at being able to get a live team working right away on new continuing SP and MP content for the game - including co-op MP scenarios against AI.

So co-op post release is in the cards, and is more likely if we get past 2.5 mill.

 

[AlStrong]

Battletech nerds are the weirdest bunch <3

Edit: oh btw... Just remembered. Try reading the battletech novels like they are "erotic" novels.

"His particle cannon glowed hot, too hot, after shooting it's deadly load on the opposing mechs torso"

They will never be the same...

 

[afternoon delight]

So co-op post release is in the cards, and is more likely if we get past 2.5 mill.

 

[yamo]

We're about $30K away from Stage 3. Definitely this weekend!

*itshappening.gif*

Seeing as we are only at 1.78 million it's more like $70k

 

[Steel]

Seeing as we are only at 1.78 million it's more like $70k

Paypal.

 

[HK-47]

So Ghost Bear's Legacy is one of the best OSTs of all time. Just listened to it. I never played MechWarrior so I dont even have game attachment and context for it.

 

[Sinatar]

So Ghost Bear's Legacy is one of the best OSTs of all time. Just listened to it. I never played MechWarrior so I dont even have game attachment and context for it.

All of Jeehun Hwang's stuff is amazing.

Mechwarrior 2
Ghost Bear's Legacy
Mercenaries
Battlezone
Heavy Gear
Dark Reign
Interstate '76

It's a shame he stopped doing games, he was a real genuine talent.

 

[Bedlam]

Chipped in as well.

Mech Commander is about the only Mechwarrior game I really played back then and I love me some more TB strategy games.

Spoiler

I know MC was real-time, but I love both.

 

[FoxSpirit]

Battletech nerds are the weirdest bunch <3

Edit: oh btw... Just remembered. Try reading the battletech novels like they are "erotic" novels.

"His particle cannon glowed hot, too hot, after shooting it's deadly load on the opposing mechs torso"

They will never be the same...

Ahahaha. Okay, excellent.

 

[Futurematic]

I'd pay anything for the GoG treatment of the Mechwarrior 2 trilogy. Stretch goal? Heh

This looks fun, I can reenact the early BattleTech novels (now that's a 20 year flashback, yikes) and hopefully the next version if this kickstarter works will add the game breaking Clan mechs.

 

[Lime]

Mike McCain is unfortunately not the guy who can get the old Mechwarrior or Mechcommander games back on GOG/Steam apparently. Jordan and Mitch need to be asked about this question.

Hi Mike,

With the huge interest in the old Mechcommander and Mechwarrior games, have you guys at HBS considered doing a stretch goal to hire an employee to get the old games on GOG/Steam? Mechcommander is already free to download from Microsoft and the publicity and mindshare by getting it on popular storefronts like GOG and Steam would be incredible for both fans, new fans, and HBS. So with Jordan's contact to Microsoft in regards to licensing, Mitch's past with Mechcommander, and the fans' support through this Kickstarter, why not make an effort to get the old games available for digital distribution?

It's a crime that these classics still aren't being properly commemorated through digital distribution, whereas stuff like Grim Fandango, Homeworld, Dark Reign, and tons of other old games are getting their due recognition. It would be great to see HBS doing an effort with this.

Thanks in advance,

I would love to see those old games revived as well, that kind of stuff's way out of my area though! : )

Man, Dark Reign, I'd forgotten about that one...

 

[Lime]

Other interesting tidbits from Mike:

Clan fans will be happy about this one:

In success, we'd love to reach 3050 at some point. As far as the reseen - it's possible and I think it would be pretty cool but we're not committing to it just yet.

We've definitely heard from a lot of both IS and Clan fans! In success, we would love to move forward in the BattleTech timeline after this first game. : )

On visual representation of PPCs (I agree)

The lightning stream/beam approach just feels more plausible to me visually, my nostalgia for MW2 notwithstanding.

On the campaign

Right now we're iterating on a high-level story outline for the campaign. The main campaign is set in the Periphery, but we want interactions with the Great Houses to be an important part of the Mercenary experience. Expect to be able to build reputation with any of the Houses based on the contracts you take and how you complete them, and to have that reputation impact subsequent relationships with the Houses and other factions too.

Good questions! I don't think we'll have decisions for the player that would significantly alter the course of events for the Houses in their game - after all, you're just one Merc - but we'll see.

We intend to measure time in terms of the length of your career rather than calendar years. So time will definitely be a gameplay factor in the campaign - for example waiting for a MechWarrior's injuries to heal, or taking a contract before it expires - and our story will also advance over time - but the BattleTech world at-large will not evolve past the 3025-era during this game.

More Kickstarter stuff coming during the campaign:

I think we've got a good shot at it still! We've got a few more things coming to the Kickstarter too which might help. : )

Good news:

We'll have location-based damage!

Regarding UI (I thought the now 3 Shadowrun didn't do a very good job at their UI design):

As somebody with an art and design background, can you elaborate about yours and HBS's design philosophy with regards to user interface? Previous entries in the computer gaming space for this license and setting have leveraged diagetic interface elements hard to great immersive effect; is that something you're keen to carry forward, and if so, how are you looking at achieving it?

The biggest thing I can say about our UI/UX approach is that we're always trying to improve it. Diagetic can be a more challenging mark for a turn-based command game like this, since you don't have the cockpit itself to use as an in-world UI canvas. But it's not out of the question. Satellite Reign did a cool thing where ostensibly your elevated camera view was a camera drone of some sort, it had some occasional interference and a bit of drift wobble and everything. Anyway, I'd love to explore it but we'll see what works best in development!

On relying on MWO assets:

There are a few 'Mechs that we're hoping to include that aren't part of PGI's roster - we're still looking into the possibility of doing that though!

Regarding story complexities:

Hopefully some of the illustrations in the Kickstarter page are a good example of how we intend to refresh without rebooting. There's an extra layer of general "groundedness" we've been really trying to achieve in the art, and narratively it's really important to me that we develop a very human complexity to our characters and story events - this is not a simple world of right and wrong or good guys and bad guys.

On character writing

We're still fleshing out our story plans for the Extended Merc Campaign but yes, it is absolutely always a challenge to create REAL empathy and investment in the stories we tell. And it's one of the challenges I'm most passionate about here. It took a lot of iteration to really start to hit that mark in Dragonfall and Hong Kong. Even though BATTLETECH will be a very different form of storytelling (it's not an RPG) I'm sure the iteration required to resonate will be the same here. Everyone on our writing team is really, deeply committed to getting it right and connecting with the player.

I think one thing we've been really consistent about internally is that this is a story about flawed human characters doing flawed human things - it's not a story about robots at all, though they are very important tools.

I think a lot of times, secondary characters give us great opportunities to either tell more self-contained stories, or to explore other aspects of the world that our main story doesn't necessarily touch on. A lot of times, the big narrative beats and characters come with a lot of pressure and iteration, so it's nice to be able to tackle something a little less critical-path sometimes as a change of pace, plus it makes the game world feel a lot broader!

On the difference between Shadowrun and Battletech

So the BATTLETECH campaign will be a very different beast than Shadowrun. I've brought up XCOM:EU a few times now, but it's not a bad comparison point to how the overall campaign might feel. With some more personal focus on story and character interactions.

I think overall in BATTLETECH the emphasis will be much less on branching, scripted story in the RPG sense, instead on letting you run a Mercenary company and manage your Mercenary career. It's not a sim, but it's more sim-like in that regard. So don't think in terms of dialogue choices affecting outcomes, rather your game-level actions. Which factions do you take contracts from and did you complete your House Liason's secret side-objective while on mission, or stick to the contract? Am I egalitarian in the missions I take, or am I choosing to focus on one area of space or to try to take missions that seem more "altruistic"? The emphasis here is on creating a much broader experience. It won't be a cRPG like Shadowrunm so instead of deep-diving on a lot of very intricate conversational content and choices, we'll be focusing more on game systems and lots of cool options for you to pursue as a Mercenary commander.

 

[AlStrong]

On visual representation of PPCs (I agree)

Yeah, I quite liked the lightning version in EA's aborted BT3025 MMO.

 

[QFNS]

I think the look of PPCs don't matter so much as long as it is visually distinct from the lasers and such. When you are piloting the mech (a la MW2), seeing just another colored line streaking out is maybe ok when you are dealing with S,M and L Lasers. But from the overhead perspective, I would hope all of them have some visual distinction. Making a lightning arc or similar cool effect would be fine with me, as long as I can tell it isn't a laser. The "ball" of MW2 did that at a glance, and that's all I really need.

 

[AlStrong]

Problem with the balls in MW2 trilogy were the time-to-hit though. Particles should be light-speed (if not ludicrous speed).

 

[BBboy20]

To pilot a Mad Cat as a Wolf again...

 

[Parakeetman]

Update #8: New Digital Add-Ons, Jordan&#8217;s Next Bonus Backer Mission, and Another Peek Behind the Curtain

Also, the next Weekly Backer Mission-- #myBTart

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/1382653

 

[Memory]

We are pretty close to stage 3 now, I wonder if they will update the page over the weekend with the extended goals.

 

[Lime]

So we're up to $1,794,413 + $42,650 (Paypal) = $1.837.063. Only 12k to go! I'm super excited about the revealed stretch goals.

 

[Jon of the Wired]

Yeah. Battletech has never been too much on the realism side of things, but you just have to close one eye and enjoy what is awesome about it

On the other hand if they were really light, fast and agile, then they would actually have a use...

The Heavy Gear take on this was interesting. The premise was that laser AA weapons made close air support impossible, and so Gears take on the infantry support role (and then become the dominant vehicle on the battlefield for reasons). So, Gears are basically attack helicopters on legs, and have about the same maneuverability, armor, and weapon loadout that would imply.

 

[Lime]

Reading the KS interview with Mike McCain from the recent update makes me so incredibly happy.

As you probably saw in our Kickstarter video, MechWarrior 2 and Ghost Bear&#8217;s Legacy were among the first PC games I played as a kid. The thing I remember most about those games isn&#8217;t the &#8216;Mechs themselves, or even the gameplay (though I&#8217;ll always have a soft spot for the Joystick-era of gaming.) It&#8217;s how real and layered and complex the *setting* felt at the time. The comm chatter during missions. The bits of lore and glimpses of the larger happenings of the universe I&#8217;d glean from mission briefings. And, of course, the cutscenes with all the detailed information about &#8216;Mechs and &#8216;Mech components exposed in the &#8216;Mech lab.

Unlike the other games I&#8217;d played at the time, MechWarrior 2 made me feel like I was participating in a far broader world. It wasn&#8217;t a setting that had been built around ME for the purposes of a game - it felt like a setting that would exist long before and long after, and I was just playing a part in it for a time. So that&#8217;s one of the things I&#8217;m most excited about bringing to BATTLETECH - that sense of setting and that breadth of worldbuilding. Doing everything we can across our art, design, and storytelling in the game to make this feel like a grounded, living, breathing, grimey, fallen, human world that you&#8217;re experiencing.