MechWarrior Online

MechWarrior Online

I think a lot of us have heard about the MechWarrior reboot project.

More details have recently been released. It's going to be a free to play MMO built on CryEngine 3.

I'm not super excited about the possibility of a pay to win type of thing, but I'm all about seeing how they can make this work.

 

Oh hell yes, been waiting for something like this for a long time! Plus I have always liked the Cryengine. Looking forward to this, thanks for the heads up.

 

Been a mechwarrior fan for a long time, and have wanted a good Mech MMO for a long time.

I don't like the pay to win option though...So I'll likely play it, but not hardcore.

 

Wow, i am glad we have some more battletrch fans here. Actually they already have a Cryengine MW setup called Living Legends. It is a mod for Crysis Wars (which comes with Crysis Warhead).

Ironically my whole reason for buying a laptop was to play that mod. But I only played it once and then EA killed my Crysis key and is still trying to fix it (got a free copy of Crysis 2 out of it).

Has anyone here payed Living Legends?

 

I have it on my PC. I haven't been able to find any populated servers, so I'm not sure if I have an old version or what. I hope that this MMO is more polished than LL. LL is good, but the sound and animations aren't so hot. It doesn't really feel like you're driving a Mech.

Also, one of the core parts of the Mechwarrior series is customizing your own Mech. I want to be able to fit out my Mech the way I like it and slap a sweet logo on the side. LL gives you variants to choose from, but you can't really change anything.

 

I'm looking forward to this. I remember playing the arcade game, MechWarrior Vengence, in my Chuck E. Cheese when I was little and had a blast playing it. It would be awesome if I could control my mech with a full cockpit like the arcade games. lol.

 

Lots of time spent playing Mechwarrior 2 and Mechwarrior 4 (including the Mercenaries version of each). After an initial moment of shock, a Mechwarrior MMO makes perfect sense. You go to commanding officers or mercenary contacts for fetch quests or kill quests that will take you and your guild (I mean "lance" or "star") through a field of battle. The battles will be more exciting than the WoW "wait for my guy to attack while occasionally using special abilities," but it'll basically be a series of fetch quests or kill quests with real people running all over the battlefield. Could be really, really fun.

 

I don't think it's going to be an MMO RPG, Mitlov. I think when they say MMO it'll be like COD, but in mechs.

"Each game spawns its own dedicated server, these are not persistent like WoW, as mentioned that would take us into MMO territory. There is persistent game world information, i.e. match results are communicated to affect the balance of power in the Inner Sphere, who owns what planet etc. but there is no true persistent world, more of a persistent -game."

Now I really wish there was going to be a persistent world, but not this time I guess...

 

They've been in court for a while since Mechwarrior designs weren't theirs to use.

So I take it Pirahna Games has resolved their court issues?

 

I'll just leave this here.

Hawken - First Gameplay Debut Trailer (2011) | HD

 

Yes...yes, Hawken looks nice, but the gameplay seems to be very 1 Dimensional. Once they release something more than just a DeathMatch video I might be more interested.

 

Maybe I'm using terminology wrong, because I thought the "massively" in "massively multiplayer online" referred to a persistent universe where everyone is located, just like in WoW. I always just thought of COD-style games as "multiplayer," not "MMO." Even Mechwarrior 4 had online deathmatches (I remember being in a free-for-all deathmatch with a bunch of assault mechs...it was ridiculous, and not in a good way), but I never would have called it a MMO.

Am I using terms wrong? If a persistent world isn't the distinguishing characteristic between MMOs and other multiplayer games, what is?

 

I play/played living legend a fair amount, but sadly it doesn't play well at all on my laptop. My desktop can handle it fine though.
There is usually at least one server with 24+ people on it at any given time.


Where can I find info about the actual gameplay and what you have to pay for? Is it a one time purchase of the game or a stupid monthly or yearly fee?

 

Yeah, I think the only RPG part in this will be the pilot skills, which doesn't sound too good to me right now, but we'll see. I just don't want skills that include better accuracy, damage, reload, blah. That should be enhanced via Mech upgrades. Also depending how far the game's storyline progresses after the clan invasion they could add implants. The rest of the gameplay seems like it'll be similar to MPBT 3025 as explained in that quote except battles will be larger than Lance on Lance.

 

What if you unlock those mech upgrades with pilot rank (aka level)?

 

That would be fine. A little complexity to it would be interesting like limited upgrade slots, or restrictions such as two upgrades being incompatible or an upgrade affecting performance of another piece of equipment.

 

I think having classes of upgrades, and upgrade trees within those classes, is a nice way of fitting MMORPG style classes and prestige classes into a sci-fi vehicular combat environment.

On a simple level, you could have a DPS-oriented class, a tank-oriented class, and a caster class (electronic warfare). The DPS-oriented class could have upgrade trees that included faster reloading, better accuracy (arm-mounted stabilization gyros, etc), faster movement (advanced powerplants and leg servos), etc. The tank-oriented class could have unique access to advanced armor technologies, anti-missile systems, etc. The electronic warfare class could include upgrades that would jam opposing mech's subsystems (decreasing accuracy and reload times) and interfere with friendly fire designators, launch Beagle Active Probes, etc. These wouldn't be laid out in a marketplace where you could buy them all, but instead in an upgrade tree where you'd have to choose a branch of the tree to follow and upgrade them as you progress into a particular prestige class.

Obviously it'd be more complicated than that, but that's how I visualize combining the best of a mech simulator and an MMORPG. EDIT: The Borderlands tech tree. That's what I was thinking of. Something like that.

Before anyone calls me crazy for suggesting RPG elements in a Mechwarrior reboot, I'd like to point out that on the tabletop games, Mechwarrior WAS the role-playing game. Battletech was the pure combat game, and Mechwarrior was an RPG that interfaced with that combat game. I think it'd be interesting if they re-introduced RPG elements, since that's what the name "Mechwarrior" once stood for.

 

Hawken looks good, but I prefer the big hulking mechs that don't zip around on rocket shoes. More like a mega walking tank.

 

That would be fine for an MMORPG, but I'm still not sure far they're going to take it. I don't particularly like it. If I want to play assault one moment then electronic warfare the next, I don't want to be switching pilots just because they're optimized for a specific role. That would be the route you'd take though to help monetize the game. It should just be you and what skills you as a player can bring to the table when it comes to simulators. The Mechs themselves should be optimized for that already. For EW - the Raven, assault - the Atlas, Long range artillery - Catapult. As far as unlocking advanced tech, that could be tied into ranking up, faction (House, Merc, ComStar?), and salvage.

 

Here's what they say on the Mechwarrior Online site:

Edit: interesting tidbit:

For those who don't remember, the Clan invasion started in August 3049 and progressed until 3052. So either (1) the game will drop Q4 of 2012, or (2) it'll start as Inner Sphere only, and the Clan stuff will be an expansion pack and/or "pay to win" packages.

Edit 2: At least at the time the game is launched, players can only be Inner Sphere:

And this does involve a persistent world, at least to some degree:

 

I can't figure out how to group my weapons...anyone got any advice? I built myself a custom Centurion but all the weapons are set to group 1 for some reason.

The game is entertaining but the interface for customizing your mech is ridiculous...and not in a good way.

 

I haven't played since beta, but if it's still the same you use the direction arrows to go between weapons/groups and use r-ctrl to set them.

 

Hello Everyone,

I really enjoy playing http://Mech Warrior Online. Has a few rough edges but it is still open beta. The Developers are working on things with monthly patches. Runs flawlessly on my rig and have a good time with friends on Teamspeak while playing.

If you were a fan of the prior Battletech/Mech Warrior games I suggest checking it out.

Thank you,
Monnie

 

I was finally able to download it, install it and patch it while I was home on leave. It's a GREAT game that is only going to get better when it goes live with Community Warfare. I'm on it and Teamspeak as well, same name for both. R Razor............look for an Assault Mech flying a Steiner flag!!

 

great game! thanks for the heads up.

 

anyone else here still actively playing this game?

 

I just got on and tried. This isn't MechWarrior. It's generic shooter in Mech models.

 

If you are comparing it to mech warrior the rpg then yes it is indeed different. But it similar to the previous mech warrior vide games.
Granted there are only two game modes atm, I wouldn't even touch this if it were a generic fps. For one, the walkin/running pace is much slower so you aren't moving around the map like a mad man. And because you just can't extricate yourself from a bad situation, actions have to be more thought out and deliberate. Also when you die you don't respawn.
Second, although your mech comes with devastating firepower, you cannot one shot even the light mechs. It will take a couple of well placed shots to bring down even a medium.
Customizing is a big part of the game, so you can make your mech a specialized brawler /sniper or you can have loadouts effective in all situations. From what I've seen so far, the best players are those that have less specialized load outs.
And lastly the community is mainly composed of people in their thirties and forties who grew up in mech warrior. You will find less of the normal online bs in chat and teamspeak. Also many are helpful. Each session also lasts less than ten minutes of intense action, partly due to the right size maps.
The devs plan to add additional modes and a campaign once it officially launches. But for me it's a good game as it is. Maybe try to give it another shot

Sent from a Galaxy far, far away

 

Maybe I need to get hook up my HOTAS like the good ol' days of MechWarrior 2. That was the best Mech game ever.

 

maybe, mwo is no mech sim, but that may indeed get you in the right frame of mind. for me kb/m works good but not perfectly. they actually suggest using the joystick on the left hand and retaining the mouse on the right for the fastest responses.

even if it aint no sim, piloting the different mechs feels soooo different. each mech has a variant and even piloting those feels different from one another. swapping out the engine and getting some pilot skill tree perks changes everything again (but the perks arent op).

but as a strategy gamer at heart, it is the mechlab i love the most. loading out your mech is the heart of this game and makes a game with only 2 modes and 10 maps, exceptionally deep. granted the client ui isnt the best and you need to play (or buy credits) to purchase most better performing equipment; one you get over these, the game starts to shine. in fact the action part is like my laboratory where i test my frankenstein loadouts.

give it some time, i really feel this game is up your alley, htwn.

 

Thanks for the input. I really want to get back into simming. I miss the days of yore with MechWarrior, Falcon 4, Lo-Mac, Apache-Havoc/Comanche-Hokum, etc.

 

It displeases me that there is no Mad Cat/Timberwolf or Thor/Summoner. My two favorite mechs ever.

I do feel like the game play here is similar to MW4.

 

Which unfortunately was my least favorite MW game.

Sent from my YP-G70 using Tapatalk 2

 

There were things I liked and things I didn't like from MW4. I liked that you could submerge your mech in water to improve cooling (I think this was actually introduced in MW3). I thought the coolant flush mechanic was a little weird.

I guess I could see this feeling like a generic shooter if you play with a KB and mouse. MW2 was terrible to play with a KB. If you play with a joystick and throttle then this and MW4 feel more like classic MW.

 

they are following the mechwarrior timeline. im no expert but iirc, the ingame year is july 3050 and there has been no contact with the clans yet. come sept when the game launches, the first clan invasion begins and thats when you will see those mechs.
right now the choices are only inner sphere mechs.

 

Oh I know, I just wanna play with Clan mechs. I know the reasoning behind it, I just love the Clan mechs and I can't wait to use them.