MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries

[Crono]

http://www.pcgamer.com/mechwarrior-5-mercenaries-hands-on-the-series-goes-back-to-its-roots/

I could wax eloquently about how much fun I had - still have, actually - playing MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries, and how much I want to see this game, especially with VR support, but instead I have just two words:

Yes, please

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Why should we believe they will handle this correctly when they f'd up MWO so badly.

 

[AdamK47]

I doubt it will be anything great. Piranha Games making it adds to the skepticism.

 

[shortylickens]

Why should we believe they will handle this correctly when they f'd up MWO so badly.

Because this isn't online?

 

[Chaotic42]

I actually liked MWO, though I didn't have any attachment to the MW universe, so I wasn't offended by any of their lore mangling. MWO definitely needs work and I've pretty much quit playing it, but I had fun. I wonder if they'd be more successful if they weren't based in one of the most expensive places in North America. Their salaries have to be outrageous (or the developer quality really low) and I can't imagine they make that much money.

MW5 could be good though. I'll definitely at least consider picking it up.

 

[Ancalagon44]

I finished Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries countless times. Loved that game!

There is this one battle that you fight that is you against a full lance. It is a great mission, just can't remember which planet it is on.

Actually the problem with the game is that it is too easy to outfit your entire squad with Assault mechs. It doesn't take long to have everyone in something like an Atlas or a Daishi, and then some of the game's charm is lost.

 

[JTsyo]

Awesome, hope they add co-op again. I had also put in for the Battletech kickstarter.

 

[EXCellR8]

I loved the MechAssault games on first gen Xbox but always had a hard time with PC versions

wth happened to the Smith & Tinker game?? I know Fasa is long defunct

 

[Rifter]

Piranha Games can blow me. They screwed up MWO so badly i have absolutely zero faith this is going to turn out well. If only this was being made by a real developer.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Because this isn't online?

I can actually excuse most of the negative aspects rooted in it being an online game. What I can't excuse is the way they repeatedly doubled down on poor balancing decisions that created a severe departure from how the game should actually play.

 

[Fallen Kell]

I can actually excuse most of the negative aspects rooted in it being an online game. What I can't excuse is the way they repeatedly doubled down on poor balancing decisions that created a severe departure from how the game should actually play.

Could not have said it better, because it wasn't like they did not have proper feedback (I think I had a thread on their forums where I specifically spelled out all the problems with the method they used to "balance" and showed how it all tied back to certain decisions, but not resolving the effects those decisions create through the rest of the game mechanics). The one thread must have had a few hundred comments on it all essentially agreeing with my analysis, and then it gets deleted as "bashing the game".

 

[Rifter]

Could not have said it better, because it wasn't like they did not have proper feedback (I think I had a thread on their forums where I specifically spelled out all the problems with the method they used to "balance" and showed how it all tied back to certain decisions, but not resolving the effects those decisions create through the rest of the game mechanics). The one thread must have had a few hundred comments on it all essentially agreeing with my analysis, and then it gets deleted as "bashing the game".

Yeah thats when i finally gave up for good on MWO was near the end of beta when they turned on anyone in the fourms who didnt just drink the kool aid and go along with it, and just deleted any posts they didnt like.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

That said, Mechwarrior is easily the best possible use of VR there is.

 

[moonbogg]

They have nostalgia value and that's it. I remember the first mech warrior game and it was the best thing ever. Loved it. After that, it died. Straight up.

 

[Fallen Kell]

That said, Mechwarrior is easily the best possible use of VR there is.

I can remember using VR "pods" (essentially a mech cockpit) and playing a Mechwarrior based game back in the 90's in various arcades.

 

[Schfifty Five]

I can remember using VR "pods" (essentially a mech cockpit) and playing a Mechwarrior based game back in the 90's in various arcades.

I remember there was a place called Virtual World where they had these pods set up and you would get like 10 min of play time. It was fun, but expensive when you realize you only get 10 (maybe 15) minutes to play.

 

[Elcs]

Yeah, I'm calling this Mechwarrior 6.

Mechwarrior 5 looked like an amazing game and this looks like MWO with story and AI. Given that MWO is no longer Battletech and is Generic Stompy Robot Combat Simulator I am not convinced that it'll be good.

Saying that, I'm probably still stupid enough to buy it at release.

 

[Rifter]

Yeah, I'm calling this Mechwarrior 6.

Mechwarrior 5 looked like an amazing game and this looks like MWO with story and AI. Given that MWO is no longer Battletech and is Generic Stompy Robot Combat Simulator I am not convinced that it'll be good.

Saying that, I'm probably still stupid enough to buy it at release.

Im actually worried about the AI. As it had been suggested that they use bots in MWO early in beta to play for disconnects or to fill in the last 1-2 spots that never got filled to even up the teams in games and the devs response was programming the AI was to difficult and would take up to many resources/time. So im concerned that the same devs that think programming AI is to hard are now developing a game whos main mechanic is going to be AI.

 

[Elcs]

Im actually worried about the AI. As it had been suggested that they use bots in MWO early in beta to play for disconnects or to fill in the last 1-2 spots that never got filled to even up the teams in games and the devs response was programming the AI was to difficult and would take up to many resources/time. So im concerned that the same devs that think programming AI is to hard are now developing a game whos main mechanic is going to be AI.

Probably an excuse so that they could focus on premium mechs, breaking Battletech lore or focusing on other developmental targets.

They may even contract out for the AI portion.

 

[Gunbuster]

Opening guess on how much is locked behind some super grind, pay wall, or DLC?

I'm going to say at minimum 40 of the 60 stated mechs. Probably $450 to have the game assets they drag and dropped from MWO.

 

[Ancalagon44]

From this interview:

MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries is completely standalone and won't have any microtransactions, Bullock tells me. Instead, the game will be a "you pay full price, you get the game, you're done" kind of deal.

Now that he has said it, it will be interesting to see if he has to eat those words.

However, the problem is, let's say it turns out to be a lie. IGN and all of the other games publications won't even care. They won't mention it because their corporate overlords will them not to. The active YouTubers however will. Not that it matters, but I suppose some YouTubers are now hugely popular, such as Jim Sterling.

With the story looking to conclude just as the clan invasion of 3049 is heating up, he suggests that players shouldn't expect to access the powerful OmniMechs used by the clans, which are more modular than their Inner Sphere counterparts.

So no Thor or Daishi for me? Ugh. This is actually very disappointing.

 

[Rifter]

From this interview:


Now that he has said it, it will be interesting to see if he has to eat those words.

However, the problem is, let's say it turns out to be a lie. IGN and all of the other games publications won't even care. They won't mention it because their corporate overlords will them not to. The active YouTubers however will. Not that it matters, but I suppose some YouTubers are now hugely popular, such as Jim Sterling.



So no Thor or Daishi for me? Ugh. This is actually very disappointing.

What these people say has been proven to be lies so i dont believe them for a second. I fully expect this to be a micro transaction fest as gunbuster mentioned.

During MWO they said on of the pillars of the game design was being in the cockpit as the pilot and making it a true mech simulator.

Then Paul Inouye said this when 3PV came up:

"MechWarrior Online is being designed to put you the player in the seat of the pilot. It is 100% first person view only. Being the pilot is one of our key design pillars and 3rd person breaks that pillar on multiple levels as seen in many of the other 3rd Person discussions.

We will investigate 3rd person in the far off distance for special game settings, but this is very far off in the distance.

While we appreciate those who enjoy 3rd person, MWO will be 1st person out of the gate and in the near future.

-Paul
Lead Designer"

Then before beta was even over we have 3PV in the game and people can essentially cheat and see over buildings and around corners with no way to hit them back. And no way to drop with only people playing FPV, everyone is forced to play vs people using 3PV. Essentially turning there mech simulator game into a arcade style combat game, but after selling it as a mech simulator and taking everyone's founders money. And dont even get me started on the CW lies/delays. Bottom line, nothing they say has any weight to it, they have proven untrustworthy and not follow through on what they say, and until it launches we wont know for sure. I can tell you one thing though im not even thinking about purchasing this before reading several in depth reviews.

Who knows maybe they can pull it off, but my faith that they will do that is maybe 2/10.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

MechWarrior 4 broke all the tabletop rules and was still fun as hell.

Give me modular/customizable stompy robots and a decent story/RPG, and I'll be happy.

 

[Rifter]

MechWarrior 4 broke all the tabletop rules and was still fun as hell.

Give me modular/customizable stompy robots and a decent story/RPG, and I'll be happy.

I agree you can play loose with the rules and still have a fun game. And with it being SP they wont have many balance issues so that shouldn't be an issue either. But it looks like there will be little to no customization in this, which IMO was about the only fun aspect of MWO.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

What? How can you not have customization in a mercenaries game? Shows just how clueless these guys are.