By Jim Rossignol on July 9th, 2009 at 10:54 am.
It’s back after a seven year hiatus. IGN has the full scoop, and they report that developers Piranha Games have some ambitious plans, including 4-player co-op. They’re also going to try and make the full range of mechs significant within the game via recon and intelligence missions: “it’s not just a race to the heaviest, most powerful mechs. The designers want to reward you for picking a mech and sticking with it — you will gain experience and become better at piloting your chosen mech, and that will translate into better accuracy and damage with weapon systems. This way, a player could specialize in a light mech throughout the entire game if they choose. It also means there are multiple playthroughs with different mechs.” No release date as yet.
Lengthy CG -but-clearly-target trailer below.
09/07/2009 at 10:56 Azhrarn says:
*prays it won’t be simplified for console use, and it remains a PC exclusive*
24/04/2010 at 21:46 The thing living in your eye. says:
*prays Azhram won’t always be a miserable shit waste*
09/07/2009 at 11:00 Dominic White says:
I’m fairly sure it’s confirmed as multiplatform already, but anyone who has played the Armored Core games, Chrome Hounds or Steel Battallion can tell you that console games can do mech sims as complex as (or much moreso in the case of CH or SB) anything on the PC.
Judging console giant robot games on Mechassault alone is like judging all films on Meet The Spartans.
09/07/2009 at 11:01 MacBeth says:
Bet he wishes he had a more modern steerable parachute now… and seriously, standing toe to toe just unloading on each other? Have tactics regressed to that?
Having said that, big stompy robots! With guns! I suspect TrackIR or something similar that lets you intuitively look independently from your movement would be a blessing with games like these…
09/07/2009 at 11:02 subversus says:
2Azharn:
it’s multiplat – 360, PC
09/07/2009 at 11:04 Monchberter says:
It’s not RPS without when a week goes by and the word ‘Stompy’ or its derivatives is not used.
Mechwarrior is by definition the king of stompiness.
09/07/2009 at 11:04 pkt-zer0 says:
MechWarrior 2 is responsible for my love of all huge metal things that go whirr-stomp, so this better be good.
09/07/2009 at 11:04 Stromko says:
I wonder if ‘lengthy’ trailer was sarcasm or if they linked the wrong video. Nine seconds isn’t very long, despite my short attention sp
09/07/2009 at 11:04 Paxeh says:
I never liked the Atlas. It should have blown up.
09/07/2009 at 11:05 Dominic White says:
@Stromko – I think your interenets may be broken. It’s three minutes long.
09/07/2009 at 11:08 CMaster says:
Ahh, I remember when “big stompy robots” was one of the PC’s major genres.
As for consoles – I’d have thought the dual-control sticks makes for excellent seperate control between legs and torso.
09/07/2009 at 11:15 Dave says:
I made a sex wee
09/07/2009 at 11:22 Heliocentric says:
Wait, did they just say experience, as in xp, as in leveling up? They just cod4′d mechwarrior? I can’t wait to unlock erppc’s, suffering under their fire til i get them /sarcasm
09/07/2009 at 11:25 Cedge says:
Basically, one of my dreams came true to night. Hallelujah.
I was so glad to hear the news back when Smith & Tinker nabbed the MechWarrior game rights (what a comfort to have them back in the hands of the franchise’s creator), but the past 2 years or so of silence had me worried. Such very welcome news.
And the teaser, scripted though it may be, kicked ass.
One of the first thoughts that came to mind after watching the teaser, aside from sheer joy, was wondering if I’ll be able to configure the game to be controlled with one of these little numbers:
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9994/steelbattalioncontrolle.jpg
Ah…man. Wonderful, and very welcome news.
09/07/2009 at 11:26 phil says:
I wouldn’t worry about console versions dumbing things down – Mechwarrior 2 on Playstation was actually quite respectable, you could still tune your Mec so that it fired everything a once, one shotting anything up to a Timber Wolf, before shutting down for fifteen seconds to cool. Made for an interesting play experience.
09/07/2009 at 11:26 sebmojo says:
I thought that looked amazing. We finally have the Mechwarrior 2 opening cutscene to play in.
09/07/2009 at 11:28 Dominic White says:
@Cedge – so long as the PC version has customizable controls, there are USB drivers for the Steel Battallion conroller.
09/07/2009 at 11:31 mpk says:
Mechwarrior 3 was my first experience of team multiplayer and it’s a game that I still cherish. Mechwarrior 4 was a pile o’pish mind – it all came down to circlestrafing.
09/07/2009 at 11:40 Jerricho says:
I was an Earthsiege fan before I got into Mechwarrior2: Mercenaries which was an absolute joy and wonder. Mechwarrior3 was disappointingly short but still fun. Heavy Gear 2 had stolen my heart. Mechwarrior4:Mercenaries made me very very sad. It was like MechCommander but scaled up (but without higher resolution textures.. and SPRITES for humans.. and monkeys, SPRITES for goodness sake!).
I can but hope that this might restore my faith in the franchise. Big stompy robot trucks stomping on stompable things. GLEEEE
09/07/2009 at 11:43 Azhrarn says:
I hope they do this right, I loved stalking and taking down mechs in a Shadowcat with a Gauss cannon, so a system that rewards you for sticking to a size-class would be quite welcome.
Or taking out mechs easily twice your weight in a PPC loaded Puma. =) Good times.
09/07/2009 at 11:44 Tellurian says:
Hm, if your Mech is your XP system, then it should be possible to “loose” XP if your ‘Mech is damaged.
Unless that proves to be “realistic” but no fun at all that is…
Still, that’d make playing it careful rather than just running around H-Lasers blazing a LOT more meaningful.
Also good to see it being set during the / even a bit before the “golden age”, and including “unseens” (Battletech vets will know and agree).
09/07/2009 at 11:52 derFeef says:
Folks, thats gameplay, like mentioned in the lenghty interview at IGN. And it stays to its roots, they promise.
09/07/2009 at 11:56 Rosti says:
Linking all weapons possible into one shot = advanced technique.
Also, aren’t big stompy robots the best? My first exposure to the thnigs was in Cybernator, which contained rifle wielding humans who cutely tried to hurt you. Ahh.
09/07/2009 at 11:58 Deadjim says:
That looks pretty awesome…I want a Titan game tho, you know like the bigger ones that are in W40K reading Dan Abnetts Titanicus just makes me want someone to make a game out of that!
09/07/2009 at 12:01 DarthInsinuate says:
Am I getting old or does giant stampy bot action not look particularly exciting?
Giant stampy bot cover system though, woot.
09/07/2009 at 12:02 mrmud says:
Take the simulation route, please!
09/07/2009 at 12:12 Stew says:
So… in the future, colour doesn’t exist?
09/07/2009 at 12:12 theleif says:
Yes! And it will take place during the succession wars, before the overpowered clan mechs! Can’t wait to get myself blown up in an UrbanMech or a Locust. And wage war in my Warhammer, twin ppc:s, medium lasers, LRM:s and machine guns.
The Hunchbacks, the Wolverines, the Dervishes… the joy!
I hope.
09/07/2009 at 12:19 Azhrarn says:
“Stew says: So… in the future, colour doesn’t exist?”
That’s a side-effect of the new-fangled engine.
Defered lighting is extremely hard on GPUs, so they do as little of it as possible.
To keep it graphically realistic they then need to desaturate the colour (to reduce reflection etc) resulting in the current wash of greyish/brown games. Once they either give up on defered lighting or find a way to do it efficiently you’ll see colour return in full force.
09/07/2009 at 12:23 Antsy says:
Oh my good look everyone! Looooooook! Its a proper Mechwarrior game and not an Xbox abomination!
/check date
And its not April 1st. Wheeeee!
09/07/2009 at 12:24 theleif says:
Sorry, just remembered there’s no LRM:s, on the Warhammer. It had a SRM 6. My bad.
09/07/2009 at 12:26 mrmud says:
@theleif
Problem with this is that IS mechs like like crap while Clan mechs look good.
09/07/2009 at 12:30 Jens says:
So where is the love for the MechCommander series? I really really want to see that resurrected too … DOW II with added complexity and depth in the BattleTech universe? WHOA! :D
09/07/2009 at 12:47 ZephyrSB says:
Oh how I’ve longed for another decent MW game since mercs, and always having a preference for lighter ‘mechs, the xp system gets my attention. I’ve never really found another giant-robot series that has the same feel of weight that BT games gave their ‘mechs…
…except for Titans. Their mere metion here, leading to the notion of resurrecting Adeptus Titanicus as game, gives me tingles…
09/07/2009 at 12:53 HidesHisEyes says:
New mechwarrior with dynamic building destruction and real cockpit views?
This is the first game i’ve been excited about since OpFlash2.
09/07/2009 at 12:55 ErrantConstruct says:
Its just me or did that trailer say “In game footage” in the bottom corner?
09/07/2009 at 12:57 Mr_Bacco says:
Here’s praying for Track IR compatability à la Arma II.
New Mechwarrior game! EEEEE!
09/07/2009 at 13:04 mandrill says:
W00t! Yay! Awesome! and other exclamations of joy at the the return of this long missed franchise.
Are you sure the trailer is CG? Looks like something a current gen engine would be well capable of.
09/07/2009 at 13:05 theleif says:
@mrmud
They may not be as stylish as the clan mechs, but what they lack in style they make up for with a healthy dose of charm.
09/07/2009 at 13:06 mandrill says:
@ErrantConstruct: Yeah, I see that too with much squinting and placing of nose on monitor. :D
09/07/2009 at 13:08 Dave says:
http://frontiermux.com/news.php
awesome mux and not to difficult
09/07/2009 at 13:18 Hypocee says:
Well, I see what the problem is – he didn’t shoot at the legs! Silly man.
09/07/2009 at 13:19 obo says:
Just keep Mitch Gitelman away from it, please, please, please.
09/07/2009 at 13:27 kevinn says:
A Warhammer(?) made an ‘oh shit’ comment with a measly Jenner?
I’m glad the Unseen are back. But please make this more sim-like than your average action Mech game.
09/07/2009 at 13:33 Sajmn says:
Liked the eject part. Kind of reminded me of Battlezone (and it’s intro).
It looked kinda clumsy though, just shooting each other and strafing.
09/07/2009 at 13:33 farmer says:
If they’re going to self-censor their dialogue, they need new dialogue. That was just awful to listen to.
But big stompy Mechwarrior with co-op play! I’m pumped.
09/07/2009 at 13:41 Andrew Dunn says:
I want this. I want this a lot.
I just hope they can make it good. They’re making all the right noises at any rate.
09/07/2009 at 13:46 SanguineLobster says:
Who thinks that going toe-to-toe with an Atlas is a good idea? You gotta get the hell away from his close range weapons, avoid his LRM battery and then pick away at him from a distance!
Anyhoo, if this is pre-clans, what do you think the odds are that they will include any aspect of the cool space-feudalism-esque setting of it?
09/07/2009 at 13:47 mrmud says:
@theleif
No Timberwolf makes makes the kittens cry.
09/07/2009 at 13:47 Dominic White says:
@mandrill – I went back and watched it in high-res mode.. it does indeed say ‘in-game footage’ quite clearly.
If that is true, then this looks fantastic. And if the RPS guys thought it was a target render, then… well, yeah.
09/07/2009 at 13:49 Dominic White says:
Okay, again in the ‘If this is really in-game, that’s goddamn impressive’ corner – notice when the Jenner jumps onto the building.
Its jets blast through the roof and out the windows, taking the glass with it.
09/07/2009 at 13:51 Aldo says:
Huh, and I only just threw out my old MW2:Mercenaries CD….
09/07/2009 at 13:52 Larington says:
Actually, I think this is one type of game that could survive a console transition relatively intact, IE, with minimal feedback on the design of the PC version. I’m massively looking forward to this, if they can also implement a mission editing tool of ArmaII quality (Umm, I say that not having played ArmaII) then it’ll be an utter joygasm for me.
09/07/2009 at 13:59 Dominic White says:
Just reminding people that the 360 pad has four full analogue axes, two half-axes, and 14 buttons to play with. That is [i]plenty[/i] for a Mechwarrior game.
09/07/2009 at 13:59 Dominic White says:
Bah, wrong italic tags. Curse you, lack of edit function!
09/07/2009 at 14:09 Dr.Evanzan says:
On a slightly less MechWarrior-based note, is it just me or does the onboard computer sound like GLaDOS?
“TARget desTROYed… thERE will BE… CAKE”
09/07/2009 at 14:10 RogB says:
As much as i like stompy robot games, battletech have always had -utter shit- mech designs.. truly terrible. The game ittself i’m quite excited about since there hasnt been enough mech action recently on PC, but I just know i’m going to be sick in my mouth when I see things like a badly designed mech with a SKULL FOR A HEAD.
09/07/2009 at 14:11 kevinn says:
Agree with Larington, a robust mission editor for the “PC platform” would be great.
Say, defend against a full-scale Kurita invasion on your city with just 7 Urbanmechs. :D
09/07/2009 at 14:11 Thingus says:
Cover? Bah! When did mechs ever use cover? (This attitude may be the reason I’m no good at mech games.)
I actually enjoyed Lone Wolf, having only played the sim games when I was 6, and not really understanding what was going on. But this looks like it could be my big, stompy cup of tea :D
09/07/2009 at 14:12 kevinn says:
@RogB
I reckon you like Gundam-style robots?
09/07/2009 at 14:16 Noc says:
RogB, the thing that bugs me about Battletech isn’t the designs, it’s the naming conventions. I mean, there’s a mech called the [i]“Awesome,”[/i] and it’s [b]not[/b] the one with a SKULL FOR A HEAD. This baffles and confuses me.
In other news, I just reinstalled and have been stomping about with Mechwarrior 4 the since the other day, and was just thinking that “Man, they haven’t made one of these in forever.” And then BAM. Consider myself enthused.
09/07/2009 at 14:16 Noc says:
. . . oops, tag fumble.
09/07/2009 at 14:17 scopie says:
HOORAY!!!!!!!! I’ve been wishing for MW5 for YEARS!!! PLEASE just make it MW4/MERCS with more missions, mechs and better graphics!!!!!
09/07/2009 at 14:26 theleif says:
@mrmud
Timberwolf? Nah, just an inferior Marauder with Catapult complex.
:)
09/07/2009 at 14:28 Trollwind says:
@mrmud
I gotta side with theleif on this one. The clan mechs are cool, but they don’t have the same appeal as an IS mech patched together from parts salvaged on the battlefield. I like my big stompy bots to be antiques.
09/07/2009 at 14:33 Kynes says:
Not sure what there is to be excited about here. Given from what we know, it’s pretty safe to assume that this will not in the least be the mechwarrior 5 we’re looking for. Multiplat and done by the same devs who did the transformers 2 game? Yea, I doubt we’ll be seeing anything resembling a sim here. I’m sure it will be a good fun boom boom game, but it won’t be mechwarrior.
09/07/2009 at 14:34 Zyrxil says:
So I wake up and the Internet has become
stupidnon-cynical. Sorry to break it to you, but the game will be awful. Mechwarrior is no longer a big license, and Piranha are the no-name guys who made the Transformers 2 game. Oh, your little arguments about fictional universe accuracy and proper combat tactics, they matter so little to them.09/07/2009 at 14:39 mpk says:
@scopie
But MW4 was terrible! Every fight degenerated into circle strafing at five paces.
09/07/2009 at 14:46 RogB says:
@kevinn, not necessarily. While I quite like some of the more extreme easter ones (Virtual On ones are quite nice, but you are basically playing a FPS with humans)
I like my mechs to be more reality based, and to look functional. Essentially a power suit with the aesthetics of an Apache gunship or a Leopard tank. :)
Front Mission wanzers are usually quite nice:
http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/5128/340497-fm4_wanzer_giza_super.jpg
I also like non biped ones:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3p_Az9Y1-dY/R97pwacVl4I/AAAAAAAAAOg/6woL0VUJ2Gs/s400/military_mech_sketch.jpg
and of course, metal gear Rex
http://ui05.gamespot.com/516/metalgearrex_2.jpg
09/07/2009 at 14:46 Quine says:
As long as the Sexy Lady Voice tells me the ambient temperature as everything starts up I’ll give it a chance…
09/07/2009 at 14:51 Black Mamba says:
Zyrxil did you even bother to read the interview at IGN, one of the creators of battletech is working on it so claims that it’s rubbish before its even shipped are unfair.
This is a remake of the original Mechwarrior game with a similar plot, family murdered must get revenge.
It’s also set in 3015 which means no clans.
They did drop the name of the Wolf Dragoons though who were clan spies sent to recon the inner sphere posing as a mercenary company so you could see some special mechs.
09/07/2009 at 14:53 viper34j says:
(Sexy robot lady voice go!) Light Amplification Enabled, Light Amplification Disabled.
09/07/2009 at 14:55 meeper says:
I thought there was a legal issue with using the unseen mechs (of which the Warhammer is one). It certainly looks like its been sorted out though!
09/07/2009 at 14:56 kevinn says:
Aside from Jordan, I hope other BT authors would chime in.
Thinking about it… I don’t think the Unreal Engine is capable enough to raze an entire city to dust when 2 Lances of mechs duke it out.
09/07/2009 at 15:06 Heliocentric says:
King crab is IS and is fucking awesome. 1% it’ll be in this game though.
09/07/2009 at 15:08 Aldo says:
I don’t think the Transformers 2 game will have any bearing on the quality or gameplay of this; after all, it (T2) is made to a strict time budget above all else to synch up with the movie, not to mention that movie games are presumably designed to sell on the basis of the license. It’s obviously not a great comparison, but Travellers Tales managed to make some pretty well-regarded Lego games whilst vomiting out the first Transformers game, didn’t they?
09/07/2009 at 15:42 ilves says:
woot! loading up my marauder with twin PPCs. Timber wolves are great as well. I still remember the original mechwarrior game… I loved the semi-free aspect of that you could go where you wanted to and do missions when/where you wanted. If its anything like that I’ll be stoked.
09/07/2009 at 15:46 ilves says:
also, if you can eject and then actually run around the environment, maybe try to meet up with your teammates and get into a mech again, that would be great. As much as I want this to be a full on mech game, even getting out once or twice for mission specific reasons wouldn’t be so bad.
09/07/2009 at 15:54 Vykromod says:
@Meeper:
“I thought there was a legal issue with using the unseen mechs (of which the Warhammer is one). It certainly looks like its been sorted out though!”
There was, as I mentioned a few weeks back when there was a story about a BattleTech based mod for something (I forget what).
As you guess, not ethe past tense there. Since then, Catalyst Game Lab, the people in charge of the board game (a separate license from the electronic rights) have published an announcement that they are once again able to use the Unseen (as the legally-troubled ‘Mechs became known). I don’t see how the timing on this can be coincidental. Setting a MW in 3015 and *not* having them just wouldn’t work. There’s either been some co-ordination between Catalyst and Smith & Tinker, or Catalyst have just benefitted from someone else’s deal. Either way, I’m not complaining.
09/07/2009 at 16:17 TCM says:
<3 Mechwarrior.
09/07/2009 at 16:54 The Fanciest of Pants says:
Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god.
Please let this be good.
09/07/2009 at 17:05 kronos says:
One of the few games that shaped my childhood. Nice to have it back.
Although the trailer lacks a certain punch. I’ve always been annoyed at how getting hit by missiles produced so little recoil unless you were in a light mech.
09/07/2009 at 17:07 Zyrxil says:
I don’t think the Transformers 2 game will have any bearing on the quality or gameplay of this; after all, it (T2) is made to a strict time budget above all else to synch up with the movie, not to mention that movie games are presumably designed to sell on the basis of the license. It’s obviously not a great comparison, but Travellers Tales managed to make some pretty well-regarded Lego games whilst vomiting out the first Transformers game, didn’t they?
That’s not a point in favor of Piranha at all. Even if they had with a strict budget, it’s completely their fault that the gameplay design is shit. Short deadline can be blamed for bugs and lack of polish, not “Couldn’t come up with any good ideas in a year” or “Couldn’t arrive at the conclusion gameplay should be based around robots beating up other robots, not racing”.
Traveler’s Tales just proves the point further. The Transformers games are done by studios that have absolutely no imagination. The Lego games are absolutely all the same. They just got lucky with a novel concept.
09/07/2009 at 17:10 PleasingFungus says:
I am pretty excited! Man, this brightened my morning.
09/07/2009 at 17:19 mujadaddy says:
If you can build-your-own weapons loadout, this will be good. You can extrapolate the other case.
09/07/2009 at 17:32 Optimaximal says:
IIRC, Pirahna merely assisted Luxoflux with Transformers 2, probably just doing assets and stuff – they weren’t the main developers.
09/07/2009 at 17:52 Rei Onryou says:
Somebody has been listening to our prayers! It’s been too long since Jim’s been able to write about big stompy robot action.
09/07/2009 at 18:11 Dominic White says:
Okay, here’s something cool beyond words:
“http://battletech.catalystgamelabs.com/2009/07/09/mechwarrior-to-be-distributed-free-on-battletech-com/
MechWarrior to be Distributed Free on BattleTech.com
In honor of BattleTech’s 25th anniversary, Smith & Tinker has authorized MekTek.net and MekTek Studios to distribute MechWarrior 4 (along with its expansion packs) completely free. For years, MekTek.net has been the central point for online distribution of MechWarrior 4 expansion packs. Now they can provide the core game free to the fans as well. Keep an eye on BattleTech.com—the free download will be available soon!”
In short, the best Mechwarrior 4 modding crew out there – the Mektek team, who have been supporting MW4 and MW4: Mercs all these years, are now being allowed to distribute both games and their official expansions along with any Mektek-developed addons for free on the official Battletech site.
This is totally rad.
09/07/2009 at 18:17 EyeMessiah says:
I loved Earthsiege, and MW2 & 3. MW3 was my favourite. I loved being stranded and trying to protect that little command vehicle, and scavenging for parts and chassis. Bring on the robots, I say.
09/07/2009 at 18:26 ChampionHyena says:
MASC ENGAGED
This is all good news. All of it. New pay Mechwarrior and old free Mechwarrior. Outstanding.
Speaking of free BattleTech crap, I’d strongly advise any of you to try out MegaMek at megamek.sourceforge.net. It’s a lot of fun. Maybe we could get an online multiplayer thing going here at RPS.
09/07/2009 at 18:27 Andy says:
Mechwarrior 2 has a very warm place in my heart. If I was writing one of these “Gaming Made Me” columns about myself Mechwarrior 2 would be basically all I talked about.
09/07/2009 at 18:29 Him says:
It won’t be the hardcore giant robot simulation that I still hanker after, but that hasn’t stopped me from having a tiny joygasm at work.
09/07/2009 at 18:32 Caveat says:
Not even 2 weeks ago I replayed Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries. Can’t wait for this to come out, I have very high hopes. Haven’t been this excited in a long time.
09/07/2009 at 18:34 ChampionHyena says:
Crap, where did my avatar go?
09/07/2009 at 18:42 Thranx says:
I heart. I could not contain my joy when I saw that foot pound into view on that really short teaser earlier this week.
Please do not fail us. And also, could we have a Steel Batalion-eqse controller? K thanks.
09/07/2009 at 18:52 gryphon says:
yes please be good..
if the people developing it love the BT universe at all there should be some great old ground to cover with shinier. better looking mechs than ever.
add in some of the gameplay from MW2 MW3 plus Battlezone2 then a perfect game could happen… BZ2 and 1 had great control over the map. You could dive into the biggest rig or command the action back from the antenae.
find a pilot on the battlefield who’s better in your rig than you, hop out give it to him and direct the action while you order a new mech hot dropped to you, or finish the mission in an APC or Tank… salvaging mechs in Mechcommander2 was fun..
also, live actors adding to the storyline are awesome even when they aren’t good.. cheese please, Mechcommander1 intro vid or HeavyGear the whole game had bad acting breaks which were fun. watch them, learn…
make this good and you will sell zillions like I’m sure MW3 and 4 have done.. we’ve waited so long for a proper treatment of this universe..
09/07/2009 at 18:58 wcaypahwat says:
I may in fact go and watch the BT television series now…
09/07/2009 at 19:20 DMJ says:
You had me at “giant stompy robots”.
09/07/2009 at 20:33 Spectre-7 says:
[killjoy mode one]
Although the video says in-game footage I really strongly believe it should say in-engine footage. The entire scenario is pretty obviously scripted, and nothing I’ve read leads me to believe they’ve even reached first playable yet. If you read the interview at IGN, you might notice that they never mention anything about features already implemented–except one brief aside about a shader effect that they are adding to the cockpit–and they frequently mention how things in the trailer aren’t necessarily indicative of their design direction (the HUD for instance).
This game has some potential, but right now it’s not even a fully fleshed out design yet. It’s a lot of good ideas, and a video primarily intended to get the fan-base amped up so they can get a publisher (and some much needed funding) interested.
All my conjecture and all that jazz, of course.
09/07/2009 at 20:33 hun23 says:
My first PC game was MechWarrior 2 when I was ~5 years old. I remember just having fun blowing different Mechs up, always using the cheats since my ~5 year old mind could not understand tactics. Too bad my MechWarrior 2 “Pentium” Edition does not work with Vista (Not the DOS-based version)
09/07/2009 at 21:04 Andy says:
I hope the voice acting isn’t as bad in the finished game as it is in this trailer.
09/07/2009 at 21:16 Worked There says:
Don’t expect much from Piranha. Look at their past games, you’ll see.
09/07/2009 at 22:24 Dominic White says:
Some additional info on the Mechwarrior 4 freeware re-launch:
It’ll be an all-in-one installer, containing the MW4 and the Vengeance, Black Knight and Mercenaries campaigns, the two official Mech Packs, the latest Mektek-developed addon (major rebalancing, dozens of new/variant mechs, tons of new techs and weapons), and a hojillion standalone missions and multiplayer maps.
There’s also an update in development that’ll reintroduce all the high-end features from Mechwarrior 3, like C3 Master/Slave computers, electric warfare, directional jumpjets and more.
It sounds like the MekTek team have access to the original source-code now, and are doing big things.
09/07/2009 at 22:26 me, ehem. says:
Nice to see that Bitchin Betty’s still around in the grim far future of the human race.
09/07/2009 at 22:26 Serondal says:
Wow, that is a huge update ! I am very excite!
09/07/2009 at 22:28 Thranx says:
@Dominic White
Excellent. Good news all around. Hope the “soon” in which we’re supposed to see it is actually real-time soon and not development schedule soon. :)
09/07/2009 at 22:29 Zyrusticae says:
For the record, Piranha are a largely untested company. They’ve got basically no games on their resume, only being credited with some art assets for the Transformers 2 game.
I’ll be looking forward to more details about this, but I remain cautiously optimistic, for now.
09/07/2009 at 22:32 GothikX says:
Whew, almost choked on my coffee when I read Piranha, thought Piranha Bytes would do Mechwarrior.
09/07/2009 at 22:36 JonFitt says:
A Mechwarrior touched me in my special place long ago.
The video looked like what I want to see in a new game, but one thing bugged me:
The guy was dodging behind buildings (which would vastly improve the old run in circles and blat each other tactics), but there’s no way you could do that with the old tank style controls. Turning 180 took ages and most likely you’d just end up walking sideways into the building you were trying to get behind.
I really want a Mechwarrior game where recon, sensors and comms are an important part of gameplay.
09/07/2009 at 22:38 Worked There says:
@Zyrusticae:
No, they’ve been around 6 years and shipped plenty of titles. The problem is that they were all crap. I’m not happy about MW being with them.
09/07/2009 at 22:58 Grey_Ghost says:
One of the few reasons I owned a Joystick in my MS-DOS days were the Mechwarrior games. Had a lot of fun with MW2 and it’s expansions. Similarly enjoyed MW3 & Pirates Moon, but MW4 was simply trash in my mind. It’s control scheme was a brick wall I just could not get past.
MW3 (especially it’s Demo) had excellent mouse controls. The way the demo handled torso twisting, with integrated sounds was just awesome. I never understood why they dropped that from the retail game. Instead you could just whip the torso around at breakneck speeds. 8(
So I guess my point is…don’t totally screw up the controls! I really don’t want to need to buy any Joysticks or Gamepads to enjoy a Mechwarrior game either!
09/07/2009 at 23:04 Gwyd says:
Oh hell yes!!!, so many fond memories of the old Mechwarrior games.
09/07/2009 at 23:06 theanorak says:
Yes. Yeeessssssssssss.
I, too, reccently dusted off the old Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 for some MW4:Mercs play. And now it seems I’ll be able to a) play without a cd in the drive etc, and b) look forward to a new’un? Lovely.
I do hope the Mektek-hosted free MW4 etc works out ok though. In the past, Mektek (or some elements of it, at least) had an … interesting … attitude to the rest of the MW community. I do hope they’re a little more welcoming these days — or all the release of free MW4 will do is save a few players of old from hunting out the install disks.
09/07/2009 at 23:06 Torgen says:
I’ll by dusting off my HOTAS for this, for sure!
09/07/2009 at 23:11 Zyrusticae says:
@Worked There
That should’ve said “recent” games. Their last big release was Need For Speed Undercover. That doesn’t really give me much in the way of what to expect from them doing a Mechwarrior game.
Not that I really care. I’m ambivalent about Battletech in general.
10/07/2009 at 01:03 Erlam says:
Oh My God, Please include the Urbanmech.
Oh My God, Please include the Urbanmech.
Oh My God, Please include the Urbanmech.
Oh My God, Please include the Urbanmech.
Oh My God, Please include the Urbanmech.
10/07/2009 at 01:22 postmanX3 says:
Words cannot describe my happiness. Except maybe GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
10/07/2009 at 01:23 postmanX3 says:
Whoa, what happened to my comment? The spacing is all weird and such.
10/07/2009 at 02:19 Jambe says:
@Dominic White: I love you.
10/07/2009 at 03:45 Worked There says:
@Zyrusticae
Ya, you can’t count the EA games because other than do the programming, Piranha management and “design” is hands off on them. The EA games they’ve done have done pretty well – EA does all of the production and design themselves, it’s like they rented a studio. :)
10/07/2009 at 07:50 Fedora Freak says:
Looks like they’re going a bit Steel Battalion on this – obviously not to the extent of the controller, but with the cockpit view and the eject sequence…
Which is awesome.
10/07/2009 at 08:56 Kommissar Nicko says:
Dear Developer of MW5,
Look at it this way kid: you get to keep allllll the money.
Your former commander,
Colonel Holly Harris
10/07/2009 at 09:32 Kong says:
My childhood daydreams have become a virtual reality.
Makes getting old worthwile.
10/07/2009 at 10:11 RogB says:
heres a thought. How ‘Simmy’ do you think the controls will be? will they bow to modern gamers by making all mechs have strafe and conform to the ‘industry standard’ FPS controls? (so you are basically left with a FPS on a physically larger scale)
i’d prefer a more old-school approach, but thats like admitting i’d like it ‘less accessible’ which sounds a bit elitist. okay yes, it is elitist. Hopefully it would deter the CoD and Halo kiddies!
10/07/2009 at 10:26 Bear says:
Giant robots blowing shit up?
Count me in
10/07/2009 at 10:34 Howard says:
Very pleased indeed to hear this series is coming back. I do have one, pretty obvious, concern tough: Has there been any info indicating that this is anything other than a 360 game? I can see no mention of PC anywhere…
10/07/2009 at 10:48 Larington says:
From the IGN article linked in the RPS article up above:
“The game is being developed for the PC and the Xbox 360, though there isn’t any idea of a release date yet, since the game is still in the middle of development and the companies are still talking to publishers.”
10/07/2009 at 11:29 Dominic White says:
And a little more good news regarding Mechwarrior 4s return.
At launch, it’ll be much the same game(s) as it used to be, give or take a few tweaks. Once Mektek release their 4th fan-expansion, things will change, and everything will be unified, so you’ll be able to buy/equip previously multiplayer-only tech and mechs for your lance.
Dunno about you, but doing the Vengeance campaign with a squad of King Crabs just tickles my fancy.
10/07/2009 at 11:54 c0wb0ys7y13 says:
Oh my, I think I just messed my pants. Their is a 100% chance of me both buying and making love to this game.
10/07/2009 at 11:56 Rusty says:
2 whoops for MW5 and MW4 re-release. MW2 Merenaries is the only game (only MW game that is..) I played right through but it was totally splendid.
I rememeber seeing the CGI intro for MW2 in Virgin Megastores (if it was even called that then?) and being totally awe struck.
10/07/2009 at 12:27 scorchedMIRTH says:
*prays it won’t be simplified for console use, and it remains a PC exclusive*
prays I remain elitist and fail to see where gaming is heading and that console support helps developers achieve wider audiences that will help future projects such as this one.
10/07/2009 at 14:35 Thranx says:
I’m the proud owner of a steel battalion controller (in perfect shape for only 40USD!). I shall go forth and play some MW2/3 and 4 when it’s free (’cause that’s all it’s worth sadly) with 2 sticks, a throttle, pedals and 40 buttons! The way mech controllers should be!!!
I hope the new MW buttons will map well to the controller.
10/07/2009 at 16:59 undead dolphin hacker says:
Better have Elementals and they better play exactly like Tribes and be exactly to scale so you can jump up on some Atlas’s shoulder and… well that’s as far as my strategy has gone so far.
10/07/2009 at 20:21 Mixmastermind says:
Silly Ghost thought he could take on an Atlas. That’s pretty much the point in which you run away.
10/07/2009 at 20:25 Railick says:
@Undead Dolphin Hacker – Plant a det pack in between the Atlas’s neck and shoulders to blow its head off?
11/07/2009 at 05:42 Tem says:
I… I… I think.. I think I… We’ll that’s …
*sniff* It’s so beautiful. Free MW4… MW5 in production…. It’s…
It’s… It’s just wonderful. Even screwed as far as it was, MW4 was the best multiplayer I’ve ever played, when I played in a clan.
11/07/2009 at 12:06 Chaz says:
The CG trailer looks pretty spiffy. Mechwarrior was always my favourite mech series. Never could get into those silly jap ones where they fly around with giant swords. Here’s hoping they make it similar to Mechwarrior 2&3.
12/07/2009 at 00:46 Dominic White says:
@Chaz – Unlike Battletech, where they fly around with giant axes! Unfortunately, due to the Mechwarrior games deciding that mechs should handle exactly like tanks, all the punching, kicking and tackling have been lost.
It makes the Atlas a very sad mech, as it has these huge robot arms with huge robot fists that can never, ever be used.
12/07/2009 at 00:47 Dominic White says:
Seriously, bring on the melee mechs.
http://www.exodus-road.com/xcart/files/master/prodpics/1-CBT/classic_battletech_miniatures_IWM_20-864.jpg
12/07/2009 at 00:53 Dominic White says:
And this is how that trailer should have gone:
http://fungafufu.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/battletech-brutal-punch.jpg
That Atlas was at point blank range, but kept its arms locked completely at its sides. Why? Why does it even HAVE arms!?
30/10/2009 at 21:17 Deuteronomy says:
Although I have fond memories of MechWarrior 2, I would have to pick Heavy Gear for my remake wishlist.