New Mechwarrior game

LZ_Xray said:

How in the world did I miss this?

Click to expand...

Gabkicks said:

There is also Mechwarrior: Living Legends

Click to expand...

That’s not all though, we have some big news about the game. We are confirming that Hawken will launch as a free-to-play PC game. Initial release is officially scheduled for 12/12/12.

Click to expand...

Impar said:

Greetings!

Trailer:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/02/28/exclusive-first-mechwarrior-online-trailer/

Click to expand...

LoneWolf121188 said:

Oh, SNAP! When I first heard the words "Reactor: online, sensors: online, weapons: online, all systems: online" in that trailer, I freaked out. SOOOOOO stoked!

...though I seem to remember it being "all systems: nominal" in MW2?

Click to expand...

Impar said:

Greetings!

You also missed Hawken?
http://www.hawkengame.com/blog/media

Click to expand...

Dev Blog 6 - MechLab
...
What can be done to a BattleMech?

BattleMechs can have various components swapped out/upgraded at the cost of C-Bills. The systems that can be swapped out include:

• Weapons
• Armor
• Engines
• Heat Sinks
• Jump Jets
• ECM equipment
• Modules

How does it all fit?

MechWarrior Online incorporates a “Hardpoint” system which dictates, above all other customization, that weapons can only be swapped out with weapons of the same weapon type. For example, energy weapons cannot be swapped with ballistic weapons.

Each location on a BattleMech, such as the Right Arm or Center Torso, may include a number of hard points. The number of hard points in a given location is determined on a per variant basis, and is based on the weapons included in the variant’s default loadout. For example, a ’Mech that, by default, comes with 2 Medium Lasers and an Autocannon/2 in its Left Torso may actually have 3 energy weapon hard points and 2 ballistic hard points in that location. So, if the player is able to satisfy the weight and critical slot requirements, they could equip an additional energy weapon and ballistic weapon into that Left Torso, or swap out the Medium Lasers for other energy weapons, etc.


How do Hardpoints work?
...

Click to expand...

Preview: Hands On with MechWarrior Online
...
As our team (or Lance, in MechWarrior lingo) marched forward to meet the enemy in the middle of the large rocky, lightly forested map with a wide river through it, we busied ourselves with the fiddly process of mapping our weapon groups to the mouse buttons and number keys -- handy for managing heat and ballistic ammo use. I used the Jenner's jumpjets to perch on a hill looking down on the valley, and though I was quickly chased off by laser fire, my team was already using the targeting data I'd relayed them to lock on and launch volleys of missiles from halfway across the map -- one of the main advantages to having a scout in play.

What began as a 4v4 match soon whittled down to me and an allied long-range Catapult mech against a lone enemy Atlas. It's two on one, sure, but that Atlas is mean, carrying a full arsenal of powerful particle projection cannons (PPCs) and assorted lasers, plus long-range rocket pods and nigh-impenetrable armor.

As a light mech against a heavy I was badly mismatched, but while my ally survived I felt like we had a chance: whenever the Atlas turned to track down the source of the missiles raining down on him from afar, I'd dart out from behind cover, zap him in the relatively vulnerable rear armor with heavy lasers, and jump-jet over a rock to take cover again before he could swivel his guns to target me. That tag-team approach showed how two coordinated light mechs can ruin a heavy's day. That is, until my ally failed to dodge a missile barrage and got himself killed; then it was just me and the Atlas. I still made him work for it.

MechWarrior Online isn't about bringing targets down quickly with headshots. (Hell, some don't even have heads.) Battles are much more about consistency: picking a body part and hitting it until it blows off. I targeted the Atlas' right arm as I strafed by at top speed, using jumpjets erratically to throw off his aim, hoping to disable at least some of the laser-hell chasing me everywhere I ran. Since there's no way to repair in the field, that could've evened the odds a little.

But it was only a matter of time before his PPCs took a leg out from under me. It didn't kill me outright, but it did rob my poor little Jenner-that-almost-could of the only thing keeping me alive: speed. The Atlas closed in for the kill, shrugging off my last laser blast as it pummeled me to dust with rockets. So I lost, and lost hard, but it was a well-fought battle -- and any time the most memorable story of an afternoon of matches was a battle you lost, it generally bodes well for a game.
...

Click to expand...