Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Amechwarrior
Jan 29, 2007

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/9901

This month's QnA is about the sim game with HBS_thratchen! Post your burning questions like "Can our MW get dysentery in the sim game?" and maybe they will get answered next Wednesday.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Sky Shadowing
Feb 13, 2012

At least we're not the Thalmor (yet)

Amechwarrior posted:

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/9901

This month's QnA is about the sim game with HBS_thratchen! Post your burning questions like "Can our MW get dysentery in the sim game?" and maybe they will get answered next Wednesday.

Just for reference for those that don't follow the usernames this is isildur, I'm almost completely certain.

isildur
May 31, 2000

BattleDroids: Flashpoint OH NO! Dekker! IS DOWN! THIS IS Glitch! Taking Command! THIS IS Glich! Taking command! OH NO! Glitch! IS DOWN! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! OH NO! Medusa IS DOWN!

Soon to be part of the Battletech Universe canon.

Sky Shadowing posted:

Just for reference for those that don't follow the usernames this is isildur, I'm almost completely certain.
Yes it is me, doing a Q&A, and being really loving nervous about it. I mean, not about talking about the sim game which I can do for much, much longer than this Q&A is going to go for. But goddamn I hate being on camera. :P

Anyway submit questions to that thread if you want to hear me answer them out loud in front of hundreds of BT nerds.

Cyrano4747
Sep 25, 2006

Yes, I know I'm old, get off my fucking lawn so I can yell at these clouds.

"Are there stairs in your mechbay?"

isildur
May 31, 2000

BattleDroids: Flashpoint OH NO! Dekker! IS DOWN! THIS IS Glitch! Taking Command! THIS IS Glich! Taking command! OH NO! Glitch! IS DOWN! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! OH NO! Medusa IS DOWN!

Soon to be part of the Battletech Universe canon.

Cyrano4747 posted:

"Are there stairs in your mechbay?"

"I am spacing you."

aniviron
Sep 11, 2014

If you hunt 8000 tons of Atlas will you still be able to bring all the meat back even if your dropship is only being pulled by 2 oxen?

Amechwarrior
Jan 29, 2007

How good is the Argo at fording rivers? Should I just pay the ferryman?

Preechr
May 19, 2009

Proud member of the Pony-Brony Alliance for Obama as President
Will we be able to romance our 'mechs?

Ardlen
Sep 30, 2005
WoT



Can we customize our cooling vests?

Paingod556
Nov 8, 2011

Not a problem, sir

Preechr posted:

Will we be able to romance our 'mechs?

And if not, will there be Workshop support so we can mod that in. I need to ensure my SPARKS Battlemechs can Bond become Drift romantically compatible like my other Squaddies Rangers Warriors


Ardlen posted:

Can we customize our cooling vests?

And can they be locked behind microtransactions so I can lord it over the Great Unwashed?

ChickenWing
Jul 22, 2010

:v:

How many goony references did you manage to jam in?



why do you think that's enough and why aren't there more?

Cyrano4747
Sep 25, 2006

Yes, I know I'm old, get off my fucking lawn so I can yell at these clouds.

Will my urbie be able to twerk?

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.


Why is the game called Battletech instead of XCOM Presents: Battle Robots?

Runa
Feb 13, 2011

If you feed an Urbanmech a super mushroom, will it turn into an Imp?

A.o.D.
Jan 15, 2006

The Suffering of the Succotash.

Xarbala posted:

If you feed an Urbanmech a super mushroom, will it turn into an Imp?

flashman. You need a mega mushroom to turn into an imp.

Sarmhan
Nov 1, 2011

Can I hire Johnny Five Atlases?

Cyrano4747
Sep 25, 2006

Yes, I know I'm old, get off my fucking lawn so I can yell at these clouds.

Have you received my erotic Weisman / Marauder fanfic yet? I haven't heard it commented on in a stream yet . . . :(

isildur
May 31, 2000

BattleDroids: Flashpoint OH NO! Dekker! IS DOWN! THIS IS Glitch! Taking Command! THIS IS Glich! Taking command! OH NO! Glitch! IS DOWN! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! OH NO! Medusa IS DOWN!

Soon to be part of the Battletech Universe canon.

Cyrano4747 posted:

Have you received my erotic Weisman / Marauder fanfic yet? I haven't heard it commented on in a stream yet . . . :(

So tempted to screenshot this and send it to Jordan.

Psion
Dec 13, 2002

eVeN I KnOw wHaT CoRnEr gAs iS

isildur posted:

So tempted to screenshot this and send it to Jordan.

consider the request made, gauntlet thrown, or dropped, or whatever. Because I'd love to see what happens :allears:

Psion fucked around with this message at 22:16 on Oct 6, 2017

Rygar201
Jan 26, 2011
I AM A TERRIBLE PIECE OF SHIT.

Please Condescend to me like this again.

Oh yeah condescend to me ALL DAY condescend daddy.


isildur posted:

So tempted to screenshot this and send it to Jordan.

Please do :allears:

xthetenth
Dec 30, 2012

Mario wasn't sure if this Jeb guy was a good influence on Yoshi.

Ein Sexmonster posted:

Can I hire Johnny Five Atlases?

Let me tell you about Brigador...

Amechwarrior
Jan 29, 2007

Cyrano4747 posted:

Have you received my erotic Weisman / Marauder fanfic yet? I haven't heard it commented on in a stream yet . . . :(

"The Founders Package" posted:

"I'll show you some man-made lightning..." Rivulets of molten steel flowed and his words drove her MAD.

Preechr
May 19, 2009

Proud member of the Pony-Brony Alliance for Obama as President

A wave of heat suffused the cockpit, covering them in a sheen of sweat. Frantically, he stabbed for the emergency shutdown override.

Cyrano4747
Sep 25, 2006

Yes, I know I'm old, get off my fucking lawn so I can yell at these clouds.


:perfect:

Amechwarrior
Jan 29, 2007

Preechr posted:

A wave of heat suffused the cockpit, covering them in a sheen of sweat. Frantically, he stabbed for the emergency shutdown override.

She whispered "Make it harder..."
He did, as his new AI mod had just been posted. It features the hardest AI he cared to edit for this beta.

https://community.battletechgame.com/forums/threads/9768/comments/190954

Highlights compared to v2:

Fury Trigger set higher to favor large Alpha Strikes over smaller ones, less "Braced Fury" but not 100% fixed
Aggressive advance to "Optimum Range" and less cowering in favorable terrain
Defensive Sprinting to minimize return fire after Sprint.
Fire Control increased vs low To-Hit and priority targets (45% from 40%)
Overheating Trigger lowered prevent shutdowns or repeated self harm (was 2.6 and lowered to 2.0, start of self damage)

Sky Shadowing
Feb 13, 2012

At least we're not the Thalmor (yet)
I know you were nervous isildur but for my part I think you were one of the best guests the monthly Q&A has had. In fairness to your co-workers, what you work on is far more interesting to me than sound design or art, but you gave wonderfully detailed answers that were concise and easy to understand. And you stuck around for the full hour!

Also thanks to Mitch for relaying my SQUAWK!!!! to you and you for returning it.

Amechwarrior
Jan 29, 2007

Yes, this was the most informative QnA by far. You did great and this was a great way to close out the QnA series!

Ardlen
Sep 30, 2005
WoT



If anyone missed the Q&A, they've posted it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX8tdj_tObs

Phrosphor
Feb 25, 2007

Urbanisation

It's a really interesting QA with some really cool sounding stuff discussed. Can't wait to get my hands on it all sometime next year.

Q_res
Oct 29, 2005

We're fucking built for this shit!
So, I was a little bored and fired up the Beta to check out Pilot Skills based on what was revealed in the Q&A. So, you get to choose 1 skill as a 'Specialization' and 1 as an 'Expertise'. So the low-level ability from 1 skill and 2 abilities from another. Here's what we're looking at based on Beta.

Specialization = 5 point ability in that skillset
Expertise = 5 & 8 point abilities in that skillset

Piloting:

5 - Evasive Movement
8 - Angel of Death

Tactics:

5 - Sensor Lock
8 - Master Tactician

Guts:

5 - Bulwark
8 - Unknown/Not present in Beta

Gunnery:

5 - Multi-Targeting
8 - Breaching Shot

edit: Really makes me wonder what the high-end Guts ability could be. Perhaps an ability that lets you use Sprint speed for Melee attacks? Making your Melee range significantly larger.

Q_res fucked around with this message at 12:21 on Oct 17, 2017

DatonKallandor
Aug 21, 2009

"I can no longer sit back and allow nationalist shitposting, nationalist indoctrination, nationalist subversion, and the German nationalist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious game balance."
Maybe a Shutdown override with a really significant penalty for going into shutdown heat.

Zaodai
May 23, 2009

Death before dishonor?
Your terms are accepted.


Maybe that skill from tabletop where you have a chance to take a knee instead of getting fully knocked down.

isildur
May 31, 2000

BattleDroids: Flashpoint OH NO! Dekker! IS DOWN! THIS IS Glitch! Taking Command! THIS IS Glich! Taking command! OH NO! Glitch! IS DOWN! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! OH NO! Medusa IS DOWN!

Soon to be part of the Battletech Universe canon.
Hey nerds, we'd like to know what you think about the beta maps. Like, for each one, what are a couple of absolutely terrible things about it?

We know what we like and don't like but we want more thoughts from people external to our team, and I suspect that the feedback here is likely to be higher quality than the Greater General Internet.

Basically we have four or five more arena maps to make from scratch, and before I do that I kind of want to have a sense of what you would or wouldn't like from them.

Phrosphor
Feb 25, 2007

Urbanisation

Cool I like to effort post about this game. I would love to do a breakdown of the maps with pictures, but sadly I just don't have the time.

Map Rankings:

/\
Stacks
River Crossing
Alpine River
Death Valley
-
-
-
Big Loch
\/

Map Comments:

Stacks
Stacks is by far my favourite map, in the small primary play area you have two (three) totally different areas to fight in. The mesa's break line of sight easily, allowing a close combat orientated lance to move up in relative safety. This area also encourages fun use of jump jets with the rocky terrain and small lake to the left (from player 1 spawn) side of the area.

The right approach (again from player 1 spawn), allows for a more open fighting area, that favors medium ranged direct fire mechs. There are some fun little nooks along the rocky outcropping that light mechs can hide in and block los, but larger mechs can't use. (I really really like terrain features like this).

Down the hill into the river adds another interesting dynamic to the map, as whilst the extra cooling afforded by the water is great, there is little cover and you are ceding a height advantage to your opponent. (Asking the players questions like this is really fun, I like this sort of layout).

I have had games move into the highlands Behind player one spawn, and that is fun as well, the broken terrain is suprising in how much direct los gets blocked and you end up playing interesting games of cat and mouse with both players not wanting to be the one to reveal themselves directly first.

Stacks is always fun to play on, it possibly favors player one a bit too much but that is more a spawn location thing than the map itself. I really like the different fighting areas and broken terrain. It is my favourite map in the beta.

River Crossing
Possibly the most played map in the beta, it asks players an interesting question. Do you want to hold the high ground, or do you want to take the river and take advantage of the heat reduction? I have had success with both strategies, and lost against both. Rushing the the river bank with an Atlas, and taking advantage of bulwark makes for a hard nut for the opponent to crack as the river approaches are generally open. I really like map design that asks questions like this, as I mentioned before.

The large rocks give light mechs a place to hide if they are caught out, and I really like that kind of 'half' cover (good for small mechs but not for larger ones).

Some players like to setup sniper lances and sit way back at spawn, but I have found the rocky bluffs on both sides of the river can protect you from this if you notice what they are doing soon enough.

Alpine River
This map is at the tipping point for me in terms of maps that I like or dislike. The los around the rocky gorge that the river runs through can be very misleading sometimes, and I have found myself being shot at by enemies I didn't think could see me. The whole gorge area is a very difficult place to attack into and through, and I find I don't really want to push it unless I can jump over it (goold old Quickdraw). I actually like this a lot. It is a horrible terrain feature that you can either slog through, or jump over if you are prepared for it. It means that you have given yourself an advantage in the strategic side of the game by equipping jump jets for your tactical fights. More of this please. Features like this give jump jets an added value. Players will be less likely to think "I could just drop that JJ for an extra ton of ammo/heatsink."

I find Alpine River a favorite of long range lances, and as my playstyle is very brawly it can get frustrating. The combination of high ridge lines with forests providing cover along their length makes it a lot harder to push forward. I would maybe recommend serious consideration when mixing two features like this in the future on maps.

I do enjoy the colder climate though, it's nice for keeping your Kintaro running a little more dangerously.

Death Valley
On paper this map should be my favourite. High heat to punish mistakes, open plains broken up with hills to allow a careful advance. Nice aesthetics (I like sand dunes).

In practice however it is quite frustrating. There is a lot of bad terrain on either sides of the road, slowing mechs and making them more unsteady. This forces both lances into a funnel down the road and it quickly turns into a game of chicken until someone steps out into the open. I have also had opponents sprint for the mesa city and set up on the ridge, which is boring as hell to fight.

I would suggest just a little more cover on this type of map, or less of the negative terrain. I like the negative terrain, especially in spots where you are basically asked to risk a little more to get a good position, but I find it too restrictive here. Asking questions of the player is good, and I have brought it up before. But on this map it doesn't feel like a question, it is more of an order. "Thou shalt use the road!"

Big Loch
Oh dear. I do not like this map. If you fight on the island it feels cramped and too tight. If you fight in the water, it is pretty boring. If your opponents runs to the corner of the map then it is really boring.

The island clearly feels like it was setup to be a cool centerpiece of the map, funneling players into a brutal forest brawl. The AI plays to this admirably. Playing against other players though that island just doesn't get touched, and nobody really wants to fight in the water which is flat and uninteresting.

A map like this, but with lots of smaller islands around a bigger island would maybe work really well. So you are pushed into having to rush across the open water between the relative safety of the islands. Sounds like a nice Pacific thing.

I hope this was useful, if nothing else than for the ranking. From our Discord channel I believe most of the regulars are on board with how we feel about these maps.

If I have time tonight I will try and get some screenshots of features I like and dislike on all the maps.

Phrosphor fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Oct 17, 2017

Amechwarrior
Jan 29, 2007

Phrosphor posted:

Cool I like to effort post about this game. I would love to do a breakdown of the maps with pictures, but sadly I just don't have the time.

Agreed on a lot of these points. As for some things I don't like:

River Crossing:

AI Spawn - I find the lack of trees directly next to the waterline limits my crossing options in 25mil matches with slower units. I always feel like I have to cross to my right (Player spawn left side) where I have much better cover on both sides of the river. The player spawn has a number of riverside forest options for them to dip in and out of the water if I establish there.

Big Lock:

It feels like center island or water and not much in between. The play on the island always seems to come from the same entry points and if the AI spawn side gets stuck on the shores it is forced to fight through a lot of rough terrain and no trees vs the player spawn that has hight and tree advantage. The water makes getting about slow if you didn't bring JJ or very fast units, but that is a good thing that makes speed and maneuverability valuable. My biggest gripe is that one "one way" path through the cliffs near the player spawn on the left of the center island. There is a point where you can enter through the gap in the cliff and enter the waters on the other side, but you can't go back the other way and nobody knows why. I've used this in MP matches to get where the opponent thought they were safe, but they feel rightly annoyed as it looks impassable from their side on the water. This is all without jump jets, jumping on/over the cliffs I got no problem with.

Death Valley:

AI Spawn - I feel like the AI spawn side has less options and cover than the player spawn. I need to head to my left to get any good cover and they kind of have to go to me if I want to keep it. The player spawn gets tree cover up to the fork in the road, then both sides have a no-mans-land that nobody wants to cross.

General - Some of those craters (I think some have crystals in them?) are great turtle points that players can camp brawlers in and you can't really get a nice shot in to the fishbowl unless you are on the ridge right next to them. SL and IDF aren't that great thanks to Bulwark and limited LRM ammo. While the crystal fields frustrate me, I also love using them to park a Light mech, reserve to Phase 1 to leave it and fire in the clear, then make a jump/brace return to the field to repeat the process. I think that feature breaks even. I've never had to fight by that big installation plateau, but I hear it is a massive pain and takes a lot of time to traverse it. That might be a nice set-piece gauntlet for SP, but maybe not MP.

Alpine Peaks:

AI Spawn - Again I feel I need to rush my far right, go even further down my right and go up the far slope to not engage the player spawn from their hight advantage.

General - If I have a JJ heavy Lance, jumping over the gap is tons of fun, but a very risky move as there is little to no tree cover to land in on either side. On the other hand, it means no side has a perfect covered firing position that can shoot down in to the ravine. I just don't want to get caught in the prime engagement area without cover and hight advantage unless I am all jumpers. There are a few points where the ravine has some overhang that covers more than 1/2 of a mech like a LCT in the water. I feel the cover of the ravine overhang should protect those few spots from top-down IDF or simply be pulled back a little so we won't have LRMs passing through overhanging rock.

The Stacks:

Also my favorite map, both against AI and players.

AI Spawn - Nowhere to fall back to, as the boundary is right at your spawn in comparison to an entire marsh for the player spawn.

General - There are some spots on the base of the big mountain to the side of the main combat area that mechs can get stuck in and have a hard time getting out. I can't remember if I've already reported these or not.

Overall:

Stacks and Death Valley are my favorites for fighting the AI, River Crossing is great for quick modding tests and the Stacks is my favorite PvP map thanks to having 3-4 "lanes" each with different engagement styles.

AI Spawns - I'm assuming these points were tuned for AI starts and not players, fixing this is just a matter of moving the map boundaries or start locations.

Missing - Sunrise setting. I love all of the sunset moods on all the maps. I think it offers the best atmosphere and shows off the subtle terrain features we may miss with zoomed out and top-down camera play.

Needs More - Subtle terrain features usable by narrow or short mechs but not by large and wide ones. The hill in the middle of the Stacks can partially obstruct most units at far ends of the engagement zones, but not the tallest ones. It is also very dependent on your exact locations and I wish more maps had the kind of terrain only a few units could use for full or partial obstruction. To counter that, the tallest mechs maybe able to see over it and gain LoS advantages.

Moonshot Wishlist - Moon maps with oppressively harsh lighting and near pure black shadows. Part of me wants the maps in a vacuum to look something like these images but fully understand playability and readability come first. Maybe some kind of "Enhanced Imaging" to wireframe the hidden terrain under the shadow, but I feel that is asking a lot for very little.

Cyrano4747
Sep 25, 2006

Yes, I know I'm old, get off my fucking lawn so I can yell at these clouds.

One thing I would add as a wishlist item is a true urban map. That’s really the one kind of terrain notable for its absence.

Amechwarrior
Jan 29, 2007

Cyrano4747 posted:

One thing I would add as a wishlist item is a true urban map. That’s really the one kind of terrain notable for its absence.

It seems some of that is in the files, but we haven't seen any of the end results yet. I can see voice barks in the beta files for Arid, Frozen, Jungle, Martian, Verdant and Urban. I think a dev once mentioned no super tall buildings that we could fight from the inside of or something like that.

DatonKallandor
Aug 21, 2009

"I can no longer sit back and allow nationalist shitposting, nationalist indoctrination, nationalist subversion, and the German nationalist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious game balance."

Cyrano4747 posted:

One thing I would add as a wishlist item is a true urban map. That’s really the one kind of terrain notable for its absence.

The Martian terrain map from the preview videos has a really cool urban center that seemed like a lot of fun to fight in. LoS breaking everywhere but destructible, and jump jets being huge.

isildur
May 31, 2000

BattleDroids: Flashpoint OH NO! Dekker! IS DOWN! THIS IS Glitch! Taking Command! THIS IS Glich! Taking command! OH NO! Glitch! IS DOWN! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! THIS IS Medusa! Taking command! OH NO! Medusa IS DOWN!

Soon to be part of the Battletech Universe canon.
Ack, I left a reply sitting in an open browser window and never actually posted it.

This is all good stuff, and I'm passing it to Connor so we can discuss it (he and I are basically the map team right now). I think the newer maps are a lot more mature and interesting, and we're going to do a pass through all the arenas with your feedback in mind. No promises on changing any of the existing ones (except alpine river which i haaaaate) but this will inform the new and unreleased maps.

Amechwarrior posted:

Moonshot Wishlist - Moon maps with oppressively harsh lighting and near pure black shadows. Part of me wants the maps in a vacuum to look something like these images but fully understand playability and readability come first. Maybe some kind of "Enhanced Imaging" to wireframe the hidden terrain under the shadow, but I feel that is asking a lot for very little.
The 'vacuum sunset' mood looks like this. I don't know if it's going to stay that way; the moods are all in flux as the art team fucks with the lighting and fog. But it looks pretty awesome right now. As hard as it is to make lunar maps interesting, I'm really starting to like them a lot. I'll post an in-editor screenshot to my twitter, if you're curious (@hbs_thratchen).

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

aniviron
Sep 11, 2014

Looking forward to see what you do with lunar terrain, that's a challenge in almost any game setting.

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply