LIVE - BATTLETECH 1.8.1 Update Release Notes

[AndrewT]

8gb is the minimum requirement of system memory for this game, so make sure you exit every other app possible before starting the game. If the video is borrowing any of that, there's probably not a lot you can do except go to, say, 16gb.

Your video system is about 1/3 the GPU power of the minimum requirement:
https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-R7-240-vs-AMD-HD-5870/m8608vsm7681
Recommended is Nvidia® GeForce™ GTX 670 or AMD® Radeon™ R9 285 (2 GB VRAM)


You CPU is about 40% up from the minimum:
https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-Phenom-II-X3-720-vs-AMD-FX-6300/m326vs1555
So that's not the issue.

 

[PauloBrito]

Well, 16gb of RAM is better and is an HD or an SSD ? HD is too slow for this game in my opinion.
Graphic with 4gb of dedicated RAM is (much) better - Nvidia 1050Ti for example.

 

[unclecid]

Well, 16gb of RAM is better and is an HD or an SSD ? HD is too slow for this game in my opinion.
Graphic with 4gb of dedicated RAM is (much) better - Nvidia 1050Ti for example.

with a 16g system my pc uses ~9-10g of ram while running BT, thunderbird, discord and pandora.(cpu is a fx8350)
BT is also installed on a SSD..game will load much faster on one.
my vid card(rx580) has 8g vram...BT uses just over 4g
i get between 40 and 60 fps depending map and number of units

decent framerate is possible without a highend system

even just upgrading ram to 16g will give a nice boost

 

[ronhatch]

Now that the mod-aware saves are "working", they are a problem... particularly when testing mods. It would be better if the system warned the user but allowed them to continue if desired. (And yes, I'll put this in the Suggestions sub-forum sooner or later... commenting here is easier in the brief window while the game is reloading.)

Edit: Oh, if it wasn't clear... the issue is the part of the system that won't allow you to load a save unless all of the mods that were active previously are still there.

 

[Svobodnyi]

@Dakk.

@HBS.. thank you for the fix.

Other issues of concern are:

1. No secondary objectives being applied on Recovery mission in regards to rescuing the operative with a heart monitor.

2. No audio during campaign cutscenes.

3. Serious framerate loss when dropships come in to unload mechs, especially if you have one with ECM equipped. This includes drop pods on urban maps.

4. Kamea not showing the proper pilot skills in the pilot bar in campaign missions.

5. Vendors no longer sell basic weapons in normal star systems. It's always, always ammo and machine guns.

All these things, I used the full uninstall, not working, is this a patch problem, when can I finally play the campaign for which I paid money?

 

[Prussian Havoc]

All these things, I used the full uninstall, not working, is this a patch problem, when can I finally play the campaign for which I paid money?

I see from your post yesterday that you’ve been enjoying modded gameplay, our Modding Community is superb! I hope your trouble with the sound volume was something you were able to work out.

Whenever Mods are involved, a “Full” Uninstall is not necessary a “Clean” Uninstall, especially for Windows 10.

In my signature block you’ll see an link to Edmon’s BATTLETECH Uninstall Guide, be aware that Windows 10 requires those few extra steps to remove files from hidden folders.

Good luck and eventually, good gaming! :bow:

 

[Caine 2112]

HBS... when is the next patch coming to fix a slew of issues with this beloved game we all can't get enough of? =)

Sound issues during cutscenes - there is no sound at all during cutscenes

Many stores missing basic weapons (just selling ammo)

Melee combat camera angles behind grass and rocks, blocking our view of meaty metal fists punching the beejesus out of the enemy

AI using better tactics (often see AI just move up and guard, and end up doing nothing else)

AI using the Reserve action more intelligently

High level Flashpoints at the beginning of the game

Better randomization of starting mechs for both Campaign and Career modes (I don't care about the pilots, but feel free to tweak that too) - (this includes your "ancestral Blackjack BJ-1") ... why not have a random pool of mechs based on the choices you make during the selection of your character's past?

Enemy opting to surrender or flee off the map when faced with complete destruction

More randomized elements during missions, such as your employer betraying you, calling in reinforcements on your side, urbanmechs popping out of buildings on the urban map, etc...

A lot of jerky lag when deploying a unit with ECM

Would LOVE: the option to skip the first tutorial and go straight to escorting Kamea in the first campaign mission instead of skipping that entire bit of story on Coromodir.

Would also LOVE: the removal of pilot injury from head hits when you use the Brace action

I'm sure there's quite a lot more that folks can add to this.

I would just like to know when we can expect the next patch?
Thanks.

 

[Timaeus]

HBS... when is the next patch coming to fix a slew of issues with this beloved game we all can't get enough of? =)

Thanks.

Soonish(tm).
Mitch has been talking about the 1.9 upcoming patch, and some of what it involves, on the PDX BATTLETECH streams. That's honestly the info we have in regards to when though.

 

[ronhatch]

Better randomization of starting mechs for both Campaign and Career modes (I don't care about the pilots, but feel free to tweak that too) - (this includes your "ancestral Blackjack BJ-1") ... why not have a random pool of mechs based on the choices you make during the selection of your character's past?

FWIW, having experimented with making a mod to swap the ancestral Blackjack for a Panther, it's much harder than you would expect. JUST giving the player a different mech is quite easy... but there are several conversations and events that make references to the ancestral mech, so if you're a stickler for details there are quite a few things you need to change as a consequence. (And if it's something that is going to be released by a company with a professional image to consider, they'd BETTER be sticklers for detail.)

In addition, making it so that the game can substitute in from a random selection of mechs would require even deeper changes than modding in a single replacement.

 

[NotYourTechSupport]

I'm curious to know when the crashing on macOS will be fixed? Since 1.8.1 was released, I've been unable to play. Played fine on 1.8.

64G of RAM, SSD, Lowest graphics settings with a 2015 Retina 17" iMac. To me, this appears to be a 32bit execution in a 64bit only system (Catalina).

 

[Prussian Havoc]

I'm curious to know when the crashing on macOS will be fixed? Since 1.8.1 was released, I've been unable to play. Played fine on 1.8.

64G of RAM, SSD, Lowest graphics settings with a 2015 Retina 17" iMac. To me, this appears to be a 32bit execution in a 64bit only system (Catalina).

There are Macs and there are Macs.

It wasn’t until I bought a new laptop that could play all the specs for BATTLETECH that the game stopped crashing.

How well does your Mac meet the specs?

 

[NotYourTechSupport]

It's at the required level. It is able to play and I've enjoyed it since pre-order. It even played just fine with 1.8. Here's the best part! I start a new campaign, I get through the tutorial and first mission, runs fine. I accept the first contract, choose my mechs/pilots, click begin mission.... crash.

The issue appears to be a Bad Access violation which generally results when 32bit code is trying to run in a pure 64bit environment (saw this a lot while testing Catalina).

So I can honestly say, it's not my machine. If you notice in the screenshot it shows an abort was called in UnityPlayer/Mono.

 

[unclecid]

hopefully the issue with saving during combat is fixed.
along with unity crashes post 1.8

 

[Prussian Havoc]

hopefully the issue with saving during combat is fixed.
along with unity crashes post 1.8

I save during combat quite seamlessly and haven’t has a Single Player crash in... well... I can’t remember when.

For me it took finally getting a computer that met ALL of BATTLETECH’s specs. :bow:

 

[unclecid]

I save during combat quite seamlessly and haven’t has a Single Player crash in... well... I can’t remember when.

For me it took finally getting a computer that met ALL of BATTLETECH’s specs. :bow:

i meet or exceed the recommended requirements.
never had a unity engine crash until 1.8 (the crash always happens during a mission too)
also post 1.8 saving during a mission can be problematic.....when you come back and load up sometimes you get infinite loading loop.

these dont happen for everyone....but they are happening.
more often in modded games.....and since modding is now supported i would hope this is considered a priority and is fixed in 1.9

 

[Prussian Havoc]

i meet or exceed the recommended requirements.
never had a unity engine crash until 1.8 (the crash always happens during a mission too)
also post 1.8 saving during a mission can be problematic.....when you come back and load up sometimes you get infinite loading loop.

these dont happen for everyone....but they are happening.
more often in modded games.....and since modding is now supported i would hope this is considered a priority and is fixed in 1.9

Ah... Modded BATTLETECH, is to me the way of the Future for so very many of us.

I better understand the issue now.

Hmm...

Please bear with me here, a bit of data collection could be very useful as a number of our Modding Community are currently invested in parsing the hows and whys of such topics:

Are you using Steam or the Paradox Loader?

Are you using any of the Mega Mods - RogueTech, BT Advanced, BEX 3025 Commander’s Edition?

Are there any additional smaller, single-purpose Mods?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you @unclecid. :bow:

 

[unclecid]

Ah... Modded BATTLETECH, is to me the way of the Future for so very many of us.

I better understand the issue now.

Hmm...

Please bear with me here, a bit of data collection could be very useful as a number of our Modding Community are currently invested in parsing the hows and whys of such topics:

Are you using Steam or the Paradox Loader?

Are you using any of the Mega Mods - RogueTech, BT Advanced, BEX 3025 Commander’s Edition?

Are there any additional smaller, single-purpose Mods?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you @unclecid. :bow:

i have multiple mod folders.....only modpack i dont use is RT.
i submit crash reports to HBS every time.
have also submitted various logs and such to some of the modding teams.
the modding community i have spoken with knows the reason behind the mission saving issue and are waiting for a HBS fix.
the unity problem is another ball of wax...it happens in BTA, BEX CE, XAI and Hyades Rim

 

[Prussian Havoc]

i have multiple mod folders.....only modpack i dont use is RT.
i submit crash reports to HBS every time.
have also submitted various logs and such to some of the modding teams.
the modding community i have spoken with knows the reason behind the mission saving issue and are waiting for a HBS fix.
the unity problem is another ball of wax...it happens in BTA, BEX CE, XAI and Hyades Rim

Hmm... while HBS officially supports Modding, that does not and has never been intended to mean that HBS is responsible for hunting down fatal errors as a result of Mod incompatibility with one another, or the stressing of base game code by the addition of more than 15-times the Star Systems the game was intended to ever contain.

Do you see where I am coming from?

It is neither fair nor in my opinion, proper to set blame for these “bugs” at the feet of HBS or Paradox.


We may need to embrace the fact that while Modding is supported, we do not have Carte Blanche to so stress undergirding Code Structures that they break the game on a regular basis.


In the end it is my opinion that we need to police our own expectations here. :bow:

 

[unclecid]

Hmm... while HBS officially supports Modding, that does not and has never been intended to mean that HBS is responsible for hunting down fatal errors as a result of Mod incompatibility with one another, or the stressing of base game code by the addition of more than 15-times the Star Systems the game was intended to ever contain.

Do you see where I am coming from?

It is neither fair nor in my opinion, proper to set blame for these “bugs” at the feet of HBS or Paradox.


We may need to embrace the fact that while Modding is supported, we do not have Carte Blanche to so stress undergirding Code Structures that they break the game on a regular basis.


In the end it is my opinion that we need to police our own expectations here. :bow:

while both the issues i mentioned happen quite frequently while using mod packs (bex ce is the only one that uses the ISM)
remember these mods existed before 1.8....without these issues....
1.8 caused these issues....seems like that it is something HBS did then

and besides that...these issues first appeared for me ( though they were as frequent ) while playing a mod-free Vanilla Campaign run.

i wouldnt expect HBS to fix things cuased by the mods themselves.

but when an issue exists in VANILLA and happens more often with mods telss us there is a underlying issue with code HBS wrote,.

my expectations are exactly where they should be.
HBS created code that breaks the game in vanilla and with mods
i expect them to fix it.
hopefully 1.9 does so.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

while both the issues i mentioned happen quite frequently while using mod packs (bex ce is the only one that uses the ISM)
remember these mods existed before 1.8....without these issues....
1.8 caused these issues....seems like that it is something HBS did then

and besides that...these issues first appeared for me ( though they were as frequent ) while playing a mod-free Vanilla Campaign run.

i wouldnt expect HBS to fix things cuased by the mods themselves.

but when an issue exists in VANILLA and happens more often with mods telss us there is a underlying issue with code HBS wrote,.

my expectations are exactly where they should be.
HBS created code that breaks the game in vanilla and with mods
i expect them to fix it.
hopefully 1.9 does so.

We’ve already got an excellent case in point, in order to best address Convoy AI, HBS is reaching back to a legacy build where the Long Range Pathing Algorithm as it turned out, substantially outperformed what HBS has used in 1.8

Code does not always move forward.

In this case HBS has now developed a new Short Range Pathing Algorithm that in-house dovetails nicely with the legacy Long Range Pathing Algorithm.

But yes, the return of legacy code could unhinge this or that mod and reintroduce conditions that may or may not drive a return of this or that big.


What I am driving at here is that with Update 1.9 the Onus for moving BATTLETECH forward will shift enormously to our Modding Community....

...and yes, it’ll be our Baby and it may sometimes be an ugly Baby as individual Modders prove to be TOO aggressive and demanding of code that was only written to support four Mechs and what? ...170 Star Systems.

Modding will move our Community forward, but it will not be without its firs and starts.

I believe we mustn’t go into this with a Glass Half Empty Attitude of “HBS left some bugs in the game.”

Be use in all reality tens of thousands of Bugs have been annihilated since the times of “Refrigerator” Mechs back in early 2016.

Let’s accept the Onus to make the most of BATTLETECH moving forward and as a Community own the fact that just about EVERY SINGLE Mod asked more of the BATTLETECH code than it was ever meant to give.

HBS has crafted a remarkably docile and malleable game game, but it ain’t meant to give what we will ask of it.

Let’s celebrate the success sure to come, but not blame HBS for the upcoming challenges, rather instead let’s back that various Patreon accounts of @CWolfs, @bloodydoves, @LadyAlekto, @Amechwarrior and so very many others so that our Modding community has the wherewithal to dedicate the time and talent needed to successfully craft the BATTLETECH Mods we want to see.


Because In so many ways that matter, we will get out of Modded BATTLETECH what we put into it.

And as a Community, we’ll soon have no one to blame but ourselves if in 6-months or a year, we don’t have the make and manner of BATTLETECH game that we want to see... want to play... want to share with one another.

:bow: