BT 3025-like gameplay?

[janjanjan]

Hello everyone, I've been really enjoying this game ~20 hours in, and can't help thinking now that you have a brilliant gameplay system developed, if there are plans to ever add an "MMO" in the style of BT 3025, where players could join a house, and everyone battles it out on the star map??

Influence on the star map would change based on how many games are won or lost for each system. Maybe players could choose to pay others to join your side, merc-style. And you could take on lucrative jobs for competing houses as mercs yourself. Add a trading system, and some house-based forums or communication tools and see what happens. Maybe eventually even open the game up to 2v2, 3v3, etc. That would be a ton of fun and a good way to make the game "competitive," and maybe people could for their own merc companies with friends? Could bring some of the collaborative gameplay ideas from Destiny. You could even all be players for a single House, and you're all collectively fighting against some other House.

Also would be fun if you guys added the "arena planet" (can't remember the name) as a simple mod or add-on where we'd get to play 1 on 1 single mech battles, and we'd be ranked and can make money to upgrade our single mechs etc.

 

[Kakrenor]

MMO would be difficult because of the battletech space transport system where you can spend days or weeks traveling from jump point to planet and waiting for jump ships to recharge.

You would need time Compression which is possible but you really need different levels of time compression between strategic level and tactical level which makes it somewhat impractical.

A persistent multiplayer game based on Solaris 7 (the arena planet) could be more easily implemented with players controlling mech teams rather than mercernary companies.

 

[project_mercy]

MMO would be difficult because of the battletech space transport system where you can spend days or weeks traveling from jump point to planet and waiting for jump ships to recharge.

We actually used to have that in the 3027/3028 MUXes back in the 90's. It was an interesting experience because the various houses had to schedule sorties in advance, and so you were stuck in positions where it was viable to have sneak attacks and such, because you had a large contingent of your fighting force on different planets. It was not astoundingly approachable though as a game, and so there were maybe a few hundred total players. So MO, but not really MMO. I agree that I don't think an MMO would work all that well.

To the OP, if you want more real-time mech combat, Mechwarrior Online just released a Solaris experience for their First-Person mech-style game.

 

[A_Unique_Name]

We actually used to have that in the 3027/3028 MUXes back in the 90's. It was an interesting experience because the various houses had to schedule sorties in advance, and so you were stuck in positions where it was viable to have sneak attacks and such, because you had a large contingent of your fighting force on different planets. It was not astoundingly approachable though as a game, and so there were maybe a few hundred total players. So MO, but not really MMO. I agree that I don't think an MMO would work all that well.

To the OP, if you want more real-time mech combat, Mechwarrior Online just released a Solaris experience for their First-Person mech-style game.

I played on 3027. I remember sitting on a Dropship for like 4 days, simming, talking. It was interesting.

And totally nothing that would work in today's internet era. Sadly. But I still recall with shocking clarity my first fight there, because it was two battalion-lite sized elements fighting. Got two kills in a Manticore!

 

[Chaotic-Entropy]

God damnit, does everything have to be an MMO?

 

[project_mercy]

I played on 3027. I remember sitting on a Dropship for like 4 days, simming, talking. It was interesting.

And totally nothing that would work in today's internet era. Sadly. But I still recall with shocking clarity my first fight there, because it was two battalion-lite sized elements fighting. Got two kills in a Manticore!

Yeah it was good times. I was also a tanker for a while until I got reassigned from a hover to a Demolisher and then got stomped by some freak CC drop where we ended up with a 3-way battle. Needless to say, that was the end of my tanker.

I've been hoping someone would try to learn from the good parts of the old MUXes and try to bring that strategic level to a multiplayer world, but so far it's never happened. I think people sort of get hung up on multiplayer games having to be a single universe. A lot of micro universes of a few hundred people that a person could join would probably let it work.

 

[Geaux Tiger]

Do it like Heros and Generals did. Similar concept based on WWII European and African Theatres. Players controlled multiple units of infantry, armor, and air support on a strategic board. Then those battles were fought FPS style with players controlling a single soldier, pilot. or tanker within the units involved. Think Battlefield style objective based combat. Was an interesting game.

 

[A_Unique_Name]

Yeah it was good times. I was also a tanker for a while until I got reassigned from a hover to a Demolisher and then got stomped by some freak CC drop where we ended up with a 3-way battle. Needless to say, that was the end of my tanker.

I've been hoping someone would try to learn from the good parts of the old MUXes and try to bring that strategic level to a multiplayer world, but so far it's never happened. I think people sort of get hung up on multiplayer games having to be a single universe. A lot of micro universes of a few hundred people that a person could join would probably let it work.

There was a brief resurgence of MUXes when THUD was released in the mid-2000's. Frankly, the actual gameplay experience of THUD-enabled Btech sites was about as good as gameplay gets. The graphics were obviously primitive, but who cares? I seriously wish we could get some kind of persistent campaign.

Does anyone remember the original Heavy Gear game Activision put out when they lost the Battletech / Mechwarrior license? There was a multiplayer campiagn mode that was an absolute /blast/ to play. We don't need an MMO -- we just need company-sized battles that matter and affect the world.

 

[janjanjan]

YES wow I'd completely forgotten about Heavy Gear until now. I remember spending so many hours of my childhood playing that game.

 

[PBI]

I went through some of the most intense fights I've ever had on the old Btech MUSE/MUX/MUSHes. Really great times.

 

[FrostflyPrime]

The way I would set it up is as Various battles going on the successor states...battles last a few weeks, you drop in and get missions. the success of your faction changes who owns the field...multiple battles can be going on so all factions are involved. after the battle ends, faction rewards can be distributed based on which side did what. It skips the need for travel time and adds a larger world then just the thrash and bash of Solaris. How you build the system is up for debate.

 

[A_Unique_Name]

I went through some of the most intense fights I've ever had on the old Btech MUSE/MUX/MUSHes. Really great times.

I had literal heart-thumping fights on the old MU** environments. I mean, it felt like a for-real fight. Especially in some of the earlier iterations of the Btech sites, because generally when you lost a mech, it was gone for good. Real consequences for actions, and people fought hard and well.

Again, this game would never work as an MMO. But as the resolution system for a campaign? GOD YES.

In fact? We really could start a campaign on the side, and use the skirmish system to resolve things. We'd need the right group of people, but it could be done, even if Paradox/HBS doesn't come out with the necessary DLCs.