I don't like mechlab

[ItWasRhetorical]

If clans are a paid DLC, I'll pass.

They'll probably be an expansion, and it'll probably be far off in the future. After all, we have - for example - the Fourth Succession War to explore first.

If it's anything like the Shadowrun games, they'll be big expandalones that radically improve the game. HBS historically have been extremely rewarding of customer loyalty, giving freebies and steep loyalty discounts to people who own the base game/previous instalments.

 

[Remnar]

They'll probably be an expansion, and it'll probably be far off in the future. After all, we have - for example - the Fourth Succession War to explore first.

If it's anything like the Shadowrun games, they'll be big expandalones that radically improve the game. HBS historically have been extremely rewarding of customer loyalty, giving freebies and steep loyalty discounts to people who own the base game/previous instalments.

Agreed. I am excited to see how things progress.

 

[AlyssaFaden]

I don't see an issue with the mech bay. Back with the TT and RPG there were rules that allowed a tech to repair just about anything in the field with the ad of a gantry (IIRC the dropships included repair gantries, certainly on the larger Union and Overlord class). This included Engine and Gyro replacement using another mech as a repair gantry, it was harder and took longer. There were time tables and difficulty checks. I don't remember any individual job taking more than a day or two. The current system seems reasonable to me. The hard point limitation seem realistic to me but still allows quiet a bit of modification to tailor it to a pilot/mission.

Bingo. This right here.

Yes, the lore implies back to medieval times in so many ways, but then equally there are lore books covering the mech factories available on each planet and just how many mechs each house is churning out each month.

The IS is screwed, because it has lost the technology and know-how to innovate new designs and even understand how these factories work ... but work they do ... and parts are created, and mechs chrun off the lines. But as they break down, or are taken over, there's a slow grind of losing what you have.

Battlefield repairs are common, if not essential, and are covered in depth int he Mercenary handbook; repairs in the field are common. Certainly on a dropship. scavenging for parts, swapping out for parts you do have, stripping down enemy mech kills ... these are all part of the lore.

If anything, this game is bang on point with how they are handling things.

 

[humpday]

That is the strangest comment I've ever heard.
So what do you want the game to be? Bland, with locked mechs?

A large part of the enjoyment is looting, particularly for engineering parts that boost stability, sight range and accuracy.
In fact looting is a fundamental aspect of modern games, without it people will just quit right after the campaign.

Whats wrong with swapping out one component for another? Lore does NOT work in modern gaming. That has been seen both here and in MWO, particularly in MWO you can see how flawed applying lore TT adn all those misc rules to a game like this.

 

[Stuckenschmidt]

I know where the OP is coming from, but to be frank I think that the lore itself makes no sense in this "scarce resources" scenario. If all the Mechs would really be so hard to produce / maintain, then the Universe would have destroyed its last Battlemech in the late 2nd Succession War (yes, this is an exaggeration). The IS constantly produces Mechs and of course they know how to repair them. What sense would Technicians make in the first place, if not?

But of course we are simply overthinking the lore here. Let`s just enjoy the game. Those who like the MechLab will use it. Alll others won`t.

 

[Homis]

Personally of all the Battletech and Mechwarrior VGs out there this has had the most honest TT feel of any of them too me. They have all been good (played alot of MW and MW2) and I have enjoyed most of them but this game has the right feel both in the fluff and the actual combat. Sure its not a total TT port like MegaMek but it has the right feel even when it deviates from the letter of TT mechanics. Its never going to be perfect for everyone but I like what I paid for.

 

[MeiSooHaityu]

I saw the title of the thread and was like...



I get what the OP was saying, but I can't say I agree. Maybe it is the old MechWarrior player in me, because I can't get enough of tooling in the Mechlab.

I understand the idea of it being extensive, especially for 3025 and for a dropship refit, however I feel that HBS made some good choices with the system. I like the hardpoint system and how it sticks with maintaining the relative flavor of the mech (even if a few examples didn't 100% translate from MWO to BattleTech). I also like how the engines are permanent. It is a dropship and not a factory refit, so not changing the engine seems reasonable.

Overall it is a nice middle ground between the Table Top, lore, and MechWarrior/MechCommander. It allows players to have fun building their new and interesting creations without going too wild, and yet also accommodates players who may want to do less with it (like purely replace items 1 to 1 with stock).

It feels like a win-win to me.

 

[Mechabattler]

I think perhaps there's a case for making it take longer, cost more, and possibly have a difficulty check for modifying mechs. But it's not outside of the lore. And like has been said. You could just not use the mechlab and have the experience you desire. I might try it myself just for fun.

 

[Homis]

I think perhaps there's a case for making it take longer, cost more, and possibly have a difficulty check for modifying mechs. But it's not outside of the lore. And like has been said. You could just not use the mechlab and have the experience you desire. I might try it myself just for fun.

Why would it take longer especially if you just repairing or replacing parts. The current days to a week or two for most repairs and refits feels pretty good/realistic. They can change the entire engine (power pack) in an M1A1 Abrams in hours. The entire turret comes off and back on in ~3 hours. Both can be done in the field with the assistance of an M88A1 recovery vehicle. Assuming you have the dropship gantries or a mech with hands replacing most major components should be analogist.

 

[Mechabattler]

Why would it take longer especially if you just repairing or replacing parts. The current days to a week or two for most repairs and refits feels pretty good/realistic. They can change the entire engine (power pack) in an M1A1 Abrams in hours. The entire turret comes off and back on in ~3 hours. Both can be done in the field with the assistance of an M88A1 recovery vehicle. Assuming you have the dropship gantries or a mech with hands replacing most major components should be analogist.

Well repairing armor is one thing. But if structure is destroyed, doesn't that imply there's nothing left to fix? It's completely shattered at that point. It would make more sense if when a section is completely gone, that you have to use salvage of that specific mech to replace that section. Then it makes sense, you're just replacing the section. But as it stands you're whole mech could be smashed to bits and yet you can magically restore it from the shattered bits of it left. I wouldn't think even full tech rating Argo would be able to fabricate that much of a mech.

 

[NullVoid]

Mechs are not modular, thats why Omni-mechs where eventualy created.

Omnimechs are not about customization; omnimechs are about picking one of a half-dozen or so fixed loadout choices and having your mechtechs set it up within the hour. You can customize omnimechs or make new omnipod loadouts, which take basically as long as they take on non-omnimechs. See StratOps, page 189.

 

[CarpeMortis]

In the game's time period the IS is screwed, few factories survive, few mechs are built outside the major planets like Hesperus or Luthien.
Most mechs have been lovingly maintained snd nurtured for centuries.

Yet I can rebuilld and totaly refit a mech out of spare parts in a Dropship's mech bay?

It's better than some past BT games whrn every mech was basicly an omni-mech, the hard points are a good limiter.

Dunno why but the whole thing is a little annoying. Mechs are not modular, thats why Omni-mechs where eventualy created.

At least there are no silly engine and internal structure refits

So the drop ship thing is expedience... The Argo is specifically mentioned as having advanced Star League level bays. The Hysteria (Leopard) does not, but rather than design a whole new set of systems, they just let that slide since in theory you will quickly upgrade to the Argo.

As for Omni vs standard mechs. Omnis allow for fast field changes and refits. Hours rather than days. Standard mechs could still be refit, and often were, but they required a lot of time, money, and talent. The Mech entries on Sarna are full of "custom" variants, many dating back to the 3rd succession war, or even earlier.

 

[Tsar_Bomba]

None of that exists in this erra if I'm not mistaken.. Need the Clans to show up and say Hi first

Or, you know... skip that mistake this time around.

 

[Homis]

Well repairing armor is one thing. But if structure is destroyed, doesn't that imply there's nothing left to fix? It's completely shattered at that point. It would make more sense if when a section is completely gone, that you have to use salvage of that specific mech to replace that section. Then it makes sense, you're just replacing the section. But as it stands you're whole mech could be smashed to bits and yet you can magically restore it from the shattered bits of it left. I wouldn't think even full tech rating Argo would be able to fabricate that much of a mech.

I agree, if the internal structure of a segment of a mech is completely destroyed then IMHO the section is beyond repair and is being field replaced.

To that end it would be sort of cool then that if say your Shadowhawk had an arm and side torso completely destroyed in a battle that you would be required to have at least 1/3 of a salvaged Shadowhawk in stores to replace those destroyed segments and in doing the repairs would consume the 1/3 salvage. 1/3 salvage section = 2 or 3 random segments worth of usable structure, obviously this would need balanced etc.

Certainly abstract since you don't have any description of what 1/3 of the Shadowhawk you salvaged before included but it would still make it feel like you had to scrounge for parts. It would also breath some life into some of the more common mechs simple due to availability of parts while making models that don't show up as often more difficult to maintain. This would be decent balance between tracking every single structural segment and every actuator and weapon on a salvaged mech making you sift through the gory details.

 

[Remnar]

So the drop ship thing is expedience... The Argo is specifically mentioned as having advanced Star League level bays. The Hysteria (Leopard) does not, but rather than design a whole new set of systems, they just let that slide since in theory you will quickly upgrade to the Argo.

Love to see the process of loading those mechs to/from the Argo from the Leopard in zero G. Should be a sight.

Gotta be some gantry system or something.