Lord Commander talks Heavy Metal and Patch 1.8

[Chaon]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/502286013

Start: 09:20
Well here is the Lord Commander with his 'iced tea' and a helper and they are talking about the free patch 1.8 and the changes we will see. They will be discussing Heavy Metal DLC over the next 4 weeks but it's 1.8 tonight.

Patch 1.8 features:
- Mod support. It's not just in the DLC but the free patch will bring mod support to the game.
- 50 new missions - Well we won't see 50 new named missions because what they are doing is naming some of them the same so we won't know which mission we will get exactly.
13:00
- More travel events to brighten your trips between the stars.
- Star map filters - The filters on the star map are getting more options to show what planets you may want to go and visit.
19:50
- Mech bay improvements - In the mech bay you can rotate your mechs to see what they look like. But when you refit a mech, you can click on 'view mech' and this gives you 4 different camera angles to look at your mechs in detail. There is lighting and shadows to give the mechs a good look as well.
23:40
Lord Commander goes to chat for some questions and has fun answering some.
- Prussian Havoc asks about the COIL weapons. The large COIL gun builds 40 damage and 20 heat per chevron.
- Some bug fixes are done for turrets. Don't know about vehicles.
- Stock mechs for enemies will not have the new weapons from Heavy Metal. We are the only ones who have them.
- Final flashpoint in the mini-campaign will have us fighting against two legendary mechwarriors. The Bounty Hunter and the Black Widow. Beware and ready for it.
- Introducing a bit of a tutorial into the Majestry Metals mission for new players.
- No infantry.
32:00
- Only the new mechs will get the quirks/equipment.
36:00
- Talking about the new mechs.
- Flea - 2 x +1 hit targeting baffles, 1 in each side torso.
41:30
- The mechs that are already in the game will not get quirks/equipment with 1.8/Heavy Metal. That's for modders to do.
43:15
- Assassin - Cockpit is in the right position. Intercept system - ignores 3 evasion pips.
- If the special equipment is destroyed in combat, it is repaired after combat in the mechbay. So they can never be permanently destroyed.
47:30
- Lots of new things included in the 1.8 patch besides the 2 new mechs.
50:00
- Vulcan - Close Quarters Combat suite - +90m support range, +10 melee hit defence. A mech that was described as an anti-infantry mech but it has an AC/2, the longest ranged weapon in the game. Why?
53:25
- Phoenix Hawk - Vectored Thrust Kit - +10% to jump distance, +25% to damage after jumping.
58:00
- Rifleman - Rangefinder Suite - +100m view distance, -2 Recoil/Range penalty.
1:06:05
- Archer - Missilery Suite - LRM clustering, +75% SRM Stability Damage.
1:08:00
- Annihilator - Ballistic Siege Compensator system - +20% ballistic damage, +40 max stability. It's so big that they slightly scaled it down to fit into the mechbay.
1:10:05
- Bull Shark - Thumper Cannon - Area of effect mech killer - 2 shots per battle.
- The Thumper Cannon is not the Mech Mortar.

Lots of other bits of info in the stream but this is the highpoints for me.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Excelllent rundown, hits the highlights and by including time-hacks it helps us zero in on the specifics we may want to listen too. Great job, Good @Chaon! :bow:

 

[commuterzombie]

You can watch the VOD here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/502286013

For anyone who lacks the time to watch the whole thing, here's my notes on what was announced by Mitch and Ryan and the questions they answered.

1.8 Features:
- 50 New Merc contracts have been added. Some will appear to be the same as the old contracts but will have different setups/outcomes etc. Some are linked to other contracts. Should shake things up a bit.
- New travel events
- Star Map changes: ability to filter for systems that have particular types of gear in their shop. RNG still plays a part but you can see where (for example) ACs or Gyros/Acutators are sold.
- Store inventory changes: Stronger association between planet tags and types of item available in the shop.
- Mech Bay: can now rotate Mechs in the Mech bay. When refitting there's a 'View Mech' button that gives you an awesome look at the mech from several camera angles. It's really easy to see how different paint jobs look on the Mech.
- Flashpoint mini campaign: Several linked Flashpoints and travel events that pop up over a career. At the end of this the final Flashpoint has you taking on 'The Bounty Hunter' and 'The Black Widow'. Those legendary Mechwarriors have unique special abilities, Flashpoint mini campaign explains the Bull Shark, COIL etc.
- Base Campaign has had a 'smoothing pass' from Kevin and Connor to smooth down some rough edges. Victoria gets a special ability for her 'Boss fight' missions.
- Tutorial slides added to Majesty Metals mission to ease new players into the game

Dev Diaries
- Andrew MacIntosh (writer) doing a dev diary on Monday covering Flashpoints etc.

----------
New Mechs:

NB: the special Mech components have had their numbers tweaked since this build. These are not final numbers. Ryan had modded a lot of his Mechs with non-standard equipment so armour numbers may be off.

Musings in Parentheses are me thinking out loud whilst making notes, not anything Mitch and Ryan said.

- The Flea FLE-15 | 20 Tons
- Targeting Baffle - 0 tons - RT + LT, 3 slots each, adds +1 hit defense.
- Base structure | armour: 166 | 240
- Hardpoints: 2 ballistic, 2 energy, 0 missile, 5 support
- Move: 6
(Even without a Coil gun this could be an annoying backstabber)

- The Assassin ASN-21 | 40 Tons
- Intercept System - 0 tons - 3 Slots, LT, ignore 3 Evasive Chevrons
- Base structure | armour: 536??? (must be a typo in the definition file) | 360
- Hardpoints: 0 Ballistic, 1 Energy, 4 Missile, 1 Support
- Move: 7

- The Vulcan VL-2T | 40 Tons
- CQC Suite - 0 tons - +90m Support Range, +10 Melee Hit defence. 2 Slots in the CT. (No room left for a gyro)
- Structure | Armour: 336 | 400
- 1 Ballistic, 1 Energy, 0 Missile, 4 Support
- Move: 6
(Decent backstabber if you can load it out with +damage Small Lasers)

- The Phoenix Hawk PXH-1 | 45 Tons
- Vectored Thrust Kit - + 10% Jump distance, +25% Damage after shot. RT/LT 2 slots, 0.5 tons (essentially a special jump jet that you can't remove)
- Structure | Armour: 376 | 640
- Hardpoints: 0 Ballistic, 3 Energy, 0 Missile, 2 Support
- Move: 6

(That means a jumping PXH-1 firing 50 damage LLs can headshot snipe at 62.5 damage per LL!)

The Rifleman RFL-3N | 60 Tons
- Rangefinder Suite - +100m View distance, -2 Recoil/Range penalty. H, 1 slot (no cockpit mods for you Grey Norton!)
- Structure | Armour: 496 | 600
- Hardpoints: 2 Ballistic, 4 Energy, 0 Missile, 2 Support
- Move: 4

The Archer ARC-2S | 70 Tons
- Missilery Suite - +LRM Clustering (no hard numbers), +75% SRM Stab damage. RT, 1 slot, 0 Tons
- Structure | Armour: 536 | 1040
- Hardpoints: 0 Ballistic, 4 Energy, 4 Missile, 0 Support
- Move: 4
(A tight cluster makes two 6 damage LRM 20s pretty frikking scary)

The Bull Shark BSK-MAZ | 95 Tons
- Thumper Cannon: 2 shot artillery, no need for separate ammo, RT, 8 Slots, 10 Tons
- Structure | Armour: 726 | 1480
- Hardpoints: 6 Ballistic, 4 Energy, 2 Missile, 0 Support
- Move: 3
There is another Bull Shark Variant that does not have the Thumper

Annihilator ANH-1A | 100 Tons
- BSC System - +20% Ballistic Damage, +40 Max stability - CT, 1 slot, 0 Tons
- Structure | Armour: 761 | 1000
- Hardpoints: 5 Ballistic, 5 Energy, 0 Missile, 2 Support
- Move: 2

(+20% damage means that 70 Damage AC 10s and Gauss Rifles can headshot through 20% Damage Reduction)

Warhammer WHM-6R | 70 Tons
- Optimised Capacitors, (not shown here, adds Energy weapon damage) CT, 0 Tons, ? slots
- Structure | Armour: 536 | 800
- Hardpoints: 1 Ballistic, 4 Energy, 1 Missile, 4 Support
- Move 4
(Any damage boost allows 60 Damage Magna ++PPCs to head shot)

Marauder | 75 Tons
- Lance Commander Mod (not shown here), LT, 0 Tons, ? slots
- Structure | Armour: 571 | 920
- Hardpoints: 3 Ballistic, 4 Energy, 0 Missile, 4 Support
- Move: 4

--------
Q & A (I missed some Qs that were not germane to 1.8 or were covered elsewhere)

Q: Does the COIL-L build 40 damage and 20 heat per purple COIL damage chevron?
A: Yes

Q: What is the status of bug fixed for vehicles? (Turretless Vs, firing arcs, crits)
A: A turret thing has been fixed. Maybe?

Q: Do any stock mechs come equipped with the COIL beam?
A: No, you can buy them in stores or (maybe?) acquire them in other ways

Q: Any infantry coming or has it been declared dead?
A: No infantry in Heavy Metal.

Q: Does Coil damage reset at the end of the turn?
A: Yes

Q: Will the base game mechs get the custom systems like the new mechs?
A: No (maybe in mods, concerns about existing save games etc. make this unattractive to HBS)

Q: Will we ever get an UrbanMech Mark II?
A: When you get Quads

Q: Do Coil weapons charge from jumping?
A: No

Q: Will Heavy Metal include Flashpoints beyond the mini-campaign?
A: No

Q: Is the plan for lighter mechs to be viable in the campaign?
A: Yes, see the COIL gun.

Q: Is there going to be a match making lobby for multiplayer?
A: In success...

Q: Will double heat sinks be more common?
A: the shop category rebalance has made it so you can more reliably track them down, though they are expensive.

Q: Any more planets added to the map?
A: Not in 1.8

Q: Will the Bounty Hunter have their iconic camo scheme?
A: Yes

Q: Eck's guide updated for new features?
A: It's not a bad thought. Eck, are you listening?

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Excellent write up. :bow:

For the Phoenix Hawk, was the special equipment the equivalent of two permanent Jump Jets, or just a single jump jet? I had though he said two.

 

[Gauntlet]

For the Phoenix Hawk, was the special equipment the equivalent of two permanent Jump Jets, or just a single jump jet? I had though he said two.

I *think* it was effectively 2 permanent jump jets that can't be removed. And their weight has already been accounted for so there's no discrepancy there.

 

[commuterzombie]

@Gauntlet is correct as far as I was able to see.

 

[Timaeus]

Greetings MechWarriors!

Similar topical threads have been merged.
Carry on.

Timaeus

 

[Chaon]

Thanks @Timaeus, @commuterzombie had more detail in his post.

 

[Chaon]

I *think* it was effectively 2 permanent jump jets that can't be removed. And their weight has already been accounted for so there's no discrepancy there.

They didn't quite say that the vector thrusters add 2 jump but the flavour text says they act just like jump jets.

So it may give your PH an additional 2 jump plus the 10% bonus jump and then the 25% bonus damage after jumping.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

They didn't quite say that the vector thrusters add 2 jump but the flavour text says they act just like jump jets.

So it may give your PH an additional 2 jump plus the 10% bonus jump and then the 25% bonus damage after jumping.

It strikes me that the Phoenix Hawk’s special equipment is a rift off of the old “Angel of Death” MechWarrior Ability.

Unless I am mistaken, the Angel of Death gave a 25% further Jump as well as increased DFA Damage.

With the Phoenix Hawk the Jump Distance Bonus is reigned in and the Damage Increase is to Weapons Damage rather than DFA Damage.

I really like that while it wears a different guise, the Angel of Death will soon stalk BATTLETECH battlefields once again. : )

 

[commuterzombie]

Either I missed it or they didn't show it here, have we seen the details on the Warhammer and Marauder special components yet?

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Either I missed it or they didn't show it here, have we seen the details on the Warhammer and Marauder special components yet?

Yes... hmm, the Marauder has a Lance Command Bonus and the Warhammer delivers 20% greater Energy Weapons Damage.

I’ll try to find the exact wording and edit it back in here later.



EDIT: @commuterzombie, here are @Kereminde ’s notes from the PDXCON thread:

Marauder’s Lance Command Module
(Dalban)
Tonnage: 0
Slots: 3
Value: 0
+Called Shot, -10% Dmg (Lance)

Warhammer’s Optimized Capacitors
(Starcorp)
Tonnage: 0
Slots: 1
Value: 0
+20% Energy Dmg

 

[Chaon]

Yeah they didn't really talk about the Warhammer or Marauder in that stream.

The Warhammer's bonus is great. 20% bonus to energy damage is nice no matter what.

 

[Jonathan8883]

If the Annihilator gets +20% ballistic damage, then its AC 10s do 72 damage per hit. The gauss has been dethroned, and an Annihilator pilot with maxed Called Shot has a 72% chance to one-shot and salvage any mech in the game with a head-shot.

Does this seem like a problem to anyone else?

 

[Gauntlet]

They didn't quite say that the vector thrusters add 2 jump but the flavour text says they act just like jump jets.

So it may give your PH an additional 2 jump plus the 10% bonus jump and then the 25% bonus damage after jumping.

i dunno. I could've sworn I heard them say you can take off all the jump jets and still have 2, because of the built-in Vectored Thrust units. And that the tonnage was already factored in.

Will see if I can find it. . . .

Edit: Found it. Okay, it starts @ 54:17 minutesish talking about the vectored thrust kits. Sorry for no linky, but I can't seem to get it to work right so . . .

 

[Prussian Havoc]

If the Annihilator gets +20% ballistic damage, then its AC 10s do 72 damage per hit. The gauss has been dethroned, and an Annihilator pilot with maxed Called Shot has a 72% chance to one-shot and salvage any mech in the game with a head-shot.

Does this seem like a problem to anyone else?

It marks the Annihilator/Called Shot Master Combination as an Apex Predator. I believe One-Shot-and-Salvage (Called Shot Mastery) still meets the criteria of being a very fun BATTLETECH combination for many gamers. And fun remains an important game design goal for HBS.



A completely different Called Shot Mastery question is whether each weapon after the first should retain that initial 18%?

 

[stjobe]

If the Annihilator gets +20% ballistic damage, then its AC 10s do 72 damage per hit. The gauss has been dethroned, and an Annihilator pilot with maxed Called Shot has a 72% chance to one-shot and salvage any mech in the game with a head-shot.

Does this seem like a problem to anyone else?

Seeing that it's one of 51 different 'Mech chassis with over 90 variants (41 current chassis + 10 with HM/1.8, 77 current variants + the 13+ variants we know from HM/1.8), I'm sure I won't be seeing one anytime soon. Plus, the AI doesn't use Precise Shot so as long as my 'Mechs stay on their feet, it's not a problem at all.

 

[Chaon]

Hey it's the Annihilator. It's supposed to be a danger on the battlefield and when you have one, you should be waltzing through the enemy.

 

[Prussian Havoc]

Hey it's the Annihilator. It's supposed to be a danger on the battlefield and when you have one, you should be waltzing through the enemy.

Unless that Enemy is a fellow BATTLETECH gamer joining you in a BATTLETECH Multiplayer match. : )

 

[commuterzombie]

Seeing that it's one of 51 different 'Mech chassis with over 90 variants (41 current chassis + 10 with HM/1.8, 77 current variants + the 13+ variants we know from HM/1.8), I'm sure I won't be seeing one anytime soon. Plus, the AI doesn't use Precise Shot so as long as my 'Mechs stay on their feet, it's not a problem at all.

You say that, but I have seen the odd weird called shot in the past from the AI. Have a look at 18:07 here:

An OpFor Trebuchet takes a called shot on a prone Dekker (of course). Somehow it knocks Dekker's initiative down by one level. I've never seen that happen when you take a called shot on a downed opponent elsewhere so I think that in some circumstances the AI can (or used to be able to) take a precision strike like effect.

Even if this was a bug that has been long patched out, an OpFor ANH-1A still has a 4 chances per alpha strike to decapitate one of your Mechs if its not got any damage reduction. That's scary. The same applies in multiplayer obviously making it quite a swingy mech there and arguably providing an element of pay-to-win/power creep to the PvP side of things which we could probably have done without.

Overall a lot of these unique Mech quirks lend themselves to head capping or inflicting pilot injuries. Long range MGs on the Vulcan, +25% Damage on ++LLs on the Phoenix Hawk, + energy weapon damage on the Warhammer, + Ballistic damage on the Annihilator, Missilery on the Archer potentially if it clusters LRM hits on the head (if the first missile hits you need 11 6 damage LRMs to cluster there).

To be honest, I feel fine about the player being able to assemble a head-capping terror of a mech in the late game. If you're going to face down three or four to one odds on some missions you need a way to even the odds. Players like to be able to feel powerful and when new players discover these combos after having their asses kicked all over the periphery they are going to feel good.

...and if you don't like it perhaps with the enhanced mod support it will be easier for you to tweak the game a bit so you do like it