No HBS developer Q&A livestream on March 14th

[HBS_HighCommand]

Hey everyone,

The team is all-in on shipping the game next month (can't believe I'm writing that) and so we won't be doing our regular Q&A. We were looking forward to answering more of your questions but thought you'd prefer we focus on delivering BATTLETECH!

Cheers y'all!
Mitch

 

[Prussian Havoc]

The HOME STRETCH! : )

 

[Zak DelVillar]

I will admit I am a bit bummed, not because I have questions or anything but honestly the live Q and As are like little hits of something new that keeps me going hahaha. I understand and want them to get it done ASAP but I still enjoy them. I will have to content myself on reruns of the old Q and As. Nothing but love and I am so excited to install the full game on the computer and drop of the grid for a few... weeks.

 

[pmaura]

Well how about a solid release date instead

 

[Felixforever]

I just hope we get a 2 week before announcement, my job just announced bonus vacation time for employees and I hope to have enough lead time to put in a request.

 

[Captain Slide]

Sad but understandable.

If you are monitoring this thread exalted one (Mitch) can you please take into consideration that April 25 (24th in US) is a national public Holiday here in Australia (ANZAC day, it's roughly equivalent to 4th July), and with out a doubt, I , and the many other Aussie customers will find nothing more frustrating than having to wait for our craptastic internet to down load 25 gigs of gaming goodness on a day that for many will be an ideal time to play.

So could you please, please, PLEASE release the game before then for your Aussie friends. (even pre-download through Steam will do).

Thanks much in advance.

 

[Exemplar Voss]

So... instead of the Q and/or A, could you poke the paradox press guys into doing some skirmish videos or something? They won't help with end game polishing and they've been lazy on the BT front since December. It'd be fantastic to see some of the general polish in non-spoilery action.

 

[Gronk311]

WARNING SARCASM ALERT

I get it. Mitch & Co don’t want to answer a bunch of questions relating to all the features that have been struck or pushed back. Can’t blame them, there is a maddened horde of fans already salivating to get any information about this game and any DLC or sequels.

SARCASM ALERT CLEAR

I do agree with @Exemplar Voss that there seems to be very little marketing material being released. Does HBS have leverage to change that?

 

[Felixforever]

My Facebook stream is getting bombarded with battletech ads, so marketing is doing something.

 

[Gronk311]

My Facebook stream is getting bombarded with battletech ads, so marketing is doing something.

I’m glad to hear that, but Facebook is only one social media outlet (admittedly a large one). I think using the ad features In YouTube and the IOS would reach as many people.

Personally I would like more larger items, such as skirmish films, interviews explaining the game - not the history of BT - and (yes I know this is not under Paradox control) review articles being published.

 

[Faenaris]

WARNING SARCASM ALERT

I get it. Mitch & Co don’t want to answer a bunch of questions relating to all the features that have been struck or pushed back. Can’t blame them, there is a maddened horde of fans already salivating to get any information about this game and any DLC or sequels.

SARCASM ALERT CLEAR

I do agree with @Exemplar Voss that there seems to be very little marketing material being released. Does HBS have leverage to change that?

It'll pick up soon enough. I think we will start seeing some more press coverage and some streams of the game (courtesy of paradox) by the beginning of April. Maybe even sooner.

 

[Chaon]

They don't really want to be bombarded with 'When will it be released?' and 'What date?' over and over.

 

[Havamal]

Maybe they just want to finish the game.
Then they can do all that extra talky talky.

 

[Sleeper Service]

If you are monitoring this thread exalted one (Mitch) can you please take into consideration that April 25 (24th in US) is a national public Holiday here in Australia (ANZAC day, it's roughly equivalent to 4th July),

So could you please, please, PLEASE release the game before then for your Aussie friends. (even pre-download through Steam will do).

I would have thought ANZAC day was closer to Memorial day or Veterans day, but am probably splitting hairs.

In any case +1 from an another Aussie for the 25th

 

[Jaz_Solace]

Thats ok... because this is in SteamDB - 24th April Release.

https://steamdb.info/sub/175167/depots/

 

[Felixforever]

Instead of a q&a how about do a short video about features that had to be cut and if you plan on implementing them post launch. Because to be honest with you as a dev company you have really shaken my trust. Not that the trust of one old man means anything In the grand scheme of the world.

 

[Cyttorak001]

So... instead of the Q and/or A, could you poke the paradox press guys into doing some skirmish videos or something? They won't help with end game polishing and they've been lazy on the BT front since December. It'd be fantastic to see some of the general polish in non-spoilery action.

I would love to see some video of them interacting with the single player campaign interface: navigation, or contract negotiation, or MechLab. Or, more combat footage would be okay too, as long as it's on a new map.

 

[Timaeus]

Instead of a q&a how about do a short video about features that had to be cut and if you plan on implementing them post launch. Because to be honest with you as a dev company you have really shaken my trust. Not that the trust of one old man means anything In the grand scheme of the world.

Please understand that HBS has previously stated they will not answer calls to justify or explain their their actions in regards to development changes. Have they explained their actions before? Yes, and been forthright about them (see the previous Q&A). But they won't do it just because someone says they need to justify it.

I'm paraphrasing a post here (thanks @Packrat) but the short answer is stuff happens, and HBS needs to get the game done, and up until recently the this was a talked about feature so it is a recent development. HBS needs to make money, and to do that they need release the game and hit their (currently not public) release date. And if completing a feature means delaying a game past what is fiscally responsible as a business, then the feature is going to get pared back unfortunately. It's disappointing, but it's not the end of the world either.

 

[Felixforever]

Please understand that HBS has previously stated they will not answer calls to justify or explain their their actions in regards to development changes. Have they explained their actions before? Yes, and been forthright about them (see the previous Q&A). But they won't do it just because someone says they need to justify it.

I'm paraphrasing a post here (thanks @Packrat) but the short answer is stuff happens, and HBS needs to get the game done, and up until recently the this was a talked about feature so it is a recent development. HBS needs to make money, and to do that they need release the game and hit their (currently not public) release date. And if completing a feature means delaying a game past what is fiscally responsible as a business, then the feature is going to get pared back unfortunately. It's disappointing, but it's not the end of the world either.

I'm not asking for a justification just a list of what's gone and if said items are being considered for post launch.

 

[Timaeus]

I'm not asking for a justification just a list of what's gone and if said items are being considered for post launch.

Aside from the hireable MechWarrior customization system, that was answered in update#47. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/webeharebrained/battletech/posts/2089189