Battletech (PC Strategy Game)

I know! Ugh. Don't want to wait.

 

I just got an email! It says that I will get another email when I can actually play the game. This is killing me!

 

Installation has begun!

 

Finally, download in progress

 

Installing. I didn't think I had beta...

 

Also here's a link to the PDF manual they have with the game. This one is good to know:

Minus - Brace (End turn.) Note that the UI incorrectly displays this hotkey as “s”

 

One fight finished. I went heavy (Awesome, Orion, Centurion, and Vindicator).

AI made some silly choices but also a lot of very good ones.

 

2 battles done, one was pretty much steam roll as AI overextended with scout, in second I got quickly punished for putting scout far front, which got later sniped even as I tried to filter it out. Overall AI feels good, but it does some very questionable or outright bad choices.

 

I think the AI is based on watching pug groups in MWO. Scouts always get too far ahead, everyone tries to solo.

 

Yes, in my game the two lighter scouts pushed all the way to my frontline and in plain sight while the two heavies in the back shot indirect fire at me with little effect. Took out the scouts because they were standing right there and moved onto the back line. The AI needs some work, but I would be surprised if it didn't.

 

DOWNLOADED!

 

One match in, pretty fun. Punched Urbie in half with (surprisingly decent) Vindicator, would do again! The attack animations are neat, love the Urbie headbutt.

I think the Hunchie is sorta shitheeled by being made slower than mechs with the same size/engine ratings, though, and the Kintaro is just stupid.

AI is ok, doesn't use it's units well in some cases. Just parking an Urbie or Hunchback is suicide, especially on open maps. Likes to chase squirrels and is too willing to sacrifice strong units to secure a kill on a weak unit... not that it's bad to have some weak points built in, but that's almost too obvious. It doesn't seem to take the force value of its units much into consideration. Doing stuff like holding cheap Urbies deep in the backfield in reserve while rambo-ing in with expensive fast medioms under heavy fire isn't how you win battles.

 

I'm also a little skeptical about how they're dealing with heat, not having any accuracy/movement penalties seems to make it pretty trivial until someone suddenly shuts down (for like half a turn, than ditches most of the heat). That combined with accuracy penalties to ballistics for firing repeatedly makes them sorta worthless, what good is a heat-efficient sustained fire weapon if there are no heat penalties for hit and run alpha strikers and a weapon built for sustained fire is bad for sustained fire?

Balance is kinda neat, but it takes a long time to unbalance someone to where you can score a knockdown... and then they can immediately leap up and flank you and fire all in one turn. Sorta makes closing in to melee a worse choice than it should be, unless maybe you have all your other units holding called shots in reserve.

 

My called shots don't seem to be anything other than normal shots but the AI is working perfectly with the called shots.

 

OMG Jenners are beastly! Maneuverability and point blank damage are really king right now.

 

So far I seem to have better luck with light and medium teams. Also I keep wanting to use a gauss rifle than remember this game is before the rifles come out. Also PPCs do not sound right to me (but then to me the only one I ever really loved was the MW 4 sound. but that is really mostly cosmetic.

 

I had the most success with an Atlas, 2x Panthers and a Locust.

 

The pilot, Paradise, in a Jenner = Godmode.

 

Blockade is solid, too.

 

2 DFA kills in my urbie so far, 1 HBK, 1 JNR