General Video Game Thread

Ganymede

@jaded said in General Video Game Thread:

Your analysis is spot on. And if you added the the Bushwacker - it comes off as an even weaker mech choice.

The Bushwacker was a 3055 product, and not available in the original Battletech (Battledroids 2E, basically box set. It uses 2750/3050+ tech, so I don't consider it part of the original triumvirate.

Jaded

@ganymede
Ah okay. I was thinking it was just common 55 ton IS mechs.

Ganymede

@jaded said in General Video Game Thread:

Ah okay. I was thinking it was just common 55 ton IS mechs.

Well, the Bushwacker is a common 55-ton IS 'Mech, but it has double heat-sinks, ferro-fibrous armor, and an ER Large Laser. It's gonna be a lot better than the original Trio, which didn't have that advantage. If we look at the improvements to those 'Mechs in 3050, we get:

Griffin (1DS): Double heat-sinks (11), a Large Pulse Laser, and an LRM-20 with 2 tons of ammo.
Wolverine (7D): FF armor, 0.5 extra tons of armor, MASC, an Ultra AC-5, and a Medium Pulse Laser for the old Medium Laser in the face.
Shadow Hawk (2D2): less armor (2 tons less), and swap the SRM-2 and Medium Laser for 2 Streak SRM-2s and 2 Medium Lasers.

So, the 3050 variant of the Shadow Hawk gets an extra 2-pack of short range missiles and an extra medium laser, but loses 2 tons of armor from the original version to get to that point. Yes, they are Streak systems, but the Griffin and Wolverine take advantage of the new technology, and still out-pound the Shadow Hawk toe-to-toe. Also, the Shadow Hawk is now less protected, as the other two have at least two tons more armor.

Again: the Shadow Hawk blows, has always blown, and will continue to blow. Fuck the Shadow Hawk. (I like the way it looks, though.)

Thenomain

nerds

...

I'll be there soon.

Jaded

@ganymede said in General Video Game Thread:

Bushwacker is a common 55-ton IS 'Mech, but it has double heat-sinks, ferro-fibrous armor, and an ER Large Laser.

And all of that equipment was available in the SLDF era. The Royal-class Shadow Hawk was equipped with an LB10X, a pair of Streak-2s, 2 Medium Lasers, with Double Heat Sinks, Endo Steel, and Ferro Fibrous Armor.

Which I guess really does support your argument that to actually be a competitive mech it really does need more advanced tech otherwise it blows.

It is not even saved by the First Succession War Kurita variant that replaced the AC/5 with a PPC, extra armor and 5 heat sinks. There are other medium weight long range snipers that do this job much better.

Edit to add:
Looking at the mech history it does not look like the mech even becomes competitively capable until the 2D2 and 5M refits in 3049. And a year later gets beat out by the Bushwacker and newer (or refit variants) 55 ton mechs.

Deleted

I just pre-ordered Battletech. My first introduction to giant mechs was playing Starsiege, which was kind of a ripoff of it.

A very, very fun ripoff. Who doesn't love fighting robots with names like 'Eats-Only-Heads'?

Auspice

@thenomain said in General Video Game Thread:

but Pillars of Eternity, Numenera: Torment, and even Tyranny mainly bored me

Weren't you just going on at length a couple weeks ago about how amazing Numenera: Torment was?!

Thenomain

@auspice

At the time, yes. I finished it to see what happened but mostly out of a sense of obligation, unlike Shadowrun Returns (all three) where I didn't finish because the endgame kicked my ass and I promise myself that I will get back to it sometime and finish these storylines.

This is why I pre-ordered Battletech and not whatever else Obsidian is coming out with next.

I actually quite liked the premise of Tyranny, especially the bit where I gave the pair of my middle fingers to the Dark Lord and did things however I wanted, for which someone should've absolutely murdered my character before the end. It wasn't a great story, but I deeply appreciated the focus to letting me the player break out of the mold the world was putting me in. There's not enough of that in games these days; I'm looking at you, Fallout 4.

Lithium

@ganymede The Shadow Hawk's only redeeming feature is if there is customization (and there is) it can be toolkitted into a very nice mech... by making it more like a wolverine or a griffon

The game also seems pretty balanced around having a shadow hawk to start, so it isn't going to suck all that bad either from what I've seen.

They've done a pretty nice job of making sure stuff is challenging without being stupid hard throughout the storyline.

Also, yeah, not a fan of the ShadowHawk, but you rip off the AC 5, put a large laser in there, rip out the SRM put two medium lasers there, and the rest in heat sinks it's definitely a workable mech.

Rucket

@thenomain said in General Video Game Thread:

This is why I pre-ordered Battletech and not whatever else Obsidian is coming out with next.

Point of clarification. Numera was made by Inexile, who also made Wasteland 2, not Obsidian. And Numera was enough to make me have serious pause about Wasteland 3.

Thenomain

@rucket

Ah! Thank you. I haven’t played Wastland 2 yet, but I know my favorite writing from Wasteland 1 was done by the woman on the team.

Rucket

@thenomain I liked Wasteland 2 well enough. I do need to go back and play more of it, but I generally liked the characters and character development.

faraday

@ganymede said in General Video Game Thread:

Again: the Shadow Hawk blows, has always blown, and will continue to blow. Fuck the Shadow Hawk. (I like the way it looks, though.)

Hee. I was always quite fond of the Shadow Hawk. Then again, I was, like, twelve and more concerned with how the 'Mechs looked or some cool feature about them (like the Hunchback's AC20) than their overall stats. But yeah - yay for a new Battletech game.

Jaded

Battletech Backers who filled out their survey can get their key now. The email should be out. So check your email.

Lithium

@jaded said in General Video Game Thread:

Battletech Backers who filled out their survey can get their key now. The email should be out. So check your email.

Yep I have mine, but it won't download till the 23rd but on the 24th will be able to play immediately! Also counted as pre-order so will get that ShadowHawk lol

Testament

Picked up Dad of War. Haven't played it yet, but I'll write more on it once I've gotten a feel for it. People seem to be going wild for it and I have played a God of War since 2 many, many years ago.

Insomnia

It's a really good game to start on, whether it's catching up or never played. Still didn't stop people from asking me on the stream what had happened to that point though. >.> It's a fresh start though, new story, if you don't know the history, it won't be an issue.

Controls are very different, but if you play Souls type games, oe played Hellblade you should be fine. God of War is what Hellblade could have been, with a big budget.

Also the soundtrack is AMAZING. It's done by Bear McCreary, you've probably heard something he's done if you've watched TV since the Battlestar Galactica reboot.

The puzzles are good, not too easy, or hard, just frustrating enough. Lots of things to explore, absolutely gorgeous.

And the kid? Actually useful. I'd put him on par with Ellie; he doesn't talk all the time, actually gives you tips and help, and doesn't feel like one long escort mission. I read somewhere that at one point they were going to ditch the son, can't really imagine how the game would be without him.

The fight first fight with The Stranger is something everyone who likes a good action sequence should check out on Youtube, even if they don't plan on playing that game. It's a great way to start the game and can only get better, honestly.

Testament

Hellblade is another game I need to pick up at some point. But it was either that or Uncharted 4, which I had been meaning play for literally forever and never had a chance. Saw it used for 11 bucks and thew that in with it.

Auspice

@testament said in General Video Game Thread:

Hellblade is another game I need to pick up at some point. But it was either that or Uncharted 4, which I had been meaning play for literally forever and never had a chance. Saw it used for 11 bucks and thew that in with it.

Hellblade is one of the reasons I really need a desk again. I had just started to delve into it before I moved.

It is an amazing game.

Insomnia

I'm going to vaguebook this to get it off my chest, because it was the first thing that sprang to mind. Those who already know, know.

The only way to win, is not to play.

It's been a bit since a game affected me.