Testing the Waters for Battletech Interest
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I'm a weird one with this. I love the idea of a Battletech game. I play a Battletech video game a ton and I love giant robots fighting each other but...I'm awful with the lore. I honestly could not give less of a crap about any of it to be frank with you. I just like giant robots fighting each other.
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@zombiegenesis I assume the lore is the same as the movie RobotJox, where instead of having wars each country builds a mecha and puts it in a boxing match with their enemy, and whoever wins, wins.
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@greenflashlight Not really, no. RobotJox is not in the Battletech universe.
In Battletech the wars are actual wars. Mechs fight, but so do foot soldiers, tanks, space fighters, etc.
There are 1-on-1 mech fights, ala a boxing match, but that's more of a gladiator entertainment thing; not the way wars are decided.
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Battletech definitely has a rich and vibrant lore. I've played some version of it(tabletop, video game, RPG, whatever) since I was in grade school in the 80s and I had friends that were heavy into the lore. I just never got into it and I fear my lack of lore knowledge would hinder my ability to play at a BT game.
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@zombiegenesis I'm in the same boat as you in regards to the lore. But, I think that's a selling point of the setting. Because of the constant fighting, so much knowledge has been lost or turned into myth. Look at ComStar, for instance. Just go with what you know, and accept that it could actually be wrong due to a number of factors. Or, it could turn out that the 'canon' lore being used is wrong and you're right, and things get adjusted in-game.
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I feel this is a fair response.
No Battletech MU has lasted long. Other media including Mechwarrior online, MW5, MegaMek, and games on VTT are thriving just fine. If you want to play Battletech or the Mechwarrior RPG I recommend you do those.
The modern MUer seems to prefer roleplay that doesn't involve technical systems, doesn't include risky pass/fail combat, and always seems to default to relationship/TS roleplay involving coffee or bar roleplay. Combat and PVP are avoided and the whole point behind Battletech is combat and pvp.
Why put in months of your life working a new system to try to recreate a system that already exists BETTER elsewhere when the majority playerbase would use the space for the same thing they've been doing across their previous 45 games they'd played, only with differing variations on theme?
Grab the # of people interested in filling out dots on mech sheets, use existing resources, and then use something simple like Discord for ongoing sideRP. Battletech is for the joy of punching through shoulder armor, getting that crit, and igniting the Trebuchet's shoulder LRM stores that blows off the entire side of the mech.
Delete the Hog Pit. It'll be fun.
I really don't understand He-Man -
@ghost There have always been multiple facets to the Battletech playerbase. Many (most, probably?) are in it for tactical Mech combat. Those folks will probably be happier playing the other venues, whether that's MWO, the Battletech RTS sim, or whatnot.
But there have also always been players into the lore and rich nature of the universe. There's a RPG, lots of novels, etc. I think that a BT MU could be successful if it focused on the L&L style lore stuff (with Mechwarriors being the "knights") maybe with some light combat elements mixed in.
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Mechwarrior Destiny is a newish rules-lite RPG, pretty streamlined, but I've only looked at the Beta rules that came with a kickstarter.
Then again, I would be the one using the tech manual tuilding a custom AESTHETICALLY PLEASING mech or vehicle, so boo on the streamline.
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@jennkryst said in Testing the Waters for Battletech Interest:
As for setting... I dunno. Everyone hates the Dark Ages but that is also when everyone had mechs armed with giant chainsaws, so there is some appeal. I hear good things about ilClan era, which is the newest. We'll see if Comstar is back to being space wizards or not.
As someone who worked on the Dark Ages CMG, I love the Dark Ages timeline. Not just because of the AgroMechs and the like, but they're pretty awesome. I also have a soft spot for the Republic of the Sphere in that era. I also enjoy the Clan Wars era, and the FedCom Civil War and... look, I just like giant Mechs, okay? But I'm with you in liking the Dark Ages.
@ghost said in Testing the Waters for Battletech Interest:
The modern MUer seems to prefer roleplay that doesn't involve technical systems, doesn't include risky pass/fail combat, and always seems to default to relationship/TS roleplay involving coffee or bar roleplay. Combat and PVP are avoided and the whole point behind Battletech is combat and pvp.
I think you're conflating two things that are not always the same. There are a fair number of "modern MUers" who enjoy combat and risky actions, but who have no interest in PvP. It's perfectly possible to have a playerbase intensely interested in PvE combat, but not interested at all in PvP combat (beyond sparring).
I agree with @faraday that there's a lot of room for a L&L-style BattleTech game (although I would include significant combat elements, rather than light ones -- that may just be me though).
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@ghost said in Testing the Waters for Battletech Interest:
The modern MUer seems to prefer roleplay that doesn't involve technical systems, doesn't include risky pass/fail combat, and always seems to default to relationship/TS roleplay involving coffee or bar roleplay. Combat and PVP are avoided and the whole point behind Battletech is combat and pvp.
I concur to a point.
I grew up with Battletech, quite literally. I genuinely love it and its setting. I like the tactical aspect of it, but I like it generally.
Good games are not so easily defined as you suggest.
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@seraphim73 said in Testing the Waters for Battletech Interest:
There are a fair number of "modern MUers" who enjoy combat and risky actions, but who have no interest in PvP. It's perfectly possible to have a playerbase intensely interested in PvE combat, but not interested at all in PvP combat (beyond sparring).
See pretty much any of the BSG games, TGG, etc.
My experience with Battletech was effectively PVE. First there was us as tweens/teens playing against my dad (effectively acting as GM even though yes, technically, it was PVP). Then were the Crescent Hawk tactical RPG video games. Even in my foray into MWO, the other players may as well be AI bots for all I interact with them.
@seraphim73 said in Testing the Waters for Battletech Interest:
I would include significant combat elements
I wasn't referring to the quantity of combat so much as the depth of it. I don't think it's worth trying to recreate TT style BTech rules in a MU setting.
