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Wrestlevania

MechWarrior 4 re-released for free

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Yup, in case you missed the news, MechWarrior 4 is about to be re-released for free - including all expansion packs.

It's a clever giveaway to generate hype for the imminent franchise reboot. Cue MechWarrior series' latest trademark CG porn:

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I enjoyed MW4 back in the day, so I'm really looking forward to playing the expansion packs this time (I missed them first time around).

Maybe we could even get some multiplayer going? That'd be funkin' ace!

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The new MW looks awesome, but MW4 was definitely a good game, I might well have to download myself a copy and join in on that multi player :D

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I'll definitely be on this.

Everytime I play a MechWarrior game, it reminds me of the fad for places about a decade ago that were basically Mechwarrior LAN hubs. There was on in Dallas somewhere that was tricked out with tons of Battletech tabletop gear, but the real draw was a set of fully enclosed "pods" where you could play a version of Battletech with your friends. I don't remember if it was actually just a version of MechWarrior set up for certain hardwired customized controls, but I remember wasting a lot of money there.

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I never even played mechwarrior, it somehow never interested me enough to play.

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Could someone briefly describe what this game's about? Let me start you off:

  • You walk around in huge fucking robots
  • They shoot rockets at other robots? And buildings?
  • The robots, they can jump? (Fly?)

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Could someone briefly describe what this game's about? Let me start you off:

  • You walk around in huge fucking robots
  • They shoot rockets at other robots? And buildings?
  • The robots, they can jump? (Fly?)

Think of each robot as a customizable weapons platform. You have different projectiles and cooling options (yes heat is important) and armor options.

So you have missiles, bullets, lasers and something called a PPC (which basically is a huge hot ball of plasma). You can install weapons that shoot these things in different sizes, and for the missiles, different ranges.

Further you can install heat sinks on your "mech" which help deal with the heat generated by aforementioned weapons. This is important because even if you have the fucking awesomest layout in the world, if you overheat you shut down and become a lame fucking duck. Then you die.

When you are customizing your loadout you are (or were) given specs as to the damage, range, heat, reload speed, etc on each weapon so you could sorta figure in your head how you need to cool off your mech. Also, environment affects heat. A hot sunny desser requires alot more heat sink installations in your mech then a frozen tundra.

Ok and then there's armor. That helps you from dieing. Enough said on customizations? (I think so) There are more nuances, like installing things that allow the arms and legs to hold weapons (actuators) although I would guess things like that will go away.

That's combat. Basically you find another "mech" and kill him. By whatever means necessary. Lighter mechs go faster but are less protected. Heavier mechs are more protected, carry more weapons but move slow.

Jumping. Yes, some mechs have Jump Jets installed. Usually this was a customization. Some mechs are too heavy for jump jets and can't have them installed. Basically this adds to your maneuverability in combat and adds another dimension to the whole 'where the fuck did he go' equation.

There's "clans" and stupid shit like that, but basically you get in a mech and you start going where you're told and you fucking kill that bastard in the other mech.

The old mechwarriors used to be like playing flight sims, with full-fledged training and everything. I bet this new one will be more user friendly though...

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Okay, so you're saying that it's basically totally awesome robot wars.

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Yes.

Back when Mechwarrior 2 came out and I have the joystick for flight sims, this game repeatedly reminded me that there was a God.

- Ign.com

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Okay, so you're saying that it's basically totally awesome robot wars.

It can be. The challenge with the MechWarrior games was that they were trying to translate BattleTech, a turn-based strategy game with elements of resource management (heat creation from your weapons), into an action game.

What was usually frustrating even to people who'd played a lot of BattleTech, was that you could never really just unload on an enemy. The trick was timing your different weapon types so that you wouldn't overheat but still survive against AI that always knew exactly how much damage it could pump out over time.

The games fool you, though, because they're in real-time, of course. But BattleTech was always much more about math: "If I create this much heat this round, then I can cool down so much so that next round, when I'm in range and at his back, I can unload my BIG GUN"...etc. That was the balance that the series never quite figured out, imo.

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I stopped playing Mech Warrior games after 2. I disapprove of the arcade-y direction the franchise has taken.

Yes I'm a Mech Warrior snob.

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I stopped playing Mech Warrior games after 2. I disapprove of the arcade-y direction the franchise has taken.

Yes I'm a Mech Warrior snob.

Agreed to 2 being the pinnacle. But I held, and still hold hope that a popular Mech Warrior game will be fucking amazing in multiplayer. That's what excites me.

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I stopped playing Mech Warrior games after 2. I disapprove of the arcade-y direction the franchise has taken.

Yes I'm a Mech Warrior snob.

Yes, granted, an awful lot of people maintain that Mercenaries was the pinnacle of the series. And I'm somewhat enclined to agree with that.

But the fourth game was very accessible, looked good and still had an excellent breadth of missions and scenarios.

Personally, I'm still hoping for a 3rd Heavy Gear game; in many ways, I think HG2 was even better than Mercenaries...

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Agreed to 2 being the pinnacle. But I held, and still hold hope that a popular Mech Warrior game will be fucking amazing in multiplayer. That's what excites me.

See, I can't play these games at all because I spent a good deal of my childhood at the old BattleTech Center in Chicago. Every Mechwarrior game ever made is a letdown compared to this:

pod_interior.jpg

Alas, it went out of business, but my memories of blowing the shit out of my friends lives on...

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See, I can't play these games at all because I spent a good deal of my childhood at the old BattleTech Center in Chicago. Every Mechwarrior game ever made is a letdown compared to this:

pod_interior.jpg

Alas, it went out of business, but my memories of blowing the shit out of my friends lives on...

YES! That was what I meant above. Couldn't remember the name. There was one in Dallas, too. (And probably others.)

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The thing I liked about Mechwarrior 2 (and mercenaries) was that it felt more like a flight sim. Only you were piloting a massive bipedal tank instead of a plane. One effect of this was that the game was more about tactics than about reflexes. A shoot-out like then one in that trailer would be bad news even if you won it, as you would be in no shape to complete your next objectives. It was all about ambushes and outmanoeuvring... much like a flight sim.

The new trailer looks nice, but the mechs looks too humanoid for my tastes. I liked the reverse-knee legs of the old style.

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...MechWarrior 4 is about to be re-released for free...

Thanks for the heads up on this! I'm going to have to bust out my CH Flightstick Pro!

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See, I can't play these games at all because I spent a good deal of my childhood at the old BattleTech Center in Chicago. Every Mechwarrior game ever made is a letdown compared to this:

pod_interior.jpg

Alas, it went out of business, but my memories of blowing the shit out of my friends lives on...

Fuck yeah, they had one of these in San Diego. It was called Virtual World. I always preferred Red Planet to the BattleTech game, though, mainly because I sucked at BattleTech. Red Planet was an indoor zero-gravity racer where you could pick your ship from a selection of all different weight classes, armor ratings, weaponry, and so on, and the more games you won the more points you got, which would allow you to choose better ships. Man it was so fun.

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I spent a good deal of my childhood at the old BattleTech Center in Chicago.

I was born in Chicago and lived there until my mid 20s but I somehow managed to never make it to the BattleTech Center. :(

Horticulture Tycoon: Are you familiar with the northwest side of the city? Back in the day there was a huge arcade on Western Ave. near Lane Tech. That's pretty much where I grew up. I can't recall the exact name, it was something like "Chicago Games" or "Chicago Game Room". When I was a kid I'd literally spend entire weekends there, going home when they closed and returning the next morning before they opened for business. Good times!

Edited by Cheetohands

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The thing I liked about Mechwarrior 2 (and mercenaries) was that it felt more like a flight sim. Only you were piloting a massive bipedal tank instead of a plane. One effect of this was that the game was more about tactics than about reflexes. A shoot-out like then one in that trailer would be bad news even if you won it, as you would be in no shape to complete your next objectives. It was all about ambushes and outmanoeuvring... much like a flight sim.

MechWarrior's CGI sequences were always that impractical, but also very exciting. It's because of their excitement and technical prowess that a friend and I started self-teaching ourselves 3D Studio many years ago. (My ambition during college was to eventually work as a 3D modeller and animator for someone like id Software...) :fart:

The new trailer looks nice, but the mechs looks too humanoid for my tastes. I liked the reverse-knee legs of the old style.

Getting one's nerd on, both of the mechs shown in the new MechWarrior trailer are actually from the original series. But you didn't encounter either until later in the game - the one with the skull (forget the model) was piloted by one of the final bosses in Mercenaries for example.

It's probably also worth pointing out that the new MechWarrior game is set quite a few years before the original. So there are no clans yet or anything like that.

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I always preferred Red Planet to the BattleTech game, though, mainly because I sucked at BattleTech. Red Planet was an indoor zero-gravity racer where you could pick your ship from a selection of all different weight classes, armor ratings, weaponry, and so on, and the more games you won the more points you got, which would allow you to choose better ships. Man it was so fun.

The Chicago location was strictly BattleTech for a long time, so I only played Red Planet once or twice. It seemed pretty fun, but I preferred the more leisurely pace of BattleTech, since I've never been a very good twitch gamer.

Horticulture Tycoon: Are you familiar with the northwest side of the city? Back in the day there was a huge arcade on Western Ave. near Lane Tech. That's pretty much where I grew up. I can't recall the exact name, it was something like "Chicago Games" or "Chicago Game Room". When I was a kid I'd literally spend entire weekends there, going home when they closed and returning the next morning before they opened for business. Good times!

Nah, I'm a south sider and a suburbanite on top of that. But I have a friend who lives sort of near there, I'll have to swing by and see if it's still there.

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Getting one's nerd on, both of the mechs shown in the new MechWarrior trailer are actually from the original series. But you didn't encounter either until later in the game - the one with the skull (forget the model) was piloted by one of the final bosses in Mercenaries for example.

REally? Huh. I think they look silly, like some kind of child's toy. Obviously I never finished the Mechwarrior games. I played a couple of the early Earthsiege games afterwards, but they never felt quite the same.

Of course the best giant mecha game ever made was... Walker!

kzmEJWjcwms

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...I'll have to swing by and see if it's still there.

I believe it's been long gone for some time now. I'm just trying to find historical info about it online. :)

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Fuck yeah, they had one of these in San Diego. It was called Virtual World. I always preferred Red Planet to the BattleTech game, though, mainly because I sucked at BattleTech. Red Planet was an indoor zero-gravity racer where you could pick your ship from a selection of all different weight classes, armor ratings, weaponry, and so on, and the more games you won the more points you got, which would allow you to choose better ships. Man it was so fun.

God yes. I loved Red Planet, though often I didn't have much of a choice in the matter as the local Battletech (in the basement of the CN Tower) would often be playing that than, you know, Battletech.

I remember one time they put us into a game of Battletech set on "hardcore", where shit overheats fast, damage is extensive, and all the buttons are used. Nothing quite like having your core overheating, having to input a key combination on your keypad, over your head, to vent it only to get attacked and having to manually eject. Steel Battalion is not nearly as immersive.

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