Say, how'd you fancy crowdfunding a persistent sandbox space MMORPG? Drifting between the stars in a spaceship of your own, making ends meet however you jolly well please--space-trading, space-mining, space-manufacturing, space-murdering, and all that space-jazz. No, not Elite, nor Star Citizen. Another one. MechWarrior Online developers Piranha Games have launched their rocket-powered space-hat into the ring and announced Transverse, a sandbox space etc. The main difference is that they're trying to cut down on NPCs as much as possible. It certainly is pretty, and I do fancy running a space-bar. Come watch the trailer.
]]>Robots! They walk among us. Admittedly, they're not particularly inconspicuous about it, given that they are both GIANT and in possession of a decently hefty marketing budget that allows them to plaster websites with megaton banner ads and titanic, lavishly produced trailers. It's almost like they want us to know that they're stomping about, tracking rust and guts all over everything - even the new carpet (!). I guess MechWarrior Online has "launched" now or something, so I suppose that makes sense. It's looking snazzy, but its community has been in a state of open warfare with developer Piranha for the past few months due to a lack of communication and direction changes that don't align with what many players spent money on. But hey, at least Piranha is restricting the perhaps too-casual-friendly third-person viewpoint a little bit. That's something, right?
]]>How many mechs is too many mechs? Sixteen? Twenty four? Six million? I suppose it depends what you're doing with them. Chances are, if you're looking for companions as you slide into a hot tub with a freshly blended pineapple daiquiri, even one mech is probably too much to handle. For all of their undoubted charms, giant bipedal war machines are not suitable for holiday romances or erotic liaisons. Trust me on this one - the rusted oversize can opener in my garage has a single notch on the handle and is the keeper of a sorry tale. Mechs are best encountered in the wild, shooting and exploding one another. Twenty four is a good number in those circumstances, so the addition of 12 vs 12 matches to Mechwarrior Online is almost certainly a good thing.
]]>Even though we live in the Future Year of 2013 and download all games directly to our spinal cords the second they hit pre-pre-pre-post-mid-alpha-gramophonic, we still insist on designating games as "released" or "un-released". I understand that up to a point - it paints expectations of relative bugginess, when developers should start charging money, etc - but could we maybe start using more, um, applicable terminology? Otherwise we end up with games like MechWarrior Online, which is finally "releasing" in September even though it's been available for more than a year. (Yes, I know a slight discrepancy in lingo is the least of the gaming industry's problems, but JUST LET ME HAVE THIS ONE, 'KAY?)
]]>MechWarrior Online BZZZZZTT --MAJOR UPDATE-- Juggada-guggada-beeeeeooooooooooo. I speak fluent Giant Robot. The freebie stompy robots game has just added another new batch of content, which includes yet another mech to charge about in, and a tutorial zone called Testing Grounds.
]]>Mechwarrior Online has updated with a new mech, the 80-tonne Pretty Baby, which is detailed in a video which you can watch below. There's also a big update from the devs on what's going on with the game generally, including performance tweaks and a new map.
Is anyone still playing MWO? I know I had a blast with it when I first signed up, but then Planetside 2...
]]>There's a downside to the official comeback of iconic stompy robo-suit game Mechwarrior, and that's the end of ongoing development for fancy-lookin' Crysis mod Mechwarrior: Living Legends. While initial word that this free multiplayer total conversion was facing its last stomp led the community to suspect legal action by the people behind the new official game, Mechwarrior Online, the claim now is that MLL development is winding up through mutual agreement.
]]>"What is it with mechs and holidays?" I constantly ask myself and/or say to begin my cliched standup routine. It's a question that evokes many nuanced and contentious viewpoints, but mainly, MechWarrior Online launched its last big update on "Mechsgiving," and now a brand new point-capturing Conquest mode is debuting right around Christmechs (which is sadly not what Piranha's calling it). That's enough for me to call it a pattern, though, so clearly, mechs are creatures that run on oil, electricity, and festive spirit. There's more information and a video of the new update in action after the break.
]]>I don't think it's possible to have any misgivings over an update officially titled "Mechsgiving." As for Portalmas, well, that one's a bit more up for debate, seeing as it's just a word I made up. But generosity's officially in the air, and both Piranha and Valve are doling out fairly significant updates to their breadwinners, MechWarrior Online and Portal 2. Unfortunately, neither involves gigantic mechanized turkeys, but I suppose beggars in the midst of celebrating a decadent holiday of feasting and lethargy can't be choosers. Still though, that's far from a reason to mope. So let's look under the ol' turkey tree and see what we got.
]]>What do MechWarrior Online and PlanetSide 2 have in common? Well, they both have robots, guns, cold levels that affect gameplay, free-to-play options, explosions, planets, sides, walking, death, life, founder's programs, other kinds of robots, rocks, trees, smoke, and battles that tickle fancies and funny bones. Also, war.
Oh, and they're both in beta. I knew I was going somewhere with this. Anyway, videos!
]]>Yes, as we'd been anticipating, Mechwarrior Online is now in open beta, which means it can be played for free, without restriction. I've been enjoying it a fair bit in the past couple of weeks, but then I am a sucker for both robots and multiplayer combat, so it could pretty much have been designed with me in mind. I would say that it hasn't exactly held my attention for long periods - unlike Planetside 2, for example - so it's lacking something in the long-term reward sense. It also offers a fascinating contrast with Hawken, the faster-paced, jetpack-heavy robo-deathmatcher that's in closed beta right now (but should soon hit for free).
I've posted one of the community-made trailers below. It's quite good.
]]>Very few things on this Earth can stop a fully operational giant robot. One of those things is another giant robot impacting the first with equal and opposite force. This is known as Cyber-Newton's 23rd law, and he personally destroys all who dare oppose it. All the other things that can stop a giant robot, meanwhile, are crushing realities of game development. Case in point: the recent delay of MechWarrior Online's open beta. Stability apparently wasn't up to snuff, so Piranha decided to tinker away a while longer. Now, though, it's in acceptable shape, so the robots will begin rocking, socking, and vaporizing each other early next week.
]]>Kickstarter isn't the only way to make insane amounts of money without even releasing a game. MechWarrior Online has been having a concerted "pre-order" campaign, and has announced it's made $5m in the process. The stampy robot fighting game is yet to enter open beta, but despite this it's accrued those extraordinary sales figures since July. And let's stress - this is for a free-to-play game.
]]>I like giant robots. I like them a whole, whole lot, actually. But let's be honest here: their titanic clashes are nothing without heaping helpings of human intrigue. They need us and our elaborate, hilariously political squabbles as much as we need their impossibly large arsenals and devil-may-care approach to dealing with skyscrapers. Back in the day, single-player was the perfect middle ground between those exceedingly admirable goals. Now, though – as Piranha president Russ Bullock explained during GDC Online – things are a bit more complicated. Not to mention more expensive. A lot more expensive.
]]>Piranha Games have announced the following: "Make a MECH-sized marking in your calendars for Tuesday, October 16th. In just one week, we will be opening up the InnerSphere to all MechWarriors and their friends." This signals the end of Mechwarrior Online's Founders program, where you could buy in for early for in-game currency and other bonuses, but since it's F2P I expect to see a lot more activity kicking off in the coming weeks. As I mentioned previously, I've rathered enjoyed my time with it, although it seems like there's a lot of content to come. I've posted some recent gameplay footage below.
]]>The Mechwarrior Online closed beta has been stomping around in the back of my mind for a while now. It's perhaps rude of me to admit it, but there have been even bigger games blasting away at the heavy armour of my limited attention. The past couple of days, though, I gave it my full focus, and found myself pleasantly surprised. The Mechs, it seems, are quite good.
]]>The concept of a giant robot so giant that it makes all the other giant robots seem like adorable little rhinos appeals to me, I think, on a very fundamental, perhaps even instinctual level. As someone who is neither giant nor (to my knowledge) a robot, I somewhat fancy the idea of striking spine-tingling, fight-or-flight-invoking fear into someone with my mere presence. And MechWarrior Online's Hunchback, thankfully, looks to offer me a chance to take the reins on that particular fantasy. According to Piranha, this 'bot tips the scales (by which I of course mean all of them at once) at 50 tons - 20 percent of which is armor, and the rest of which is probably guns. See it perform incredible feats of moving at all after the break.
]]>Believe it or not, colossal 50-ton steel monstrosities that have to be careful they don't accidentally crush poor, helpless rhinos aren't nature's most graceful creatures. They do not prance or saunter or gallivant or float from place to place as though held aloft by the wings of angels. They lumber. That is the thing that mechs do. As you might expect, this leads to a fair deal of complexity where movement is concerned. As MechWarrior Online developer Piranha says, it's "kind of like piloting a giant walking tank." And I concur, only replace "kind of" with "exactly."
]]>*Idly Googles: "Things that weigh one hundred tonnes."*
*Reads: "The tonne is a measurement of mass, not weight."*
*Sighs.*
*Finds video of a 100-tonnes of explosives going off. Posts next to the video of the Atlas mech, below.*
]]>"Why walk when you can run?" I always ask. And why run when you can sprint? Any why sprint when you can suit up, clamber into a "light" 35-ton mech and mock the laws of physics at speeds of up to 118 km/h? These are all, of course, common philosophical questions that have echoed throughout classrooms and lecture halls for centuries. But the last one - perhaps the most common of all - is being made literal in MechWarrior Online. Dubbed the Jenner, this series standby is looking kind of incredible. And I'm pretty sure Piranha knows it.
]]>Hello, you. How have you prepared for the release of Mechwarrior Online? Anything? Nothing?! Well that's a shame. Other people have been a bit more proactive, including this guy, who has built himself an entire mech cockpit for the experience, complete with surround sound and triple 28" monitors. Video and impressive image below for you pop your eyes at.
]]>It's uncharacteristically warm in San Francisco today, so I think I - more so than just about anyone in the world - am best equipped to identify with giant robots. Specifically, MechWarrior Online's menagerie of metallic monoliths who've taken to duking it out on the newly revealed Caustic Valley map. It is, in case you hadn't guessed, very, very warm. Mechs, meanwhile, tend to naturally become hot enough to spontaneously combust an egg on top of by way of, well, existing, so Caustic Valley requires extremely careful piloting. Otherwise, you'll get all sweaty and nasty and gross and dead.
]]>In case you were worried, MechWarrior Online does, in fact, have giant robots after all. I know, I know: I didn't believe it either. Now, though, there's honest-to-Godzilla-sized-robo-behemoth proof in the form of a fully automated video reel. Will wonders never cease? It introduces the well-rounded, generally reliable Centurion and details two specialized variants: one that's best from a distance and another that loves nothing more than to move in close for its particular brand of rock 'em sock 'em robots. It can do this because it has 11 tons of armor. I did not know things could have that much armor. I imagine its hobbies include long walks on the beach, heavy metal music, and fashioning your home into a festive hat. So, with pleasant introductions out of the way, let's see it in action.
]]>Videos for Mechwarrior Online seem to arrive in batches and there are two more for you to stomp on this evening. To stomp on with your eyes. The first is a dev diary, which talks about "the four pillars of gameplay" for the multiplayer mech 'em up. The most interesting claim is that mechs of different sizes and capabilities will all have their place, useful in different situations or as part of a group. The goal, then, isn't to get the biggest, baddest mech of all, because, hey, that little one over there might be even badder. The second video shows a new environment, the Frozen City. Perhaps this is one of the environments in which a lumbering turret of a mech would struggle.
]]>The vigilant newsbots at BluesNews have noticed that Mechwarrior Online is rolling out a program of "founders packages" for people to purchase in-game cash and privileges in the forth-coming free-to-play mech game. Full details and some comments, as well as a big chunk of recent game footage, below.
Mechwarrior Online has been in beta since the middle of May, and there's no word on when that will expand, exactly. That said, this Founders' Package stuff gets you access from August 7th, so perhaps not too long after that.
]]>These new video previews for upcoming persistent battler Mechwarrior Online - via IGN - show off the different roles for the light, medium, heavy, and assault mechs. I've posted them all below. Just see the light mech race about and "act as the eyes and ears of the lance" gives me cause for robo-excitement, so you can imagine my delight as seeing the assault mechs stomping their way into battles and savaging the other mechs with big, big guns. I'm ready to play this game now, thanks.
]]>So you've read about John's encounter with Mechwarrior Online, but how about seeing it in action? Head below for a battle in a riverbed. An interesting contrast with Hawken, I would say. This really is the year of the Mech.
And lasers!
]]>It's been ten years since the last MechWarrior game. Which seems odd, since the idea of stomping around in giant robots is such a popular one. But now the license has been put in the hands of Piranha Games, and it's going online, and MechWarrior Online is going free to play. I saw it in action at GDC, so read on for my report.
]]>Now that I've shoe-horned it into the headline, it'd be doubly embarassing if my mechognition skills were a bit off. I think you'll find that the handsome chap below is an Atlas though, performing a hot drop in the first Mechwarrior Online video. It doesn't actually show the game being played, that would be far too useful, so instead of discussing the finer points of the interface and damage modelling, we'll have to spend our time dissecting the canonical correctitude of what we're being shown. Ready?
]]>2012: what a funny old year. It's one in which we get remakes of both X-COM and Jagged Alliance, and now it looks like there'll be multiple mech games too. First there was MechWarrior Online, then there was MechWarrior Tactics, and now there is Reign of Thunder. Coming from the steady but Xboxen hand of MechAssault pilots Day 1 Studios, RoT is a free-to-play affair due for launch later this year. No confirmed platforms, but 'free to play' and 'PC' seem to go together like dogs and lamp-posts (no, I don't know which one equals which) so I'd be very surprised if Reign of Thunder didn't walk this way. Our first glimpse of it marches through the storm below. Wow, that was a horrible, mixed metaphor-blighted sentence if ever there was one.
]]>I don't know exactly what Mechwarrior Tactics is, but it has a countdown on the webpage that ends on Monday. Two things happen at the end of countdowns: either a thing will be revealed, or a ex-cop will snip the wire on a bomb, saving the orphanage. I'm presuming that it's choice number one, because its from the same people currently making the free-to-play reboot of the original game, MechWarrior Online. You can go to the site and sign-up, ensuring you protect your commander name from the rabble, while I ponder what it could be.
]]>Still no in-game images yet, but we've just learned that Mechwarrior Online will use CryEngine 3. "It is definitely the best choice for us," said Russ Bullock, president of Piranha Games. "Both the character animation pipeline with the procedurally and physics based animations and the destruction system fit our goals perfectly and allow us to develop a truly unique AAA experience based on the award-winning BattleTech Universe." Perhaps not too much of a surprise choice, either, given that Crysis mod. I also rather like the description of the "four pillars" of the game: "Mech Warfare, the embodiment of Mech to Mech combat. Role Warfare, the ability for player’s to customize their experience to suit their own style of gameplay. Community Warfare, the ability to let the players take part in epic combat for territorial control. Information Warfare, an element on the battlefield that incorporates information technology to help control the fight." If they can nail all of those then it could be a fine, fine mech game.
]]>Mechwarrior Online never actually happened as planned (about a decade ago) but now it is a planned again: for 2012. We knew this was in the pipeline, but things seem to be shaping up, because the website that hails this fresh announcement is here, and it allows you to sign up and register your pilot name. I did that. You are not having my name. The FAQ is almost comedic in the range of things it addresses, failing to really address what the game is actually going to be like, but explain that long-ranged missiles will be "semi-guided", and the status of melee combat is undecided. It will, however, be a team-based multiplayer game. Also, bafflingly, it states: "MechWarrior® Online™ is running an offset timeline of the BattleTech® Universe. As of this writing it is 2011 and the year is 3048 within the game. In 2012, when the game is launched, it will be 3049." Okay then!
]]>
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