MechWarrior Online

[Morreion]

MechWarrior Online announced (Massively, 2011)

In the future, battles will be fought via BattleMechs -- enormous walking tanks covered in weapons, waging war for control of the region of known space called the Inner Sphere. Sound familiar? It's the premise behind the BattleTech series of games, including the popular MechWarrior franchise. And apparently, in late 2012, players will have the chance to get inside a 'Mech of their own in a new online installment to the series, MechWarrior Online, announced by Piranha Games.

Dev Blog 5 - Mech Warfare - Part I (MechWarrior Online)

Under normal operating conditions, a BattleMech generates a nominal amount of heat. When a BattleMech starts firing its weapon systems, it starts generating higher amounts of heat. This heat is accumulative and will overheat a BattleMech if it is not managed properly. Heat sinks will dissipate this heat fairly quickly but will not be able to dissipate the heat generated by constant fire.
When a BattleMech overheats, it will automatically shut down to prevent catastrophic events from occurring. While shut down, the BattleMech cannot move or fire its weapon systems and will remain in this state until heat levels return to a manageable level.
The MechWarrior (pilot) does have the ability to override critical heat shut-down but they do so at the risk of catastrophic failure and can result in internal ammunition detonations.

Dev Blog 6 - MechLab (MechWarrior Online)

MechWarrior Online incorporates a “Hardpoint” system which dictates, above all other customization, that weapons can only be swapped out with weapons of the same weapon type. For example, energy weapons cannot be swapped with ballistic weapons.

Each location on a BattleMech, such as the Right Arm or Center Torso, may include a number of hard points. The number of hard points in a given location is determined on a per variant basis, and is based on the weapons included in the variant’s default loadout. For example, a ’Mech that, by default, comes with 2 Medium Lasers and an Autocannon/2 in its Left Torso may actually have 3 energy weapon hard points and 2 ballistic hard points in that location. So, if the player is able to satisfy the weight and critical slot requirements, they could equip an additional energy weapon and ballistic weapon into that Left Torso, or swap out the Medium Lasers for other energy weapons, etc.

MechWarrior Online runs the numbers and announces a launch date (Massively)

There are a lot of people stomping around in MechWarrior Online right now. More than one million, according to a recent dispatch by Piranha Games, which puts the total number of registered accounts at about 1.1 million. These players have collectively logged 9.6 million hours to the game, destroyed a total of 46 million 'Mechs consisting of 80 billion tons of metal, and fired more than 12.6 billion missiles alone. It's a bit of a violent game, in short.

It's also a game about to finally shed the open beta title. Piranha Games has announced an official launch of September 17th, 2013. How much will actually change versus the current open beta is up for debate, but it's good to see a game fixing a launch date and sticking to it. So if you're a die-hard MechWarrior Online fan, get out there and start raising those destructive totals one 50-ton target at a time.

MechWarrior Online discusses the state of the game and the road to launch (Massively)

MechWarrior Online has already gone into open beta with a functional cash shop, but the game still isn't officially launching until September. So how's the road to launch looking so far? According to creative developer Bryan Ekman, it's going quite well. Despite summer traditionally being one of the slowest times for games like MWO, the community has been strong and growing. The development team is also thrilled that response to the game's first charity drive was immensely positive, with Sarah's 'Mech raising over $40,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society on the first day of release.

So what comes next? According to Ekman, the development is currently split into two teams, one focused upon major features and the other on content. A revamped UI and the Community Warfare system are the two biggest elements for the feature team, while a new map, Terra Therma, is set to debut next week. Third-person mode is also in testing for those who prefer to see their multi-ton death machines from the outside. Players would be well-served to look at the full letter for more dispatches about the game's future as September creeps closer.

Piranha Games on why MechWarrior Online is getting a third-person mode (Massively)

One of the key elements to understand about movement in MechWarrior Online is that your machine moves more like a bipedal tank with an independently rotating torso. Bullock states that he's watched new players trying the game in first-person and third-person modes, and being able to see how 'Mechs move on the screen instantly translates to better play. He also remains adamant that the inclusion of this new view mode is not meant to unbalance the game by allowing players to see things outside of their normal fields of vision.

Robots by the dozen: 12v12 goes live in MechWarrior Online (Massively)

If you've played MechWarrior Online and thought to yourself, "This is fun and all, but I wish there were even more giant robots shooting my face off," today's news from Piranha Games might be what you've been waiting to hear. The studio announced that 12v12 battles are now live on MWO servers, bringing new strategies and opportunities for sharp tactical minds.

[Regolyth]

I played this really awesome mech game by Sega about ten years or so ago in an arcade. It was really cool the way you controlled it with the gear sticks and whatnot. Everytime I see a mech style game, I think of that experience. It was really cool. I'd love to have that machine in my living room to play something like this with.