Mechwarrior the MMORPG

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » February 24, 2003, 11:43 am

I want one! I have been playing a lot of MW4: Mercenaries lately and have been thinking (I know, I should have stopped) how cool it would be if there were a MW MMORPG.

Instead of striving for levels people would be striving for larger mechs or weapons.

Contracts can be individual or unit(guild) based and you could find yourself going up against friends who got the opposite end of the contract (defend/destroy).

I am sure we could come up with a slew of ideas on how this would work.

Oh well, it is a dream I have. Sorry if I got you psyched by the title of the post.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » February 24, 2003, 11:55 am

I'm sure it has been passed around/across the boardroom table at the MechWarrior meetings...and probably passed off as too expensive of a venture.

But hey, you never know, could already be in production too...

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » February 24, 2003, 12:09 pm

Palladium Books had a RPG based on Robotech that kicked ass. I played it a lot as a teen.

I'm pretty sure I still have my copies of the Robotech RPG, Southern Cross and Invid Invasion somewhere. I believe I also have the Macross 2: the Sentinels book somewere as well.

Akaran_D · Post by **Akaran_D** » February 24, 2003, 12:33 pm

I would kill for this.

noel · Post by **noel** » February 24, 2003, 12:35 pm

Akaran_D wrote:I would kill for this.

Masteen told me he would kill for a MMORPG based on the movies, 'Where the Boys Aren't 1-5'

Crav · Post by **Crav** » February 24, 2003, 12:54 pm

Careful what you wish for Grizz

. In theory this would be a great game, however, the number of people out there who have a clue on how to build a persistent game are few and far between. I mean look at all the titles that have come out from some of the best studios and have been so bad.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » February 24, 2003, 1:42 pm

Yeah I hear you Crav. I just sent Fasa an email asking if they have any plans for something like this. They don't respond directly but sometimes they will post questions on their site. Fasa Studio is where I went to contact them.

Using EQ as a loose template you could substitute all kinds of things. Factions would be with the big Houses like Davion or Kurita but would also branch out to existing NPC units like the Kell Hounds or Wolf's Dragoons. There are all kinds of potential mobs when you factor in the Clans and Comstar. Loot would become Salvage. Skills would include things like Mechanics or Tech. Your piloting and gunnery would be all you and not dependent on stats.

Damn, just thinking about the possibilities is making me chub.

kurzweil · Post by **kurzweil** » February 24, 2003, 2:41 pm

yes! yes! yes!

heck, if Planetside works out, just use that as a model and replace guns with mechs!

Pyronius Flamebringer · February 24, 2003, 5:17 pm

I think Shadowrun would make a much cooler MMORPG....and hopefully the FASA Interactive guys would actually put some effort into it or else we would just have a Anarchy clone...

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » February 24, 2003, 5:30 pm

While I do not deny that Shadowrun would be kind of cool, I must state that Battletech would be much cooler.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 24, 2003, 8:16 pm

There was something very similar in development called Battletech:3025. I played in beta for that for a few months, but EA dropped it. I believe it had 5 houses, no clans, and ways to take and defend planets in each system as well as Solaris VII. It was graphically weak at the time, but it was in early beta. I think it was dropped about 2 years ago.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » February 25, 2003, 12:50 am

I seem to remember something about that too. You'd think something like that would have an ideal market. Outside of Robotech they are rather unique in concept I think. I remember wishing I could go down to Northpier in Chicago so I could play on the virtual reality Mech simulators. Just never had the time, money, or nerve to travel downtown Chicago.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 25, 2003, 2:41 am

Well, it was moving along great and was just cancelled out of the blue...shortly thereafter came the 1st of many EA reorg's though. I would like to see another developer pick it up if EA doesn't plan on finishing it (which they announced they would not do when they canned it).

kurzweil · Post by **kurzweil** » February 25, 2003, 1:57 pm

The pods are definitely an experience. You should make the time to try it out. Preferably with a group of friends that you can yell at from your cockpit.

If you thought the Steel Battalion control pad was cool, the pods are a must.

Bubba Grizz · Post by **Bubba Grizz** » February 25, 2003, 3:05 pm

I did get to try them once when I was at Gen Con. But at $5 for 5 minutes I didn't play very long. They were really cool though.

I think the reason EA stopped is because the rights were bought out by Microsoft. It is up to them now to develope something cool.

Lor · Post by **Lor** » February 25, 2003, 3:29 pm

This would be a helluva game Grizz, one I'd without a doubt play.

kurzweil · Post by **kurzweil** » February 25, 2003, 4:17 pm

Yikes, that's expensive. When VW was in Pasadena, it was $8 for 10 minutes, and every 10th game was free.

Kguku · Post by **Kguku** » February 25, 2003, 11:49 pm

Speaking of mechs..

My copy of Steel Batallion just came in today. It's sitting beside my desk, as I pretend to do work.. and holy shit is the box huge! The guys at EB wanted to jump me to steal the game as I was walking out the door with it, heh.

I'll let you guys know how it is after tonight. Had to wait like 2 months for this thing to get in.

masteen · Post by **masteen** » February 26, 2003, 12:04 am

My old crew were crazy for MW2 back when it came out. We all bought high-end joysticks, throttles, and in some cases, footpedals. We spent MANY nights blowing the shit out of each other, conferenced in and talking shit.

On a side note, the "Where the Boys Aren't" films are undoubtedly the finest series in cinematic history. But until the technology for the PSLCCV (Pulsating Self-Lubricating Computer-Controlled Vagina) comes out, I'm afraid the MMOG version is just a dream. One-handed typing is HARD, just ask Aranuil.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 27, 2003, 8:22 pm

I think that Microsoft/Zipper already had the rights to the Mechwarrior game series, but EA had at least this version of Battletech itself before then. Maybe there were some issues with the cross between the two, but the "official" reason was just that EA was reorganizing and MW3025 did not fit into the new product structure. It was still very much a work in progress when I was playing it (beta 0), and if they were going to drop it that was definintely the time to do it before too much was invested into it...I just wish someone else would have picked it up.

Through playing the RPG, I still prefer actually BT over MW. My friends and I used a mixture of each. Basically we built characters and they advanced as we went through the GM's custom campaign, but I don't think that the characters were fleshed out enough for the MW mission books that came out.