Heavy Metal, November 21 (planned)

While happy to see more mechs, with the mods giving you hundreds of mechs it is hard to get too excited for so much as the weapons systems.

 

But when I saw the "Bullshark", all I can think of is:


I like the inclusion of a thumper-equipped asssault mech, though... not the worst addition to the franchise.

 

When I hear bullshark all i can think of is

I think we can remove a lot of the guesswork; the Bullshark is the brand new mech (ie. not previously canon) being introduced with this update. It is prominently featured in the promotional art. While I'm kind of a purist when it comes to mech selection, the Bullshark is a nice addition to an underrepresented class of mechs: artillery mechs. And it has all the aesthetics just right that it should fit in just fine with established canon (the Thanatos was introduced with Mechwarrior 4 and most everyone loved that thing). For those who don't know, the Thumper is an artillery piece and I'm fairly certain that is what is strapped to the back of the Bullshark in the promotional art (very similar to other canon artillery mechs I've seen). For this reason, I'm fairly certain the Bullshark will be a Thumper artillery-equipped mech by default. I'm sure it could also equip a mortar, though. Personally, I would rather have been able to bring in a support lance of conventional vehicles instead, but this is an acceptable compromise.

Regarding the non-SLDF UAC's, I do not think its plausible that these are clan UACs. If so, why only those weapons and not other Clan weapons and mechs? No, I don't think this update is introducing any Clan equipment at all. Rather, I think HBS is doing some mild retconning to fill out the UAC/LBX lineup. I can't really say I agree with the decision, but its better than lava-throwing, tripod mechs. Also, if people really hate them, they could always be modded out or replaced with some retrotech variations.

Regarding the Snub-nosed PPC, I could be wrong about this, but I think the Snub-nose was a little further along than being just a prototype. I think it was in the early years of production when the Star League fell. I think it was used exclusively by elite SLDF units, but because of its rarity it soon went out of circulation due to lack of parts and expertise to keep them working. It's a cool weapon to include so while its a little early for reintroduction according to established canon, I'm okay with its inclusion.

Honestly, I really like the idea of expanding the 3025-era weapon catalog in ways that makes sense. One of my biggest pet peeves with the traditional weapon lineup is there was no middle ground ballistic weapon between machine guns and AC/2s. That's just silly to suggest such a thing couldn't exist. I hope whatever this "coil gun" thing is helps bridge that gap. If not, I don't mind modding one in. If they want to make shit up, I can too.

Also, really happy to see the Assassin, Phoenix Hawk, Rifleman, and Archer, but why the Vulcan?... and still no Warhammer or Marauder? HBS, are you holding out on us? I hope it is like you said, Fet, in that it will be a free update later, but wouldn't mind them in an extra 4th DLC if they added more gameplay content later. I'm still hoping for (but will probably never get) a conventional forces update that adds infantry and off-map fire-support.

 

Because it's objectively a terrible design and was created by Wizkids... who almost killed the Battletech franchise off for good.

 

I won't get into the details of it all here, but there is public record that tells in detail exactly what happened... Microsoft was never really the problem; for all the liberties it took, the MechAssault games never hurt the parent franchise and Weisman has only ever had a good relationship with MS. MS was also responsible for the MechWarrior 4 and MechCommander series (which were all stellar). The only reason we are getting more Mechwarrior titles now is because MS let them happen. As for Harmony Gold, yeah they have always been a pain in the ass, but only specifically regarding anything that references the classic "Unseens".

On the otherhand, Wizkids was "in charge" of the franchise during the years when it was at its worst and it almost died because the business decisions they made. That's on Wizkids and no one else. You can like the HeroClix system and still be critical of their shitty decisions regarding the franchise. Honestly, I played Dark Age, didn't hate the "system", but seriously, the "new lore" was dogshit... fuck Wizkids. If they aren't "most responsible" I don't know how you can tell me someone else is. This is a subject I am well-versed on. I read a lot about it... and witnessed a lot firsthand.

The argument of "mechs are unrealistic and so the Ares is not much less realistic" is missing the point. I hate the Ares less in concept (although its squat, tripod design is still fundamentally stupid) and more because of what it represents in the franchise. It's the "Scott Summers/Cyclops" of BattleMechs. If you are a fan, that's fine, but be aware that a LOT of people hate it.. and with good reasons. (I'm basically saying you have "shit taste" /jk)

When Wizkids took over, they shoehorned Battletech into their HeroClix system, but that was the lesser issue. They wanted to make BT faster, and it honestly needed that! But most fans were more pissed because Wizkids decided to do a lazy "enter mary sue, mary sue changes everything as we know it, then time-skip" rather than earn it. Kind of a side-point, but it didn't help that the most popular classic miniatures were abandoned in favor of uglier new designs of inferior model quality. I could go into details, but that's a conversation for another thread. Let's try to stay on topic.

At any rate, really excited for Heavy Metal, the free Warhammer & Marauder, and the new flashpoints coming with them... and finally we are getting official mod support!