Battletech by Harebrained Schemes (Shadowrun Returns)

Games
3713

My view is that the issue with the AI is derivative of the problems with the stock mech builds in the base game. Most of the stock mechs have a slapdash Rube-Goldberg kludge of weapon ranges, and the AI doesn’t seem to know how ot handle that. I’ve noticed that if you encounter enemy mechs with better / more focused layouts (like the S Jaegermechs with long guns or the Archer S with many missiles) you end up getting much smarter actions by the AI.

I haven’t played much BTA 3062 but one explanation for the better AI performance may be that the custom mechs designed by the modders have better / more efficient layouts than the stock kludges.

3714

That does make sense. I play with stock mechs because I am an idiot nostalgia until the end game so maybe it’s harder for the AI to understand my range profile because it’s always somewhat mixed.

3715

Okay, another question from a noob: I just played the (long) tutorial mission, and near the end I found myself facing a single heavy mech and a few turrets. Once the turrets were down, and the jumpjets on the heavy were disabled, it seemed like my only option was to pour fire into it until it went down.

Other options would have been:

  • I can’t do Precision Shots until I get Resolve, so no targeting the head with a called shot to try to take out the pilot
  • I can’t charge it and try to knock it down with melee (since it’s on a ledge)
  • I could have tried to focus on stability damaging weapons to try to knock it down for a called shot

I was wondering if I was missing something, and I think it’s having called shots at all times, like in other tactical combat games (Silent Storm, how I loved thee…).

3716

A couple of things:

First this is where complex stuff like angle of attack comes in. One option in this scenario is to position your dudes so you can try to smack the enemy from the same side repeatedly to either take out a leg or at least a torso side. Just watch the red targeting outlines to see if you have a side shot.

Second, balancing damage versus stability damage is a thing. As you build mechs start to think about this. Missile boats can be a big help - always try to have one in your lance.

Thirdly in the long run morale and resolve are your friends. Try to settle events, set budgets and rebuild your ship to raise morale, without going broke.

3717

This seems, anecdotally at least, to be a reasonable possibility. The 'Mechs in BTA 3062 are often very tightly focused.

Stability damage is so key. The majority of my MechWarrior injuries come from being knocked down. Using the ability that removes stability damage, taking skills that enhance stability, and avoiding rough terrain is always good to minimize the risk for your side. It stands to reason that forcing the enemy into unstable situations is a good tactic. And it is.

Weapons that have a lot of impact, like missiles or rockets, or autocannons, work well here. Forcing the enemy onto unstable terrain is good when you can do it. Melee, when you chose the right time and place and get lucky (:)) is great.

Where BTA 3062 shines is in the tools it gives you to do this sort of thing. Drop an AoE inferno shell on a group of enemies, followed by FASCAM mines delivered by LRM. Force them to move out of the heat through the mines, preferably on or into rough terrain. Use high-impact ordnance like artillery HE rounds with to-hit bonuses to deliver massive wallops to big targets. Take advantage of the array of melee options to keep your opponents off guard. The mod can be sluggish at times and glitchy in places, but overall it really does give you a lot of stuff to work with, stuff the AI uses decently as well most of the time.

3718

Maybe I missed it, but is there a way to skip the travel animation?

I’ve decided after watching it several hundred times I’m completely satisfied with the idea of never ever watching it again, ever.

3719

Spacebar will skip some of the travel cutscenes, but not the starship jump animation. That one is un-interruptible. In fairness, I think that’s to some extent a loading screen for the next system.

3720

That would actually make some sense but sadly it also reinforces the problem with the “rivets under strain” nature of the game/engine, especially loading times. As an example, what exactly is being loaded when you enter a system that would take so long? It’s not a massive graphics load b/c you have to load the battle screen separately when you start a battle. It’s not the mission screen b/c the game still busts its rivets loading the mission screen when you go to the mission screen, even after the lengthy jump times.

I love the game but the performance is just not really that good. Sigh.

3721

No disagreement from me. I think the engine (or the implementation of its usage for this game) is a little janky but I can’t really complain. It works well enough, and it’s one of my favorite games of the last few years. From my perspective it’s the best gaming bucks I’ve ever thrown at a kickstarter. Just love me stompy giant robot madness!

3722

It’s built on Unity which is notoriously bad for loading times and general poor optimization.

3723

I’ve seen several posts from people who have dug into it for mods that imply that it’s notably poorly written/optimized even for Unity. Which is not really a surprise to anyone, and I’m on the side that still loves the hell out of it, but… there is an alternate universe where the same exact game in the same engine runs substantially better, and I’d rather be there.

3724

I’m not sure I will stick with 3062 because of how much it hurts the load times (I messed around with Rogue Tech a ways back and loved it but the load times ultimately killed it for me there).

That said, it’s borderline overwhelming (as Rogue Tech could be). As all of my Battletech knowledge comes from video games and I don’t remember much from Mech Warrior 2/3/4, and post those games a lot of these mechanics were more abstract (e.g. Mech Commander, and this game). I could use some tips on what to look for in gear/some explanations.

Like I know Laser/ER Laser/Pulse Laser. What I remember from Vanilla was that Pulse Lasers seemed very poorly implemented but I think they got better after the skill revamp and evasion changes. But I don’t know what e.g. Medium-X or Medium Pulse -X lasers are or whether I should be excited about them.

I’ve always been weak on Autocannons, and I think there are more options here than Rogue tech. IIRC Ultra ACs are higehr damage at the cost of range maybe? Rogue Tech had Rotary guns and I don’t know if those are cannon (heh) or here (but they were amazing). What is the role of the LBX-Auto? And is this doing AC ammo?

Should I be excited about Mortars? Is the Long Tom going to show up? I remember that thing feeling disappointing in Mech Commander. But they had that one light mech that just had a Long Tom and like a MG.

I have never remembered what was different about Streak missiles versus normal. I believe there are other options here and I recall a few things form Rogue Tech (like some missiles that were better at causing heat damage). I don’t even know if they did Streak launchers in this mod but I am wondering what is going to show up.

I do find that once a game is loaded and a career started, the load times get a little better. That might change on e.g. flying to a new system (at least for the first load there).

3725

Currently the cheapest Season Pass is $35. Compare prices with gg.deals, itad includes less stores.

Even cheaper in keyshops, but if you don’t like these there’s an option to turn them off on the website.

3726

Well, in the Table Top Version, Ultra let’s you fire twice, but at the risk of jamming, and greater heat and ammo use.

LBX are lighter versions of the regular Auto Cannons in tabletop. I believe they take up more more and generate more hear, but I am not sure.

I never had to worry about LBX Ammo in table top, but they could use their own Cluster Ammo, which around each damage point to hit a separate location, increasing your chance of a critical hit at the cost of punching through armor.

Streak requires lock on before firing. If you don’t have a lock on, they don’t fire. In table top, it meant that they never wasted ammo unless they hit (so fire and miss, no ammo used). They were great on SRM-2, because you had 50 shots, but that was all the Innersphere had in the settings I used (I guess if you had 3 or 4 SRM-Streaks, and 1 ton of ammo, it would make more sense).

3727

Oh boy, yes, I’m pretty sure you need a manual. Sorry, they only have a wiki. Weapons - BTAWiki . That’s a lot, only for guns.

Specifically, in case you want the short answer and it wets someone’s appetite (like mine, but not yet)

X-Pulse lasers are an upgrade to pulse lasers that extend the weapon’s range at the cost of increased heat. XPLs also differ from standard pulse lasers in that they fire three shots instead of just one, increasing their chance to land critical hits on internal structure.

Ultra autocannon are capable of firing twice in a row, doubling heat and potentially damage at the risk of jamming.

The Rotary Autocannon is capable of firing up to six times as many rounds as its standard cousin, allowing it to deal significant damage. At the same time, each extra shot increases the chance for it to jam.

The LB-X Autocannon is an advanced variation of the standard Autocannon. Its most notable feature is the ability to fire cluster munitions as well as the standard slug ammunition. The Projectiles column shows info for Slug ammo on the left and Cluster ammo on the right. More information on how cluster ammunition works can be found here. [ +50% Wpn Crits, +1 Wpn Accuracy, +1 Pips Ignored ]

Like larger artillery, the Mech Mortar fires a small shell in a high arc that falls on or near the target, doing damage in an area. Perfect for indirect fire support, mortars can utilise a variety of ammunition types to damage or inflict crippling status effects on enemies. Similar to other artillery pieces the rounds can scatter away from the initial point of aim.

Artillery may be fired directly or indirectly, however it is most effective when fired indirectly. Range brackets are significantly reduced when firing in Direct Fire mode and accuracy is also reduced. Artillery pieces experience a variation in damage from shot to shot and shells are prone to scattering away from the target.
[…] Long Tom 50 tons, 90 damage, 60 heat, -1 direct fire accuracy penalty. +/- 30 damage. Scatter 15-35m

Taking circuitry from Streak SRM launchers, these lasers have been rebuilt so that they do higher damage and have better accuracy than a normal laser, but like streak launchers they only fire on a guaranteed hit.

OTOH, if it’s too much, playing on the earlier date and away from clan regions cuts down on what appears, as far as I recall.

3728

That is extremely helpful and was probably posted up thread somewhere but I missed it. Thanks!

3729

Yeah, the joy and the curse of this is the detail.

In general, if a weapon has a specific nomenclature, like LBX or Ultra, it needs specific ammo. Having Ultra AC/10 Cluster ammo doesn’t help with a standard AC/10, etc.

Same with Streak missiles; you have to pair Streak launchers with Streak ammo. However, stuff like Acid or AoE or FASCAM ammo for missiles can be used with any “normal” launcher. So, FASCAM (scatterable mines) LRM ammo can be used by any LRM launcher (you choose it from the ammo selector in the battle screen for the 'Mech, during combat). If you have it loaded on the 'Mech, of course.

There are several types of artillery you can use. A 'Mech has to have that type of hardpoint though, and they can be rare. The most common is the Sniper Artillery which you can mount on a Shadowhawk; it shoots HE, Inferno, or Shaped Charge rounds with modest AoE and effect. There are Mortars and larger artillery pieces as well, though I have yet to come across a 'Mech that can use them (in my stable at least). Long Tom’s are vehicles, and you can buy them for like $2.2million in some systems.

Generally, as I understand it, pulse lasers are good against fast movers, as they ignore some pips of evasion. Extended range offers more range and damage at the cost of heat. Clan stuff is generally lighter across the board.

Ballistic weapons (and the game is confusing sometimes as to what type of weapon goes where) offer more stability damage than energy weapons as a rule; if you want to knock folks down (and you do) ballistics and missiles are the way to go. Missiles are more reliable because from what I’ve seen your MechWarriors went to the Imperial Stormtrooper School of Marksmanship, with grad work at XCOM Academy. Even high-percentage cannon shots tend to go off into the ether.

There are also some interesting weapons stuck in the category that is usually just MGs and flamers, so that’s worth a look.

The mod also offers a lot of weird variants like Chemical or Binary Lasers, and crude versions of some ammunition types, etc. Pays to read the text when choosing. There are also a lot of single-shot or two-shot weapons that can’t be reloaded in combat. Do high damage though.

The single biggest thing I’ve noticed though is that the mod really wants you to pay attention to your lance’s skills and how they intersect with their loadouts. That, and many of the missions that aren’t hard-wired for four slots like Flashpoints really, really benefit from landing two or three lances, not just one.

3730

Do the extra lances impact performance much?

3731

Well, the bar is not very high here, but the only real issue is that with more units things tend to take longer, but that’s only an issue with the number of units on the other side. That’s when you have to wait for the machine to do its thing, and it’s slow. But the fact that you are controlling more units doesn’t seem to have much effect on performance that I can tell.

But again, it’s a pokey sumbitch anyhow.

3732

Well 3062 being harder than the base game is something you feel immediately. I don’t remember rogue tech being this rough. The lower accuracies are a real pain. But I’m reading and tweaking, looking for good melee mechs and trying to make sure I have proper sensor/tactics people to help everything out. I like it so far.