|
Post by Sarge on Feb 28, 2020 23:48:55 GMT -5
Finished a couple more missions in MechWarrior 2. I figured out how to get my controls right; it was picking up on the joystick, which I didn't want. Setting it to keyboard + mouse only works better. I'm still adjusting to the rotation, though, and I don't think I can invert the up-down controls, which is bothersome. I used to be good with inverted controls (played Descent that way), but at some point I swapped and now I've gotten used to the other way around.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Feb 29, 2020 1:39:13 GMT -5
Sarge Yes MechWarrior 2 definitely has a learning curve. Getting the controls comfortable is the biggest hurdle indeed. - Played some Chromehounds tonight. It should be noted that this game was touted first and foremost for its online multiplayer. However, there is a single player story mode. The mode is designed in a manner that trains the player how to use the six primary mech types. Each mech has its own scenario of seven missions each, for a total of 42 single player missions. That was something I knew going in. What I was lead to believe though, is that these missions were boring and had no plot. That turns out to be completely untrue. The missions are linked by cutscenes that tell a continual story. In addition, all the dialogue is voice acted. The story mode is indeed a full blown campaign in and of itself. Well I finished all seven missions of the Soldier mech scenario tonight. It was much fun. Chromehounds absolutely captures the feeling of controlling a vicious dangerous death machine, as it blows all opposition into fiery exploded chunks. Though the simulation aspect is still there. At one point I had my mech half submerged in a river, so that its core temperature would stay low while I unleashed barrages of missiles. Good stuff. Edit: Also anayo and Xeogred, since you guys like OG Xbox, wanna say these are worth playing: I beat both quite a few years ago, but I remember they were good.
|
|
|
Post by anayo on Feb 29, 2020 9:57:53 GMT -5
1) Quake 2) Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (human campaign) 3) Blood 4a) Mechwarrior 2 Pentium Edition: Jade Falcon Campaign 4b) Mechwarrior 2 Pentium Edition: Wolf Clan Campain
Detailed thoughts and impressions coming soon.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Feb 29, 2020 11:35:10 GMT -5
anayoIt made me nostalgic going back and watching parts of your videos. Sadly I've never finished the PC version of MW2, or any of its expansions. When I was a kid and MW2 released, my PC at the time couldn't handle it. I'll rectify playing MW2 someday, but I've already got too many other mech games on my "want to play" list for this month. I'll mention that for all of Chromehounds' graphical pizzazz (very nice looking for 2006!), you can't blow off limbs from other mechs. Which isn't ideal from a realism or tactical standpoint. Since you and Sarge both are playing MW2 around the same time, it will be interesting reading both of your opinions about the experience.
|
|
|
Post by Xeogred on Feb 29, 2020 12:33:52 GMT -5
Ex : Chromehounds looks quite good. I think I always mix that one up with Steel Battalion, so for a second I was wondering how the heck you were playing it or thought maybe you were one of the owners of this beast:
I recall this being like $200? Definitely couldn't justify that for one game, but man I bet it's a really cool experience.
I beat the first MechAssault back in the day and liked it a lot. Felt like the Desert Strike / Blast Corps kind of games which I dug. I played some of 2 a few years ago and it seemed solid, but a little different. More power armor-y I guess.
|
|
|
Post by anayo on Feb 29, 2020 12:36:42 GMT -5
1) Quake 2) Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (human campaign) 3) Blood 4a) Mechwarrior 2 Pentium Edition: Jade Falcon Campaign 4b) Mechwarrior 2 Pentium Edition: Wolf Clan Campain
Detailed thoughts and impressions coming soon. I love Mechwarrior 2, despite having no prior experience or nostalgia for it. It is addictive, compelling, has so much for me to sink my teeth into, and is completely different and unique from any gaming experience I’ve had before. My first impression of MW2 was not so great. When I sat down to play Blood, Warcraft 2, and Quake in the year 2020, they were all very approachable and easy to figure out. In MW2 the very first thing I did was fire missiles into the ground and unwittingly power down my mech. I struggled with the controls for a few minutes before realizing I would have to do some research first. It didn’t help that when I tried launching the tutorial missions, Windows 98 told me, “Illegal error, now terminating program.” I fumbled my way 3/4 through the Jade Falcon campaign after learning to walk, steer, and shoot. The game felt obtuse and clumsy, yet somehow compelling in a way that’s hard to put to words. I kept thinking about the game when I wasn’t playing it. Every time I failed a mission, something made me want to try again with a different approach. Finally I reached a mission where I had to defend an airport from attacking mechs. So I looked up some videos online and realized I had been playing the game all wrong. For instance: - My mech would constantly overheat when I used laser weapons, causing it to shutdown to cool off, making me immobile and vulnerable in the middle of a firefight. The guy in the YouTube video was somehow overriding the shutdown sequence, allowing his mech to keep fighting. I later learned he was pressing the “O” key to override the shutdown sequence. - I had been trying to “eyeball” my missiles so they would hit my targets. The guy in the video was somehow guiding his missiles so they would steer themselves into enemy mechs. I learned I was supposed to first press “E” to target the nearest enemy, or aim at the desired enemy and press “Q”. - Enemies took a suspiciously long time to kill. I was shooting them over and over with individual lasers. But the guy in the YouTube video was somehow unleashing a super laser that did insane damage and heated up his mech like crazy. I thought he must have been charging up his laser somehow. I learned he was actually assigning weapon groups by selecting individual lasers equipped to his mech by choosing a desired laser, typing “shift+1”, then typing “\” to enable group fire. That way it was possible to fire as many as 10 lasers at once. - I was having trouble telling how much damage enemies had taken. I learned I could type “W” to change my entire view to wireframe mode which would telegraph everyone’s hull integrity levels (blue = %100, yellow = %66, red = %33). Other random stuff I learned: typing F3 for an overhead satellite view to navigate labyrinthine complexes of buildings, to bob and weave away from enemy laser fire while fleeing, or to get my bearings for navigating the map since the satellite view always orients north up and south down. I could also type “B + 4 + 1” to make my squad mates attack a targeted enemy mech. “Z” would zoom in my view so I could snipe enemy mechs from afar. Once I learned all this stuff, I tore through the Wolf Clan campaign way faster than the Jade Falcon one. This game’s graphics are dead simple, reminding me of Virtua Racing with a lower frame rate, and the controls are byzantine and obtuse. But something about its obtuseness makes coming to grips with it feel so empowering. Mechwarrior 2 asked a lot of me, but not in a way that felt like an imposition. Its complexity makes it a uniquely PC experience best suited to a mouse, keyboard, and powerful CPU (by 1994 standards anyway). I know there were console ports, but like the console ports of Warcraft 2, I shudder to imagine how compromised those must have been. I think I have a better understanding now as to why there were so many polygon mech games in the 90’s.
|
|
|
Post by Ex on Feb 29, 2020 12:55:16 GMT -5
Ex : Chromehounds looks quite good. Oh, it's good alright... FromSoftware made it! Here's some video from the scenario I played last night:
Unfortunately the guy playing in this video never shuts up and is pretty lousy at the game. I've always wanted this, but when it first released I was too poor to buy it. Years later, I check up on the price and for a complete set (controller, game, and game expansion) it was $350-400. I don't know where the price is now on this, but I still can't swallow paying $350-400 on what amounts to one game and an expansion. There's no way it's that good. But who knows, I haven't played it. But something about its obtuseness makes coming to grips with it feel so empowering. Mechwarrior 2 asked a lot of me, but not in a way that felt like an imposition. Nice read, and yes MW2 (on PC) leans more towards the simulation side of the equation, versus the arcade one. The PS1 version is much simpler, and is more arcade-y. I'm glad you stuck with the game, and finished off the main core of the experience. Do you plan to play the expansions next? (I mean Ghost Bear's Legacy and Mercenaries.)
|
|
|
Post by anayo on Feb 29, 2020 13:01:33 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Sarge on Feb 29, 2020 14:26:26 GMT -5
Oh, dang, didn't know you were playing simultaneously, anayo. Yeah, I will have thoughts, too. It's definitely a lot more sim than arcade, although it's a step away from a full flight simulator or something of that nature. I also need to figure out how to do the weapon groupings. I remember that much from my brother playing - I actually remember a lot of the tricks he used to pull, I just don't know how to pull them effectively myself yet - but that would also let me skip over using my missiles until I really need them. Assuming, of course, I go in with missiles; I remember my brother being a big fan of the PPCs, despite them being slow-moving spheres of death. The "death" portion is paramount. Gauss cannons are good, too, but again, limited ammo. I haven't even jumped into the mech customization yet, which is sad. I also remember helping out with setting up the mechs at times. And I also need to make sure my version is patched up to the latest version. The original actually had a bug where I think the right arm would always be the first part to go? In some ways, you could plan around this, throwing a bunch of armor on it and no weapons, effectively acting as a shield for you.
|
|
|
Post by anayo on Feb 29, 2020 14:34:01 GMT -5
Oh, dang, didn't know you were playing simultaneously, anayo . Yeah, I will have thoughts, too. It's definitely a lot more sim than arcade, although it's a step away from a full flight simulator or something of that nature. I also need to figure out how to do the weapon groupings. I remember that much from my brother playing - I actually remember a lot of the tricks he used to pull, I just don't know how to pull them effectively myself yet - but that would also let me skip over using my missiles until I really need them. How to do weapon groupings: 1) Select a desired weapon. 2) Press SHIFT + 1 or SHIFT +2 or SHIFT + 3 3) Repeat steps 1-2 for any other desired weapons. 4) Press "\". The robot announcer lady will say, "Group fire enabled." I would usually create one group with a crap ton of lasers and another group for all my missiles. When I began overheating I'd create another group with just 2 lasers in it and nickel and dime enemies with that. I would use missiles as a guided opening salvo from a long distance, or as a parting shot when I was beginning to overheat, since missiles don't overheat your mech as badly. PPCs are awesome but they produce a lot of heat, weigh a lot, and it sucked to lose them when they got damaged. I felt like I could achieve the same firepower with 6 or 8 lasers spread around my mech. If 1 or 2 of my lasers got destroyed, the loss of firepower wasn't as bad as losing a PPC. I was generally able to win with the default mech. There were a few missions where I really struggled to come out on top so I would mess around with different configurations. But I felt that was mostly more trouble than it was worth. Oh snap I had no idea about that. That's a really interesting detail.
|
|