treatment Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 (edited) somethingawful.com brings you... Dorkiest Mechs of 3025 (BattleTech) Such an amusing writeup about the mechs of Battletech. Check your faves. enjoy! :lol: Edited December 27, 2009 by treatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 LOL! Well, I never much cared for all the clunky chicken-walker type mecha that were so often trotted out as iconic mecha of Battletech, but those are some ATROCIOUS designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taksraven Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 somethingawful.com brings you... Dorkiest Mechs of 3025 (BattleTech) Such an amusing writeup about the mechs of Battletech. Check your faves. enjoy! :lol: Great, Roiquonmi Glaug Battle Pod on the first page, now all they have to do is wait for the "cease and desist" letter from Harmony Gold. (because they designed it originally) Taksraven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taksraven Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 LOL! Well, I never much cared for all the clunky chicken-walker type mecha that were so often trotted out as iconic mecha of Battletech, but those are some ATROCIOUS designs. Yeah, I love the Mechwarrior games. Just destroy one leg of ANY mech and it goes down for good. Taksraven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegunny Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Why 2 posts? Your useless post count not high enough this month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taksraven Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Why 2 posts? Your useless post count not high enough this month Its never high enough. :P Taksraven (I'm being conservative this time, I could have posted this message across many posts. ) Taksraven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hulagu Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 (edited) LOL! Well, I never much cared for all the clunky chicken-walker type mecha that were so often trotted out as iconic mecha of Battletech, but those are some ATROCIOUS designs. I kind of like the crude chunky block of metal look compared to later designs like the Japanese Battletech designs. It jives more with the fact the things are clumsy walking tanks built with antiquated or lost technology instead of the nimble humanoid mecha of anime. Edited December 27, 2009 by hulagu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF5SS Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 It jives more with the fact the things are clumsy walking tanks built with antiquated or lost technology instead of the nimble humanoid mecha of anime. Battlemechs are NOT walking tanks. You will never find a book that calls them that. It's just the idiot fans who play Mechwarrior and think that's anything like the board game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkenstein Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I kind of like the crude chunky block of metal look compared to later designs like the Japanese Battletech designs. It jives more with the fact the things are clumsy walking tanks built with antiquated or lost technology instead of the nimble humanoid mecha of anime. Wow, those Japanese mechs look much better drawn. Like really better. One thing I hated about the designs in BT was that it looked like someone with about a months worth of drafting coursework did the art. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anime52k8 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 (edited) Wow, those Japanese mechs look much better drawn. Like really better. One thing I hated about the designs in BT was that it looked like someone with about a months worth of drafting coursework did the art. because the guys who did original battletech were amateurs with no real experience in technical drawing, where as Japanese battletech was illustrated (somewhat ironically) by Studio Nue. (hence the considerable amount of awesome going on) :edit: To be fair though, Japanese battletech was done around in '92. By then FASA or whoever owned it at the time could afford to pay for actual illustrators to work on the books. Edited December 27, 2009 by anime52k8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syngyne Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 because the guys who did original battletech were amateurs with no real experience in technical drawing, where as Japanese battletech was illustrated (somewhat ironically) by Studio Nue. (hence the considerable amount of awesome going on) I think the Japanese versions are certainly technically better done as far as artwork goes, but a lot of those designs seem waaaay too busy. On the other hand, they look like they have loadouts that actually match their stats, as opposed to most of the art in the 3025 manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anime52k8 Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 (edited) I think the Japanese versions are certainly technically better done as far as artwork goes, but a lot of those designs seem waaaay too busy. On the other hand, they look like they have loadouts that actually match their stats, as opposed to most of the art in the 3025 manual. honestly the Japanese designs are pretty derivative and not nearly as good as the designs form something like Armored Core for instance, but they still look better than the designs in the original Battletech books. frankly, with the exception of the Atlas, the only good designs in classic Battletech where the ones they stole from Macross and Dougram (warhammer, shadowhawk, marauder etc.) Edited December 27, 2009 by anime52k8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syngyne Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 frankly, with the exception of the Atlas, the only good designs in classic Battletech where the ones they stole form Macross and Dougram (warhammer, shadowhawk, marauder etc.) I dunno, the Urbanmech has a certain charm to it... it's like an angry R2-D2. But yeah, a lot of 'Mechs from 3025 were pretty silly looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacklotus Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 (edited) I dunno, the Urbanmech has a certain charm to it... it's like an angry R2-D2. But yeah, a lot of 'Mechs from 3025 were pretty silly looking. Hey, no bad-mouthing my favourite city mech - the Urbie. To me, this little fella is like the classic Beetle car of the Battlemech world. Make that "Most of the 3025 mechs are pretty silly looking. The only good looking and functional looking ones were those designs "stolen" from the Japanese "cartoons". Luckily, these didn't include the Logan, else my statement won't be true. Edited December 27, 2009 by blacklotus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warmaker Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I'm willing to be forgiving to the original BTech creators if they had no artistic talent (or couldn't afford it) at the beginning. But still... those initial designs were not awe-inspiring, even for the 80s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-ZeroOne Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Wow, those Japanese mechs look much better drawn. Like really better. One thing I hated about the designs in BT was that it looked like someone with about a months worth of drafting coursework did the art. If I remember correctly, FASA publicity claimed that the art style for the early Tech Readouts was inspired by Syd Mead, which probably explains the rather sketchy lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkenstein Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 If I remember correctly, FASA publicity claimed that the art style for the early Tech Readouts was inspired by Syd Mead, which probably explains the rather sketchy lines. That doesn't explain the egg shaped abominations or walking boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warmaker Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Eggplant + Chicken Legs = WIN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anime52k8 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 (edited) If I remember correctly, FASA publicity claimed that the art style for the early Tech Readouts was inspired by Syd Mead, which probably explains the rather sketchy lines. but that style only works for him because Syd Mead is the greatest industrial designer/futurist who ever lived. :edit: and on a related note, Syd Mead is signifigantly better at designing giant robots than the people who made battletech. As proof: turn A gundam Edited December 28, 2009 by anime52k8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF5SS Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedWolf Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Am I the only one who see Mechazawa in that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warmaker Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Ah, oh so true for anyone that's ever played PnP or Tabletop games before. If it looks like you're totally screwed, just roll the dice and pray. I always tended to have alot of luck when when things are at their worst in those games. My characters tended to live long, violent lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticwerks Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 That doesn't explain the egg shaped abominations or walking boxes. If ugly wins the war, ugly ain't so bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eugimon Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I always liked that the mechs were butt ugly. It fit into the whole mythos of battletech that it was basically taking place in a type of dark ages where people just didn't give a crap about making things look nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Einherjar Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 I learned the hard way about the mechs in Battletech. I get a free pdf intro to the universe and get underwhelmed with some of the standard non-Clan designs. It bummed me out that not all of them are like the Mad Cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robelwell202 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Battlemechs are NOT walking tanks. You will never find a book that calls them that. It's just the idiot fans who play Mechwarrior and think that's anything like the board game. The introductions of the 2nd and 3rd edtition box-set rule-books, if memory serves correctly. They were written up as walking tanks, but then comapred to tanks, being shown to be faster and more maneuverable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF5SS Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 The introductions of the 2nd and 3rd edtition box-set rule-books, if memory serves correctly. They were written up as walking tanks, but then comapred to tanks, being shown to be faster and more maneuverable. That's a stupid description. If you can jump on a building, you are not a tank. If you can punch a guy, you are not a tank. I'm sure that stuff was just crap they thought up after the Mechwarrior games came out which have a terrible sense of movement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkenstein Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 More likely they saw VOTOMS when the "walking tank" description was added and were late to the party when Heavy Gear came out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hulagu Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 More likely they saw VOTOMS when the "walking tank" description was added and were late to the party when Heavy Gear came out. Haven't played Heavy Gear, but I was under the impression Gears are supposed to be much smaller and agile than Battlemechs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkenstein Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Haven't played Heavy Gear, but I was under the impression Gears are supposed to be much smaller and agile than Battlemechs. They're not really more agile. They move as you would expect something weighing several tons. That's why most of the Gears have wheels/tracks on their feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robelwell202 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 First off, the only thing Heavy Gear has in common with Battletech is that Activision did both cockpit-FPS simulators (And we all know how similar they were, too. A BIIIIIIG disappointment, when I saw this.) Other than that, there's none, really. FASA did Battletech, and Heavy Gear was done by a company called 'Dream Pod Nine'. Now, it's true that most of the gears in the game are smaller than a Battletech mech. Come to think of it, they look to me to be oversized landmates from Appleseed. In all actuality, the gears seemed to exist in that no-man's-land between powered-armor-suit and giant-robot-mecha. They didn't have any real fixed weapons (Aside from a rocket launcher, possibly), and they could pack extra weapons, as well, (Kinda like a Zaku2), but they were too damn big to be consideredd armor suits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF5SS Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Gears are just Americanized VOTOMs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robelwell202 Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 Gears are just Americanized VOTOMs. If you say so... Personally, I prefer the look of the gears, as opposed to those VOTOMS designs... YECH!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VF5SS Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 If you say so... Personally, I prefer the look of the gears, as opposed to those VOTOMS designs... YECH!!! Get off the internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangaioh Posted December 28, 2009 Share Posted December 28, 2009 (edited) If you say so... Personally, I prefer the look of the gears, as opposed to those VOTOMS designs... YECH!!! heheheh +1 internetz (I agree with Rob, i also prefer the Gears design). RE to the strip: Would have been nice if the caption had the "WHAT!?! Over 9000!?!" quote in there somewhere. Edited December 28, 2009 by Dangaioh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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