Developer Blog: Another Average Day In Beta

A new Developer Blog update has been posted on the official site, entitled 'Another Average Day In Beta'.

As we land, I see the familiar skyline of River City, and lament my choice of Mech. It’s not that I don’t like my Atlas, it’s that I love my Jenner here. I quickly look over my lancemates, and see a nice mix: a Commando, a Jenner, two Hunchbacks, two Catapults, and an Awesome. This is the first time I have ever been the heaviest Mech on my team. Well, here we go!

MechWarrior Online Augmented by Nvidia Beta Drivers

Nvidia have just released new beta drivers (version 306.02) that add Ambient Occlusion support to MechWarrior Online, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Darksiders 2 and Guild Wars 2. They can be downloaded from the official GeForce site.

Via GeForce.com

Inner Sphere News: Not All It's Cracked Up To Be

New post from Jacob Hardenson on the MercNet, via Inner Sphere News:

Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be 

(30 August 3049)

There are heroic days, gents. We don’t all have the resources or luck to be Wolf’s Dragoons or the Kell Hounds or the Blue Star Irregulars. What with their heroic stands that “break them”; not trying to bust their chops or rub their noses in their losses, but for the rest of us, if that happened we’d cease to exist. Despite that gulf separating us from the biggest of the big boys, we—the grist that keeps the merc world moving—can still have our 15 minutes o’ fame.

MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries Bloopers

I found the below videos linked via the MWO forum. The Solaris VII arenas were were exceedingly characterful in MW4: Mercs, and the voice of the commentator Duncan Fisher is unforgettable.

Via Dotsusama on YouTube:
This is a collection of various outtakes and bloopers as recorded by the voice actor for Duncan Fisher (George Ledoux), the Solaris arena announcer in Mechwarrior: Mercenaries.

MechWarrior Online Q&A from Ten Ton Hammer

An interview with Russ Bullock, President of Piranha Games, Inc.

Via Ten Ton Hammer

What role does each of the four BattleMech types serve?

It really depends on how you play the game, but generally speaking you have four BattleMech types: Light, Medium, Heavy and Assault.

Light Mechs are fast and great for things like recon and scouting. They are also great for things like raids or surgical strikes on enemies – especially in hard to see areas or areas that are dense (urban environments, etc.)

ISN News Flash August 28th 3049

Tue. Aug 28, 3049: Rumors swirl that Phelan, son of merc extraordinaire Morgan Kell of the Kell Hounds, is missing in action in the Periphery

Via the Official Forums

My comment: Just who were the Kell Hounds fighting all the way out there? Is he dead, or could he have been captured?

Video: Founder's BattleMech - Atlas

After the jump, you'll find one of the series of videos describing the four Founder's mechs available if you buy one of the Founders packages on the official site. This video shows off the Atlas, one of the most iconic 'Mechs of the franchise. Weighing in at 100 tons, this beast isn't very good if you want to go places quickly, but you can be certain that you will leave nothing but carnage and destruction in your wake.

Atlas AS7-D

Class: Assault
Weight: 100 Tons
Speed: 48.6 km/h
Armament: AC/20; LRM 20; SRM6; 4x Medium Lasers
AKA: Death Incarnate

ISN News Flash August 27th 3049

 Mon. Aug 27, 3049: Arson suspected at the S.L. Lewis Incorporated plant on Carlisle; a dozen Savanna Master hovercraft destroyed.

Via the Official Forums

Inner Sphere News - Snakes Are Still Snakes

The in-game year is currently 3049, and the official site has been posting updates to the timeline so we can follow the events in the Inner Sphere in real time. 3049 also happens to be the year the Clan invasion starts, so it will be interesting to see if there are any mentions of the initial skirmishes filtering out to the news... Alas this is not one of them, though it does paint an interesting picture of the Draconis Combine.

(23 August 3049)

“A kinder, gentler snake.” By Holy Blake himself, that’s the quote straight from a…nah, don’t wanna burn that bridge. We’ll say a merc friend recently in the employ of the FedCom in their Draconis March.

Video: River City Map Reveal

The official MWO YouTube channel has just posted the below video, covering one of the beta maps, River City.

Nestled within a coastal valley, River City, ravaged by war, is the first urban setting map for MechWarrior Online. From stealth scouting to long range support and right down to all out brawling, players will find areas in River City that suit their needs. The river itself, spanned by two bridges, divides the city into two opposing sides. A fortified citadel dominates the centre of the city and players will fight for control of two key sites: a space port high on a plateau and a crucial industrial port facility on the ocean shoreline. Surrounding the city are hillsides that are still in conflict and the odd airstrike and artillery barrage can still be seen off in the distance. Pools of fire and rubble throughout the city drive home the point that the pristine condition of the city is now just a remnant memory of the past.

Video: Founder's BattleMech - Hunchback

 
After the jump, you'll find the latest in the series of videos describing the four Founder's mechs available if you buy one of the Founders packages on the official site. This video shows off the Hunchback, a 50 ton medium BattleMech that packs a huge punch for a 'mech of this weight class as it is equipped with the huge AC/20, as well as an array of lasers for backup.

Hunchback HBK-4G

Class: Medium
Weight: 50 Tons
Speed: 64 km/h
Armament: AC/20; 2x Medium Lasers; 1x Small Laser
AKA: Terror at close range.

Video after the jump.

Mechwarrior Online Interview with Creative Director Bryan Ekman

Destructoid have recently conducted an interview with Bryan Ekman, creative director for Piranha Games.

The Mechwarrior series has been around for decades, and if Mechwarrior Online is any indication, it's not slowing down anytime soon. Max Scoville caught up with Piranha Games' creative director Bryan Ekman to talk about some big clunky free-to-play robots, multiplayer modes, custimization, and the badass friggin' Razer Artemis joystick controller thing that's coming out someday.

Video after the jump.

The Beginning of the MWO Hub

The MWO Hub is here to bring you up-to-date news, guides and videos for Mechwarrior Online, the long-awaited next installment in the Mechwarrior franchise.

MWO is a  free-to-play mech combat game set in the Battletech universe that draws on a rich universe built up over 30 years of previously published games, books and novels to bring you an authentic experience of piloting a 5-storey tall battlemech.


The game is currently in closed beta and under a strict NDA, so for the time being we will be unable to publish any guides that do not come from the official website. However, once the game hits open beta and the NDA is lifted, we will release a veritable slew of gameplay and strategy guides perfect for helping new pilots get acquainted in the world.

Although we cannot post guides, we will be dishing out articles on the universe in which Mechwarrior Online takes place, ranging from Mech readouts and Faction guides to a history of the major events in the timeline so far.

So suit up, strap in, and prepare for a ride!