Brought to you by the team of MechWarrior: Living Legends - Total conversion modification for Crysis.
www.mechlivinglegends.net
Table of Contents
I. General Questions
I.1 Mission statement - what are the intentions behind this mod?
I.2 Is there a release date for the mod already?
I.3 Why create this game?
I.4 Where does the game take place?
I.5 What do I control?
I.6 What's different?
I.7 Will Crysis be required to run MWLL?
I.8 Will MWLL be available for free? Will it require monthly subscription?
II. Battletech related questions
II.1 What Timeline or Era from the Battletech unvierse will the mod take place in?
II.2 What two factions will be fighting eachother? Will there be conflicts between the different houses or between different clans?
II.3 How will the different clans and the different houses be represented?
II.4 Will each model be true to the original Battletech specifications in terms of weapon loadout, armor type, cooling type and follow original designs?
II.5 What about the weapons ranges?
II.6 Why are weapon ranges so limited, real life weapons can go alot farther?
III. Gameplay related questions
III.1 How will the technology be different between the Inner Sphere and Clan troops and vehicles?
III.2 Will it be possible to destroy certain parts of the Mech, like weapon bays?
III.3 Will the mod feature an immersive interior for battlemechs with complete and detailed HUD elements, heads-up overlay, radar and such?
III.4 Will there be a lobby where you can select your loadout, prepare strategies with your lance and such? Or will you just join a server, spawn on a map and go inside the vehicles you want just like you will in QW?
III.5 What kind of mission types are you planing on having so far?
III.6 Will it be possible to shoot pilots out of cockpits and hijack mechs?
III.7 Will salvaging Mechs be possible??
III.8 What is the "Trial of Annihilation" game mode?
III.9 Will MWLL have a single player mode?
III.10 Will there be targeting helpers like reticules and crosshairs on portable weapons or will one have to aim via something like a notch?
IV. Technical questions
IV.1 Those poly counts are HUGE! Look great but simply impractical for any engine you'll lag out looking at any of those. How can we expect to run the mod unless we have a super computer?
IV.2 Is there any special software pacakages the team is using?
I. General Questions
I.1 Mission statement - what are the intentions behind this mod?
MechWarrior: Living Legends (MWLL) is a total conversion modification for Crysis. MWLL is at its very core a mix between a First Person Shooter (FPS) and a Simulation (SIM). This will be achieved through the use of a mixed arms massively multiplayer gaming experience where the player takes part in a battle using a variety of vehicles and weapons. MWLL is using the concepts pioneered by the “Battlefield” franchise and more recently Crysis, of a sandbox feel where you get to play what you want and how you want it. MWLL depicts the epic struggles between the two factions of Battletech “The Clans” and “The Inner Sphere”. Maps will typically have a mix of vehicles and infantry combat, using both of these to complete objectives as a team will be essential to winning rounds or campaigns in MWLL. In the project we will be bringing some of the legends of “MechWarrior” franchise back to life with new art and animations that do justice to these huge weapons of war and also do something that’s never be done before using the deep universe of Battletech. There are so many facets to Battletech and finally comes a title that is willing to explore them.
I.2 Is there a release date for the mod already?
A: At this time, the team is in the process of finishing up some of the game's core features. A public release will take place in 2009.
I.3 Why create this game?
A: The main reason for making this modification is that there has not been an updated "MechWarrior" game for at least 6 years and there is a huge MechWarrior fan base out there just waiting for a quality title to be released! We’re also very tired of being disappointed time and again when a few modders say they will be making a MechWarrior mod, so it finally got to the point that we said we’ll just do it ourselves. An estimated twenty-five million people have played a Battletech or MechWarrior RPG or read a Battletech or MechWarrior novel, and at least ten million people have played the Battletech-based computer games. More than eleven million copies of MechWarrior PC games and a similar number of MechWarrior: Dark Age Collectable Miniatures Game figures have been sold to date. Over three hundred and fifty different Battletech/MechWarrior game and toy products have been produced to date; several products, such as the Technical Readout series, the core rulebook and base box set, have been in continuous print (in one form or another) since publication. More than five thousand World Wide Web pages have been created to date by the online Battletech community.
Very obviously the player base for a mod such as this is astronomical.
I.4 Where does the game take place?
A:It is the 31st Century and mankind has spread across the stars. The discovery of feasible faster-than-light travel in the year 2108 was humanity's first step toward the colonization of thousands of new solar systems.
Mankind spread quickly, soon populating a region of space more than 1,000 light-years wide: the Inner Sphere. As the human race spread, it brought with it the seeds of war.
The Inner Sphere, heart of the Battletech Universe, contains all worlds within 500 light-years of Terra. It is dominated by five "Great Houses": House Davion, House Liao, House Marik, House Steiner and House Kurita. (The term "Inner Sphere" sometimes refers to these houses collectively). The leader of each Great House claims to be the rightful successor to the rule of the Star League, and so their nations are known as the Successor States.
I.5 What do I control?
A:You will be in charge of a single soldier on a 32 man battlefield with 15 other team mates at your side. You will have access to a variety of different handheld weapons in addition to having the ability to purchase and control over 35+ land, air and hover vehicles. You will pick a faction, be it “Inner Sphere” or “Clan”, and from there complete objectives on the map or stop the enemy from completing theirs. Most importantly you will also be able to control huge BattleMechs bread specifically for war.
I.6 What's different?
A:This is not solely a recreation of MechWarrior. The infantry and vehicle (other than 'Mechs') have never been explored in the Battletech universe. There are many differences between MWLL and other mixed arms games on the market right now. First off, we will be taking a mix of the best parts of ET: QW, BF2 and Crysis and putting them together to make the ultimate mixed arms experience. A few examples would be the squad system from bf2, the vehicle physics of Crysis but the objective gamemodes of ET: QW.
We have also concepted new game modes such as “Solaris Arenas” which is similar to a racehorse track where you bet on combatants and use your funds in your own battles. Also, we will be making this far more fun and rewarding to play as infantry rather than only piloting vehicles, infantry combat for those that can handle it will be tactical and team orientated rather than a jumping and strafing war. Vehicles will be used for what they are used for in realistic combat as support rather than front line troops, infantry will be the only element able to capture the objectives that are essential to win the map. This project will differ in many ways from other MechWarrior titles released to date.
I.7 Will Crysis be required to run MWLL? Will MWLL be available for free?
A: Yes, Crysis will be required to run MechWarrior: Living Legends and yes, MechWarrior: Living Legends will be made available free of charge. Definitely via download and maybe on some games magazines DVDs as well.
I.8 Will MWLL be available for free? Will it require monthly subscription?
A: MWLL will be available for free and not require any kind of subscription.
II. Battletech related questions
II.1 What Timeline or Era from the Battletech unvierse will the mod take place in?
A: As of now, we are not planning to limit the mod to a specific era. f you wanted to place our setting in the time line it would be during the middle years of the clan invasion of the inner sphere. However, it's important to note that some of the more advanced Inner Sphere technology seen sometime after or to the end of the Clan invasion will be included not only for balance but as well it will make things far more interesting.
II.2 What two factions will be fighting eachother? Will there be conflicts between the different houses or between different clans?
A: The project plans right now to simply recreate the conflict between the Clan and the Inner Sphere. For experienced MechWarriors it's important to realize that new battletech fans will find this the easiest way to differentiate between friend and foe in a new universe, and as you know Battletech can be very grey when it comes to friends and enemies.
Initially we plan on using the campaign system (series of 3 maps) to reenact some historical engagements between The Clan and the Inner Sphere. As we finish these campaigns our long term hope is to include the succession wars campaigns in addition to the exodus campaigns as future "expansion" releases where it will be Inner Sphere vs. Inner Sphere or Clan vs. Clan.
There are so many stories to tell in the Battletech universe but it is really important that players be able to understand what is happening without having to read through a 200 page source book.
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II.3 How will the different clans and the different houses be represented?
A: The representation of a particular players house or clan will be simply by selecting one of the many clans or houses upon faction select. This will change their badge in game to a particular texture which will only be a cosmetic change though.
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II.4 Will each model be true to the original Battletech specifications in terms of weapon loadout, armor type, cooling type and follow original design (weapon xyz will be in left arm, weapon abc in right arm and such)?
A: Extremely close to the original TROs of BT. Some of the parts such as weapon loadouts, armor type, electronics and such may vary depending on game play and extensive game testing. How ever, we want to remain as true to the original TROs as possible, and may even give some minor upgrades to the mech designs.
In terms of a cosmetic look, all art we've seen each Mech made varies from artist to artist so they can't look EXACTLY like the Fan Pro books concept. This flexibility allows our modelers to add their own special touch to the mech and perhaps improve on the design a bit. Still, a Madcat should and will look like it's supposed to with the missile pods and arms out the side with reverse kneed legs and tri toes.
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II.5 What about the weapons ranges?
A: The ranges are scaled using classic Battletech rules. However, there will be concessions made for gameplay balance.
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III. Gameplay related questions
III.1 How will the technology be different between the Inner Sphere and Clan troops and vehicles?
A: Inner Sphere technology following the fall of the Star League degraded to near twenty-first century levels, and many colonies requiring advanced water recycling technology ceased to exist, leading many planets within the Periphery and Inner Sphere to wither away at the expense of rulers light-years away. This has been shown in the quality of Mechs as they are usually in a state of disrepair before even entering combat, indicative of the lack of equipment to maintain the machines of war and skilled labor across the Inner Sphere.
For the Clans, warfare represents the apex of human achievement. A Clan warrior by definition is considered worthy of more respect than a Clansman of any other caste, because his life's work - waging war - brings his Clan the greatest honor. No scientific breakthrough, no degree of technical or business expertise, no artistic achievement and no amount of wealth can match the value of what a Clan warrior does. Even freeborn warriors, scorned as near worthless in some Clans, have higher status than members of lesser castes do. Though the Clans acknowledge value in the work of other castes, they see that value in military terms. Scientific research created the eugenics program that breeds trueborn warriors, and also produces such useful items as improved armor alloys and devastating weapons; technicians maintain the sophisticated machinery that makes warfare possible; merchants find the resources and create the wealth to finance Clan fighting forces; and the laborers' menial work oils the machinery of everyday Clan life so that higher castes may devote themselves to more worthy tasks.
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III.2 In Mechwarrior and Battletech Online (beta that was cancelled), the different parts on a mech played a very important and strategic part in the battle, as you could decide what to shoot on your enemy to disable xyz weapon, or make his ammo blow up and such...
How much of that will you have in the mod?
A: We refer to this as the modular/child system, where one part of the mech (the arm for example) can get blown off and take the weapons with it, while the body remains intact. The simple answer is Yes. To be more precise, we plan to make it a 3 part system. The first part: depending on the BattleMech, the major children of the whole are going to be laid out as follows... Head (cockpit), Torso, Right Arm, Left Arm, Left Leg, Right Leg. Again, based on mech design, these major modules may differ or even have more.
The next two parts of the modular system are the armor plating and the internal structure of a component, respectively the HP (Hit Points or Health) these elements have. Of course you will have to blow away the armor off that specific component first before hacking away at the internal structure. After the internal structure is destroyed for that child, that whole child will be removed from the mech and no longer functional. It will not be possible to aim for an ammo compartment and blow that up to render that gun or even that component useless.
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III.3 Will the mod feature an immersive interior for battlemechs with complete and detailed HUD elements, heads-up overlay, radar and such? If so, how will it be done? Using a generic interior model for the cockpit without any dynamic parts (like huds and such) and then superpose some overlay with the HUD elements (like in Mechwarrior), or use the advanced features of the Doom 3 engine and integrate the HUDs with dynamic info right into the model (that you can read and all, like the control screens in Quake 4 for example)?
A: Each cockpit will have their own unique style inside with advanced computers and HUDs that will have Dynamic information on computer screens telling the user about the weapons, electronics, Mech armor and so on.
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III.4 Will there be a lobby where you can select your loadout, prepare strategies with your lance and such? Or will you just join a server, spawn on a map and go inside the vehicles you want just like you will in QW?
A: No. Since we’ve really dedicated ourselves to not simply recreating MechWarrior, the whole procedure of modifying your mech will be far different. You must proceed by any mean to capture a mech factory where at which time you may purchase a Mech (depending on the amounts of funds you currently have). Once the mech has been purchased you may change some of the modular equipment on your chosen mech. Since the purchased vehicle will have a unique code for you to enter you do not have to worry about a team-mate stealing your hard earned equipment. You will still have to look out for enemies who may hack your code on your vehicles and take them for their own use.
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III.5 What kind of mission types are you planing on having so far? Has this been discussed? I remember the very different missions you would get in the Mechwarrior series, such as Escort, Assault, Defend, Patrol, Recon... In QW there will be the 3 map campaign system which will add another possible dimension to the missions. Will you have campaign-wide missions for example?
A: Right now, we can't go into too much detail for the exact objectives of the maps we have planned, but the major game type we plan to follow is the “Theatre of War” mode and the “Solaris Arena mode”
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III.6 Will it be possible to shoot pilots out of cockpits and hijack mechs?
A: The idea of shooting people out of cockpits hasn't been a big discussion. But since alot of the Devs have played BF2 and MW4 where head shots are possible, you should expect something like this to be implemented.
Hijacking the mech (kinda like in Mech Assault) will not be possible. We imagine that in the future, there would be security measures in place to stop hijackers from making the pilot eject and stealing the mech.
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III.7 Will salvaging Mechs be possible?
A: The salvage aspect has been discussed, and discussed at length. However, we do not plan to have Mech/Vehicle Salvage as our primary focus on game element implementation. That idea is sitting on a back burner until the core functions of the game are in place, and then we will try to bring it in and see how it will effect the game play. If it adds a significant element and play style that's both fun and enjoyable then we will surely keep it.
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III.8 What is the "Trial of Annihilation" game mode?
A: In "Trial of Annihilation", the player starts the game as a primitive grunt – either Clan or Inner Sphere. Both teams will have a different weapon and equipment designs as well as appearing quite different from one another.
The player will be given just the basic Privates pay, which provides enough funds to purchase basic armor/weapon/ammo and/or vehicles. As the player makes kills and/or achieves other goals (like securing capture points), you'll earn credits that can be used to obtain bigger and better things. Your headquarters will be armed with automated missiles and turrets – effectively eliminating base camping altogether. Your headquarters may be an offshore station, an inland base or a landed dropship.
MWLL multiplayer will provide a wide variety of different vehicles and machines including BattleMechs.
Such vehicles and machines just don't just spawn – the player's side will have to take control of certain capture zones in order to be able to manufacture them. The capture zones won't be just markers on a map – rather they will be factories, ports, motor works etc. For example, capturing a vehicle plant will enable the production of tanks and BattleMechs. Capturing a zone will involve simply standing in a specific room for a small amount of time. The player will gain credits for this also.
Once the players' team captures a zone, it doesn't just start manufacturing the goods. It provides the means to manufacture, but the player must first of all order their desired machine or vehicle through their PDA and have a certain number of credits available. The PDA will provide the player with a key code so that no one else can take what the player has ordered. The player will also have the opportunity to give your order to another team member.
While the player can have multiple vehicles/machines, they can only manage one at a time. The others can be locked in a somewhat secure area. They won't be completely safe though as the enemy can pick your locks and steal equipment. Also, if for any reason the player leaves their vehicle and the enemy is snooping around they can jump in and claim it as theirs.
Throughout the game the player's rank will change as you gain more "C-bills" The higher rank they have, the more equipment they will in turn have access to.
Getting the right balance is perhaps the most pertinent issue. While new players may think it's grossly unfair that all they will begin with is basic issue while other players may be already playing with some serious firepower, it won't quite be like this. Firstly new players will be able to steal others machines/vehicles. Secondly, those players with higher ranks won't be after the new players as they will have very little to gain from killing them and more so be jeopardizing their entire team. Players with high ranks will get the greatest benefit from killing opponents with a higher rank level. Based on this it's likely that you'll be fighting others with a similar rank.
A very interesting plan for the MWLL Multiplayer "Theatre of War" is the "Action Area" concept. This is a completely new concept never before seen in an FPS multiplayer title. Essentially each map will consist of a large 60km wide terrain. In this terrain, there will be three major action zones which are essentially maps in themselves. For ease of definition the large 60km will now be known as the world map, and the smaller areas that exists inside this map will be knows as Area/Action Zones. Each action zone will play very much like a typical FPS multiplayer map with domination of all capture points being the objective. Upon victory for either side on this particular map the losing team becomes the defending team in the next area which may be 5-10km away from this central action zone. The defending team must scramble to make it to the map before the attacking team does so as to set up a strong defensive position. The attacking team must inflict as much damage to the retreating defending team as possible to minimize the amount of resistance that they will meet upon arrival at the new area. The main interesting feature of this is that on the defensive action zones if the defenders defeat the attackers, the attackers must then retreat back to the central map and a tug of war will begin.
Due to the unique factor of the time in each game. Depending on the servers' settings, a game could last as long as ten real hours! (Keyword: Could) With the dynamic day/night cycles in MWLL, it's possible that the player could be playing on the same map during the day and under the stars!
Acquiring more Funds
The player will earn additional funds by capturing and defending build locations, spawn points and main objectives. They will also earn additional funds by aiding their teammates in a variety of ways, either by resupply or kill assists.
Each map will consist of an attacking faction and a defending faction. Depending on the map, different objectives will be required to be completed by the attacking team for the victory conditions to be met. Typically the maps will consist of 3-5 objectives depending on the overall complexity of the map itself.
Players use the variety of vehicles and tool to accomplish their tasks be it defending or attacking and completing certain objectives.
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III.9 Will MWLL have a single player mode?
A: Most definitely not in the initial release, for two reasons: dealing with the AI coding required to provide bot support would take away ressources, namely programmers, we need elsewhere. Therefore, neither plans nor a concept nor a story line for a real campaign mode exist so far.
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III.10 Will there be targeting helpers like reticules and crosshairs on portable weapons or will one have to aim via something like a notch?
A: We're trying to achieve a certain level of easy accessibility, not a realism simulation. Therefore, there will be crosshairs and reticules.
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IV. Technical questions
IV.1 Those poly counts are HUGE! Look great but simply impractical for any engine. You'll lag out looking at any of those. How can we expect to run the mod unless we have a super computer?
A:Unlike older engines the Cry2engine is inherently setup to use high poly normal maps on the low poly models. The models featured here are typically the high poly versions of the low poly in game models, no reason to feature a low poly model without textures since its just completely unimpressive. All the models you see here have low poly counterparts using a normal map projection technique that adhere very stricly to the poly count and batch budgets set forth by the lead developers.
If you’d like to learn more about normal mapping please visit:
http://www.poopinmymouth.com/tutorial/normal_workflow.htm
The idea is that you take all of the detail from the high poly model and put it in a normal map. Then you apply the normal map to the low res model just like you would add a texture map. Now you have a low res model that looks a lot like the high res one. It’s not perfect, but it’s a pretty good trick that makes low res models look A LOT better than they ever have before.
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IV.2 Is there any special software pacakages the team is using?
A: For our heightmaps we are using Geocontrol. It is a fantastic and very well made application for the creation of very complex terrains. More can be found by clicking the “GeoControl” button on our partners list.
This documentation has been brought to you by the MechWarrior: Living Legends team.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 April 2009 )
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