Chrome Hounds.

[CaptHawkeye]

Apparently, i'd given the cold shoulder for years to what is a surprisingly good game if you've got online functionality plus a decent connection and are willing to ignore the exceedingly terrible first impression it gives. At first it looks and plays like a watered down MechAssault ripoff. Until you really get into the role system and start to actually get some parts. The garage is where the game really unfolds. As soon as I started tinkering around with the game's HOUND building, a huge smile came upon my face. I saw things...things that...shouldn't exist on a console game. But they do! They DO! Ballistic physics! Penetration values! Power Rationing! Logistics and communications! HOW? WHY? WHERE WAS I WHEN THIS GAME WAS RELEASED?

The game doesn't stop there either, no sir. It turns out the online component is....*gasp* ORIGINAL. It's essentially an MMO that takes place on a fictional continent. Players actually chose outfits, squads, and sides to take and fight in the war. (Another added bonus, the sides are actually different from one another and contrast in terms of equipment and available resources.) Not only that, but the progression of the war affects how easy it is for your squad to survive based on money and finances! It even takes into account upkeep costs on your mechs! "This mech used X amount of fuel and ammo during mission and it must be paid for.""

Which isn't to say it's perfect. Two years later everyone has pretty much figured out how the break the game balance (though they say things are much better now than they were back when it was released) and lots of people pretty much stick to a bunch of lame archetypes. From Software occasionally re balances the game so people have to get original again. But the veterans still figure stuff out pretty quickly.

Of course, I could point out the non-existent single player component. What grinds me is that the game already has bots that don't even suck they much. (Hint: They still cheat occasionally) But their is no single player war campaign. It's just a bunch of lame tutorials. It's too bad, because the developers were basically cutting themselves off from what could have been "Chrome Hounds Total War".

Unfortunately, their are still health bars. They aren't too intrusive in this game, but they still nag me.

[Hotfoot]

I have a full hangar of every part in the game, save the stupid ones you get from the retarded singleplayer. It's pretty easy to do, really.

It is a fun game, and it's a pity boosters have fucked over the war thing, but oh well. I'd really like to see a sequel that addresses the issues with the original (proper SP campaign, reduction in lame bullshit that allows boosting).

I don't log on much anymore, but I'm over on Tarakia, if we're on at the same time, I can give you an invite to my squad, the Black Pigs.

PS - Once you have all the parts, money is trivial, since you don't actually suffer if your cash total goes negative. Sad.

[CaptHawkeye]

It is a fun game, and it's a pity boosters have fucked over the war thing, but oh well. I'd really like to see a sequel that addresses the issues with the original (proper SP campaign, reduction in lame bullshit that allows boosting).

You know, a lot of the stupid ass booster mechs often look structurally messed. They could probably control them if they instituted some kind of "oh this mech is too nose heavy" balance system. Or actually made cooling relevant to the game. (Mechs RARELY overheat in the game. So radiators are often useless.)

I don't log on much anymore, but I'm over on Tarakia, if we're on at the same time, I can give you an invite to my squad, the Black Pigs.

I signed up for Morskoj this time around. I just got into a squad also. I'll consider it.

PS - Once you have all the parts, money is trivial, since you don't actually suffer if your cash total goes negative. Sad.

Yeah. I sometimes wonder if it would help for FS to just say "ok we're wiping all the squad accounts and inventories because everybody has had too much money and equipment for most of the game."

[Vendetta]

Not played this in ages. Was fun, back in the day, but you really need a good squad. The wrong people and it's no fun at all.

[Vendetta]

You know, a lot of the stupid ass booster mechs often look structurally messed. They could probably control them if they instituted some kind of "oh this mech is too nose heavy" balance system. Or actually made cooling relevant to the game. (Mechs RARELY overheat in the game. So radiators are often useless.)

They were good during the big incendiary fad. I won more than a couple of Heavy Gunner duels because I had enough cooling to survive to get out of a direct incendiary hit and still return fire with mixed HE/Incendiary of my own.

[Hotfoot]

There is a system that prevents designs from getting TOO off-balance, but it's very generous.

And heat sinks aren't just useful for overheating, they're good for up-close scrappers who fight in smoke. At that point, you have to rely on thermal imaging, and heat sinks make your thermal signature blend in.

[The Vortex Empire]

When you have a good squad, this game is very fun, but my squad just plays against AI opponents. Every person who plays the game is a cheap prick.

[Darksider]

I have the game, but unfortunatly it won't run on my 360 (tried multiple copies. It doesn't work on some 360 systems)

i'll have to wait until I trade up for an elite to play it again. Shame though. twas a fun game.

[TheFeniX]

I specialzed in support style mechs as I always loved playing that roll. For MP Team deathmatch, I used a "Double-Double" when teamwork was non-existent, but I loved running my commander mech with double heatseekers. A lot of guys talk shit about "we don't need a commander." They say this until I point out large locations of enemy mechs and they can start pounding them with indirect artillery. It's also handy for spotting mechs attempting to flank your position.

[Ford Prefect]

The garage is where the game really unfolds.

It is a game by From Software, after all.

[CaptHawkeye]

There is a system that prevents designs from getting TOO off-balance, but it's very generous.

And heat sinks aren't just useful for overheating, they're good for up-close scrappers who fight in smoke. At that point, you have to rely on thermal imaging, and heat sinks make your thermal signature blend in.

I've got to say my biggest gripe with the game is just how some mechs are able to accomplish the most absurd weapon layouts and be really hard to hit at the same time. It looks really stupid to see a chicken leg walker running around with 4 massive rocket launchers. Or another walker with 5 spacers stacked on top of each other allowing it to slap one grenade launcher after another onto it. You'd think the cost for that would be a really fragile design that can be tipped off its balance easily. It isn't.

When you have a good squad, this game is very fun, but my squad just plays against AI opponents. Every person who plays the game is a cheap prick.

At least the bots aren't complete idiots. They still cheat though. Somehow, the AI bots always know when you're about to fire, and skip ahead into the future to see where your rounds will go. I'm still wondering what stops developers from slapping simple "reaction time" into their AI. In a lot of games, the AI has super human reflexes because it doesn't take "thinking" into account.

[TheFeniX]

I always found it funny that by slapping in an upgrade chip, firing 4 howitzers firing at once goes from "Shoot viewerscreen into space" to "moves up 2 cms."

That's just the problem with games that allow such control over your PC. The developers look at everything (hopefully) and see numerous options for thousands of different mechs all suited to single purpose roles that will provide limitless opportunities for players to make their mark. Then a combination is found that trumps pretty much everything else and it's used almost exclusively. When I was playing, if there weren't at least 2-3 Double-Doubles on each team: it was probably getting close to Armageddon.

A few guys would run scout mechs with nothing but mine layers on them which would do good if they got in close. But a competent Double Double would just corn-hole them from 2 miles.

The only real counters I found was either fast-moving sniper mechs (they had better be damned good) or run a commander and just laydown your own wide-spread indirect artillery.

[Darksider]

The few times I played multi, I managed to get in some decent kills with a sniper rt. I never liked the Artillery ones because of bad experiences in single-player. Specifically, the role-types inability to hit any of the targets I wanted it to. Ever....

[Stark]

That's just the problem with games that allow such control over your PC. The developers look at everything (hopefully) and see numerous options for thousands of different mechs all suited to single purpose roles that will provide limitless opportunities for players to make their mark. Then a combination is found that trumps pretty much everything else and it's used almost exclusively. When I was playing, if there weren't at least 2-3 Double-Doubles on each team: it was probably getting close to Armageddon.

Yeah, when I got my 360 last year this is what prevented me buying the game. The issue is that the game isn't complex enough to support many successful setups, and that the 'good' setups are so much better than the others that you have no chance if you don't use one. Guild Wars is an example of a game with customisation where non-mad-spec'd setups aren't perfect but they can still be used, at least outside the very-top circles and in planned arrangement with the rest of your team.

[Darksider]

you know what? this thread is making me nostalgic for this game. Does anyone know if there's a way to fix the freezing issue other than buying a new Xbox?

My google-fu so far has failed me.

[Vendetta]

I always found it funny that by slapping in an upgrade chip, firing 4 howitzers firing at once goes from "Shoot viewerscreen into space" to "moves up 2 cms."

With the right combination, I could get a HG that shot three howitzers every 1.5 seconds with no aim deviation. Slow as hell though.

That's just the problem with games that allow such control over your PC. The developers look at everything (hopefully) and see numerous options for thousands of different mechs all suited to single purpose roles that will provide limitless opportunities for players to make their mark. Then a combination is found that trumps pretty much everything else and it's used almost exclusively. When I was playing, if there weren't at least 2-3 Double-Doubles on each team: it was probably getting close to Armageddon.

DDs were fun sniper bait, because even if you couldn't get the cockpit, they usually had big obvious legs (RM-201s), which you could easily snipe out with one or two sniper cannon volleys, and with the legs gone, they just couldn't turn to hit close opponents. We faced a team of five and a sniper once. I think I killed three and the sniper, and disabled the legs of two others so the rest of the team could slaughter them

[CaptHawkeye]

This is one of the few games i've ever played where I don't think a "sniper" class is lame. I had actually hoped combat would occur at the ranges as frequented by snipers in the game. Things tend to be a little closer than that. "Short range" combat is actually what seems lame to me in a game like this. The developers must have subconsciously thought the same way because the lame ass archetype mechs are at their worst at short range.