MechCommander: Battletech's Most Under-Rated PC Game
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- Опубліковано 13 кві 2023
- MechCommander is often overshadowed by the more popular MechWarrior series, but it set a high standard for real-time tactical combat. The intro cutscene was pretty rad, too.
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Want to play MechCommander? Follow this install guide:
/ guide_to_playing_mechc...
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Want to see my writing on the web? Visit me at: mattontech.me
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Video sources:
MechCommander Gold playthrough (no commentary) pt.1
• MechCommander Gold pla...
Arc vs Duke - Round 1 (Mechcommander Multiplayer): • Arc vs Duke - Round 1 ...
Mechcommander Multiplayer with Lord Curm: • Mechcommander Multipla...
MechCommander Gold Intro: • MechCommander Gold Int... - Ігри
Great video! I worked on this game. MC took 3 years to make so RTS wasn't really an established genre when we started. WarCraft was out, but that was about it. I remember when Red Alert dropped, there was some unease as one the screenshots on the back showed something that looked like a 'mech. By the time we released and were talking to the press, we referred to MC as a "real-time tactical" game.
The sprite system was quite advanced. Each mech was made up of 4 sprites: head & torso, legs, and each arm. All these parts could move/rotate independently. They were rendered at 32 rotations on Silicon Graphics machines using Alias/Wavefront (a precursor to Maya).
Those sprites have held up so well, they are far superior to early 3D graphics. Mechcommander is a great game, I replayed and finished it recently, I still found myself getting addicted to it, even after all these years. Thanks for helping to create such an amazing game from my childhood. And I have a big box copy still on my shelf.
Sadly the numpad targeting didn't work well!! But this is one of my favorite games ever. And mc is still the best of all the games in this series (including battletech)
I hope you make a sequel for this
awesome work and thanks for for the game. I played this all the time when i was growing up when it came out. I remember saving my money for the july release and played it constantly.
This is so cool to read! I still go back to MC 1 every couple of years. It's so enjoyable to replay every once in a while. I've also played MC 2 but it didn't have the same atmosphere. Mechs didn't seem to have that heavy weight feeling to them, and the sound design was just off in a lot of places (the PPC sound still annoys me haha). There something about the isometric graphics of MC 1 that made it work really well. I'm not sure if I'd want MC 3 to be full 3d, but who knows, maybe someone can pull it off in a satisfying way.
Thanks for making MC 1!
The Mechcommander intro remains my favorite Battletech video.
Definitely one of my favs too - also MW3 from MicroProse.
Man, this is nostalgic. Mechcommander 2 is what introduced me into Battletech. I loved this game!
Same here.
Worm failed to eject so many times, Catapults often landed on their noses after long jumps and Hunchbacks usually got destroyed by turrets when attempting to claim a base. Loved the soundtrack, too.
Good times.
Same here too 😘
Still has the original CD copy and played it (although on-off)...
Mechwarrior 3 was my first, but Mechcommander 1&2 were my next stops and they're still my favorite experiences!
Same it was the only game that ran on my crappy computer XD
@@altmandma same here
The live action cinematics were a work of art
Mech Commander was an AWESOME game! Very fond memories of playing that one.
Wrong. It HAS Awesome. With 3 PPC and pewpew lazor.
@@BierzeItboxer haha I concede.
I still remember the manual, with its little notes in the margins and the beautiful glossary of the mechs in the back.
I spent hours reading everything in that manual as a young kid. It’s was just so cool, between its art style and the descriptions.
One of the few games I wish they'd make a sequel to. I love the 2018's BattleTech but there's something about the RTS of MechCommander that's always captured my heart
The scale of it, I think. The forces are bigger, the missions are bigger, you can have a lot of things going on at once, it's just. Big.
Also it's all hand-tailored levels, not story missions interspersed in a sea of randomly generated options. Which isn't a bad way to do things, but it is... eh.
I remember back in my junior college days in 1991-1992 my dormitory suitemates stopped playing D&D for a couple of weeks and starting to play Battletech, then they came back to D&D and we were all happy again - and that was my first introduction to the Battletech universe. I bought MechCommander in 1998 and was hooked like a crack addict. I have been a Battletech fan ever since, and I'm writing this while a mission is loading in MW5. Thanks so much for showing some love to Battletech, the franchise definitely could use more exposure. Great video, bro!
You should get a SSD (solid state drive). MW5 will load in under 1-2 seconds. I can barely read the tooltip while it's loading. Only like 3 words, then it's done loading.
A good game from a great era... I feel like sticking to the roots, but adding some depth could make a new game in this series successful. I would not want to use the word "modernize," as I feel that modern gaming trends just do not lend themselves to games rooted in table top designs.
Though, Mechwarrior 5 does look amazing as an RTS. Makes me really want MC3.
Clan Smoke Jaguar.
I never got to play this game. But MechCommander 2 and MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries were my introductions into the Battletech universe and I love both games deeply.
MW4: Mercenaries is still the strongest entry into the series in my opinion.
I woulda actually love a MechWarrior game using the art direction from the intro cutscene, but real time renderered and controlled
I want to add something really important, especially about Mechcommander2 : the fact that as you use a higher difficulty, you had to adapt your strategy every time for every level. On elite mode I can guarantee you that you had to think out great strategies and often had to split up your forces or use a fast mech as a decoy to draw away the fire. I finished all levels of play and the elite level was only there because as a beta tester I kept complaining the game was too easy. I swear I got rewarded.
I remember playing this. What a blast it was. It not only gave you a wide variety of mechs to choose from, but you could customize each to very specific specifications. And your pilots would gradually gain experience and get better after each battle.
I remember getting the best luck early in the game by getting a one shot kill on the pilot of the very first Clan Mad Cat I came across, leaving the mech almost completely intact to be salvaged and repurposed for Inner Sphere use.
Getting the Mad Cat early was clutch. I remember reading guides that basically said, if you don't get the Mad Cat salvage, replay the mission until you do.
This game is one of the best Battletech games in existence. That mouse click noise just does something to some of the deepest parts of my brain...
It was really overlooked when it was released, and it is lowkey one of the best and longest lasting games of that year. And yes, thats a hell of a claim considering Half-life, Starcraft, Xenogears, Grim Fandango, Baulder's Gate, Fallout 2, Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie, Metal Gear Solid, Golden Eye, and Final Fantasy 7 all released in the same year in the US.
Man... that was a hell of a year...
I remember finding this in 01/02. It was my gateway to Battletech, outside of occasionally seeing brief glimpses of the cartoon in the late 90s. Second mission had me ambushed by a Timberwolf, but by some miracle, I managed to defeat and salvage it. That sucker with Lynx carried me through the campaign until I got my mits on Assault class clan hardware, but even then, it fought all the way till the end.
Good times.
The modern Battletech turn based strategy game by HBS is also phenomenal - Especially with a bit of modding. I really love and hate the feeling of being perpetually broke, and knowing that some tiny mistake I make can lead to my star pilot being killed and my most expensive mech being reduced to slag.
It really challenges you to try and cobble together a lance of mechs that both perform economically and punch above their weight - Necessity is a fantastic training mechanism for economic success, if that makes any sense whatsoever!
Probably the only live action cutscene from that era that I enjoyed.
That one early game mission where you encounter Timber Wolf for the first time is actually a way to get your hands on that juicy chassy by restarting that mission until you get the mech by succesful artilery strike to the cockpit.
There were a lot of juicy targets that you might only get by salvaging a damaged mech in game and the best way to do that was to snipe out the pilot. In MC2 I remember a lot of missions where I was just scouting for the resource to recover mechs and might leave with twice as many mechs as I started with.
I remember that, preparing to send my Lance of lights across a bridge when literally out of the darkness that Mad Cat comes strutting out like a f***ing Boss. I got very lucky because I timed my arty strike perfectly, just as it reached the end of the bridge it landed right on it's nose! Goodbye one Clanner, hello sweet sweet salvage!, all on my very first play through of that mission.
All the characters with their unique voiceover personalities, loading up your 'mechs with Clan gear...
Thinking I need to reinstall this old beast and take another crack at the campaign!
I enjoyed your video. I have very fond memories of both mechcommander and mechcommander 2 and it was cool to see that those games are still being enjoyed.
Glad you enjoyed it!
look into battlemercs, there is aguy who is currently making a modern successor the stuff like crescenthawks revengge, mechcommander, ect. in the retro stlye with modern coding.
I love what Gaming Jay is doing with Battlemercs. That game is pretty fun and addicting to play. Even the dated DOS like Crescent Hawk visuals give it a nice charm.
one of my favorite games of all time, played it a ton growing up and recently finished a new playthrough. the sprites, effects, and missions are just so great
I used to love that game. The one thing that annoyed me though was late game where you basically couldn’t win a scenario without playing and failing many times until you memorized when enemy formations were going to come in and from where. It was basically an “Edge of Tomorrow” type scenario where you needed Paul Atreides levels of clairvoyance to win.
Yeah, it was so close to being great... but instead we had to boat up and memorize.
You obviously just didn't salvage enough mad cats and clan erppcs
One fun thing is, it's possible to play this through on a Windows 98 emulator with save states. Really cuts down on the problem since you can reload mid-mission if you mess up at the end.
@@computergamingyesterday Link please for a such emulator or guide to set up this save state?! i am in a long nostalgia trip and exploring old titles so i want to try this too!
Dam right.memerize every map.
Oh man...This is weird, seeing those cutscenes. Brings back so many memories from childhood
4 Maulers with a Long Tom on each arm. A lance hitting a target with 8 Long Toms at the same time. The game was over from then on.
Looks like it was Mechcommander 2 that I had gotten into and I loved that game especially customizing your mechs and pilots to do the various missions. I recall my basic squads usually consisted of the fastest mech I had with jump jets and sensors equipped with a few long range weapons to hit depots and such; this was obviously the scout and in more than one battle it seems I had the entire enemy force chasing after this one mech while the rest of the squad moved in with the objective. If not that my scout was usually a cloaked mech but those lacked the jump to get over walls and other obstructions.
As for being "easier" it may have been if you restart with your full inventory of mechs from the first time through.
playing this game, nothing was more satisfying to me than hearing the sound of an atlas with twin autocannons coreing a mech
3:42 Both called shots and shutdown are in Mech Commander. Called shots are even useful (hold the numpad keys when clicking on a target. 8 is head, 7/9 is arms, 1/3 is legs, etc.) Shutting down... isn't quite as useful, because enemies don't respond to sensor contacts with any particular aggression, but it's done with pagedown. (Powerup with pageup).
4:35 You could freely build your loadout in multiplayer.
It's worth noting that fans have made a mod for MW5 that turns it into "Mechcommander 3".
Mechcommander 2 got me into Mechcommander, but I already knew of the series from Mechwarrior 2 commercial, and Mechwarrior 3 demo.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mechcommander 2 but that game is.. a chore to get running on modern systems correctly if I recall. I do have Mechcommander 1 installed though.
A couple issues with the video: it's Clan Smoke Jaguar. Yes, you could build custom maps (may require MC Gold). Also, called shots were in MechCommander, accessed via the keypad. 8 for head, 7/9 for arms, 4-6 for torsos, 1/3 for legs.
Played both mech commander 1 and 2, loved the 2! Absolutely LOVED!
A more modernized BattleTech game could look like Phantom Brigade. I hope for more BattleTech games in the future.
what do you mean there's MechWarrior online MechWarrior 5 and HBS BattleTech those are all modern BattleTech games.
I remembered salvaging the mad cat on the 3rd or 4th mission and took the brunt on most missions afterwards. It was the best game with the pc at that time UNTIL mechwarrior online. Since it's release, I'm still playing it till 2023
there ARE called shots. If I recall you use the numpad to designate where you want your pilots to try to hit, 1 and 3 being the legs.
I played that mission so many times trying to hit that fuel tank before the Mad Cat made it to me and also salvage the thing.
Lol yes. And once you got it, it was amazing for the middle of the campaign. Worth it.
MechCommander was F'n great, I fell in love with the game with the demo and I was so excited when I found a copy in a second hand games shop.
I do think Mechcommander was a bit of an evolution of 'Battletech: Crescent Hawks Revenge' (released in 1990). The Crescent Hawk games were made by Westwood Studios so there is definitely RTS pedigree in there.
Mechcomander was so advanced for its time that if made today would hold up better then most new tittles. Mech commander is game that made me fall in love with battletech/mecharrior. My only gripe with both games how simplified mechs and weapons systems were(it would have been nice to be able to tell them to fire specific weapon or group of weapons instead of shoot only short/medium/long). if you have tonnage you can put anything on mech(make boat of anything) and space(in case of mc2). So that took away from mechs and combat but everything else was just perfect.
Couple of errors: You can shutdown mechs to avoid sensor detection in Mechcommander. The enemy does this in several key missions, I'm surprised you didn't notice. It's useful to the player for keeping parked scouts safe while you micromanage elsewhere. Called shots are also in this game, just hold down the corresponding numpad key when targeting an enemy. And, particle projector cannons are abbreviated PPC, not PVC.
Highly reccomend reading all of the Michael Stackpole Battletech novels!
I played the hell out MechCommander back then.
I found that the original MechCommander's game systems was better than the sequel MechCommander2. MechCommander2 just had better graphics.
I still have the t-shirt and manual. It was the first time that I saw full color versions of some of my favorite mechs. I have the disk kicking around here somewhere. Using terrain to your advantage was the best way to get mechs early on.
The T-shirt! Now that's a collectors item.
The first was amazing, someone made a big campaign mod for it but I cannot remember the name. Amazing stuff.
I LOVED MechCommander 2. I remember spamming armies of Anubis mechs and giving every single mech nothing but rockets. It didn't work for myself as a kid, playing it many years later, but I had so much fun using the AoE ordnance (Swarm missiles?) that just OBLITERATED any mech if they didn't get out of the way on time.... at least, I THOUGHT they did. I converted to the world of lasers instead.
mech commander gold and mech commander 2 are still some of my favorite games
Man I love the game! I played it loads and recently got it working again. I also find the Battletech lore kinda fascinating.
1st game we had on the pc
A fantastic game, even in some things the first of them was better than the second. Although I have to admit that I got mad when you put weapons and sometimes I had the tendency to put everything on one side. How much I would like to see a third part.
The HBS Battletech video game from 2018 is the closest we've gotten to a sequel to Mechcommander 1&2, though it drops the real-time aspect in favor of being turned based. It actually does a nice job at echoing the parent tabletop wargame (Battletech) while not bogging down with as much complexity. And since HBS is cool with modders, if you want more there's multiple well developed modpacks that take it to the next level (my vote being for BTA 3062, but that's just me!) - worth a look for those wanting a tactical stompy robot game.
MW4 Merc was some of the best bloody multiplayer I've played around that time.
Loved both 1 and 2; 2 also has pretty good live action cut scenes, IIRC.
Very good game indeed. I installed the mod of mechcommander 2 days ago
The game that taught me early in life I was doomed to be never lucky. The only clan mech I remember salvaging was a cougar.
I got the Mad Cat once and was happy about it for days.
My favorite of all Battletech/mechwarrior games.
Called shots are included, gotta use that num pad
Biggest problem with this game is that, its pain in the ass to make it work in newest Windows versions. I wish GOG actually listened to the polls and made a GoG version of this. (Its currently the highest voted game in the community wishlist, still no game :/)
Had no idea it was so highly desired on GoG! I’m guessing it’s in rights limbo … probably no one even knows who owns it anymore.
@@computergamingyesterday Microsoft has it, PGI, the guys who made Mech Warrior Online licenced the rights to it until 2025, Ross Bullock(guy in charge at PGI) mentioned it in a podcast.
Loved this game and have played it many times. I still have it and the box it came in. I think I will dust it off and see if I can get it running on the new hardware.
As a new battle tech player I always wondered where the term "alpha strike" came from every time I heard the voice lines
Mechcommander was amazing
Crescent Hawk's Revenge was also real-time w/ pause
I wanted to record some footage of this game but OBS won’t cooperate :/
The bit that drags it down for me is the bit that's often most praised, the real-time "combat", which like pretty much every title in the genre devolves into a bunch of zurgrushing headless chickens running around.
A WeGo turn-based system would've made it so much better, letting you actually use tactics in an engagement other than "run in circles and hope I do the most damage".
it doesn't drag it down and no it doesn't devolve into rushing headless and if you do you are just going to fail hard(I don't think you played the game, since you would know that shooting while running is making your chance to hit low). There is a lot of tactics involved here because of commands you can issue to them and making this into turn based system would make it different game and take away from experience that is mechcommander. Don't get me wrong I love turn based games a lot but mechcommader is better not being one because turn based games give you control over every action and basic movement take ages etc.
In mechcommander 2 you can pause to issue commands and that is as far it should get to turn based.
Feller, you having 2200 subs is a crime.
Battletech, the 2018 turn based game from Hairbrained schemes studio. Did you miss that game?
Oh, and I'm gonna change yalls lives. The Roguetech modpack for it. Yeah 1000 more news mechs and vehicles plus 100s of new weapons and other components. Check it out on UA-cam, thank me later
Not to mention MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries and the soon to be released stand alone game due in December if I remember correctly.
been trying to get this to run on my machine forever. i want this so bad to get remastered or a new setup. i loooooooove this game. can not emphasise enough
While I have run it in Windows 11, it is more reliable on an emulated Windows 98 machine. Here’s a decent tutorial on setting one up: ua-cam.com/video/DPLj2ArthVU/v-deo.html
@@computergamingyesterday I will check it out. Thank you a lot. For the video as well as the link
MC1 Gold was great, never really got to play MC2, only thing I had available to me was when they released that free version but with the stripped UI elements so it was kinda confusing to play.
This is a great game even today.
There is a freeware version available online or was a while back.
How do you get it to run though? I’ve got a Mac and it seems it wouldn’t even run in modern windows.
How I want a Mechcommander 3. Feeling, gameplay and combat of Mechcommander 1 with the modern day Mechwarrior 5 mechlab and endless mission style, with a hint of Men of War direct control. I know MW5 has a mod trying to make MC3, but id love a real MC3, not just a mod jerry rigged into the game.
Sadly Mechcommander 2, while being a great game, is very easy. The AI suffers from a massive case of over focus, meaning that you would field a fast armored mech, have it run into the enemy mechs and tanks, run back out, and the enemies would most of the time chase it at their own detriment. In some cases being unable to fire heavier weapons as your main force would just pound them into scrap while the recon mech was out running around avoiding whatever barrage would be fired upon it. This wasn't failproof as the AI would retarget given certain circumstances but I remember vividly using this strategy VERY often to beat the scenarios. The game was super cool though, loved the "salvager" feeling that the game has with you calling repair trucks and manning downed enemy mechs mid mission.
Then I suggest you to try MechCommander Omnitech. It is the same game, but now AI is smarter. Campaigns are really fun to play. It's freeware.
@@retrosquadchannel2.050 I love the internet.
That's how I remember doing a lot of MC2 missions.
I loved the game back then
I played Mech commander gold online for nearly 2 decades. Theres probably 4 guys who still play it from europe.
Yup we're still here.
Lol
I had MechCommander Gold and the game pure 'Gold."
Yes, absolutely love this Mech in a Box Game , always was Big Stompy fun.
Definitely scratched that itch when you want to play BT but currently have no one to play with so I eventually had the wife grow one (my son) so that I can Make him play with me.
I'm Steiner, so of course what does he pick as his House?
Liao. Even has the wall banner and hat to prove it.
This one needs a remaster for sure, so does Drakan and Legacy of Kain series
Can you imagine if the graphics were remastered with the fidelity of Diablo 2: Resurrected? Be still my beating heart...
TRACK THAT POD!
I **loved** MC2! I remember doing that first mission about 100 times trying to get that Mad Cat.
I just wish I could figure out how to get the emulator to work on my computer.
You don't use emulator to play it. I replayed both games recently went smooth.
@@MarkoLomovic Huh. Alright. You got a good link for a direct download?
@@carlhicksjr8401 yeah you have installation guide in description of this video, in that guide you can find download link as well.
Ow yes! This game was amazing!
I love this game so much and I'm constantly looking for more or similar. Plz lmk if you know of anything similar! Side note.. Earth From Another Son isn't it.
This is a game that I loved deeply. Slight correction to your review though you CAN do called shots using the number keypad. They're pretty unreliable though. The only complaint I had with the main game is just the sheer randomness of salvaging, one would think shooting both legs out of a mech would make it salvagable but nope it goes boom regardless.
Back when passion trumped sales
I liked both series but the Mechcommander 1-2 are closer to mz heart. I like the battletech too but for me the turn based combat kills because I like to make my actions in real time. There is a similar game Phantom Brigade which follows the path of battletech with some twist but for me a Mechcommander 3 would be the ideal if someone willing to make it. With the modern game engines and graphical capabilities a real time tactical game would look gorgeous but sadly no one tried to try this way. The only tries are turn based ones or very small indie projects which tries to follow the top down or 2d graphics for a similar game.
Mechcommander one was a nice looking game and the second was slightly more balanced but the graphics in that time was limited but I liked the variety of mechs and the option to design the mechs aswell (simple coloring). The only thing a new game must do is to copy these main parts, add more option for costumize your mechs, more mechs and weapons for choice, more pilot options or generated pilots what added in like Battletech, Phantom brigade. Balance can be achieved but by the design the game would follow the predecessors game style.
The only close thing what I seen is a mod for mechwarrior online where the game camera and controls altered to strategy view.
I still hope some day there will be a third mechcommander game or a similar game that follows this style.
There's no telling how many hours I put into this game as a teenager.
Battletech is also a great tactic game in a more modern form.
Clan SMOKE Jaguar* 😏
I'll turn in my nerd card :D
*SMOKED
We need Mech commander 3
7:01 Mechwarrior 4 mercenaries do you mean mech warrior 4 vengeance? and where is the mention for mech warrior 5 mercenaries (2021)? Where would Battletech (2018) fall into? it's turn based so more a spinoff?
Vengeance did release in 2000 but Mech4 Mercs was a standalone title that did release a couple years later. His point was that there was a loooong drought of PC BattleTech games since that title.
@@prshadowcat ah yea we now got 2 but who knows when another will come out. Odd that they used the same title did't expect that.
I got my online Nickname thanks to this game.
... guess which 'Mech was my favorite.
lol "called shots" and "shutting down" WAS in MC1.
they don't make games like that anymore(
nice all city
game was amazing
Yes indeed if Microsoft has the rights (as others say) they should do another. After all they seem to be kinda into RTS games.
Weird.. I had a game called mechCommander but it was nothing like this O.o
I loved MechWarrior 2 and its DLC, Ghostbear, Mercenaries etc, Bought MechCommander......and didn't like it.
I missed the whiplash and sweating through my undies😆
Are we just going to skip over mech warrior 5 that came out in 2019?
I wish i could play MechCommander without having to do the Iso things. Creating a faux cd driver and everything just takes me out of even trying
Also, LOL, in your opening bit where your fighting on mission 1-5 against that last Catapult. YUP, makes sense Scarab is ejected. His pathing always was BROKE. Youd order your entire company to move one way, Scarab would wander off, over the river and through the turret defenses to the grave yard he goes....I always hated hiring him cuz he was such a dumb ass.....
Wtf is a Jagwire?
Uhh, called shots are on the numpad
So you can called shot on legs, cockpit, etc?
@@computergamingyesterday yes. Pretty sure it's all locations on mc1 but only head, body, and legs on mc2
@@shabmaster7128 is there a way to remap it, my keyboard has no numpad.
@@MarkoLomovic not within the game unfortunately.
@@shabmaster7128 out of it ?
Clan smoke jaguar btw not clan jaguar I highly recommend Mechcommander over mechcommander 2 despite the more dated graphics i think the gameplay and story is better.
Mechcommander 1&2 was awesome .. not this turn-based shit Battletech