How do you do a mech game right?

How do you do a mech game right?

I never played Chromehounds but many people laud it as one of the best mech games ever.

How do you write a mech game. How do you make the player believe that a mech belongs in the universe?

How do you design a mech game? The genre is rife with customization. Is the campaign mission based, open world?

How do you do the art for a mech game? Sleek, agile frames that soar through the sky? Heavy mechs that are tethered to the groud? A gritty coat of realistic paint, or some sort of stylized option?

What makes a mech game great? What are some of the best mech games, Sup Forums?

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>What are some of the best mech games, Sup Forums?
Curious of this myself. All the good ones seem to be Japanese only.

I'd imagine a fun one would be like a turn-based RPG where you upgrade your mecha suit(s). I'm sure those exist, just not sure where to look.

Mechwarrior 2 - 4 are classics, helps that they're skimming the surface of a very thoroughly written universe. Better to cut as much of the anime bulllshit as possible and focus on making them like much more adaptable, heavy duty tanks.

I like the style of titan fall and hawkens mechs.

heavy weighty feeling, plausible designs and a cyberpunk aesthetic.

If you want turn-based there's an upcoming game called Dual Gear that you might be interested in.

See this, this doesn't look like a gundam mid-explosion

Are the books any good and if so which ones

Are you opposed to the Armored Core / anime "zippy" style where you fly around and go fast?

>my plamo will never look like that

You posted one done right.

AC4A is fucking amazing, but there are different kinds of mechs, and therefor different kinds of mech games.

You want a Super Robot game? ZoE2 is fucking great. A slower, heavier mech game that's less jet boosting around incoming missiles and more about operating a walking tank? Chromehounds and Mechwarrior.

>tfw you got into gunpla for a few months a couple years ago and then fell right off
I feel lucky I got out so quickly. I can't imagine what my wallet would look like if I'd stayed.

steel battalion is pretty great but it's biggest thing going for it is the expensive controller. (hacked to work on pc games btw)

youtu.be/wY8yXkpXuf4

They need to revive the MechAssault series.

I really liked Wolves on the Border and Heir to the Dragon, I think the Draconis Combine and their futuristic rigid bushido military is interesting. The Blood Legacy series kind of plays a little more like a Saturday morning cartoon.

A little bit, to me it doesn't feel like a warmachine if it's functionally a cyber dude, complete with hands holding massive cyber rifle. Battletech mechs look more like a vehicle, and gameplay wise they function like vehicles. Armoured core feels like being an artillery piece on rockets and while the game is certainly fun, I'll play Mechwarrior for that in-cockpit feeling any day.

>How do you do a mech game right?
You can't do much since the fanbase is so diverse when it comes to taste, but you either go for one of three options.
Make walking tank games like Mechwarrior, go straight fantasy cuhrazy action like in Zone of the Enders, or meet in the middle with Armored Core

>How do you write a mech game. How do you make the player believe that a mech belongs in the universe?
You can only do this if it's a mecha i na sci-fantasy setting like ZoE, or AC.

>How do you design a mech game? The genre is rife with customization. Is the campaign mission based, open world?
Depends on the genre, not all mecha games are the same.
Xenogears is a jrpg and Gundam vs. is a fighting game, just make what you want.

>How do you do the art for a mech game? Sleek, agile frames that soar through the sky? Heavy mechs that are tethered to the groud? A gritty coat of realistic paint, or some sort of stylized option?
there is no absolute.

>What makes a mech game great?
being a good game

>What are some of the best mech games, Sup Forums?
Zone of the Enders, Armored Core, A.C.E, Xenogears, Gundam vs. series, most of the Macross Frontier games, Front Mission.

youtu.be/Mw_xiNmwsiA
in game footage to pair up with the controller video.

Western style mechs are absolutely disgusting and a disgrace to all real mechs. Also the only good mech games are Gundam games, nobody wants to make a real mech game cause making an interesting mech design is too hard for westerners.

This. This is how you do a Mech game right.

not him but to me the armored core stle of basically jets with legs seems a lot more plausable than the mechwarrior style of small building sized slow plodding mechs that are easy pickings for satellite or aerial strikes/artillery. That being said I really like both series for different reasons.

also anyone remember mechassault on the original xbox? that shit was fun as hell 2 player.

>japanese mechs
>high school military academy students wear fighter-jet mechs that can talk and use mystical powers from ancient crystals

>western mechs
>military pilots command a military vehicle designed for warfare

No contest. Western mechs do mechs right.

I had a nightmare one night where I was being bombed but lapsed into a lucid dream when I realized the bombs were reactors from MechAssault exploding. That shit was dope. Also excellent game. Atlas is my mechfu. Madcat is my side piece. Cougar a shit.

People like what they like.
When I was younger I used to like the mechwarrior styled slow and "realistic" mechs, but now I prefer the Zone of the Enders/Armored Core kind of mecha.
It's just a matter of taste, that's not to say I hate the former, they're just not my type.

>dumb, ungainly looking boxy designs
>designed for warfare
well memed friend

How could anyone pick anything else?

>"WE NEED MORE USELESS WING APPENDAGES!"

Sure.

Armored Core can be improved. I hate how stagnant the mecha genre is.

can you guys recommend a Zone of the Enders game to play? i don't have a ps3 but i have a ps2 and a 360. is there a buyers guide to which one is the best? looking purely for best gameplay story is a bonus

i wanna see waht u guys mean by fast and crazy

How do you like your robot heads?

You do a mech game right by making Chromehounds but not shutting the servers down after a year.

You're both idiots.

Mecha franchises have a lot of diversity on both sides of the world.

Couldn't you have a backstory for the mech technology as some sort of evolution of heavy lifting machinery that eventually evolved for warfare when the surrounding tech had progressed enough? Stuff like batteries, robotics, control interfaces, materials engineering, etc.

I'm not saying it has to be realistic but I think it could be science fiction instead of science fantasy.

How would you improve it. Which direction do you push it in?

RAD

I've never played a true mech game but I've always though it would be cool to have a mech game where all the mechs are stylized after metal gear rays design and you deathmatch other mechs in a big city to steal their different parts that you can add to your mech.

twin eye

>I'd imagine a fun one would be like a turn-based RPG where you upgrade your mecha suit(s).
there's an srpg series called super robot wars, only a few of the games are translated though.

monoeye is the most intimidating

I'm a loyal adherent to the Mono-eye.

Sieg Zeon.

Nearly every other Mechwarrior game was better, including Vengeance and Black Knight.

MW4:Mercs was tedious as fuck due to its samey mission design.

Something similar to cosmic break but with decent graphics and no p2w element.

mechwarrior mechs look like ancient prototypes, inbetween you can find titanfall-like mechs, and in the far future gundam-like mechs

Pretty sure a 60 foot robot will be intimidating regardless of what it's "eyes" look like.

Check out the old Front Mission series. Squaresoft does mech RPG

It's impossible because mechs are objectively impractical. Just attack the legs.

>slow lumbering mechs

Not realistic. Hell tanks haven't even been slow since WW1 guys. Realisticlly mechs would be designed on land to be fast as fuck and extremely maneuverable.

monoeye and visor. Everything else can into the trash.

Monoeye.

90% of great and remembered mechs are japanese while everything western is forgotten and uncared about.

Well for one more settings than vast empty sand areas.

If the new Power Rangers movie is big I'm hoping they experiment with a mech game

Zone of the Enders was originally created as a side project to MGS2, it really just existed so that Konami could sell its demo.

The first game is pretty lackluster and awkward, but it's only 5 hours long and sets up for ZoE2.

Now ZoE2 is where things get crazy, not only does it improve vastly on ZoE in every aspect, but it's one of the best mecha games of all time if you're looking for fast paced combat.

There's story there, but it's nothing too impressive.
It's not a bad story by all means, it's just nothing groundbreaking.

The Xbox 360 version of both games is fucked,however on the PS3 the second game has a patch that fixes everything.
you'd have a better time on PS2 if you don't have a PS3 now, or you could be a madman and try to work through the 360 version.

If you're PC is strong enough emulation is also a viable option.

Then there's the GBA "spin off" which isn't too bad either.
However it's a srpg and is a completely different experience.
I started emulating it a while ago and found it to be really good for explaining a lot of the lore in the world of ZoE.
If you get invested into the world after the first two and want more you should check it out.

Hope that helps you user!

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Mind you it's been forever since I have played chrome hounds and I probably have a little bit of rose tint over my eyes but I really loved the customization of the mechs. Being able to put any part where ever you wanted was a lot of fun and led to some different looking mechs. Also the different play styles each weapon brought was fun. It wasn't as fast paced as the AC series so it made using artillery fun.

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Sensor mask that shatters into a visor that reveals a monoeye that hides a twin-eye head which is actually a gundam head with a brave face underneath.

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>no multieye

That looks hideous

Dual gear has a fun demo on Steam.
Probably a "Never ever" game.

i want bulky, clunky mechs that move with actual weight and impact and rely on melee more than ranged attacks

edf's balam had the right idea

i like any of them
except brave head, transformers take your shitty head back to your shitty series

I find this one interesting, it's a cool mix of action and turn-based systems.
I wanna buy it, but the game seems to just be scenario battles.

I want something with a more substantial story and environments that don't all look like sterile testing rooms.

>turn-based

Fuck that.

Thanks! I will look into either emulating ZoE2 or putting it on my "to buy" list for PS3 as I'm planning to get one.

>bulky, clunky mechs
>rely on melee
enjoy being the most useless thing on the battlefield

So how bad was Front mission Evolved?

Mech games just need a few things to be good.

>well made regardless of audience or genre
>mechs are functional within their universe and are fun to pilot
>good gameplay balanced out by the level of "realism" that fits the game's atmosphere

Whether you like super fast gundam robots, or slow and tanky Chromehounds fellas, or you prefer a mix, all of them should be welcome. What we should be shunning are the pretenders that claim to have robots in them, but push them to the side so the cliche anime characters get the spotlight. You know, garbage like Evangelion which pretends to have robots, but you know they're lies. The Xeno series is also SUPER guilty of this, by pretending to have robots, but they're never the focus of the story or gameplay, and they're basically glorified purses that the main characters can discard at any time.

I say screw that. the robots should always have center stage. If I want some weeb fanservice for boner material, I'll go on paheal.

Are there any mecha games that play like fire emblem?

oh god its terrible

mechs are just an aesthetic. you can have mech strategy games or mech rpgs or mech football managers if you wanted.

can't unsee

Literally this if you're looking for a mecha srpg

Front mission
reeeal bad

I honestly think 5th gen AC's are the most realistic a mech will ever get in video games.
>Fast enough that they can outmaneuver aerial support
>Durable enough to eat high yield ordinance from tanks and other implements
>Their profile isn't so massive that they can be seen multiple city blocks away, and as such can easily dodge in between buildings and take cover
>Reactive armor and forward-facing armor plating, variable direction boosters, and even built-in kicking/tackling mechanisms just in case

thanks i'll look into it.

We need to go further beyond.

>the robots should always have center stage
how would you do this?

Front Mission.

Armored Core 4 Answer does it right

practicality is a crutch user

Is this real or a silly edit? If it is an edit it looks really authentic

Remind me, in what OVA did they use that chaingun?

Missile pods.

That's all I need. Just shoot several missiles at once with smoke trails and I'll be happy.

Also, a really fucking neat HUD.

i'd say Armored Core did a good enough job. You never saw anyone's face, so there was no character there for fanservice, or to show off jiggling tits. From actually had to make the game fun, or they'd lose the audience they had.

you could argue that the games are flawed, and I won't deny that, but the directions they took in terms of minimalism in the story is something I wholeheartedly approve of.

It is quite real mate.

being useless is being useless user.

I want to marry Nu-gundam!

Armored core and Mechwarrior are the two best games for both genres, either fast flighty mechs or slower more strategic based combat.

Armored core six should be more similar to AC4A. The direction they took in V, with the focus on multiplayer and the environment was fucking stupid. That shit is best saved for Mechwarrior.

Depends if you want anime mechs, chunky mechs, or in between.

Anime mechs - Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
In between mechs: I really enjoyed Mechassault
Chunky mechs: STEEL BATTALION

>Weapon System/Twin Towers

>hacked to work on pc games btw
What is the point? Considering how expensive it and how SB's online has been dead for years on top of the game itself not being that great you're better off buying actual flightsim hardware.

as long as it looks cool im ok with it

at least youre being honest now.

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What would be your idea of a neat HUD?

visor with multieye

Somewhere along the lines of Evangelion style HUDs. Edged corners to squares, diagnostic meters, secondary colors, rainbow gradients. Lots of numbers... But balanced. Multi-layered crosshairs for locking on.

If it were for me I'd make a mech game that plays like Red Orchestra or Squad or something, with 4 meters tall mechs with decent availability, as in 3 mechs per team, while also having tanks.

>tfw I love all mechs
The retarded, the "realistic", the fast, the slow, the humanoid, the chicken legs, everything.
I wish we could all just get along.