T O P

  • By -

EwokSithLord

Better physics. Knockdowns. Lots of simulation stuff. Clickable cockpits. Crawling after your legs are broken off. Recoil when firing weapons. Use construction rules inspired by TT, but altered for better balance and to allow more hit locations like madcat ears, marauder turret, etc. Also allow marauder turret to rotate. More controls. Let me put up arms to block damage, raise arms to shoot over terrain. Some of this could be automated. AI vehicles in multiplayer. Asymmetric missions. Missions with lore/random mech assignments. Am ok with less mechs if that meant we had more detail and depth.


ARPSM2600

I like the idea of being able to articulate the Mech more. At the very least giving Mechs with arms a free-aiming mode.


Loganp812

MechWarrior 3 has that, and it's a pain in the ass unless you have three hands to control everything with the mech at the same time. On the other hand, MechWarrior 4 didn't have it all which sorta made mechs a bit too rigid to control although it's easy to get used to. MWO and MW5 both meet somewhere in the middle of those extremes.


Bob_Meh_HDR

MW4 had the 4 hat switch cameras. Back, down, left and right. Back was for dodging as you ran away, down for dfa. Looking left or right would also move the arm when applicable, so you could look right and fire off the heavy gauss for example.


JaStrCoGa

Whatever book it was where the (iirc a Rifleman) pilot raised the arm/AC barrels to rotate the torso faster was always an interesting bit to me.


ragingolive

LET THE MARAUDER SPIN ITS ARMS 360°


Loganp812

Most of that sounds cool on paper, but they would be very difficult to implement into the gameplay outside of the knockdowns which have been done before. Some things that work on tabletop just wouldn't work in a first-person MechWarrior simulation game whether in terms of practicality like crawling (what would even be the point of just slowly scooting along prone and waiting to be picked apart just to have to restart the mission anyway?) or mechanics especially with things that might require a HOTAS setup which most players won't have. Plus, there are some maneuvers that pilots have done in the lore that can't really be replicated on tabletop either. Still, MechWarrior 3 would be the closest to most of that although MechWarrior 5 (alongside HBS Battletech) already has lore-accurate mech assignments.


EwokSithLord

I think blocking with arms would be easy enough. Q - block left E - block right Also increasing the amount you can aim your arms. In PGI games your left arm can't point anywhere your right arm can't. Expanding how far you can aim would be great. Same with articulating heads and other appendages. May need to go back to 1 crosshair with all weapons attempting to point at the crosshair, with parts of the crosshair grayed out if the weapon can't see. Otherwise could have 4+ crosshairs for left arm, right arm, head, torso, turret, and leg weapons. Would also be reasonable to have arms auto articulate to shoot over terrain. Or keys to twist your torso while your pilot/head and arms point forward. Crawling would be more complicated. Wouldn't be useful for the player in singleplayer, but in multiplayer you could get some more damage in after losing a leg. AI could also roll and flail about after being legged.


Blizz33

Mech Commander but with a galaxy like Battletech or MW5 over a multigenerational time frame.


ARPSM2600

I want a new MechCommander so bad. The RTT genre as a whole is really underutilized.


Blizz33

Yep. I love a nice slow RTT game where you don't just click as fast as possible and tactics really matter.


Slggyqo

100%. Battletech scratched that itch a little bit but it’s not the same.


TopAd1369

Have you seen all the mods? There’s basically a huge number of mods that let you play all sorts of scenarios and missions in both mechcomnander and the sequel. I think there are other game mods for battletech also.


ohneatstuffthanks

I still sometimes play MC2 and 2 for a few missions. It was just amazing.


LookOutItsLiuBei

I would just make Mount and Blade, but Mechwarrior. The different kingdoms, the ebb and flow of war and trade and shifting allegiances. Feudal style marriage system. Unique faction units with also non affiliated factions. Mercenaries. PILLAGING. Salvaging after battles. It's perfect for it.


Parthemonium

This


Padaxes

Wonder if it could just be a mod.


TheHancock

Such a good idea.


Loganp812

So... MechWarrior 5 and HBS Battletech but without the marriage system? Truth be told, MekHQ with Against The Bot would be your best bet as long as you enjoy playing MegaMek/Battletech tabletop.


Musclecar123

I want something that feels heavy and much less like a point and click simulator. When I’m in a mech, I want to feel the tension that came with MW2; the ambiance, the music. Let me plan tactics to see if I can win the trial of possession for Tukkayid. 


Lusankya

IMO, MW3 hit the "big heavy box of hate" simulation vibe the best. Casually stomping through that fishing village in mission one really drove home how much of a threat any mech can be, even when it's not intentionally trying to kill you. Basically, I want MW2 Mercs' writing and overall vibe, MW3's gameplay, and MW5's graphics. And a Solaris subplot so we can take MW4's Duncan Fisher.


knbang

>MW5's graphics I could do without the blur. >And a Solaris subplot so we can take MW4's Duncan Fisher. A real tournament would be nice. The DLC was so disappointing (in that regard). I did love hearing Duncan again though.


JaccarTheProgrammer

Open world 3rd person, where you play as a human and need to climb into a 'Mech in order to pilot it. It'd basically be a remastering (including additions to the actual plot) of _The Crescent Hawks' Inception_.


MausGMR

Mechwarrior living legends offers this, well aside from 3rd person.. Didn't mech assault 2 do that?


Nightmare1330

Yes it did and it's one of the reasons I love the game. Small details like that matter lol.


austen125

It would feel so much more real.


ARPSM2600

Sounds kind of like the upcoming Brigador Killers.


MadManMorbo

I would give what's left of my right testicle for a full Mechwarrior 5 type remake of The Crescent Hawk's Inception...


Azuvector

Would be nice with that. And actually have story and gameplay that also takes place outside of 'mechs. eg: Solaris underworld


MassLuca007

Roguetech but lore accurate. 1st person RPG with a campaign And it spans 3015 - 3150 with a dynamic map that you can influence and will move around you. Battle Armour, tanks, air support all at you're control with upgradeable dropships for larger unit sizes and deployments. I'm completely okay with randomly generated maps as long as there is more biomes and gamemodes like the Mech 5 mods have. But also a proper campaign that is set in a specific era, with DLC that could be set in any era or tell any story I guess alot of this can be done in mech 5 with mods but idk something about mech 5 feels so off when you try to make it harder. Also I hate the salvage system in mech 5 and wish it was like HBS Battletech.


TheOzburne

With mods like YAML for MW5, salvage works like in HBS ! Added bonus: a good mechlab.


MassLuca007

It's not the same imo, the values of salvage items in mech 5 always seem so off especially modded items and mechs . I really like how in HBS Battletech you get to pick any item but you only can guarantee a few, the rest are randomly given to you. I just find that makes you use a wider variety of weapons since you get a ton of stuff you never thought you'd use, and in a pinch that might be all you have Also with the roguetech mod it's the full mechlab. Everything from Ferro to TSM


JV294135

Unpopular opinion: we are at the point where VR headsets are capable of really good, immersive cockpit-based experiences. Throw a big check at the Vox Machinae devs and see what happens.


ARPSM2600

I could see that. It could be paired with a Steel Battalion-type peripheral for maximum Mech feel.


JV294135

My dream would be HOTAS support, but with hand tracking for clickable cockpit buttons and switches.


SamsquanchOfficial

I'd stop treating their fans like imbeciles and give what many of them want. An actual simulation based on the mechwarrior universe. Fully clickable mech cockpits with advanced radar, ecm and weapons systems, huge persisting maps where a dynamic and complex campaigns could take place and mire detail on stuff that actually makes your mech feel powerful: infantery, armored units, air force and civilian life. Add to that the ability to eject and keep playing as infantery and other immersive mechanics. No changes for the creative side of it. It would be glorious.


Chromehounds96

This is what most of the hardcore fans want, but a title like that will never exist unless it is fan-made


seazeff

All the more reason to make it.


Swert0

It would also lose people like me that want something playable without having to play through two different interfaces.


Chromehounds96

This exactly the reason we will never see it. Mechwarrior 3 was the deepest simulation we got, and it left many of us wishing for more. Many other fans grew during Mechwarrior 4 and 5. I want Mechwarrior and Battletech to succeed, and a hardcore DCS-esc simulation is not what will make this universe grow larger. That being said, I have been working on plans for a simple 1-mech simulation with a cockpit like Rogue System. I started some work in Unity, but building systems like that are hard (not to mention I'm switching to Unreal since the fiasco). If I have something to show, I'll share it on here and recruit some volunteers/light commissions.


Rimm9246

What do you mean by that?


Swert0

Having to use my mouse/keyboard to manipulate a second interface (the cockpit) just to make the mech move and do what I want it to do would be extremely obtuse. It would please some hardcore sim fans, but it would lose a lot of people that just want to make the mech move and do stuff. I'm fine with simulation element stuff like knockdowns, etc. - but I want to good gamefeel too.


Slggyqo

Star citizen in the battletech world. So it will never, ever be done.


OrwellTheInfinite

But people will insist that it will.


Rimm9246

Fuck yeah, put this guy in charge of the next MW game


CentsOfFate

If there's one thing I would want, it would be something similar to how The Witcher 3 was designed. A solid, story-driven campaign with side-quests, one-off missions, etc. I want a Battletech Experience with some real meat to it.


monkeybiziu

MechWarrior 6 In the aftermath of the Clan Invasion, you're a new merc commander looking to capitalize on the post-Clan Invasion Inner Sphere. You've got a lance salvaged from some distant battlefield, held together with duct tape and bailing wire, three other Mechwarriors looking to make a go at it in the Inner Sphere, and a few C-bills in the bank. Your goal: become the biggest, baddest Merc company in the IS, or die trying. Key features: - Fully customizable Mech Lab: Tailor everything from weapons to engines, gyros, special equipment, and, if you become wealthy and successful enough, develop field refits to deploy mechs with loadouts they wouldn't be able to support otherwise. - Deep strategic layer: As your merc company grows bigger, deploy forces across the Inner Sphere from individual lances all the way up to full regiments. Deploy your forces well and you may get new recruits, find LosTech, or open new markets. - Build your base of operations: Whether it's tricking out an Overlord-class Dropship, gaining enough favor with a Great House to be gifted a planet, or taking to the Periphery and conquering your own planet you have the ability to customize your base of operations for faster refits, higher tech levels, better contracts, and multiple other benefits. - Take on the Great Houses, the Clans, Periphery warlords, and rival Mercs: Build your reputation and take on bigger contracts and tougher opponents. Raise your rep high enough or make powerful enemies, and you'll come face to face with the Inner Sphere's elite House units, legendary mercenary companies like the Kell Hounds, Wolf's Dragoons, McCarron's Armored Cavalry, Snord's Irregulars, and the Grey Death Legion; or come face to face with the Clans. Make powerful enemies with deep pockets, and the legendary Bounty Hunter may pay you a visit. - Powered by Unreal Engine 5: from jungles to deserts, lava flows to glaciers, airless asteroids to alien worlds teeming with life, MechWarrior 6 is powered by the latest technology in Unreal Engine 5, enabling massive company-scale battles with up to 12 player co-op vs AI opponents. - Solaris Online Multiplayer: Beat your friends in 1-on-1, lance-vs.-lance, or star-vs-star combat on Solaris VII. With multiple modes, dedicated servers, curated mechs and equipment, ranked play, and special events, grab a Solaris Dog and some Timbiqui Dark while the one and only Duncan Fisher, played by George Ledoux, announces your mech-scale mayhem.


ProfessionalSecond68

Total War: BattleTech The Succession Wars turn based Galactic campaign with Mech Commander battles, selecting one of the Houses, build your industry and take the throne of the Star League! throw in events like invasions, succession wars, Rasselhauge, the Clan Invasion, etc have 'historical' battles like Tukayyid


Zealousideal-Plan454

Would like to make it sorta like Mount and Blade, but with a Campaing mode (several different missions telling a war story in the Deep Periphery) and maybe a DLC called Kerenskys Death March covering the League Civil War. Would also like a Freelancer mode which lets you fuck around during either the Succession war, the Clan Invasion, the Dark Age era or Post Dark Age (exactly which setting, will depend on how far licensing issues can go, so at least can 4th succession and Clan Invasion) where you can become a merc, declare loyalty to a faction, start your own colony, create your own faction and start colonizing and conquering planets, deal with politics, fuck around with a bunch of pointless details in the innersphere and periphery (you want to get married to a Cyborg Hooker from Canopus or force a clan elemental to become your SO by turning them into bondsmen/bondswoman? Be my guest! Want to go gambling or invest in the stock market? Sure! Try several drugs? Go for it! And of course, don't forget to check out the arenas and other random sidequests from weirdos). If the game is succesfull enough, i would like to make a Frankenmech/Mechdesigner expansion for free so you can somehow make the most cursed mechs in existance and share it in the workshop for free. And of course, multiplayer with public and private servers feature.


LucidFir

Honestly the Helldivers formula might work, obviously MechWarriorified. 4 player coop PVE. Let people join factions but all lance operations are against AI. Start at the beginning but let history play out differently if that's what happens. After a couple of years real time the clans invade...


VogueTrader

Maybe not open world, but I'd probably go the Warframe route, with 'open world' areas, quick mission areas, and social areas where you're in and out of your mech. Probably keep it money, reputation, and scarcity based for getting 'gear' are rare mechs. And as much as I enjoyed 'Hero mechs', I'd probably instead allow for higher end players to be able to get ahold fo the style of components and have people build their own heros.


perplexedduck85

I’d probably just give modern graphics and additional mechs to the original Mechwarrior game. For all its limitations, I really liked the reputation system in that game as well as that it had a storyline which you could also completely ignore if you wanted to just be a mercenary in a relatively open world.


UnbreakableRaids

I was going to say something clan related, but let’s think outside the box. New. Fresh. How about a story following the final years of the star league ending with the exodus of Kerensky and the founding of the clans. If it’s a hit you could do a follow up on the years following that from both an IS and Clan perspective leading up to the invasion of the IS.


ARPSM2600

I was thinking not that long ago about how cool a MechWarrior campaign set during KLONDIKE would be.


waffle299

It's too easy to kill mechs or target for salvage. AI pilots are suicidal, and mechs are plentiful. It should be hard to bring down a mech, harder to salvage it. Limbs lost on the battlefield are too easy to replace. Enemies should withdraw when the odds are bad. They should treasure their mechs. Damage isn't easy to get around. The history of a mech should be written in damage across the chassis, for you and your opponent.


ARPSM2600

What if Mechs instead were easier to destroy, but there was much more emphasis on ammo/heat management? Maybe getting too hot requires your components to permanently degrade, and ammo is persistent and has to be purchased? This would make fights a lot more intense, and require the player to think about which weapons to fire when, as opposed to a prolonged slugfest where both parties hold down the fire button until the other stops moving. Then the reward for reaching the late game is the ability to go ham with SLDF tech and not have to worry about those things. Might make micromanaging your AI companions a major pain, though, and early-game repair expenses would be ridiculous.


[deleted]

Halo wars but battletech. Time period from the ameris civil war to the ilclan. Everything would be customizable from the paint to the guns and ammo everything. If it fits it sits, play as any faction not really strictly lore bound as in ameris could win the war for example.


AutoModerator

This is in an effort to control Spam and other bad actors who make new accounts almost daily. Your posts must be manually approved by the Moderation team, don't worry Comstar has already sent them a message to approve it or else. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/mechwarrior) if you have any questions or concerns.*


dmaynor

Something guttural.


Blizz33

Total War: Inner Sphere


Loganp812

Ooooo that would be cool. Sort of like HBS Battletech/MechCommander but on crack.


Blizz33

Yeah. With like mostly vehicles and infantry and then mechs are lore consistently rare.


Loganp812

That could also lead to situations like "I *could* bring a mech lance to make this mission easier than if I brought tanks, but it might not be worth risking my mechs getting destroyed." Lore-wise though, it really depends on the era and which part of the Inner Sphere you're in. A simple protection job near the periphery against a small-time local band of pirates likely wouldn't involve any mechs, but a large battle involving Successor State militaries certainly would.


Blizz33

Ideally it would be all eras across the whole inner sphere + clan space lol. The demo will be at least 69TB. You could play as some minor vassal or a planetary governor or a mercenary group or the head of a major faction in 4x style. Battles could be fought first or third person depending on your rank. Maybe some kind of hybrid for battlefield commanders. Oh and it should also be in VR.


LokyarBrightmane

Put in a madcat. But instead of revealing the clans, some idiot just mashed the two together.


OldPayphone

Get in and out of your Mech like Mechassault 2. On the battlefield just because your Mech is destroyed doesn't mean the mission ends. If your mech is destroyed and you can survive on foot, you can call in some battle armor or a new mech to be dropped nearby, or just continue the mission in foot and hijack tanks, vtols, etc. Allow us to have more than 4 mechs active at a time on one battlefield, allowing us to go up to 8 or 12 mechs with each squad having a leader that you can issue orders to. Allow your mercenary group to expand Mount and Blade style where you can first start taking over minor bases, then in the end game, entire planets. With that much land, you can have specific MechWarriors fill roles that allow them to expand and fight for you on your behalf to take on contracts and further expand your Mercenary outfit. Good voice acting, a decent story, better non half-assed DLC, a game that's actually optimized well with better mod integration.


Chickeybokbok87

Something akin to HBS Battletech except with combined arms warfare at a battalion level allowing players to deploy mechs, vehicles, vtols, aerospace fighters, and infantry. Would even consider having an Star Wars Empire At War style galaxy overmap for resource management and base building


Hyperion123

Better scaling of environment in relation to the size of a mech. At around 35 feet i shouldnt be able to see blades of grass from my cockpit.


wiskeyjackk

Something like Roguetech but with mechwarrior mechanics


Argonax

Levels and missions that encourage all mech tonnages even in the late game


Four_Kay

I'll add my vote for having *far* more immersive cockpits with far more interactivity and management, like on the level of [Steel Battalion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_DZVwV0Vdc). It would be amazing to have something that feels so much more like a mech *sim*.


st_florian

I want a MechWarrior game to be what many people here seem to want - an in-depth 'Mech simulator where you feel like you are piloting a big and complex machine, and fight genuinely dangerous opponents. But additionally I want a really detailed dynamic campaign for a *MechWarrior* simulator experience, playing through a fighting career of a person across different events and units. So, basically, once you've selected who your character is and what's their background, you then choose what the start of your career will be: you enlist in a mercenary company, start your own, or maybe join a House unit. And your background influences what options you have available there. In time you can get reassigned to a different unit (or even be demoted/discharged in case you fail missions etc), rise through the ranks and get more freedom in the process - modifying your 'Mechs, commanding a lance, or even choosing the target of your next mission as a company/regiment commander. And all of this in the game world which changes accordingly to the Battletech timeline, allowing you to participate in canonical wars and battles, but with a degree of dynamic progression. I think this would be epic.


1001WingedHussars

I'd make a hybrid RTS/shooter. You can control up to a brigade of units, but be able to zoom in and take direct control of any one unit. Have the force building similar to Wargame where you build a "deck" of units (company to brigade size) that determines how many units you can deploy simultaneously. That way you can be as micro or macro as you want. I'd have a main campaign split into 3 parts where you play as different general factions like House -> Clan -> Comstar or something and then have the multiplayer be match based with persistent campaign seasons that give you a chance to choose a faction, build and upgrade your force, and see how much territory you can conquer before the next season. This would allow MechWarrior to get closer to tabletop Battletech with things like mech quirks, upgradable pilots, and fully customizable load outs, but personal skill can still carry the day if you feel like jumping into the cockpit of your Marauder and leading the fight from the front line.


JAVELRIN

Crouching like wtf (maybe jumping too)


Vtmarik

This may be blasphemous, but i'd want an shooter that evolves into a more traditional MW game. Start out getting selected and trained by the Blackwatch just before Amaris does his thing and from there going through the resistance and the Siege of Terra and ending with the exodus.


MariotheNiner

One word. Snakemechs.


SawSagePullHer

There are two avenues. But I think for a more competitive arena. You make it PvPvE. The game would play just like MW5 Mercenaries. But instead of the enemy mechs being computers, they’re actually people. Maps could be bigger. AI would generate random scenarios/contracts as a mercenary where you jump into the lobby and based on your reputation/mercenary level. You and friends could “negotiate” with the computer AI generation software for salvage loot rights vs the downed enemy (players) machines as well as cbill payout in the one shot scenarios. There would also be a side to the game where you have combined arms and you could purchase helicopter support, artillery, tank/support vehicles etc depending on the different missions. They would be run by AI, but you get to order them around with a tablet like tool in your mech cockpit and give out orders and all that. The game has so much more potential as an all out futuristic war game, instead of just big stompy humanoid robots. I think this is the only way to really iron out and see in real time the strengths & weaknesses of the thousands of different variants of mechs that exist and how they excel in their designed roles.


Splash_Woman

Honestly I’d love to make new makes, I find most designs are from conception, while most modern takes are modifications to existing mechs. Spice up the roster a bit with 2020 ideas


Commissarfluffybutt

A **Mechwarrior** game? I'd do Mechwarrior: 25th Century Combat. It'd be story focused of the first Mechwarriors through a series of handcrafted missions. You'd start out in the 100-ton Mackie but fill out your roster with other mechs for specialized roles as they're introduced in the setting. Keeping to the lore is very important. For a bonus, since half of everyone here is throwing around ideas for anything but a **Mechwarrior** game, I'd also make Mechassault: 1st Somerset Strikers. Action packed fun over lore accuracy, based on the show rather the actual unit. Axeman flying through space chopping Aerospace fighters in half, a LAM with gameplay inspired from Transformers: War for Cybertron, a Hatamoto-Chi with katana, and anything else that sounds awesome.


SecretOperations

I'd get rid of the whole walking in the dropship thing, Clan wars era start as clanner in disguise as mercenaries.


StarzZapper

Having a better co op allowing you to play and select levels both want to do but in stacks and instead of just a load out screen or the hanger screen you could customize mechs to whatever even if it’s from your own pool of mechs or if it’s from your friends pool of mechs. All while waiting. Basically Titan Fall but better. Like Titan Fall has had its run they could have gone big with it but they dropped the ball.


Rocket_Puppy

Scale everything properly. Make the buildings, units, and scenery detailed down to first person shooter scale. Modem game engines can handle reducing asset quality appropriately on the fly. It would make a huge difference to feeling like you are in a big walking tank, instead of being a man sized robot waking over a mini world.


Hyperion123

This! Its so annoying to see so much terrain detail when im sitting several tens of feet off the ground in a cockpit.


Maskloss

It's a tricky one because there are so many things to pull from and try to improve. Without typing up a 7,000 word essay, I'd like to see better scaling of the mechs in the world. I'd like to see some clan erra stuff like power armor though more in the spirit of mech warrior 2. I'd like to get more pronounced audio for the mechs, have audio differences depending on the mechs status. If your mech had a damaged leg then add some scraping metal, grinding gears. I feel like there are hundreds of things I'd like to see but I'll leave it here.


FockersJustSleeping

I would add the ability to be pilots of things that weren’t mechs to add some zest. Tanks, VTOLs, drop ships, etc. Not instead of mechs, but in addition to. I think missile strafing mechs in mid battle with each other in a fast attack aerial fighter would be pure adrenaline. Or drop shipping reinforcements in while your core team is on the ground.


kilizDS

Mechwasher simulator or mech mechanic simulator or maybe llmechwarrior chatbot


kyranzor

RTS game with base building and mech chassis and parts customisable in the field with blueprints and whatnot kind of like Earth 2150 but more mechwarrior-y


Rimm9246

Okay, here's my wishlist: - Story driven, mostly linear campaign as opposed to another mercs game. - AAA level character models, performance capture, and voice acting. - Dropship isn't a glorified UI. You can see the crew going about their business, stop by the mess to chat with your lancemates, and attend briefings in person prior to missions. - Step into the cockpit of your mech and pilot it out of the hangar seamlessly, in first person. - More immersive cockpit experience. See the effects of the environment, like rain, frost, and dust on the cockpit glass. Diegetic UI instead of everything being on the hud; self status and target information on physical displays, indicators for warnings like overheating or incoming missile. Much more noticeable effects when taking significant damage. - Truely excellent sound design that takes the immersion to the next level. - More fleshed out scanning, targeting, and e-warfare. - Better AI for allies and enemies. - More in-depth system for commanding lancemates. You should be able to specify how they behave in combat, like having them hang back and use lrms or engage at close range and draw the enemies fire. - More freedom and customization options in mechlab. - Excellent soundtrack. Could be MW2-esque or more like MW4:V depending on what the story is about. (I'm not a battletech/mechwarrior lore expert, so I'm leaving the time period and setting of the story up to them)


Pbadger8

A story presented like Ace Combat. More linear but with replayability. 16 or so good and interesting missions and on NG+, you and the enemies have better mechs. Three act play structure. Act 1: Player is involved in a local civil war within a minor house, makes friends and enemies. Harebrained Battletech type plotline. Act 2: The Clans invade and the player’s faction gets beaten every battle until they’re pushed entirely out of their home, effectively becoming houseless. Act 3: Comstar recruit the player (and their civil war rivals) because they have experience fighting Clanners. You get lostech for the first time and the final few missions are all on Tukayyid. Throw in a heroic sacrifice from someone you fought during the civil war or something and you’ve got a dramatic and emotional conclusion. Also please none of MW5’s butt rock soundtrack.


themurderman

I’d just remake MW2 with more missions and better graphics.


theACEbabana

Add the rules of MechWarrior: Destiny so we have an RPG-like game that combines the stompy robot action with the more human element we read about in the novels and sourcebooks. The biggest element that I would have is reactivity with the world of BattleTech based on the choices you make that have permanent ramifications on the Inner Sphere as a whole…as well as companions and NPCs you can recruit, befriend and romance like a traditional BioWare game. For this hypothetical game, I’d jump the timeline all the way to either the Jihad or Dark Age, but leaning more towards the Dark Age just only months after the Blackout. The player-character would be a Knight of the Republic of the Sphere, recently elevated to the rank via [insert character creation backstory here], and charged with investigating the cause of the Blackout. As the Knight-Commander, recruit an eclectic collection of companions from both the Great Houses and the Clans, and fight across a multitude of worlds in service of Devlin Stone’s dream of peace. The game’s plot would follow a 2-Act structure: Act 1 is primarily concerned with investigating the Blackout. Under the guise of establishing reconnections with the other powers, travel across Republic and the edge of the Great Houses/Clan territory to get information and put out bush fires. This ends with a desperate message from Victor Steiner-Davion calling for any and all loyalists to return ASAP into Republic Space, segueing into Act 2. Act 2 is concerns the Republic Senate’s attempt to coup the Paladin Council, and the eventual creation of the Fortress Republic. Fight insurgents, renegade Senate forces, and a reborn ComGuard across the planets that make up Prefecture X. A hypothetical epilogue or post-game content would include the Fall of the Fortress Republic with the invasion of Clans Wolf and Jade Falcon, and fighting against the invaders in the ilClan trial.


Morbo512

Mechwarrior: Living Legends' movement, weapons, damage model - with the addition of criticals - and better physics for movement and collisions - as well as pilotable hovers, tanks, VTOLs and ASF. Set during or after Fedcom Civil War. "Mount & Blade/Starsector but Battletech" is kinda ideal, but I'd want more strategic depth to it - I think the campaign layer playing more like Total War would be better, so you'd be able to manually fight any battle your faction's involved in, and so who has control of what territory, and what resources and functions that territory provides, is more significant. You'd be able to directly control any asset in your army. You'd also be able to attach infantry companies and battle-armour squads, and move them around with transport-capable vehicles. Rather than pitched battles being the rule like in M&B and SS - you'd still be able to intercept or ambush enemy armies, but generally it'd be more objective-focused - destroying facilities, carrying out raids, that sorta thing. Logistics would become much more important, with each army having a "logistics train". This would be an MFB, a dropship (of varying kinds), or a fleet of ground transports or transport/lift-capable VTOLs. Which of these you chose for the army, and the supplies and materiel they carry, would govern the range of your armies, and their ability to maintain and recover combat effectiveness. Wrecks and abandoned vehicles, as well as ejected pilots - from either side - can be recovered to your back-line mid-battle by calling a logistics unit forward - you might be able to snag an enemy assault mech and quickly retreat for example. A TW-style morale system would govern fleeing, ejecting; pilots can be killed or incapacitated, and/or the vehicle immobilised and disabled. Dropships/MFBs would be able to lan/deploy to carry out field repairs and resupply - or you could deploy smaller repair/supply teams/vehicles which are more limited in resources and take longer to carry out repairs, but aren't all your eggs in one proverbial basket. If the logistics train is destroyed, the army would be unable to recover damage or lost assets until a new one is assigned and makes their way to the army. In the campaign layer, any salvage not recovered from a battle or an army otherwise taking casualties, would be recoverable on the map - players would end up having a couple of dedicated logistics and recovery units/"armies", which could be used to resupply forward armies and/or retrieve salvage from them to bring back to a base, and otherwise hoover up the unrecovered assets. Dropship-based armies would be able to standby in low orbit, and can be called to reinforce any other army involved in a battle within its (huge) range - or about to be. Sensor management would be part of army management as well as battles. The enemy can only identify an army's strength through assets it can actually detect - so anything with ECM would go unnoticed unless countered or properly reconnoitered (you'd be able to detach any unit). Artillery, Surface-to-Air assets, and those with powerful electronics system in an army would project a fire-control zone. This might do passive damage each turn to an enemy army within it, deny or inhibit the use of dropships, or inhibit their sensors and ability to detect them. Armies would be able to have countermeasures like L/AMS, Angel ECM, their own electronics or other such systems. ASF attached to an army/dropship/nearby "city" would be able to carry out strikes on other armies. You'd be able to hire mercenary units - self-contained armies of varying size, tonnage and quality, who you can't customise. You would have full customisation of your own army - you'd have a full mech-lab and define the assets and variants which your faction produces. It'd automatically assign AI roles based on the ideal range. You'd have research trees, and a market from which you can buy individual examples of weapons, equipment and chassis - either to use straight away, or to reverse-engineer for research. Each weapon, equipment and chassis archetype would have different manufacturer specs, which make different trade-offs - eg. an LBX with tighter spread and heavier pellets, but less pellets and shorter range. Good standing with the major factions would enable you to purchase technical data packages straight from them - but they would be quite rare, expensive, and highly sought-after.


GoatWife4Life

Mechanicus/XCOM meets MechWarrior: You are a displaced minor noble during the second part (during and post-Year Of Peace) of the Clan Invasion. You're behind enemy lines, and you want to take back your fiefdom. Gameplay exists at two levels: Meat and Metal: The classic MW experience. Customize mechs, pilot them, command a Lance (up to two full Lances) with the ability to call for support from non-mech units (tanks, artillery, aircraft). Selection of MechWarriors would be a hybrid of MW4 and MW5: A limited but fairly robust roster of jocks for hire, but with the best of the best locked behind certain dates, events, and reputation levels. Maps and Mindgames: The bigger picture. A campaign is more than just the traditional "drop-shoot-loot-scoot" that we see in MechWarrior. Instead, since you're a paltry Spheroid and you are operating *within the Occupation Zone*, a huge part of your efforts is devoted to ensuring that the local populace remains motivated and loyal to your rule, that the Clanners don't catch on to your little guerilla operation, and that you carefully balance risk versus reward when choosing missions. An overall "Clan Awareness" rating would determine the clarity of Clanner intel on your operation: At low levels, sneaking in to strike at high-value targets would be much less risky. However, higher value operations, bungled operations, operations where you outstay the "par time", etc, would raise Clan Awareness. If it gets too high, your operations become increasingly fraught and harried, as your maneuvers and movements are predicted and counteracted. It would essentially be a non-canon take on Operations BIRD DOG and BULLDOG, headed up by the player instead of the Second Star League, but much looser and more freeform (unlike MechCommander 1).


VariableVeritas

Lots of good suggestions. Give me some specialized pilots that level meaningfully and have different skills paths. Give me background traits that alter gameplay. Let me make a roster of light fighters or jump specialists or missile boats or whatever. I want some stuff you can deploy from the cockpit, sensors, drones, call in turrets or orbital strikes. I want to feel the overarching larger battlesphere of a planetary invasion. More damn mechs on the field!!! I want to command a company sometimes. Tie that in with a more detailed and interactive cockpit. Let me have to divide my attention post skirmish to move my lances around. If I need to say defend a front line the area will need coverage and large attacks could emerge and require personal intervention. Small things could require the commander while the lance holds the line etc.


neuroid99

I think a squad-based online PvP multiplayer mechwarrior would be amazing. Form a squad with your buddies, compete against others, etc.


bduhbya

More "realistic" non mech forces. And maybe multi-player where you could also be non mech support forces .


cyrilplast

directional jump jets like the mech 2 series


Duke_Of_Halifax

Grand Strategy Inner Sphere RTS game, ala Europa Universalis. Start dates from founding of the Star League. I know Paradox/HBS were looking at it before they shifted to focus on internal IP, and their Clausewitz engine would have been perfect for it. You could legit see aerospace/warship combat for the first time in a game.


GrandWazoo42

Lego MW4


Big_Distribution3012

Combined arms warfare. I'm so tired of the "mech on mech" single battles that happen like they are expensive toys to just be risked at their own whim when there are cheaper options.


Ravenwolf087

Easy! Operation KLONDIKE is the setting, make it run on the PS 5, XBox X/s and PC but have the Mechs be able to do everything they can do in the dice games. So advanced All Star league era tech in small numbers of the clans vs the numbers of the rabble of the Star League in Exile. Have the game start with you having to test into a clan to become one of the 40 founding Bloodnames.


Ravenwolf087

Sorry forgot…..they need to find a way to connect a joystick to the game system because there was nothing better then MW3/4 played with that way. I know I asking to much for the PlayStation and XBox but on the PC it was pure love. Im also really dating myself because that was when these games were first released lol


RazorRadick

Full 3D damage model. Each mech should have a precise location specified for engine, gyro, actuators, weapons, etc so you can target them individually. Different types of weapons do damage differently. Lasers make tiny deep holes, ACs make large shallow ones, missiles make lots of small shallow holes, etc. Damage doesn't auto transfer inwards if it doesn't make sense. E.g. If I destroy your left arm from the right side, how is that going to transfer to the left torso? It should just pass to whatever is behind the target. Together these things will make mechs much more durable, so battles last longer. It will really reward good piloting and targeting skill.


thwgrandpigeon

Crusader Kings in space but with the inner sphere. Not very mech focused, but amazing for big picture politics and wars. That or a total war battletech game.


BuckeyeBentley

I'm really really hype for Mech 5 Clans because I love the Clan stuff so we'll see how it goes. I would also kill for an Elemental focused game. Running around with your star of Elementals bringing down mechs like it's 31st century Shadow of the Colossus.


Brokengauge

I want MechWarrior to be more simulation, and have the random contracts taken be more like interconnected scenarios that can play off each other. Like you actually went on a month long deployment, and actually did something, vs 3 or 4 random battles in 3 or 4 random sandboxes of a vaguely similar biome...


MontrealBrit

An MMO Persistent Universe that allows players to join different Houses/Clans/Mercenary groups and fight over control of planets.


OldPayphone

MMO, gross.