BATTLETECH has a new story trailer to show off

Another game I will most likely not buy because of pre order bonuses.

The situation as it stands:

The "Shadowhawk Pack" is a pre-order bonus and the game is releasing as a Windows+Mac first. As a Linux user I want to buy it once the Linux version is out which by the time that happens the pre-orders bonus is gone so goodbye exclusive skin.

Secondly there is the GOG + Multiplayer issue, the dev gave us no assurance the Linux version will be available on GOG. From past experiences, devs seem to magically wake up late to the "Galaxy isn't present on Linux" thing and that can easily mean no Linux for GOG.


Personally it doesn't make any difference to me paying full price now or at release, I'm more than happy to support hard work. However I'm not going to tolerate missing content just because I'm on a different platform. Pre-Order bonuses is bad marketing and they're shooting their own feet here.

I can kinda understand this post may not go down well for some people, but I've been burned twice by a similar situation and I'm not going to make that mistake again.

This has triggered memories in me... Memories from about 20 years ago, when I played a DEMO of a game called Mechwarrior...
That game was much better by the way..

I backed this on Kickstarter so can't wait til it releases on Linux. It looks absolutely amazing from the YouTube videos I have seen.

It has much of my attention. If we get a release kind of soon after the Win-Mac launch, I will probably be willing to pay full price.

This has triggered memories in me... Memories from about 20 years ago, when I played a DEMO of a game called Mechwarrior...
That game was much better by the way..

So Mechwarrior is like the RPG version of Battletech, which was originally a hex-based board game where you'd build up your mechs with X amount of points/currency, toss them into planetary arenas and do battle. So the games were based on those two. It was kind of like how Car Wars became Autoduel (RPG).

If you ever get a group together to play board games, I'd highly recommend Battletech, it's phenomenal.

Only game i've ever pre-ordered. As Harebrained Schemes scheme has had a good track record. The fact that on the remaining stuff needing done they put Linux at the top tells me they want to get it done. I wont download or touch my copy until its on Linux though. Will be writing them as well.

It's really odd to me actually that Kickstarter funded this....and so they should have the money, right? I mean to develop and release on all their goals. So they could just finish the goals, and _then_ release....right? I don't get the reason to otherwise "have" to delay anything to post-launch.

Sadly, that I expected all this from the start is the one reason I'm still not overly excited about this game. And certainly won't be buying until there's a sale - if there's even a GNU/Linux version ever released. My only experience with hairbrained is all this too, and I have to say that so far I'm unimpressed.

On a Battletech related note however, I have just discovered the joys of 3d printing my own 'mechs. And the frustration at how easily a 3d printer can fail when you don't have that particular spare part to fix it. At least the 'mech designs coming from Paradox are getting some really good use!

Iirc they released all 3 Shadowrun games the same way. Linux happened a couple of months after the Window/Mac release.

Another game I will most likely not buy because of pre order bonuses.

The situation as it stands:

The "Shadowhawk Pack" is a pre-order bonus and the game is releasing as a Windows+Mac first. As a Linux user I want to buy it once the Linux version is out which by the time that happens the pre-orders bonus is gone so goodbye exclusive skin.

Secondly there is the GOG + Multiplayer issue, the dev gave us no assurance the Linux version will be available on GOG. From past experiences, devs seem to magically wake up late to the "Galaxy isn't present on Linux" thing and that can easily mean no Linux for GOG.


Personally it doesn't make any difference to me paying full price now or at release, I'm more than happy to support hard work. However I'm not going to tolerate missing content just because I'm on a different platform. Pre-Order bonuses is bad marketing and they're shooting their own feet here.

I can kinda understand this post may not go down well for some people, but I've been burned twice by a similar situation and I'm not going to make that mistake again.

What you're saying only makes sense. There is zero reason to pre-order. We aren't getting the bonuses. And it's not like they're going to run out of copies. Buy it when it comes to Linux.

I am really looking forward to this game.

Another game I will most likely not buy because of pre order bonuses.

The situation as it stands:

The "Shadowhawk Pack" is a pre-order bonus and the game is releasing as a Windows+Mac first. As a Linux user I want to buy it once the Linux version is out which by the time that happens the pre-orders bonus is gone so goodbye exclusive skin.

Secondly there is the GOG + Multiplayer issue, the dev gave us no assurance the Linux version will be available on GOG. From past experiences, devs seem to magically wake up late to the "Galaxy isn't present on Linux" thing and that can easily mean no Linux for GOG.


Personally it doesn't make any difference to me paying full price now or at release, I'm more than happy to support hard work. However I'm not going to tolerate missing content just because I'm on a different platform. Pre-Order bonuses is bad marketing and they're shooting their own feet here.

I can kinda understand this post may not go down well for some people, but I've been burned twice by a similar situation and I'm not going to make that mistake again.

Even though I backed on Kickstarter I dont disagree with you, and usuallyI would wait until a full Linux release before purchasing even if I knew it was only a 2-3 month wait. It is a shame we miss the pre-order bonuses so often though and I feel like more developers should offer Linux gamers something for the wait.

I've reached out to Harebrained via mail highlighting a few things, mainly: GOG Linux release,Multiplayer and Pre-Order bonuses. This is what I got:

Hi,

I believe you would need to purchase the pre-order before the game launches on April 24th in order to get Shadowhawk Pack since it will not be available once the game releases. The ShadowHawk pack includes an art variant, not any in-game content and there are no plans to offer it as DLC.

BATTLETECH is platform agnostic for PvP so the game platform you choose will not affect who you can play.

Thanks for reaching out with your questions and concerns. We appreciate it.

The good thing is that a GOG Linux release is pretty much confirmed, the not so good thing is that you'd need to buy the game before the Linux version is out to get the exclusive skins.

Regretfully, I won't be buying this game at all. When the Linux version is out I would be happy to pay full price, but since I'd be getting less content, then that is a deal breaker and I just can't tolerate it.


Last edited by Avehicle7887 on 16 Apr 2018 at 9:02 pm UTC

It is an Art variant..... they should A) include it when the Linix release is imminent. B) since we are getting it late, they should give us a discount. Irritates me when they give us a delayed release, then wonder why Linux sales aren't as high as they hoped.

since we are getting it late, they should give us a discount

No, why? Linux is just another platform release. You're not being cheated.

since we are getting it late, they should give us a discount

No, why? Linux is just another platform release. You're not being cheated.

Late means no pre-order bonuses (not that I like such things, but the point remains). It means multiplayer has already passed its peak. It means a lot less feedback and input to the game (GNU/Linux users were never part of the beta).
So while "cheated" is a strong word, there is definitely less of the game. A discount doesn't sound so unreasonable.

Yes, the reason they should give a discount is because of a delayed release. Multiplayer passing it's peak is an excellent reason, among many. Developers should stop treating Linux as another platform, it uses the exact same hardware as any 'PC'. Sure if you're releasing on Xbox exclusively for a year, then going to the PS4 without cross platform multiplayer, then it makes sense to count that as separate platforms. But when you're releasing on a computer, it should work on at the very least Windows and Linux (without hacks you have to have dedicated Apple hardware to run macOS). If you're not doing day 1 releases between the two, that just means bad planning on your part, which means that they shouldn't expect a lot of support for 'oh, you guys will come later.' Especially when they're going to have exclusive pre-order stuff!

I hear bad things about gameplay forced animations that can make unbearably slow to actually play.
And a damned paradox account is required. Don't know if single player can work without it, but I actively avoid games that need multiple account hoops to jump through. If single player requires it...no way I buy this game even if it ever gets released on GNU/Linux.

According to the GOG version of this game...

Please Note: BATTLETECH uses Paradox Accounts. You don't need an account to play the campaign or single-player skirmish modes. However, you do need a Paradox Account to challenge other players in 1v1 multiplayer matches and to redeem unlock codes for Kickstarter Backer or Pre-Order DLC.