Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!umich!vela!hastoerm From: hastoerm@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Moriland) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games Subject: Re: MechForce? Message-ID: <4989@vela.acs.oakland.edu> Date: 2 Feb 91 08:50:54 GMT References: <1991Jan19.235900.29881@portia.Stanford.EDU> <9575@alessia.dei.unipd.it> <1991Jan31.085332.21317@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> Reply-To: hastoerm@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Moriland) Organization: Evil Young Mutants For A Better Tomorrow. Lines: 74 In article ko0m+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kevin Richard O'Toole) writes: :What is Mechforce? : :Mechforce my friends, is not merely a game but a way of life. It is a :sublime state of existence alternating between nervana and hell. It is :another dimension of particle weapons, characters, technology, and :fantasy. In the beginning they was MechFort, and it was good. Then :Ralph said "Let there be BattleForce." And it was better. Then Ralph :said "I shall populate the realms of BattleForce with mechs of all sizes :and shapes." And thus the stock mechs came into existance, as well as :the NPC's. Then Ralph said "I shall give the lords of Battleforce the :abilitly to create new creatures, both metallic and carbon with which to :conquer and war." Thus came the Warrior maker and the Mech factory. :Ralph looked down and saw that this was good. Ralph then realized that :his lords needed to be able to move earth, and mold battles more fully :to their tastes they brought their characters from mere Green rank to :the realm of knighthood and veterans. They needed to be able to mold :the earth so that these warriors could grow and prosper, and dominate :the mech world, so Ralph said "Let there be the map editor". Ralph :looked down and saw that this was good. In the coming days (years) :Ralph looked about him as the lords of Battleforce created mechs of :amazing enginuity, and made warriors to pilot them with grace and skill. : Some have even been known to tinker with the genetic makeup of mechs :and men (sector edit) in order to create invincible monstrosities of :flesh and metal. :As Ralph looked on he continued to update his creation with new mechs of :his own, until finally he decided on a major revision: and thus we had :MECHFORCE. The mechs didn't fly the same, the weapons had new names, :things fought better...new breeds of mechs and men were needed. And so :Mechforce has become all consuming for some, as they learn to attack and :defend. Many now know the utility of the mountains, the death of the :swamps, the horror at rolling a 2 when all that was needed to remain :standing was a 3, and they have seen Battlelords destroyed by a stray :machine gun round from a Gatling which hit the giant Autocannon 20 :ammunition and turned the battlelord into a burning shell on the plain. :Yes Mechforce 3.71 is out, and it is amazing. : :{Someone else want to tell him how the game is actually played.} : :Kevin R. O'Toole :ko0m@andrew.cmu.edu : :ps. Sorry for the length, I just got carried away in a religious fervor. You capture the addictive nature of the game well, even if your history on it is a little off. What we now know as Mechforce on the Amiga is based on the Board/Role Playing Game by FASA known as BATTLETECH. The original computerized version was thusly known as BATTLEMECH and was found to take a lot of drudgery out of playing the game and offered randomly created battlefields to do it in. BATTLEFORT was thusly named as it was the first version to support Dropships and fortresses, of a sort. Basically large, immobile bases which people in the mechs could have a wonderfully good time smashing the hell out of. After that game Mechforce which removed the forts, but added characters and changed a few rules to bring it in line with the rules of Battletech. (Jumping, for instance, is now handled as it is in the Boardgame and hand can now be removed from the arms to allow large weapons to be installed) Word has it that Ralph is working on a commercial version with a large scale to it to possibly include Aerotech fighters and Citytech city battles. Should prove interesting.. --Moriland -- | hastoerm@vela.acs.oakland.edu | __ | | | __/// Viva Amiga! | | Founder Of: Evil Young | \XX/ | | Mutants For A Better Tomorrow | "Single Tasking: JUST SAY NO!" |