Tr-tr-triple post! Before you release the hounds / gather the pitchforks / tar me up, know that I come bringing gifts! HBS has posted
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*Beta release date March 15 (or at least, the team is aiming for that)
*Beta still available for $50. However, after February 15th, the price for all backer levels will rise with $10.
*Beta will last about 2 months.
*Beta will have a selection of `Mechs, not all.
*Beta will be 1vs1 skirmish and multiplayer.
*Beta will not have `Mechlab initially. The team cannot commit that it will be in the beta (but they will try).
*Beta will not be under NDA.
*Beta will be available only on Steam.
*Beta will be available for windows and mac. Linux is for post-release.
*BattleTech Novella 01 is available for backers (from level MechWarrior and up). The author decided to serialize the novels instead of releasing one big novel, as outlined per the kickstarter rewards.
*BattleTech swag, being the Stein and/or Coasters, is still up for crowdfunding/ordering.
*New Q&A today (2017/02/08), will be hosted at NGNG.tv due to scheduling conflicts with Hyperrpg. Will also be available on YouTube after.
Greetings MechWarriors!
Klimecky here. We have good news for you - we're targeting March 15th as our Beta launch date. (As you'll recall, Beta access was a Kickstarter Reward for all Backers at the $50 MechWarrior Tier and above). The team has been hard at work getting the game in shape and we’re almost ready for you to take a test drive.
Now, I bet you have a few questions… well, your friendly, neighborhood BATTLETECH Producer is here to fill you in with a FAQ that should answer your most pressing questions right away. As we get closer to our target date, I’ll update you with any final details you may need to be an effective Beta participant.
After you get caught up on the Beta news, scroll down to learn about our latest digital reward delivery for Backers at the $50 MechWarrior reward level - the first in a series of four novellas by the legendary Michael A. Stackpole. Then keep scrolling to see the sweet new merch AVAILABLE NOW at battletechgear.com!
It’s about to get real - so strap in!
Chris Klimecky
Sr. Producer
Kickstarter Backer Beta FAQ
Can I still upgrade my reward level or get in as a Late Backer?
If you’re a current Backer and you want to upgrade to the MechWarrior tier at the current $50 price, email us and we will give you directions on how to do this since it’s a manual process.
If you have friends who are kicking themselves for not backing the project earlier, let them know they can still get in on our Digital Reward Tiers, including the MechWarrior level which grants access to the Kickstarter Beta. Just send them to to our Late Reinforcements website to get in on the action. But tell them to act fast! On February 15th, the prices for each digital reward level will go up by $10.
When will the Backer Beta start?
Our target delivery date is March 15th. While we’re on track for this date and looking good, this IS game development, so please take the date with the expected grain of salt. Something may break as we head into this date and it may require us to take additional time to fix it to ensure a good experience for our participants. We’ll let you know as far in advance as possible if something like this comes up!
How long will the Backer Beta last?
We haven’t finalized exactly how long the Beta will remain live, but it should be up for at least two months.
What will the Backer Beta include?
As outlined in our Kickstarter Campaign, the Backer Beta will feature 1v1 multiplayer and single-player Skirmish play. The Beta will include a subset of the 'Mechs and Maps that will be found in the game at launch. Note that the Backer Beta will not include the story campaign or mercenary company management, nor will it include the ability to modify your `Mech loadouts. We hope to update the Beta later with the `Mech Lab feature but can’t commit to that at this time.
What `Mechs will be in the Backer Beta?
We're still determining which `Mechs will be included in the Backer Beta. The target list of ‘Mechs for the full game can be found in our Kickstarter page FAQ.
Will the Backer Beta be under NDA, or restricted in any way?
The Kickstarter Beta will not be under a non-disclosure agreement, though there may be an end-user licensing agreement required to participate.
Can we post screenshots and/or videos of the Backer Beta?
Yes!
How about livestreaming the Beta or posting YouTube videos? Can we do that?
Yes! Yes!
Oh yeah? Can we write blog posts about it and mini-reviews if we want?
Yes, yes, yes! All of the above.
How will we report bugs? What do you want us to report?
The BATTLETECH Backer Beta (BBB, B3...) is about identifying bugs, collecting data, and gathering feedback. Different mechanisms will be included for each of those three goals. We'll provide detailed instructions to all Beta participants when the Beta is released.
Where will I be able to play the Backer Beta and for what platforms?
The Beta will only be available on Steam for Windows and Mac. Supporting more platforms would require additional development processes that would impact precious development time needed for feature development.
While the Beta keys will be Steam-only, your key for the final RELEASE version of BATTLETECH will still be on whatever platform you chose in your BackerKit survey responses. If you've forgotten what platform you chose, you can check by logging into your BackerKit account and, if you want to change that, contact us and we’ll change that for you manually.
How will I get access to my Steam Key for the Backer Beta?
If you backed the game at the $50 MechWarrior level or higher, you’ll find your Beta Steam key in the Digital Downloads section of your BackerKit account on the target date.
Where can I talk with fellow Backer Beta participants, find folks to play with, or ask questions?
Since this is a Beta, you will not find the regular Community Hub on Steam. Instead, we encourage you to join your fellow MechWarriors on our BATTLETECH Forums. We'll open a new BATTLETECH Backer Beta Subforum on (or a bit before) our target launch date. This is where Beta participants will go to find folks to play with and discuss the game with other Backers who have hands-on time with the game.
Be sure to head to the BATTLETECH Forums BEFORE the Beta starts so you can set up your Forum code to get access to special Kickstarter badges, introduce yourself to the (awesome) community, and get familiar with how the place works.
What can we expect from HBS in terms of feedback on the Backer Beta Forum?
While delivering the Backer Beta will be a major milestone for the project, there’s still a ton of work left to do and the team needs to put their focus on developing the game. For this reason, do not expect direct responses to your feedback or engagement from the dev team in the forums. (But rest assured, we WILL be actively monitoring the Beta Forum feedback and discussions, and it's always very useful to get the pulse of player experiences.)
HEIR APPARENT Now Available for MechWarrior Level Backers
We’re pleased to announce that the first in a series of four linked digital novellas by Mike Stackpole is now available for Backers at the $50 MechWarrior level and above! Again, if you’re a current Backer and you want to upgrade to the MechWarrior tier to get your copy, email us.
You’ll find a file including the pdf, mobi, and epub versions to download when you hit “Get My Digital Rewards” in your BackerKit account. It takes a little time for the files to populate to everyone's account so please check back in a couple hours if you don't see the files right away.
New Crowdfunded Gear: BATTLETECH Stein and Coasters Now Available!
The newest offerings over at BattleTechGear.com hail from the famous drinking halls of Solaris VII, the planet where MechWarriors compete in deadly arenas for the pride of their Noble Houses, Clans, Stables, or just for riches and glory.
This wave of items include a custom ceramic BattleTech Stein with a molded metal Atlas skull top and a set of 6 Solaris VII themed coasters in a decorative storage tin. The coasters are extra large to perfectly fit the Stein, of course!
We started this crowdfunding round just last week and excited to be just about halfway to our minimum order quantity! We need to hit that by March 1st which gets us plenty of time if everyone helps us spread the word to your fellow MechWarriors!
Our Next Livestreamed Dev Q&A
If you’re not aware, we’ve resumed our monthly livestreamed development Q&As and the next one will be TOMORROW Wednesday, February 8th from 12pm-1pm Pacific Time.
Due to scheduling contraints, twitch.com/HyperRPG (the station that brings you DEATH FROM ABOVE) will no longer be hosting our Q&As but we’re happy to report that our friends at No Guts No Galaxy are ready and willing to take up the cause. We’ll also post a recording of the Q&A on the HBS YouTube channel as soon as we can in case you can’t tune in live.
This month’s topic is the Single-Player Story Campaign. As always, we’ll spend the first half-hour taking questions that you post on the BATTLETECH forums before opening up the questions to our live audience on any topic.
Whew! That’s it for this update. Back to work!!!
-- HBS
PSA: As I'm currently struggling with illness, I will be able to provide a bullet-point summary of the new Q&A. Just don't expect it to be speedy.
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Topic: BATTLETECH - X-COM meets ROBOTS! - Release day April 24 2018! (Read 111354 times)