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ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!

Commander Keene posted:

All of this talk about mecha anime just makes me realize... I haven't really watched much mecha anime.

Are you restricted to the 1st-gen units for these missions or were you using them just because these 1st-gen VTs unlock at this point and you wanted to show them off before moving on to 2nd- and 3rd-gen VTs?
Pretty much the latter, yeah. I already had it as my goal to show off every VT unit at least once, the ordering is largely based on when they are made available during the course of the campaigns. As such, m-Vitzh and Scare face A1 are the last of the 1st gen units of the entire game and are made available at the start of 2082, so I was getting them out of the way before going back to the later gens.

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ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
Surrounding JIAN TA


Finally back in a 2nd Gen VT cockpit, as well as back in Jian Ta city. We don't have to reach the opposite end of the map but we do have to take out some ECM jammers as the gimmick for this mission is that our radar starts out unable to pick up nearby targets. We've already dealt with enemy VTs that have stealth coating and what not, but now we got a mission that pretty much relies on you paying more attention to your main monitor to pick out targets. Also a preview of a new enemy VT I decided NOT to kill because the risk of dying at the last second and needing to redo the mission was something I didn't feel like doing.







Rapier
The RAPIER is a second generation VT. This model was designed only for the officers of the Instructor Division. In all of the existing VTs this model has the highest mobility performance. To handle this model one must be an experienced pilot.
-----
This VT is interesting less for its features and more how you have to unlock it. In the campaign, beating a mission with 12000 or more combat points gets you a decoration. Acquiring 10 of these decorations unlocks the Rapier. And honestly, if you want a solid light weight VT I guess this is fine, but for how it's locked behind a set of requirements more specific than all of the 3rd gen units, it feels like kind of a waste in that slot. Still, far from terrible in practice. The two weapons unique to it have solid applications.



SQUALL - Anti-VT Guided Mortar (AVTGM)
This is the only high-angle fire Anti-VT weapon that has homing capability.
-----
The description is short, but very accurate. Because it's a homing weapon it makes for a great supplement to whatever main weapon you're firing at another VT during an engagement. And of course, still useful when fired at a very long range with suitable cover between you and the target. Not a ton of ammo, but not too heavy either.


Stun Rod (Stun-R)
Designed especially for close combat with VTs, a direct hit with this wewapon will cause massive volts of electricity that will incapacitate the enemy VT temporarily.
-----
A very interesting melee weapon among the small list of them in this game, because it's less about the damage and more that it is designed to literally stun a target. Specifically, it performs an attack on an enemy that can actually happen to you during the final mission (and a lot in Line of Contact), where your VTs systems get electrically overloaded and shutdown, requiring a quick reboot. That means an enemy that gets hit with this is basically forced to do the pre flight check all over again while they're a sitting duck. Definitely the most unique tool in the Rapier's arsenal.

ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 02:38 on Jul 18, 2021

90s Cringe Rock
Nov 29, 2006
:gay:
You absolutely should have used the best version of this track.

https://youtu.be/n9UanTCFKKg

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
Conquer Naval Port of JIAN TA (2)


Another mission with the exact same name. And for most of it, it's pretty much the exact same objective. Obviously the big change is the presence of another ship that needs to be destroyed, and is patrolling the surrounding waters. All I can really say is I'm glad the devs had the foresight to have this one ship only fire missile weapons, because the corner I sat in really is the best place you have to fight it and you don't get much wiggle room if someone's firing ballistics at you.







Scare face II
The SCARE FACE II is a second generation midsize VT. This model is the successor of the SCARE FACE that had exceptional defensive powers. Although having maintainability and cockpit space issues, it still is an outstanding model.
-----
The best Scare face model, easy. On top of looking way more beefy, it has the 2nd Gen benefits of Override and FSS, making those sniper shots more manageable. In addition, it gets some heavier artillerly, including a guided missile that is similar to the As-mis and just as good in its own right. Much like how the original Scare face was a solid alternative to the Decider, this is a good alternative to the Prominence if you're wanting to limit yourself to only 2nd Gen VTs on a mission.



POZIT - Anti-VT Guided Missile (Pz-mis)
A fire-and-forget infrared guided missile. Although inferior when compared with the ASLAM, it is still an accurate and destructive missile.
-----
It's interesting to note with this missle launcher that it technically has more fire power, yet is generally considered not as all powerful like the As-mis. That's because while this is good for dealing damage to VTs at long range, it doesn't have as much consistency with knocking down targets when struck. Still, it's because of a weapon like this that the Scare face II has the means to stand toe to toe with the usual go-to 2nd Gen units like the Prominence.


100mm Chain Gun (100-CG)
It has a very high rapid-fire capability and shoots small armor-piercing ammunition. Since its firepower is relatively small, it's an ineffective weapon against VTs. However, it's very effective against AFVs and Assault Helicopters.
-----
The final chaingun, the highest calibur possible since I guess the devs felt anything higher would make it qualify more as a VT machine gun and has to be moved to the main arm. As always, great for the small stuff. Especially those missile patrol boats in the harbor.

ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Jul 18, 2021

Cooked Auto
Aug 4, 2007

If you will not serve in combat, you will serve on the firing line!




Huh, now that is not the ending to Frontier I remember but then I only watched the series and then the compilation two part movie which ended, as I remember, them agreeing to share Alto. Even if I guess it was mostly implied to be unresolved.
Still, the ending fight duet is really good with the two parter.

RangerKarl
Oct 7, 2013
It's alright, if you don't like the ending just rewrite it. Canon is for rubes.

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
Counter Offensive


Up until now, the missions in this campaign had us going through the exact same environments in the same order. This time however, we're not going to the guerrila village and instead partaking in the same objective we had in mission 8: kill all retreating enemies. And this time, since I'm not using the Prominence with its railgun and multi missiles, this is going to be slightly more of a challenge as I have to book it to every single cluster of enemies and use all of my tools effectively whilst remaining in Overdrive. There's a lot of close calls when it comes to toppling over, but I managed it.







Jaralaccs C
The JARALACCS C is a second generation heavyweight VT. It has been especially designed for VT-to-VT close combat and it possesses superb mobility performance and defensive powers. Equipped as its sub arsenal is a Cutter Boom. However very destructive, it cannot be removed.
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Of the two Jaralaccs models in this game, this one might possibly be the better, or at least more destructive of the two. The description mentions the Cutter Boom which is the only instance in the game where a VT and a specific weapon cannot be separated, but with the various rockets and explosive weapons available to it (plus the already established flame weaponry shared with the N model), this thing's power at close range is not to be trifled with.



Mk34 Anti-Land Rocket Cannon (Mk34-R)
It's able to fire four mid-sized Anti-Land Rockets simultaneously, which is a lethal threat to any VT.
-----
Take the Mk21-R, reduce the ammo count to three fourths and increasing the attack power of each rocket. It's not six rockets at once though, but its effectiveness is still based on firing at the right range so that they all line up well.


Cutter Boom (Cut-B)
This is a large cutter boom retrofitted for a VT for close combat. It's the most destructive close-combat weapon.
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The Jaralaccs-C's signature weapon, and the only one in the game that is permanently fixed to the unit it belongs to. As far as melee weapons go, this thing is a beast. The amount of damage this thing causes and the duration is stays out for makes it worth using at least once during any mission you bring the Jaralaccs-C into.


Projectile Anti-VT Mines (AVTM)
It's capable of discharging three forward-projecting Anti-VT mines simultaneously.
-----
An interesting weapon that leads you to thinking they're only good for setting traps, when in reality they're just as useful as a direct combat tool. The range means you gotta get real close for the mines getting tossed out to make contact, but luckily your splash damage from your own weapons never damage you if you're super close.


NAPALM (NPM)
Napalm rounds can be loaded into any of the compact launchers that fit underneath the VT body unit. Napalm is very effective in sweeping out ground enemies because of its natural ability to set ablaze a fixed area of land upon impact. Also, a direct hit on a VT with napalm will set it on fire.
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The other flame based weapon available to both Jaralaccs models. Not a close range tool like the flame thrower, and with considerably higher damage output. Even so, both of these are still supplementary to your main weapon fire for a reason, since overheating a VT's cockpit can only do so much damage in a span of time.

ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Jul 18, 2021

EclecticTastes
Sep 17, 2012

"Most plans are critically flawed by their own logic. A failure at any step will ruin everything after it. That's just basic cause and effect. It's easy for a good plan to fall apart. Therefore, a plan that has no attachment to logic cannot be stopped."
So, if you don't lose any supply points from a mission failure, do you essentially get unlimited tries at missions as long as you can avoid getting shot down, or is there some other point where you get reassigned to the boonies and lose your save file if you fail too many times?

SIGSEGV
Nov 4, 2010


I think retreating enemy units are legitimate targets, it's surrendered ones that aren't.

Unless of course John Yoo is on the line, then they can't legally surrender to you, I think.

The music is the best part of AC5 and ACVD, AC4 is good because it enables AC4A to exist which (mostly) owned, and I think that the AC5s bringing back White Glint is bad since it's just "hey, remember that better game?".

SIGSEGV fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Jun 3, 2021

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
NAN JIANG Infiltration


The first route split in the game has going back to Nan Jiang to do, once again, roughly the same exact missions we did in the first campaign. The main difference with this one at least is that it's a night operation, we have to plant explosive charges on the facility entrance, and we have to prevent any patrolling VTs from blowing our cover. This is technically a "stealth" mission, but it adheres to the idea of it being stealth if there are no witnesses. As long as you have a solid route and quickly kill each enemy (who are isolated in their placements) before they can escape or radio in to their buddies, it's not that big of an issue.


ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Jul 18, 2021

SIGSEGV
Nov 4, 2010


Giant robot stealth is my favorite type of stealth, especially when it involves guns with calibers in excess of 300 mm.

RangerKarl
Oct 7, 2013
Not even a throwaway line about signal jamming, it's the best. Every time it happens in MechWarrior it doesn't make sense either. Were man portable radios also lost?

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
NAN JIANG Military Factory Assault (2)


This mission went long. WAY longer than it should have. Much like the previous version of this mission in the first campaign, it should really only take you an average of 20 minutes or less. This took almost half an hour. That can be blamed on my choice of VT in this mission, which resulted in having to limit myself on how much I could use Override and not waste all the fuel in my main tank. Plus that fight with the Jaralaccs-NS is way harder if you're going up against it without a railgun, because when he decides to get close, you're left with very little effective options for dealing damage.







Behemoth
The BEHEMOTH is a second generation heavyweight VT. It has one of the most destructive firepower among the support VTs. However, due to its heavy armor it suffers maneuverability. It's unfit for operations such as infiltration.
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This is such a beast. And yet despite being a 2nd Gen, it has the same limit as 3rd Gen units in that it doesn't get access to additional fuel tanks. Plus the weapons it have, while destructive, are the kind that can really only be used when far enough away due to their varying levels of minimum effective range. Probably would've been put to better use in Mission 15, but that's already past us.



135mm PITO - Heavy Machine Gun (135-MG)
This is a heavy machine gun that fits under the VT's body unity. It is more powerful than the Chain Gun, and the added rapid-fire feature makes this weapon a nice secondary arsenal.
-----
In a rare exception to how VT weapons are usually designated, the Behemoth gets a machine gun class weapon as one of its side arms. Granted, this means its one downside is that you don't get additional magazines as reloading is reserved only for the main weapons. Still, as an upgrade from all the chain gun variants, this is a good gun to have when a VT gets a bit too close to the Behemoth.


AVTDV Guided Missile (AVTDV)
This is a large Anti-VT missile that is also known as the "VT killer". It is the most deadly missile due to its advanced guidance system, long range of fire, and destructive force.
-----
VT Killer is definitely a good description for this missile. The highest attack power of all the guided missile weapons, and very consistent in knocking down any VT unit when a hit connects. And interestingly enough, it's relegated as a side arm, and has very little ammo to work with. Still, if you've got a thousand meters of distance from a target and no obstructions, it's good to pop off one of these.

ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:25 on Jul 18, 2021

Shei-kun
Dec 2, 2011

Screw you, physics!
That was definitely an... interesting choice of a VT for that mission.

Imagine being on the other side of those doors when they open, though. Just a giant slab of metal with huge guns when they open. Sure, horribly unoptimized, but just about any VT is going to be staring at the crotch of the Behemoth.

"Sir? I still can't see the top and the door's almost completely open."

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
ER TING Mountain Pursuit


Welcome to the first of three missions in the second campaign that DOESN'T reuse an existing map or mission concept. Admittedly it's pretty short, and somewhat reminiscent of Mission 6 where it ends with us high tailing it out of the area, but it still counts. There's technically two ways you could go about this mission since the end goal isn't actually the destruction of a set number of transports. Going along the upper edge of the canyon you start on can give you a better shot at taking down some Maelstroms, but I opted for the lower path as it is for all intents and purposes the expected route to go through.







Maelstrom
The MAELSTROM is a second generation midsize VT. Although designed as a support VT, it has both high mobility and defensive powers. It mounts a high-torque engine that allows high mobility even in mountain terrains.
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Closest analog I could come up with to the describe the Maelstrom is that it's for 2nd Gen VTs what the Vortex was for 1st Gen. Similar weight class, with a huge emphasis on long range artillery firepower (both units even have the same 370mm howitzer as an option). Of course, with this being a 2nd gen unit, all the expected features give it an edge that helps it work well as either its intended support unit or charging forward onto the front lines.



8 Capacity MLRS (8-MLR)
This eight-round capacity MLRS launches large rockets with high-angle fire trajectories. It's able to inflict damage with its large blast radius. This is very effective when you want to clear out a large area of land.
-----
Of all the vertical firing weapons we've experienced, the blast radius on this MLR is one of the best. Even with the minimum effective range being quite high, the amount of rockets fired and exploding upon impact gives a great sense of feedback however far away you are. Plus the potential for high damage to more than one target that comes in range of the blast. It may only grant you 3 shots, but those shots are worth it.

ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:28 on Jul 18, 2021

Shei-kun
Dec 2, 2011

Screw you, physics!
That is a whole bunch of dudes at the end ready to rain death upon you. Holy crap.

Commander Keene
Dec 21, 2016

Faster than the others



So while the intended solution is just to book it out of there, what happens if you stand and fight? Is it at least theoretically possible to win, or is it something like infinitely-respawning opponents, nigh- (or completely) invulnerable VTs, or just an insufficient time limit to beat them all? If the fight is winnable, does the game act any differently?

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
Air Drop


This mission's premise is definitely one of the most unique in the whole game. Up until now there hasn't been any reason for the game to limit us on what VTs we can use aside from story progress or not having enough combat points to unlock special units. That is, until someone in universe had an insane yet genius idea. Remember that detail with the Falchion how it and other lightweight VTs can be air dropped? Time to see that in action.


ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:30 on Jul 18, 2021

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
So just a heads up for the next update, the one after this won't be until July 14th as I'm giving myself a break from uploading content for next week. Giving myself time to make sure the remaining videos are properly rendered and I've got other projects schedules and squared away (plus I'm finally moving my remaining belongings out of storage, so making sure there's space for them here is important). Still, we're close to the end, only 4 more missions then the post game bonuses.

Commander Keene posted:

So while the intended solution is just to book it out of there, what happens if you stand and fight? Is it at least theoretically possible to win, or is it something like infinitely-respawning opponents, nigh- (or completely) invulnerable VTs, or just an insufficient time limit to beat them all? If the fight is winnable, does the game act any differently?
You can fight off the Maelstroms, and from the one time I messed around fighting them on the upper ridge I didn't notice any additional ones spawning in. However, the equipment I had would not have been enough to destroy them all since powerful guns have so little ammo, so the pressure to leave the area is still there. Pretty much one thing that's consistent with Steel Battalion is that while some missions can offer some branching paths in terms of approach (this mission, mission 3 with the bridge over the river), they don't have multiple win conditions based on actions you take during them. The requirement for a mission complete is always the same no matter what.

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
QIN LIN TUN Rescue


We return to the village in which guerrilas originally had stolen the parts to our railgun. Now we're here to eliminate some uncooperative soldiers who have stolen a VT that is not playable in this game and are causing their own war crimes. This also ends up being one of the few missions in the Hai Shi Dao 2082 campaign where we don't have the X-Ray platoon with us. Good thing, too. I don't know if they'd be able to handle a few VTs doing non stop Itano Circuses on their asses like I was.







Regal Dress N
The REGAL DRESS N is a third generation midsize VT. It's the first VT to be mass-produced from its generation. Possessing both high mobility and defensive performance, it is a well-balanced model. However its poor maintainability leaves a number of mass-production issues.
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Even though we had been showing off the Quasar several videos ago, in the intended progression order during the campaign, the Regal Dress model VTs would actually be your first proper access to the 3rd Gen units. The N model in particular serves as a good baseline for what this generation is capable of, while the other Regal Dress serves a decent support & artillery role. Nothing outstanding or unique in its weaponry, but they all get the job done easily.

ArclightBorealis fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Jul 18, 2021

SIGSEGV
Nov 4, 2010


That Frequency album is a good one.

And I agree about the Souls music, unlike the AC music is has to fit certain expectations set by the settings and while it's definitely very competent it doesn't have the range of odd poo poo that ends up in the AC soundtracks sometimes and feels a little too standard for a From soundtrack.

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
XIN FENG TIAN Campaign (2)


Remember when we fought a single Juggernaut at the end of the first game, and we used what would be considered the 2nd best VT in the game to beat it? Yeah, try hunting for three of them while piloting a VT where it's designed to use long range artillery weapons and its primary weapons are considered backup for when things get too close. As a result, we gotta carpet bomb everything these monsters walk across, and then get up close to each one so our machine guns can actually register as doing damage because to my surprise, anything classified as a Machine Gun has a secondary maximum effective range that goes into effect if shooting at a 3rd or 2nd Gen VT. So I mean get REALLY close.







Regal Dress A
The REGAL DRESS A is a third generation support VT. This model is the support type of the REGAL DRESS, the first mass-produced VT of the third generation. Although the model has very destructive firepower, it has some maintainability issues.
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In contrast to the N model being, well, normal, the A model is all about artillery and air strikes from afar. As it is a 3rd gen unit, naturally that means the long range artillery weapons it gains access to are some of the absolute best if you are into that playstyle. The only downsides you'll be stuck with our the weight on those weapons as well as the limited amount of shots you get with each. Not to mention its options for rifles and machine guns are extremely slim. But if you can make them count, you can claim a lot of VT kills for your own each time.



550mm Howitzer (550-Hw)
It fires grenade shells in a high-arc trajectory. It's very destructive and capable inflicting remendous damage to a fixed area of land upon impact.
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The biggest, heaviest most powerful high-arc firing howitzer you can get in this game. That said because it fires a single shell, there still needs to be quite a bit of accuracy and aiming ahead on the player's part to make sure a target will receive the full brunt of the blast. FSS is helpful when used in a locked on situation.


12 Capacity MLRS (12-MLR)
This twelve-round capacity MLRS launches large rockets with high-angle fire trajectories. It's able to inflict damage with its large blast radius. This is very effective when you want to clear out a large area of land.
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The second MLR type weapon you get, and a perfect complement to the 550mm Howitzer if your idea of an air strike is to hit the biggest amount of land possible. Won't deal as much damage by comparison, but it works wonders in eliminating the lowest tier VTs while softening up the tougher ones. That said, you only get three volleys, so either use them sparingly or dump them all at once.

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
Rescue Hostages


It's a night operation at the site of the end of the last campaign. And this ended up being the longest mission to record, even though this was all on the first take. Air lifting these hostages out of the presidential building (of which you technically don't need to get all 30 of them) shouldn't take close to half an hour to complete or more, but my impatience and wondering how much more memory I had on my phone to record the controller cam footage ended up prolonging things further. Yes, those Regal Dresses will keep respawning, and no there isn't an easy way to know where they are other than to check all the uphill roads and hope the chopper doesn't eat it at the last second.







Juggernaut
The JUGGERNAUT is a third generation midsize VT. This model has the highest performance of any of the models. It's not an exaggeration to say that the Juggernaut is the grand sum of all the work of the third generation VTs. In many respects, it is a perfect model.
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The apex VT. The best. Nothing comes close. If you managed to get a total of 800K combat points in the campaign, you would unlock this thing and be set for life in terms of power and defense. Access to the best guns you could want on a VT, with a carrying limit that's a significant jump up from even the Quasar. Using the Juggernaut doesn't suddenly make the last couple missions a cake walk, but when tackling the difficulties above Normal, this is the one to fall back on.



430mm Smooth-bore Gun (430-sb)
This weapon is the largest of its kind. Its destructive power and firing range specifications are more than satisfactory.
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For single shot rifles, this is as good as it gets. High attack power for each projectile, large range, and on any 1st Gen or lightweight 2nd Gen VT, one well placed hit is guaranteed to knock them on their rear end. Only thing to worry about with this is the slow firing rate, but since there's no RF or AR variant at this calibur, that's the tradeoff to consider when bringing a smooth bore into battle.


Triple-Pod Compact Missile Launcher (TP-mis)
This is a compact three-missile launcher that fits under the VT's body unit.
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One of those combat missile launchers that fires in a three-arc spread similar to the grenade weapons. Unfortunately, it's underwhelming to use unless you're in the exact kind of situation where three enemies are close enough that they'll get hit by each missile. Without contact fuses or any guided system, you kinda end up just firing these things and hope they happen to deal damage to something.

ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
Capturing the Fort.


The final mission with the last new environment this game gives us. And it's a gauntlet. The design of the whole thing and how long it takes gives me flashbacks to the various final missions and bosses of old Armored Core games. This boss especially I know there is a way to make fighting it more "exciting", but when the risk of failure is so high, especially after 20 plus minutes of going through this fortress, the boldest measures to take are the safest. Still, for a mecha game, and especially after how kind mid a lot of this campaign felt in comparison to the first one, this is the best sort of finale you could hope for out of Steel Battalion.

Thanks for watching through the main game. Stay tuned for the final update in the near future where I show off the extras this game has to offer.


ArclightBorealis
May 28, 2014

You are HUGE!
That means you have HUGE ESSENCE!

RIP AND TEAR YOUR ESSENCE!!
Part FINAL: Mission Complete


We've reached the end of our journey through Steel Battalion. But playing the game doesn't just stop with one full playthrough of both campaigns. With multiple difficulties and hidden features to unlock for beating those difficulties (among other secrets already in the missions), there's plenty of incentive to keep repeating the campaign mode and improving your skills further as a VT pilot. That said, all good things do need to come to an end, eventually...


While Steel Battalion starts with giving you the choice of Normal and Novice modes, play through the game enough times and you'll get a grand total of six difficulty modes. That might seem like a lot, but the very gradual increase with each challenge is actually well appreciated given the already huge hurdle of getting proficient with the controls. The first thing that's noticeable with each difficulty level is that completing a mission applies an appropriate score multiplier to your supply and combat points, and as you go higher in difficulty the disparity becomes quite huge and more in favor of combat points at the expense of supplies.

Supply Point:
Rookie - 2.5
Normal - 1.0
Veteran - 0.8
Desperado - 0.7
Magnum Force - 0.6
Armageddon - 0.5

Combat Point:
Rookie - 0.5
Normal - 1.0
Veteran - 1.2
Desperado - 1.5
Magnum Force - 1.8
Armageddon - 2.5

Obviously because of the lesser supply points, the expectation when playing the campaign is to grind up enough points on that front from the lower difficulties so you have a surplus of your best VTs ready to go when tackling the higher levels. Though by that point, the need for combat points becomes almost non existant as you'll likely get most if not all the way to 800K, the amount needed to unlock the Juggernaut. If you accrue enough playthroughs on the first three difficulties where it's relatively safe, you're pretty much set to get a still tough, but very manageable challenge. Even though Armageddon gets quite ludicrous with the changes in place.

What are those changes I'm talking about specifically? Well, enemies do get a boost in defense while the player's VTs health values go down incrementally. Those changes are expected across games in general, but they aren't the biggest ones. The most significant change across all the difficulties is how weapon speeds are affected. Put simply, any projectile, rockets, missiles, what have you that are in flight get faster the higher you go, with Armageddon's speeds requiring something that feels almost short of Newtype reflexes. It actually has some side effects that I think were not accounted for by the devs, primarily with the use of chaff, as the effects still take the exact same amount of time to activate. That means with the increased speed of missiles, you'll basically need to use them much earlier so that there's time for them to change course and veer away. But on the flip side, the increase in projectile speed is not limited to the enemies. Your weapons are affected by this as well, and it honestly does a better job of encouraging free aim shots in this case as you can avoid triggering the enemy's ability to dodge while having a smooth bore round go even faster than it did before, without as much need to compensate for the enemy's current direction and speed. Strategies change, but in a good way.


The difficulty level increases aren't the only thing to look forward to after beating Steel Battalion for the first time. In fact, they're the incentive to go through the game again to unlock a variety of extra features that range in usefulness and pure curiosity. And that's in addition to some extra features that aren't tied purely to running through a particular difficulty. Most are shown in the video, with a few that I forgot to get footage of but it's easy to imagine what they do.
  • If your system file has not had this activated yet, you can input a code on the start screen using the tuner dial to unlock all missions, difficulties, and VTs in Free Mission mode. Despite having only 5 frequencies to tune to in game, the dial itself clicks into 16 different places as you rotate it. By leaving it on the left most position known as 0 (the one that would be similar to 9 o'clock), you then rotate to the following positions with each number getting bigger as you go clockwise on the dial: 1-9-7-9-0-9-0-6. The game registers each input by leaving the dial on those numbered positions for about one second, and you'll get a menu select sound effect to indicate that you did it correctly. This can only be done once per system file, and this is how I was able to set myself up with recording this LP the way that I did.

  • There are two missions in which you can use the VT's manipulator arm to rescue a hidden soldier in each of them, requiring you to have them in the arm at all times until the mission complete screen triggers. Rescuing Corporal Arnold in Mission 6 unlocks the WEP ALL cheat (press Start and Main Weapon buttons on the Briefing menu), increasing the weight limit on all VTs to 100 points and allowing for more weapons than they are normally allowed to equip.

  • In Mission 20, if the player rescues Lieutenant Silver Star, they'll unlock the Spotlight, a mechanic that is tied to the F2 function key and is otherwise not used in the main game at all aside from this. It's an interesting alternative to the night scope, where instead of amplifying the image in a single color, the VT casts an actual spotlight to illuminate their facing direction. The lighting tech on display is actually quite impressive by 2002 Xbox standards, but it's an insane resource hog, and for that alone it's probably why it got left as a hidden mechanic the player can't normally access.

  • Completing the game on Veteran difficulty unlocks additional communication voices for your player character, but only if you have the game audio set to Japanese. From there, you can choose between three different voices, with 03 being the deepest the player sounds. Note this does not change the voice acting in the cutscenes, as in the Japanese version these had subtitltes anyway. Since no subtitles for voice lines play in actual missions, I imagine this is why only the Japanese voice track has these options.

  • In addition to that, Veteran also unlocks the ability to toggle the CRT Mono filter that was prevalent on the Vitzh for any other VT in the game. And logically, you can also use this code to make it so the CRT Mono filter is disabled on the Vitzh itself. During the loading screen right before mission start, press the Start and Night Scope buttons to activate. The words CRT Mono will either appear or disappear on screen to show you've inputted the code.

  • Beating the game on the next difficulty, Desperado, unlocks the ability to turn your Vertical Tank into a literal Tank, at will during a mission. I've seen it referred to somewhat commonly as the "Autobot Code", but Tank Mode I think is just as descriptive. By pressing the Start and Hatch buttons, you lower you VT to ground level, along with its hitbox so enemies that track you will now aim lower to compensate, and no matter how hard you turn at top speed the vehicle will never tip over. It doesn't change your core speed values when in this mode, it's just a nice alternative if you're on missions where you need to get from Point A to B and want a break from the turn/speed management you usually engage with. Probably my favorite hidden mechanic of the game.

  • The difficulty after Desperado, the amazingly named Magnum Force, yields the Jump Jets when completed (activated by pressing Start and F3 during the mission load screen). Unfortunately, Mechwarrior this is not, because the implementation and effects don't really feel the same. Your jump height is basically the same as the slide step distance you normally have but vertically oriented, and is activated by holding Brake and pressing the Slide Step pedal. Jumping up straight is neat but not as practical as jumping forward, and here's where it gets unwieldy. You can still use the jump jets while moving forward, but it basically requires holding down all three pedals to use. Not very comfortable, and since there's no good height advantage gained from using them it's more practical to stick to the same lateral dodge strats you get accustomed to with the regular slide step.

  • There are some extra features I couldn't unlock as they were not difficulty dependent, but in game time dependent. The game tracks your total mission time across all instances of the campaign and free mission, and if you log 55 hours total you can press the Start and Ignition buttons to remove the cockpit during a mission. This leaves you with a full screen version of the VTs monitor, and from what I understand is more or less the same as one of the view modes in the replay viewer.

  • The other big time related unlock is a huge commitment, one I definitely didn't want to try and brute force by leaving my Xbox on for more than necessary. By logging in 100 hours on total operation time, reseting the Xbox, and completing the 2082 campaign again, you'll unlock the unlimited fuel/ammo code. This is activated by pressing the Start and Magazine Change buttons during the mission load screen, and as you'd imagine, you never run out of fuel and ammo with this on. That may mean no more need for Wagonmaster, but it doesn't mean unlimited health so if you were still getting hit a lot and taking damage, you'd still want a supply chopper or two to rely on. Still, if you had this and WEP ALL activated, caring about a supply chopper repairing your shields might be an academic point.

  • Lastly, a small nifty feature I forgot to include in the footage, but despite this game's commitment to realism, there IS in fact a way to pause the game mid mission. There's no pause button obviously, but by unplugging the controller from the Xbox, the game will freeze in place, player, enemies, mission timer, everything. You'll be presented with a message saying the controller was disconnected and needs to be plugged in. When it is plugged back in, the player has to press the Start button and the game will resume. While the mission timer does freeze along with everything else, it's my understanding that leaving the game hanging in this paused state still adds to the total operation time statistic in the system file. So if you had no qualms with leaving a system idling for a few days straight with no worries of getting too hot, this would be the way to get the above mentioned time unlocks.
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That's the end for the Steel Battalion LP. Thank you again for watching this through to the end.

Kitty Burger
May 23, 2005
Mmm, taste like kitty...
This was a fun LP. Thanks for doing it.

Cooked Auto
Aug 4, 2007

If you will not serve in combat, you will serve on the firing line!




I will admit the novelty of the game wore off after a while but the mech chat was very nice.

Kaboom Dragoon
May 7, 2010

The greatest of feasts

It's our version of 'staying on topic'.

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NGDBSS
Dec 30, 2009






Thanks for showing this off! Like you said it's very much a product of its time, but I would like to see someone try a project like this nowadays (but mouse/keyboard) just for the sheer ambition of the thing.

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