The eighth strategy club title is Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus, which we will be playing from January 1 to March 31, 2022.
Description:
Take control of the most technologically advanced army in the Imperium - The Adeptus Mechanicus. Your every decision will weigh heavily on the outcome of the mission, in this turn-based tactical game. Will you be blessed by the Omnissiah?
If you're new to the club, please check out the main thread.
I'm in. I've played Mechanicus for a short stint previously and have been meaning to go back to it, now's my chance!
I'm in. I've played Mechanicus for a short stint previously and have been meaning to go back to it, now's my chance!
Pretty much the same here. I played a couple of the missions a few months back. It was pretty good, although I did find those first couple of missions a little limited in terms of tactical options. That's clearly all baked into the gameplay though, I'll be looking forward to playing this one through.
Installing now to implement my New Year's resolution of participating in this group. I mean, strategy games are my jam...it's just hard for me to back away from the hardcore grognard war games that I usually play.
So I've played the first mission. Something of a tutorial and somewhat lacking. Made it through, though I lost all but one unit (the better Tech-Priest).
I need to look ahead a little better in the unit initiative and get a better handle on accumulating and spending the Cognition Points. The lack of cover is hard. It's either "none" or "100% both ways". I wish there was some way of seeing how far ranged weapons can reach without slowly advancing 1 square at a time until I'm in range.
I quit before customizing before the second mission, so have yet to see what that's about.
I'm in much the same boat - did a a few missions a while back and moved on.
I've just gotten through my next mission and my starter takeaways are:
- it's very slow and cumbersome (much like 40k Battlesector), which i suppose makes sense for the lore
- it feels like weird tactics, quite different to a lot of other games. Positioning and cover is key, don't forget you can move after shooting so popping out from behind cover to take shots then hiding again seems to be tacitly encouraged.
- the servo skull description is confusing. It can EITHER reveal stats of an enemy OR collect cognition points from the bits of map that have them. Not both.
So I've played the first mission. Something of a tutorial and somewhat lacking. Made it through, though I lost all but one unit (the better Tech-Priest).
I need to look ahead a little better in the unit initiative and get a better handle on accumulating and spending the Cognition Points. The lack of cover is hard. It's either "none" or "100% both ways". I wish there was some way of seeing how far ranged weapons can reach without slowly advancing 1 square at a time until I'm in range.
I quit before customizing before the second mission, so have yet to see what that's about.
Those alcolytes you can bring with you are - I think - meant to be expendable. If there’s a choice between losing one of them or losing one of your Tech Priests, then go with the alcolyte every time. I was using them as meat shields fairly early on in my campaign, it seemed to me that losing Tech Priests would be a rapid way of getting into a death spiral.
As I said earlier your tactical options feel pretty limited early on as you don’t have much gear or abilities unlocked. A bit of cannon fodder goes a long way.
They aren't acolytes, they are servitors......
I've played the first couple of missions and Scaevola, he's a dude.
It's a really tight experience this now I've spent a bit more time with it - The tactical combat is much more thought provoking than I originally thought, or at least I'm actually giving it some more thought! I'm unclear if you are meant to be doing both apparent "choices" when it comes to missions - Scaevola who wants to know all about the Necrons, or the other dude who just wants to burn the Xeno scum. I'm not sure I like him.
I confess, I've already entirely given up on the lore and narrative. I have no idea who these space-robots are, what they want or where they're going. To be fair, I barely have any 40k lore onboard going in, so that's partially on me, but man, there is a mammoth amount of assumed knowledge going in.
The tactical combat is quite interesting and "military". It's more of a tactical puzzle and I do like it. But the game is primarily cutscenes so far... I find the pacing of the other W40K games much faster and less disrupted.
I'm still gonna persevere. 
Welcome all! It’s been a busy New Years so I haven’t gotten stuck in yet.
My son is currently on a big 40 K kick so I’m up on the lore. The Mechanicus keep the imperium running behind the scenes. They are very similar to monks in the middle ages. Much has been lost to time and it’s the priests who preserve existing tech and seek out new discoveries. The rest of the Imperium (space marines, imperial guard,etc) respect but don’t like them, especially since so many priests eventually become cyborgs.
Their arch nemesis faction is the Necrons: former robot warriors that rose up against their masters millions of years ago. They have emerged from stasis on their tomb worlds looking to destroy all life. Doesn’t help the tech priests have a bad habit of snooping around tombs and speeding up that process. If you play Warhammer Total War, the Necrons are essentially the Tomb Kings but with tech vs dark magic.
Another side of the Adeptus Mechanicus can be experienced in Inquisitor. That game presents lore in a more natural, less dumpy way. Still, I have come to love the universe, against all expectations.
Another side of the Adeptus Mechanicus can be experienced in Inquisitor. That game presents lore in a more natural, less dumpy way.
Mumble mumble, back in the late 80s / early 90s I was a total Wahammer geek and had pretty much all the games relating to 40k. Then I went to University and got a life. Well, sort of. The lore has changed a lot since back then admittedly but at least I know who they all are.
They are all religious fascists. That's basically all you need to know. They all fight.
I started a game a while back, and it got lost in the pile as I bounced around different games (mostly playing Destiny2 with friends). I just started Inquisitor not long ago as well. So I'm putting that one on hold to come give Mechanicus another shot.
I loaded up my old save game and figured instead of starting over I'd try to run with it, but I might have to play a new game enough to relearn the systems. I managed to complete the mission I was on, but it took me a little bit to remember how to fight. I was on the mission with the destroyer necrons, where you first encounter scarabs. I remember it kicking my butt the last time I played, and somehow I managed to defeat it by playing a little more aggressively this time (mostly through not remembering how the action point system worked... so more aggressive by accident).
Not sure if I'll finish it, but I'll give it a little bit of time this month at least.
My son is currently on a big 40 K kick so I’m up on the lore. The Mechanicus keep the imperium running behind the scenes. They are very similar to monks in the middle ages. Much has been lost to time and it’s the priests who preserve existing tech and seek out new discoveries. The rest of the Imperium (space marines, imperial guard,etc) respect but don’t like them, especially since so many priests eventually become cyborgs.
The Adeptus Mechanicus, while a part of the Empire, are highly independent. And are also heretics, strictly speaking, as they worship the Machine God, Omnissiah, rather than the God-Emperor. I'm not quite sure, with my limited knowledge of the lore, why they are allowed to get away with this - except that, I suppose, their power means that the Imperium is prepared to look the other way.
I have this game on Steam - but, like a few others, played the first mission or two and then put it aside and forgot about it. Might have to dig in again at some point.
The Cult Mechanicus holds that the Emperor is the embodiment of the Machine God, and part of a trinity with the Machine God and the Motive Force (the force of life). So saith Google.
jdzappa wrote:My son is currently on a big 40 K kick so I’m up on the lore. The Mechanicus keep the imperium running behind the scenes. They are very similar to monks in the middle ages. Much has been lost to time and it’s the priests who preserve existing tech and seek out new discoveries. The rest of the Imperium (space marines, imperial guard,etc) respect but don’t like them, especially since so many priests eventually become cyborgs.
The Adeptus Mechanicus, while a part of the Empire, are highly independent. And are also heretics, strictly speaking, as they worship the Machine God, Omnissiah, rather than the God-Emperor. I'm not quite sure, with my limited knowledge of the lore, why they are allowed to get away with this - except that, I suppose, their power means that the Imperium is prepared to look the other way.
I have this game on Steam - but, like a few others, played the first mission or two and then put it aside and forgot about it. Might have to dig in again at some point.
I am also very new to 40K and quite ignorant of most of the details but I thought the Empire kind of like.. pretended/believed that the Omnissiah was the God-Emperor so that the Adeptus Mechanicus could still be "good" guys. Like a tiny(giant) white lie they tell themself.
Also, I'm decently far into the game. This will be my first one to play with this group. Hello everyone! (Thanks for the heads up Neutrino)
The Cult Mechanicus holds that the Emperor is the embodiment of the Machine God, and part of a trinity with the Machine God and the Motive Force (the force of life). So saith Google.
AHHHHH... the mighty google. Thanks for the clarification.
The original 1988 Adeptus Titanicus (which I owned) I'm fairly certain the Mechanicus didn't exist, if if they did they were a footnote. Mind you memory is extremely hazy and not to be relied on.
It was mostly about giant robots blowing each other up. And jolly good it was too.
About 15% progress into my first game. I like how it gives you a hard deadline so you know about how long it's going to be (~30 missions). Just got my third adept and they're all around 5th level. I also finally got some decent troops so I can use them for something other than meatshields, though they're still plenty expendable (sorry Khepra, but that's the way it is).
I wish there was some way of seeing how far ranged weapons can reach without slowly advancing 1 square at a time until I'm in range.
When you move, you'll see icons over each enemy showing which of your attacks will be able to hit them if you move to that spot.
I bought this on sale with Gladius (?) Neither game really stuck with me.
I don't think there's cover - only farming action points (cognition) and getting in range to use them?? It seems like a battle of attrition and or baiting the AI to move in so you get the drop on them. I couldn't even get past a single mission so I guess I have to watch a let's play...
I bought this on sale with Gladius (?) Neither game really stuck with me.
I don't think there's cover - only farming action points (cognition) and getting in range to use them?? It seems like a battle of attrition and or baiting the AI to move in so you get the drop on them. I couldn't even get past a single mission so I guess I have to watch a let's play...
There is cover, but it's wrapped up in line-of-sight. If you can't shoot them (cos you can't see them past the wall you're standing behind), they can't shoot you (unless they move into LoS)
I bought this on sale with Gladius (?) Neither game really stuck with me.
I don't think there's cover - only farming action points (cognition) and getting in range to use them?? It seems like a battle of attrition and or baiting the AI to move in so you get the drop on them. I couldn't even get past a single mission so I guess I have to watch a let's play...
Right, as far as I can tell there's no middle-cover; you're invulnerably behind a wall or you're exposed. Other characters do provide cover as well, though there are weapons that can shoot through them, including the basic Necron gauss guns IME.
I already had Gladius on Steam from IIRC Humble Monthly, so I was able to get this for an additional 15% off by completing that bundle.
I bought Mechanicus for my son a few months back in a Switch sale. He enjoyed it for a while but it got a bit too difficult for him and he set it aside. This seems like a good time for me to give it a go myself.
I enjoyed all things Warhammer back in the 80s and early 90s. My son and I now paint the miniatures, he doesn't play the tabletop games, while I only play Blood Bowl physically and have no interest in playing 40k again. A bit of nostalgia with this game though might be cool.
Had this in my library so I thought I'd jump in with the group this time around.
Playing on Casual for now but balancing that with playing Ironman + Permadeath. We'll see how it goes lol
I don't know any 40K lore and enjoyed my way through the entire game a couple of years ago, so don't give up on it. If I remember right, while the tactical battles seem familiar, they have enough of a wrinkle that they feel fresh.
Glad this is being played by the club! I already signed on to the GWJ RPG club this round so don’t want to push my luck trying to commit to a second game but I’ll enjoy lurking.
Totally in the same boat as many of you. I maybe played a few more missions than most before I bounced off. I got Battlesector over the holiday break which is similarly tactical and enjoying that one so much more. Mechanicus does have quirks and charms all its own though. I hope to someday return to it.
As you progress through a campaign it starts to tip into ‘tactical combat as a puzzle game’ territory, especially with some of the abilities you come up against. It feels like there are specific builds and equipment required to get through some missions, which you have to learn by trial and error. It’s not really engaging enough to get away with that in my opinion, I’m not exactly ‘stuck’ in my current mission, but I do clearly have a sub-optimal load out (lots of energy weapons but suddenly everyone has energy weapon resistance when they didn’t before, cloaking devices not previously seen, that type of thing) which is making it considerably more difficult than expected.
It’s still fun to play and the combat is good enough to continue, but it was making me a little frustrated last night which was a shame.
As you progress through a campaign it starts to tip into ‘tactical combat as a puzzle game’ territory, especially with some of the abilities you come up against. It feels like there are specific builds and equipment required to get through some missions, which you have to learn by trial and error. It’s not really engaging enough to get away with that in my opinion, I’m not exactly ‘stuck’ in my current mission, but I do clearly have a sub-optimal load out (lots of energy weapons but suddenly everyone has energy weapon resistance when they didn’t before, cloaking devices not previously seen, that type of thing) which is making it considerably more difficult than expected.
It’s still fun to play and the combat is good enough to continue, but it was making me a little frustrated last night which was a shame.
This was my experience with the game as well. After a bit the game became about using knowledge gathered from failures to optimize a build. I think it might have been inevitable as the depth of the combat mechanics themselves aren't all that significant, so the variety of set pieces that encourage purely tactical creativity eventually runs out. It's definitely not my cup of tea either - assuming I maintain a reasonably diverse team I prefer that I have a shot at beating any scenario by taking advantage of a variety of tactical approaches. If I'm going to need to optimize a team, give me enough intel ahead of the mission to make some judgement calls.
Had this in my library so I thought I'd jump in with the group this time around.
Playing on Casual for now but balancing that with playing Ironman + Permadeath. We'll see how it goes lol
It feels like there are specific builds and equipment required to get through some missions, which you have to learn by trial and error.
This was my experience with the game as well. After a bit the game became about using knowledge gathered from failures to optimize a build.
Now you tell me 
Can confirm... ProTip - DON'T play Ironman lol
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