Turn-based stompy robots live again

[Correction: Contrary to what I reported earlier, Harebrained Schemes did not fund the initial $250K goal of basic funding on its Kickstarter. All of those funds came from backers. Harebrained has invested $1 million into the game already in development. This was my mistake and I apologize for the confusion.]

Before there was MechWarrior, there was BattleTech; the '80s strategic turn-based tabletop game that spawned an entire universe of novels, shows, spin-off games, and overly elaborate arcade centers. But the glory days of the venerable franchise were short lived and BattleTech hasn't seen a proper PC game release since 1994. Harebrained Schemes, headed by Jordan Weisman (who wrote the original boardgame) is looking to change that with its freshly launched Kickstarter project.

Promising an expansive 3D strategy game built in Unity 5 that will recreate and expand on the original tabletop vision, Harebrained Schemes only asked for $250k to reach stage 1 of their development goal. A goal they hit almost immediately. What's included in stage 1? A basic skirmish mode that would allow players to essentially deathmatch a computer opponent. Want to see a single-player campaign, or maybe some multiplayer PvP? Well, that's where the stretch goals come in.

A narrative-driven campaign (likely the biggest draw for many BattleTech fans who have been clamoring for a single-player game in the universe for decades now) set in the rich lore of the Third Succession Wars of 3025 is gated behind a million-dollar stretch goal. Multiplayer PvP is tucked behind stage 4, which is a $2.5M target.

The potential here seems high. Harebrained already successfully resurrected another classic '80s tabletop game with the excellent Shadowrun Returns, proving they have the chops to pull this off. Provided all the stretch goals are met, this is exactly the kind of game fans of the series have been dying for. A return to classic strategic thinking with a good dose of management-sim like logistical planning sounds like a fantastic change of pace from MechWarrior Online's simple deathmatch arenas. Navigating a ragtag lance of mercenaries through the chaos of the Succession War's battlefields and the seedy political backroom dealings of the Great Houses with no clan-tech in sight is the kind of thing a BattleTech fan dreams about. The talk about diving deep into the mechanics of your squad's mechs and tuning their shock absorbers, gyros, and actuators to your personal satisfaction put a particular flutter in my would-be-robot-engineer heart.

Given the passion BattleTech fans have for the franchise, combined with the dream-team quality of Weisman returning to the series and Harebrained Schemes with their excellent recent track record, this Kickstarter seems like a slam dunk. I've no doubt this project will reach the top-tiers of its funding goals before the month is out. I might as well start planning on which mechs I'll want to take into the battlefield.