I sold my Steel Battalion for drugs

[bargora]

OK, actually I didn't. But I remember that several of you bought sets. And then the online sequel, Line of Contact came out, and I never saw any of you online. :(

Well, now that LOC has been out a year, I'm assuming that I'm not ever going to see any of you guys online in a VT. So do tell--whatever became of your winky blinky SB controller?

Me, I'm going to go with the "elitist prick" angle and say that I don't think that any of you* were even able to start up the VTs, much less get anywhere in the game.
;) :devilish:

*videogamerdarryl excepted, because you are clearly some sort of madman

[Kid Ice]

I saw 4 of them piled up in EB on Sunday.

[Arcturius]

Both myself and a friend of mine still have ours I have a copy of LOC but he doesn't and neither of us are currently on XBox Live unfortunatly.

[Funk Buddy]

Mine is still brand new in the shipping carton. :embarrassed:

[IGotTheDot]

Mine is in my game room taking up space like most other "special" controllers.

I'm still happy I have it.

Now give me my first Meseta!

[Cmosfm]

Dust in the closet, I traded a few things for mine, but after playing it twice, I realized it was all glitter and none of the gold.

I was really really hoping for something along the lines of Virtual On, I read reviews and heard that it was "slow" and nothing like it, but I decided to give it a shot anyways. It makes a really nice conversation piece though and I'm really glad I traded for it...but I don't plan on playing it again for a very long time.

[youruglyclone]

1 set of controllers is at work for some strange reason, the other is in my living room both collecting dust...it's a shame for the short time I played it...it was awesome but my paranoia of breaking the damn thing.

[ubersaurus]

Mine is sitting next to the Xbox. I had every intention of playing through the first game and playing the second...

except Halo 2 exists. Seriously, I've bought like 5 Xbox games specifically for online play, and another just to play through, since that came out, and every single one of them spends a couple hours in there before Halo 2 goes right back in there.

That, and every time you message me to play, I'm in the middle of something with friends of mine on H2 ;p

[tholly]

i still didnt get my copy

hopefully this summer i will get a copy (as long as i can get it new or mint/complete with the shipping carton

[MarioAllStar2600]

I still have mine looking pretty in my gameroom. It takes up alot of space, but it makes everyone go "what is that huge thing!" or "we need to play it right now!". Then they play it and go, man this game blows. Im kinda upset they didn't become hard to find, cause the game is terrible. The best part is hitting the eject button.

So yea, Like so many others.... it just sits there looking sexy.

[maxlords]

I sold it. Hated the viewable area of the game.

[SuperNES]

am i the only one who thinks calling a game controller 'sexy' is a bit strange? :hmm:

anyways, i never bought the thing. i want it though, it looks really cool. even if the game sucked it would just be cool to have a little mech cockpit. i never got it though because it costs so dang much. jeez i could go buy me another xbox instead... :eek 2: i'm a particular fan of weird controllers, they just give you a better sese of 'being in the game'. yea, i bought the DC keyboard and mouse just to play Q3A, i love that game so dang much.

"i love the power glove. it's just so... bad."
truer words were never spoken. LOL

[blissfulnoise]

Sad to say, mine is still sealed. I mean to play it all the time but breaking that sweet, sweet line of Capcom emblazened tape is difficult to do.

I even bought Line of Contact. Too bad that's still sealed too.

One day, one day...

[Kejoriv]

I never bought one. Couldn't see myself spending that much dough on one. Sooner or later I will get one used.

[MonkeyWizard]

I myself never owned one. I'll porbably end up picking it up eventually, though.

[Spartacus]

Mines been holding up dust since the day I bought it. I do have a fondness for mecha style games but haven't found the time or ambition to set it up and play. After letting my live subscription expire, I can only hope it has some kind of single player experience to it 'cause it might be sometime before I'll ever know if I can even start up the VTs.

[PapaStu]

Not only has mine been holed up since I got it back in Dec of 02, BUT its still sealed. And to fancy that I almost went after the re-release to see if I could get the alternate controller. I even bought Line of Contact hoping to play it in my current domocile, however the table setup was never ever quite capable of handling the controller setup, so it sits in a corner of my room, looking pretty.

[Six Switch]

i would really like to play LoC if i could find it.i have been looking for it for a while with no luck.

[MarioAllStar2600]

Honestly, read the above posts.

If you don't have one, and are buying it for gameplay. I wouldn't do it! The game itself is hard to control and very bland action wise. You are better off getting a mech game like MechAssault. This game was hard to understand and boring. unless your buying it for collectng purposes.... I do not recommend it.

[GrayFox]

I've got to buy one myself, but I've put some time into the game at a friend's place.

We had a kickass setup for it and all, and I plopped down for hours.

Now, I love mecha, both fast-paced anime style, and the realistic, slow type, like in Ring of Red.

So, I played this game, and I loved it. It was just so badass controlling this huge mech with this huge 40-button controller. I had a blast with it.

[Charlesaway]

I picked it up for $99.99 CDN on clearance at Toys R Us last month. I haven't even finished the first mission. O_O

I put more time into putting together the controller than I have playing it; but I did manage to start the mech on the first try. :) When my sister came to visit, she played for a while and made it to the 3rd mission. It seems like a cool game that I intend to play at some point; I just have too many other games on the go to play first. :)

I don't have Xbox live, so I don't have line of contact.

At least I'm honest. ;)

[thegreatescape]

Those sets must be getting pretty cheap on the used market by now... what are they generally selling for in places like eb, etc ?

[SKVermin]

I also nabbed one for $99 CDN at Toys R Us, about two weeks ago. I got through the third mission and got hosed on the fourth, but haven't had time to get back to it. With two small kids that are active game players, I had to squirrel it away for its own safety. It'll come back out late one of these nights when they're asleep. -_-

[sisko]

I still have mine, and never will sell it as I love both the controller and the game dearly. In the mean time, its a show piece and dust collector.

I've actually played it very little ever since level four rocked my world, HARD. Frustration and a $200 controller in your hands don't mix very well, so I set it aside and haven't touched it much since I moved.

Additionally, I have yet to pick up the sequel, but am in no rush since the "online only" part REALLY cheesed me off. I'll get it.....eventually.

[Cryomancer]

The only one I have access to is my girlfriend's brother's, but he never uses it so i can borrow it anytime I want.

Personally, I'm going to attempt to play the PC version of san andreas with it when that comes out.

http://www.tamanegi.org/prog/vtchid/ <--drivers for PC

[Videogamerdaryll]

Two of them holding up dust in my back room..


Forget about all the set's my Uncle bought to resell..He never got around to it and they just sit..(he's loaded and looney) x_x

[Snapple]

am i the only one who thinks calling a game controller 'sexy' is a bit strange? :hmm:

Yes, yes you are.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I have two of these, and can play it fine. I figured it out pretty easially, and have a good time playing it.

I usually get it out about once a week and have a quick go.


I would never keep it gathering dust, and neither would I ever get rid of it.


And how come every other seller on eBay states "Need to sell because I am moving house and need the space"? - Surely not every purchaser of this game moves house shortly afterwards?


I have the space to store it, so it's a keeper for all time for me!


PS: Pity the fools who take them down their local GameStation and trade in for a measley £70 trade...

[bargora]

Dust in the closet, I traded a few things for mine, but after playing it twice, I realized it was all glitter and none of the gold.
You played it twice? Twice? My man, you never gave it a chance. It's a sim, not Space Invaders. The first mission is slow as hell specifically so your rookie ass will have more than a snowball's chance of finishing it. Yeah, getting that tank moving is a humbling experience the first several times. But once you know how to drive it, it's a whole different ball of wax.


I was really really hoping for something along the lines of Virtual On, I read reviews and heard that it was "slow" and nothing like it, but I decided to give it a shot anyways. It makes a really nice conversation piece though and I'm really glad I traded for it...but I don't plan on playing it again for a very long time.
Well, if you were expecting dancing prancing jumping mechs ala Virtual On, I can see that you'd be disappointed. If you actually play into the game a few missions, however, you'll unlock VTs that actually have good acceleration, speed and maneuverability, unlike the venerable "Decider" model you start out with in that garage. You don't think they'd give you the good stuff right out of the box, did you now?

And come to think of it, that's not even entirely the case. The "Falchion" VT is zippy as hell and available from Mission 1 on (the opening mission in the garage is "Mission 0"). Armor's kind of thin, though, as you'd expect from a fast attack tank...

On the other hand, you could just enter in a cheat code and get yourself rolling in a 3rd generation VT like the Quasar, which is much closer to the Virtual On type of machine, with high maneuverability, virtually unlimited hydraulics and the ability to accelerate to 200 km/hr in less than five seconds. Here ya go:

This code will unlock all levels and VT's in free mission mode:
At the title screen position your COM tuner dial to the printed number 0 (9 o'clock if you were looking at a clock), from here you will need to move your com dial to the below positions and leave it there for one second on each position. (remember that the first marking: 9 o'clock is 0, and that the last marking: 6 o'clock is 12 for the code)
Start at 0, then move to 1, to 9, to 7, to 9, to 0, to 9, to 0, to 6.
Finish inputting the code before the title screen fades away to the replay. After you input the code you should hear a sound. Now you can use any VT on any mission in the free mission mode. This of course does not affect the normal campaign game. Once you input the code Tekki will save the change so you only need to do it once.


1 set of controllers is at work for some strange reason, the other is in my living room both collecting dust...it's a shame for the short time I played it...it was awesome but my paranoia of breaking the damn thing.
Hey, don't worry about breaking the controller simply by playing the game. While people do experience broken springs in the footpedal block, it usually doesn't happen until you've played the game for about 200 hours. And it's pretty easy to fix, too. PM me if it happens to you and you want repair instructions. FYI, my controller has over 500 hours on it.


HALO 2!!!
Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.


I still have mine looking pretty in my gameroom. It takes up alot of space, but it makes everyone go "what is that huge thing!" or "we need to play it right now!". Then they play it and go, man this game blows. Im kinda upset they didn't become hard to find, cause the game is terrible. The best part is hitting the eject button.

If you don't have one, and are buying it for gameplay. I wouldn't do it! The game itself is hard to control and very bland action wise. You are better off getting a mech game like MechAssault. This game was hard to understand and boring. unless your buying it for collectng purposes.... I do not recommend it.
I must admit that there is some truth mixed in with your dirty, dirty misunderstandings. I will not deny that the controller is large. Now come clean and tell us how much of the game you actually played. As I pointed out above, the first missions are just there to let you get the hang of moving the tank. And the first three difficulty levels are just there to ease you into playing at the speed of the online game.

But if you didn't understand the game and only played the introductory matter, then I can see that you might have been bored by it. Once you actually play into it you will realize that there is more and deeper gameplay in Steel Battalion (and Line of Contact, for online comparison) than in any three FPS games you might mention put together.

As for your friends not liking the game--of course they didn't like it sitting down to play it the first time. Steel Battalion pwned them hard and they had to eject, probably before they even got out of the garage. Or maybe they got out of the garage, fell over, and had to eject. Most people react to a thorough ass-kicking like that with a hearty "this sucks".


I sold it. Hated the viewable area of the game.
You do know that later in the game you get a transparent HUD, right? Check the "3rd generation cockpit" at the bottom of this page. (http://www.steelbattalion.org/manual.php) And I hope you weren't playing it on a TV smaller than 27" (or computer monitor smaller than 19"), because that would have been just silly.


I've actually played it very little ever since level four rocked my world, HARD. Frustration and a $200 controller in your hands don't mix very well, so I set it aside and haven't touched it much since I moved.
Sisko, I feel your pain. Mission 4 ate three of my pilots (died, relegated, relegated). Which means that I must have ejected over a dozen times before sinking that damn boat. I assume that you are getting to the final platform and then the battleship is gunning you down. If that's the case, here are the protips:

1. The building to the left of the battleship (the Zhen Yan) is indestructible. Once you can see a clear path, run across the platform and put that building between you and the battleship.
2. The battleship's main guns can be destroyed, even though you can't lock onto them. Use the slidestep pedal to slide out from behind the building, line up and take your shot (315 smooth bore or twin rifle), and then slide back behind the building before the Zhen Yan can reply.
3. Your AI teammates cannot be killed by the battleship's guns. Use the comm dial to call for their assistance. If both of them are wandering around on the platform, the Zhen Yan will be too busy shooting at them to take many shots at you.
4. The Zhen Yan's main guns are the only ones that are powerful enough to damage you. Once they are destroyed you can finish off the ship with impunity.
5. Feel free to cackle like a maniac when you break that thing in half and send it to the bottom.
Once you destroy the Zhen Yan you will gain access to the 2nd generation Prominence M1 VT. And that, as far as I'm concerned, is when the training wheels come off.


Additionally, I have yet to pick up the sequel, but am in no rush since the "online only" part REALLY cheesed me off. I'll get it.....eventually.
Yeah, I know it was kind of a screw job. But let me tell you what. The online game is actually much faster and much better than the offline game. Atsushi Inaba (the Nude Maker producer for the SB games) has said from the beginning that Steel Battalion was really meant to be a way to train pilots for the online game (Line of Contact). Besides. You can pick up LOC for about $20 these days.

Blowing up human-controlled tanks is much more difficult and much more rewarding.

To conclude. The only compelling reason that I can think of to not play Line of Contact is what I think of as "The Civilization problem". When I was in college, I saw students disappear into a room and reemerge a semester later, pale, haggard, drawn, GPA in shambles. I had enough problems getting by as it was, so I swore I would never, ever play that demon-spawn of a game. And to this day, I haven't.

Or maybe it was Populous.

Regardless, since I started playing this "game", I haven't really played anything else that has come down the line for more than a couple of hours. Once you've played enough Steel Battalion/Line of Contact to get competent at it and appreciate the depth of strategy and gameplay, everything else just seems like weak sauce. Halo 2 included.

P.S. Nobody in Line of Contact has ever said anything impolite about my mother.

[captain nintendo]

Mine is sitting next to the Xbox. I had every intention of playing through the first game and playing the second...

except Halo 2 exists. Seriously, I've bought like 5 Xbox games specifically for online play, and another just to play through, since that came out, and every single one of them spends a couple hours in there before Halo 2 goes right back in there.

That, and every time you message me to play, I'm in the middle of something with friends of mine on H2 ;p

Same problem here. I really, really want to play SB LOC. But damn you Halo2 for being so addicting. I am however at a point where Halo2 is a little repetetive , but new DLC is coming out and that will freshen up the game enough to keep me going for a good long while. @_@

I bought SF anniversary to play online with other DP members as well , but it only has an hour of gameplay on it :embarrassed: Hell I have bought lots of new games but they just sit there wanting to be played while Halo 2 gets all the love. :/ @_@

[Barbarianoutkast85]

collects dust in the closet

[bargora]

Just out of curiosity, who finished on Armageddon (or was just being a wiseacre), and who was resentful at my implying that they suck at videogames (oh noes!)?

[Funk Buddy]

I picked the last option because it fit best. My controller can't collect dust since it's never been removed from the box. LOL

I'll play it one of these days because I've got some other folks prodding me into playing it opnline with them.

[slip81]

bargora is pissed :)

I never had one, why isn't there an option on the poll for that?

[IntvGene]

Well, I played it, loved it, but got sick of it and sold it, especially after I found out that the 2nd one was online only.

Don't forget, there's always the code to unlock the missions:

Unlock All VT's and Maps in Free Mission Mode
At the title screen, move the tuner to the following positions and keep it there for one second each position.

1-9-7-9-0-9-0-6

The numbers above are the positions, like a clock, except this clock starts on the right where the printed numbers start (i.e. 9 o'clock on a normal clock is 0 in the code. 12 o'clock on a normal clock is 4 in the code, etc.) When you complete the code you will hear a sound effect then you will be able to use all VT's and play any mission on any difficulty in free mission mode.

I mean, some of you that have it sitting in your closet might want to try some more of the latter, more interesting missions that Bargora is talking about.

[bargora]

Well, for those of you who are planning to play the online game (LOC) at some time in the indeterminate future, my advice would be to stop putzing around. The online playerbase isn't exactly growing by leaps and bounds, if you know what I mean. Best to get in on it now while you can get a match going without waiting all night for the lobby to fill up.


bargora is pissed

I never had one, why isn't there an option on the poll for that?
Darn skippy! Non-pwners get no say in this thread! Now go out and buy one, young man!

:bad-words: *waves cane*

And thanks for posting the mondo cheat code again, IntvGene. Most posters probably just glazed over and missed it in my previous rant.

If you are trying the code, remember that the "0" position is when the tuner dial is pointing to the left, or the 9 o'clock position, or west, or whatever you want to call it. Then the positions are numbered clockwise from there.

I don't get why people are all pissed off about LOC being online-only, especially since most of you seem not to have finished or even progressed very far in the first game. Playing the game online against hu-mans adds a whole new dimension to the thing.

[ubersaurus]

My tv is smaller than 27"...it's closer to like, 19".

Don't knock the Halo 2. Few Xbox Live games have that game's sheer fun factor and strategy, coupled with the fact I don't have to spend 2 days to learn how to play :P

[atomicthumbs]

Sold it. Bought it back cheap. Still suck at it. Suck at it BIG TIME! I may sell it again to help pay for a Donkey Kong cabinet if I can somehow manage to convince the bastards to sell it to me cheap.

[CreamSoda]

I never bought it or the game in the first place.

I'm not saying it wasen't cool or worth it, but the game/controller just didn't interest me that much. :embarrassed:

[stonecutter]

Still have mine. I entered the code and play that way sometimes..cause well.... I sorta suck at it, but enjoy it. I bought LoC, and before I opened it I returned it cause it was only 2 player and I didn't want to pay for XBox Live as well as the game so I could get spanked in a bad way online.

I built a set up on casters so I roll it in front of my chair to play, when done roll it back to the corner. This table is also padded on the arms and entirely covered with a camoflage material, looks quite cool...... but some people think I was a bit crazy lol.

[stevec1636]

don't have one yet. one of the guys i work with wants to sell me his for $80.00. and thats for both games, controller all MIB. just have to wait until payday.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Well, I played it, loved it, but got sick of it and sold it, especially after I found out that the 2nd one was online only.

Don't forget, there's always the code to unlock the missions:

Unlock All VT's and Maps in Free Mission Mode
At the title screen, move the tuner to the following positions and keep it there for one second each position.

1-9-7-9-0-9-0-6

The numbers above are the positions, like a clock, except this clock starts on the right where the printed numbers start (i.e. 9 o'clock on a normal clock is 0 in the code. 12 o'clock on a normal clock is 4 in the code, etc.) When you complete the code you will hear a sound effect then you will be able to use all VT's and play any mission on any difficulty in free mission mode.

I mean, some of you that have it sitting in your closet might want to try some more of the latter, more interesting missions that Bargora is talking about.

This is what I did(way back) to get the Code in easier..I had a hard to getting it in until I did this.(Once it's in it's in..You only have to do it once)
I've left the stickers on this controller for such topics....This controller is always out and I play the game from time to time.
(The stickers are from a VCR tape.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v21/Chris1/2005_0414_034130AA.jpg

[squidblatt]

Collecting dust at the moment. I haven't done much more than turn the thing on and get blown up. It's not really the game so much as it is sitting on the couch with my knees up to my chin as I try to work the pedals while hunched over the controller on the coffee table.

I can't really complain about the game itself without playing it more. The only criticism I have so far is that it seems to suffer from the same cheesy characterizations and dialog that almost all videogames suffer from. And not in a fun, tacky way like some titles. For what it costs, I was hoping for more intelligent writing.

[Gemini-Phoenix]

I'm lucky - I can *Merge* the controllers, to get a three tone coloured one!

I can have either:

Green & Red - Blue & Red - Green & Red

or

Blue & Red - Green & Red - Blue & Red


The latter combination is my favourite. Alternatively, I can connect them normally... But where's the fun in that???

(Ok, can't seem to attach pics for some reason - Otherwise, i'd show you all!)

[bargora]

Collecting dust at the moment. I haven't done much more than turn the thing on and get blown up. It's not really the game so much as it is sitting on the couch with my knees up to my chin as I try to work the pedals while hunched over the controller on the coffee table.
Yeah, you pretty much have to either rest the controller across the arms of a dining-room type chair or else use something like a card table to rest the controller if you want to play the game. Putting it on the coffee table sounds like a recipe for pain.


I can't really complain about the game itself without playing it more. The only criticism I have so far is that it seems to suffer from the same cheesy characterizations and dialog that almost all videogames suffer from. And not in a fun, tacky way like some titles. For what it costs, I was hoping for more intelligent writing.
Well, I'm afraid that you bought the wrong title if you were looking for in-depth story and intelligent writing. It seems that the emphasis was a bit more on the "boom boom". But I can't believe that you don't find "Cardboard Sarge" to be tacky and fun! His post-failed-mission wisdom is absolutely inspirational!