

        well, here it is. we also have a mailing list, for info on
that send email to btech-request@world.std.com; and now without
further ado...


BattleTech VR FAQ
by Norman "Beaver-1" Choe and Charlotte "Freya" Henkle

Version 3.0 as of 2.12.95

Comments to n-choe@uchicago.edu, c-henkle@uchicago.edu

        NOTE: Neither Norman Choe nor Charlotte Henkle are official
spokes-people for the firms FASA, Inc., Virtual World Entertainment,
Inc., nor for the University of Chicago. Or anyone else you can name.
        This work is freely distributable as long as it is kept
intact. However, it is NOT in the public domain. Copyright 1995
Norman Choe and Charlotte Henkle. All rights reserved.
        Virtual World, Virtual Geographic League, Red Planet are
trademarks of Virtual World Entertainment, Inc. BattleTech is a
registered trademark of the FASA Corporation.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

**Table of Contents**

Disclaimer
Glossary
Index
Basic Information
Strategy and Tactics
Contacting others
Appendices:
        A. Mech list
        B. More tips, and heat setups
        C. FAQ Version History

---------------------------------------------------------------------


**Glossary of Terms**

aka             "also known as"
BattleTech      May refer to either the RPG or to the VR game.
                aka btech
BattleMech      refers to the vehicles used. aka mech
BTC             BattleTech Center
RPG             Role Playing Game; uses dice and such to
                simulate combat.
Virtual Reality a simulated environment in which a persons actions
                may affect the environment around him. aka VR
Macintosh       A kind of computer from Apple Computer Inc. aka mac
FASA            makers of the BattleTech RPG
VWC, VWS        Virtual World Center, Virtual World Site
VWE             Virtual World Entertainment, Inc.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

**Index**

The Basics:

  1. What is BattleTech? (RPG)
  2. What is BattleTech (VR)
  3. Who started BattleTech VR?
  4. Where can I play BattleTech?
  5. How much does it cost and how long does it last?
  6. What does a pod look like? How does it work?
  7. What kind of 'mechs do they have?
  7. What happens when I first go to a BattleTech Center?
  8. What's Red Planet?
  9. Won't I get slaughtered? I've only played xx times!
  10. What is splash damage?  What is collision damage?
  11  What's heat?
  12. How do I avoid heat problems? What do I do?
  13. What happens when I die?
  14. How do I KILL others?
  15. What if I don't want to fire all my weapons at once?
  16. What's the best mech?
  17. Can I play teams?
  18. What are the pedals for?
  19. What are the different conditions?
  20. How do I see at night or in fog?
  21. OK, so what are all the OTHER buttons on the panel for?
  22. What kind of computer does VWE use?

Tactics and Suggestions:

  1. How can I get better?
  2. I've heard people talk about spinning. What is that?
  3. How do I set up the....
  4. What about indirect fire?  How does that work?

Contacts:

  1. Wow this is cool, how do I start my own?
  2. How do I contact VWE online?
  3. How do I contact FASA?
  4. Are there any World Wide Web sites?
  5. Is there an online-service with info?
  6. What about a mailing list?
  7. What about an FTP site?

Appendix A: Mech specifics and heat setups
Appendix B: Optimum Heat Setups
Appendix C: FAQ version history

---------------------------------------------------------------------


Basics:

1. What is BattleTech? (RPG)
        BattleTech is a RPG system put forth by FASA Corp. of
Chicago. Its storyline involves futuristic battles fought in giant
walking tanks referred to as "BattleMechs", or "mechs" for short.
BattleTech is really too complicated to discuss fully here, but it
is the basis for the btech vr game.

2. What is BattleTech (VR)
        At a number of sites around the US and Japan at present,
there are places where you can sit in a cockpit and experience a
virtual-reality simulation based on the BattleTech board game against
other players. There are never any computer-generated opponents- for
this reason, each battle has its own flavor, and no two games are
ever the same.

3. Who started BattleTech VR?
        FASA opened the first BattleTech Center in Chicago near its
corporate headquarters in 1990. Since then, a new company, Virtual
World Entertainment, Inc. has been running the centers, including the
original BattleTech Center. The two big names behind VWE are Jordan
Weisman and Ross Babcock.

4. Where can I play BattleTech?
        From here on, all mention of BattleTech is the VR game. In
addition to the original Chicago site there are (or soon will be)
centers in the US, Japan and Australia.

Thanks to "kim.exe" for the Japanese info.

Working sites:

Chicago, IL (16)        Tokyo, JP
Dallas, TX  (24)                Dr. Jeekhan's (16)
Houston, TX (8)                 Rongo Rongo (16)
San Diego, CA (24)              Nishi-OgiKugo (8)
Walnut Creek, CA (24)           Akihabara (8)
Las Vegas, NV  (32)     Osaka (8)               
Pasadena, CA (24)       Miyazaki (8)    


Proposed sites:

Atlanta, GA             London, GB
Philadelphia, PA        Sydney, AU
Costa Mesa, CA          Kyoto, JP
Denver, CO              Montreal, CN
Indianapolis, IN


Notes:
        1.There was a Boston-area site slated for May 95 but it has
        been postponed indefinitely at this time.
        2. Houston's status as a BattleTech Outpost is unclear at
        this time.
        3. As with all computer-related projects, things may be
        behind schedule, or may be delayed.

US site address:
        
        Chicago                                 Walnut Creek
North Pier Festival Market              1375 N. Main St.
435 E. Illinois St. #334                Walnut Creek, CA  94596
Chicago, IL  60611                      (510) 988-0700
(312) 836-5977

        San Diego                               Dallas
7510 Hazard Center Dr. #211             9330 N. Central Expressway #105
San Diego, CA  92108                    Dallas, TX  75231
                                        (214) 265-9664

        Las Vegas                               Pasadena
3053 Las Vegas Blvd. So. #11            One Colorado
Las Vegas, NV  89109                    35 Hugus Alley, Suite 200
(702) 369-3583                          Pasadena, CA  91103
                                        (818) 577-9896

        Houston                                 Atlanta
BattleTech Outpost                      Virtual World Outpost
730 Memorial City Shopping Ctr.         2215 Dave & Busters Dr.
Houston, TX  77024                      Marietta, GA  30067
(713) 827-0381                          (404) 951-5554



5. How much does it cost and how long does it last?
        At US sites except for Houston, the costs are structured as
follows:
        Monday-Friday 11am-5pm $7
        Monday-Thursday 5pm-11pm $8
        Fri 5pm-1am, Sat 11am-1am, Sunday 11am-11pm $9
        One-time membership processing fee $1

        This is for a ten-minute training session including watching
a videotape, ten-minute game, and a five-minute mission review. Again,
in Houston, game length and cost may differ. See blurb above.

6. What does a pod look like? How does it work?
        There are currently two different styles of pods being used
at VWE sites:  2.5 and 3.0.  Both the 2.5 and 3.0 pods are
roughly eight feet long and five feet tall. The main visible difference
is that the 2.5 contain a swivel seat with a sliding adjuster, whereas
in the 3.0's the seat only slides forward and back. In both cockpits,
the throttle control is on the left arm rest of the seat and a joystick
is on the right hand arm rest.
There are two screens, mounted one above the other.  The top screen
is about 19" and is the main display screen, which displays the
"world" as seen right out the front of the BattleMech.  The bottom
screen is 13" and is referred to as the secondary display screen,
showing a radar screen and damage indicators. The cockpit also has
around 100 buttons and switches of various kinds. In two banks on
either side of the cockpit are the weapon controls. There are 24 weapon
controls, which determine which of the three joystick mounted triggers
fires which weapons.  Each LED weapon display indicates the ready state
of each weapon, and, in the case of expendable weapons, how many rounds
remain.
        The joystick controls the direction of the mech as well as the
elevation of the crosshairs. The throttle controls the forward speed
of the mech, and has a toggle for reverse.
        Sometime in early 1995, new pods and software, the 4.0 system. will
be released. However, no details about this have been released yet.

7.What kind of 'mechs do they have?
        There are currently 6 different kinds of 'mechs availible: 
Lokis,Thors, Madcats, Vultures, Avatars, and Sunders.  Lokis, Thors
and Sunders are the humanoid-shaped mechs. Vultures, Madcats and Avatars
are more, well, buglike or birdlike. Each of the six main body types has
a number of variants with differing speeds, armaments, armor and heat
sinks.

8. What happens when I first go to a BattleTech Center?
        You step right up to the front counter, and tell them you
want to play either BattleTech or Red Planet. They'll ask for a couple
pieces of information and give you a plastic card in a "Passport" so
that you may identify yourself the next time you go. You'll pay (see
above) and be given a mission number. When your mission is called, go
to the "Ready Area".

9. What's Red Planet?
        Red Planet is a Martian Death Race in VTV's (vectored thrust
vehicles) aka hovercraft through the mining canals of Mars. The story is
that the Colossal Mining Corporation has virtually enslaved the workers
there, who entertain themselves with these illegal races. We [Charlotte
and Norman] like Red Planet, but it is quite different from BattleTech.
We suggest you try it sometime. The same pods are used, though the
controls act differently, of course.

10. Won't I get slaughtered? I've only played xx times!
        Games are booked and divided by how much experience players
have. Training games are for those with five games and under. Standard
games are for those with between six and twenty-five games. Veteran
games have those with over twenty five games.  All Standard and Vet
level games are splash damage and collision damage mandatory (see below).
There are also Master level games in which heat is mandatory.  Any Vet
may book  his or her games as "master" level, and we recommend it. Note
that if you have 26 games, you may play someone with 260 or even 2600
games.

11.  What is splash damage?  What is collision damage?
        Once you become a standard player (6 games and above), splash
and collision damage will become mandatory.  Unlike heat (see below),
splash and collision are global settings, so the affect all players in
a game (hence they cannot just be put on one person, unlike heat or
return). You also cannot have one without the other. When splash is on,
your 'mech will be affected by the explosions around it-so that if you
blow up another 'mech near you, you will take damage, and you will probably
die.   When collision damage is on, any time your 'mech collides with
something on the battlefield (another mech, a rock, a tower), you will
take internal damage. This damage might affect your top speed, your
turning rate, your ability to dissipate heat--the actual affect is
random. However, the damage is cumulative, so the more things you hit,
the more damaged you will become.

12. What's heat?
        As in the BattleTech RPG, to inject reality into the game,
the heat given off by weapons may have an effect on the workings of
your mech. Mechs have a certain number of heat sinks, which dissipate
a certain amount of heat. Note that this is only polled every ten seconds
or perhaps five. If you cause the mech to heat up more than it can
dissipate, excess heat points are indicated on a bar graph to one side
of the cockpit. [The side depends on which version of the pods you have.
left for 2.0 and so far right for all others]. Too much excess heat
leads to top speed of the mech beingreduced, as well as the electronics
being affected. Your radar and crosshairs may stop working if you run
too hot. In addition, expendable munitions may explode. The mech may
even shut down. Heat is an option for all games except for Master-level
and for special events such as leagues, master trials and free-for-alls.
During those it is mandatory.

13. How do I avoid heat problems? What do I do?
        Well, certain mechs are easier to run cool than others. These
may or may not fit your playing style though. Once you start heating up,
you should consciously temper your firing weapons which will build up
heat. Machine Guns, for example, do not cause any heat to build up, so
use those instead if you have them. If you heat up to the point where
munitions may explode, you will hear a rhythmic beeping sound. Look at
your weapons controls. Press the three flashing buttons all at once to
dump your ammunition. If you hear a screeching noise, that is the
shutdown warning. You turn to the side opposite from the heat-scale and
punch in the code shown there to avoid shutting down your mech. If you
do shut down, you're a pretty good target. If you fail to dump your
ammunition, you will most likely explode.

14. What happens when I die?
        In most games, you will see the view from your pod as it ejects
from the pile of burning slag you left behind. The doors will close and
open again, and you'll be back where you started, translocated into a
fresh mech ready to avenge yourself. In most special events, "no-return"
is set. Once you die, you wait until the mission is over.

15 How do I KILL others?
        Use the joystick control to move the crosshairs over your
intended target. You do not need to "lead" the target. Pull the trigger
only when the enemy's name appears below the crosshairs. When you start
out, all your weapons will be on the main trigger, operated by your index
finger. If you aim for the dark spots on the mech, you will get faster
kills, since dark areas indicate damage. Keeping a steady hand is a big
help.  If your targetting is good, aim for the hips on the 'mechs. They
are the weakest armored spots.

16. What if I don't want to fire all my weapons at once?
        If you look at the joystick, you will notice that there are
three triggers. One for the index finger and two top-mounted ones.
There are three corresponding buttons under each weapons display. When
you start, the red buttons are all lit, indicating that the red trigger
(index finger) will fire all weapons. The other two buttons correspond
to the two thumb triggers. You would want to conserve weapons for a
couple of reasons. First, each weapon has a maximum range beyond which
firing is not useful. Second, you might want to save the expendable
weapons until you have a sure shot. Third, each weapon has a reload time,
and if you fire all your weapons at once, you may miss an even better
opportunity just seconds later while your weapon recharges. And of
course, when you play with heat, you want to watch out for that as well.

17. What's the best mech?
        Opinions vary on this one.  Right now, it seems that the Loki
2 and the Avatar prime are the strongest mechs out there. More playing
really needs to be done with the new 'mechs and software (version
13.1.X by the internal numbering) though, before a new "ruling class"
can emerge.

18. Can I play teams?
        Beginning games are free-for-alls since most beginners do not
have enough of the skills of simply moving and firing down well enough
to warrant further complications. As you get better, though, you may
play team games. Tell the operator, "technician" on duty that you would
like to play a team game. If you play a team game, you will notice that
some mechs will appear green and some will be brown on the main screen.
Also, each team will have a different color on the radar screen.
Shoot enemies, not friends.
        Team games are probably the most fun games to play, and they will
test your skills.

19. What are the pedals for?
        You may activate the pedals by flipping the left-most rocker
switch above your head. This frees the crosshairs from steering the mech,
and allows the crosshairs to float freely. You may run one direction and
shoot at anything on the screen. However, you are still constrained
by the screen and basically shoot what's in front of you. If you switch
on the left-most and then the 2nd from the left, "torso-twist" mode is
activated. In this mode, the crosshairs remain centered on your main
screen. The top half of your mech is controlled by the joystick while
the bottom half is controlled by the pedals.

20. What are the different conditions?
        In BattleTech, there are three variables lumped together and
called "playing conditions". These are map, visibility, and time. In
reverse order: Time is a choice of three: daytime, twilight and nighttime.
Visibility may vary from Clear (1000m visibility), Light Fog (850m),
Heavy Fog (500m) to Peasoup (100m). Map is the various arrangements
of buildings and natural features into which your mech is placed. My
personal favorite is Badlands.

21. How do I see at night or in fog?
        If you switch the THIRD rocker from the left (above your
head), Infra-Red viewing mode is activated. Then everything around you
is in shades of green. Damaged areas of mechs appear whiter "glowing"
with heat from exposed armor. In the new software revision, when your
weapons fire your mech may lose vision for a few seconds. This tends
to discourage IR use, it seems.

22. OK, so what are all the OTHER buttons on the panel for?
        Too numerous to detail here, but they are mostly for
adjusting radar range and instrument display. You may buy an Operations
Manual at your local BattleTech Center (aka "Virtual World Center") for
specifics.

23. What kind of computer does VWE use?
        The reservations systems and information touch screens are
Apple Macintoshes. The boards actually inside the pods are custom built
at VWE, though somewhere deep inside there is a descendant of an
Amiga. However, it's most accurate to say that it is a custom board
inside. To be precise, it's supposed to be perhaps two and a half
computers inside each pod.


Tactics and Suggestions:

1.How can I get better?
        Practice, practice, practice. But don't just take the same
old mechs time and time again. Challenge yourself. And don't just beat
on the same old people. Play people who are better than you. Employees
in general are pretty good. And if you can't, make challenges for
yourself-- take different mechs in different conditions. Talk to the
vets at the centers, to the employees; read the Journals of the VGL,
join the mailing list (see below), and in general, talk to other
pilots.


2.I've heard people talk about spinning. What is that?
        First, let's go over the weapons. There are three sorts. Beam
weapons, also called "energy weapons", missiles (both long and short
range) and projectile-weapons. Beam and Projectile are both classified
as "direct fire", whereas missile damage used to be called "splash
damage". With the new software revision, missile damage does hit the
particular part of the mech. 1/4 of the damage is still spread away from
the actual part hit, though. Direct-fire weapons especially target
specific portions of the enemy mech. Spinning a mech means that a certain
amount of damage is applied to the appropriate body part. If you apply
25 points of damage to a leg, outer torso or arm, the mech will spin.
Because there is less leverage in hitting the inner torso, 35 points of
direct-fire damage is required to spin a mech. Hitting the center of a
mech will not cause it to spin. And the more damage you do, the further
it will spin. Splash from explosions may also cause you to spin.

3.How do I set up the....
        There is a sheet available from the mailing list which tells
you our recommendations for setting up weapons on various mechs. Your
mileage may vary. Thanks to Bob "Nishlia" Tosic of the Chicago site for
the original one. Note: This is being re-worked for the new software
upgrades.

4. What about indirect fire?  How does that work?
        Indirect Fire Function (or IFF), allows one person to be a
"spotter" or "sender" for a team, so that all missiles fired by that
team will hit one target.
        IFF control is activated by pushing the number 5 button on the
panel next to the secondary screen. If you push the number one blue
button, you will be the sender (of information).  To designate another
teammate as the sender, push the number 3 button.
        If you are receiving information, normal target locks will
be red, and IFF target locks will be blue. IFF, when done well, can be
devastating in team play.

Contacts:
        
1. Wow this is cool, how do I start my own?
        VWE does NOT franchise within the United States. It would also
be quite expensive to start, anyhow. If you are a legitimate foreign
potential licensee, however, contact the company directly at the address
below.
        Taken from "Virtual Reality Special Report, Summer 1994":
        
        Virtual World. A fully themed, retail VR entertainment
        center. Virtual World uses pod-based simulators networked
        in groups of eight. Two software packages are available:
        BattleTech, a futuristic military game wherein players pilot
        their robot-like tank and battle each other in an environment
        with variable terrain, and Red Planet, which puts players in
        futuristic hovercraft races through the mining canals of Mars.
        Both packages offer completing freedom and interaction to
        all players.
                Price: contact vendor.
                        Virtual World Entertainment
                        4444 Lakeside Dr., #320
                        Burbank, CA 91505
                        USA
                        818.973.4200 (voice)
                        818.557.8372 (fax)

2. How do I contact VWE online?
        VWE is now connected to the Internet. They have a web site
(see below) and contacts:
        Dave "Pawn" Gilison is the Editor of the free newsletter, known as
"The Journals of the VGL". daveg@virtualworld.com, vwedave@earthlink.net
and vwedave@aol.com.
        K.T. Wiegman is the online services administrator.
ktw@virtualworld.com, vwekt@aol.com and 75213.3125@compuserve.com
(75213,3125 from within CompuServe).

3. How do I contact FASA?
        Although FASA is not directly related, they may still deserve
some mention. Without FASA there might be no BattleTech, maybe.

        FASATOM@AOL.COM (Tom Dowd)
        FASAMIKE@AOL.COM (Mike Mulvihill)
        FASA.SUPPORT@GENIE.GEIS.COM (Tom Dowd)
        FASA@GENIE.GEIS.COM (Mike Mulvihill)

                FASA Corporation
                1100 West Cermak, Suite B305
                Chicago, IL 60608

4.Are there any World Wide Web sites?

Virtual World Entertainment--
http://www.virtualworld.com/
webmaster@virtualworld.com
(the official site)

The Company Store--
http://e4tech1.ece.drexel.edu/TCS/TCS.html
flynnmj@dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu
(lots of btech info)

The BattleTech World Wide Web Node--
http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~morrisa/btech.cgi
morrisa@cs.ualberta.ca
(lots of btech info)

Freya's Btech-VR-A-Rama
http://http.bsd.uchicago.edu/~c-henkle/
freya@uchicago.edu
(btech FAQ, plus lots of mechs, pictures,  etc,,,)

The Gotham Globe--
http://aleph0.clarku.edu/~grace/btech/btech.html
rmohns@black.clarku.edu
(has the VR FAQ in HTML form)

Rec.games.mecha archives--
http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~taylorjb/rgma/rgma.htm
taylorjb@vuse.vanderbilt.edu
(archives for the Usenet newsgroup)

An Australian site--
http://www.st.nepean.uws.edu.au/~rocky/btech.html
rocky@arthur.st.nepean.uws.edu.au (Rocqueforte OLeary)
(Many pictures, Mech/Vehicle lists, MechWarrior RPG)

5.Is there an online-service with info?
Compuserve has a VWE forum in the Virtual Reality section. Try there.
I'm not a regular CIS user myself, but that's the official forum.
Type "GO VIDGAME" and select forum 17, "Virtual World". I'm actually
not sure if this is still up.

6. What about a mailing list?
        Charlotte Henkle (c-henkle@uchicago.edu) and Norman Choe
(n-choe@uchicago.edu) maintain the list. For information, send email to
btech-request@world.std.com, and an automated-reply will be sent to you.
If you feel the need to speak to a human, "btech-approval@world.std.com"
will contact the list-owner. This FAQ is available by sending email to
"majordomo@world.std.com" with the words "info btech" in the BODY of
the message.

7. What about an FTP site?
        Try ftp.csua.berkeley.edu . It's supposed to be the
BattleTech ftp site. There's lots of stuff there. You may find people
referring to it as "soda.berkeley.edu" which was its old name, I believe.
        There's a couple of things available from Norman and
Charlotte, in the URL: <ftp://ftp.xensei.com/pub/users/normanc/btech/>.
This FAQ should be in there, for a start :).

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix A: Mech specifics and heat setups
Appendix B: Optimum Heat Setups
        Note: These Appendices have been removed from this version of
the FAQ while VWE finalizes the values for the newest software
revision.

Appendix C: FAQ Version History

        3.0  Added new info about new software, added index,
        made corrections
        
        2.2.1 updated info on Japanese sites from KIM.EXE
        
        2.2. changes from VWE make it necessary to remove
        appendices until they figure out what the final stats for the
        new mechs are. Added a couple of references to the new mechs
        (Sunder and Avatar), ftp sites, info on cockpit versions, faq
        history. Updated the sites listing (no Boston, waaah!).
        Formatting things here and there.

        2.x various changes for World-Wide Web sites, email
        addresses, etc. 2.0 marked the first version of the FAQ
        as a list of questions and answers vs. a single long blurb.

        1.x initial version, taken from a long email i sent to some
        of my friends. if you got the original, congratulations!


This marks the end of the FAQ.


-- 
N.W. Choe                               n-choe@uchicago.edu
BattleTech VR Mailing List Co-Admin.    try "btech-request@world.std.com"
Not an official spokesman for VWE or the U of Chicago, among others.
        "All you can do right now is think about the stars!"

