Multiplayer BattleTech 3025 (lost build of cancelled PC massively multiplayer online role-playing game; 2001)

Logo for BattleTech 3025.

Status: Partially Found

Multiplayer BattleTech 3025 was a planned MMORPG for PC. It was developed by Kesmai and was going to be published by E.A. The game would allow players to choose mechs from the expansive BattleTech universe.

Development

Kesmai originally developed a similar BattleTech game titled Multiplayer BattleTech: Solaris. This version was made available through AOL in 1996. The Solaris entry into the series was well received, but by the late 1990s, players began to see the game starting to age. In 1999 Kesmai was acquired by E.A. and had announced that a new Multiplayer BattleTech game was in development. Titled Multiplayer BattleTech 3025, E.A. opted to rebuild the game from the ground up instead of using pre-existing assets from Solaris. This caused Multiplayer BattleTech 3025 to miss deadline after deadline. Eventually, in early 2001 a beta of the game was made public on E.A.'s website. The beta for BattleTech 3025 received generally negative reviews, with websites like Gamepressure giving it a 2.3/10. In December of 2001, E.A. closed the beta for BattleTech 3025. While no official reasoning was given, many cite the low review scores as a possible factor. E.A. also shutdown Kesmai in October of 2001.

Gameplay

BattleTech 3025 ran like most MMOGs for the time. Players would have to hook up to a server and choose between one of the five factions from the BattleTech lore. Those five factions being Davion, Liao, Kurita, Steiner, and Marik. After choosing a faction, players would be able to engage in private matches with four-on-four battle. In four-on-four matches after a battle was concluded it would result in a faction gaining and losing territory until one was left standing.

Availability

Though Battletech 3025 is not currently available to the public in any capacity, a YouTube user named Andrew Hassell, also known as razorwing2137, posted a video on January 27, 2024 titled "Multiplayer Battletech 3025 - Emulated." In the video, Hassell launches and plays an emulated build of the game, which was previously completely unplayable. The video's description reads:

This was the first multiplayer game I played back in the days of Windows 98 and 56K modems. Although it was in beta for a short time before being shutdown, this game was the whole reason I became a programmer so that I could re-create the server and make it playable once again.

I spent thousands of hours and pounds sterling to re-create the server. I think its money well spent for a piece of nostalgia. The multiplayer gameplay still requires quite allot of work to complete to make it fully playable also due to how Windows/DirectX is now handled, there is clipping between the planets and the interface, maybe this can be fixed somehow.

Due to illness, I am no longer able to continue with the project so I am posting my current progress. I hope you all enjoy the nostalgia as much as I do :)

At the time of this entry's writing, razorwing2137's video has less than 300 views, but efforts are being made to contact the creator and continue his work in hopes of further preservation.

Gallery

A promotional video for Multiplayer BattleTech 3025 featured on EA's website.

Andrew Perrow/razorwing2137's Multiplayer BattleTech 3025 emulation.

External Links

• Development history for BattleTech 3025. Retrieved 28 Dec' 17
• IGN information page about BattleTech 3025. Retrieved 28 Dec' 17
• IGN article about the details for BattleTech 3025. Retrieved 28 Dec' 17
• Gamepressure page about BattleTech 3025. Retrieved 28 Dec' 17
• Original upload of Multiplayer Battletech 3025 - Emulated. Retrieved 31 Jul' 24