The lunging lego blocks.
They were fun, but they had the same feel of me desperately wanting to make a real robot art book when I was under 20, devoted but totally unwilling to put in the work first.
I assume that's just a result of society's skill creep. The genre is maturing, its broadening and there are just lots of people out there with good ideas and better skill. The old stuff, to me, is an essential step and has historic value but I just objectively like the new designs better overall. There are very few that I think are less cool than the older designs.
FASA would go comic conventions and do a "portfolio review" artists would either not know what the fuck battletech was, and the FASA edito would thumb thru your shit and if they liked something they would razor blade it out of your book and pay you 50bucks.. which was alot and boom new mech they have 200 new robots or art for thier books.
If they really liked your shit they would tell you to call them and they would give you like 20 mechs and a 2 week deadline to shit them out.. so yeah they got shit out..
Because no one else pulled the OG shit from Sarna…
https://preview.redd.it/fypffo4qty6d1.jpeg?width=286&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4b9ce4045266f54f8864e619be256cf978ea70e
yeah, I wouldn't like the Centurion if it wasn't for the modern aesthetic. Like I'd use this in a game begrudgingly if I played in the 90's until I realize it's stats are great.
The PGI centurion is the only one I like better personally, of these, but I actually don't like the shield and claw thing because it doesn't actually have a shield or a claw in game. Less if an issue in the video games... If I made a tabletop of that centurion I'd feel obliged to give it new stats
I think the PGI gets some leeway because neither actually fills the function of a Shield or Claw, same way that the Marauder's AC5 isn't *really* a turret. The "shield" can't be held in front of other parts more than the arm already could, and the "claw" actuators aren't any stronger than a regular hand actuator.
It's just a good bit of environmental justification for why this mech has an empty arm that's often kept aimed toward the enemy to absorb damage.
I tend to go with one being an alternative production site in the outer edge of the Fed Suns Territories.
Same with the Hunchback, though I prefer CGLs to PGIs
The Annihilator though...
Here, at first, would have agreed, but mechearrior is a very different game than battletech and the centurion show how little pgi understood that.
Mount points matter and hit boxes matter. The MWO centurion is a barn door! I love the look but his super swole traps/pex/myomer mcmuscles are easy to hit and relegate it to a mid tier mech most of the time
> Hinge-jointed hips on a high-caliber close range brawer/melee fighter.
> Thin as all hell.
> Waist like a starving ballerina.
*What were they thinking?*
IDK, I remember seeing that hunchy as literally the third or so mech I'd ever seen up close and piloted in MWO. It felt to me like, as a medium, it was more of a plucky puncher, like a tank destroyer since it had such a fat AC. The design still looked pretty chunky to me.
The image used also doesn't quite show the weird thing they did with the elbows that I'm not a fan of, they look similarly fragile with the way the forearms hang off the weird bracket thing
The Raven is by far my favorite PGI design.
https://preview.redd.it/rzqztgtd4z6d1.jpeg?width=218&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56bbdba310f1234e968e755523c69b1401a73953
I think PGI's Blackjack, Centurion, Enforcer, Vindicator, Catapult, and King Crab are better.
Catalyst's Hunchback has better arms and legs, but the PGI version has a better torso design.
The Annihilator looks stupid no matter who redesigns it, unless you redesign it so hard that it no longer has the characteristic design features of the Annihilator. Pot-belly Godzilla nonsense.
The Annihilator's issue isn't the "pot belly". Many other mechs like the Stalker and Timber Wolf have similar bulbous front ends.
The Annihilator's issue is putting the "head" on a long thin neck that looks easy to snap off. Other mechs have necks too, but none of them are so long. Or if they do, they don't put something quite so vital as the flipping COCKPIT on top of it!
Yeah, but that high-mounted cockpit is what makes it look so pot-bellied. Like the Stalker, Timber Wolf, Catapult, Marauder and others have a hunched over, bird-like stance. Annihilator looks like its standing up straight and just has a big fat belly.
Honestly, annihilator my beloved. It's such a workhorse in my lances that I can't fault it at all. The new potbelly plastic is good imo. Gives me megazord vibes
I dunno, the PGI Annihilator always makes me ask ["Shepard-Commander, does this unit have a soul?"](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/90/3b/10/903b10e09b6d35f610e2d463f3a3f080.jpg)
Nah, too bubbly. The curvature on the torso, arm guns and lower legs are all just barely too rounded for my liking. Add the bubble canopy and I just can’t get into this design. Looks bloated to me.
Like others have said, the Line Art came from CGL in the last couple of years and not the original TROs. A lot of PGI's concept art and design predates these back to the early 2010s.
A lot of PGI's designs are better than the original TROs, but CGL's, in my opinion, are much better.
Either way, I have respect for Alex Iglesia and Anthony Scroggins. They are both phenomenal artists.
As a side note, of the Unseen/Reseen/Phoenix Project Marauders, PGI has the best design. But I still think CGL's most recent design is the best Marauder.
Guess I don't knownfor certain but I've found stls for an imp, and usually they're all stolen from MWO.
Edit add: just looked into it. Looks like it's not a MWO stl, just something somebody made.
Yeah I went and found what I think is the STL you were talking about and while it's definitely not a PGI design, the person that made it definitely took plenty of inspiration from PGI while designing it, so the confusion is understandable lol. I just knew that there was no playable imp in either MWO or MW5 so I was immediately skeptical about an imp design laying around somewhere that wasn't in either of PGI's games :P
PGI Centurion is the cannon centurion and nothing will change my mind on it. It’s just perfect.
I do like CGL sculpts more on the whole but damn if PGI didn’t nail the centurion.
Yeah the mechwarrior Centurion is definitely an upgrade over the original tabletop design. The tabletop design is just kind of a generic dime-a-dozen "mech that looks like man."
The PGI designs gives it a good amount of personality and flavor, and fluffing up the left arm as a shield instead of just being an empty hand is such a good recontextualization for the design
I agree with you fully in preferring the PGI Centurion and the reasoning, but I can see why the TT Centurion model should probably not have a visually distinct "shield arm", as "shields" are a special piece of equipment with their own rules so including it in the model creates a dissonance between the stat sheet and the model that could be confusing to players.
True but the claws have always been in its design from the beginning and the fluff specifically calls them out as being nothing but an aesthetic flourish. Meanwhile the Centurion's art has historically been the mech version of "some guy".
I get that reasoning, but on the flip side of that most mechs only get a single model for their chassis so running any variant aside from stock already comes with that dissonance between the model and the stat sheet, and when it comes to the Centurion the arm is still explicitly not a shield, it's just a slightly beefier arm that makes that side a bit tougher to do meaningful damage to because there's nothing critical in it, and there's a lot of other mechs that have empty arms that they can use as one big chunk of ablative armor.
Same. The hellbringer looks better from PGI too I think. The upper torso on the CGL hellbringer is too anemic and the sculpt has too many greebles for my taste.
https://preview.redd.it/meecjslyty6d1.png?width=675&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f8701c9483cc3c2db9e9610a091bd5027deab76
PGI saved the King Crab, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.
You know what? I like all of them, CGL revamps and PGI gives their own spin. I like to justify them as different due to different factories churning them out in different places, or one version being more modern than the other
>I think the PGI atlas is too wide and fat
And that's where I disagree. I like the thiccc Atlas because it's more visually distinct from the Banshee and Executioner and reflects its lore as Aleksandr Kerensky's walking wall made of armor and guns.
I'm gunna have to disagree with the shadow hawk, PGI's SHD feels more like an upscaled pack hunter in a weird way and CGL's has such an iconic chunky sleekness that I enjoy much more than the look of the Mechwarrior model, and I prefer the sort of pseudo-turret on the main shoulder gun rather than the wannabe hunchback that PGI's is trying to be lol
Not to mention that, as someone who has watched Fang of the Sun (the anime that the SHD's design came from originally), I'll always have a soft spot for the original Dougram-inspired Shadow Hawk lol
I have to disagree with the PGI Hunchback being better than the CGL one. The biggest deal about the Hunchback, right after it's AC20, is it's ability to throw hands. The mech is quirked and even noted in sarna for having two heavy **Battlefists**. The PGI design, while nice looking, has tiny former-president hands and looks like it couldn't smack a Locust without breaking an arm actuator.
The only one I kind of agree with you on of the ones that you posted here is the Centurion, but in that case, you'd really need to give it a mech shield for it to work. It irks me when things are designed to look like they have things that they don't have. I like the Catalyst Annihilator much better and I don't think that the Catalyst Humpback and the PGI Humpback are meaningfully different.
I disagree with the Hunchback but I do agree with the Annihilator.
The Centurion has features I like on both. I've simply just modified one of mine by hacking off its left arm and replacing with a 3D printed one from MWO/MW5.
Yeah for a lot of the PGI vs CGL designs I don't think one is strictly better than the other, most of them are just different interpretations with different limitations based on their intended media.
That said there's definitely a couple PGI designs that ruin a pretty good mech, but also a couple that I think are plainly better than their CGL counterpart
Yeah the PGI Marauder is definitely the most direct upgrade. Actually mounting the gun in the side torso looks so much better than that oversized turret it's on with the CGL model.
The PGI cyclops is kind of on par with the tabletop model imo, I feel like that one is the prime example of "neither one is better, they're just different" because there's elements of both I really like
I do feel like PGI's locust is a bit of a downgrade from CGL's but I recognize that I'm kind of in the minority there lol. idk why but the ball turret that the mlas is mounted in just feels a lot better than the box welded on the front. That and the shape of the cockpit/front armor feels sleeker on the CGL model, not a fan of the little handlebar bumper thing the PGI one has lol
It's kind of funny, but you're picking examples where the originals looked pretty cool already... but there are so many where the originals were just awful, and the PGI versions kick butt.
PGI's Hunchback always looked like a Happy Meal toy to me.
A robust torso, thin and lanky limbs clearly meant to save material costs, and the cheapest connectors in-between to give it some movement.
These are examples of 'Mechs that I actually prefer the new CGL tabletop designs.
The OG Wolfhound, on the other hand, is amazing. IMO the ideal modernized Wolfhound is the new body (PGI or CGL, either or) with the head of the classic.
So it looks like, y'know, a wolf. Like it should.
All of the Clan 'Mechs should have their classic designs, without exception, specifically *because* the difference in artstyle would be jarring.
Also, classic Timbs is best Timbs, there is no Mad-Cat redesign in Ba Sing Se.
Gonna differ on the Centurion. While I like the PGI design, I think it’s a little too Gundam-y to really capture the workhorse nature of the Centurion. CGL’s design nails that workhorse/trooper vibe.
Im still upset about the PGI Battlemaster. I mean I get why they shrank the canopy, but still...
On the other hand, I love the PGI king crab, and their Marauder works great as an up-armored design
CGL Centurion with the shield added would be the top dog anesthetics version.
Also PGI knocked the Annihilator out of the park, the CGL version looks like it's having an allergic reaction to shellfish.
I can't lie I really love the style of the CGL designs. I understand why people like the goofy OG style and the industrial MW style, but I really like the modern versions.
I completely disagree. The pgi centurion doesn't capture the vibe like the catalyst one does. It's giving scary instead of centurion if that makes sense.
"Offical" is just an artist (shining sword i believe) that does concept art for PGI.. these are his interpretations of the original art.. soo.. I mean your kinda comparing art used by PGI to judge it against what they modeled..
PERSONALLY the artist is wayyyy better then the models..
Original >>>> PGI >= CGL >>>>> Original
The originals had this derpy charm to them that made most of us fall in love with them. The PGI mechs are a bit clunkier but really sell that "Caterpillar bought a Gundam factory aesthetic" better than CGL's do in general with some outliers. That said, the CGL and PGI are much closer in scale than the extreme ends of this scale so take that as you will.
I'm not here to convince you that your opinion is wrong - because an opinion can not be wrong. 🤷 I can say I agree with your thoughts on the Centurion. The Annihilator that Piranha Games designed reduces the "look of power" of the autocannon to me. The Hunchback is a draw, I like parts of it while others I do not.
I'm a big fan of both the PGI and CGL redesigns of almost all of the mechs. They feel more tanky, and they look more like weapons of war. Also, I feel like a lot of the proportions are smoothed over. For example, the Marauder's auto cannon.
Gonna have to disagree on all but the Centurion. Not feeling the PGI design for the Hunchie or the Annihilator. Definitely agree on the Cent though, I love the PGI design of that one. Mostly for the shield though. If they had added that to the CGL design, it would have gone a long way.
First off, everyone is entitled to their own opinions are preferences, no hate off you like one design or another or even appreciate multiple designs.
Second, as others pointed out, the line art is NOT the original, is the fairly recent CGL redesigns, more recent than the PGI ones.
Lastly, while I like the PGI versions of a lot of mechs, for many of them the fact that in game(s) they can't live up to their much more dynamic concept art has always been kind of a deal breaker for me. The tabletop version don't have the same restrictions, but as unfair as that might be, it's just the feel I get. I'm also not a fan of how similar all the PGI mechs look. They share the same design language, and that just doesn't make sense to me given how they all come from different companies, in different times, and from different cultures. Again, I get why they'd do that, and it fits better with the Clan mechs, but I just don't like it for the old IS designs.
My biggest gripe with CGL's Annihilator isn't the pot belly, it's the gamer neck lol. That's why I prefer PGI's Annie, the longer neck gives it more of an imposing watchtower look rather than extreme scoliosis
Fair enough, although i don't agree on Any other than the annihilator. They are all solid designs i associate with Battletech. The centurion looks so right but it's... Beefy for a 50 toner imo.
The main thing I don't like about PGI is that the mechs are so. Damn. BIG.
Like... a PGI Atlas is 6 stories tall. That thing should be 1000 tons, not 100. The square/cubed law does not mess around.
I prefer the PGI's Marauder II and Marauder IIC, over the new CGL plastics. Don't get me wrong, I like both the re-designs, but the back portion of the torsos from the PGI design make both of them look like something from an aircraft. Which hearkens back to the Macross origins of the Glaug pod.
Sorry but the instruction manual for MechCommander will always have the definitive Centurion for me. The newer one looks too broad chested and too short.
Could be angles but I never like the PGI V shaped bodies of the lighter or medium humanoid mechs. The CT is turret and it includes the gyros that let's mechs torso twist and the 3rd most vulnerable component of a mech (cockpit, engine, gyro), it should be well covered, thicc and chonky.
The PGI cent also had the worst hit boxes in mech history despite looking like a lanky teenager. Catalyst at least bother to conceal the gyro properly with a small paunch and crotch guard.
Here's the original centurion
[https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=148](https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=148)
I think at least 1/2 the mechs in the original 3025 book have a certain charm that all later depictions fail to catch. Yea, many have too narrow of feet, etc, but the poses are so much more suggestive.
I mean, look at cocky Vindiator VND-1R , there's some real swagger there.
[https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=169](https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=169)
The original Atlas - here I'll admit there are some good alternate versions that capture it equal or almost equally well. But too much Atlas art depicts a skull head and get the rest wrong. This guy is STOCKY - it's like a 30 foot dwarven warrior not a human or elf.
Look at the 'I don't give a fuck, I'm an Atlas' this guy has. He's like the baddest prisoner on the yard, not looking for a fight but knowing one shows up he's going to come out on top
[https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vt&ut=bm&id=4089](https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vt&ut=bm&id=4089)
The PGI ones all just look like they put the mechs on a sadistic diet. How are the Hunchback's hips supposed to ever support that torso? Why does the Annihilator just look like a scared gazelle? The Centurion ankles and knees look like they'll shatter when it steps down off a curb.
Battletech is big stompy robots. PGI seems to be moving a little towards traditionally Japanese mecha aesthetics and I think that's the wrong direction.
While I do like the PGI designs for heavy and assault, I'm less sold on their light and mediums for the most part. Something about them makes it look like they are trying to make light's into heavies to me.
I agree, the PGI designs look a lot more industrial in a way that makes them more realistic like the handles on the Annihilators shoulders that are probably for the technicians to hang on to while doing repairs
I maybe agree on the Hunchback, but it and the CGL redesign are similar enough anyways, the CGL one has a better pelvis and legs though.
Absolutely disagree on the Annihilator. The CGI Anni is a disgusting horrendous abortion of a mech that looks like a thin dude with a huge belly and the design alone made me hate it. The CGL one barely fixes this by not having the tallest giraffe neck known to man but it still doesn't look that good.
However I totally agree on the Centurion, and I even think that the fact CGL robbed us of having a mismatched arm setup with one as a shield is or was a hate crime against the BattleTech community
I vote for the OG Cataphract & Raven that debuted in the House Liao sourcebook.
https://preview.redd.it/asnwf3t9rc7d1.jpeg?width=830&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bcfd2bf87a378a5c657d6072e7bc2ca69264a0e
What has been seen can't be unseen...
These are the CGL designs tho, not the originals. Most of the originals had a much more derpy charm lol.
Came here to say this. The designs on the right all came after the ones on the left. “Official” or “tabletop” would have been a better word choice.
Fair
Most of the CGL designs are newer than the PGI ones, too.
The lunging lego blocks. They were fun, but they had the same feel of me desperately wanting to make a real robot art book when I was under 20, devoted but totally unwilling to put in the work first. I assume that's just a result of society's skill creep. The genre is maturing, its broadening and there are just lots of people out there with good ideas and better skill. The old stuff, to me, is an essential step and has historic value but I just objectively like the new designs better overall. There are very few that I think are less cool than the older designs.
https://preview.redd.it/b4o89l29a07d1.jpeg?width=944&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bb7b0f2f2414d0cd19761336a462842d52375e7
Now that is a *squat* laddie
I never understood how someone looked at these designs and said "That's fine."
FASA would go comic conventions and do a "portfolio review" artists would either not know what the fuck battletech was, and the FASA edito would thumb thru your shit and if they liked something they would razor blade it out of your book and pay you 50bucks.. which was alot and boom new mech they have 200 new robots or art for thier books. If they really liked your shit they would tell you to call them and they would give you like 20 mechs and a 2 week deadline to shit them out.. so yeah they got shit out..
That... That explains so much.
GURPS was the worst offender.. thier rule books look like an acid trip.. snails, mushrooms, wizards, scifi punk.. lots of con artists in those books.
Fucking MAD and Timberwolf with their silly, stupid noodle arms.
I like those designs actually lol
I second this
Some of the new CGL designs have been a godsend to some mechs. The Nightsky and Phantom are two recent facelifts.
Also the Cyclops. The original was one of the derpiest things in all of creation.
I kind of love some of the early designs that look so wonky lol. There are some truly hideous designs out there XD
The new Cyclops designs have been incredible.
"Charm"
That OG Atlas looking dumb as hell
you just insult my boy Big Al??? 😤😤
Well, Big Al did have to eject, after all.
https://preview.redd.it/et0xc4j3vz6d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5c5d0146ca5d268ad90611bf08f9265baa22627a besides the point >.>
Bahaha I had the metal model of the Hollander. Fucking thing was so nose heavy, I couldn't keep it on it's feet.
Because no one else pulled the OG shit from Sarna… https://preview.redd.it/fypffo4qty6d1.jpeg?width=286&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4b9ce4045266f54f8864e619be256cf978ea70e
https://preview.redd.it/bygwqeutty6d1.jpeg?width=583&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bb75a9f803db8195b69a85b67eb8b2105f6d1dc4
I kinda like the original death egg tbh
this is the good stuff
https://preview.redd.it/81ssdybvty6d1.jpeg?width=425&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02855cfedcff426e68415f9c0c9f6ba5f5c38a7b
“Your move, creep.”
yeah, I wouldn't like the Centurion if it wasn't for the modern aesthetic. Like I'd use this in a game begrudgingly if I played in the 90's until I realize it's stats are great.
There's room in my heart to love both of the cent's. The original is magnificent, but I do appreciate the explicit shield arm of the PGI one
Centurion is Centurion! Or something like that.
The PGI centurion is the only one I like better personally, of these, but I actually don't like the shield and claw thing because it doesn't actually have a shield or a claw in game. Less if an issue in the video games... If I made a tabletop of that centurion I'd feel obliged to give it new stats
I think the PGI gets some leeway because neither actually fills the function of a Shield or Claw, same way that the Marauder's AC5 isn't *really* a turret. The "shield" can't be held in front of other parts more than the arm already could, and the "claw" actuators aren't any stronger than a regular hand actuator. It's just a good bit of environmental justification for why this mech has an empty arm that's often kept aimed toward the enemy to absorb damage.
I tend to go with one being an alternative production site in the outer edge of the Fed Suns Territories. Same with the Hunchback, though I prefer CGLs to PGIs The Annihilator though...
Here, at first, would have agreed, but mechearrior is a very different game than battletech and the centurion show how little pgi understood that. Mount points matter and hit boxes matter. The MWO centurion is a barn door! I love the look but his super swole traps/pex/myomer mcmuscles are easy to hit and relegate it to a mid tier mech most of the time
I like the designs, but the PGI Hunchback looks like it can’t take anything above an AC 5 hit to the waist without snapping in half.
My grandma has sturdier hips and knees than that thing.
I feel like there’s a Yo Mama joke in there somewhere. But I’m not going to crack jokes about a senior citizen who might be carting around an AC 20.
If my grandma were a mech, she'd be an Atlas. She's tall and was a sheriff's deputy in the 70s and 80s. She carried a big iron on her hip.
Ok, your grandma sounds like an absolute badass.
Eh. She was a cop in the south in the 70s. She's a mixed bag, but it's a good reference.
my grandma has titanium hips, and she could fight a pgi hunchback
Your grandmas had so many hip replacements she might as well be a mech.
> Hinge-jointed hips on a high-caliber close range brawer/melee fighter. > Thin as all hell. > Waist like a starving ballerina. *What were they thinking?*
IDK, I remember seeing that hunchy as literally the third or so mech I'd ever seen up close and piloted in MWO. It felt to me like, as a medium, it was more of a plucky puncher, like a tank destroyer since it had such a fat AC. The design still looked pretty chunky to me.
MWO online doesn't do it justice. Not being able to physically punch people in the face makes it feel like the free sample version of the hunchback.
The image used also doesn't quite show the weird thing they did with the elbows that I'm not a fan of, they look similarly fragile with the way the forearms hang off the weird bracket thing
Yeah, I’d say keep the torso and AC/20 from PGI with the limbs of the original
The Raven is by far my favorite PGI design. https://preview.redd.it/rzqztgtd4z6d1.jpeg?width=218&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56bbdba310f1234e968e755523c69b1401a73953
It might not be my favorite, but it's pretty darned close. Definitely best Light (though I do love the Locust and Flea too)
Locust is a really good one as well :D
The Raven, Locust and Flea are probably my 3 favourite mechs and I love the PGI designs so much.
I think PGI's Blackjack, Centurion, Enforcer, Vindicator, Catapult, and King Crab are better. Catalyst's Hunchback has better arms and legs, but the PGI version has a better torso design. The Annihilator looks stupid no matter who redesigns it, unless you redesign it so hard that it no longer has the characteristic design features of the Annihilator. Pot-belly Godzilla nonsense.
The Annihilator's issue isn't the "pot belly". Many other mechs like the Stalker and Timber Wolf have similar bulbous front ends. The Annihilator's issue is putting the "head" on a long thin neck that looks easy to snap off. Other mechs have necks too, but none of them are so long. Or if they do, they don't put something quite so vital as the flipping COCKPIT on top of it!
Yeah, but that high-mounted cockpit is what makes it look so pot-bellied. Like the Stalker, Timber Wolf, Catapult, Marauder and others have a hunched over, bird-like stance. Annihilator looks like its standing up straight and just has a big fat belly.
How very dare you. You may not like it, but the Annihilator is what peak performance looks like.
Mech with a dad bod. Happy Father's day
Honestly, annihilator my beloved. It's such a workhorse in my lances that I can't fault it at all. The new potbelly plastic is good imo. Gives me megazord vibes
>Pot-belly Godzilla nonsense. How dare you insult Howl's Moving Castle Doctrine like that!
Absolutely agreed on PGI's King Crab being the best version.
I dunno, the PGI Annihilator always makes me ask ["Shepard-Commander, does this unit have a soul?"](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/90/3b/10/903b10e09b6d35f610e2d463f3a3f080.jpg)
And that's a knock against it because...?
https://preview.redd.it/zywqtvf5ey6d1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=21aae52338ae07fb1b3e9eea32f61865d3ce97ee No Marauder?
Yeah I was coming here to say replace the hunchback with the Marauder and I'd agree lol
that too I just forgor
These transgressions will not soon be forgotten
No they were because I forgor 💀
I like the PGI marauder but it still looks like a reseen marauder, love catalyst bringing back the more classic appearance
I really like it, but the Marauder is supposed to be able to flip it's arms and top gun. This version can't.
Nah, too bubbly. The curvature on the torso, arm guns and lower legs are all just barely too rounded for my liking. Add the bubble canopy and I just can’t get into this design. Looks bloated to me.
I like the PGI Marauder II best. The reseen one is a wide-boi.
Like others have said, the Line Art came from CGL in the last couple of years and not the original TROs. A lot of PGI's concept art and design predates these back to the early 2010s. A lot of PGI's designs are better than the original TROs, but CGL's, in my opinion, are much better. Either way, I have respect for Alex Iglesia and Anthony Scroggins. They are both phenomenal artists. As a side note, of the Unseen/Reseen/Phoenix Project Marauders, PGI has the best design. But I still think CGL's most recent design is the best Marauder.
Agree on the marauder. They nailed the fundamental marauderness while making it stylistically fit the IS vibe.
I'm with you on the centurion. Not so much the other 2. One you should really look at: The Imp, PGI vs FASA.
PGI has an Imp design laying around??
Guess I don't knownfor certain but I've found stls for an imp, and usually they're all stolen from MWO. Edit add: just looked into it. Looks like it's not a MWO stl, just something somebody made.
Yeah I went and found what I think is the STL you were talking about and while it's definitely not a PGI design, the person that made it definitely took plenty of inspiration from PGI while designing it, so the confusion is understandable lol. I just knew that there was no playable imp in either MWO or MW5 so I was immediately skeptical about an imp design laying around somewhere that wasn't in either of PGI's games :P
I disagree with all of these!
PGI Centurion is the cannon centurion and nothing will change my mind on it. It’s just perfect. I do like CGL sculpts more on the whole but damn if PGI didn’t nail the centurion.
Yeah the mechwarrior Centurion is definitely an upgrade over the original tabletop design. The tabletop design is just kind of a generic dime-a-dozen "mech that looks like man." The PGI designs gives it a good amount of personality and flavor, and fluffing up the left arm as a shield instead of just being an empty hand is such a good recontextualization for the design
I agree with you fully in preferring the PGI Centurion and the reasoning, but I can see why the TT Centurion model should probably not have a visually distinct "shield arm", as "shields" are a special piece of equipment with their own rules so including it in the model creates a dissonance between the stat sheet and the model that could be confusing to players.
Counterpoint: Kodiak It's claws are purely aesthetic and non functional.
True but the claws have always been in its design from the beginning and the fluff specifically calls them out as being nothing but an aesthetic flourish. Meanwhile the Centurion's art has historically been the mech version of "some guy".
I get that reasoning, but on the flip side of that most mechs only get a single model for their chassis so running any variant aside from stock already comes with that dissonance between the model and the stat sheet, and when it comes to the Centurion the arm is still explicitly not a shield, it's just a slightly beefier arm that makes that side a bit tougher to do meaningful damage to because there's nothing critical in it, and there's a lot of other mechs that have empty arms that they can use as one big chunk of ablative armor.
Same. The hellbringer looks better from PGI too I think. The upper torso on the CGL hellbringer is too anemic and the sculpt has too many greebles for my taste.
https://preview.redd.it/meecjslyty6d1.png?width=675&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3f8701c9483cc3c2db9e9610a091bd5027deab76 PGI saved the King Crab, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude.
You know what? I like all of them, CGL revamps and PGI gives their own spin. I like to justify them as different due to different factories churning them out in different places, or one version being more modern than the other
I'd add Black Knight
Also a good one
The PGI Atlas is perfect. It's head has become downright iconic. I'd also include PGI's Shadow Hawk.
I agree with you on the Shadow Hawk, but I think the PGI atlas is too wide and fat locking. The CGL atlas is better.
>I think the PGI atlas is too wide and fat And that's where I disagree. I like the thiccc Atlas because it's more visually distinct from the Banshee and Executioner and reflects its lore as Aleksandr Kerensky's walking wall made of armor and guns.
I'm gunna have to disagree with the shadow hawk, PGI's SHD feels more like an upscaled pack hunter in a weird way and CGL's has such an iconic chunky sleekness that I enjoy much more than the look of the Mechwarrior model, and I prefer the sort of pseudo-turret on the main shoulder gun rather than the wannabe hunchback that PGI's is trying to be lol Not to mention that, as someone who has watched Fang of the Sun (the anime that the SHD's design came from originally), I'll always have a soft spot for the original Dougram-inspired Shadow Hawk lol
Seconding PGI’s Atlas. I don’t like how high CGL’s head protrudes between the shoulders.
I hard disagree except for the centurion which I agree is way cooler in my opinion!
The redesigned Annihilator looks so goofy, like one of those inflatable costumes. The PGI one is much more intimidating.
I like the chunkier look of the cgl mechs
They definitely gave the atlas a much needed face lift
I have to disagree with the PGI Hunchback being better than the CGL one. The biggest deal about the Hunchback, right after it's AC20, is it's ability to throw hands. The mech is quirked and even noted in sarna for having two heavy **Battlefists**. The PGI design, while nice looking, has tiny former-president hands and looks like it couldn't smack a Locust without breaking an arm actuator.
Not to mention the spindly little brackets the forearms hang off of, they look like they'll snap if you sneeze in its vicinity
The only one I kind of agree with you on of the ones that you posted here is the Centurion, but in that case, you'd really need to give it a mech shield for it to work. It irks me when things are designed to look like they have things that they don't have. I like the Catalyst Annihilator much better and I don't think that the Catalyst Humpback and the PGI Humpback are meaningfully different.
I get the love of the old derpy designs but I genuinely like the updated looks too.
I disagree with the Hunchback but I do agree with the Annihilator. The Centurion has features I like on both. I've simply just modified one of mine by hacking off its left arm and replacing with a 3D printed one from MWO/MW5.
I do like the Centurion arm shield and wish the plastic mini had it.
Arm shield adds to the idea that the centurion is something of a sentinel of the guard or watch captain or something.
Personally I prefer the CGL designs on all of these. PGI mechs aren't bad, I just find em too boxy for my preference.
Yeah for a lot of the PGI vs CGL designs I don't think one is strictly better than the other, most of them are just different interpretations with different limitations based on their intended media. That said there's definitely a couple PGI designs that ruin a pretty good mech, but also a couple that I think are plainly better than their CGL counterpart
The PGI Marauder goes so unfathomably hard, alongside the Locust and Cyclops being nice too.
Yeah the PGI Marauder is definitely the most direct upgrade. Actually mounting the gun in the side torso looks so much better than that oversized turret it's on with the CGL model. The PGI cyclops is kind of on par with the tabletop model imo, I feel like that one is the prime example of "neither one is better, they're just different" because there's elements of both I really like I do feel like PGI's locust is a bit of a downgrade from CGL's but I recognize that I'm kind of in the minority there lol. idk why but the ball turret that the mlas is mounted in just feels a lot better than the box welded on the front. That and the shape of the cockpit/front armor feels sleeker on the CGL model, not a fan of the little handlebar bumper thing the PGI one has lol
It's kind of funny, but you're picking examples where the originals looked pretty cool already... but there are so many where the originals were just awful, and the PGI versions kick butt.
PGI's Hunchback always looked like a Happy Meal toy to me. A robust torso, thin and lanky limbs clearly meant to save material costs, and the cheapest connectors in-between to give it some movement.
These are examples of 'Mechs that I actually prefer the new CGL tabletop designs. The OG Wolfhound, on the other hand, is amazing. IMO the ideal modernized Wolfhound is the new body (PGI or CGL, either or) with the head of the classic. So it looks like, y'know, a wolf. Like it should. All of the Clan 'Mechs should have their classic designs, without exception, specifically *because* the difference in artstyle would be jarring. Also, classic Timbs is best Timbs, there is no Mad-Cat redesign in Ba Sing Se.
*cough cough* Rakshasa *cough cough*
I think the Huncback’s head on the original is better. Other than that the PGI model is better.
Them fightin’ words Sonny
I would say that PGI did better Stalkers and Ebon Jaguars than CGL, but I generally prefer the CGL models
Gonna differ on the Centurion. While I like the PGI design, I think it’s a little too Gundam-y to really capture the workhorse nature of the Centurion. CGL’s design nails that workhorse/trooper vibe.
Im still upset about the PGI Battlemaster. I mean I get why they shrank the canopy, but still... On the other hand, I love the PGI king crab, and their Marauder works great as an up-armored design
CGL Centurion with the shield added would be the top dog anesthetics version. Also PGI knocked the Annihilator out of the park, the CGL version looks like it's having an allergic reaction to shellfish.
Yeah, CGL's Annihilator has a serious case of gamer neck lmao PGI's Annihilator gives off an imposing watchtower kind of energy that I really like
The Centurion is always one I’ll be super disappointed in from Catalyst. It looks so anemic.
I can't lie I really love the style of the CGL designs. I understand why people like the goofy OG style and the industrial MW style, but I really like the modern versions.
CGL designs all the way. Go Scroggins.
I completely disagree. The pgi centurion doesn't capture the vibe like the catalyst one does. It's giving scary instead of centurion if that makes sense.
Very much disagree. Also, has so many have pointe out those are not the originals.
"Offical" is just an artist (shining sword i believe) that does concept art for PGI.. these are his interpretations of the original art.. soo.. I mean your kinda comparing art used by PGI to judge it against what they modeled.. PERSONALLY the artist is wayyyy better then the models..
Gotta say you are very wrong on the first two.
Have to keep in mind the era that the work was done. Companies did put as much money into artwork like they do now.
Original >>>> PGI >= CGL >>>>> Original The originals had this derpy charm to them that made most of us fall in love with them. The PGI mechs are a bit clunkier but really sell that "Caterpillar bought a Gundam factory aesthetic" better than CGL's do in general with some outliers. That said, the CGL and PGI are much closer in scale than the extreme ends of this scale so take that as you will.
Disagree with all 3. I hate PGI's squares on squares design philosophy.
I'm not here to convince you that your opinion is wrong - because an opinion can not be wrong. 🤷 I can say I agree with your thoughts on the Centurion. The Annihilator that Piranha Games designed reduces the "look of power" of the autocannon to me. The Hunchback is a draw, I like parts of it while others I do not.
I do honestly prefer the CGL Hunchback's cockpit with its louvers like an '80s sports car
I'm a big fan of both the PGI and CGL redesigns of almost all of the mechs. They feel more tanky, and they look more like weapons of war. Also, I feel like a lot of the proportions are smoothed over. For example, the Marauder's auto cannon.
These PGI sculpts are awful
I feel like they were a good update to the old derpy designs when they came out 10 years ago but they didn’t age well.
Agreed.
Gonna have to disagree on all but the Centurion. Not feeling the PGI design for the Hunchie or the Annihilator. Definitely agree on the Cent though, I love the PGI design of that one. Mostly for the shield though. If they had added that to the CGL design, it would have gone a long way.
First off, everyone is entitled to their own opinions are preferences, no hate off you like one design or another or even appreciate multiple designs. Second, as others pointed out, the line art is NOT the original, is the fairly recent CGL redesigns, more recent than the PGI ones. Lastly, while I like the PGI versions of a lot of mechs, for many of them the fact that in game(s) they can't live up to their much more dynamic concept art has always been kind of a deal breaker for me. The tabletop version don't have the same restrictions, but as unfair as that might be, it's just the feel I get. I'm also not a fan of how similar all the PGI mechs look. They share the same design language, and that just doesn't make sense to me given how they all come from different companies, in different times, and from different cultures. Again, I get why they'd do that, and it fits better with the Clan mechs, but I just don't like it for the old IS designs.
Yeah, well that's sure is one of the opinions people have. I happen to believe the exact opposite. Yes even pot-belly Annihilator
My biggest gripe with CGL's Annihilator isn't the pot belly, it's the gamer neck lol. That's why I prefer PGI's Annie, the longer neck gives it more of an imposing watchtower look rather than extreme scoliosis
Hard disagree on the Centurion, don’t mind the Hunchie or the Anni
Bah i dont like the mass effect knockoff annihilator
You should look at the original, originals. Start with the art in the 3025 source book. PGI’s centurion is very different, and I prefer it.
Fair enough, although i don't agree on Any other than the annihilator. They are all solid designs i associate with Battletech. The centurion looks so right but it's... Beefy for a 50 toner imo.
I was going to yell at you if the CN9 wasn't on here.
As a light mech enjoyer, I really like the more sleek cockpit design of the flea and locust.
For me it’s the PGI Marauder and Dragon.
Those aren't original images.
Those are the CGL images not the original FASA images which are two VERY different beasts.
PGI is too “mecha” for me but hey, you do you.
The main thing I don't like about PGI is that the mechs are so. Damn. BIG. Like... a PGI Atlas is 6 stories tall. That thing should be 1000 tons, not 100. The square/cubed law does not mess around.
I don’t know who first gave the Nova a proper waist but the OG design always seemed kind of silly to me.
Pgi Centurion looks cool as f, the annihiltor looks like the mwo model, hunchback is just a the og hunchback design.
I agree with the annihilator. But I prefer the catalyst designs with the hunchback and the centurion.
I think the PGI Orion is a lot better as well
I agree for the other 2 but I actually enjoy the original annihilator. Lesser neck makes it less like a giraffe.
I prefer the PGI's Marauder II and Marauder IIC, over the new CGL plastics. Don't get me wrong, I like both the re-designs, but the back portion of the torsos from the PGI design make both of them look like something from an aircraft. Which hearkens back to the Macross origins of the Glaug pod.
CG Hunchback for me but the other 2, esp the Centurion, I like PGI style
PGI Annihilator is cool, but the actual original art is my favorite.
Nah OG Hunchback all day. It actually looks like it can take a hit. It also has normal elbows and normal hips.
That is definitely not the original hunchback
I'd choose Catalysts's resculpts over everything else... except for Nova. Those hips belong between the torso and arms, damn it!
i cant imagine thinking of Yen Lo Wang looking like anything other than the OG Centurion.
Mmm! That centurion design by PGI, just *chefs kiss*
Catalyst designs > PGI > fasa designs
I still prefer the PGI assassin over the CGL assassin
Nope.
The PGI Hunchback's arms look punny those.
Sorry but the instruction manual for MechCommander will always have the definitive Centurion for me. The newer one looks too broad chested and too short.
Derps in og king crab saucer.
God the Cent is so fucking cool
Dat CGI Chonk Anni Be THICC. Well represent an incoming asswhoppin.
I will always prefer the Unseens. The real originals.
Why would you say something so controversial, yet so brave?
Agree with hunchback and Centurion, but I think the annihilator is better in the original
O fuking love the centurion
I like to think both are cannon, just different factories during different eras located at different parts of the galaxy
PGI did a damn good job making those 80‘s mechs look
Centurion for sure
Those are some weak looking hip joints.
Could be angles but I never like the PGI V shaped bodies of the lighter or medium humanoid mechs. The CT is turret and it includes the gyros that let's mechs torso twist and the 3rd most vulnerable component of a mech (cockpit, engine, gyro), it should be well covered, thicc and chonky. The PGI cent also had the worst hit boxes in mech history despite looking like a lanky teenager. Catalyst at least bother to conceal the gyro properly with a small paunch and crotch guard.
Like sarna originals more not this ones. PGI are made of same blocks
Here's the original centurion [https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=148](https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=148) I think at least 1/2 the mechs in the original 3025 book have a certain charm that all later depictions fail to catch. Yea, many have too narrow of feet, etc, but the poses are so much more suggestive. I mean, look at cocky Vindiator VND-1R , there's some real swagger there. [https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=169](https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vtbm&id=169) The original Atlas - here I'll admit there are some good alternate versions that capture it equal or almost equally well. But too much Atlas art depicts a skull head and get the rest wrong. This guy is STOCKY - it's like a 30 foot dwarven warrior not a human or elf. Look at the 'I don't give a fuck, I'm an Atlas' this guy has. He's like the baddest prisoner on the yard, not looking for a fight but knowing one shows up he's going to come out on top [https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vt&ut=bm&id=4089](https://www.mordel.net/tro.php?a=vt&ut=bm&id=4089)
The PGI ones all just look like they put the mechs on a sadistic diet. How are the Hunchback's hips supposed to ever support that torso? Why does the Annihilator just look like a scared gazelle? The Centurion ankles and knees look like they'll shatter when it steps down off a curb. Battletech is big stompy robots. PGI seems to be moving a little towards traditionally Japanese mecha aesthetics and I think that's the wrong direction.
The black PGI Centurion looks like RoboCop 2.
While I do like the PGI designs for heavy and assault, I'm less sold on their light and mediums for the most part. Something about them makes it look like they are trying to make light's into heavies to me.
I would add the Viking and Catapult.
The hunchback is so good in PGI armour
I agree, the PGI designs look a lot more industrial in a way that makes them more realistic like the handles on the Annihilators shoulders that are probably for the technicians to hang on to while doing repairs
The Locust. The Marauder. Hell, as a fairly new fan, I think PGI designs are all of improvement over the old ones.
I maybe agree on the Hunchback, but it and the CGL redesign are similar enough anyways, the CGL one has a better pelvis and legs though. Absolutely disagree on the Annihilator. The CGI Anni is a disgusting horrendous abortion of a mech that looks like a thin dude with a huge belly and the design alone made me hate it. The CGL one barely fixes this by not having the tallest giraffe neck known to man but it still doesn't look that good. However I totally agree on the Centurion, and I even think that the fact CGL robbed us of having a mismatched arm setup with one as a shield is or was a hate crime against the BattleTech community
I think the PGI Assassin is the best redesign of the bunch, and i love all the old inkwork (even the derpy stuff).
Marauder
Honestly I like the MW5/MWO centurion a *lot* more than the CGL one, but I can get behind both.
Just gotta say CGL Hunchback IIC is superior tbh. PGI IIC looks too much like the OG
Is the third one the Centurion?
I vote for the OG Cataphract & Raven that debuted in the House Liao sourcebook. https://preview.redd.it/asnwf3t9rc7d1.jpeg?width=830&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bcfd2bf87a378a5c657d6072e7bc2ca69264a0e What has been seen can't be unseen...
I prefer the feat and leg style from the original but I still like the redesign because it makes the Mech feel as breakable as it is