Titanfall Studio Unveils the Atlas

[Andy Chalk]

Titanfall Studio Unveils the Atlas

​

When you need a workhorse on the battlefield, you need an Atlas.

Nothing beats a specialist when you have a special job to do, but when anything can happen you need a guy who can handle anything. And if you're a Titan pilot, that means you need an Atlas. The workhorse of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation fleet, the Atlas has been there, done that and survived to tell the tale, pulling through fights that would turn other Titans into ruined heaps of scrap.

The Atlas is the "standard" Titan model, the one that appears in the over-the-top Titanfall collector's edition [http://www.titanfall.com/buy] in the form of an 18-inch (or 19.5-inch, depending on which marketing material you believe) statue as well as a large schematic poster. And as Hammond Robotics is quick to remind us all, "From the first conflicts to the latest deployments, the Atlas stands the test of time."

So, the speed of the Stryder [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/130332-Titanfall-Devs-Reveal-New-Ogre-and-Stryder-Titans-At-VGX], the might of the Ogre or the versatility of the Atlas: What's your weapon of choice?

Titanfall comes out on March 11, 2014 for the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.


Permalink

 

[neppakyo]

So, ripping off Mechwarrior Heavy Mech name now? More I see of ths game the less I like it.

 

[Andy Chalk]

So, ripping off Mechwarrior Heavy Mech name now? More I see of ths game the less I like it.

I think it probably has more to do with this:



You know, Atlas, Titans, etc. Hence the name of the "base model" Titan.

 

[UsefulPlayer 1]

These trailers always makes me wish Lost Planet was still popular. And I do mean the first one.
I think they are similar enough to warrant some real comparison. I mean they both got mechs and both have different ways of getting around (zip line and jetpack). At that point it's just third-person versus first person.

That said, I feel like Lost Planet had a much higher variety of mechs, mech abilities, and weapons. I hope they don't put all the cool mechs in DLC or something. I also hope they have interesting armaments, a Sci-fi game really should explore that potential and be different compared to conventional FPSs. Which is what I'm afraid of, so far I kinda feel like it's just a FPS with mechs and jet-packs, instead of a real Future/Sci-fi FPS all around.

One thing I really love about Titanfall is the HUD layout when you get into the mech. Really pretty and immersive stuff, can't imagine wiping around trying to squish all the tiny humans.

 

[scotth266]

So, ripping off

Aaaaaand here's where I stopped caring.

"Ripping off/cloning" has got to be this game generation's most-overused phrase. You can't make a game with a similar concept to another without people calling it a "ripoff" even if the games take wildly different approaches to gameplay, themes, stories, whatever.

"Don't get Planetfall man, it's a total Zork ripoff - trying to play off the popularity of humourous text-adventure games!" "Don't play chess man, it's just a lame checkers clone!" "Don't touch Banjo-Kazooie: complete Mario clone!" See how dumb that sounds?

Hell, some of my favorite games have been "ripoffs." Scurge: Hive was released on the GBA, and features the same story as Metroid Fusion, but the game is still fantastic. Gnomoria isn't quite up to the level of Dwarf Fortress, but it's certainly a better introduction to the genre than DF will ever be. Terraria was accused of being a Minecraft clone when it came out (and it was very similar at the start) but eventually it became something cool and unique to the point that its spiritual successor Starbound is being bought before it's even out of beta.

 

[Frezzato]

snip

That's no Atlas! This [http://images.gizmag.com/hero/darpa-atlas-robots.png] is an Atlas! I--uh, we surrender.

 

[Hazy992]

I love these trailers, they're very tongue in cheek about it

Between this and inFamous, March is going to be one hell of a month.

 

[Slash2x]

*Sigh* Why you no steam!? Oh right EA and that fun shit of their service..... Nope guess I am just going to miss out on this one.

 

[Kataiser]

I was going to comment about Battletech here, but it looks like everyone else covered me.
I'd normally say that it isn't a rip-off, but the Atlas is one of the most well known Mechs in western Mech history, and the Titanfall one does about the same thing. So it does look a bit iffy.

The mere sight of an Atlas had been known to make even a veteran MechWarrior break out in a cold sweat.

 

[neppakyo]

scotth226, Others have posting what I meant in my very short sentence. Atlas is an Iconic Battlemech, its one thing to copy a mech, but to copy it and name it the same? That's my problem with it.

 

[scotth266]

snip

Except from the company's own advertising, the Atlas is the middle-of-the-road mech. The heavy armor/heavy weapons mech in Titanfall is actually the Ogre.

My point about "ripoff syndrome" still stands: if you're going to call any mech game with an "Atlas" in it a MechWarrior riff, well... Atlas is the name of a mech in Mass Effect. Atlas is the name of a mech in Zone of the Enders as well apparently. It's the name of an orbital elevator in Front Mission, another game series about mechs. It's a suit in Armored Core. There isn't an official Atlas Gundam, but there are dozens of fan-made ones - just do a Google search. Need I go further?

Atlas is an incredibly obvious, go-to name when it comes to picking names for big mechanical things, and it isn't because MechWarrior did it. It's because the name is impressive and has mythological connotations.

 

[SEPECAT]

"Ripping off/cloning" has got to be this game generation's most-overused phrase.

Actually I think the most overused phrase right now is "Let's call this giant robot the Atlas!" How about instead of having every game featuring a robot called the Atlas we came up with our own more creative names? Like the Firemoth? Or the Sunder? Or the Thanatos? See how easy it is? (Yes, those were all Battletech mechs)

 

[Zetatrain]

So, ripping off Mechwarrior Heavy Mech name now? More I see of ths game the less I like it.

Didn't Mechwarrior/Battletech rip off some designs from Macross/Robotech?

And yes, Titanfall is ripping off Mechwarrior because "Atlas" was such an original name when Mechwarrior used it.

EDIT: and how is the Titanfall Atlas copying the Mechwarrior Atlas?

 

[Darkbladex96]

*snip*

You know, I'm usually not a person who calls stuff a blatant ripoff, even if they were clearly inspired by it, but lets compare the Titanfall Atlas and the Battletech Atlas.

One Atlas is the biggest, baddest mech on the battlefield with indisputably the most firepower and very heavy armour, formidable enough to strike fear into the heart of any enemy.

The other Atlas is the biggest, baddest mech on the battlefield with indisputably the most firepower and very heavy armour, formidable enough to strike fear into the heart of any enemy.

I have no problem with it having mechs, having mech only modes, or anything like that. The problem is that to so very clearly draw inspiration from the Mechwarrior franchise, and then use the name of one of the most recognizable mechs from that franchise, one that is known for being an indomitable presence on the battlefield that any half-sane person would dread the sight of, to name mech in your new game that is most like that mech, and not even so much as mention its influence is kind of insulting. I mean, if they named a gun or a tank the "Atlas", I wouldn't have a problem with it at all, but that isn't this. This is like copy-pasting the iconic Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2 or the Portal Gun from Portal and pretending that its a unique creation.

You're making the mistake of believing that they truly give a fuck about battletech and mech assault. Then You've made assumption based on nothing said in the reveal or this thread so where is your info coming from?

One Atlas is the biggest, baddest mech on the battlefield with indisputably the most firepower and very heavy armour, formidable enough to strike fear into the heart of any enemy.

The other Atlas is the biggest, baddest mech on the battlefield with indisputably the most firepower and very heavy armour, formidable enough to strike fear into the heart of any enemy.

I know one of these atlas's is from mech assault, but where is the other one from? Because you definitely aren't talking about Titan Fall's atlas. Titan Fall's atlas was pretty much the first successful all purpose combat mech built. It's an expendable workhorse, standard issue, barebones basic and middle of the road. It's remarkable for being unremarkable. It works well and continues to work well. The Orge is more likely Titan Fall's Mech Warrior equivalent of an Atlas. Titan Fall's atlas is like the Leo from Gundam Wing and GMs/ Zaku's from the Universal Century era. It's Like the F-14 Tomcat of Titan Fall.

 

[scotth266]

"Ripping off/cloning" has got to be this game generation's most-overused phrase.

Actually I think the most overused phrase right now is "Let's call this giant robot the Atlas!" How about instead of having every game featuring a robot called the Atlas we came up with our own more creative names? Like the Firemoth? Or the Sunder? Or the Thanatos? See how easy it is? (Yes, those were all Battletech mechs)

Firemoth is a purely creative name AFAIK, but Sunder (a verb for destruction [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=sunder]) and Thanatos (another Greek reference to a death god [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanatos]) aren't exactly the epitome of creativity. Hell, Thanatos is also is a A-list Marvel Comics villain, and there's been an X-man named Sunder.

People re-use names for their connotations. That's what Titanfall is doing - it's not trying to somehow steal from Mechwarrior. This shouldn't even be an issue considering how much of a non-entity Mechwarrior is today.

 

[Silverbeard]

Blasphemers!

[footnote]Timberwolf is actually its proper name, but that isn't as catchy.[/footnote]

Villain! Timber wolf is the catchiest name ever!
A name that at once evokes the might of a pack hunter with the skill of a solitary attacker? Few names can do better! Few, I say!

On topic: Let us remember that the Greeks coined Atlas as a name many centuries before MechWarrior came to exist. If MechWarrior is going to lift the name for use in its setting then why can Titanfall not do the exact same?

 

[Kataiser]

Actually I think the most overused phrase right now is "Let's call this giant robot the Atlas!" How about instead of having every game featuring a robot called the Atlas we came up with our own more creative names? Like the Firemoth? Or the Sunder? Or the Thanatos? See how easy it is? (Yes, those were all Battletech mechs)

Firemoth is a purely creative name AFAIK, but Sunder (a verb for destruction [http://lmgtfy.com/?q=sunder]) and Thanatos (another Greek reference to a death god [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanatos]) aren't exactly the epitome of creativity. Hell, Thanatos is also is a A-list Marvel Comics villain, and there's been an X-man named Sunder.

People re-use names for their connotations. That's what Titanfall is doing - it's not trying to somehow steal from Mechwarrior. This shouldn't even be an issue considering how much of a non-entity Mechwarrior is today.

His Assault choices aren't very good. He should've used Awesome, Blood Asp, Bruin, Cygnus, Daishi, Fafnir, Hauptmann, Highlander (before Highlander was a thing), Juliano, Kodiak, Legacy, Nightstar, Osteon, Pendragon, Sagittaire, Scylla, Sirocco, Tai-Sho, Victor, or Ymir.

But yeah, I think his overall point was that Battletech does have creative names, even though he picked some less creative ones. And the Atlas *is* kind of synonymous with Battletech. Not like the Clan 'Mechs, but for the IS, it's definitely heavily iconic. Hell, House Steiner's claim to fame in the fanbase is its [http://i.imgur.com/Nc9he.jpg] access [http://simhq.com/forum/files/usergals/2013/04/full-8822-57010-atlasscout.jpg] to [http://i.imgur.com/GubYd.gif] mass [http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h446/Brisketman/KVrNa.png] Atlases [http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/586/492/0ef.jpg].

It's kind of like Halo with the name Spartan. If you make power-armored super-soldiers in your fiction called Spartans, despite the fact that it may make sense to do that with the implications of the name, the association is too close to Halo for it to fly without people taking notice. Sure, Mechwarrior and Battletech aren't big now, but the fanbase is pretty large and very strongly supportive of the series they love.

 

[scotth266]

Edits are in bold.

His Assault choices aren't very good. He should've used

Awesome, ...
Blood Asp, (An asp is a snake, so the name is pretty much Blood Snake.)
Bruin, (Old English word for brown bears, also the name of a Boston sports team)
Cygnus, (A well-known constellation or the Latin word for a swan, take your pick)
Daishi, (Japanese for "Great Death." Literally I found that on the Mechwarrior wiki)
Fafnir, (Norse Mythology reference.)
Hauptmann, (German word for captain, also a common surname)
Highlander (before Highlander was a thing), (There's a reason the movie was called Highlander.) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander]
Juliano, (An Italian surname.)
Kodiak, (Take your pick. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodiak])
Legacy, (Obvious.)
Nightstar, (Oh boy, another comics character.)
Osteon, (A biology reference, but it's certainly creative, so this one I'd give a thumbs up. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteon])
Pendragon, (Reference to King Arthur and his father, Uther Pendragon.)
Sagittaire, (Another Greek mythology reference.)
Scylla, (See above.)
Sirocco, (An interesting reference like Osteon. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirocco] Gundam also references this: Paptimus Sirocco was one of the first Gundam's villains.)
Tai-Sho, (Another Japanese reference: Taisho was a Japanese historical period.)
Victor, (Common name.)
Ymir. (Another norse mythlogy reference.)

But yeah, I think his overall point was that Battletech does have creative names, even though he picked some less creative ones.

Pretty much the only ones on that list that are really creative are the Osteon and Sirocco references, and even they are just that: references. It also isn't too hard to string together related words like "Blood" and the name of a snake, or "night" and "star."

And the Atlas *is* kind of synonymous with Battletech. Not like the Clan 'Mechs, but for the IS, it's definitely heavily iconic. Hell, House Steiner's claim to fame in the fanbase is its [http://i.imgur.com/Nc9he.jpg] access [http://simhq.com/forum/files/usergals/2013/04/full-8822-57010-atlasscout.jpg] to [http://i.imgur.com/GubYd.gif] mass [http://i1110.photobucket.com/albums/h446/Brisketman/KVrNa.png] Atlases [http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/586/492/0ef.jpg].

It's kind of like Halo with the name Spartan. If you make power-armored super-soldiers in your fiction called Spartans, despite the fact that it may make sense to do that with the implications of the name, the association is too close to Halo for it to fly without people taking notice. Sure, Mechwarrior and Battletech aren't big now, but the fanbase is pretty large and very strongly supportive of the series they love.

This is more of a fair argument, but even then, I'd say that the creators should be allowed to name things what they want. With Spartans becoming a popular thing to reference thanks to 300, I wouldn't be surprised if we DID see the name pop up more to refer to super-soldiers in fiction. It's simply a really good reference to make.

Atlas is a pretty easy reference that people understand and it's symbolic of having great strength. Mecha/sci-fi games (which are strewn with mythology references, oddly enough) have been using the name for a while now, without complaint. It's only with this latest game that, for some reason, people are crying "RIPOFF."

I'd be more concerned if the mechs looked even remotely alike, but they don't, and so I'm not.