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"The Best in BattleTech Programs" |
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Camille's HeavyMetal Pro Review Well boys and girls, this here is Medron and I’m posting a review that
Camille made some time ago but then never got published. Rick Raisley, the
author of HeavyMetal Pro, recently posted it on the sarna.net at Camille’s
request. Having requested and received the go ahead from Camille I am now
posting this review with Rick’s comments left completely intact except for a
couple. One is not needed because of the formatting allowed by html and the
other was changed due to a response from Camille. So have at it and I hope you
like it. [Since I'm the one that has to post this, I get to put comments of my own in,
in brackets for easy identification. My comments in [], Camille's are the rest.]
HeavyMetal Pro -- The Review About a year or so ago, I reviewed HeavyMetal, the Mechdesigner with FASA's
official stamp of approval. I was decidedly less than impressed with the
product, and pronounced it a waste of $20 (and a few other
not-ready-for-prime-time things as well). It was bad with a capital B-A-D. [It
wasn't as bad two years prior to its release when I submitted the "final"
version to FASA, but the BTech world does not stand still.] When I heard that HeavyMetal Pro was coming out, I was rather lukewarm to the
idea. I'll be honest, I was expecting more of the same—a piss-poor product that
was far below any of the shareware designers out on the net. Well! I can honestly say that I have never, at any point in my life, been so
thrilled to be disappointed. HeavyMetal Pro is not the best ‘Mech designer ever
written, but it is miles ahead of its predecessor. [Medron - When asked,
Camille claimed she had yet to see the best ‘Mech designer.] There are a few
things about the product that I’m not very keen about—I’ll get to those
first. What I didn’t like The big thing that I didn’t like was the somewhat crowded interface. If
you’re new to the program, I suggest setting the view mode to "Regular" (the
default is "Elite"). [Actually, the default is Regular, for this very reason.
Camille, as a playtester, had reset it to Elite, I believe.] This decreases the
number of easily-accessible options, but it’s good for helping new users get
familiarized with the interface right away. The crowded interface isn’t, IMO, a
bar to usage—but it can be a little daunting for new users. Next is the "Dreaded Omni Problem". HMPro can’t save omni configs in the same
file like BMD and The Drawing Board can. This is a little annoying if for no
other reason than the fact that it’s a few K off your available hard drive
space, but it’s livable. What I did like The interface, though crowded, is intuitive—much more so than the old
HeavyMetal was. Mouseover help is available by rolling over the various buttons
on the screen, and the icons are clear enough that users can pretty easily
figure out what they’re for. The crit distribution icon is clearly marked this
time, with a big red DIST over it (there wasn’t enough room for CRITS). Also
clearly marked is the icon to add and change the equipment list—I don’t know
about you, but the words "Add/Change" tell me that that’s what I click on to add
or modify what my ‘Mech is toting around. [Gee, I wonder who suggested those
features?] Everything’s there this time. All the Level 2 weaponry available as of the
release of HMPro (including the Lyrans’ Brass Totties O’ Death, err Heavy Gauss
Rifles) is included in the program, as is the funky zoom equipment (like the
Targeting Computer from the Greater Book of Evil, err the FedSuns Field Manual).
There is also a function that allows users to enter custom weaponry and
equipment—so if you have a less cheesed HGR or a more cheesed RAC, you can enter
it. Heat calculations that take UAC fire rates into account. Hoody hoo! This is
really really cool. Battleforce 2 rosters. Very nice. The ability to make your own little mini-TRO with your ‘Mech designs. You can
input fluff text for the design and even a picture, if you have one. High-quality logos for printing—Gone are the cheesy bitmaps from the first
version. Those bitmaps have been replaced with high-quality JPG logos provided
by the FASA art department. Users can also put their own logos in there, under
the Logos folder. I don’t recommend these if you use an inkjet printer like I
do, but if you use a laser printer I’d definitely use these bad boys on your
record sheets. [Actually, I've found they look far better when printed by a
color inkjet printer.] There were some changes in the program that were largely cosmetic, but
overall the bulk of the changes were to the program itself. It’s far, far, far
better than the original HeavyMetal. The Final Verdict: BUY THIS PROGRAM. HeavyMetal Pro doesn’t have that much more than the shareware ‘Mech
designers, but I do recommend throwing down the $20 for it for one simple
reason—Rick Raisley (the programmer of HMPro) is working on other Officially
Blessed projects like HM-Vee (vehicle designer—currently only 16-bit, but will
become 32-bit), HeavyMetal "Lite" (the Protomech designer, for those that still
like those little turdlets), and even a combined suite of products. I really
like HMPro—I know, I sound like a big ol’ shill, but I am a firm believer in
rewarding sincere improvement and effort, and I feel that Rick has earned
himself a second chance with HeavyMetal Pro. IF YOU OWN HEAVYMETAL: If you’re one of the poor saps that bought the programming tutorial abortion
known as HeavyMetal, there is relief for you. Yes, you will still have to pay
for HeavyMetal Pro. HOWEVER: If you still have your original HeavyMetal
disk, you can send it in to RWC Enterprises as proof of your original purchase
and get half off of HeavyMetal Pro. BUY THIS! BUY IT NOW! [Anyone quoting this review, please feel free to remove my comments. - Rick] |