Alacorn Academy

Command Zulu Company in a real-time tactics battle for Port Arthur against the Clan Smoke Jaguar.

MechCommander is a real-time tactics video game developed by FASA Interactive and distributed by MicroProse in 1998. Based on FASA's BattleTech/MechWarrior franchise, it places players in command of Zulu Company from the Federated Commonwealth's First Davion Guards. The campaign tasks players with retaking the planet Port Arthur from the Clan Smoke Jaguar. Across 30 missions divided into five operations, commanders must manage limited resources and unit tonnage while executing objectives ranging from destroying enemy units to defending bases within strict time limits.

Quick Facts

Developer

FASA Interactive

Distributor

MicroProse

Release year

1998

Expansion pack

Desperate Measures (1999)

Sequel

MechCommander 2 (2001)

Campaign missions

30 missions across 5 operations

Pilot ranks

green
regular
veteran
elite

Lore & Background

The game follows the Inner Sphere forces of the First Davion Guards as they liberate Port Arthur. Missions are structured into five operations, each containing six specific scenarios with varied objectives like capturing bases or protecting friendly units. Between missions, players utilize Resource Points earned from completing objectives to repair mechs, refit components, and purchase new assets. While Inner Sphere technology is available for purchase early on, Clan weaponry and advanced mechs must be salvaged directly from the battlefield. Pilots gain experience through kills and mission completion, advancing through four ranks: green, regular, veteran, and elite. This rank system dictates their effectiveness in light, medium, heavy, or assault class mechs.

Reader's Guide

MechCommander allows players to customize forces for each mission within strict tonnage and unit count restrictions. Control is executed via a simulated aerial viewscreen, with briefings provided before every engagement. Success depends on strategic customization, balancing mech types, weaponry, and pilot experience levels. The expansion Desperate Measures adds new landscapes, redesigned buildings, and additional vehicles such as the Alacorn, Pilum, and Regulator tanks, as well as Centipede scout vehicles and ammo trucks that function as mobile bombs. A compilation titled MechCommander Gold was released in 1999, bundling the base game with this expansion.

Did You Know?

The game received an overt recommendation from The Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy), making it one of the few games to feature the network's logo on its box art.
Desperate Measures served as a testbed for custom NPC mechs with unique names and weapon configurations, a concept later improved in MechCommander 2.
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated MechCommander for 'PC Strategy Game of the Year' at the 2nd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, where it lost to Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.
Clan technology, including weaponry and new mechs like the Shadow Cat and Nova Cat, cannot be purchased and must be salvaged from enemy units on the battlefield.