MechWarrior Online implements cosmetic customization, AI voice-over, map variant

Mechmakers Piranha Games deployed an update yesterday to MWO's slowly-growing closed beta that adds CamoSpec, the all-important system for redecorating your mech. Well, technically our MechWarrior Online issue was the first way mech pilots could apply paint to their hulking man-panzers, but Tuesday's patch formalizes the system within the game. I took a minute to pop into the MechLab to check it out in the video below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqWzs_aelxU

More importantly to BattleTech aficionados, though, may be the patch's addition of a familiar voice. The clichéd but comforting robotic female AI tones of " Bitching Betty ," as she's (affectionately?) known in the MechWarrior community, are finally integrated with last night's update. Your cockpit won't be as silent as it was before, especially as your mech boots up; Piranha sent along this special voice clip of Betty. The patch also plugs in a night version of the existing Frozen City map, which finally gives pilots a reason to tap the N key to activate nightvision.

Evan Lahti
Global Editor-in-Chief

Evan's a hardcore FPS enthusiast who joined PC Gamer in 2008. After an era spent publishing reviews, news, and cover features, he now oversees editorial operations for PC Gamer worldwide, including setting policy, training, and editing stories written by the wider team. His most-played FPSes are CS:GO, Team Fortress 2, Team Fortress Classic, Rainbow Six Siege, and Arma 2. His first multiplayer FPS was Quake 2, played on serial LAN in his uncle's basement, the ideal conditions for instilling a lifelong fondness for fragging. Evan also leads production of the PC Gaming Show, the annual E3 showcase event dedicated to PC gaming.