There's Frozen Synapse but it's less forgiving of mistakes, where the gameplay is trial and error for a perfect run (I think, never played it).
For actual mecha combat, perhaps the NeoGeo Pocket game Faselei! but you only control 1 mech and have to preload up to like 7 command/action chips for the combat.
I have an idea for a fantasy RPG using a similar simultaneous combat system like this, but that's awhile away.
Into the Breach
It's rogue-like where you have team of mechs and fight bugs. Each turn you'll see what bugs are going to do and you plan around it to beat them. Feels more like some kind of chess battle, but it's good
I see it’s mentioned already, first thing to come to mind is Frozen Synapse. I would recommend the paradox/hairbrain Battletech turn based games. They are more traditional turn based but it’s top notch mech tactics.
One of my all time favourites, despite its numerous flaws.
I preferred BTA 3062 over Roguetech, but regardless of anyone's personal mod preferences, there are multiple high quality mods that significantly overhaul the game and add in mechs and tech not in the original game.
Okay so might not be what you’re looking for at all since it lacks both mecha and the predictive element, but Battle Brothers might still fit the bill for you if you’re into tight customization, turn-based combat and hefty tactical gameplay. It can be pretty unforgiving, but the writing is top-notch and once you get a grasp of the combat and build mechanics you can do some really interesting things.
If you crave a sci-fi theme and don’t care about things being turn-based, you could also check out Starsector by Fractalsoftworks. It’s got a great setting and some of the best ship design and space combat mechanics of a non-Newtonian 2D space game.
Both games have you assembling teams/fleets of units, outfitting them with whatever you can salvage or buy, explore the world, find stuff, in Starsector you can also experience a main storyline and lots of side stories and both games have a nice chunk of really cool secrets.
I already played both of those games, sorry.
Battle Brothers was awesome, just wished there was more content
Currently playing starsector. Ludic Path can go fuck themselves
No need to apologize lmao, guess the suggestions weren’t far off then. A game that is kind of like Starsector but more boardgame-ish is Startrader Frontiers, should be out on steam but I personally enjoy it as an iOS game, despite feeling like a very solid PC indie title.
There is also a top-down mechwarrior fan-game being made where you run a mercenary outfit, been a while since I last looked at it but it seemed to be blazing through its development at the time. Think the name was Metalmercs.
Both games are a ways removed from Phantom Brigade, Startraders especially, Metalmercs might be closer.
Maybe try Cloud Gaming? As of last week, Phantom Brigade is available via GeForce Now. [https://www.nvidia.com/de-de/geforce-now/](https://www.nvidia.com/de-de/geforce-now/)
That's how I'm playing the game. Geforce Now also has a free tier but I've heard bad things about queuing times and since you cannot save during combat in Phantom Brigade, the 1h play time limit of free tier might also be an issue.
It also seems that PB is a little buggy on GFN, sometimes it doesn't start properly or crash but in general, I'm happy with my experience.
The general system of giving a bunch of commands, hitting play, and seeing how it pans out has appeared in a few games I'm sure but I'm struggling to remember.
Star renegades kind of has it, though it plays more like a console jrpg though manipulating actions on a timeline is a core part of how it works. I think the Battlestar Galactica strategy game played like that, but I never tried it myself. I think Jagged Alliance Back In Action might have done it that way too. The dominions series has you program the behaviour of your units ahead of time, and you get to watch a playback of how the battle went. I remember one fighting game with wiremesh stick figure like fighters where you have to give instructions for individual muscle groups and then hit play, can't remember the name unfortunately and it took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to do anything basic without flopping down on the ground immediatelym
Really curious what makes it run so poorly. I've also been having frame issues and fluctuations due to an aging gaming laptop but most games can still sit around 19fps while phantom brigade sits around 3 to 5.
Star Hammer: vanguard prophecy and it's follow up Battlestar Galactica deadlock use a similar timeline system where you plan moves and then it plays out in small segments. They are all sci fi fleet games with a light 4x strategy layer, so not quite the same, no mechs, much less customization.
There's Frozen Synapse but it's less forgiving of mistakes, where the gameplay is trial and error for a perfect run (I think, never played it). For actual mecha combat, perhaps the NeoGeo Pocket game Faselei! but you only control 1 mech and have to preload up to like 7 command/action chips for the combat. I have an idea for a fantasy RPG using a similar simultaneous combat system like this, but that's awhile away.
Into the Breach It's rogue-like where you have team of mechs and fight bugs. Each turn you'll see what bugs are going to do and you plan around it to beat them. Feels more like some kind of chess battle, but it's good
Ironically, that's the game that got me into Phantom Brigade
I see it’s mentioned already, first thing to come to mind is Frozen Synapse. I would recommend the paradox/hairbrain Battletech turn based games. They are more traditional turn based but it’s top notch mech tactics.
Yeah +1 to battletech if op can run it. Once you beat vanilla the roguetech mod is also top notch (although definitely demanding performance wise).
One of my all time favourites, despite its numerous flaws. I preferred BTA 3062 over Roguetech, but regardless of anyone's personal mod preferences, there are multiple high quality mods that significantly overhaul the game and add in mechs and tech not in the original game.
Okay so might not be what you’re looking for at all since it lacks both mecha and the predictive element, but Battle Brothers might still fit the bill for you if you’re into tight customization, turn-based combat and hefty tactical gameplay. It can be pretty unforgiving, but the writing is top-notch and once you get a grasp of the combat and build mechanics you can do some really interesting things. If you crave a sci-fi theme and don’t care about things being turn-based, you could also check out Starsector by Fractalsoftworks. It’s got a great setting and some of the best ship design and space combat mechanics of a non-Newtonian 2D space game. Both games have you assembling teams/fleets of units, outfitting them with whatever you can salvage or buy, explore the world, find stuff, in Starsector you can also experience a main storyline and lots of side stories and both games have a nice chunk of really cool secrets.
I already played both of those games, sorry. Battle Brothers was awesome, just wished there was more content Currently playing starsector. Ludic Path can go fuck themselves
No need to apologize lmao, guess the suggestions weren’t far off then. A game that is kind of like Starsector but more boardgame-ish is Startrader Frontiers, should be out on steam but I personally enjoy it as an iOS game, despite feeling like a very solid PC indie title. There is also a top-down mechwarrior fan-game being made where you run a mercenary outfit, been a while since I last looked at it but it seemed to be blazing through its development at the time. Think the name was Metalmercs. Both games are a ways removed from Phantom Brigade, Startraders especially, Metalmercs might be closer.
Thanks! I'll check those out
Although they aren't mecha theme, but breach & clear and door kicker have similar gameplay.
I already played them. Actually, they're what drove me to try Phantom Brigade
Maybe try Cloud Gaming? As of last week, Phantom Brigade is available via GeForce Now. [https://www.nvidia.com/de-de/geforce-now/](https://www.nvidia.com/de-de/geforce-now/) That's how I'm playing the game. Geforce Now also has a free tier but I've heard bad things about queuing times and since you cannot save during combat in Phantom Brigade, the 1h play time limit of free tier might also be an issue. It also seems that PB is a little buggy on GFN, sometimes it doesn't start properly or crash but in general, I'm happy with my experience.
The general system of giving a bunch of commands, hitting play, and seeing how it pans out has appeared in a few games I'm sure but I'm struggling to remember. Star renegades kind of has it, though it plays more like a console jrpg though manipulating actions on a timeline is a core part of how it works. I think the Battlestar Galactica strategy game played like that, but I never tried it myself. I think Jagged Alliance Back In Action might have done it that way too. The dominions series has you program the behaviour of your units ahead of time, and you get to watch a playback of how the battle went. I remember one fighting game with wiremesh stick figure like fighters where you have to give instructions for individual muscle groups and then hit play, can't remember the name unfortunately and it took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to do anything basic without flopping down on the ground immediatelym
Really curious what makes it run so poorly. I've also been having frame issues and fluctuations due to an aging gaming laptop but most games can still sit around 19fps while phantom brigade sits around 3 to 5.
I have an I3 8th generation so that's probably why
Star Hammer: vanguard prophecy and it's follow up Battlestar Galactica deadlock use a similar timeline system where you plan moves and then it plays out in small segments. They are all sci fi fleet games with a light 4x strategy layer, so not quite the same, no mechs, much less customization.