The /btg/ is dead, long live the /btg/!
"Wait 'till my other Rifleman is ready" Edition
Combat Manual: Mercs BETA
http://www.mediafire.com/download/1b5jq3tyi8viycf/E-CAT3526XA+BattleTech+Combat+Manual+Mercenaries-BETA.pdf
Old thread: >>43517133
=====================
>/btg/ does a TRO.
http://builtforwar.blog(not spam) spot.com/
>The Happening has Happened and it was glorious:
http://bg.battletech.com/news/news-and-announcements/drop-pod-sequence-initiatedthree-two-one/
>How do I do this Against the Bot thing?
http://pastebin.com/pE2f7TR5 (embed)
>Can I get an overview of the major factions?
http://bg.battletech.com/universe/great-houses/
http://bg.battletech.com/universe/the-clans/
http://bg.battletech.com/universe/other-powers/
>How do I find out what mechs a faction has?
http://masterunitlist.info/
>Map of /btg/ players (WIP):
https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=1116217&add=1
>Battletech Introductory Info and PDFs
http://bg.battletech.com/?page_id=400
>Rookie guides
http://pastebin.com/HZvGKuGx (embed)
>Sarna.net - Battletech Wiki
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Main_Page
>Megamek - computer version of Battletech. Play with AI or other players
http://megamek.info/
>SSW Mech Designer
http://www.solarisskunkwerks.com/
>Battletech IRC
#battletech on irc.rizon.net
>PDF Folders
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/9q792hobnbpw3/Battletech
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/sdckg6j645z4j/Battletech
haha butte hold
>>43565448
hold PURPLE BIRD WAIFU butte
>>43565448
HAHA,WAR OF THE TRIPODS!ISTOTALLY NONCANON
SOURCE:http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=49755.msg1148649#msg1148649
Honestly, could buy Gray Norton's Rifleman being SLIGHTLY different than a stock one, but only as far as having extra positive quirks; improved cooling jackets on the LLs or such. I agree that it's FAR better as a completely stock mech and he's just one of the best mechwarriors to ever live, though
>>43565485
Best waifu coming through.
>>43565677
Not that we have enough of them yet, but I'm going to have to point out that this one
>>43565817
...or this one, are both objectively superior.
>>43565612
This is a reasonable opinion.
>>43565850
Honestly, I figure that *most* Solaris VII mechs would be modified to add positive quirks
>>43565850
Owen Wilson best girl
>>43565612
>I agree that it's FAR better as a completely stock mech and he's just one of the best mechwarriors to ever live, though
I prefer this. It's reasonable to have a modified Rifleman but I enjoy it more as him being *just that good*.
>>43565850
Counterpoint: Outworlds Alliance has objectively best girl
>>43565968
As I said, IMO the vast majority of Solaris mechs should be slightly modified for positive quirks, and that's all the modification that Legend Killer should have
Everyone in this thread is wrong. BLAKE AKBAR
>>43566000
Nice trips but gonna have to disagree with you on that one. Real best girl.
>>43566000
You make a strong counterpoint, backed up with the trips. However, we don't as yet have a faction-backed picture of cartoon Kaylee of which I'm aware, and as such she is regretfully disqualified.
If and when such an image is generated, it will both by shiny and require a reassessment of my above statement.
>>43566055
While I would prefer the mystery and magic of Noton's completely unaltered -3N, the reality is probably closer to your vision than mine. And that's alright.
I just find the idea of him wielding an entirely insane clantech or SL-tech Rifleman II abomination to be abhorrent. It would diminish him as a character and would destroy his accomplishment. Seriously, walking into a Solaris arena in the 3010s with a mech involving a Gauss Rifle or ER Large Lasers and freezers would be like slaughtering a horde of lemmings: impressive in terms of scale... but not much else.
>>43566148
>I just find the idea of him wielding an entirely insane clantech or SL-tech Rifleman II abomination to be abhorrent
A-fuckin-men anon. That shit is just absolutely haram
Re-postan from >>43554281
Attention, Not Entirely Anon!
I found the attached pic on archive.4plebs; you had some discussions with its creator back in April, regarding an AeroTech/Renegade Legion space-game. I was hoping to pick the other guy's brain a little. By any chance did you get his contact details?
>>43566000
>>43566099
>literally fucked the old mechanic out of his job
Kaylee a slut. SLUT.
>>43566391
I genuinely don't recall. I'll go back through my emails and try to get back to you.
>>43566424
Get off the cortex, bester
>>43566462
Thanks, NEA.
>>43566481
The guy couldn't tell a grav-boot from a gravy boat. All she did was help Mal realise it.
>>43566424
Please anon, we know that she left you and it hurts, but being mad is not going to make anything better. It's OK anon, you can let it out, you don't have to show it as anger
Randall sure is bad at this isn't he
>>43566887
Yep, he is. But that's nothing new
On a related note, what's his pet faction? The burrs have herb, the cappies have Coleman and the Magistracy has....somebody. Who are Randy's boys, then?
>>43566980
Burrs: Ben Rome
Cappies: Coleman and MadCap
MoC: Kit
Davions: Adrian Gideon, Welshman
WoB: Herb
Randall: mercs (general), as far as I can tell.
>>43565612
>Honestly, could buy Gray Norton's Rifleman.. having extra positive quirks
Hell, those are installable with good maintenance, and there's always SPAs. Give the man Antagonizer/Demoralizer, Dodge, and some Edge and you can reproduce most of it. Maybe Some Like it Hot.
>>43567176
>Some Like it Hot.
Isn't that mandatory in a Rifleman?
>>43567176
Well, yeah. It's basically a given that gray is a 0/0 with a ton of SPAs
>>43567111
Herb was Steiner and Hell's Horses. Randall is Kurita. What MadCapellan likes is irrelevant because he's just a freelancer who does what he's told.
>>43567482
>found MadCapellan
>>43567498
Insufficient anime in my post to be MC.
>tfw you're bored at work and want to see if you can make a vehicle hunter Firestarter that is also expensive.
Sadly, it turned into a not shit version of the -81X.
>>43567573
That's because MadCapellan can't post his waifus outside of the faggotry embodied by /a/
Or on the OF. But I repeat myself.
>>43567699
Truth and dubs kill the thread
How do I post TRO's?
>>43567176
That picture is terrible.
The arms should extend outside the frame.
Some of the earliest mech designs were also some of the most scientifically accurate. Big Feet, High Surface Area, Low Center of Gravity.
I'd always thought they were drawn by an engineer instead of an illustrator, which is why they seemed so realistic, like he was running it through CAD software.
>>43568480
I'm aware. I like to occasionally remind myself that things were not always well in the magical land of the Eighties.
I hate what the anime fags have done with it. A 50' tall machine simply doesn't move like that, it is not that responsive.
Mechs were cooler when they were big, bulky and slow.
>>43568560
You learn by making mistakes. You can't be afraid of fucking up or looking bad if you want to progress as an artist.
Battletech has a huge nostaligia factor for me, its hard for me to think in terms of modern players/ consumers.
That being said, most of the mech design TRO's were absolute CRAP prior to the clan invasions.
Nowadays, its hard to make anything that hasn't already been made. (COME JOIN ME AS WE FROLIC IN GROGNARDIA!!!)
>>43568623
Not that guy, but as someone who is trying to get better at doing his own art so he can fluff his own readouts with passable art, I find that I am not satisfied with anything I do. I have to look up some "how tos" on technical drawing or something.
>>43568801
Study 2 point/3 point perspective. Its not that important for figure drawing or for people, but its really important when you are drawing big boxy objects in 3-dimensional space.
>>43568801
Also, its usually better to start with a template. Model your art off something that looks similar.
>>43568761
Are there any more pixels in Funkytown?
>>43568536
You'll want to watch out with that. Speaking anything but ill of Loose can get folks in trouble 'round here.
>even if you're right
>waifushit
>memeshit
>"hurr durr something bad/good happened to a faction, must be writer bias"
Can we go back to the pre-cancer btg please? Would it really be that hard? Or have all the good posters been driven off forever now?
Is it okay if think all factions are kind of dicks? I used to like clan wolf wardens back in the day, but then they disintegrated.
I kinna stick with DC cause they got all the nice new PPC tech.
Which weapons/equipment are faction specific? Are there some basic things that certain factions can't make, like ferro or endo?
>>43568838
>>43568867
Yeah, I have been using references so far, and restricting myself to front/side/rear so I don't have to worry about perspective just yet. Baby steps.
>>43568868
>anyone talkin' shit about Duane Loose
I'll fucking pin them to the ground and use a ruler to draw superfluous grid lines all over their god-forsaken faces!
>>43568953
Just for you, bucko.
>>43569108
>>43568953
>waifushit
This is relatively new, and I don't care, because a) good art, b) tits, and c) tits
>memeshit
This was never not a thing. It's just that the memes have somewhat changed.
>"hurr durr something bad/good happened to a faction, must be writer bias"
This was also never not a thing, on any BattleTech forum, ever. It was also never not a thing in any place where 3 or more BattleTech fans gathered at the same time. It is endemic to the fandom, and something that - while clinically idiotic - we're going to have to deal with forever. If we stop using fallible humans and superintelligent robots start writing BattleTech, we're going to have to deal with fans complaining that the robots perameters are poorly programmed and thus emotionless robots still "hate" Faction X.
>>43569101
I would never have paired Molotov with the Dragoons, but godDAMN if that doesn't work well.
>>43569183
>>I would never have paired Molotov with the Dragoons, but godDAMN if that doesn't work well.
Right up until you realize that makes Jaime Wolf Colonel Hunter Gathers.
>>43569210
I stand by my statement. It explains Waco's reaction well enough...
>>43569232
I won't lie, turning the Wolf's Dragoons into OSI makes a disturbing amount of sense.
>>43567111
>WoB: Herb
Herb is on record as being a Horse fan
>>43569183
I will try to get some wallpaper-sized ones made eventually, since you asked. What resolution do you want? I guess I should just make them as huge as I can since you can always shrink them down. Some logos don't work though; I have no hi-rez Snow Raven logo, for instance. So a larger one would be a no-go unless I vector one myself and I ain't getting paid for this shit, mang. Plus it's hard to motivate myself beyond my own entertainment since all of two people (you and that anon that always #/10s them) seem to care that I am doing it. The haters don't bother me though; I don't see them making any OC.
seriously though, say i don't want to dig through the fluff, is there a list of what weapons and equipment that the different factions can purchase/manufacture?
>>43569108
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4Bq69HfR0Y
>>43567111
>Davions: Adrian Gideon
Where do you get that?
>>43569372
They can all pretty much make anything not earmarked in a particular era as being from a certain faction, assuming we're talking main factions here, and not crossing tech type lines. And as the eras drag on, tech gets spread out, so what was Marik-only back in the day might be in Cappie and Lyran hands 20 years later. But no, I know of no such list, but let me tell you, as a designer, I would love one so I didn't have to do all that digging to find manufacturers that are era-correct.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17lkdqoLt44
>>43569372
Do you mean "general equipment" like PPCs or large lasers, or "brand-specific equipment" like a Magna Hellstar PPC or an Exostar Large Laser?
What do you guys think of this design?
>>43569719
i mean faction specific, like rotary AC's and Heavy PPC's, and also generic equipment that factions might not have access to.
>>43569863
OK, then yeah, >>43569628 is the generally correct answer. If you dig long enough - as with anything regarding BattleTech - you can probably find an individual counterexample. But that's the overall correct response. 10-20 years of "near-exclusivity" are all any single tech can expect, with the big exception of ClanTech vs Inner Sphere Tech.
>>43569749
I think you should export to clip board and post it as an image file
>>43569749
Don't turrets cost mass?
>>43569749
better?
[email protected]
>>43570189
Your turret is non functional, aside from taking up a crit slot. You have to add the weapon to the turret and spend tonnage to get the effect.
>>43570162
not according to ssw.
I should note its only experimental because it uses fractional accounting.
>>43570239
>not according to ssw.
Right click, add to turret.
>>43570297
dammit, that fucks up everything.
can quads torso-twist?
>>43570451
No. Being y'know, quadrupedal .
>>43570451
>can quads torso-twist?
Quadvees can
>>43570459
What difference should that make? If I put a horse in an industrial vise, I can totally make it turn its fore and hindquarters in different directions, so why not a quadMech?
CLEARLY CGL HATES QUADS!
>>43570297
That reminds me, I made a pretty sweet quad equivalent of a hunch back, with a turret mounted A/C 20 a while back. About the same BV too, which is nice.
All this quad-turret stuff got me thinking, and I made the Blakist bastard child of the Rifleman-7M and the Gotterdammerung. 2 LGRs in a turret, C3i in the head, 7 medium lasers in the CT, and 19 tons of armor. It's a nasty sniper, and getting close just makes it worse.
>>43570586
laserboat much?
what program do you use to export to png? I use libre office and it doesn't do it correctly.
>>43570586
That sounds downright nasty.
>>43570784
I named it the Nidhogg.
>>43570738
Copy text to clipboard, then either paste in notepad and screenshot, or paste the text into Paint directly. Notepad's font is Lucinda console.
>>43570865
You can't paste into paint directly.
>>43570865
thats also fucking asinine, why not just export to a pdf?
>>43570586
Also made a Marik quad for general mid-range stuff. Turreted Ultra-10 with 3 tons ammo and 4 ERMLs moving 5/8 using an XL and Endo-Comp. 1 point shy of max armor.
>>43569372
There's a chart in MercSups II that says when various factions have enough of a given technology that it can be considered widespread for them.
>>43570894
Yes you can, I do it all the time. Just select "export to clipboard" in SSW, then open Paint and paste the text. No need to fiddle about with notepad or anything else.
>>43570921
.pdf format fucking sucks any way. It slows my system to a crawl every time I fire up Adobe Acrobat. Image files are easier to make and don't cause performance issues.
>>43570959
Quad turrets really do make them oh-so-good, don't they? Sure they take tonnage but 360* radius threat is worth it, all while getting rid of their only real drawback. I really should use them more often.
>>43570921
Because images are easier for people on 4chan to read. If you want people to actually look at your design, you use an image.
>>43569964
>magic Clantech still being a thing 100 years later
This pisses me off every time I get reminded of itwhich is often
>>43570509
A horse also doesn't have a fusion reactor and PPCs on it
so fuck your stupid shit
I swear the quality of our namefags has dropped like a rock lately.
>>43570921
Personally, I find the exported text much easier to understand. The PDF layout is garbage, BT really needs a new record sheet.
>>43571027
You should probably refresh yourself on the definition and usage of satire, ButthurtAnon.
I also made this, not sure how effective it is, but its dirt cheap...
>>43570993
Frankly, quads should have turrets by default. A 16-crit reduction in space is far too much, especially given the other downsides quads have to contend with.
>>43571059
Seems like he was trying to satirise people who like quads to me
>>43571046
I'm not talking about the record sheets, i'm talking about exporting your mek to text then converting it to a pdf with your document viewer, (ie MS word or libreoffice)
>>43571017
Highly developed worlds like Luthien losing the ability to craft LosTech was stupid too. It makes sense that the lower developed colonies would forget or at least switch to cheaper stuff, and cost being a factor would make sense as well, but straight forgetting? Nah. Every house should have been able to produce "royal" or "elite" units in a small trickle, as retrofits or production models depending, but they should still have been there. Still, it is what it is, I guess. I just can't get fanboy mad at shit like that anymore. I just don't care. Game is fun, have a beer, laugh when funny shit happens. That's my motto.
>>43571078
I read it (especially given the last line) as a satire on the people who use real-world stuff to justify performance of equipment in the game, and then reeeeeeee at CGL when they're told to cut that shit out.
Plus, a horse in an industrial vise is a funny mental image, you have to admit that. It's the same sort of joke as "everything is airdroppable...once."
>>43571062
If you get within 2 hexes of your enemies rear, thats 3, 9 damage shots at close range with the pulse laser to hit bonus
>>43571062
>6 million C-bills
>cheap
Maybe if you think the Mad Cat IV is an high cost Heavy and not a fucking extravagance.
>>43571183
I mean BV wise, since thats the only thing that matters.
>>43570529
Aha, i found it. A little different than i remember though
>>43570921
Because on 4chan, with an image I can just mouse over your mech without having to open another page for the pdf. Or if I'm elsewhere, I have to download your design, which then nudges me right on to insulting it for giggles.
>>43570509
Quad rules were optional until TW, so it's the only reasonable conclusion!
The unseen Goliath and Tarantula make a little more sense back when quads could torso twist though. Though in the Goliath's case, I'd just retcon quad turrets to being old as hell, since there's no logical reason they couldn't be, and stick the PPC in one. and drop to a half ton of MG ammo and drop a half ton of armor, evening all the legs out a 25 points a piece.
But I presume the Shimmyseen will render that unnecessary altogether and remove the turret.
>>43571299
seems a little slow, especially for a medium quad. Maybe give it an XL or light fusion engine and make it go faster?
>>43571474
Well the idea was to keep it low tech city/rough terrain fighter,disregard the selected tech levelbesides you cant fit anything other than a standard engine with an A/C 20 turret
>>43571532
>besides you cant fit anything other than a standard engine with an A/C 20 turret
oh.
>>43571677
I know, a 6/9 jumping quad with an turret mounted AC/20 would be sweet
>>43571692
>>43571677
>>43571532
SSW is refusing to let me add an LBX20 to a turret, whats up with that?
>>43571692
so is a bj from scarlet johanson, but monkeys aren't flying out of my butt
>>43571717
I am having the same problem
>>43571692Clan LBX 20/UAC 20
>>43571815
i'm trying, but i cant get megamek to add that god damn quad turret
>>43571942
it won't add any type of ac 20, only ac 10's. I wonder if its some obscure rule i don't know about.
>>43571942
I still don't like MML because it's not complete. It'll be better than SSW once it's done but for now, It's annoying all the random shit that's broken or missing.
>>43571970
screw it, just add a gauss rifle instead
>>43572077
fuck MML, how do you add a quad turret in SSW?
>>43568536
>I'd always thought they were drawn by an engineer instead of an illustrator
Loose is actually an engineering draftsman. Got started in that field before moving on to mechanical design and 3d animation - he even did the units for Command and Conquer.
>>43568694
>That being said, most of the mech design TRO's were absolute CRAP prior to the clan invasions.
What, all three of them? If you're seriously going to argue that 3055 or 3067 (or, for that matter, the redrawn Star League shit in 3025r) looks better than 3025o or 3026, then you're blind. Yeah, his work is weak on the technical side - it's too busy and he's got a complete inability to convey depth - but he's still acres ahead of (say) Chaffee on the actual >design< aspect.
>>43572178
There is a radio box above each side torso you have to check, then you right click each component that's meant for the turret in that location and select "add to turret".
what's the worst looking mech that you love anyways?
>>43572333
JagerMech I suppose.
>>43568953
where do you think you are?
there, one jumping 6/9 quad with a turret mounted ultra 20
>>43572353
>>43572333
probably the bandersnatch. so derpy, yet so useful
>>43572333
oost scoot
>>43572344
*angry XL trashcan noises*
I've heard occasional mention of "Fan Grand Council" games. What are they and what rules set do they use?
>>43572566
Oh, Anon. For the topic you have unwittingly unleashed upon the thread, I bestow my heartfelt sympathies.
>>43572566
They were a group RP on the official forums where the players RP'd as faction-leaders; they started as Clanners, hence the name.
The first FGC was mostly free-form, purely RP, and fun. Several later versions were more structured, introducing rules and hard numbers, and got more contentious as people tried to 'win'. The last version went down in flames owing to several cases of absenteeism by some faction-leaders, poor planning, GM ass-pulls that didn't work out as hoped, and broken resource-management and conflict-resolution mechanics that were ruthlessly exploited and manipulated by some players. Not to mention the people who were outright cooking their books to 'win'.
That said, some of the RPs were downright awesome. Cannonshop's Kowloon (a Lyran subfaction) was always entertaining, and Niops was full of cosplayers and sci-fi geeks who subdued riots by spraying them with recreational drugs.
>>43572684
>That said, some of the RPs were downright awesome. Cannonshop's Kowloon (a Lyran subfaction) was always entertaining, and Niops was full of cosplayers and sci-fi geeks who subdued riots by spraying them with recreational drugs.
Got any links?
>>43572701
Not to hand, sorry.
>>43572684
>>43572673
Now I want to see a /btg/ version
>>43572684
This reminds me of my college days spent RPing in TFS Mechcommander on MPlayer. Good times. I miss that lot. I recall all the RP between us (DC) and the Jags. They were a great bunch, and we had a lot of awesome battles. We also broke the system when we had a series of several severely vicious fluke victories and we decimated their forces over the course of several weeks, and then negotiated a peace treaty that involved joining up with the Jags to assault the Ghost Bears. The admins for the league had no idea how to handle it or what to do, so they ruled we couldn't do it and that we signed an armistice instead. We spent the rest of that cycle OOC in chat drinking and sharing stories, and having pointless 'Mech battles when we felt like it. Always stupid shit like two Atlas Js with a single laser each monkey knife fighting until one died.
I'll wager nobody has any idea at all what I am talking about. Probably before your time.
Also, is anyone else being forced to solve like 3-4 captchas per post now? It's fucking annoying.
>>43572783
That sounds great. Reminds me of when we used to do community warfare back in MPBT Solaris on AOL (speaking of things that are before people's time).
>>43572813
How'd you handle the games? Honor system using double blind and hex numbers for movement?
>>43572783
Is that some yakuza tats paintjob on that Hunchback?
It also just hit me: Combine mechs done up like Japanese semi trucks when? Or perhaps more likely a Drac fighter on Solaris.
>>43572835
I think the Yakuza do paint their 'Mechs like that, but I dunno about the LEDs and spinning rims. It'd be pretty awesome to be fighting in a night arena then suddenly flip on your swag when you come face to face, and overload your opponent's light amplification filter.
So all these Riflemen and that Jägermech up above got me thinking: when was that wing-shaped antenna retconned into a radar and not a radio antenna? Because I clearly remember TRO 3025 describing that as a comm system and that Riflemen get targeted in the head area because of that.
>>43572832
MPBT was a 4 on 4 (max, anyway) arena fighter. There were a bunch of different rooms for each instanced battle, so you'd get your lance together, fight the other side's lance, and whoever won got "control" of that room.
MPBT 3025 had built in community warfare, with a big map of the inner sphere and factions could control actual individual planets. Shame that game folded so fast.
>>43573050
Sounds cool. The map with individual planets sounds a lot like how TFS handled their stuff; each planet had resources it could provide, and factory worlds were controllable, and you could decide how much, and of what, they could make. Each faction had certain production limitations, typically represented by caps on the weight classes of units you could make arranged in a hierarchy (so for example the DC could make mostly Mediums, then Assaults, then Heavies, then Lights, I think. Been a while). You had a total amount of production tonnage you could divide as you saw fit relative to your force composition/production rules. It was very in-depth, and well thought out. Battles were fought in the game, obviously.
I recall it lasted at least 2-3 years, but I don't know how long it survived past the launch of MC2 and the clusterfuck that was multiplayer for that.
I actually found a damn screenshot of what that lobby looked like back in the day. This one is mostly the non-RP ladder league SL (Starlance). I remember a few of these people, including the guy who's client this is. Man, this brings me back.
>inb4 >>>/v/
>>43573019
"Mercenary's Star" had Davis McCall's Rifleman's head antennae moving back and forth explicitly as part of the AAA targeting system (either during or immediately after the beach fight in the Verthandi landing; I can't recall and my books are at my house). I'm pretty sure that the explanation bounced back and forth between comms and radar for a while before settling down.
>>43573159
>>43573019
I only ever recall reading that they were radar arrays; super-powerful ones at that. Or maybe that's just my headcanon for what I recall since to me, that's what they should be due to both 'Mechs being AA platforms.
>>43573159
Oh, so it was earlier than I thought. The first mention I remember about the antenna being a radar was from Lethal Heritage, when one of the Valkyrate pirates is described as having a spinning antenna on his Rifleman.
>>43573212
That just sounds to me more like the author not knowing proper terminology, unless they specifically mentioned "radio" along with it.
>>43573199
Nope, it was specifically said to be a comms antenna - pic attached is from the original TRO 3025. This despite the fact that the Jägermech is described in the same book as having the same radar system as the Rifleman, and it even has the same antenna on top.
>>43573231
So then it's basically what NEA was saying. The authors confused the two and flipped back and forth for a while.
>>43572813
>>43572832
>How'd you handle the games? Honor system using double blind and hex numbers for movement?
Almost - refereed double-blind PBEM (if this is the same league I was in).
Chaplain was my callsign on that sucker.
>>43573231
Well, it being the same thing works regardless of what it is, since the Rifleman and Jagermech share both the same comm and targeting systems.
ANother thought on the the JM/RFL thing: maybe it isn't just a radar or a comm antenna, but both in a single assembly?
>>43573453
You call that sweat? And your neurohelmet is diminutive!
BTW, for any of you having trouble with SSW, if you set your text to "large" in windows control panel, it causes issues. Set it to "medium" or lower to resolve.
Noob here
Are RACs the only way to have reasonable Dakka?
>>43574128
HAGs are dakka too, through with no specific control over it like a RAC. But it is also dakka that rips up aircraft real good.
>>43569749
If you ditch the turret and fractional accounting, you can easily make this a level II ruleset mech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szhfl4nxWxg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPlz0eeixDo
Lesser Dog and Greater Dog BAs when?
pg9 bump
>>43572736
You really don't, trust me
>>43575915
Oh, but I do.
>>43576187
Well, the Free Wrolds league players would spend all their time screaming at each other and everyone else while accomplishing nothing.
>>43576187
no, you really don't. it wouldn't even be fun.
if it was clan leaders, than the very first thing that would happen is everybody dogpiling the burrs and probably wolves to destroy them and work out their masturbatory hate fantasies that way.
if IS factions were included it would be exponentially worse; CA would throw a nuclear-grade autismal fit the second that somebody wanted to play TC, and like as not several players would try to spend all of their time trying to destroy the various factions that /btg/ hates, like the goons, the TC and laio, and since one of the namefags would almost certainly be chosen to GM, and they all like the MoC, they'd be getting benefits and everybody would be crying fiat
it would actually be WORSE than canon; /btg/ can't have nice things and frankly doesn't deserve them
>>43576254
so what if we restricted everyone to JUST the FWL? Because it seems like an accurate simulation.
>>43576187
>>43576254
>>43576303
what I COULD see working would be a small-scale thing involving 99% non-canon factions. say the game is a bunch of OC minor periphery states and bandit kingdoms scattered through the non-clan occupied parts of the former RWR along the FWL-LC border. we'd have two whole canon playable factions, the rim collection and Circinus Federation. the rest would be homebrew. some players would play the factions and some would play various merc groups, while there'd be one person each who "plays" the FWL and LC, but they actually are only there to play OPFOR for raids against those states by the "PC" groups.
THAT is a /btg/ online faction game that I could see working
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYt44UqpOmU
The Growltiger was the personal Mech of a Pirate who earned the ire of both the Capellans and the Draconis.
>>43576303
Imagine the Andurien War, but with all of the FWL going after the Cappies.
So last thread we were talking about IS Protos being what amounts to Superheavy BAs (between 2 and 4 tons). Are there any ideas for what these Protos would be armed with?
>>43576490
since the thread before that, people were talking about marian protomechs, so I'm going to say that RL tubes would be one, along with massed infantry SRMs, duct-taping a bunch of support PPCs together to make one pretty big gun, stuff like that
>>43576538
I like you.
I think Squads would either be a bag of mixed tonnage, or four of the same Proto in different variants.
>>43576254
>like as not several players would try to spend all of their time trying to destroy the various factions that /btg/ hates
That is definitely true. It was true in the FGC as well, to be honest.
>>43576383
That's actually a decent idea. Granted, it's still likely to end in a gigantic pile of hate and "reeeee", but doing homebrew factions is probably the most even-handed way to pull it off. I kind of want to adapt and heavily expand the AK-47 Republic "random faction generator" over to a "random Periphery State Generator" now. Doing it via dice rolls is likely the most fair way to do things. The trick would be guaranteeing that we don't have somebody running around with Kell Hound-level tech against a bunch of other factions at the PAF level.
Oh, and it goes without saying namefags would have to run it. Because if namefags actually PLAYED it, it would devolve into "dogpile the namefags for hate's sake" within 48 hours of starting.
By the by, whomever >>43572684 is, by congrats on setting a good tone on the discussion. I was 100% sure a mention of the FGC was going to turn into a giant shitstorm, and I'm happy to have been proven wrong. So far.
>>43576666
I'd rather run it with points-based generation for the state generation than pure random tables, but you ARE the one with the quads,so
Rolled 2, 1, 4, 3, 6, 1 = 17 (6d6)
>>43576666
rolling that generator
>>43576695
So it's an Estonian flag turned sideways with a red animal on it. Any suggestions for the animal?
>>43576686
HAS there been a Periphery Faction Generator ever done for BattleTech? I'm not aware of one; it'd be a fan product, clearly.
Also, I'm not wedded to RNGs. I'm just of the "make what you're given work" school of gaming. I don't come to D&D with an idea of a character either; I roll dice and see what they come up with. I've had too many experiences with massive point-buy min-maxing to be totally comfortable with pure point-buy.
...if there isn't a Faction generator, would anyone mind if I took a stab at making one? It'll be rough, and it won't be up till late tonight at best; I have to go talk to my contractor here in an hour.
>>43576666
> I kind of want to adapt and heavily expand the AK-47 Republic "random faction generator" over to a "random Periphery State Generator" now
you're in luck; I have a massive fetish for designing random generation tables for all sorts of shit; post the AK-47 republic ones as a PDF and I'll get to work with the periphery edition
>>43576721
honestly, I was suggesting points mostly so that there's no "he rolled good and I rolled bad and I got fucked REEEE" shit going on.
>>43576766
No, that's also a totally fair concern. There's got to be a middle ground here.
>>43576741
I...don't have the generator. I thought I did, but I just have the flag generator. I don't know what happened.
>>43576807
In that case I'll do it from scratch, starting with the physical aspects (number of planets, habitability and resources of each, military, what they can and can't manufacture etc)
Also, there's going to be a "state oddity table", of course, and I'll be taking suggestions for things to include
>>43576807
What about a system where everybody gets the same number of points, but is subject to randomly rolled restrictions on what they can spend them on?
>>43576915
Go for it. I would perhaps include a 2d6 (bell curved) table to give a certain number of "free points" which can be used to modify other random table results. That should help prevent >>43576766's issue.
I very, very much look forward to seeing it.
>>43576964
I was actually gonna go full-percentile for more variation, rather than 2d6. as for the other thing, I was going to go the t2k 1e route, like, where you randomly roll for most stuff and then get to buy stuff with points at the end, and the amount of randomly rolled stuff you get directly determines how many points you get, so if you rolled shit, you'd get a lot of free points to spend, or if you rolled well, you'd get much fewer.
and I'll get to work; should have it mostly-done by like midnight
>>43577022
I'm sorry, I wasn't clear.
What I meant was, if you were to include a "free points table", then THAT TABLE should be a 2d6 roll. That way you can plan on people rolling in the middle of the bell curve. So say you've got a total of 20 tables to generate a faction, and you want people to be able to modify each roll by about 1 point (or they can modify 10 rolls by about 2 points, etc):
FREE POINTS TABLE (2d6)
2: 16 points
3: 22 points
4: 22 points
5: 18 points
6: 20 points
7: 20 points
8: 20 points
9: 18 points
10: 22 points
11: 22 points
12: 24 points
That produces a fairly reliable result from the 2d6 bell curve, but with enough variance that it becomes very hard for players to min-max the other table results allowing for the *expected* free point values. Make sense?
>>43576915
ATOWC already has a system to roll up planets and star systems, but IIRC it doesn't cover resources, beyond what's suggested by a planet's self sufficiency and industrial level.
Though it would still need to be modified some if only to eliminate the chances of getting highly industrialized places rivaling house capitals and such, which I don't think we would want here.
>>43577158
I'd still rather tie the "bonus" points to the table roles directly rather than have them independent of oneanother.
BUT, the things you can buy with points at the end are not the same things that the tables give you, so there'll still be a marked difference between those places that roll well VS those that spent a lot of points
>>43577459
OK, no worries. Again, looking forward to seeing the draft.
>mfw making a Spider armed with a Narc (bolas) and a chain whip
Spider-Mech, Spider-Mech
Does whatever a spider can
Shoots out web, any size
Catches mechs just like flies
Is he strong? Listen here
He's got triple strength myomere
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead
Hey there, there goes the Spider-Mech!
>>43577881
/btg/ a best
>>43577881
Here's the picture.
Apparently everybody got better upgraded Panthers than the Kuritas.
okay I am not up to date in the dark age sourcebooks and am now at vol5 of the dark age novels, question are solaris arena matches still a thing? and if yes, how do they work with the barely functioning communication
>>43578110
wait which variant is that?
I though Panthers had PPC+SRM4
>>43578438
Doesn't line up with anything official, must be a custom.
>>43578438
It isn't a Panther.
It's a Falcon Hawk.
>>43578617
Wait, you're jealous of the Falcon Hawk?
Are you drunk?
>>43578387
They were, they just got transmitted via the slower news channels just like everything else.
>>43579074
huh, thats coo. I suppose they mainly fight with industry retrofits now and its even more brawling then before
>>43578617
I've never used one, but it looks incredibly mediocre.
I'd much rather pay an extra 150 BV and bring something like a Spector.
>>43579074
What?
>>43579192
Mediocre is the perfect way to describe it.
It's a super-light XL trooper, packing long range, anti-light and anti-infantry firepower in the same cool-running package. Looks fine on paper, but it's pretty lackluster in practice.
The -91KB is at least better by having better range and carrying a sweet electronics payload; the ECM can go on Ghost Targets to help keep it alive while TAG is always handy.
>>43578387
>question are solaris arena matches still a thing? and if yes, how do they work with the barely functioning communication
Yes.
One, the Wolves are getting drunk and watching them, while wandering around "rewarding" winners by fighting them as the whim takes root.
Two, the games are still getting sent out via mail packet ships. That's cut the betting side and allowed a couple of other game worlds to take regional prominence.
>>43579423
They go OK as fire support units in light Level IIs. They're better in multiples; you have 4 brawler-types to go fight the enemy's 4 brawlers, and then you get 2 Falcon Hawks putting in fire from long range.
Obviously, this only works in "fluff" battles; a Level II is the same type of maneuver unit as a lance, and should be paired off that way. In a BV balanced fight, this doesn't really work. Of course, the entire concept of "light fire support" doesn't really work, either.
>>43579192
>>43579423
isn't that exactly the reason why the combine loves the panther?
>>43579584
Because they got a shit-ton of them, and they have a boner for PPCs.
>>43576254
>since one of the namefags would almost certainly be chosen to GM, and they all like the MoC
Munnin HATES the MoC. But he's also a horribly biased PURPLE BURD, so putting him in charge would be a bad idea.
>>43579584
>isn't that exactly the reason why the combine loves the panther?
The Panther is a 4/6/4 with a cracker and a critseeker. While they aren't spectacular, they're cheap and effective headhunters working in packs - which is exactly how the Combine uses them. With Infernos mounted on half the squad, Panther lances become hellacious harassers, firemechs, and anti-conventional powerhouses.
The Falcon Hawk is a 5/8 light with an ERPPC and some pulses. It needs support to exploit the holes it makes, lacks an effective retreat speed and the maneuverability of the Panther, and can only effectively engage infantry from within rifle range. It >does< have a ton more armor, however, which can make it a bit more survivable while it's trudging about.
In addition, ComStar and the Word of Blake rarely use two of the same 'Mech inside a Level II. Which is fortunate, because spamming Falcon Hawks is a bad idea.
is the AToW companion in the OP mediafire? it'll save me quite a bit of time with the tables if I have an example to adapt from
>>43580537
No human being who is a Battletech fan can be sufficiently trusted not to favor one faction over another, though.
>>43580854
What if we get somebody from outside the fandom to run the game? They wouldn't be a fan, and so therefore they'd be a neutral party
>>43581287
If they cared enough to continue running the game, then they'd *become* a fan of one faction or another. And by virtue of doing so, they'd become the very thing you're seeking to avoid.
Humans have favorites and biases. The good ones try to recognize and mitigate them, but it's always going to happen. You need to be able to trust that your GM is capable of doing that, or you need to not play at all.
>>43581445
This is why we play AtB and Megamek games so we don't have to deal with other people with their bullshit biases. If you were a real Battletech fan, you'd understand that.
>>43581445
I think a good thing to do is set the game either in a place that everyone is a fan of (like my taurian colonial marshal game) or that nobody has a strong opinion about (like my merc game set on the lyran-combine border in the '20s)
>>43581555
How about a Fan Grand Council set in the Chainelaine Isles?
>>43580854
>>43581287
Or you can just get a couple experienced GMs who don't give any fucks while they're running (v.s playing). Two of my three favorite canon factions are dead (stone, fuck-you, entirely wiped out, ceased to be, shuffled off and joined the bleeding choir invis, etc.). #3 is "Pirates and independent mercenaries as a general concept". I can't be the only guy with GMing experience and the dispassion to run a game as a referee, not a faglord.
>>43582136
What are the other two?
>>43582136
Given the picture, I'd imagine one is either the SLDF Mk. 1 or the RWR.
Looking for a little input for those periphery state generation tables: what's a good upper limit for number to planets and also force size? I'm thinking ~20 planets and 3-4 mech regiments aw the max, but I dunno
Also, should I base DS/JS numbers on reasonable numbers or the nonsensical canon ones? I need opinions
>>43582216
>>43582263
Santander's Killers and the Blood Spirits (because angry, dead, cheating isolationists with elite pilots and shitty 'Mechs are apparently my fetish). Come to think of it, that describes the Haseks-Davion as well..
Anyway, I've played pretty much every faction in the 'Verse at one point or another as OPFOR for my players. You kind of have to get into their heads to play each faction correctly, but you also have to be able to drop that to be able to >keep< playing effectively. You can't be angry at the players for fucking over "your" faction, or living out stupid revenge fantasies with every campaign - no-one really likes to be part of your magical realm all day erry day, you know? Not only that, it sucks to feel like you got a break because the GM is wanting you to win because of the flag you're flying. It's cheap.
>>43583126
>Looking for a little input for those periphery state generation tables: what's a good upper limit for number to planets and also force size? I'm thinking ~20 planets and 3-4 mech regiments aw the max, but I dunno
2-3 systems, ~4 worlds or so. There are a lot of neutral systems, however, which will make expansion priorities and intelligence important. Do you build up forces with what capacity you have now to make holding territory later easier? Try to seize a couple low-level systems, and risk spreading yourself too thin? LosTech prospect, for better units later on? Raid the Great Houses and bank on the Piranha Doctrine to save your ass? Go for a diplomatic option to take surrounding systems?
It means you're pissing less on canon too.
>Also, should I base DS/JS numbers on reasonable numbers or the nonsensical canon ones? I need opinions
With small realms, all you need is one or two ships and a handful of droppers. That's enough to run an invasion or some scouting missions and have trade between planets, and it makes incorporating systems or companies that might have JS capacity important for your expansion. Lots of roleplaying room without forcing PVP conflict immediately.
>>43580537
Huh, I thought everyone loved them.
>>43583615
>tranny whore faction shitposting
>sucking cappie dick shitposting
>>43583126
I'd say build the tables out to 20/4, the hypothetical btg campaign can just impose penalties to keep them down to however little
>>43583642
Have you ever considered that said shitposting is the result of a lot of people around here liking the MoC?
>>43580854
I could be, but i want my favorite successor state to die because it sucks now.
Man, the Malice blows
>>43583794
Yes we know.
>>43583794
>not liking the Malice -XY
It's a C3 and TAG spotter. A 100 ton spotter, coated in Ferro-Lam and modular armor, with LAMS. Absolutely hilarious to use.
>>43583876
Oh man I just realized the XP has no CASE as an xl mech with 6 tons of ammo. Guess that's why it's the XP...
>>43580854
I can. Like the Great Buddha, I have freed myself from the cycle of faction shitposting.
>>43584191
Buddha's a Drac you foor
>>43584249
Actually, Shinto and Confucianism are the main religions in the Combine.
>>43583794
I wish it didn't, It looks so cool and could have been so good. Then it wasn't.
>>43583126
I say rig the tables so that ON AVERAGE any given state has two JS and ~4 CIVILIAN DS for every planet; it's essentially the minimum that you need for a courier-type system of interplanetary communications. without even that, you aren't even a *state*, really. now, 1 in 5 DS as military is about reasonable, the rest being mules and buccaneers and jumbos and DRoSTs and such.
now, the number of non-state-owned merchant ships operating in any given state should be about two-three times the number of state-owned ships, IMO
>>43584249
Buddha is a CapCon whore.
>>43584441
It would have been really great in the 2nd Succession War, though.
>>43584702
Zee Fedsuns haff invonted zee Rifleman V!
>>43584688
Lies, Buddha's a merc and you know it.
Not even a Fiat-fed-Merc.
>>43584776
It was intended to be a Star League AA mech, with a side-order of ground punch. For use with Flack ammo, of course, but that would have bumped it out of Introtech, sadly.
It was only much later that I noticed its resemblance to the Malice.
It wasn't meant to visually look similar at all, what with having hands and all.
>>43584702
I could easily see a SW era Malice as being really fucking amazing.
>>43584511
That seems like a not-bad number.
>>43583278
That sounds more like the low-end of what I had in mind, honestly. Also, single jumpships for a state is an astonishingly bad idea; single point-of-failure for an entire interstellar state is a REALLY BAD IDEA; if you did it like that, all it takes is for That Guy to send ASFs to blow up your single JS and suddenly your state is effectively out of the game. I think everyone can see why this is a bad idea
>>43584954
On a related topic: what about WarShips or combat DropShips?
If - IF - they're allowed, I'd suggest permitting no WS heavier than 750,000 tons, and no more than half a dozen WS per faction total. Call it a total tonnage-per-faction of 1,200,000 tons, with a minimum of two hulls-per-faction. Aquilla-derivatives, corvettes, and destroyers would predominate.
Supplementary suggestion: if WS are allowed, each faction would have the yards to maintain their WarShips, but they can only build new WS hulls at a rate of, oh, 50,000 tons per year. That allows replacement of occasional losses (so you can have WS skirmishes), but means that if your fleet is wiped out, you're shit outta luck. 'Decisive battles' will be avoided, and 'fleets in being' will be the dominant model.
>>43585189
Unless this game would be in the star league or an hugely divergent AU, having ANY warships just does not make sense.
>>43585189
As WarShips go, the farthest I was willing to go was having a ancient, crippled warship wreck, TCW vandenburg style as one of the possibilities on the "unusual resource" table, which IN THEORY with massive time and resource commitment be restored to usable status, and theft is always an unlikely but exiting possiblity, but WarShips are slightly outside the scale that I was thinking of, y'know? I might come up with a extra "WarShip fleet" table for those who want to use this for AUs where they're more common, seeing as I've got one and there are apparently other folks interested
As for combat DropShips, assault DropShips would show up on the random DropShip table, but PWS are like warships in that they're a bit big-time for these minor powers. I'll include them on the WarShip fleet table, as well, though acquiring one in play is slightly more likely; you could, for instance, pull a few missile tubes out of a derelict WarShip and cram them into a dropper. But again, they're a bit big-league for the kind of states that this would generate
>>43585189
Quick correction: I just hit sarna to double-check my numbers. Call it nothing heavier than a Dart-class (680,000 tons), and nothing post-Amaris. That should keep the worst of the abusable designs out of play. (I wanted to include the Congress, but the Aegis is ten thousand tons smaller, and the Aegis is an 800lb gorilla compared to the tin-cans it would be put amongst.)
>>43585368
>>43585421
Valid comments. That's why I said 'if': I'm mainly exploring the option for those who might - MIGHT - want to use this as a basis for aerospace games.
That being said, some of the really Deep Periphery colonies would have been founded with Primitive Jumpships like the Aquilla, arguably a gateway to 'real' WarShips. If one or more of these powers had retained or regained the ability to build Aquillas or derivatives, small navies of light WS would be possible or even likely - especially if their rivals had them too. (Hello, arms race!) So there's a certain degree of justification for either approach.
>>43585512
Re: the Aquila, it's in as the double-ought on the Jumpships table.
As building aquila-style ships go, they'd be just as hard to build as an actual WarShip; the whole reason that 'modern'-style JS replaced the Aquila and it's breed is that they used the "standard" core rather than the staggeringly expensive and complicated Compact Core, same as a WarShip
>mfw /btg/ is better at Battletech than CGL
>>43585512
The real issue with this is that frankly, that's the sort of thing one planet should be able to pull off. The problem is not here, it's back in the IS where an IQ above 90 is in the upper 5th percentile.
>>43585734
Welcome to FASAnomics, abandon hope, all he who enter here
>>43585719
Half the time /btg/ can't even spell 'BattleTech' correctly.
What's a good replacement for the Bearhunters on the Fenrir II?
I'm thinking plasma
>>43585777
>implying anyone that's not autistic cares about capitalizing the T
![[].png](https://i.imgur.com/gRFMTO6.png "[].png")
