The /btg/ is dead, long live the /btg/!
TP: Epislon Eridani is out
http://www.mediafire.com/download/jdcd0y1bv32na9x/E-CAT35TP019+Battletech+Turning+Points+Epsilon+Eridani.pdf
Old thread: >>44543431
=====================
>/btg/ does a TRO.
http://builtforwar.blog(not spam) spot.com/
>What's Happening In the Future
http://bg.battletech.com/news/news-and-announcements/drop-pod-sequence-initiatedthree-two-one/
http://bg.battletech.com/books/upcoming-releases/
>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 BattleMechs 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
Thunder Fox is my favorite quad. Post quads, btg. Pics or designs, let's see those quads you got there
But seriously. Shouldn't gauss rifles generate a ton of heat? And if they don't because of "capacitors' why wouldn't every energy weapon use the same magic capacitors that charge all by themselves?
>>44623922
GRs don't generate heat for the same reason that lasers aren't super accurate.
I got the intro box set to get started in the game. What battlemechs does the Capellan Confederation produce in 3015?
I rolled a dice to pick a faction, but are there unit lists or certain builds to different factions that change their playstyle?
>>44624156
3015?
Not fucking much; locusts, stingers, wasps, Urbanmechs, lots of vindicators. Maybe the rifleman?
>>44624156
Here's a list of mostly balanced lists for the major factions in different eras that you can make with the intro box.
>>44623922
and capacitors just make PPCs hotter...
>>44624307
Wow. Real underdogs then?
>>44624335
Thank you a bunch. Especially for that chart of what mechs are most common per faction.
Is it pretty common for a faction's lance to use a mech or two from their neighbors?
>>44624688
>Wow. Real underdogs then?
Oh, yeah. Things are going to get a lot, lot worse over the next 30 years.
Of course, things change in 3060, but we can talk about that later
>>44624307
Isn't the Catapult more likely than the Rifleman?
>>44624688
>Is it pretty common for a faction's lance to use a mech or two from their neighbors?
BT has always been a setting where everyone salvages everything thing can, especially in those days. And with mercs running around, it's usually plausible to find something outside its place of origin.
Also bear in mind that that time period, each faction only had at most a few mechs that were really "theirs", a lot of stuff dates back to the Star League or prior and can be found all over the place.
>>44624688
>Is it pretty common for a faction's lance to use a mech or two from their neighbors?
Yes.
Also, there are a bunch of mechs that are extremely common in every faction (though none are in the introbox). Grab either a 80s-era TRO:3025 or TRO:3039 for an overview.
They are, more or less as follows (in rough order of commonness)
Locust
Wasp
Stinger
Archer (THE most common heavy, everywhere)
Phoenix Hawk
Griffin
Shadow Hawk
Wolverine
Thunderbolt
Crusader
Warhammer
Marauder
The CapCon uses quite a few of these mechs, one from this list per lance would not be amiss
Problem is, minis for these are rare and have been out of production for about two decades. I personally use paper stand-ups or cardboard counters for them, but you might be more of a minis guy. In that case, I'd just wait for the redesigned minis for these mechs, which are coming soon and just ignore them in the mean time
>>44624156
>What battlemechs does the Capellan Confederation produce in 3015?
Capellan 'Mech production around that time is extremely vague. Vindicators and Locusts for sure; *probably* Stingers, Griffins, Shadow Hawks, Wolverines, Crusaders, Thunderbolts, Victors and BattleMasters; and *maybe* Marauders, Catapults, Osts, Riflemen and a few others. Here's a list of common 'Mechs from their 3025 regimental listings (and roughly how many regiments they were common in):
6 Hornet
11 Locust
14 Wasp
29 Commando
6 Falcon
2 Javelin
2 Spider
12 Ostscout
7 Panther
4 Blackjack
3 Hatchetman
4 Phoenix Hawk
40 Vindicator
10 Centurion
3 Enforcer
4 Hunchback
2 Trebuchet
3 Dervish
2 Scorpion
3 Shadow Hawk
1 Wolverine
3 Ostroc
6 Ostsol
2 Quickdraw
4 Rifleman
10 Catapult
3 Crusader
21 Thunderbolt
6 Archer
3 Grasshopper
7 Warhammer
5 Marauder
3 Orion
3 Charger
1 Goliath
3 Banshee
There's some odd stuff in there, like the Enforcer, Hatchetman and Commando, which have got to come from salvage or mercs.
>>44624156
>are there unit lists or certain builds to different factions that change their playstyle?
With Introductory level equipment, playstyle changes from lance to lance, but every faction can put together pretty similar lances. When you move to Total Warfare and Tactical Operations, there's faction-specific equipment which can make the factions more distinct.
>>44624850
I font think they were *building* the cat, but they did have quite a few of them and IIRC a parts factory
>>44624928
Aside from the Cataphract, the CapCon was actually not building ANYTHING above 60 tons as of 3025; they USED to build all that you mention, but that industry was almost entirely gone by the 3000s
>>44624928
IIRC the original House Liao sourcebook actually has production numbers, but those were tweaked later. It's still a good way to get an idea of what's most commonly fielded.
That being said, salvage is a -very- common method of acquiring 'Mechs in that era and beyond. After the 4th SW, there were more Ravens in Davion forces (captured/salvaged) than Liao ones, despite Liao being the one making them- and Davion ended up rebuilding a new variant to make use of the design as they pleased. Panthers are frequently seen on the Davion side of the border, almost as much as the Kurita one.
Battlemechs are far too valuable machines not to use, even if they're not "your design".
>>44624976
I think it was 70 tons they weren't building over.
>>44624928
The commandos could have come from the TC, either salvage or imports. The enforcers also make sense as salvage. Hatchetman could probably be chalked up to whatever oddity had the Hatchetman so common in a lot of other 3025 stuff, so that should probably be ignored
>>44625052
Have to be imports, I don't think the TC was making the Commando in 3025 (unless I'm mixing it up with the Hatchetman debacle).
>>44625012
I'm reasonably sure it's 60, but my copy of 3025 is very old; it could easily have changed in later printings to account for the cataphract
>>44625072
>(unless I'm mixing it up with the Hatchetman debacle).
I think so; unlike the Patton and Hatchetmwn, the TC producing the Commando has NEVER been retconned or even hinted at such.
Honestly, it makes reasonable sense as a SL leftover unlike the other two, and it's stuck for 30 years and many printings of TRO:3050 (and '39, IIRC), so I think it's safe to call it canon
>>44625073
I'm looking it up to see what I can find.
Reviewing the 3025 CCAF I will say in hindsight it's a shame so much of it was wiped out. A lot of the regiment's had colourful descriptions and lineages (Hamilton's Highlanders, Kerr's Intruders, the Chesterton Voltigeurs, etc).
And I do wonder why they bothered retconning the Northwind Highlanders into mercs.
>>44623922
I always assumed it was a byproduct of the GR being explosive. Different capacitor tech or something.
>>44625165
>Reviewing the 3025 CCAF I will say in hindsight it's a shame so much of it was wiped out
I feel you on that one man; when I write stuff I really prefer "reduced to a single company", " effectively destroyed", "only a few mechs managed to make it off world" and such rather than having units completely destroyed
>>44625052
>>44625072
>>44625133
Fluff back then and now has always mentioned about how the Lyrans specifically kept the Commando to themselves as much as possible, even through the days of the Star League. It was never 100%, specifically when house units left and joined Kerensky to fight Amaris, and some ended up going with him on Exodus and thus Commando IIC, and of course salvage is inevitable (FWL units and mercs could snag some, then go fight the Capellans who salvage some from them), but exports definitely weren't happening.
>>44625378
What fluff is that? Just consulted some TROs and can't see that. Did say it's produced in the TC so exports seem to be the source.
>>44624976
If you're talking about TR:3025's Vindicator fluff, that's talking about 2826 (between the first and second Successio Wars). The Marik sourcebook has the Capellans building Atlases and Victors on Carver IV sometime after that, and more recently, old Maximillian got BattleMasters plans from Anton right before the civil war.
>>44625072
Yeah, from defecting regiments, probably.
>>44625133
The Star League never had Commando production, and (to keep it out of Star League hands) it's unlikely that the Lyrans licensed it to the Taurians during the Star League. They couldn't have licensed it afterwards because communication with the Periphery was severed during the Amaris Coup.
Maybe ComStar gave it to the Taurians, to screw with Davion's alliance to Steiner?
>>44624985
It says how many 'Mechs each factory builds, but not which 'Mechs any of them build. And as far as I know the numbers were never tweaked.
>>44625420
TRO 3025 and 3039.
>>44625432
>it's unlikely that the Lyrans licensed it to the Taurians during the Star League
I could see the lyrans building a factory in the concordat to take advantage of cheap periphery labor that has heavy-industry experience and the taurians just kept it after the SL broke up
A other explanation could be the RWR knocking the commando design off, and the taurians building them for the Secret Armies.
>They couldn't have licensed it afterwards because communication with the Periphery was severed during the Amaris Coup.
I'm fairly sure that was temporary, and c* had service restored by the early succession wars, so a licence after 2800 is possible but not especially likely
>>44625499
And here's the IIC's fluff mentioning the situation.
>>44625499
>Lyran Commonwealth adopted the Commando after the Protectorate joined it, 100 years after the Protectorate had joined it anyway
Sorry you're using out of date information from discarded sources, anon.
>>44625605
Hence the 3039 text below it.
>>44625605
The point is to look at the intent of the writers via what's been preserved or changed between sources.
>>44625541
>I could see the lyrans building a factory in the concordat to take advantage of cheap periphery labor that has heavy-industry experience
Why risk transporting your valued stuff through three separate and potentially unfriendly states?
>I'm fairly sure that was temporary, and c* had service restored by the early succession wars
Nope. Until the Magistracy-Andurien alliance in the 3030s, the Successor States weren't even really sure that those periphery nations even existed anymore.
>>44625432
>The Marik sourcebook has the Capellans building Atlases and Victors on Carver IV sometime after that
Ah, OK. I don't have purple bird 1e so I didn't know that.
I have to say, the lack of "what mechs made where" in the old CC book is rather annoying
>>44625747
>. Until the Magistracy-Andurien alliance in the 3030s, the Successor States weren't even really sure that those periphery nations even existed anymore
What?
That sounds like some REALLY old fluff, like from the same places as the "periphery runs it's own HPGs" stuff. Pretty much everything from periphery 1e onward implies a MUCH greater degree of contact, especially for the larger stares
>>44625807
Well the Concordat does run it's own HPGs.I kid, I kid.
>>44627521
And on that bombshell, let's move on to our design challenge: 5/8 3060-era heavies
>>44627557
Without author-blaming, how did the Confederation go from the Inner Sphere's technological stepchild to all the stunning growth and innovation of the 3050s and '60s?
Especially considering Romano Liao walked out on the Outreach Conference and didn't do anything warranting aid from the FedCom, Combine or League.
>>44625807
I might've glossed over the details, but it's essentially true, and consistent from the earliest books onwards. ComStar and some *local* lords (Dame Humphreys, Michael Hasek) may attempt to deal with fragments of the old periphery states, but the rest of a Successor State don't recognize those fragments as being any more legitimate (or significant) than the various bandit kingdoms.
>>44625751
>I have to say, the lack of "what mechs made where" in the old CC book is rather annoying
Yup.
>>44627690
From Word of Blake helping them renovate the Star League factory on Victoria, and with some other things.
>>44627690
>Without author-blaming
Well, that's difficult, because very little explanation beyond "sunny-t said " make it so" and it was made so" is givin; it just sort of happens
>>44627827
>using MW1e for fluff
>ever
Bad idea m8; most of the fluff in that book, ESPECIALLY about the periphery has been more or less completely retconned unless your name is medron pryde
The rest makes it sound more or less like the periphery is viewed kind of like central Africa is now; the average joe know it's there, but they know very little specifics beyond "most of it's a bandit shithole", but business and government deal with the actual stable states there on a fairly regular basis
>>44627521
Ripping arm of an elemental... uhh ouch?
>>44629359
that's a big armand he died when thy pulled it off
>>44627690
Same space magic that let the Federated Suns roll over the Confederation in the 4th war without so much as a hiccup.
Funny how Fedrats don't like it when the fiat shoe is on the other foot.
test
>>44629830
I should report you and your ban evasion >:(
>>44624850
All factories for the Catapult got blown up. The Caps just had more of them in their armies than anyone else after the fall of the Star League.
>>44624928
Caps didn't have a BattleMaster factory either. Probably did at one point, but only the FWL and Lyrans were building them.
>>44627690
Because reasons. None of it is totally implausible... at least, not if the timeline was extended by another 10-20 years and the Capellans don't accomplish much in Guerrero and there's some fiction focusing on the Capellan rebuilding effort in between the BoK trilogy where Sun-Tzu is portrayed as more insane than Romano and Max combined and less competent than either with the CCAF a complete shambles and then the Capellan Solution/FM: CC portrayal of Sun-Tzu being an epic rusemaster, the CCAF being more professional than any military other than the AFFS but they can beat the AFFS because of Talon Zahn and he's better than Hanse Davion was so there.
Parts of that are gonna piss people off no matter what, like Talon Zahn being OMFG awesome or the CCAF beating the AFFS ever. More generally it's just a reaction to the complete 180 between where they were supposed to be the day before Guerrero and how they've been ever since. But BT proper has an issue between what we're shown and what we're told, between different authors, different SBs covering the same events, retcons, and just authors not putting in the work to make sure things line up.
>>44629847
Wut
>>44630105
"test" posts are usually made by banned people literally testing if they are still bannedI know I did this some times
>>44629879
I don't see the problem with Talon Zahn. It's not like the Capellans are genetically incapable of genius.
>>44629879
>the BoK trilogy where Sun-Tzu is portrayed as more insane than Romano and Max combined and less competent than either
But the BoK trilogy also demonstrates his performance is part of an elaborate ruse.
>>44630163
Oh no, I don't get banned often and when I do test if I'm clear to come back I usually postpro-Taurian things.
The thread wasn't updating for me so I was testing if it was just me.
>>44630165
Again, it's not particularly any *one* thing. It's that out of nowhere literally everything that was bad about the CCAF in terms of skill, leadership, size, ability, etc is reversed and they start pounding the shit out of the neighbours decade in, decade out.
If they'd been shown building up or had some notable failures people wouldn't complain so much about it.
Is there any good way to find out how armor is distributed on a mech without actually looking at it's record sheet? On sarna, when it says a mech has X tons of armor, is there a way to convert X to total points of armor overall or something?
>>44629879
You don't even really need 10-20 years; moving the invasion of st.Ives forward 5-6 years makes it far more plausible, so that he's taking advantage of the FCCW. Hell, have it coordinated with the TC's invasion of the Pleiades; sun-tzu hits st.Ives and some of the 4sw border worlds while the TDF is chomping on the suns' ass AND the FCCW is raging hard. It'd be way more plausible that way, AND it actually uses the trinity alliance plot
Also, it'd be an amusingly ironic reversal of the Andurien war, and that's always fun
>>44630928
>Not knowing the mech design rules by heart
>Not realizing that just having the 16 points of standard armor to a ton won't tell you where it goes on a mech
>Not just printing the RS from SSW or a PDF
I know what you want but there are way easier ways to do it then what you seem to have in mind.
>>44630928
For standard armour, each ton provides 16 points. Ferro and other armour types provide different amounts though.
If you don't want to use RSes, just get the relevant TR. That will tell you how much total armour something has and how it's distributed.
Also I think more recent RSes have a numerical value for the armour and structure of a given location so you don't have to count dots.
>>44630992
The reason that the CapCon was so successful in the St. Ives war was what they got out of Guerrero, especially Talon Zahn. An extra 5-6 years doesn't really give you enough time to cashier the officer corps that's supposedly suffering Hopeless Battle Syndrome and bring in effective replacements, at least without GRORIOUS XIN SHENG magically fixing it and myriad other issues.
But yeah, the St. Ives War and its fallout would have made more sense if it happened in the FCCW. Plus it might take out derpy parts of it like the Blackwind Lancers or Dai Da Chi openly stealing Tikonov and Victor not doing anything about it because XIN SHENG XIN SHENG.
>>44631052
>>44631164
Thanks. All the Battletech I've played has been against a bot on MegaMek, and most of my reading about different mechs has been on Sarna. The 16 dots/ton of armor is helpful as a rough ballpark idea though.
>>44631164
>be a 70 year old veteran of the Crucis Lancers
>live to see Victor give away everything you fought for and your friends died for
Damn Lyran genes
>>44631457
>Victor: oh, I can't go and take Tikonov back, that would be too war-like and shit
>Everyone Else: but sir you're the one who declared this war
>V: uh well then we don't have the troops
>EE: bitch are you serious, you're literally fighting a five-front war here and totally btfo'ing everyone else even though you have literally dozens of uncommitted regiments, how the fuck could the Capellans stop you?
>V: look, there's this thing called Xin Sheng, it's all very complicated and I don't have time to explain it all to you right now
Fuckin' Coleman, man. Fuckin' Coleman.
>>44632705
Victor was a good friend.
>>44624924
>Problem is, minis for these are rare and have been out of production for about two decades.
Umm...? What?
>>44633400
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Unseen
>>44633400
He's obviously one of the grognards who will REEEEEEE if you put down a Phoenix model instead of having minis from the 80s or getting scalped by a recaster on E-Bay.
>>44633434
http://ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6764
http://ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=1694
http://ironwindmetals.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2657
So, again, I say "Umm...? What?".
>>44633400
Original Unseen, not reseen nor upcoming shimmyseen. That's what I mean
>>44633586
I refuse to explain myself because I find your punctuation superfluous and irritating.
>>44633641
The quote is within the sentence. The sentence ends with a full stop.
Your inability to grasp this simple idea is probably what leads you to call things like the Thunderbolt and Stinger 'out of production', when there are readily available models for all the 'unseen' on the IWM website right now.
I mean, when has BTech ever been a WYSIWYG game? A Marauder is a Marauder is a Marauder.
>>44633797
>I mean, when has BTech ever been a WYSIWYG game? A Marauder is a Marauder is a Marauder.
So is a leftover catapult that no one's using, or a scrap of paper with an "M" written on it. Doesn't change the fact that Unseen and Phoenix are not the same mechs.
>>44634238
>Doesn't change the fact that Unseen and Phoenix are not the same mechs.
From a rules perspective, yes, but who cares what mini you use?
>>44633797
>The quote is within the sentence. The sentence ends with a full stop.
Yes but you have the good sense not to slap in a question mark after three periods.
>>44634350
>From a rules perspective, yes, but who cares what mini you use?
Grognards who will literally REEEEEEif you dare to put down a Phoenix miniature during a game set prior to 3067.
AKA the same reason it's taken CGL until now to finally retcon the appearance of the Unseen to have always looked like the new versions we're starting to get.
>>44634350
>who cares what mini you use?
What a curious argument from someone who was just using the existence of those miniatures as proof supporting his point.
So which is it? Either the miniatures prove you are right, or the miniatures don't matter at all?
>>44634513
>be a grognard
>realize l'empereur will never return
Thanks for triggering me.
Fuckin Christ boys, I hate to interrupt the strawman grog hate, but all said was that if he wanted minis of the original 3025 unseen that'd be hard until the shimmyseen come around
>>44634491
Ellipses mother fucker: Do you speak it?
>>44634713
Now I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. The post I replied to was implying that using the most common 'Mechs of that era was difficult given the minis were OOP, except they aren't, because you can buy all the Unseen minis right now (just the Phoenix versions) and really who cares if they're the Phoenix versions (other than the people >>44634513 is talking about).
>>44634513
>Grognards who will literally REEEEEEif you dare to put down a Phoenix miniature during a game set prior to 3067.
I was gonna say "What would they do if you put down a Mad Cat Prime and play it as a Mad Cat A?", then I realised that they're grogs, and they'd scream that you're using the Clans at all. :-D
>>44634935
>be grognard
>receive warning for shitposting
>"the guard dies, it does not retreat"
>b&
post commander special mechs and ace customs from your campaigns
>>44636791
This tends to be my go-to ride for unit COs. It's not flashy, and not all that scary, but I like it.
>>44637092
I don't know. 12.5 tons of armor isn't really enough for a COs ride. You could at least put Clantech ferro on it. It's a Jihad-era ride, so you should be able to source Clantech easily enough.
>>44636791
this one started life as a commander custom for Barber's Marauder IIs, but eventually I had Blackwell use it as the basis for the production model from 3054 onward, because the canon MAD-5A devours shit by the kiloton
>>44637326
>It's a Jihad-era ride
Nigga wat, Literally nothing on it post-dates the FCCW.
>but muh armour
12.5 tons is enough to see it through light to medium combat. If it's in heavy combat shit is already completely fucked up and nothing's going to save it, especially if the enemy picks it for the CO's ride.
Is it perfect? No, but then NEA didn't say it was.
>>44636791
Do major modifications count?
Had a custom Zeus for a pirate leader named Amela Bronstein (of Bronstein's Berserkers) that mounted a Ti Ts'ang's axe arm.
>>44637798
yeah, I'd count that
>>44637631
>Nigga wat, Literally nothing on it post-dates the FCCW.
Er, not to rain on the rant (largely because I agree with the remainder), but I'm reasonably sure that XL Gyros are 3067+.
>>44637326
>You could at least put Clantech ferro on it
The point is to take an existing Mech design (which was the -9S, not the -5S; I fucked up the designation) and put in a plausible refit that minimized logistic concerns. Which would put Clan F/F out of reasonable reach.
>>44637092
It's 2/3rds of a Demolisher.
I wouldn't say it's not scary.
>>44638371
>Er, not to rain on the rant (largely because I agree with the remainder), but I'm reasonably sure that XL Gyros are 3067+.
Didn't notice that. I thought the date on it was because whatever program you were using to make it had been set to that era, since the LFE was the only thing that jumped out at me.
This being said, I would like to change my vote from "it's OK" to "Ewww" now. I really, really hate XL Gyros- the fuckers have some magical effect where TACs always gore the Gyro out whenever I see one. I don't even have to using a 'Mech with one, just present, and the consensus is largely the same for my playing group.
If you really need to claw back the tonnage for the JJs that badly I'd recommend a combination with two out of three of removing a DHS, using LFF, and having a Small Cockpit.
>>44639144
>CO's ride
>small cockpit
That is a new breed of sillypants.
>>44639212
Depends. You can fluff it as him mostly leading from a HQ vee like the Daimyo and only getting into the 'Mech if he has to so the cramped cockpit isn't that much of a problem.
You only need to save 1.5 tons. I'd go for -1 DHS and -5 points of armour by switching to LFF if I really wanted the JJs. But for the sake of completeness and argument I included the Small Cockpit as an option.
>>44639296
Adding a small cockpit is a harder mod than taking out the gyro and replacing it with an XL version, though. I get the impression NEA's Mech is for a campaign where that sort of thing matters.
>>44633641
His punctuation is perfect, anon
Hey /btg/ what's your favorite House and/or Clan and why?
Also, is there any good artwork of the Battletech universe that's not mech related? I'm looking for practically anything as long as it's not a mugshot of some faction leader.
>>44639877
I really like the Clan Goliath Scorpion.
They are uncommon In clans, also love the collection of past relics than to fight.
But by this feature, they will be to strengthen the "control" of the clan society by holds the historical research in one hand.
That the 1984 and like Max Headroom "adverse information for the ruler so that did not exist" has created a dystopia, because it is comedy clan that does not try to fight it would be interesting?
>>44639877
Jade Falcon is my fav Clan. First Clan I was introduced to, and I like their style (and their 'Mechs!). Ghost Bears come in second.
And, as boring as it may seem, I like the Federated Suns. I like the Dracs about equally, but if I had to choose. And, for some reason, I just ended up getting loads of Cappie 'Mechs. Maybe it's because they're the other arch-enemy of the FedSuns, but I really like Cappie 'Mechs!
Any word on the Battletech lewds, and when they'll be showing up?
>>44641320
First draft was completed last night at 10,051 words. My goal was to get it done in under 10k (preferably about 9k, which translates to a pleasant 15 pages), so I'm in for some editing. Amusingly, this is going to actually end up being only the first couple of chapters in the whole story idea - the original outline was a 6-chapter short story, but at the rate it's going it would end up being be 50+ page, 40k-word piece, and ain't nobody got time for that. Least of all me.
Are we supposed to email these someplace, or post them in PDF or what?
>>44639877
House Marik. Like the diversity of provinces and military units, the Marik family history, and that since they had the least written about them they were the easiest to run campaigns and AUs in without disrupting the main BT storyline.
It's a shame House Marik effectively died out and fakes run it now, and that Wizkids killed the FWL for no reason, but I'm enjoying seeing where the nuFWL may go from here. I do wonder if the writers will exist the other Mariks they dropped along the way, though.
>>44639877
I like Clan Blood Spirit, just cause I felt they were sort of interesting being this paranoid clan ground down by a more powerful foe. But then they got totally destroyed, but that way probably the logical conclusion.
My favorite house? It's hard to say, but I like House Marik becasue of the intrigue that can go on within the FWL which makes campaigns slightly more interesting.
>>44641320
Just wait until my Thomas Marik x Peacemaker Nuclear Missile fan fiction. It's a very volatile relationship.
>>44640032
I kind of like the "Escorpion Imperio" thing they have going, I just hope it can actually turn into a faction that occasionally participates in things and isn't just a dumping ground that will be ignored forever.
>>44641320
S-Dcest will be finished up tonight and posted tomorrow
>>44643060
>, I just hope it can actually turn into a faction that occasionally participates in things and isn't just a dumping ground that will be ignored forever.
>periphery faction that isn't a direct pawn of a great house
>under CGL
>not a dumping ground that will be ignored forever
Not bloody well likely
>>44643060
They're going to form an alliance with the Ghost Bears.
>>44641543
PDF it and throw it up here, I guess. Maybe FF.net it.
I accidentally got the ball rolling on this, and that's probably the easiest way to do it
Battlebump
>>44645450
If only we had more walk cycle animations to sync up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=822Nq5ugStE
How hard is it for one company to get the production rights to a mech design from another?
>>44645653
It's really quite variable. Mostly, the big thing is political. To use an example from an old campaign, if Kressely Warworks wanted to license the Merlin design, the only difficulty would be negotiating the price, as the OA has precisely no beef with Epsilon Eridani. On the other hand, it would be essentially impossible for a FedSuns company to get a license to build the Dragon.
Within a state, it's entirely dependent on the companies involved. Most of the time, it doesn't happen unless demand for a mech exceeds what the primary producer can crank out, because otherwise you end up creating a competitor for the mech's market for gains that usually aren't worth it.
So it's quite possible under certain limitations, and not especially so otherwise
>>44628129
>Bad idea m8
see >>44625666
And with neo-feudalism, it isn't the House government dealing with stable states anyways. It's the local lords - which is what I said, and is basically what MW1e says.
And for that matter, which bits of its periphery fluff, exactly, have been retconned? It all looks like it's carried forward.
>>44646802
>And for that matter, which bits of its periphery fluff, exactly, have been retconned? It all looks like it's carried forward.
Off the top of my head, the periphery's HPGs are not, in fact, controlled by "local communications alliances", the TC does not consist of 30 worlds in a 8ly radius in the Hyades. There is no buffer of abandoned and independent worlds between the TC and the suns and the MAF is larger than six mech regiments.
>>44629879
Well, TR:3025 also says Vulcan and Victor factories all blew up too, yet those 'Mechs were in production in 3025. I think it's fair to say the TROs aren't omniscient.
I agree that the Rifleman is more likely than the Catapult. And as long as we're talking about what the Capellans are likely to field, it's probably worth noting that their 'Mechs tend to be older than their neighbors, so you might see things like the Striker or BattleAx too.
>>44634935
vive la Hanse
>>44637336
Your Bandersnatch II intrigues me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter
>>44639877
The CCG is about half 'Mech-related (some salvage, manufacturing, and cockpits), and half mugshots (mostly not faction leaders), with some other stuff occasionally thrown in. Pic related. I think the cards are in one of the download folders? It's been a while since I looked.
>what's your favorite House and/or Clan and why?
No favorites, but Marik makes a good "my first BT campaign" setting because the FWL is a microcosm of the Inner Sphere, and the Marik-Steiner border is a microcosm of the FWL.
>>44647682
>I think it's fair to say the TROs aren't omniscient.
Indeed.
3025 also gave us such gems as the 2407 Zeus and redjack ryan operating in the 2900s, for that matter
>>44647682
>Well, TR:3025 also says Vulcan and Victor factories all blew up too, yet those 'Mechs were in production in 3025.
There have been a number of retcons and explanations as to who's producing what in the 4th SW plus era. Latest information is that the Catapult is out of production completely though the Dracs (randomly) get a factory in 3031 that produces the -K2 model and the Capellans get a line at some time before 3090.
The BLR info is also correct, with the side note that the Capellans get a factory in the 3080s because reasons.
If you want to have them in production in your AU, that's fine. This is what canon says though.The Dracs getting a factory before the Capellans is fucking retarded and I say that as a Drac. The Cat was always much more of a Capellan thing and putting in a Cat factory instead of a Warhammer line when that's supposed to be more common, does what the Cat variant does, and most importantly ISN'T A FUCKING CATAPULT FACTORY OUT OF NOWHERE would have been a shit ton more sensible.
>BattleAx
Extinct. Died because of the Warhammer if not the Hammerhands.
>Striker
Canonically part of the CCAF, yes.
>>44647544
>Off the top of my head, the periphery's HPGs are not, in fact, controlled by "local communications alliances"
MW1e doesn't call out HPGs as being in their hands, though. It's one (but only one) possible interpretation of what the text actually says.
>the TC does not consist of 30 worlds in a 8ly radius in the Hyades
P1e says "over 30 inhabited planets in a zone of space roughly 80 parsecs in diameter extending from the Hyades Cluster," which is practically identical. (Obviously, colonies and military outposts weren't being counted.)
>There is no buffer of abandoned and independent worlds between the TC and the suns
What makes you say that? Space is 3D, the House periphery borders are diffuse, and (until P2e) periphery maps were more conceptual than exact anyways. Do any other sourcebooks care enough to even address the topic of what the out House regions look like?
>the MAF is larger than six mech regiments
Marik armies also expanded* beyond what MW1e stated - expanding the Magistracy forces only preserves the relationship the Magistracy had with the Inner Sphere in MW1e. (Also, MW1e's data tends to skew earlier than 3025, and at least some of the Housebooks are set in 3026. Kyalla is recruiting mercs, so I'd take that as timeline progression rather than retcon.)
*Though the amount MW1e gives them is very similar (due to the Home Defense Act) to how many the Marik sourcebook says the Captain-General can actually use.
>>44648463
>MW1e doesn't call out HPGs as being in their hands, though. It's one (but only one) possible interpretation of what the text actually says
But HPGs are the only interstellar communications equipment in use at the time, unless you're suggesting that the periphery either had access to black box fax machines that the IS didn't know shit about, or else some other FTL communication method that is never mentioned anywhere else, both of which aren't bloody well likely.
>"over 30 inhabited planets in a zone of space roughly 80 parsecs in diameter extending from the Hyades Cluster," which is practically identical.
It may be vaguely similar, in the use of the digit eight and "thirty worlds" in both, but "eight light-years" and "80 parsecs" are objectively not the same, and therefore a clear retcon.
>Also, MW1e's data tends to skew earlier than 3025, and at least some of the Housebooks are set in 3026. Kyalla is recruiting mercs, so I'd take that as timeline progression rather than retcon
But the number of MAF units specifically referred to as centuries old is greater than six, so that is a straight retcon right there. Also, if it was as you said, the p1e MAF would be half mercenary, which is also untrue
>>44647682
>Your Bandersnatch II intrigues me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter
have the actual Bandersnatch II from the same campaign
>>44623669
>3090s best decade Edition
I didn't notice the title before now.
Literally the only thing of any importance to happen in that decade is the Hidden war/Second Combine-Dominion war.
It's such an underutilized decade.
That's why I'm actually in the middle of making an AU in starting in late 3092 forquest thread purposes
>>44648463
STOP. CITING. OLD. SOURCEBOOKS.
>>44647682
also, have several more mechs with bandersnatch-style weapon loadouts, including a marauder that is literally a bandersnatch knock-off
(I had rather a bit of an LBX-10 obsession back when I was designing these things)
Also, as a warning to those offended by such things, these designs come from an alternate universe caused by me being overoptimistic with my estimations of how common SL-era tech would become post-CI
>>44649515
>It's such an underutilized decade.
agreed wholeheartedly.
I am also doing some AU stuff set partially in that era
>>44649564
No. They're better than the modern ones.
>>44649941
Medron get gone
>>44649941
Heresy
>>44649630
>that triple LBX/10 marauder
[panicked vehicle noises]
>>44648074
>Latest information is that the Catapult is out of production completely though the Dracs (randomly) get a factory in 3031 that produces the -K2 model and the Capellans get a line at some time before 3090.
>The BLR info is also correct, with the side note that the Capellans get a factory in the 3080s because reasons.
I recognize the 3031 -K2 bit from TR:3039, but where are the 3080s-90s bits?
>BattleAx
>Extinct. Died because of the Warhammer if not the Hammerhands.
>Striker
>Canonically part of the CCAF, yes.
Okay, but the point is that the CCAF is probably using designs that are too old to appear in TROs, and the most "canonical" way to represent such is via generic use of things like the Striker, the BattleAx and other such like.
>If you want to have them in production in your AU, that's fine. This is what canon says though.
Even the very canonist of canon campaigns requires *some* interpretation of the official texts, which have in-character biases and omissions, are only accurate (for however accurate they're meant to be) for the few weeks surrounding their in-universe publication date, and all of which (like (hopefully) that -K2 line) are subject to future retcons and re-explanations anyways.
>>44648864
>But HPGs are the only interstellar communications equipment in use at the time
MW1e doesn't specify "interstellar" communications equipment. Planetary and interplanetary comms are also things in which ComStar should enjoy a natural (albeit less absolute) advantage. And, even if we choose to believe HPGs are in the hands of periphery states, MW1e gives no sign that such HPGs are operational.
>It may be vaguely similar, in the use of the digit eight and "thirty worlds" in both, but "eight light-years" and "80 parsecs" are objectively not the same, and therefore a clear retcon.
It is a retcon, yes, but one which preserves MW1e's intent as much as possible. It may interest you that an 80 parsec diameter would intrude quite a ways past the notional Davion border, which plays into the idea of a disorganized "buffer" region.
>But the number of MAF units specifically referred to as centuries old is greater than six, so that is a straight retcon right there. Also, if it was as you said, the p1e MAF would be half mercenary, which is also untrue
You're assuming that those P1e regiments weren't understrength at the time of MW1e, and that mercs weren't enlisted to bring them back up to full strength.
>>44649564
Can you suggest another, more current book which addresses these aspects of the 3025 periphery?
Also, see >>44625666
>>44648980
>>44649630
Hah, your Bandersnatch is a Nightstar? Very frumious.
>>44650432
be vewy, vewy quiet - we're a-huntin' Jub Jub birds
>>44651354
>Hah, your Bandersnatch is a Nightstar? Very frumious
Yep. That's literally the attached fluff; it's a nightstar for folks who can't get a real one
>>44651354
>Can you suggest another, more current book which addresses these aspects of the 3025 periphery?
There isn't ANY information on 3025 Periphery. the only sourcebooks regarding it were in fact those 1e sourcebooks. But since those sourcebooks have been entirely retconned away, it's like they didn't happen in the first place. So they hold no weight in a fact-based conversation.
With that said, I did miss >>44625666 s post. An overview of percieved authorial intent changing over time is a totally valid reason to look at older sourcebooks, even if they have zero current weight factually, and I concede that point. As long as somebody isn't citing one of those retconned sourcebooks in order to prove a canon point of order (or is in any way saying "this is how the Battletech universe works"), then yeah, a review of those 1e sourcebooks is fine, and I apologize.
>>44651603
>But since those sourcebooks have been entirely retconned away
Nah, about 90% of periphery 1st edition is still canon
>>44651658
Shut the fuck up.
>>44651791
Why you heff to be mad?
>>44651354
>80 parsec diameter would intrude quite a ways past the notional Davion border
Given it would be a 261 LY diameter, it's well past any real borders. Hell, I'm pretty sure the republic of the sphere is smaller than that.
>>44639877
>is there any good artwork of the Battletech universe that's not mech related?
I have some
>>44652853
>>44652915
>>44653008
>>44653041
I need Lyrans pics. Mechs, unit insignias, characters, planets, waifus, what have you.
>>44653064
>>44653095
oh shit, anon
I am in the midle of an art dump
just a second and I'll post Steiner pics for you
>>44653101
>>44653213
>>44653254
>>44653286
>>44653336
>>44653370
>>44653412
>>44653461
>>44653497
>>44653521the only waifu that isn't worthless
>>44653559
>>44651929
Medron get out! REEEEEEEE!
>>44653587
>>44653629
>>44652955
What is this supposed to be? The bottom pic isn't how the Grand Council chamber is described at all.
>>44653670
Isn't that the clanner who's butte triple wolf man was holding?
>>44653254
This needs to have Sad Keanu's face photoshopped in over the principal.
>>44653670
>>44653714
>triple wolf man
Phelan Kell? If so, that's her
>>44653791
Yes.
>>44653095
>>44653825
>>44653853
>>44653877
>>44653674
That's because it's pro-wolf propoganda. Why else would the wolf one be well lit and look like it's inhabited by people, while the other looks like a supervillain lair with a bunch of thugs in it?
After all, we know the wolves are supervillains as well.
>>44653559
Makes me a Jaguar.Killing them off was a mistake.
>>44653917
>>44653956
Why do the Goons even have one. They're just mercs, holy fuck. Thank Blake for Wayne Waco.
>>44654010
Yer gaddamned right
>>44653992
>>44654122
>>44653674
Yeah, aren't the clanners supposed to be wearing their fursuits?
>>44654272
that's it for today
>>44653095
pic related?
>>44652037
Hah, yeah.
>>44651658
Well, like 99.5%, but yeah.
>>44651603
The fact that you don't want to read them has no bearing* on whether or not they're canon. Company policy is that old information is only "retcon"d when a new book actively contradicts it. And inasmuch as the new books say *anything* on the topic, they just paraphrase what the old books said - ergo, the writers' intent is to remain as consistent as possible with the old books.
*Unless you are a writer or editor of the new books. In which case, Blake's Blood man, start addressing this kind of thing in the new books! Whether you retcon shit or not, the important thing is that new customers shouldn't have to dig up twenty-year-old books just to get a grip on the fundamentals of the universe!
>>44654289
Most of them, except for the Blood Spirits. The Blood Spirits actually had cool ceremonial uniforms because theirs wasn't based on an animal.
Fuck this retcon argument. Let's talk about how the FedSuns haven't had a single good mech since TRO 3067.
TRO 3075
>Valiant
Pathetic armour. Standard engine wasted on a light mech that dies this easy. Weapons are junk: 3 medium lasers doesn't cut it in this day and age, and a hatchet is worthless on a light mech.
Verdict: SHIT
>Legionnaire
Build a mech around a single gun that can jam, and as a bonus only give it enough ammo for 12 good bursts! Great idea!
Verdict: SHIT
>Warlord
An overcosted/undersinked Awesome. The 2G variant is simply dire (rear mounted lasers, lolno)
Verdict: meh
>Battleaxe
A shit Warhammer.
Verdict: SHIT
>Hammerhands
An even shittier Warhammer. The low-ammo Retrotech RAC version is particularly bad.
Verdict: SHIT
>Jabberwocky Engineermech
Hahahahahaa
Verdict: SHIT
TRO 3085
>Hachetman HTC-7S
Hatchet mechs are never very good anyway, but this one wastes mid-range weapons on a knife-fighter. Give it all medium pulse or don't bother at all.
Verdict: SHIT
>Rook
Durable but poorly-armed. It also uses that dreadful 4/6/6 movement profile, which is a shitty half-measure. You should either save more weight with 3/5/5, or go with a 5/8/5 or 5/8/7 profile which is actually useful.
Verdict: SHIT
>Gallant
70 ton mech primarily armed with 2 Large pulse lasers and a MRM 20. Nope.
Verdict: SHIT
>Atlas AS8-D
For a high end Assault I want a lot more bang for my buck. Why would I ever take this over-BVed clusterfuck when I could take a Devastator, Nightstar or Sagittaire instead?
Verdict: meh
>cont.
TRO 3085 Project Phoenix mechs
>Atlas AS8-D
For a high end Assault I want a lot more bang for my buck. Why would I ever take this over-BVed clusterfuck when I could take a Devastator, Nightstar or Sagittaire instead?
Verdict: meh
>Valkyrie VLK-QT2
Wimpy armament. Protip: don't waste Light PPCs on light mechs, they need medium lasers. Same goes for missile launchers. Light mechs don't have room for any weapons that don't have the most optimal weight/firepower ration.
Verdict: SHIT
>Shadow Hawk SHD-9D
Main gun is a LAC-5, a gun that's even shittier than the original model's AC-5. This isn't a patch on the Comstar Shadow Hawk upgrade that has a Heavy PPC.
Verdict: SHIT
>Rifleman RFL-6D
RFL? More like ROFL. This piece of shit has four LAC-5s with more ammo than it could ever use. It's a walking ammo dump just waiting to be set alight, and without enough firepower to threaten anything but aircraft.
Verdict: SHIT
>Longbow LGB-13NAIS
Take a classic missile support mech. Replace the missiles with 6 LAC-5s and a few lasers. Now I have half the firepower of my sister models and can't fufill my original indirect fire role!
Verdict: HURR DURR OH GOD OH GOD I'M SO RETARTED DERP I'M SHITTING MYSELF PLS HLP HURR DURR
>Marauder II MAD-6D
Anaemic poorly-balanced armament. With 3/5/5 and SNPPCs it clearly is meant to be a jumping skirmisher, so why are the other guns light PPCs and a RAC5?
Verdict: meh
TRO 3145 & TRO 3150
>Prey Seeker
Tiny weak piece of shit with relasers.
Verdict: SHIT
>Gunsmith
Looks good at first glance, but it's not. The heat burden is too high for a mech without jump jets. The XXL engine also means it dies all the time.
Verdict: meh
>Hollander III
The older Gauss and Heavy Gauss models were just about worth taking for their firepower. This heap of junk with it's Ultra AC-10? Forget it.
Verdict: SHIT
>Scarecrow
I don't understand why an anti-infantry mech is loaded down with Clantech. I don't understand what kind of game this mech would be useful in. Who takes more than a few platoons of PBI? Who spends over 1500BV to kill 100-200BV worth of infantry?
Verdict: SHIT
>Antlion
Light artillery is never very good, and light artillery mechs are even worse. Go Long Tom or go home.
Verdict: SHIT
>Centurion omni
Remember the lackluster old Centurion models? This omnimech can mimic them all in one package!
Verdict: SHIT
>Vulpes
Hugely inflated BV, terrible heat management. Worthless.
Verdict: SHIT
>Black Knight, several new models
I was never a fan of the older Black Knight models because they were slow and couldn't use their firepower effectively due to heat burden. These new models exaggerate all these problems while inflating BV too.
Verdict: SHIT
>Templar III
Decent base chassis but the omni configs are limp. Also why is it a III? Where was the II?
Verdict: meh
>Atlas III
100 ton mech with a RAC2 as its main gun, and the accuracy of the RAC2 is reduced by the shield. Nuff said.
Verdict: SHIT
>>44654465
>Where was the II?
>>44654325
>pic related?
>>44654587
>>44654621
nice Republic of the Sphere image, anon
>>44654621
>>44654421
>>44654447
>>44654465
Saltier than the Dead Sea.
>>44654708
eh, it was blue and had a clock tower and other things that aren't 'Mechs. Say it's somewhere in the Isle of Skye?
>>44654421
>hatchets are bad
Pull the other one
>>44654876
>>44654960
>>44648864
>But HPGs are the only interstellar communications equipment in use at the time
No. What the books are actually saying, since HPGs are _strictly_ in the hands of ComStar, is that the Periphery relies on Pony Express set-ups handled by local industries.
>>44650548
>but where are the 3080s-90s bits?
Objectives: CC. By then they have proper factories.
>Okay, but the point is that the CCAF is probably using designs that are too old to appear in TROs
Literally what. There are very few gaps left now, basically the only such grey area is from the Archer fluff saying it's been around so long there are a shit ton of variants for the era except that the Archer has some of the fewest printed variants for any of the Unseen.
>like (hopefully) that -K2 line
Well, good luck with that since AFAICT Kit de Summersville is responsible for it.
>>44654421
>Fuck this retcon argument. Let's talk about how the FedSuns haven't had a single good mech since TRO 3067.
A: Kek.
B: What the Feddies have gotten is competitive with what others have had. So welcome to what everyone else has been dealing with forever, and
C: Even if you don't like the new shit you can spam your Penetrators, Falconers, Wolfhounds, Devastators, Nightstars, Emperors and whatever else. So you still have stuff other factions can't match after decades IRL and nearly a century IC, life must be tough.
>>44654960
>Yori Mech Works
You done posted a Draclas.
>>44655142
>A: Kek.
>B: What the Feddies have gotten is competitive with what others have had. So welcome to what everyone else has been dealing with forever, and
>C: Even if you don't like the new shit you can spam your Penetrators, Falconers, Wolfhounds, Devastators, Nightstars, Emperors and whatever else. So you still have stuff other factions can't match after decades IRL and nearly a century IC, life must be tough.
Yeah sure dracfag, you can be smug along with all the capfags now too, what with the shameless fiat you're getting from MadCap and Ben Rome.
Fact is that we have had nothing usable in three TROs, and those old mechs are out of production now.
Meanwhile caps and dracs just go from strength to strength, with unbroken strings of victories for decades and dozens of good new mechs.
>>44654948
Kick is always better. Kick always hits legs, makes it predictable. Kick usually hits harder and better. Forces a PSR. Kick the leg off a light mech, it's out of the game. Hatchet an arm of a light mech and it runs away, probably didn't even have a weapon on that arm anyway.
You can like hatchets, but saying they are good is objectively WRONG
>>44655142
>Literally what.
3028 to 3068 is four decades. 2443 to 2840 is four centuries. One of these periods had ten times as many 'Mech designers as the other.
>>44655244
The Caps have gotten some reasonably good stuff, especially from the Stealth Armour, Stealth Armour errywhere! phase.
But if you want to argue that the Dracs have gotten TR 3058-tier shit? Haha no. The Tenshi's base chassis is pretty impressive but then the canon configs go and completely shit the bed. And the new face 'Mechs for the faction like the Rokurokubi, Shiro, Dragon II and Hitosume Kozo are just ass.
>but you can field the very rare variants that use Clan tech or design a custom config for the Tenshi that doesn't suck!
Oh, you mean like the way AFFS players can just use their best shit too?
>But we're losing!
Yeah, for now. Admittedly the Caps are unlikely to stop doing that any time soon, but the writing is on the wall for the Dracs. The odds of a civil war and another Bear mauling are extremely high. Julian will re-capture most but maybe not all of the lost territory.
It's nice that the Dracs are finally getting some wins on the board. But the other shoe is about to drop.
>>44655404
>3028 to 3068 is four decades. 2443 to 2840 is four centuries. One of these periods had ten times as many 'Mech designers as the other.
And all have been covered in TRs.
Age of War and primitive designs that weren't in TR: 3025 went extinct. TR 3025 features the designs from that period that were updated and survived, along with the SLDF 'Mech retcon.
>>44655217
Hey man, Big Ben's got the Lyran fist on his shoulder.
And in his heart.
And down his enemy's throat.
>>44654587
Which book was that in?
>>44655515
Periphery 1e. Obviously.But seriously I wuld guess the original Lyran SB or one of the 4th SW Atlases.
>>44655458
That's a right hand, the Steiner fist is a left hand!
Be glad the Lyrans don't do sudoku. Although such a faux pas might just be tantamount to suicide in the right social circles.
"I don't think we'll be promoting *him*..."
>>44655451
The periods have all been sampled, sure. But the TROs aren't exhaustive - TR:3039 (and TR:3025 before it) only cover the X most common designs (where X is limited by pagecount).
>>44655515
I *think* it was one of the BattleTechnology Magazines, but I couldn't tell you for sure.
>>44655674
Well, it IS his LEFT shoulder.
>>44655740
>TR:3039 (and TR:3025 before it) only cover the X most common designs (where X is limited by pagecount).
Not really. For instance, the Assassin.
>>44655740
>but the books don't explicitly SAY that the stupid things I'm claiming are wrong, therefore I must be right!
Well OK then. Have fun talking to yourself, 'cos I sure as shit ain't gonna bother from here out.
>>44655832
Or Clint.
>>44655285
Hatchets are not, in fact, worse. They are only different.
One, they deal the same amount of damage, not less. Two, they get a -1 on their to-hit. Three, they don't fuck you over with a PSR if you miss. Four, you do have the option to roll on the punch chart if you so desire, and roll on the kick chart with good positioning.
>>44654708
why does the RotS feel like such a lackluster faction?
I want to like it, but it just doesn't feel like it has pull.
>>44655832
>>44655899
>>44655937
Care to explain how there being 200 Clints or Assassins prevents another design from having LESS than 200?
And PLEASE tell me y'all're smart enough to look at the forewords to those TROs yourselves without me holding your hands.
>>44656087
Choppy writing. The original fluff made them out initially into being even bigger white hats than the Feddies, while the later stuff makes them into pricks who do Terran Hegemony things, only badly. I like playing the Republic as one big ROM 2.0, with a heavier intelligence apparatus, and a reasonable ComGuard style force.
>>44656087
>why does the RotS feel like such a lackluster faction?
Because it is.
It's atonal compared to the rest of the factions. Yeah, everything exists because of authorial fiat and blah blah blah, but the Republic is where you can most easily see it.
Every major faction gifted them elite units and expensive equipment, because reasons. Everyone disarmed like the Republic wanted, because reasons. They have the highest tech of any IS faction, because reasons. A number of the most competent characters prior to the Jihad left their own factions to join the Republic because reasons.
A lot of the later DA stuff and CGL's coverage of the era shows it wasn't all fine and dandy like the original presentation was saying, but by then the damage had been done.
Maybe if we'd had the JHS series before the DA stuff it wouldn't have seemed as bad. Even so you've still got Devlin Stone and his magical mystery tour to deal with.
>>44656183
Those points make sense. How do you mean play them like ROM 2.0? Like part of the Blakist conspiracy?
And by ComGuard style, is that the base 6 thing?
>>44654621
mfw
>>44656268
Part of it is CGL's fault. The Wizkid era stuff, and the book Ghost War, pretty clearly suggested that it was Stone that stopped the WoB and he had popular support, and that's why the Successor States were forced to kowtow to his Republic idea.
Then CGL writes the Jihad and Stone seems barely relevant to fucking anything. CGL won't stop fellating Sun-Tzu and the Ghost Bears, the Dracs and George Hasek are forced to go full retard, Thomas Marik is the Master for some dumbfucking irrelevant reason, there's that Manei Domini garbage that makes zero sense, and it's basically the Successor States themselves that win the war featuring Ghost Bears.
I'm not saying all those plot elements necessarily originated with CGL, but they handled the Jihad like shit.
>>44656282
>How do you mean play them like ROM 2.0? Like part of the Blakist conspiracy?
No, but rather more focused on fucking over their enemies to keep them off balance. If it's one thing the Jihad proved, it's that the Houses and Clans can fuck the Terran Hegemony area planets up if they get their shit together, so the Republic's best bet is to always keep petty wars inflamed, or else the early DA happens.
>And by ComGuard style, is that the base 6 thing?
Lots of combined arms. If they went base 6 I'd have been happier with them overall.
>>44656407
Living in the Terran corridor must be suffering. Poor Caphids.
>>44656426
Well, if they'd just listened to His Celestial Wisdom and joined the Capellan Confederation the way they should have, they wouldn't have been in that mess, would they?
XIN SHENG XIN SHENG!
>>44656604
>Shilling this hard for the bitch boys
I seriously hope you're not doing this Sun.
>>44656750
>>44656604
>>44656848
didn't know you posted here, coleman
what's the silliest way that you've had a mech die, /btg/?
>>44658266
Had a single missile TAC the ammo bins of a pristine catapult on turn 2, which because we were playing with ammo explosion splash damage, knocked out the pilot of the pristine atlas that was standing beside it.
This was during a lance vs lance pick up match by the way.
Though i'd say the silliest way i've seen a mech die is when a mech died from taking over 100 fall damage. I'll see if i can find the megamek log
>>44658545
Found it. Her royal highness make some pretty poor tactical decisions sometimes
>>44658266
After trying to do something different, we discovered the "PPC Catapult?", in other words the K2.
It was a Lance v Lance battle and we finally got into range of one another and it was a big build up and... first shot crits the K2's machine gun ammo bay.
Fuckin' thing never fired a shot...
>>44658593
No wait here is it. Same game
Wyvern IIC y/n? Have any of you tried it?
>>44658827
It does OK in a city or when used on the defensive. Good against Infantry if your opponent is spamming them I suppose.
Outside those environments it doesn't matter that it's Clan tech, it's still only 45 tons and only goes 4/6/4.
>>44658545
>turn 2
>its an urban map with double blind on so it'll be at least turn 3 till I can even see the other guy
>LRM Hunchback turning on an icy road
>needs 3
>rolls 4
>falls flat on its back and the damage goes right through the rear side torso
>crit his ammo bin and explodes
This happened nearly two years ago and I'm still mad.
>>44659304
Could be worse. I had an opponent dead to rights when he fucked up his movement in a tournament. All I needed to do was not roll a 2 when running with my PHX-3PL to get in behind a damaged heavy and then be able to unload on it with everything and an easy kick.
I rolled a 2, my Phoenix Hawk skidded off the board (tournament rules counted anything leaving the map as a full kill for the opponent) and the Jinggau whose day I was going to ruin headcapped my Thunderbolt the next turn.
The dice giveth, and the dice taketh away.
>>44658266
not my mech, but the opposition's.
>so it's an orion, 4/5 pilot.
>first turn, it runs and turns on pavement. falls over
>pilot takes a hit
>pilot attempts to stand up
>fails the roll, passes out
>takes three turns to wake up
>wakes up
>attempts to stand up
>fail
>takes another hit, passes out again
>two more turns pass
>wakes up AGAIN
>fails to stand up AGAIN
>passes out AGAIN
>doesn't wake up for the rest of the game
>pilot's FW
the other guy wasn't even mad, he was just laughing
>>44659052
Yeah, the speed does seem rather restrictive. What about the Jihad version with the bigger lasers?
Can anyone clear this up for me:
What 'Mechs (or even vehicles, for that matter) were created by the video games and later added into BattleTech proper.
I know the Mad Cat Mk.II was, and I'm pretty sure the Uziel, Thanatos, Hellspawn and Chimera were... but anything else?
This would include video game designs that were later added in as different 'Mechs (Shadow Cat and Vulture 2 being good examples).
>>44660357
You forgot the Argus and the new look for the Black Knight comes from MW4 as well.
on a related note, which game are the IS omni images in the old TRO:3058 from?
>>44660429
Mechwarrior 3 was the first game where they showed up (don't think MW3 invented them though).
>>44660152
It's still slow, it still wrecks infantry, but it's lost its range advantages.
>Select all sandwiches
>Only has burgers
>REEEEEEE
>>44660429
They were just CGI'd as far as I know.
Maybe they came from the Virtual World pods, but I'm like 99.99% sure they were never in any game prior to the release of TR 3058.
>>44658266
Pristine Zeus, PS 3, turned a corner onto a bridge on turn fucking 1, Snake-eyes, skidded off the road and straight into the river, landed on the head, breached it, drowned a 2/3 pilot that had been with the unit for twenty games.
>How the fuck hard is it to come up with an actual goddamned milkshake, capcha?
>>44660429
>on a related note, which game are the IS omni images in the old TRO:3058 from?
Virtual World, they were a tie-in release
>>44660950
>>44661129
alright, cool.
i just picked up a early-printing copy of 3058 and was wondering; this stuff is almost literally before my time (I was ~2 when 3058 came out)
>>44658266
A map with a wide river on my starting end, and me having to cross it.
>first 'Mech wades in, fails the PSR, falls over
>second 'Mech wades in, fails the PSR, falls over right next to the first one
>at this point my opponent's grinning like mad
>THIRD 'Mech wades in, again fails the PSR, this time breaches the cockpit and the pilot drowns
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. My opponent was laughing so hard he was in tears, though, and suggested my drivers take swimming lessons.
>>44662164
I feel for you. I had a game about a year ago where I lost 6 mechs in 5 turns without taking any enemy fire whatsoever.
IIRC, it went:
Turn 1) Activate MASC to move onto the game board,crit both hips, fall over offboard, GM rules this kills the Dasher.
Turn 2) Activate MASC on another Mech (we were having to move through a city in a big hurry, almost every Mech we had mounted MASC). Fail, crit one hip, fall over, TAC, double-gryo. This kills the other Dasher.
Turn 3a) Run without MASC, turn a corner, skid, go into a building, fall two basement levels onto head. This kills the Summoner. We change dice.
Turn 3b) Run without MASC, turn a corner, skid, smack into a hardened building, all damage goes to head. This kills the Nova. We change dice again.
Turn 4) Activate MASC, run forward, skid, fall on center torso. The TAC from the falling damage detonates all three AC ammo binsin the torso, incidentally reducing the MechWarrior's brain to a fine crisp. This kills the Executioner. New dice are purchased at the store counter for use the following turn.
Turn 5) Jump on top of a building (CF 85) in a 75-ton Mech. Allied Mech skids, falls, and hits the building, reducing it to less than 75 CF. It collapses under me, I fall, and the damage crushes the head of my Mech. This kills the Night Gyr. Fuck everything, I shall sing the song which ends the earth.
This remains the only BattleTech game which I can recall in which - as an adult - I have set down my stuff and walked away from the table. It was simply not worth staying at that point, and I would have ruined the fun of everyone else at the table had I stuck around.
>>44658266
Probably the 2011 Bloodright tournament. Driving a Stooping Hawk F against a Stooping Hawk A, played on what was essentially a salt flat with one tiny lake on my end, and some trees on his end. Trying to move laterally and put the trees between myself and him, I'm facing in such a way he's targeting my right torso. I'm in the water and as such gain partial cover, plus the trees. He manages to land both ERPPCs on 11s, both of them hit my RT, he gets a critical on the SRM bin. I edge away the critical location (there's 10 things to hit in there) and he hits the bin a second time. Boom. My Mech falls over from the damage into the Depth 1 water, 1 point of fall damage goes to the head, the breach check fails, and I die.
On turn 1 of the next-to-last round of the tourney. It was the fourth consecutive year I'd lost *on the first turn* of that same round.
>>44660357
The original IICs with the Japanese art appear to be originally from the Japanese version of MW1, as it came out in 1992 and had overhauled visuals.
Though as you see what became the Griffin IIC was the Battlemaster. Would explain why it resembles its forebear the least of them, though I think it doesn't resemble a Beemer much more than it does a Griffin. It also explains why the Jenner was one of the original IICs, which was a fluff mystery at the time.
>>44660357
>>44660405
Speaking of the video games, MechWarrior 3 was for a long time my only window to the world of BattleTech (lived in bumblefuck), so I see a lot of the mechs in it through rose-coloured glasses.
For folks that have used them, how do you rate them?
Mechs like the Avatar, Champion, Bushwacker, Annihilator, Owens, Strider, Firefly, and Sunder.
>>44664726
Avatar and Sunder can be pretty good. The Bushwacker just doesn't have any really good variants.
Flyfly is mostly a joke. Ownes is meh. Strider is ok.
Annihilator varies from "All guns no armour" to "Gauzilla". It's super slow, and super dangerous, but often not that hard to blow apart.
Battle bump with low-grade challenge.
Finished watching Mulan with my daughter, and now I want to make a Capellan lance based on Mulan and her three troop friends.
Pick a year (3028, 3058, 3067, 3081, 3132) and make a CCAF lance based on Mulan, Yao, Ling and Chien-Po.
Ideas (but don't restrict yourselves if you're a fan of the movie too) for mech types based on characters:
>Mulan - A mech that's more than it appears. Maybe a medium or heavy that punches above its weight and is full of surprises.
>Yao - a solid brawler, probably with more short-range focus.
>Ling - Fast for its weight range, and sly (so maybe some electronic warfare equipment).
>Chien-Po - big assault that compliments Yao. Always hungry for more.
Which of the MechWarrior games are the best. I want to try them but I don't know which to start with. Should I buy them or is it easier just to pirate them?
>>44666839
MechWarrior 3 is the best. MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries is pretty fun and has more options. The rest are kind of YMMV.
>>44663025
I thought you were supposed to be good at Battletech. Who the fuck activates MASC under any but the most fire circumstances? Or uses skidding or building destruction rules outside of Megamek? You're an idiot and you damn well deserved it. I hope your team kicked you off and kept you off.
>>44664726
>Sunder, Avatar
Both are very dependable mechs which can fit in any heavy or assault lance, I always preferred the Sunder's look from mw3 since it looked like it was really built from Thor and Loki parts.
>Champion
Suffers from low armor and firepower, the royal and clan variants wil get you the most use.
>Bushwhacker and Annihilator
What the other anon said, bad variants for the Bush and too slow/fragile for the Annie.
>Firefly
A lot of firepower but short ranged and slow right when speed started meaning life for light mechs.
>Owens
It's a omni-Raven, useful for EW, meant to avoid fire.
>Strider
Omni-Cicada which I love since everyone ignores it until too late, exclusive use as a missile boat, dirt cheap for a omnimech, try to get the Bulldog variant and you'll bet set.
>Orion
You'll never go wrong by fielding an Orion.
The Clan mechs are all great although they cost a lot to field and the Mad Cat is a fire magnet since everyone knows the havoc it can do on the tabletop.
>>44666839
MW3 is the best, hands down but it's a bitch to get it working. MW4 is fun, BK is great and Mercs is boring. Never played MW2 unfortunately.
You only need to pirate MW2, 3, 4 and BK. Microsoft actually released MW4 Mercs and both Mechcommaders for free a long time ago.
>>44665273
>The Bushwacker just doesn't have any really good variants.
Well, there is the Gauntlet...
