Battletech General: Sneaky Space Edition
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The /btg/ is dead, long live the /btg/!
Old thread: >>43890267
=====================
>/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
>>43934864
Team Banzai was here, Hegemony a shit.
PURPLE BIRD WAIFU
ha ha butte hold
What's the longest career, in in-universe years, that any of your characters have had?
>>43935347
I think you have the wrong purple burd waifu
240 engines are relatively common, yes?
>>43935832
Very. There are about a billion Riflemen, a decently large number of cicadas, plenty of 3/5 80 tonners and a decent number of other 4/6 60 tonners. It's not QUITE as common as the 280 or 300 or 120, but it's pretty common
>>43935990
Cicada uses a 320. Maybe you were thinking of Spiders or Vulcans?
OK, as mentioned in the last thread, I'm looking for feedback and possible failure points in my scenario for Saturday.
I'll post in in-line as well this time, leaving out the background fluff, since it won't put the thread over the posting limit this time, and it didn't occur to me mobile users can't see PDFs.
>1/?
SITUATION
Kaiskag, Acamar, Chaos March
5 March, 3062
Colonel Sarah Fletcher and her 1st Acamar Cavalry hold a unique position in being able to strike back against the Liaoist coup on Acamar. In the face of having to combat their comrades-in-arms, many of the militia units spread across Acamar have defected away from Colonel Ben-Zhaye, and instead of pledging allegiance to Fletcher have instead declared their neutrality in the upcoming conflict and pledged to maintain order in outlying towns and cities against the brigand forces still lurking out in the sticks.
Meanwhile, signs have become clear that Colonel Ben-Zhaye and President Katz are preparing for an extended siege in the capital city. Once the 1st Cavalry DropShip cleared the moon shadow, it became immediately apparent that pro-Liao elements were being rushed back into the capital. Hoping to avoid an all-out invasion of the city, which would surely leave it in ruins, Fletcher concocted a risky plan which would leave the city mostly intact. A pirate broadcast revealed that both the Colonel and President would be at Kaiskag Coliseum, where the new regime had herded several hundred political prisoners, to oversee a series of judicial executions. Every 1st Cav Mech equipped with jump jets (not expecting combat drops, jump packs had not been loaded on board) would drop into the Coliseum parking lot, overwhelm the Presidential Guard, break into the Coliseum, free the prisoners, and kill or capture the usurpers. Quick action would be critical, since the onplanet defenders would be rushing to contain the combat drop, and would certainly overwhelm the isolated Cavalry Mechs if the fight went too long.
>>43936061
Yeah, I was thinking of the Vulcan. Got my 40-tonners confused
>>43936073
>2/?
>Map Setup
[][].....Lake Area, City Hills/Residential #1
[][].....Custom Coliseum Map 1 & 2
[][].....City Hills/Residential #2, Lake Area
>Attacking Forces
Consists of Elements of the Provisional First Acamar Cavalry. These forces will perform a standard Combat Drop on the two City Hills maps. A minimum of 33% of the total force must be assigned to either City Hills map. Drop Hexes are selected before the Defending Forces deploy, and are considered SECRET information.
>Defending Forces
Consists of the Presidential Guard and elements of the Acamar Militia (2 Batt and 3 Batts, Echo and Juliet companies)
The Presidential Guard deploys with 1 lance on each Lake Area map, and 1 lance inside the Coliseum. The Militia deploys with at least 50% of its force inside the Coliseum, and must deploy no more than 2 lances onto the maps to the north, and no more than 2 lances onto the maps to the south of the Coliseum.
Both defending forces deploy on the battlefield after Drop Hexes are selected.
>The Coliseum
The Coliseum is a domed structure consisting of an oblong ring of concrete hexes, 6 levels tall, which may not be jumped over (60 CF each). If destroyed, each adjoining concrete hex (ring or stands) will collapse on a 4-6 on a d6. There are four gates in the structure, each bordered by 8-level tall, CF 75, towers, which may provoke collapse in an identical manner as the ring. Each gate is a CF 50 structure, 5 levels tall (which may be jumped over). If destroyed, the gate had no effect on adjoining hexes. There are several banks of 4-level tall hexes inside the structure, the "stands", each of which is a CF 50 structure The terrain upon the arena floor is as represented.
>Ice
The battle takes place at the height of Acamar's summer. Therefore, while ice covers all Water hexes on the board, the ice is a thin layer, rather than frozen solid. Use normal Ice rules, but elements break through Ice on a 4-6, rather than a 6 as normal.
>>43936121
>3/?
>Forced Withdrawal
As the First Cavalry is completely isolated, they are not subject to forced withdrawal. As they are pants-shittingly fanatical, the Presidential Guard are not subject to forced withdrawal. The Militia forces a subject to normal forced withdrawal rules, and may withdrawal off the north or south board edge.
>Political Prisoners
Each "stand" hex contains 1 stand of Foot Infantry, representing massed prisoners. Once a valid escape route out of the stadium is established (whether through taking down a gate, or blowing down a section of ring), any Infantry stands without an enemy unit within 3 hexes will move toward the nearest escape route, seeking to leave the Coliseum and move to a board edge and off-board. Due to their panic, Infantry move at a rate of 2 hexes per turn (ignoring elevation changes within the Colisum). No unit may fire at prisoners until a valid escape route has been opened. Presidential Guard may fire freely at prisoners as long as no First Cavalry combat unit is an equal or closer distance away. Militia units may fire at prisoners under the same condition, but only after passing a 9+ check on 2d6 during fire
declaration. If this is failed, they may fire at Cavalry units that turn at a +1 penalty.
All political prisoner stands move first automatically each turn (ie, lose initiative).
>Overwhelming Force
The game ends by Turn 12, as massive militia reinforcements will move into the area and smash the isolated First Cavalry Forces. Total up VP at this time.
>>43936158
>4/5
>El Presidente
Both Colonel Ben-Zhaye and President Pro-Term Katz are on hand to oversee the executions, and will attempt to flee. Each "asset" is accompanied by a platoon of IS Standard Armored Infantry, and a small vehicle column. These begin on the board as an Armored Infantry stand, which takes damage as normal. Once all 4 Armored Infantry on the stand have been killed, each additional point of damage kills the VIP on a 6+ on 2d6. As soon as a valid escape path into the Coliseum is opened, these Armored Infantry stands will begin moving toward a hex containing a Vehicle unit. There are three vehicles stacked into the hex - determine which one contains the VIP randomly (this is secret information). If the vehicle containing the VIP is destroyed, the VIP is killed. These vehicles will attempt to flee the Coliseum to an board edge and escape.
Note that each group (in Armored Infantry or Vehicle mode) will surrender during the End Phase if they begin the End Phase adjoining 2+ First Cavalry units. Note that Armored Infantry stands can stack in a hex with political prisoners. First Cavalry members may elect to apply a +3 penalty to weapons fire against such a stacked unit and only hit the Armored Infantry, or may shoot at no penalty and randomly determine which unit is hit (prisoners are hit on a 1-4, Armored Infantry on a 5-6). Vehicles cannot stack with political prisoners, but may elect to move through them. Roll for 1 random motive critical hit with a -3 modifier to the roll (once per hex of prisoners traveled through), and deal 1d6 damage to each prisoner stand moved through.
>>43936202
>Victory Points
First Cavalry
-Each prisoner stand which survives the scenario at 1/2-strength or more: 1 VP
-Each prisoner stand which escapes the Coliseum or board: 1 VP
-Killing the Colonel or the President: 4 VPs each
-Capturing the Colonel or the President: 6 VPs each
-Every 2 OPFOR Mechs either destroyed, crippled, or in forced withdrawal: 1 VP
Acamar Defenders
-Each prisoner stand reduced to 1/2-strength or less: 1 VP
-Every 2 prisoner stands completely destroyed: 1 VP
-Either the Colonel or the President survives the scenario, un-captured: 5 VPs
-Each OPFOR Mech destroyed: 1 VP
>Presidential Guard TO&E
4/5 unless noted
1 Lance
Stalker STK-7D (3/4)
Cataphract CTF-3L
Vindicator VND-5L (4/3)
2 Lance
Marauder MAD-4L** (3/4)
Cataphract CTF-3L
Wolverine WVR-6R
3 Lance
Jinggau JN-G8A
Huron Warrior HUR-W0-R4Ma
Highlander HGN-733
**Marauder-4L (custom; 13.5t armor, SFE, 14 DHS, x2 LL, x2 ML, LB-10X)
>Militia TO&E
1 Lance
Phoenix Hawk PXH-3D (3/4)
Wolverine WVR-6R (5/6)
Stinger STG-3R (5/6)
Wasp WSP-1D (5/6)
2 Lance
Shadow Hawk SHD-5M (3/4)
Blackjack BJ-1 (5/6)
Wasp WSP-1D (5/6)
Stinger STG-3R (5/6)
3 Lance
Archer ARC-2S
Archer ARC-2S
Warhammer WHM-6L
Marauder MAD-3D
4 Lance
Cyclops CP-11-G (3/4)
Warhammer WHM-6D
Thunderbolt TDR-5S
Crab CRB-20
**Shadow Hawk SHD-5M-D: 55t, SFE, 10.5t armor, 10 DHS, ML, LRM-10, SRM-2, GR
TOTAL: 35, 772 BV2
>>43936297
>Fuck, one more.
>First Provisional Acamar Cavalry TO&E
>The first Mech in each lance is 3/4 and has 1 Edge, all others are 4/5.
1 Lance
Guillotine GLT-8D
Highlander HGN-732
Shadow Hawk SHD-5M
Stinger STG-3G
2 Lance
Thunderbolt TDR-9SE
Griffin GRF-1DS
Wolverine WVR-7D
Crusader CRD-5M
3 Lance
Nightsky NGS-5T
Hatchetman HCT-6D
Javelin JVN-10N Fire Javelin
Penetrator PTR-4D
4 Lance
Thunderbolt TDR-9SE
Griffin GRF-1DS
Shadow Hawk SHD-5M
Clint CLNT-2-3U
5 Lance
Enforcer III ENF-6T
Shadow Hawk SHD-5M
Clint CLNT-2-3U
Valkyrie VLK-QD
6 Lance
Victor VTR-9B
Enforcer ENF-5D
Dervish DV-8D
Victor VTR-9K
TOTAL: 39,772 BV2
>>43936297
This looks pretty neat. Have you thought about sticking a lineholder or two into the military? They're pretty common in the chaos march but you don't see them in scenarios much.
>>43936396
I did. I just don't have one in the correct paint colors - all my existing Lineholders would fit into the 1st Cavalry force's paint scheme, but they don't have Jump Jets and therefore can't be a part of that force...and I don't want to mix color schemes on the game board. That way lies confusion.
I should also point out a typo that I've already corrected. The defenders get 5 VP for EACH ONE of the VIPs who survives; it's not a binary condition.
>>43936498
Ah, I didn't know that minis were part of this. Group photos of both sides to go with the scenerio would be pretty cool
>>43936498
just make a Lineholder mod with JJ
>>43936628
I actually have one of those. I'd post the image but I'm on mobile. It's fairly simple, though: drop four sinks and go DHS, add 5JJs, and 3 SLs. Simple, but it's a pretty good refit
>>43937452
>3 SLs
What
>>43937660
Small lasers. For shooting up light vees and messing up terrain and such. You COULD add a fifth medium and a small, though that's a bit boring. I tried two MGs and a half ton of ammo, but it was 2torsobomb4me. I occasionally enjoy making not-really-optimized designs, as well, for that matter
>>43937660
Three Small Lasers
>>43937452
That's pretty damn good. LRMs and LL for long range, heat-neutral jump+4 ML+3 SL short range.
>>43937786
Or a GECM/BAP for added utility on the field, rather than a set of lasers you *may* end up using.
>>43937826
It's a pretty nice trooper, innit?
>>43935488
>What's the longest career, in in-universe years, that any of your characters have had?
3061-3138. Granted, she joined the unit as a 12-year old orphan, but she was on non-combat duties (astech) as soon as she got picked up. In the end she was a crusty old bitch who liked to haul her Thud out because "That hot-ass cockpit's good f'my rheumatism".
>>43936073
>>43936121
Oh, hey, I was just reading through the Operation Stiletto scenario pack two days ago.
I take it this is an alternative to that action?(although frankly it'd be hilarious to have Defiance drop in the Acamar task force >anyway<, since by this point they've been training for about a year and a half)
>Failure points?
If I'm reading this correctly, the Liaoists are setting up a Bloody Sunday style "machine-gun the stands" massacre, yes? The Presidential Guard 'Mechs are almost completely worthless against infantry. Is the intent to make the militia prove their loyalty by doing the killing? If so, I might throw some inferno or gas rounds into their SRM racks. Otherwise there's no meaningful choice for the defender between shooting at the prisoners and the attackers; having some of them loaded for bear also gives the attackers priority targets once the shit starts going down.
>>43937871
>I take it this is an alternative to that action?
Basically, yeah. Takes the core idea of the scenario and expands upon it.
>If so, I might throw some inferno or gas rounds into their SRM racks.
Indeed. The task for the attackers is to realize that the ACTUAL threat to the civvies is from the militia, and not to get caught up fighting the scary but relatively impotent Guards. As such, the militia have at least 1 MG-equipped Mech in each lance, a bunch of flamers, and the SRMs will ALL be infernos.
>>43937847
You totally could do that, but it's meant to be a fairly low-tech/low end refit, and electronics don't really fit with that. It'd be a logical subvariant for the jihad or later, though
>>43937911
Ah, okay. In that case their hesitancy to engage the civvies actually makes a lot more sense. Another thing I'd suggest is having some kind of defection special rule - say, a militia unit fails ~3 times to fire on the infantry, they have to pass a check or have an attack of conscience and immediately Withdraw/surrender/start shooting at the Presidential Guard. You could track the failures on top of the record sheet fairly easily. Depends on how many prisoner stands you've got, I suppose.
>>43937786
>>43937791
I know WHAT that is. I was more asking why you wouldn't just sub in something like ECM or TAG.
>>43938267
Because the Lineholder is meant to be a simple, cheap mech?
>>43938267
As I said, because electronics are a bit too high-tech, and because I happen to like somewhat underoptimized designs
>>43938465
>>43938513
So no thought to giving it a flamer?
I don't think anyone would call that optimized.
>>43939514
I considered 1SL+flamer, and it's a good field refit, but I figured that this thing didn't really need to set fires, and the twin MG model was better for anti-infantry work. I deployed these things with merlins a lot, and they've got a flamer AND a MG, so this thing didn't need them so much
>>43939582
>this thing didn't really need to set fires
>5/8/5 midrange laserboat
>doesn't want to set incidental fires
Wait, what?
>>43939666
Nice Satan trips, and I agree, fires would be pretty handy for something like that, not too minmaxed but since he runs with merlins I do see why.
>>43939730
Yeah, if I didn't run it with Merlins, the flamer would definitely be a good choice
post troopers, keep the thread alive
>pic 100% not related
Best trooper coming through.
He still thinks they're good
>>43942295
Must be something sexual between him and those lasers.
>>43942295
Was he the one who designed RE lasers by any chance?
I'm still getting back into BattleTech after a long absence (I bought 75 new 'Mechs in the Black Friday sales! WOO!), but I don't really know what RE Lasers are (re-engineered lasers?).
What is the deal with them, why does everyone hate them, and why are the devs defending them to the hilt?
I am new to battletech. I played one game and now I am trying to find mechs to play with. What I want are mechs like the dervish. mobile and packing dakka. Can I sort the master unit list by mech speeds or something so I can see all the faster mechs in each weight class? How can I search this?
>>43942295
I love the way that thread's drifted into total terra incognita but him and Weirdo team up to say "no they're good, srs" and then shut down all opportunity to disagree.
>>43942552
I'm guessing he was heavily involved, yeah. He's very invested in defending them in the face of all reason and logic to the contrary.
>>43942627
They don't have their damage reduced by Reflective, Hardened, or Ferro-Lamellor armours.
Of course, those types of armour aren't terribly common, and in the long run normal lasers or other weapons (missiles, ballistics) can get around Reflective armour already.
There are two areas where they do arguably have a niche; on ASFs because Reflective armour is basically _the shit_ on them, and against Battle Armour with Reflective armour... but then, you could just shoot the BA with a missile or ballistic weapon. Or use Infernos or Plasma weapons.
So they're mostly useless, except if you're Weirdo or Alex Knight, in which case they are totally the best thing ever, and anyone who disagrees is gonna get banned.
>>43942802
The MUL doesn't do that. Download MegaMek from the OP link, you can sort stuff like that in there.
>>43942802
The easiest and fastest way is to download MegaMek.
Click the "Start a new game" button on the splash screen.
When the main window comes up, click "add a combat unit", then "advanced search" on the next window. If you want a good combination of speed and firepower, enter "5" in both the walk and jump boxes, then select unit type "mek" like you see in the screenshot. Click "okay".
It will bring up a search box. Set the Unit Type to "All IS", then click on the "weight" column header to sort be weight. Scroll down to where the 45s start, and click on any 'Mech to see its TRO stats. Anything that fast after 60 tons is going to be fragile, and anything after 75 is going to be a shitheap, but there are a lot of really nice, fast designs in that 45-75t window.
You can experiment with other speeds, of course, or enter in weapons you want ot search for, things like that.
Solaris Skunk Werks (a 'Mech building program that will also print out record sheets for you) has a search function as well, but I find it to be slower even if it's more specific.
>>43942973
>and anything after 75 is going to be a shitheap
The Zeus X3 is fucking amazing and you should really apologize to her.
>>43942983
It does a Venom's job for three times the BV - and over 12x the C-bill price. Shit, you could pull the Pulses off of a Nightsky-5T and give it 7 IJJ and a pair of ERMLs and you'd still get them at 3 for 2 on a BV basis. In fact, it would probably literally be cheaper to build a new 'Mech line and produce a frigging regiment of Nightskies than make a company of Zeus X-3s.
>>43942973
Thanks a lot. Lots of robbits to look through. Any recommendations? Era is clan invasion 3050-3061.
I had an idea for a Clan Proto that got named something totally different by the IS
>Krampus
>Mounts a cSRM-4 in each arm
>also Talons and a Jump Jet.
>Actually called the Hag.by the Clanners that built it, it got called the Krampus by the Lyrans.
>>43942983
>Any Zeus X
>Good
>>43942973
>and anything after 75 is going to be a shitheap
WATCHA GONNA DO, WHEN CHARGERMANIA RUNS WILD ON YOU!
Seriously, I am now in love with this thing after managing to convince my GM to allow it in a succession wars campaign focused on mediums.
I've been thinking of starting a C*/WoB force, in addition to the two mostly-introtech IS companies and single star of Clanners I have now.
What would be some good 'mechs to have minis for in their lineup?
I'm mostly thinking Jihad era, but usefulness in other time periods would be nice as well.
>>43944422
Do you want Shadow Divisions or WoB Militia?
>>43944711
Looking at things, the WoBM seem much more widely applicable, while the Shadow Divisions have tons of high-tech toys.
In all honesty, either could work, although I do like the look of several of the Celestial series Omnis.
Let's say an IS house of your choosing somehow finds a Society mech. What would the result of this serendipitous find be?
What characterizes Capellan mechs other than stealth armor?
So I'm prepping to run a campaign circa post-Andurien War, and I'm looking at the HB House Marik and its list of reaction modifiers. Most of the players will be of the "REMOVE LIAO remove liao" persuasion (Oriente), so the hit to reactions re: Capellans are natural, but what's up with the hate for the Federated Suns? Is it all because of You Can't Believe It's Not Joshua Marik and the book's 3060ish date, or did Hanse or another Davion piss in Dame Catherine's corn flakes or something?
>>43945384
...and fuck, of course I forgot to include the table.
>>43945048
Fire and Minelayers.
>>43945384
Hanse fucked with the FWL a bit, "funding rebellions" to keep them out of the 4th SW iirc. Dunno what else he did besides than and Just Joshing Marik.
So what are the actual differences between the Warden and Crusader Clans, aside from the fact that the Crusaders have Alexander Kerensky turning in his grave like the torso of a Raven.
>>43945620
Oneglows in the dark, the otherchokes on nerve gas
>>43945648
Hahaha, but seriously. The only time I ever picked on the Crusader/Warden thing was in MW2.
>>43945648
BLAKE VULT
>>43945620
Short answer: the Wardens wanted to stay where they were and keep tabs on the IS from afar, the Crusaders wanted to go in guns blazing, occupy Terra, declare Star League Mk II and call it a good showing.
>>43945780
And the long answer?
>>43945862
Check the folders in the OP, specifically The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, FM Warden Clans and FM Crusader Clans. All you want to know about the divide will likely to be in those.
>>43945901
cheers
Anyone got the chart for RE Laser effectiveness handy? IIRC the large was the most effective on a per ton basis, but that may be taking heat into account.
>>43945396
That +2 for WoB. Marik/WoB besties 4 eva!
>>43946117
I dont have the charts either but yea, the larges were actually not terrible.
>>43945396
Mariks hate the LC a helluva lot less than some fluff would suggest.
>>43946117
It basically added up to the medium and small being useless (they never compared the RE small to a standard medium, which is in my opinion makes it look even worse)
The large is too fucking heavy, but at least it cuts through hardened armor and has decent enough ranges. And is actually worth using just for aero thresholds.
>>43946472
It'S 3025 and before + Dark Age where Mariks despise Lyrans. Between those two they don't fuck with each other too much
>>43943206
For a decent mix of speed and firepower? The Griffin is an absolute classic and has tons of variants to fit whatever you like best
>>43946117
Muninn, you like the Hag? >>43943353
>>43943206
WOLVERINES
-6M is a beautiful introtech machine, and the -7M is nice too. The -7H is also good, can zombie pretty damn well, but is lostech, not new-built.
>>43947775
Has there ever been official Unseen -6M art, or a kitbashed mini, et cetera? My Oriente campaign could use an official pic of that. I actually remember drawing one, but it was mostly traced from the -6R, sans the gun and the briefcase, with a big laser mounted on the right forearm and an underslung medium, and I can't find it bloody anywhere.
>>43947692
>>43943353
Protos can't mount Talons
>>43945048
High jumping distances and small cockpits.
>>43948301
So ditch the Talons, yes?
>>43948349
Yes. You can replace them with the ProtoMech Melee System if you have the tonnage for it.
>>43948331
So the absolute Caperran mech jumps high, has a small cockpit, has stealth armor and mounts Flamers, NARCs with special ammunition, and plants Mines.
>>43948390
Don't forget plasma rifles. Install ALL the plasma rifles.
>>43948408
That or gauss rifles.
Stealth armor and gauss is probably the most unfairly Capellan thing they get.
>>43948390
Where did you get NARC from? They aren't prolific users of that at all.
They aren't huge users of Flamers either; they mostly get their fire fixation through Infernos and Plasma Rifles.
>>43948491
>Where did you get NARC from? They aren't prolific users of that at all.
Mainly because they manufactured alternate NARC ammo, which is a rather flimsy excuse.
>>43948555
Ah, didn't know that.
They basically have the Raven as their only NARC platform, the Dracs and FWL are the real users of the system. And ComStar was the number one user of iNarc, although now it seems like it's mostly the League who's still using it.
>>43948491
Also remember their love for Arrow IV
>>43948702
So what we need is a pair of Mechs to make something truly Caperran? I can dig that.
>>43948759
Or a mech and a vee, remember the shadow lances
Man, the Antlion is amazing in double blind play, especially in urban environments. Talk about an underrated unit.
>>43948832
Aug lances. Shadow Lances are just stealth armor units.
>>43948648
I wish there were more iNarc units for the FWL other than the Bardiche.
>>43949026
Dude, the Tufana. It's so good.
Relatively new player looking to expand from the intro box here.
I'm thinking about buying the fire and/or command lance packs.
Are the 'mechs in there decent fits for Lyran or FWL forces, with maybe some Clan second-line duty for the Shogun?
>>43949005
Yeah, sorry, that's what I meant
>>43949128
>Fire Lance
It can fit as pretty much anything. The Dervish is very Davion, the Treb is mostly FWL, the Shogun is a Wolf Dragoon design, while the Stalker is a general design (mostly Lyran or FWL)
>Command
More Liao than anything else.
>>43949205
Just double checked the Devish's availability, and yeah, the Fire Lance is a *very* Mercenary lance.
>>43949128
The Trebuchet's a solidly FWL unit, and the LC would presumably have Dervishes during the Fed Com era. The Stalker, of course, is common anywhere, anytime. It's the most common assault.
The command lance is mostly geared toward the Capellans (if there haven't been changes and it's still got the Raven and Catapult in it), but you can reasonably fit them all in a FWL unit as Cappie salvage.
>>43949128
>>43949205
>>43949238
>>43949240
Sweet.
I'll probably order them at my FLGS.
Is the Shogun really only used by by the WD and anyone who happened to salvage one off them? Its Sarna article is a bit vague about it.
>>43949312
Yep, just the 'goons while the Shogun C is only used by Homeworlders.
Damn yo, Paul just told Alex Knight that Re-Lasers suck "Objectively"
Shit is gonna go downnn
>>43949649
Which means that the thread is likely to be baleeted and locked shortly, and nobody will mention it again. They seriously don't like Beemers going after each other over there, even if/when justified.
>>43949312
>Is the Shogun really only used by by the WD and anyone who happened to salvage one off them?
Yeah, and precious few got salved. By the Jihad there were only supposed to be a couple left in existence. You might see a -C in Snow Chicken territory though.
>>43949205
Expanding on what this anon said--
The Trebuchet is common in FWL units, but available to pretty much anyone with ten bucks and a ham sandwich.
The Dervish is likewise openly-available to most units; though the Lyrans aren't all that fond of the design, they still field quite a few when they're FedComming it up.
Stalker: Bar none, it's the most common assault-class BattleMech. Literally everyone has them and loves them. The FWL and Lyrans both have working factories, as well.
>Command Lance
Cataphract: Originally a Liao design, then the FedCom captured the factory. Liaos built another, though. Most of the FC production went into Capellan March forces, but it'd be reasonable for a Lyran unit or FedCom RCT to have one.
Raven: Liao design, but frequently captured and refitted into the "Shattered Raven" scout-hunter/killer by the FedCom.
Catapult: Rare but everyone's got some. And everyone loves them. Slightly more common in Liao and Kurita hands than elsewhere, but really that's by a small majority and not by some massive factor.
Cyclops: Just like the Cat, they're everywhere but rare. Tends to fit Lyran "sit back and command from where you can't fuck up the battle too much" command doctrine. Also makes a good bodyguard for long-range support units, since nobody fast enough to hit them is going to want to play "catch" with an AC/20 slug.
>>43949649
Thread is going to be locked, everybody in and everybody up to three threads above and below of it will be banned, as usual.
>>43949880
Link?
>>43948555
>Mainly because they manufactured alternate NARC ammo
That was the Dracs.
>>43950001
I don't know. I don't generally go there anymore. It's most likely to be in either General Discussion or Ground Combat, though.
>>43950001
I'll do you one better.
I'm sure RotS fan can post the link, pretty sure he's a regular here.
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=50125
Humorously enough, Knight posted in the thread but there still isn't a single vote for "good" or "amazing"
>>43943353
>Hag
>Not Baba Yaga
>>43948998
How so? Curious as to what you had happen.
>>43950001
Probably this:
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=50125.msg1157035#new
Also, mega kek at Alex Knight for insisting people should compare his special snowflake creation to IS Pulse Lasers, because then they look marginally better than they do when compared to standard IS Lasers, which means R-E Lasers are TOTALLY THE BEST THING EVER.
>>43950138
>votes RE-Ls bad
I like you even more.
>>43950137
Your name sounds better.
>>43950088
He knows it would be way too obvious with those voting figures if someone was voting for them being fantastic.
Post all your cheapest, most effective refits of existing designs
>>43950088
>Well, I'm glad you like Herb's wee toy, but I'm not sure what that anecdote brings to the table as far as a response to my points.
BEEMER VS BEEMER
>>43950486
Herb versus Paul versus Alex? Three beemers enter, only one survives!
>>43950154
>23 total votes
>1 (one) vote for good
Topps kek
Alex Knight, keep fighting the bad fight :^P
what if you could make a flamer that actually REDUCED your heat? After all, all you're doing is venting waste heat from your reactor...
>>43950700
I'm glad I never was the only one to think this.
If you could shoot a beam of focused radiation, could you kill the pilot and leave the mech intact?
>>43950138
Fielded three of them paired with a spotting Ferret in an urban scenario. Combined arms on both sides.
The Bloodhounds were fantastic at picking up sensor blips every turn. I'd send a bunch of Airburst munitions at any of those blips...apparently 'Mech Mortars are the best way to cripple vehicles in the game. I nabbed two APCs that way, then found out how devastatingly effective Airburst is against Battle Armor caught out in the open. The BA that did get to cover then got Shaped Charges on top of them until they died or moved out...those Antlions were definitely the MVP of the game.
The best part is how the Ferret didn't even have to spot for the initial barrages, being able to shoot Mortars indirectly without a spotter is amazing.
The other fun thing about the Antlions was how they could easily advance without exposing themselves by using their "high" speed and lateral shifts to move into and out of the main boulevards. Super useful.
10/10 would field again.
>>43950805
I mean, it might take a couple days, but in the meantime all the pilot can do is watch his hair fall out and vomit all over his cockpit
could you reduce the weight of the engine by cutting the amount of radiation shielding on the reactor?
>>43950700
makes mechanical sense, but from a game balance angle, seems like it needs to have a drawback.
>>43950961
Isn't that the fluffl for XLs?
how effective is medicine at treating radiation in battletech?
>>43950976
Almost. XLs and Light engines both use lighter weight shielding. That's the primary difference, is that they're using more exotic shielding materials.
>>43950976
no. cause why would they be bigger? the fluff for xl's is that they are bulkier but lighter, just light heat sinks.
speaking of which...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_foam
>>43950973
The drawback is you actually have to have 8 or 9 heat buildup to use it
>>43951020
Fire and TSM... oh yes. OH YES.
Out on the peripherary you might see pirates fielding reactors with substandard sheilding. Life is cheap, battlemechs aren't.
>>43951020
Hm, if you make it 9 heat, and that you have to have that heat BEFORE the firing phase in which you fire it, yeah, that'd be balanced.
It'd go great with these Stealth+XXL combos they keep handing us...
>>43950987
I imagine it ranges from "medieval" to "magical," depending what planet you're on and how much money you've got. Your average merc on assignment, though? Beats me. Don't know if it's ever been covered.
>>43951054
Vuples best mech ever, why are you hating?
>>43951123
because there's no "Cedar Paneled Cockpit" equipment option to complete the Sauna.
>>43951141
lol
>>43951141
Ok, you got a hearty chuckle from me.
Has anybody come up with a list for all the mech factories and part manufacturers?
If you get assigned a bunch of crappy mechs, is it unethical to send them off to die on suicide missions while keeping your best mechs in reserve?
>>43951187
Just use the Objective and Housebook products as a base and move on from there.
>>43951258
I don't want to memorize them, i just want someone to make a comprehensive list to I have it available.
>>43951299
Be the change that you want anon!
>>43950818
Cool. I designed the thing as an attempt to get some use out of some of the more unusual equipment, and it's generally been considered a bit of a dog (not that I'm denying it). It's good to see it thrive, even if under very specialized circumstances. Glad you had fun with it.
>>43951258
it would be a good project for sarna.
>>43951214
Depends who you are playing as, some groups it's even canon.
>>43951323
The truth is i'm not well versed enough in the lore to be able to do that. I don't even know where most of the capitals for the major factions are located.
All in all, the list shouldn't be meant to be all inclusive, it should just list all the major manufacturing centers that are mentioned in the books.
I wouldn't even know how to navigate the TRO's and source material
It just seems to me that if I'm expected to know all this stuff in order for my mech to have a shot at being "cannon" then you ought to provide a list of manufactures so I have them available for reference.
>>43951380
Hey, if there is shot of my reinforcements giving me a better mech than the ones I got...
Googled "manufacturing centers battletech", found this.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Category:Manufacturing_Centers
>>43951051
>Out on the peripherary you might see pirates fielding reactors with substandard sheilding. Life is cheap, battlemechs aren't.
Reactor shielding damage (and that lovely +5 heat) is actually really common in early scenario packs. There are also a couple of other common reactor issues, including overcharging the myomers and more minor heat/rad leaks. Keep in mind that they were losing reactor production capacity in the final throes of the succession wars, so busted-ass engines were sometimes all you had even in House forces, especially if the engine rating was uncommon.
>>43951386
>I wouldn't even know how to navigate the TRO's and source material
I've been doing a project for about three months, cataloging the damage to units in scenario packs, as well as the overall percentages of damaged and undamaged units and what the most commonly-used units are.It's the Stinger. Just set aside some time every evening to read a book and write the shit down in a spreadsheet, sorted by planet name and date of the information. It ain't gonna kill you.
As far as what you need.. Check Skilltao's chronology and find the era you want to collect information for. There are already Objectives books for the 3050s (only one, accuracy slightly suspect), a fan-product for the 3060s, and official ones for the late Jihad.
>>43951626
As a warning, Sarna's production center info is.. well, it's based as much on in-'verse rumor, hearsay, and fanwank as it is on canon. They also count refit lines and repair centers that specialize in certain 'Mechs as "production" lines, like the Marian Marauder II refits. For a while they still had the ridiculous Taurian Hatchetman factory thing, even after an edit war and conclusive proof that it was bullshit posted directly in the article.
>>43951701
It's a fan wiki. As with all fan wikis, it's a good starting place that you should then verify with with actual official products.
>>43951626
Ah, thanks friend
See, why reinvent the wheel?
>>43951626
now all we need to do is cross reference and index it according to each timeline and what they manufacture/produce.
>>43951819
oh, and where they are located and what faction they allied with.
j/k guys, nobody would actually want to do that, it would take forever and be a total pain in the ass.
hell, why not integrate it into megamek or solaris skunk werks so it will tell you whether you have an invalid design based on which faction you choose.
lol, that would take fucking YEARS
Considering the authors just make up a manufacturing facility every time they introduce a new mech, it would also be a hassle to keep it updated.
Not to mention it would be completely pointless. Could you imagine the kind of logistical nightmare it would be if engineers had to work within these kind of restraints?
>>43950546
Judging by prior threads, Alex will be the winner.
>>43950486
Well, Alex's playstyle is literally "loosing to Demerzel/DirewolfV's incredible shitheap designs," so why not?
>>43951214
You run the risk of getting no replacements. Or possibly worse, replacements that are even shittier than the ones you sent off on a suicide run.
I mean, i don't know why you wouldn't just make factories that specialize in general assembly that can simply retool themselves as they see fit.
>>43952019
I don't really care about manufacturing centers, but my ideal situation would combine the MegaMek and the MUL filtering options into a single resource. Imagine being able to quickly look up all Gauss Rifle equipped 'Mechs available to the FWL or something...a man can dream.
I can't even imagine why you would build a battlemech that wasn't modular. All mechs should be omni's
>>43952213
Tech base and cost. Omni Gyros and targeting gear are a bit of a sticking point tech-wise since they can reconfigure on the fly to accommodate new loadouts, and there's a 25% cost increase for any Omni unit.
I mean, it just seems like a laser factory should be able to build ANY kind of laser, and a Ballistics factory should be able to build ANY type of gun, and a Missile Factory should be able to build ANY type of missile.
Why shouldn't a mech factory be able to build ANY kind of mech? Its just basic assembly.
>>43952288
The same reason AK-47 factories can't make Barret 50 sniper rifles and Cesna factories don't make F-16s and armoured car lines don't make tanks, even if they share overall manufactures. We don't have OmniMachine Tools and Molds.
>>43952288
>Why can't North Korea build stealth fighters? I mean, they can build planes, so they can build any type of plane. It's just basic assembly.
>>43952288
Do you understand even a single thing about how a factory works beyond vidya "resources in, product out?"
>>43952522
To be fair, that's about the level of understanding the greatest minds of the 3rd and 4th SW had of how their factories worked.
>>43952141
Different 'Mechs have radically different actuators, internal structure, armour, and internal systems. Even if the internal structure of an Orion and a Marauder was built by the same company you couldn't just rip an Orion skeleton out and fit it into a Marauder. Cockpits are the only real "interchangeable" items on a non-Omni, and that has more to do with rules granularity for customisation than it does for the fluff- good luck fitting a Shadow Hawk cockpit (famously large) into an Assassin (notoriously small).
What you *could* do is set up production for multiple lines that use the same component ratings. The 300 engine is popular for this since it accommodates 20-tonners, 25-tonners, 30-tonners, 50-tonners, 60-tonners, 75-tonners, and 100-tonners and they all use the same mass of gyro too. Equip them with the same targeting and comms gear, and you've gone a long way towards streamlining production.
That's about as much as you can really do though.
How can I reconcile my love of Dracs with my love of Mercs? Are Drac expats that still have loyalty to the combine a thing?
>>43952808
Sure, guys who weren't hardcore enough to seppuku, so they decided to go rogue to "serve the interests of the Dragon" in a way they can. Maybe the Kokuryu-Kai can use them to deal with things that are too dishonorable for Samurai.
>>43952288
There's a difference between industrial pace production of quality and reliable product, and slow workshop experimental results.
A lot of factories "could" make other stuff, but that would mean either crappy production or a complete line retooling and rerouting of supply lines.
>>43953233
Fuck off with your edgy bullshit and have some fucking respect.
>>43952890
>Kokuryu-Kai
I may be a dishonorabu merc but that is super-ultra-dodeca-times-infinity-no-tagbacks-dishonorabu. I am pretty sure I would spontaneously combust if I even considered it.
>>43953405
>implying they aren't a perfectly acceptable organization dedicated to advancing the Dragon
>>43947692
I don't really have enough experience with protos to say
>>43945048
Gauss rifles. IIRC second biggest user after the Lyrans. Also AC20s in some form.
>>43948648
WoB used iNARC much more than C* I believe.
>>43949050
Aw yiss
>>43950053
I wonder if AK has a filter that flags him when anyone posts about them.
>>43950805
Yes. I have a homebrew Gamma Ray Laser that does this, and also fucks up electronics.
>>43951054
>>43951020
I wish there were more weapons like this.
>>43951326
atleastitsnotrealasers.png
The Antlion is a niche mech that does reasonably well in its niche. Only thing I might change is a cMM8 instead of 2 CMM4, to save two tons. However, if those two tons go to guns, it raises the BV and encourages the pilot to get into shit, so...
Ya dun good pig.
>>43952100
>Or possibly worse, replacements that are even shittier than the ones you sent off on a suicide run.
But then you just send those ones off too.
>>43954044
>Only thing I might change is a cMM8 instead of 2 CMM4, to save two tons.
Naw, man, you're typically working on rolls that hover between 9-10 at medium range without a spotter. It's good to have the second chance to land a hit, especially since all it takes is one volley to cripple a vee.
>>43943353
Post full stats?
>>43954154
That's why I said might. Overall I'm fine with 2 mortars instead of one, for exactly the reason you said.
>>43953405
They can still work for the Dragon in much the same way. Fight for Kurita interests in the FWL and Capella, make sure they're pointing their eyes and forces in the right direction.
I dimly recall a "1/10th rule" for vehicle armor levels, but I can't find any reference to it off-hand. Anyone know what I'm referring to?
>>43955240
Oh, and anyone have thoughts on how to allocate armor on vees? Should sides have equal protection to the front? Does the turret need a lot of armor?
>>43954044
>I wonder if AK has a filter that flags him when anyone posts about them.
He just comes up with retarded shit, I think. I mean, he's in the Leviathan III thread talking about having enough ground forces to simultaneously attack three of the Bears' most heavily defended worlds, blithely ignoring the way that it would take at least two and probably three factions working together to have a hope in hell of managing that feat.
>>43955287
IIRC there was a rule change in BMR or TW that made it more likely you'd hit vehicle side armour, so side armour is more important these days. Front and Turret armour tend to be about as important as each other. Rear armour is usually the dump location.
Y'all here jerk yourselves into a frenzy bout nukes like you're medron fuckin pryde, but how many of y'all have actually ever USED one in a game?
>>43957224
>>43957224
*raises hand*
And in a tabletop game, no less. Not MegaMek.
>>43957311
>nuke model with appropriate affected hex marker
I never knew I wanted this until now.
>>43957345
In fairness, that's only the "instant death" radius. The nuke I was dropping was one where no canon unit *except* for the Great Turtle could survive, mathematically, within the radius of the template (and it's easier to remember the Turtle Exception than modify the template). The full template would be something like 9 feet wide, IIRC.
>>43957311
Of course you have . you're the one guy who's used pretty much all of the "has anybody ever used " X" things
>>43955407
Vehicles have had more side hit arcs than front/rear for decades. It's mechs that got the hit direction changed to have the front arc occupy the front 3 hexes and not just the front one, though that change seems to have happened way back in 2nd ed.
>>43957224
>Y'all here jerk yourselves into a frenzy bout nukes like you're medron fuckin pryde, but how many of y'all have actually ever USED one in a game?
Yo.
Scenario was that the Blakies had nuked the line from orbit to blow a hole into it and the PCs, being mercs, had to shore it up as best they could and stop the thrust.
The game started with a small tableau of 'Mechs from NPC units. I nuked the table two boards away from the play area at the start of the game. Anything that survived the initial nuke was allowed to keep fighting for the PCs, who entered the table as if it were a meeting engagement along with the hardened Blakist NBC units.
>>43957311
This is why NEA is heroic. Sorry to nut ride but you are a scholar and gentleman to this game.
Variant design challenge: Jihad-era Ebon Jaguar.
You're Bob the Tech, it's 3072, your merc boss got his hands on this Clan omni and wants you to have variant recommendations on his desk by oh-dark-thirty.
Luckily you're currently sitting on a treasure trove of gear so anything made up till 3072 is available.
Whatcha got?
>>43958082
Better question, why would you? It's a GREAT mech and the A is a monster B is solid. C is meh.
D's a good mech. E is fun, H always suck because H U for a niche X fun
Sam unique nice too.
Honestly, unless you want to min max it's hard to improve.
>>43958318
I agree that it's a great mech with some good variants, I'm just curious what fan variants some of you have.
>>43958318
are you fucking kidding me?
>>43958400
Let me get bored later and see what I do cook up.
>>43958406
Thanks for the handy post. What custom ones have you made?
>>43958450
Its armor is pretty damn thin for a mech with as much firepower as it carries.
>>43958537
Ok that's a fair issue, just keep is rolling high speed it's not like a Loki made of paper though.
>>43958082
I'm sick of these motherfucking BA on my motherfucking battlefield. Say hello to my little friend.
fuck, don't ask me to make a clan mech, i haven't made a clan mech in years...
Do i have to sub similiar weapons or can i treat it like a custom chassis?
>>43958691
Since it's an Omni, you need to follow Omni rules.
>>43958082
Ooh, that's easy. Steal Karhu configs.
For example, take the Karhu D, remove the AMS and use the 3 tons you have left over on whatever you want.
Or take the Karhu G, put in a normal Heavy Laser instead of the improved 'cuz muh 3072, and replace the Supercharger with a Targeting Computer. Use leftover weight to upgrade the Light TAG to normal TAG.
>>43957311
I recently acquired a pair of Vigilant-class corvettes for a dollar. It looks like it's a fragile and fairly crap ship, other than its cheap nuke potential, low crew requirements, and jeep carrier capacity. Is there anything else I should know about it? Something in the company of which it works well?
>>43958959
I'll always have a soft spot for blackjacks. For no reason.
Never said it had to be fun
>>43958993
BJ-4 is fun. LAC5s ER lasers what do you ask for a junk mech?
>>43958082
>>43959019
little late in responding...
>>43958082
Prime rebuild:
ER PPC (instead of the Gauss), 2 ER Large Lasers (instead of the LB) , 1 ER ML linked to a Targeting Computer. LRM-15 with Artemis IV and 2 tons ammo. Streak 4 with one ton of ammo. Flamer. 3 DHS.
>>43958959
it really shouldn't be sent up against other warships, aside from another vig or a bonaventure, or a vincent at the absolute limit (trying to take on a pinto is a very bad idea, as is anything heavier)
it's decent at screening a bigger ship from attacking ASFs or droppers, and it can provide at least a little orbital cover fire for ground units
>>43959019
laser boats are the most effective designs, its not my fault BT is in love with cmpl's.
>>43959115
Okay, so it's basically something like a coast guard cutter/sloop-of-war? I can live with that.
>>43958993
>I'll always have a soft spot for blackjacks. For no reason.
Eh, they're fun and they make halfway decent AA units - the later Davion refits are basically like cheaper Riflemen.
You know, its never occurred to me, but I've never actually designed a clan mech for tabletop...
All my designs were from back in the day in the mechwarrior 2 era. I didn't actually get to play tabletop until I downloaded megamek.
I kind of fucking hate clans.
they are so fucking overpowered, its ridiculous.
>>43959508
Were you amazed to see the Nova prime had even more ER medium lasers then you thought?
that being said, most of the clan mech designs are pretty decent. There is no waste heat, (not much anyway) the range brackets are good, and when they alpha strike they fucking murder 'ya.
>>43959551
I fucking hated that thing. It was the only one that could wreck my shit in game, but for some reason all the damn lasers were in the arms..
thats one of the things about all the mechwarrior games is that you can't really target your left or right firing arcs. Also, you can still build up a little heat without it basically wrecking you.
>>43959578
That was a trend for many of the original omnis. Likely to emphasize the BA carrying aspect, since torso guns don't work when you've got BA latched on.
Even a -1 to targeting rolls is basically a game breaker in tabletop.
thats one of the biggest difference between mechwarrior games and tabletop, is that in game you can practice trimming.
Its really easy to make all your shots go exactly where you put them, so basically you turn left, you lose that arm, you turn right, you lose that arm, then you face dead center and charge.
>>43959522
No kidding. Look at all the guns that Hellbringer has! Utterly overpowered. Goddamn ridiculous is what it is.
>>43958959
Well, Viggies are recon ships (which unfortunately pre-date the existence of L-F batteries). Their job is to pop into a system, fly around and see what shoots at them, and then run screaming back toward the remainder of the flotilla which accompanied them into the system. It's a strategically-useful ship, not a tactically-useful ship, and frankly one that doesn't age very well. The pair of them together can kill a Vincent, but not much past that.
>>43959115 has the right idea. About the most you should expect from them is the occasional screening of a REAL WarShip from an angry DropShip, or maybe some orbital fire support. Another thing it's good for is teaching WarShip play to newbies, because it's a very simple ship to run, and at least has a couple of different weapons systems; so having two of them is extra-helpful so you play one and the newbie plays the other. it is unfortunate that it can't use bracketing fire, though.
On the bright side, you didn't overpay for them. If only because the actual metal required to cast the two of those minis costs about $1.10 at current prices.
>>43957224
My dad wondered why the WoB Militia was retreating so fast.
Shortly thereafter he saw the light.
Blake Eleison.
>>43959092
>26 heat dissipation for a ranged load of 39 heat
u wot m8
>>43959794
One can not spare family for the light of blake.
BLAKE AKBAR
>>43959676
Well, in the post-SL environment, it is still way the hell as a combat craft than no WarShip at all, too
>>43959828
Base chassis has 13 DHS.
So it's 16 (32) on a ranged loadout where you can chose what you want to fire. The PPC and one LL with the LRM gets you near double the ranged damage of the Cauldron-Born Prime for movement heat only.
>>43960071
I never saw the point of undersunk clan chassis.
I mean, I guess I git something like the Black Hawk, where you obviously just open up and then jump off for a few turns and hope your pilot doesn't crisp. But the ones like the Supernova or the Masakari that are just hilariously undersunk with all the same or similar long-ranged weapons... it doesn't really do it for me.
>>43960243
Most of the original Clan Omnis are undersunk.
Jag designs especially so.
>>43960281
>>43960243
It might have to do with redundancy. Having more guns = staying in the fight longer. If you've only got 1-2 long guns and they get taken out you're gonna have a bad time in most cases.
Plog's first mech for us is done.
>>43960341
Is it regulan? Cause that looks a hell of a lot like a giant kukri.
>>43960369
It also has ax/hatchetman feet
>>43960369
It's just a small knife for peeling BattleMechs.
>>43960369
The head looks like the Trebuchet. The whole helmet look.
>>43960341
Sword and shield combo, huh?
>>43960425
Re: the OP image:
as the warship guy, what do you think about the BugEye?
>>43960477
Well...it's a Bug-eye. It's a special-purpose ship built to do one thing, and to do it extremely well. If it weren't for the construction rules necessitating that everything which uses a compact K-F core is a WarShip by definition, it wouldn't *be* a "WarShip." I love the idea of the ship, and strategically it would be a great help (not really even so much in wartime, but the ability to sneak peeks inside of enemy space during peacetime is rather useful).
I actually look at it a lot like the U-2 of BattleTech, insofar that it has absolutely no place in a fight, and really no place on a game table except as an objective marker. It's so specialized it has literally no other purpose (literally the only other things I can think of to do with it are to rip out the surveillance package and make it a hyper-capable shuttle, or to use it as a suicide bomber). But even though it's totally useless on the table, it's one of those things that makes the game universe a richer place for its existence.
>>43960243
sometimes you just need to zap the shit out of something
>>43960341
That's a gunsword, no?
All right, I'm looking at the AtB 'Mech customisation options, and it seems there is no choice for mixtech customs. Even if I have a medium pulse laser in the warehouse and a Wasp I'd like to hang it on, AtB doesn't allow me to strip the old ML off the Wasp and bolt the new shiny piece of zappery on it. The "change weapon/equipment" window only lists introtech weapons. Am I just missing some checkmark in Campaign Options or am I just fucking blind?
>>43961466
...and, to answer my own question, I am fucking blind. I thought I'd set the unit's tech level to advanced, but of course it wasn't set.
>>43961543
You silly sausage.
>>43960341
The proportion is kind of Loose, isn't? :^)
>>43957224
Remember the 20 Turkinas!
>>43962284
It was indeed quite a Blakesgiving feast.
>>43960592
> even though it's totally useless on the table, it's one of those things that makes the game universe a richer place for its existence.
So, in other words, just likeLAMs.(as they should be)
>>43959019
Anon, lasers ARE fun. Do you even Nova?
>>43959924
>>43959794
Give praise to Blake!
>>43962733
You have a point there. Most LAMs suffer from the problem that they are totally outgunned by standard ASFs and Mechs (Because of the disparity between Aerotech boards compared to standard Battletech most of the LAMs weapons for short and medium ranged mech combat will be rendered moot in ASF mode), and that's before we even consider the weight and armor issues associated with the design.
>>43963124
There's a reason the medium laser has been the go-to gun for centuries. Disregard the haters, acquire medium lasers.
>that warm and fuzzy feeling when your "Weapon Specialisation - Laser" 'Mech driver gets her salvaged and refitted HBK-4P out of the shop for the first time
Damn, it must have been like Christmas coming early that year.
>>43963134
It is proper to praise Him.
>>43964712
How many MLs would be equivalent to a UAC20 in terms of crit space? I'm asking because Happy-LasSpec-Mechwarrior-Noises.
>>43964712
Medium lasers have been my favorite since I first played the game.
When I played the videogames, namely MW3, the Mech construction was funky so I'd just slap a dozen ER medium lasers on anything and give my online opponent a taste of SURGE.
>>43964798
One medium laser is 1 crit space, the Inner Sphere UAC-20 is 10, so you can pack ten MLs into the space just vacated by your big gun. You can pump out a shitload of damage (with the downside being that it's not all going into one target location), and you'll also take a lot more heat, so you might want to look into installing DHS as well.
>>43962733
...and Dark Age Davion BAs.
>>43965215
You missed their massive bullshit BA.
>>43965350
Speak of the devil
http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=50137
>>43965350
needs an RE laser
>>43965470
You know, I wonder how the RE lasers compare with other similarly ranged weapons on a damage-per-BV scale rather than a damage-per-ton or per-heat.
>>43965350
It will get a Relas variant, which will be the most common variant on the RAT.
Search your heart.
How viable are 3050-3060 era designs in the Dark Age? How about for vehicles?
>>43965768
>BV per ton
ER Medium Laser, 62
Medium Laser, 46
Medium X-Pulse Laser, 35.5
Medium Pulse Laser, 24
Medium Re-Laser, 22.4
Medium VSPL, 14
>Damage per BV/ton
ER Medium Laser, 0.08
Medium Laser, 0.11
Medium X-Pulse Laser, 0.17
Medium Pulse Laser, 0.25
Medium Re-Laser, 0.27
Medium VSPL, 0.64/0.5/0.36
So Medium Re-Lasers end up being one of the more BV-efficient ways to bring a single 5-6 point hit to the table, if you can afford their high heat demands. I'd probably field MPLs over MRELs though, or a MVSPL.
>>43966080
MVSPL are bretty good when you don't have the tonnage for that ISLpulse on a backstabber. You can almost get two for the tonnage of one as well.
>>43965938
It depends on the design, but most of the time good designs are still good and bad designs are still bad. A good number of them are still used, actually.
>>43950053
Thanks for taking screenshots, these posts were deleted from the thread
>>43950053
>is just moving the goal posts so you have a nice tiny field where they might suck just a bit less
Paul may be an absolute asshole 95% of the time, but he can sometimes say something that's just perfect.
When do the sea foxes start their "sell clantech to everyone" scheme?
>>43967906
Around 3060 with the Ha Otoko
On a related note, do we have any idea of the clantech/experimental tech/SL tech percentages for the various factions in the DA?
>>43968345
Taurians have full scale clan omni tech. Everyone else has been nuked back to the stone ages.
>>43967794
Yeah, Alex has kind of moved from "They're awesome and you're a fag" territory to "Compared to an AC/2 they're pretty usable". At this rate he might admit they're bad by the time IlClan comes out.
>>43968614
So...can you take an Archer and a Rifleman and just swap their arms? And would the end results be of any use to anybody?
>>43968345
>On a related note, do we have any idea of the clantech/experimental tech/SL tech percentages for the various factions in the DA?
We don't really have hard numbers right now, just generalities.
Clantech:
#1 - Republic
#2 - FedSuns
#3 - Combine
Periphery has very little Clantech available, but most of the realms have some Jihad-era tech.
SL Tech/LII Upgrades:
The disarmament program supposedly cleaned out almost all of the Introtech 'Mechs and other dead wood in House arsenals in favor of upgrades - but many of the things the Houses supposedly "scrapped" just got squirreled away in mothballs or ditched on the black market. It's anyone's guess as to how many of those are back in front-line service. The Houses have also had a lot of time to work on refit kits; for example, the introtech Wolverines are supposedly extinct by the 3080s in favor of SL and Jihad-era upgrades (and getting blowed the fuck up). Likewise, most of the RetroTech shit got flushed as soon as the manufacturing base started to recover, although some people started making updated or upgraded versions.
I suspect a lot of the 3039/Clan Wars-era patchwork refits (all those weapon and light equipment swaps) have also been bamfed in favor of proper refit kits. You'll still have old-school stuff kicking around in merc units, CorpSec, militia and the periphery, and the like. But House units are going to be very heavily-upgraded with some Experimental tech, and elite units are some crazy shit.
>>43968917
The only thing I'd change would be putting the Combine as #2 for ClanTech over the FedSuns.
>>43968758
Considering the Archer is torso loaded and the Rifleman is arm loaded, you'd end up with an over-tonned inoperable Archer and a 4 medium laser Rifleman.
Not advisable :)
>>43968758
Not without drastically reducing the Archer's armour, and if you just strap the arms on you've got two A/C-5s with no ammo. Enjoy.
>>43969247
Nope. A lot of the Clan tech the Dracs salvaged from the Jags died during the Jihad, and the Nova Cats weren't big on sharing. Meanwhile, the Feddies had the most Clan-tech factories of any IS faction aside from the RotS and have been big buyers from the Sharks/Foxes. Then there's Task Force Navarre which is pretty much all Clan gear.
If the Dracs manage to hold the ground they've gained (which includes some of the Feddies' Clan-tech factories) for another 5-10 years and don't suffer mass force losses (yeah right) they might just be able to shade the Feddies at that point. Maybe.
Are there any Wolverines left in any concentration?
>>43969562
>>43969581
Well, I'll be honest, this was no surprise whatsoever.
>>43969700
The Clan? Probably, CGL just fucking LOVES having Wolverine connections to every major plotline.
The 'Mech? Definitely.
>>43969760
The clan, or even descendants of the clan.
/btg/ Its so hard to choose a unit I want to play. I know for a fact I'm gonna do a WoB Militia and collect a Level II of the Omnis, but I also want something of the FWL. Looking through the house book though most units just get a tiny blurb. Iron Guard for instance "We fight Lyrans and never retreat" Considering Regulan Hussars, but not sure I wanna get into that whole can of worms.
>>43968917
Thanks a bunch.
I have a few other DA questions: do we have any specifics about stone's "I'm coming fer yer guns n mechs" plan, or at least a timeframe? Same for the "disarmament" thing, do we get any numbers and timeframes, or even 3131 military numbers?, or at would I have to go to a comparison between 3085 and 3145 numbers and a ton of guesswork?
>>43969581
>Then there's Task Force Navarre which is pretty much all Clan gear.
Source?
>Meanwhile, the Feddies had the most Clan-tech factories of any IS faction aside from the RotS
Source?
The Dracs have free access to all of the old Nova Cat factories, and have been using those factories to produce a pretty large array of full-fledged Clan units.
So who here has used paratroops in games? How were they? I kinda wanna make RWANDANS IN SPACE.
>Untz Untz Untz Untz
I wanted to name this mech hightower, but that name was already taken. Are there any IS mechs with a similar load out that are about the same tonnage, or am I super special snowflake?
>>43970154
That's a Demolisher II with C3, m8.
>>43970210
I can't find demolisher in the ssw master list
>>43970210
looked it up on sarna, doesn't count cause its a tank.
>>43970086
I have. I found them to be pretty mediocre at even battleforce scale tactical use, but them kicked sixty kinds of ass on a strategic level; having the Winged Hussairs Parachute Battalion and a company of stingers and pixies, inserted by an accompanying Union drop in on your arty position and simultaneously your fuel/ammo dump while your mechs are off engaging the main tank force is not a fun time.
>>43970210
also, demolisher is 30 tons heavier, not even in the same weight class.
so what's the BT reason that legs can be more armored and protected than treads?
>>43970473
Space magic
>>43970692
awww yeah
>>43970154
That's a Nightstar.
>>43970473
Because Myomer bundles can be entirely hidden beneath armor plate while still working, while treads need to contact the ground and need to have some suspension slack (and thus unarmored area) if they want to go over rough terrain.
>>43970823
Not even close. Wrong weight class, is super slow, and the Nightstar has XL engine
what if I gave a Hunchback IIC C3?
>>43970865
No, I mean the NSR-9SS does exactly what that does.
>>43970832
There zero reason you can't armor over and around a tread, which is actually done for modern MBTs
>>43971006
Yeah, mine just does it better.
>>43969804
The FWL was ignored for most of the franchise, so yeah most of its units just get a blurb until the Jihad.
WoB militia is fun but obviously limited in era.
And frankly a lot of the FWLM is limited since it spends 60+ years dead and a lot of the units are flat out killed. Also Regulus becoming a meme faction now.
I'd recommend just going with Capellans or FedSuns so you know you'll get good gear and fleshed out regiments.
>>43969804
First Regulan Hussars has the Rolling Thunder stuff
>>43971115
Eh, three jump and the pulses count for a lot. Especially in urban combat, the arena where both of the mechs shine.
>>43970086
Now I just want to go to /k/ and talk about African wars and the Prussia of Africa.
Are there any African-influenced planets in Battletech?
>>43971382
That's a great pic. And Rolling Thunder is pretty based. We recreated it in my group before the Jihad, and were plenty happy to hear it was canonically brought back. Even if Regulus otherwise went nuts.
>>43971419
I'd honestly suggest /hwg/ instead, as they fucking love military history and are completely/new/ free compared to /k/, so you're like to get a MUCH higher quality of discussion than "Le ebin Serb face", ">implying niggers", "muh rhuddesia", which is about what you'd get on modern /k/
>>43971526
>>43971419
I got that screencap off of /k/ from a thread about african militaries. It's still going on.
>>43971526
You're exaggerating. I see just as much /pol/ here as on /k/, and /hwg/ doesn't seem well-read on African wars.
>>43971613
>I see just as much /pol/ here as on /k/
You aren't wrong but that doesn't make /k/ any better
I'm probably just bitter because I remember pre-/new/ /k/ and know that it's never coming back
>>43971726
What year was that, grandfather? As far back as I can remember /k/ was doing things like Roof Korean threads that would now be called /pol/-tier material.
>>43969933
>Source?
Task Force Navarre:
ER: 3145. Julian Davion struck a deal with the Sea Foxes to have them massively upgrade his command.
Davion factories vs Drac factories:
ER 3145, FM 3145, TR 3145 Drac and FedSuns.
>The Dracs have free access to all of the old Nova Cat factories, and have been using those factories to produce a pretty large array of full-fledged Clan units.
Hahahahahaha no.
The Bears blew up most of them when they fought the Cats. The rest were largely wrecked when the Dracs finished off the Cats.
>But sources
Read the damn books. The Dracs got jack shit off the Nova Cats. The Feddies were the second IS faction to get *their own* Clan-level manufacturing facilities after the RotS. The Dracs have never had any of their own, and the pitiful amount of factories left after the demise of the Cats still don't amount to much.
>>43969919
>do we have any specifics about stone's "I'm coming fer yer guns n mechs" plan, or at least a timeframe?
Not sure for timeframe off the top of my head, but I'd expect it to have been finished by 3100 at the latest.
The "disarmament" thing wound up basically being the Houses/Clans getting rid of their shittiest units or mothballing them and not really rebuilding too much past their 3085 strengths rather than an actual disarmament program that drastically reduced their military sizes. In 3067 the strongest factions were fielding ~70-80 regiments of 'Mechs, after the Jihad it was like 20-30 or thereabouts.
>>43971817
>Read the damn books.
I did, and I can't find the source that says the Sea Foxes have massively upgraded Task Force Navarre. Page #?
>The rest were largely wrecked when the Dracs finished off the Cats.
And what's the page # for this? Can't find it either.
>>43971613
>/hwg/ doesn't seem well-read on African wars.
Part of the problem is that most of us over there who actually analyze the history are academics. Any kind of serious analysis of the African wars of the modern era is political suicide unless you have tenure (which none of us do) or you're willing to suck the throbbing dong of either the "MURRICA FURK YER" faction or the "All Marxism, all the time" group. Neither of which really have any investment in seeing the Africans as anything but poor, helpless victims of the other faction. Substitute "FRANCE FUCK YEAR" or "EU Hegemony Uber Alles" as appropriate.
So, uh, it's something you can do on your own time but the amount of actual, serious scholarship in the English/European languages is pretty damned tiny.
>>43971857
>is political suicide
why
>or you're willing to suck the throbbing dong of
and why
Munchkin challenge
Design a single BA that can take on as many Bug mecha as possible. You only have one suit but are otherwise unlimited in what you can make
>>43971845
>I did, and I can't find the source that says the Sea Foxes have massively upgraded Task Force Navarre. Page #?
It's in their unit description for FM: 3145. Julian Davion gave the Tiburon Khanate 3 planets in exchange for their help getting his task force back into the FedSuns and upgrading it.
>And what's the page # for this? Can't find it either.
Dealt with in Wars of the Republic, FM: 3145, ER: 3145, and the Drac TR for 3145.
>>43971892
Because college isn't half as objective as they like to think.
>>43972016
>It's in their unit description for FM: 3145
No it's not.
>Dealt with in...FM: 3145, ER: 3145, and the Drac TR for 3145
I checked those earlier, the only mention I found of a factory getting trashed was the Wendigo facility, which got partially destroyed. The rest are OK.
>>43971061
Right, that's why you can't see any part of the M1's tracks except the bottom. Oh, wait, you can, because you need suspension and you need rising tread to pull the tank up steep slopes. And the exact sort of exposed bottom half of the tracks is on every modern MBT (and any tank with any suspension at all) because you can't just wave your cock and get magically fully armored tracks.
>>43971892
Because money is tight, and universities are running scared from the SJWs. When you're relying on patronage and alleged "peers" to make a living, you give them what they want or you stop getting grants to do your work. If someone, even a student, is offended by any element of your research - no matter how well backed-up it is and regardless of the remaining content - you can get fired on the spot or shoved down to soul-grinding TA work for the rest of your career. So it's easier to do the safe work, especially in a field as small and competitive as military history.
>>43971892
Because academia, especially university, is ruled by folks who've been dancing to the red jig since the 60s and apply that alignment to everydamnthing in their power, which is now essentially the entirety of the university system
>>43972219
>>43971892
Or, to put it another way, imagine that every time you wanted to write about the Hundred Years' War, you had to insert 500 words about why Chevauchee warfare is an awful thing, apologizing for researching it, and then arguing for why you can still learn a valuable military lesson from some other part of the war, while simultaneously not being allowed to discuss the religious politics of the era in any way.
>>43972171
But you can magically apply that cock waving to mech feet and have them be completely superfluous until critted
>>43972416
Shit, are we having this stupid argument again?
>>43971892
Basically, in the 60's, the commies won control of the collages and despite a few half-assed attempts at terrorism, they never managed to expand their control any further, and after the death of their sponsors, they've realized how alone they are, now and are holding on to the academic world as hard as they can
>>43972465
You're right mechs are perfectly logical and don't require fiat to be effective
>>43972085
>>43972219
>>43972316
>>43972336
>>43972481
I see.
I can't think of anything really to say, sogive praise to Blake!
>>43972509
Yep. We shoulda let McCarthy loose on the universities, but we didn't, and here we are
>>43972490
>getting mad at mechs being good in a mech game
>>43972416
It's magical space bullshit to make sure mechs are useful because it's a mech game. Stop complaining.
>>43972509
It's really a pain. I've really only been able to find one paper on the Rwandan military, and I'm half-tempted to just send the RDF an email asking if they can send me anything.
>>43972650
>>43972662
>the game is literally called Mech Tech
>>43972663
do it
>>43972336
wtf does that have to do with communism?
Since when is being politically correct communist?
Political Correctness is something unique to liberal progressives in democratic societies, it has to do with the fact that women and minorities have sufferage.
None of that has shit to do with communism.
>>43972744
Political correctness doesn't even exist
Can we get back to stompy robots already?
>>43972662
>>43972650
>it's magical space bullshit to justify mechs being absolutely annihilated by aerospace fighters instead of tanks
Poetry
>>43966080
I don't understand the second number
>>43972735
Email is sent.
If I get anything back, I'll post it here, /k/, and /his/.
New thread when?
>>43973693
Well, since you volunteered.....
>>43974465
New Thread?
New Thread!
Long Live BTG.
Blake Ackbar!
>>43973693
>Step 1: Select "start a new thread" from catalog or main page
>Step 2: Copy OP
>Step 3: Change post to link to last OP
>Step 4: Add BT image
>Step 5: Post
Not that hard, lazybones.
For the rest of us, New thread:
>>43974531
>>43974531
>>43974531
>>43974569
Nevermind, >>43974491 beat me to it.
