/btg/ - BattleTech General

>>50174100
http://bgb.booru.org/index.php?page=post&s=list&tags=all

I'm honestly addicted to including Grasshoppers in my forces.

Why are they so fun?

Reposting this in the new thread

Newbie here, I want to work on building a merc company starting from the lance I usually deploy, do I have to use particular rules for the 3 lances to choose?
So far I'm thinking about something like 2 mech lances + a combined arms "lance", using common mechs and vehicles who can keep up with the times
I need a bit of help for filling the "army list"

>1st lance
Warhammer, Archer, Griffin, Marauder
>2nd lance
something like 2-3 Rhino plus a more mobile unit like a VTOL or similar, maybe a light mech
>3rd lance
Here's I'm a bit unsure: I want to deploy something with a Stalker, but I don't want to make another fire support lance

What would you guys suggest?

>>50174124
Because they're big bouncy flashbulb zombies?

>>50174128
Read the new thread.
Nothing but Grasshoppers, all day; every day.

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Reposting because I think the election stuff had 4chan distracted.

Is this a balanced match?

Alpha Lance
>CRD-5M Crusader
>WHM-7M Warhammer
>GOL-3M Goliath
>CES-3R Caesar
Bravo Lance
>ZPH-1A Tarantula
>TR1 Wraith
>WVR-7D Wolverine
>CN9-D Centurion

vs

Lance Un
>AV1-O Avatar Prime
>EXC-B2 Excalibur
>HGN-732 Highlander
>BL-9 Black Knight
Lance Deux
>RJN101-A Raijin
>HSR 400-D Hussar
>WHM-7M Warhammer
>WTH-2 Whitworth

>>50174124
Because 70 ton mechs are fun as hell. That could be why I have a shitload of them. Including 30 Grasshopper variants.

>>50174128
If you want a Stalker in your third lance, I'd go for something that was a "Battle lance." Obviously, as >>5017414 said, we need a Grasshopper, but I'd also recommend an Enforcer or a Centurion, and a Thunderbolt. Though this ends up making your company pretty heavy for a 3025 Mercenary group.

>>50174191
>Including 30 Grasshopper variants.
Any geared towards the FWL or WoB?

Or alternatively, any Clan "C" variants?

>>50174191
It doesn't need to be a "forced" 3025, I just want it to be all-era viable, it's oblivious the mechs will change the variants for different ages

>>50174128
Okay a serious answer to your question, first off I would not play around and put a Grasshopper in there. After that I would gt some diversity and put in the second slot a Grasshopper. Now you need something with a little more punch to your lance so I would add a Grasshopper.

Hope that helped!

>Grasshopper for pres. 2024

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>>50174253
Less so the FWL, but have a Word variant. And I have several Clan variants, but they're not as interesting as a mixtech bizarro.

>>50174180
Based on just that, without BV or terrain, there's just not enough to say. If the pilots are dead even, then maybe. Though the second group has 1k BV on the first. There are enough heavies in the Avatar demi company to offset the thinner armor there, but there's too many explosives in it for me to feel comfortable. It all depends.

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>>50174333
Not the right Mixtech one, but it works well enough. Here's more my insanity.

Anyone have a good pdf copy of Field Manual ComStar?

Maybe a searchable one?

My pdf has like corrupted pages.

Long-time halfgrog here, I've been mostly stuck in the eras up to and including the Jihad.

How do I get into the Dark Age? What sourcebooks should I check out?

I'm particularly interested in the Republic of the Sphere. Are they meant to be protagonists like the Suns or antagonists like the Combine? Not sure because they appear to be a lot of the main focus from what I can tell but they disarm people, perform ethnic cleansing and are based on Terra.

>>50174832
Everything that's 3145 for books (TROs, FM, Era Report)

Republic is supposed to be the heroes, allied with FS.

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What do you think standard issue rations in each faction are like?

>>50174952
>Dracs
>rations
They eat people

>Fedsuns
>rations
The money saved on them was used as a downpayment towards a clan ERmlas.

>>50174128
>do I have to use particular rules for the 3 lances to choose?
Nope. If you're playing against another player's company, you both agree to some point limit and choose units from your force up to that limit. If you're playing one of the usual abstract campaigns, the opposing force will be balanced against whatever units you deploy on the mission.

If you ever get into the lore, you might hone your choices for flavor, but that's purely optional.

>I want to deploy something with a Stalker, but I don't want to make another fire support lance
Close assault lance: Hunchback or Victor, Ostsol or Ostroc, and maybe something lighter like a Jenner or Blackjack or Phoenix Hawk or something to round it out.

>>50175020
>Implying Drac rations aren't made from endangered Luthien Giant Crabs

>>50174704
I got one, but it's not searchable. The pages are pics. Would that do for now?

>>50175497
Sure. Can you double check that some pages (like the page on the WoB's 4th Militia division) are fine?

>>50175590
I didn't have too much time to check (I'm at work,) but I think this is my good copy of it.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/ja3z2n1goe12623/Field_Manual_Comstar.PDF
If it is corrupt let me know, sorry, let me know. It's all I've got.

One issue with this whole IS vs Clan scenario is that there are a bunch more clans sitting back home.

WoB had the right idea, really - wipe those out, or at least badly hurt them, with every nasty thing you can get your hands on, before doing anything else. Amusingly, the Clans do it to each other despite the WoB getting diverted.

>>50172114
#MAGA - Make Atreus Great Again!

How you been dude? Figured you'd been eaten by train hobos or something.

>>50174832
>>50174865
>they disarm people, perform ethnic cleansing and are based on Terra.
>Republic is supposed to be the heroes, allied with FS.

Hilldawg Randall on suicide watch?

>>50176189
>Hilldawg Randall on suicide watch?

Hopefully. Having the entire administrative and regular writing staff of CGL killed would be the best possible result for the franchise. I've thought about doing it myself, but going to gencon is expensive.

>>50175264
>>50174191
What about this: Stalker, Grasshopper, Phoenix Hawk, Hunchback?

What vehicles would you suggest for the third lance? Demolisher seems a nice choice, especially when the twin Gauss becomes available

>>50176776
The phoenix hawk seems slightly out of place with the other three. Maybe a Vindicator or possibly a thud or Merlin, since they all have similar movement profiles to the rest of the lance.
As vehicles go, the demolisher is always a good choice, as are the schreck and Brutus. Partisans are also surprisingly great, especially in later eras

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So this was supposed to be a MoC mech, but Donald's victory means we're legally obligated to give it to someone else. It's in the fine print of his 100 day plan.

Any takers?

>>50176991
Stone will build a wall and make the Clanners pay for it

>>50176991
I mean, fuck it, give it to the taurians or filvelt or both. They certainly need the help

>>50176991
Rim Collection. Kek wills it.

>>50176991
The Capellan Confederation, of course! Where else would the MoC send it?

>>50176991
Give it to another periphery state, in an ironic reversal of how things with the MoC usually go

>>50176991
Calderon Protectorate. Barring that, Niops.

>>50176991
Either half of the taurians work. If not them, filvelt

>>50176991
Brotherhood of Randis

>>50177039
>>50177056
>>50177104
Any of these.

>>50177104
Seems slightly too high-tech for them, I dunno

Anyone else having problems with MML's print record sheet problem? All the Mechs I print are coming up blank. Tanks and BA print fine, but mechs are kaput.

>>50176991
TC. Maybe make it a joint project with the froncs or filvelt or something

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a present

>>50177196
Nice 5S refit

>>50174124
Big 70 ton Brawler
Zombie
Medium Laser Spam
Jump for QQB maneuverability
What is not to like?

>>50174952
Drac Soldier One: "I have is dolphin, I'll trade you for some shark fin"
Drac Soldier Two: "Sorry, all I have is whale"

>>50177196
Pretty good. The hunchback has always kinda wanted JJs

>>50177196
I like the JJs, but as a newbie I need to ask, why didn't you use Endo Steel and max out a little more?

>>50177425

If the implication is that it's a stock mech, suboptimal is standard.

>>50177287
Whale is a Davion staple
>Imthinkingarbys

>>50177425
There are some rules for upgrade kits that say that some things are harder to change than others. Upgrading the chassis to endo steel is one of the harder changes, it requires a factory to do it. Other changes are easier and can be done in the mech bay of any dropship or even in the field.

>>50177425
Endo-Steel is a more difficult and time consuming refit than swapping to Ferro Fibrous armor.

>>50176991
>Any takers?

Needs to go to a Successor state. That looks way too high tech for any Periphery power to justify having, ever.

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>>50177500
>>50177505
Pic related.

>>50177582
>looks
It could be JJs, MLx4, AC/10, LL for all you know. So... silly comments, then? You do realize the /btg/TRO is set in like Dark Ages+ right? At least, for the most part?

>>50176991
Also, point on the art: you might want Plog to stick an actual waist on that thing. As it is it looks like it can't twist.

>>50177632
>CASE
>factory refit
Wait what?

Niops! Niops! NIOPS!!!

>>50177877
What is this?

>>50177780

Technically, all the 3050-era field refits that stuck CASE or XL engines on Mechs hanging off a field gantry are retconned away. All those Mechs were "returned to the factory" so they could be modified.

Meanwhile, where sanity ensues, GMs let players add CASE or change the engine type in the field if the player is willing to take long enough, because even if CGL doesn't give a fuck about what was written before, some other people might.

>ignoring the entire table is also recommended; the whole thing was done purely as a way to combat munchkinism in customization and they never even considered what it meant to the existing lore.

>>50177988

A meme faction nobody plays, writes, or cares about.

It's like the FWL, but with less effect on the storyline.

>>50177425
Not really worth the crit space for measly 9 points of armor. Its also a very big issue to refit a mechs structure, from a lore perspective, requiring a refitting factory to do so.

My idea behind this mech was a simple retooling of the HBK-4G factory lines to pump out a cheaper, more reliable and easier to maintain alternative to the 5S variant.

>>50177877

I tried transforming into whatever the hell that great pic posted earlier. I failed.

>>50177582
Oh fuck off guy. Do you have so little else to do that you just hang around here to post that every single time someone makes a post suggesting that the periphery might build something

Hey, has anyone noticed that Record Sheets: 3067 Unabridged isn't available in any of the mediafire links in the OP?

Does anyone have it to add? My game this weekend needs a Lobo 2, and it's not in my copy of SSW.

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>>50178256

If they'd just stop trying to build things and sink back into the irrelevance they so richly deserve, I wouldn't have to.

>>50178294
>"Why can't we have nice things?"
>"Because anon is That Guy."

>>50176991

Looks like a Partial Wing, so I dunno. Obvious candidates are the Falcons and the RotS given their love of those and experimental tech respectively.

>>50178005
>the whole thing was done purely as a way to combat munchkinism in customization
Which is hilariously ironic, because the old munchkin standby of taping a bunch of MLs to shit is still only a class C refit

>>50178294
you are a very dedicated troll

>>50178384

"Well, that's only an issue for people who play IntroTech and that not really the direction we're looking in the game line."

Yeah, yeah, I know. That whole table is one giant clusterfuck, and I honestly wish it didn't exist.

>>50178285
>Record Sheets: 3067 Unabridged

Of course it's in the OP collections, it's even an actual PDF product.

Wait, shit. No, it's not. It's not in my own PDF collection either. How the hell did that happen?

>>50178386

Telling the truth isn't trolling. Look what sucks most about American life:
>SJWs
>feminists
>racist rednecks
>religious fundamentalists

What do we see in the Periphery?
>SJWs (MOC)
>feminists (MOC)
>racist rednecks (TC)
>religious fundamentalists (OA)

Fuck the Periphery. Fuck it all. It brings to the game everything bad about real life, and we don't need that shit in our game.

>The MOC fills two categories, which is why they're the worst of the worst

>>50178386
Dammit, you interacted with him. Now look what happened. Stop interacting with him and he'll eventually grow bored and go away.

Let's get back to grasshoppers.
Everybody post your grasshopper variants, any era, any faction

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>>50178793

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9_VINMmsus

>URGH CRAB BATTLE

Crab variant tree. Prepare to eat crab dinner.

So far we have:

>Atlas/AtlasII/Atlas III/Akuma
>Orion/Orion IIC/Perseus/Pandarus

Am working on:
>Woodsman (holy shit carpletunnel)
>Hunchback
>Stalker

May do:
>Hetzer
>Awesome
>urbanmech

>>50179273
Missed the orion. Can you post it again?

>>50179273
The Marauder would be neat.
It inspired mechs like the Nightstar, Marauder II, and... Dragon Fire or something like that?

>>50179949

Also Marauder IIC, Maelstrom, and Timber Wolf. Plus through the Timber Wolf the Rakshasa, Mad Cat II, and Savage Wolf.

>>50179984
>Timber Wolf
Nah, the Timby isn't a Mad Cat descendant.

>>50179984

Huntsman includes the Timber Wolf line. Which is probably what's giving treeanon wrist cramps.

>>50180001

... what?

If you mean Marauder, it definitely is, hence the name and the arm pod weapons of the Prime.

>>50180015

[pedant] Woodsman. The Huntsman is the Nobori-Nin. [/pedant]

>>50180130

That's a fair correction. Sometimes the names run together.

Would y'all reckon that there'd be any Cauldron-Born still around by the Dark Age?
I rather like the design and think a slightly modified version would be nice for the leader of my mercenary company

>>50176991
Looks like it's based on that society medium.

>>50180240
MUL doesn't have availability past the early republic for it, but it is still in service with several Clan and even the Combine at that point, and it also shows up on 3145 RATs for the Ravens and Foxes, the latter making sale a possibility.

>>50180240
I don't see why a few wouldn't be around, but it's rare enough that you should come up with at least a bit of backstory for how exactly it ended up where it is

>>50180240

It's still around according to the MUL. Limited to the Dracs, Foxes, Horses, Cats, and Raven Alliance though. Should be easy enough to fluff buying one off the Foxes if it really comes down to it any way.

Kinda wish there was a Cauldron-Born II.

>>50180130
>If you mean Marauder, it definitely is, hence the name and the arm pod weapons of the Prime.
You mean the A, the Prime has ERLLs.

Linking Mad Cats and Marauders is tricky I think, because while it has enough resemblance to confuse ID computers and people generally make the connection in fluff, and OOC the similarity is intentional, Timbys are a bit more Cat than Mad, and I'm not sure if any fluff has stated any actual direct link in terms of design or development to either mech.

>>50180513

>You mean the A, the Prime has ERLLs.

Clan ER LLs are a close analogue for IS standard PPCs. The Dire Wolf is often described as having the firepower and heat troubles of a Marauder in each arm, among other similar comparisons.

The Woodsman it's based on feels very similar to the Marauder as well given its tonnage and loadout in the Prime. Looks a bit different, admittedly.

It's not a hill I'm particularly interested in dying on but I do think the lineage is pretty clear, between the name and the way the Prime was set up.

>>50180373
>>50180463
Well, I was thinking that it originated as combine bulldog salvage, so that probably works
>>50180390
I do, in true battletech fashion, based on an ancestor in a more interesting era, so that's covered
Alright, thanks folks, I really just needed the not extinct, so as to calm the highly autismal folks that I rate a high probability of encountering

>>50180555
>It's not a hill I'm particularly interested in dying on but I do think the lineage is pretty clear, between the name and the way the Prime was set up.

Yeah, I'm not saying NO YOU'RE WRONG or anything but like I said I find it tricky, because the lineage is clear, but so much of that clarity is OOC, and I feel fluff never quite goes as far to confirm it as I would like. And it's partly a matter of how specific people regard this kind of thing, like some folks would probably put the Thug on a Whammy family tree, some wouldn't.

Though now I recall the Rakshasa is actually built on a modified Marauder chassis, so regardless of how one regards the ambiguity or lack thereof of a direct link the Marauder and Mad Cat, they still end up linked anyway.

>>50178005
I wouldn't say it would combat munchkinism. Besides, most of the munchkinism you have to deal with is in pickup games where players are bringing custom builds to the table.

If they're going to munchkin, they sure as fuck aren't using the customization checks from Strat-Ops, if they even acknowledge it's existence.

CASE I need to really need to be creative with, but I could imagine it would need to do stuff like reconfigure how the myomers are arranged inside of the mech, fortify the interior in a way that makes sure the blast goes out the blast panels before popping the ammo bins like corn... I agree that I think it's a bit overkill to make CASE such a high customization level, but I'm just playing devils' advocate.

The fusion engine, however... For something that big, heavy, and expensive... also because it's integral to the cooling system and one of the less healthy bits of the mech to be around, I can see justification in why it would need a factory refit to swap it out.

>>50180819
>CASE I need to really need to be creative with, but I could imagine it would need to do stuff like reconfigure how the myomers are arranged inside of the mech, fortify the interior in a way that makes sure the blast goes out the blast panels before popping the ammo bins like corn... I agree that I think it's a bit overkill to make CASE such a high customization level, but I'm just playing devils' advocate.
The thing is, canonically, CASE is quite literally taping Ferro-Fiberous plates to 5/6 sides of an ammo bin and installing a couple blowout pannels in a mech's back. It should be as difficult to install as adding or removing ammo bins, no more, no less

>>50180819
Honestly, the main problem I have with StratOps' location definitions is that factory is so specific, requiring it be a place that builds the unit type. Get rid of that requirement and it becomes nice and vague like the rest, and could represent a high end facility found on any decently industrialized world, not unlike the maintenance pads or whatever that were required for some of the heftier jobs like structure and engines back in Merc Handbook 3055.

The real mess is that they probably should have had totally separate definitions for customs and refit kits; like how maintenance grade thing about piecing together best fits and bypasses, which makes no sense for a refit kit that comes with all the parts in the first place, Quikscell notwithstanding.

I'd make it so a refit kit drop the grade by one, so even a factory level mod becomes maintenance level if it was a kit.

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>>50180992
And my Quikscell grade post didn't come with pic included.

>>50180857

That's part of it, but you *also* need to do structural reinforcements to ensure that the five blocked-off sides are strongly enough reinforced to not blow themselves through the chassis and add extra shrapnel to the problem. I can see that being a fairly substantial modification even if I agree the factory-level rule is a crock of shit.

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>>50180992
Factory only needs to be Solaris Reaches custom garage level, not full on LAW complex. So it's not so bad that way. It's basically a standard mech bay plus an attached heavy machine shop.

Aero has always been fucked, both because the birds are as rare or rarer than mechs depending on the year and because there's basically no garage level shops for them compared to tanks and mechs.

>>50176951
Ok there's the merc company so far:
>1st Lance
Marauder
Warhammer
Archer
Griffin or Pixie

>2nd Lance
Stalker
Hunchback
Merlin or Thunderbolt
Grasshopper

>3rd Lance
Demolisher
Brutus
Partisan
a second Partisan or some kind of VTOL

Is this force decent enough and lore friendly?

>>50181088

The StratOps pic anon posted above you is newer and makes it clear an actual factory is needed.

It does say that the factory just needs to manufacture the unit *type* though so you could, eg, use a factory that only manufactures hover APCs to refit a Behemoth tank with a SFE and Clan weapons.

>>50181193
Those are factories. The one with three bays is literally VEST

>>50181221

Which is now a Maintenance Facility. Not a factory.

>>50181260
>Assembles mechs from scratch
>More productive than Quentin in 3025
>Not a factory

I'm going to need a citation. The Stratops pic doesn't contradict it in any way. They have the facilities to build everything from scratch other than obvious guns and engines which other factories import. That's the difference between a lesser machine shop and a proper one if you read The Reaches.

>>50181158
Yep, looks pretty damn standard general mercenary to me. Really, it could reasonably be working for literally anyone in any era with that setup.

>>50181158
Looks pretty damn solid.
As for the choices, for the first lance it's gonna be 100% Griffin 100% of the time.
For second lance, it's entirely on if you want a buddy for the grasshopper or an extension of the bulldozer assault nature of the other mechs. If the former, the merlin, if the latter, the thud.
For the vees, partisan 100%. That way, they form an absolutely perfect DropShip defense lance, which is probably the most crucial goal for mercenary vehicle units

>>50181282

Citing VEST is hardly a slam dunk because they do design and custom work or prototyping that leads to stuff like the Jackal (designed by VEST, built at Keystone) or Valiant (designed by VEST, built by LAW and StarCorps), which is then actually mass produced elsewhere. They don't appear to manufacture anything other than the Solaris tourney specials, and those are built in tiny, tiny numbers.

That being said I don't disagree with criticisms of CGL's custom building or refit rules, because they are at odds with previous lore like the 3050-era refit kits.

>>50181401
They build both the Jackal and the Valiant. They just only build a couple a year. Their production rate is abysmal, like 12 mechs a year for all their designs put together. But it's a proper factory.

My main point is that people always imagine these huge DefianceHesperus/LAW/Skobel/Kali Yama complexes when they think mech factory when the tiny ass stuff is just as common and not that difficult to achieve comparatively. Ronin Inc is another classic low volume one.

Making a mech isn't terribly hard. It's making a lot of them that's tough. While that sucks for building an army, it does mean that the facilities to refit and customize machines at least are more accessible.

>>50181475

As far as I can tell, they've retconned VEST from having built anything other than stuff like the Sasquatch to having just done the development work- HB: HS doesn't even list them as having products like normal companies/factories and makes a point of talking down their ability to actually make anything and specifically states they can't mass-produce anything. It specifically says they only designed the Jackal and Grand Titan which were built elsewhere.

ISTM they intend it to be seen as a high-grade maintenance and custom shop rather than a proper production facility.

>>50181533
>high-grade maintenance and custom shop
Orange County Choppers-style show about the VEST team when?

This bullshit with VEST also raises another important question, which way they are counting Bander Battlemechs; they build a """factory required""" crusader refit in the -4BR, but I don't think any publication at all lists a crud factory on Terra Firma. Though, they DO have a """"factory""""" for the Bandersnatch despite building like two a year, which makes VEST look like DI in comparison

>>50181564

I guess it's better than Gilmore or whatever it's called that do the Cronus.

>Ep 1: Today we refit a Wolverine-6R into a -6M!
>Ep 2: Today we refit a Shadow Hawk into a Cronus!
>Ep 3: Today we refit a Wolverine-6R into a Cronus!
>Ep 4: Today we refit a Griffin into a Cronus!
>Ep 5: Today we refit a Wolverine-6R into a Cronus!
>Ep 6: Today we restore a Trebuchet!
>Ep 7: Today we refit a Shadow Hawk into a Cronus!

>>50181533
TRO:3075 still lists VEST as one of the primary factories for the Valiant, and the entry describes ones produced on Solaris getting sold to the gladiators there. It also mentions their original facilities as factories that got wrecked, and then described the replacement factory that the Combine funded for them.

TRO:3055U also describes limited production of the Jackal for regular mercenary sales at Solaris VII directly prior to the Blakist invasion

And I could swear that the intro story for Project Phoenix mentions VEST too but it's not in my TRO:PP pdf. Those pages are just missing. Anybody have a good copy?

>>50181592

Welcome to CGL, dude.

From a strictly logical standpoint I agree that VEST (and lesser facilities) should be able to conduct full refits and rebuilds of 'Mechs. Hell, I think a grounded DropShip with enough gravity and time or even an MFB should be enough.

I just think that by the criteria they're trying to establish with their bullshit rules that VEST falls below the threshold required, which is fucking retarded because that's literally the entire point of VEST in the first place.

But hey, fuck your logic and your continuity. We CGL now.

>>50181592
Do you really think that TPTB thought about shit like that when writing those rules? They didn't even bother to think about how it invalidated major fucking plot points like the FWL providing a gorrilion -M refit kits for everyone's mechs in the '50s when they rendered those kits noncanon.

Frankly, I can't help but wonder if those rules were the result of someone from TPTB getting their ass mangled by a bunch of CASE+DHS 3025
>mercenary refits
like our local HMPfag likes to post that kicked off this rules change

>>50181658
I don't often agree with TPTB, but certain things like Endo Steel and XL engines requiring factories or at least extensive field bases at the rear lines makes sense. DHS, CASE, FF, weapons... that's all easy shit and in no way should require anything but some techs and duct tape. An argument could be made for ECM/TAG/C3 requiring a factory or at least factory-like settings to install, but as it is, a lot of the retcons were just stupid.

>>50181684
IS changes and TSM being factory only, yes, I agree 100%. I only disagree on XLs simply because their being repair station-grade was already established by fluff. They should be EZmode for a factory, simple for a dedicated refit site or possible but a time-eater for DropShip bay-level refits, and impractical in the field.
Electronics I could see requiring reasonably a DS bay/equivalent with specialized gear or a refit facility, but pure factory is over the top IMO

>>50181684

Honestly, I would have made maintenance facilities (and specified what they were, like the logistical centres for House units or major Merc companies like the NWH, KH, and WD on their applicable home worlds) the highest level and those would be required for prototyping or FrankenMeching.

Anything else you could do in a DS bay for 'Mechs or ASF and/or a MFB, which I would then back-date and say take the place of the repair/refit gantries you used to have to get in the old Mecs Handbook to carry out field upgrades from the upgrade kits.

I'd also make it clear that the upgrade kits included things like internal structure designed to replace the old ones along with actuators and TSM shit where necessary, so it's literally a matter of being shipped everything you need to carry out the upgrade and just needing a place to do it.

>>50181684
>An argument could be made for ECM/TAG/C3 requiring a factory or at least factory-like settings to install,
I've always thought that TAG would really be pretty simple to install, since it's effectively just a targeting laser and radio pack. C3 requiring a factory or near to because it would need to replace most of a mech's electronics would make some sense, but TAG should really be easy and ECM maintenance-grade

>>50181799

C3 is just a module that collects, feeds, and transmits targeting data. It no more replaces electronics than does ECM/BAP, it just supplements what's already there.

Even under CGL's assmangled rules it's only Class D (maintenance level) to add electronics.

File: 1st_genyosha_Batch_March1_2013.jpg (564KB, 1492x2017px) Image search: [Google]

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>>50174124
>Grasshoppers
I can agree with you there... but they're kind of hit and miss. The 3050s 5J was the new-toy derp coming at you like a freight train, but that's not to say that the original or it's descendants weren't great. The 6K was such a fantastic little design that I had to stretch my interpretation of the FM:HK description of the 1st Genyosha to fit it in. The 7K is no slouch either, though I much prefer the Ostroc 4K if I'm going for a SNPPC flashbulb.

>>50182740
>I much prefer the Ostroc 4K

mah nigga. The Osts don't get enough love.

>>50182740
Haven't seen them guys posted in quite a while.
>>50182771
I like the Ostrocs too. I had a bog standard one for a while as part of a merc company, always did well for me.

>>50182771
I actually wished they looked a bit more like the Macross source material they came from. I like those old egg-walkers so much.
Ostsol for me though.

>>50182771
I like the Ostwar

>>50183657
I'd field strip the Artemis out of the 3M so as to take alternate ammo types, but otherwise looks like a fun missile boat.

File: Joseph_Philippovich_von_Philippsberg.jpg (38KB, 255x378px) Image search: [Google]

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>tfw you'll never be a Marik general

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>>50174100

>>50184760
I don't know if I am right about the mathematical conversion about this, but would 40 speed be like 240 mph? That's better than Indy racing cars.

>>50184907
1 movement is 10.8 km/h, so that one goes a brisk 432 km/h (268 mph) at cruise and 648 km/h (402 mph) when the pedal is fully down.

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Alright guys, how do we save the Lyran State?

Hard Mode: No joining the """Free""" """Worlds""" """League"""
We haven't opposed their tyranny for centuries, besting them again and again, only to crumble and become a province.

>>50185108
Wait for the Falcon civil war to start, and for the Wolf Empire to bumrush Terra.

Then get the planets back while the Clanners aren't looking.

>>50185108
Shoot the writers. Threateb their replacements.

It's time we Elsies got some Goddamn writer's fiat.

>>50185108

ok, so Wolfaboos are busy with FWL. The issue now is the Jade Falcons.

So logically, make an alliance with Hells Horses and Ghost Bear and hit them on two fronts at once.

>>50185108
Paint everything purple and white, and then gain a majority control of the FWL Parliment. SAFE won't know what hit them.

>>50185108
First step is play my once-a-faction Magic Warehouses card to rapidly rebuild the LCAF and pull many PWS outta my ass, then I go find Medron Horgath and put him in charge of all the writing. The problem solves itself from there, really

>>50185377
>once-a-faction Magic Warehouses card
Only applies to Davions, Liaos, Canopians and Bears

>>50185401

And WoBs and Comstar and Falcons and Wolves and Diamond Sharks and Star Adders and Hells Horses and IIRC Snow Ravens. Oh, and ROTS.

So, basically, the majority of factions. Which means magic warehouses should be a normal and accepted part of the game lore and people need to get the fuck over it.

When did the bears use a magic warehouse card?

>>50185543

I think the rule was from the start that anyone can have them except for FWL, LC and TC.

>>50185108
They hire one of the big Merc outfits that the authors have a boner for.

>>50185543
Except maybe the Falcons I've never seen any of those get magic warehouses.

>>50186780
>>50185108

Have them marry into the Federated Suns and share in the sweet sweet fiat.

>>50186813

If you're denying magic warehouses for WOB and C* then you're completely and utterly delusional and your opinion can be safely discarded.

>>50186862
Not an argument, I'm afraid.

Stumbling into this thread with no knowledge of battletech, does everyone play the board game, the new miniatures game, or the old one? I see the new one seems streamlined, but I think it would be fun to try the one with the massive data sheets.

>>50186967
>the one with the massive data sheets
That would be Classic Battletech, and most people here play it IRL or online through MegaMek. Its the only game I know of that has 3 books worth of advanced rules, which sounds daunting but is pretty fun in practice

>>50186813
>Clans
>not getting magic warehouses even though magic warehouses are part of their plot

Toppest kek. They can just check their records and dig out SL-depots.

>>50186967
From what I can tell, most players are running with the original, but that means they're not needing to buy new books.

CGL is currently churning out lots of Alpha Strike stuff because "It's selling", but part of that is because they recently offered cheap plastic minis that can be used for Battletech with the Alpha Strike label on them.

AS plays faster, but that comes from cutting out all the stuff that a lot of us enjoy from Battletech.

>>50187040
It's not magic if it's established in the lore from the getgo.

>>50187156

If that was true, then nobody would be upset about the Canopians, because they've always had marauders and dropships from a "mysterious source" going all the way back to the 1e periphery book.

>Hint: that doesn't stop people from being upset

>>50185108
>only to crumble and become a province.

Yes, you'd have to join as multiple provinces.

>>50185311
The Wolves actually made a treaty with the FWL and let them invade the Lyrans up to a certain point, so I don't imagine the FWL is no. 1 on their shitlist.

inb4 whoever produces ilClan proves me wrong for reasons

>>50187314
What are you even talking about? People complain about the Canopians for pulling 6 regiments out of their asses in FM:P, not for having some Marauders. Also Ebon Magistrate stuff. Silly anon.

>>50185108
Invade the Benjamin District

>>50187545
Kek

On the topic of Lyrans, what's your favorite Lyran:
>light
>medium
>heavy
>assault
'Mech?

recon mech memes aside

>>50187073
Lots of Alpha Strike equals one book a year? AS 2013. ASC 2014. CM Mercs 2015. CM Kurita 2016. CM Davion doesn't look like it will make 2016. And some lance packs that got some AS cards and AS branded on them but most were presumably bought for Classic BT not AS.

>>50188116
>Light
Commando. I find any little speedy SRM boat loaded with Tandems in later eras always gets the jump on people. Whereas something like the Hollander or Scarabus are kill on sight for most players.

>Medium
Griffin, all day erry day

>Heavy
Tough call. Flashman maybe. I don't like their Thud variants as much as the standard. No wait. Falconer. I'll go with Falconer

>Assault
Devastator all day, cheese be damned. I know it was technically redeveloped by the Federated Suns but since the Lyrans have the primary factory, it counts I'm sure.

>>50188453
Devastator does count, but what would your runner up be? I know they have the factory but I guess I mean "traditional" Lyran assaults.

>>50188585
How traditional? Because for grogtech, they made the Longbow, Battlemaster (The LRM version), Stalker, Banshee, Zeus, and Atlas. If I'm feeling Lyran I'll usually take the Banshee or the Zeus, but I like the Plain Jane Stalker 3F best out of those as a regular mech. Battlemaster or Atlas if I want a real commander commander's ride.

Era matters though. Like if you play DA, I like the Nightstar but the factory got leveled in 3071 so they are not common. And the Battlemaster factory got taken over by the Falcons several times after the Clan Invasion.

>>50188704
I suppose only as traditional in that you don't think of another faction first, perhaps as you did might have done with the Devastator, when you say it. YMMV

>>50189014
It's less a problem with thinking of another faction and more that were a different faction at the time. All the Fedcom designs scream Fedcom more than Lyran or Suns to most people. That's every single new Lyran design between 3025 and 3067.

>>50185401
>he doesn't know how the Kuritas won the War of 3039

>>50189240
You mean Hanse beating the shit out of the DCMS and getting bored? I read War of 3039 too.

>>50189075
>All the Fedcom designs scream Fedcom more than Lyran or Suns to most people. That's every single new Lyran design between 3025 and 3067.
Eh?

The Hauptmann and Fafnir don't.

Ded thread tonight

>>50190907
I've said it before and I'll say it again: /tg/ is getting collectively slower, I think. Course, around here, it hardly helps that a lot of our namefags are busy with stuff IRL, and without the rampant faction shitposting things actually move pretty slow as casual conversations and discussions come and go. I'm not enough of a lore/AUfag to participate in any of that, so all someone like me can do is post designs and posit the odd comment on something I actually know about. And I daresay most of us are as disgustingly casual as I am, or maybe new, so basically at that level as well.

>>50190953
>I'm not enough of a lore/AUfag to participate in any of that
I'm enough of an AUfag to go on about them but I keep my mouth shut now due to our rampant resident troll(s).

>>50190907
>>50190953

Tbh I just shitpost when I have time. I have my occasional questions, but I don't really post unless someone else asks for a question or opinion. I just kinda roll my eyes at the people with true hard-ons for/against certain factions. I'm just here to play a boardgame, anon.

>>50179273
I will love you forever if you do a hetzer

>>50185108
Quit fucking all your allies over would be a good start

>>50185685
Not necessarily warehouses but the Leviathans in general kinda count

>>50190964
If trolls bother you then 4chan isn't the place for you. Got to have a somewhat thick skin to post here. I mean, most trolls are worthy of an eye roll at most. Trolling is a lost art form anymore.

>>50191004
I'm not a bit fan of faction fanboyism either, or fanboyism in general. I just constantly make up merc and pirate units and play with those for fun. I'm usually OpFor for my games anyway, so I might as well have some fun with it.

>>50191185
>Got to have a somewhat thick skin to post here.
I can take criticism. However, I dislike the troll we've developed in here who rages and takes severe personal offense against whatever he doesn't like and ruins entire threads. Just seems easier to keep my AU to myself at this point.

>>50191195
I'm another AU guy and I'm in pretty much the same boat, especially since the basic premises and content of my AU are exactly what's needed to send the local shitposter into a category 5, three-thread assmangled rampage, which is no fun for anybody

>>50191195
You don't have to respond to him, but I can see not wanting to tempt fate I suppose. I guess it bothers different people to different degrees. I look at it like "Okay, talk around him, make a new thread if he chews up the post limit, carry on like he's not there because he literally cannot make me pay attention to him or care."

On the AU note though, I was chatting with my brother earlier, because I had a really odd idea for an AU. It involves the WoB becoming a thing post-4thSW, and a crusade against the Clans before they can invade. Essentially, WoB is a "warrior" faction of ComStar, and they get a bunch of donations together from all the Great Houses to go kill the Clans before they can sack the Inner Sphere (though why you wouldn't just wait for them I dunno. Rule of cool? Everyone loves Deus Vult, right?). They go out, kick some ass because the Clans aren't expecting it, but their supply lines dry up as the Houses neglect to properly sustain the offensive and they come limping home after a decade. Then, tensions from the "failure" cause a schism in ComStar and a war starts against the WoB. Some Successor States take sides, it's really brutal, basically the Jihad in terms of atrocity, and the Clans eventually barge in and make things royally fucked up. It sounded like a good time.

>>50191264
Most of us know not to respond to him, but someone always does, even when everyone else is screaming at them not to, and that really does prolong the shitstorm

>>50191261
Everyone wants to make the Periphery more than the wild west element it is, and I've never been sure why. Making it more high tech is fine, but the "put upon outsiders" shtick is their deal.

>>50191264
>On the AU note though
Outbound Light doesn't come into play until 3048, which means there can be no "preemptive strike" against the Clans unless you alter that event. Or else the Word figures out who the Dragoons are really working for, which then causes another domino effect. It's interesting I guess, but the problem I've found with AUs like this is the more work you put into fitting into fluff, the more you have to change to make it work.

>>50191264
>Not having the pirate nations of the coreward periphery go sack the Pentagon which stayed the Mad Max hellhole it was before the Golden Century because the second Exodus fucked off for good instead of coming back.

That's a fight I want to see. That tub of lard Grimm with Redjack Ryan the Valkyries taking on machines that make the 3rd War look like Star League tech. Could have the Hansa or the Jarnfolk organize the whole thing too for a slice of the spoils. And the best part? Wilson's Hussars were hired for Butte Hold at the time. Those poor sops could finally turn their luck around as the "well-equipped" mercs of the campaign.

>>50191314
>Everyone wants to make the Periphery more than the wild west element it is, and I've never been sure why.
I like it because it's a far more manageable scale than trying to AU about the whole damn setting, they're somewhat local and self-contained, and the whole sense of lost potential that their canon fates give off makes them fun "what-if" fodder

>>50191282
Trufax.

>>50191314
>ComStar discovers the truth about the Goons
This, basically. The WoB is formed in secret, they go to Outreach and destroy the Goons, taking their leadership captive, then force them to tell the Successor Lords what's going on. Then the WoB as a whole is revealed, and operation Grand Crusade happens. It'd need smoothing out, but that's the gist of it. And yeah, it's too much work to go past the "this is neat" stage which is why I'm not an AUfag.

>>50191328
Huh. This would be an interesting thing. I always liked the Oberon Confederation and all that. Was sad when the Invasion killed it.

>>50191358
>The WoB is formed in secret
There has always been secret levels of Comstar. That was the whole thing about the original Master and the Blood rumors and all that.

>>50191347
The thing is, they've never been fleshed out well enough past "Pleasure Circuses and Yellow Peril", "Davion Hating Cowboy Junta", "The Last Amish Starfighter", "Space Pirate Rome" and "The Only Periphery State to get their own novel." Even when they have, that's what they still feel like. That's not horrible, but they just can't compete against their neighbors technologically or militarily, and making them do so goes against the grain. Giving them all IS tech circa 3060 in the DA isn't preposterous (like *some* people think), but yeah.

>>50191358
>This, basically.
ComStar at this point and time is already the Word, so that doesn't need to be done. ROM being on the ball still wouldn't alleviate the problem the ComGuard had shit training, so best guess is that this would have to be done as close to the events of Misery as possible. Additionally, without the Clans actually invading the IS, what Successor Lord would give a flying fuck? It's a year one way for no likely gain in territory, and none of the factions involved have any reason to trust ComStar *or* each other.

>>50191396
I also toyed with the Goons being outed because there were refugees of Abjurations from the Clan worlds that fled back to the Inner Sphere, and they rat the Goons out initially. ComStar doesn't 100% believe it, so they employ ROM to check this out. Monitoring communications and the Goon higher-ups eventually gives them enough to act on, and things go off as I mentioned.

>>50191427
>is already the Word
Not officially; they are still a cult though, yeah. The Word happens after Tukayyid, officially. At least, how we know them. I mean the actual, armed and trained WoB as a military entity.

>why would they care?
They do at first because it scares them that there's a huge army building to invade eventually, and sooner rather than later. So the WoB are well-armed at first due to generous donations, but nobody donates too much, because as you said, they hate each other. I toyed with the idea that ComStar would "leak" Star League tech to each faction to allow them to produce 'Mechs using it for the Grand Crusade, but they end up just hoarding most of it which is why the WoB fails and comes back pissed, causing the issues in the aftermath/fallout.

I honestly haven't given it that much more thought. I just felt like mentioning it since I found it an interesting idea.

>>50191427
>The thing is, they've never been fleshed out well enough past "Pleasure Circuses and Yellow Peril", "Davion Hating Cowboy Junta", "The Last Amish Starfighter", "Space Pirate Rome" and "The Only Periphery State to get their own novel." Even when they have, that's what they still feel like.
I disagree, but then again I probably just think of the periphery differently to you, and that's fine.

>>50191516

I think you'd want to diminish the strength of the Clans quite a lot if you want the not-WoB to have a real chance there. The Clans during the 4th SW are pretty much at their height, the Com Guard don't have Focht, and the tech disparity is going to be even greater between not-WoB and the Clans than it was during Bulldog.

The Clans getting pissed and invading the Sphere at their respective 3020s strengths is gonna be an even bigger shitshow than the 3050s for the IS too.

The mind boggles.

>>50191544
>Reasonable discussion? In MY /btg/?

>>50191544
The varied interpretations of the Periphery makes me think the fact that they weren't fleshed out that much, especially early on, was on purpose, because of the "playground effect". They can be whatever you need them to be within reason, for campaign concerns as well as antagonist concerns, etc. Same reason Pirates exist even though that many jumpships derping around is kinda silly, and you'd think the Houses would go to the trouble to capture them as often as possible for their own use.

>>50191516
>I honestly haven't given it that much more thought. I just felt like mentioning it since I found it an interesting idea.
I hope I'm not giving the impression I'm knocking the idea, this is just how I work through problems in my campaigns and fluff. If I hunt down the negatives first, I've got a decent starting point for the positives.

>>50191544
>I disagree, but then again I probably just think of the periphery differently to you, and that's fine.
IME, that's what it's been. But I've spent too long on the OF, where factions are boiled down to their essential stereotypes ad nauseum. Or were anyway.

>>50191587
Yeah, the Clans would have to be at basically a 3060s IS tech level for the Crusade to even matter, even though it would happen in the early 3040s, and the ComStar tech sharing basically replaces the Helm Core stuff so by the 3050s everyone is all teched-up as usual anyway. It'd work for someone who hates Clan tech but for people who like the Clans and how things panned out, obviously they would find it stupid and there would be little to get out of it. Opinions, man. Everyone has them, turns out.

>>50191618
>knocking the idea
Hardly; scrutiny is how things get fleshed out. If I were really adamant about making it work, I'd be cruising for as much criticism and scrutiny as possible. But it's just a muse, ultimately, so I doubt I'll go anywhere with it beyond this conversation. Unless there's some kind of demand for it, I suppose.

>>50191595
>The varied interpretations of the Periphery makes me think the fact that they weren't fleshed out that much, especially early on
Honestly, the disparity between levels of fleshed out in the early days (IE periphery 1e and the house books) wasn't as big as you might think, at least for the major states, and it even narrows a bit more, especially for the minor states, in the late 90s/'58 era. That gap really only opens up wide in the 2000s, extra-especially during the MWDA and forever 67 eras.

>>50191647

Maybe in terms of SBs dedicated to factions and their histories but there is quite a disparity when looking at SBs dealing with major events like the 4th SW and the novel line which form the majority of what we had for factional information for a fair while.

Even in the RPG books the IS got a lot more focus than the Periphery, admittedly for pretty obvious reasons.

>>50191618
>But I've spent too long on the OF, where factions are boiled down to their essential stereotypes ad nauseum
Yeah, which is why I don't go there and never really did in the first place. Plus I've spent vastly more time than you reading periphery 1 and 2e and planning or running campaigns there than you have, I'm sure.
>>50191595
>because of the "playground effect". They can be whatever you need them to be within reason, for campaign concerns as well as antagonist concerns, etc. Same reason Pirates exist even though that many jumpships derping around is kinda silly,
I agree with you big-time on this. The periphery and chaos march are in my opinion the best campaign settings in the battletech universe for pretty much that exact reason

>>50191669
>but there is quite a disparity when looking at SBs dealing with major events like the 4th SW and the novel line which form the majority of what we had for factional information for a fair while.
I agree, the periphery got fuck-all for novels and metaplot sourcebooks, but then, I was never a huge metaplot guy, which is probably part of why I like the periphery, now that I think about it.

File: Marauder MAD-42D.pdf (1B, 486x500px)

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My first time using SSW, is this decent?
I'm wondering if should try to use a XL engine instead so I could use the weight to have a 4/6/4 or at least a faster engine.

>>50192186
Export to text using the function in SSW, then paste the text into Paint.

>>50192186
Aside from the fact that composite IS is a horrifically bad idea, it looks like a good solid 60s machine. Use standard MLs, because ERMLs aren't really worth it, drop a heat sink, and you have the crits for vastly superior Endo IS instead

Alternately, going for regular PPCs and MLs, endo and a 375XL with less sinks might be swingable, though it would run a little hot if you go full BRRRRRRT, but you really shouldn't be afraid of a bit of heat

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>>50192198

>>50192186
If anything I'd go for an XL to replace the structure, given the composite structure already makes it extra vulnerable once the armor gets cracked and adding an XL to that would jsut it even more vulnerable.

Also, the armament is identical to the MAD-5R, only this has one more ton of ammo. But the 5R has a c3 slave and an ECM suite, so yanking one of those for ammo would be simple enough.

>>50188166
>Lots of Alpha Strike equals one book a year?
Considering that the number of books they put out in a year is usually less than can be counted on one hand?
Yes.

>>50192259
>>50192298
Ok I took a 5R and stripped off the ECM, 1 double HS, and the C3 slave, gave it endo IS, and replaced dropped to the ER PPCs to regulars. I have 7 tons left, not enough for an engine upgrade and if I max out my armor I have 6.5 tons, and with endo I have to crits left.

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>>50192186
>>50192283
Made me want to fiddle with the MAD some, and I came up with an urban combat version. I wanted it to have IJJs, but I can't swing it sadly.

>>50192405
Slap some jump jets on it maybe?

>>50192435
>LB20-X
Say hello to my little friend!

>>50192471
I was a bit surprised when I didn't see anything similar, to be honest. Plenty of LB 10-X, but no 20s.

>>50192435

I have a bit of a dumb question, but how do you get a location to split criticals like with a LB 20-x? I hadn't ever run into that until a few months ago, but are there rules for that?

>>50192541
Yes. Equipment moves inward to its nearest location, and does not go past the CT. It also takes the more restrictive firing arc. So an Arm mounted LB-20 has two crits in the appropriate side torso, and uses the Torso firing arc.

>>50192541
Any weapon 8 crits or bigger can be split between two adjacent arm/torso locations, but they take the more restrictive field of fire, so splitting between an arm and torso leaves you with a firing arc of the torso. And weapon restrictions still apply, like a heavy gauss rifle can;t be mounted in arms, and so can;t be split between an arm and torso, just two torso locations.

In SSW, just stick a sufficiently big thing in a spot without enough space, and it will automatically ask to split the crits for you.

>>50192405
Fuckin tape four MLs and a bunch of RL/10s to it, real sphere hardcore style

>>50192507
Traditionally, the Marauder is a mid-long range direct fire machine, and the LBX 10 is both a bigger AC that also has the same range brackets as the AC/5 and standard PPC, excepting the minimum. AC/20s don't mesh well with the role, and so a lot of bigger gunned MADs use gauss rifles.

>>50192669
Yeah, I know, that's why I fitted it with JJs and Snubbies. If you're gonna go for a role, go whole hog. If I had gone LB 10-X, I wouldn't have gone so short range on the energy weapons. I suppose you could use it as a bodyguard too.

What are the most current charts and rules for rolling up mercs? Field Manual: Mercenaries, Revised is what I see but that is old.

>>50193311
Mercs?

Better to go by newest sourcebooks going for the era, but if you're up to date with the dark age period, Field Manual 3145 has big honkin' charts to pour through. It scales per equipped level, too.

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>>50192435

You do have to give up some DHS, drop the -20X to a -10X and mount the iJJs asymmetrically which really activates my almonds since I hate asymmetrical jump jet placement but it can be done.

I'm not sure the extra two hexes is really worth it.

Maybe if you use a standard IS with an LPL in place of the LB-X and some extra DHS. I dunno.

Triple ERLL MAD, yes/no/wtf are you doing?

>>50193519
Small time, the MAD-9M does quadruple ERLL.

>>50193519

Not enough punch and the heat's a bitch.

With IS tech any way, works if you're Clan.

>>50193519
Dual ER PPCs take up less tonnage, generate less heat, and are only slightly worse damage-wise. Personally I'd keep to the traditional setup.

Speaking about MAD variants, I'm surprised there hasn't been a variant which substitutes the shoulder cannon/laser for a LRM or Mech mortar, or a fuckzillion of Rocket Launchers

>>50179984
Reminder that without restrictions on force composition, the optimal mech in the game for Clan vs Clan is the Marauder IIC with a 3/4 clan pilot.

>Zombie
>3 headcap weapons distributed so blowing out a side torso doesn't destroy all of them
>Pulse lasers
>4/6 assault
>Plenty of armor
>Can alpha strike for tons of damage
>Fantastic heat curve
>Extremely BV efficient
>Crit padding everywhere
>Can still melee shit to death

If you want to win EVERY clan vs clan fight, bring as many Marauder IIC's as possible.

If you want to play Clan and win against IS, you need ERLPL's on fast mechs, playing on maps with lots of terrain and lots of space. ERLL's can also work.

If you want to play IS and win against Clan, you need to bring as many padding units as possible - shitty 100bv hovercraft or vtols work well. Shitty lights are okay. Throw them down to block a clan mechs' movement arcs so it can't move. Light mechs kick it to death in melee phase, support units blow it to shit because it can't move. You basically win initiative every round because it doesn't fucking matter, you win whether you move first or last.

This message brought to you by cheese

>>50192283

I get why you want the LFE but the Composite Internal Structure is a terrible way of getting it. Composite basically negates the toughness advantage you get over an XL and makes it weaker everywhere else.

For what you're trying to do I would seriously hew closer to the -5R. You can ditch either the ECM or the C3 for additional ammo and/or heat sinks. I would keep the ECM personally but yanking the C3 slave for another ton of R-A/C ammo is a pretty sensible move.

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>>50190907
>Ded thread tonight

I was gone to Half Price Books for the 30% off. Would you believe not a single Battletech book in stock, and hardly anything else worth buying, even with 30% off?

>>50194987
That just reminds me how it used to be impossible for me to find BT books in stores, but when I stopped at stripmalls on trips in the South I would find them in little shops.

>>50194987
I love Half Price Books.

If it wasn't for them every piece of media I own would die when my hdd did.

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Were the Black Dragons opposed to having female MechWarriors?

I recall reading that one of the sources of manpower Teddy C3 turned to for his Ghost Regiments was women.

>>50196368
Traditionalists pretty well were. If you read Wolves on the Border, the Ryuken were shown to be something new and revolutionary in allowing females to be unit commanders.
You see more of the same sort of thing in the Camacho's Cabelleros books with the Ghost Regiments and with the Black Dragon puppet forces in contrast.

Which vehicle does resemble mostly the Mammuth Tank from the Command&Conquer series?

>>50196763
If the DI Schmitt had tracks, it'd be pretty damn close.

>>50196833
>DI Schmitt
a bit overly armed thought, the Mammoth Tank always had the following weapons: two 120mm cannons and two six shot missile launchers (semi guided)

>>50196763
>>50197144
You can always make it yourself. Sounds like 2 AC/20s and 2 SRM6s, which should fit the Mammoth Tank well enough.

Actually, I'd be interested to see a full conversion of C&C 3 tanks and planes into BattleTech. That'd be pretty neat. You could even give NOD one mech, the Avatar.

>>50196763
Rest in peace Westwood Studios.

Didn't they have a hand in making the original DOS Battletech games such as The Crescent Hawk Inception? I know Infocom was involved, but didn't Westwood have some design work for it?

>>50197371
According to Sarna, both Inception and Revenge were developed by Westwood Associates, and published by Infocom.

What's the best IS clanbuster tech to bring in 3063 era in a 12v12 vs a merc group with about half clantech?
I know it's not fluffed properly but I'd rather play with the dude than alienate him from the game by saying "You can only play X".
How's the Albatross?

>>50197901
12 Clanbuster King Crabs. this is a joke answer

>>50197901
>Albatross
A solid heavy.

>>50197901
The Albatross is a great heavy this is a joke answer

King Crabs are spoopy scary, so are Black Knights, and you cant really go wrong with an Awesome

>>50197901
Just bring his BV in Awesomes and Vindicators

>>50197901

All Hellstars. WIE is an Inner Sphere faction, so it's legal.

>>50197901
Bring the largest possible number of gauss rifles and the heaviest mechs that your points budget can afford.

>>50198429
What are some general or SL era mechs reasonable to find in the area of the Taurian Concordat, any time between the end of the 3rd Succession War and 3067?

Aside from the stuff they produce, that is. And please, no bait replies or bringing in part argument.

>>50198876
Well, are we talking about clanbusting stuff or just generally? If the former, imported pillagers and MAYBE an old SLDF king crab or captured AFFS Nightstar or devistator are pretty much your only options.
If more generally, then it's mostly shit they make, the common general mechs like riflemen, stalkers and awesomes, plus a higher-than-average amount of old SLDF stuff, a little liao salvage, a few st.ives imports, some davion salvage, merlins from the OA, some shads from the MoC, and probably a few wolverines, since they apparently used to build them

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>>50198876
>Taurian Concordat
>And please, no bait replies or bringing in part argument.

I don't understand. It's like all those words are English, but when you put them together like that they just don't make any sense.

Anyway, here's everything available to the TC during that time period according to the MUL. Pick the stuff the SL had and you're good.

>that list has no Devastator or Hatcheman, it's shit and objectively wrong

>>50199057

Oh, you said 3067. I totally read 3039. My bad. Still, this is the list for the years I mentioned. Add to it for future years at your leisure.

Did we ever get any information on the WarShip portion of the Secret Army in the 2765 era? The FR:2765 periphery book only lists the "official" assets, not the secret army stuff
>>50199057
>panthers
>in the TC
A bit far from home, aren't they?

>>50199168
>A bit far from home, aren't they?
The Bombardier is the Kurita one too. They likely got them from the old Combine Deep Periphery prison colonies that the Dracs used to run in the Suns backyard. A bunch of shit on that list I bet they only have one or two of in their entire army, though. Especially the near extinct SLDF stuff.

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Does anyone know where i can find more artwork like this?

>>50199168
>panthers
>in the TC
>A bit far from home, aren't they?
You'd think, but the panther was a SLDF machine before it was a combine thing, remember.
And the taurians apparently have an oddly large number of panthers, since they apparently deployed an entire company of the things once.
Maybe they bought a bunch during the SL era because it was a PPC-carrying light trooper and they were feeling nostalgic for the old Toro

>>50199321

Just need to swap the SRM-4 for some LRMs really. Wonder if there's a canon modification like that out there.

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>>50199268

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>>50199268
>>50199401

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>>50199268
>>50199414

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>>50199268
>>50199429

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>>50199268
>>50199440

>>50199414
that's a Valk

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>>50199268
>>50199455

>>50199459
Pardon. You are correct. I didn't label them though.

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>>50199471
>>50199268

That's most of them. I know the Wolverine is out there somewhere but i'm not seeing it in my collection.

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>>50199502

>>50199414
>>50199429
>>50199440
>>50199455
>>50199471
>>50199401
Holy cow, these are amazing. Do you have a source on them?

>>50199613

That's Shimmy, or ShimmeringSword. He's one of the official artists that occasionally hangs out here. He's doing most of the redesigns for the old unseen.

>>50199613

You can also find a good chunk of his art on Deviant...though not the latest stuff he's done for BT.

http://shimmering-sword.deviantart.com/

>>50199686
>>50199715
Thanks so much!

>>50193422
Will that be specific to that time or does it have miltiple eras? Mostly played 3025-3050ish stuff.

>>50199878
It's for the DA only. A more up to date Mercenary creation system is in Campaign Operations, and is somewhat era agnostic. It does not have Random Allocation Tables to choose from, but instead you should look for Xotl's RATs here: http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php?topic=1219.0.

>>50199948
Awesome. Thanks.

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>>50199033
>>50199057
>>50199262
>>50199321
How about a design challenge?

Make what you'd consider a Taurian flavored variant for a 'mech they manufacture (or have a decent number of) between 3025 and 3067.

This challenge just arises from how it looks like they make standard variants of these 'mechs, and I'm curious how more unique ones for them might look.

>>50199502
>An animator / modeler FINALLY, FUCKING FINALLY, realized you need to add fucking hips to mechs in order for them to be able to walk

Jesus christ at long last

It has literally been 4 decades of people getting basic kinematics wrong.

You cannot walk, at all, without hips. Any mech without hips is literally impossible. Legs have to move up and down as well as forward and backwards, you cannot just have a single rotating joint and expect legs to work.

>>50199502
>>50199529
Are these from that new battletech game coming out in a year? The one that's like 3D megamek?

>>50200428
They're rigged 3D models for the new Shimseen. Judging by the quality, they're probably for miniatures. As for the game, that's using MWO assets to save money.

>>50200467
That's some pretty high fucking quality for miniatures

Are they 3D printing these things or what?

>>50200515
Who knows. The modeler, Sentinel, does all his work in Maya. He did the Lu Wei Bing that just came out, which has a stupid amount of detail from the art.

>>50199057
Where does the Devastator meme come from? I see Sarna marks it as both a Canopian and Taurian mech.

>>50200561
Canopians and Taurians got them as salvage from fighting Davions. Remember, MUL only says if they have a few of something, not that it's common or distinctive.

>>50200748
I mean the Sarna wiki marks them as being manufactured in both periphery states for some reason.

>>50200815
No it doesn't. The Devastator page just lists the Loxley and Augusta plants.

>>50200815
Because Sarna is a cesspool of poor editing. If you make changes that correct information, those get reverted.

>>50200561
It comes from a statement in 3058U that "several hundred" old-model devestators are still around, "mostly in the taurian concordat", which would make it the most common assult mech there, which is dumb and makes no sense, hence the meme

>>50200834
It does in their category pages, which say: "This is a listing of BattleMechs manufactured by the X state"

>>50200950
Really? Is that canon or was it corrected? Which ones are the "old style"?

>>50200968
The old model is DVS-1D.

>>50200950
Just checked. It says "several dozen" are all that are left and that "most" are in the hands of the Taurians. I guess the logic is the Fedrats sentenced the old model to Militia duty in the Outback and somehow magically the Taurians got a few dozen in salvage.

>>50200968
The DVS-1D Feddie prototype from the 3030's, which was never supposed to be in real production in the first place, just a prototype. The fact that even 30 something were made in the first place is just as retarded as saying the Taurians got a bunch.

>>50201045
I guess. I've seen more retarded, but it is impressive.

>>50201045
Maybe the Taurians bought a bunch through shell companies.

It's how I rationalised stuff like the Canopians acquiring almost a thousand battlemechs in a few years.

>>50201084
Impossible. Corean doesn't sell to every Tom, Dick and Drac like Norse-Storm. They're House-exclusive production. It's actually crippled their development of stuff since they can't even exchange information or profits between their Davion and Marik holdings.

>>50201123
So they'd all have to be salvage? Did the TDF raid the Suns *that* much? Cuz I know the AFFS didn't really give two shits about the Concordat.

>>50201174
Not like New Avalon gives a shit about the Outback either.

>>50201174
Yeah, but honestly I would ignore it. It comes from an old OF push to make larger numbers of mechs the norm, like there was really three or four times the stated army sizes if you included the noble personal armies and the planetary militias. This was the same era that had the policy that created a bunch of 3025 scenarios completely lacking the unseen even though they were the most common machines at the time.

Always helps to know the meta context for stuff, whether it's an old novel or Battletech.

>>50201221
Fair enough.

Still, looking at the -1D I feel like it does fit the Taurians somewhat. I might just put one or two in my battalion, probably as the CO's ride.

>>50199502
>>50199529
Watching these and listening to 90's techno.

Now all I need is some acid and it's BATTLETRIP time.

>>50201221
>It comes from an old OF push to make larger numbers of mechs the norm, like there was really three or four times the stated army sizes if you included the noble personal armies and the planetary militias.
You know, I actually think that's a good idea

>>50201571
Except it completely throws half the historical plots under the bus, the same way 3025R downtech SLDF survivors did or 3039 advanced tech did. Duke Ricol is supposed to be the exception, not the rule.

I don't mind making changes like that moving forward, especially in the massively force reduced DA, but applying them retroactively is nothing but a bad idea.

>>50200112
>Between 3025 and 3067.
To be completely honest, I don't feel like the Taurians really had any particular "Flavor" to them besides being limited to retrotech. Most of their flavor seems to crop up as the Jihad kicks in.
Light Autocannons for ALL!

So after a few minutes of research into a hunch, I was confirmed in my suspicion that not a single Clan had a founder from the FWL.

Stats break down as follows:
Terra - 4
Terran Hegemony - 4
Lyran - 3
FedSuns - 2
Rim Worlds - 2
Cappie/Drac - 2
Cappie - 1
Drac - 1
Unknown - 1

Both the Ghost Bears and Sea Foxes have a "dual founder" situation, and both of them, interestingly, are formed from a Cappie/Drac pair.

The Unknown is Sarah McEvedy

>>50202463

McEvedy is too important and drives too much plot to be from the FWL. And with her FREEDOMs stuff she's very probably a Suns character too.

>>50202478
It seems as if she was either born in the Terran Hegemony, on a base or whatever while her dad was on campaign but still a Terran Hegemony kid in the same way a US soldier's kid born on Okinawa is, or post-Exodus, and thus doesn't fit any IS power.

>>50202538
If I remember correctly, every commander of the 331 royal division is from the states, so it stands to reason McEvedy is too.

>>50203040
Her father, James McEvedy, was from Minnesota yes, but Op Klondike says that she was born around the time of the Exodus, so it's unlikely that Sarah is from Minnesota as well. That assumes Sarah McEvedy is even related to James as well.

>>50202463
>Bears
>founded by a Cappie
Okay that's really strange. I guess the Clan culture is so far removed from their founding at this point though that any remnants would be long gone.

>>50203232

The Exodus Civil War burned out previous cultural predilictions almost completely. It gets glossed over, but it was every bit as nasty as the First Succession War and essentially only the people who drank the Nicky K cool-aid and who deliberately and actively repudiated their previous cultures lived through it.

>>50203401
Thanks for reminding me how much I hate Nicky K. Like, the Clans could have been so much cooler if he wasn't such a faggot.

>>50203405

If he wasn't so much of a "faggot" as you put it, the Clans wouldn't even exist to be cooler.

The racial/state-based tensions really fucked up the Pentagon worlds and almost destroyed the SLDF-in-Exile.

Things got so bad that literally less than a thousand people were able to take over five planets and institute a completely different way of life. Think about that for a second.

How bad would shit have to be for like a thousand people (probably less, in a proportional basis) to wield enough military power to subjugate the entire US today *and* have the populace come crawling to them to fix all the social and economic shit that had gone wrong to lead them to that point?

>>50203497
It's great that he saved everyone, but the resulting establishment he created was terrible, and made me unable to like the Clans. I mean more power to fans of the Clan factions, it's just not my cuppa and lore wise, he's the one that caused it, so I don't care for him overmuch. Is what it is.

>>50203405
Honestly, the Clans being so artificial because of Nicky's lunacy is what makes them so interesting. They're a culture of traumatized people who gazed into the abyss- and liked what they saw. Then their ideals met the reals of the Inner Sphere, and many of them couldn't cope. Hence, the tragic Wars of Reaving.

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>tfw no Clan gf
>tfw the first time you met her, she didn't try to brutally destroy you in one-on-one mech combat
>She and her Clan will never ally themselves with your people.
>You and her will never go down in history as one of the first Sphere-Clan couples.

feels pretty bad, I do say senpai.

>>50204341
pulled it off in a campaign once, though i feel like i've mentioned this before

>>50204409
>I nailed a Clan chick

Congratulations. I'll bet that took some effort. Did you manage to successfully piss when you got out of bed this morning, too?

>>50204409
>>50204437
Yeah, they make a pretty huge deal out of the fact that Clanners fuck to blow off steam and for fun. I don't think talking a Clanner woman out of her clothes is going to be too hard especially if you have any kind of reputation as a warrior, Spheroid or not. She just wouldn't see it as a big deal.

>>50204467
Getting a clanner into bed?
Easy shit
Getting a clanner to the alter?
That's the real shit right there

>>50204467
I keep hearing of Clanners' casual views on sex, but never seen the source. Sauce? Is it in one of the novels?

>>50204629
Several of them. I Am Jade Falcon has a little more detail on it than most, including their view of the idea of monogamy.

>>50204467
>you are the brave pilot of that hunchback, are you not?
>yes, you're one of the clan gals, ri-?
>I will make you sore by the time morning comes.
>*hard fucking intensifies*

I mean, it makes sense considering that the clans are essentially a cult founded by nicky k, and cults traditionally include some sort of "the leader gets tons of strange" mechanism

>>50204629
Both the invasion trilogies (I Am Jade Falcon and Blood of Kerensky) feature it heavily. You should see how fucking pissed Phelan Kell got when his waifu went and fucked her tubebaby brother, his worst enemy, because she wanted to ask the guy what these feelings of attachment and stuff she was getting about Phelan were about, if that sort of thing was natural or unClanlike.

Her not understanding why when Kell found out he blew his top, called her a whore, and told her to fuck off forever was one of the top moments in the book. She cried like a bitch.

>>50204341
Get out of here Max, we don't like LAMs

>>50204736
Didn't the cult around Kerensky after his death?

>>50204764
Clans proper and the crazy cult were formed before that. It's why the Wolves have his genetake and the whole reason the Wolverines got exterminated. They killed Nicky.

>>50204762
>TFW no GIANT clan gf

It's about that time.
New thread.
>>50204780

>>50204764
Deification cult of nicky k, sure. But the fact that from their very inception the clans were really a lot like one of the many batshit insane cults in our world, that's something else

>>50204774
>the whole reason the Wolverines got exterminated. They killed Nicky.
That was the widowmakers, actually. But the point remains the same

>>50204677
>not "quiaff?"
Man come onnnnnn

>>50204758

Those are so old they're non-canon, though. There's no modern valid sources that imply Clanners fuck around.

>>50204758
I forgot how cucked Phelan was