/btg/ Battletech General!

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Is there any reason why no other states in the Sphere except the Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth use the Regimental Combat Team model?

Does the Combine, Confederation and League not think much of it?

And why didn't the Suns or Lyrans rebuild some of their formations as RCTs after the Jihad?

>>51461475
Organizational thing. The AFFS pioneered reintroducing the concept, and the LCAF took to it after the FedCom collapsed.

>Does the Combine, Confederation and League not think much of it?
Internal politics for each of them means the ideas aren't feasible to put into practice. The DCMS prefers mechs, the Confederation was going through a crash rebuilding and reorg situation, and the FWLM had enough issues with Federal and Provincial units that that kind of reorganization wasn't possible.

>And why didn't the Suns or Lyrans rebuild some of their formations as RCTs after the Jihad?
Not enough factories to do it. The Suns switched over to LCTs, and eventually rebuilt some of the RCTs, but RCTs are stupidly expensive to maintain.

>>51461475

The FWL was originally the combined-arms state.

The Dracs were the skilled warrior state.

The Lyrans were the heavy-weight state.

The Suns were the competent officer state.

The Capellans were the fanatical fighter state.

Then the 4th SW happened and the FedSuns turned into the combined-arms, skilled warrior, heavy-weight, competent officer, fanatical fighter state and the Lyrans went along for the ride.

The FWL and Capellans actually did have a strong combined-arms approach to warfare, it's just that they were too poor/plot-irrelevant to have the transport assets to lug that many conventional troops around. The Dracs OTOH are a 'Mechs first and foremost nation that only sees ASFs as being useful other than that and resists attempts to have combined-arms units because why ever would you want to do something sensible when you can instead get rekt by all the other factions.

After the Jihad the Suns and Lyrans didn't have the resources and manufacturing base to fully restore their RCTs. Instead the Suns focused on building LCTs which are based around a 'Mech battalion with integrated conventional support. No idea what happened after that since I've never gotten around to giving FM: 3145 a proper read-through.

>>51461475
Good Guys have to win.

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>>51461288

>What causes the communication breakdown that precedes the dark age?
>Bad Plot.

what is good plot for you?

>>51461561
The Federal/Provincial thing is mostly a meme. In Thomas' day the majority of the FWLM was federal, and the largest provincial element was provincial in name only (the Oriente brigades had never refused a Captain-General's order).

With Andurien without its Defenders, the only significant provincial forces were the Regulan Hussars (who had demonstrated a willingness to tell Regulus itself to fuck off if it meant they could see action) and Orloff Grenadiers (who didn't show aversion to combined arms, just encroachments into cultural traditions). The rest, the Silver Hawk Irregulars, Protectorate Guard, Stewart Dragoons and Sirian Lancers were honestly march militia tier and didn't matter as much.

But the FWL would have needed an author invested in them to get real development, so that's that.

>>51461826

One that doesn't use constant contrivances to do "resets" on its developments?

Oh, also, more a personal preference, but one that doesn't use warcrimes as cheap drama. Better yet, one that doesn't use warcrimes perpetrated for "oopsy daisy, we thought you were someone else, silly us!" reasons.

>>51461881
>doesn't use warcrimes as cheap drama. Better yet, one that doesn't use warcrimes perpetrated for "oopsy daisy, we thought you were someone else, silly us!" reasons.
Unfortunately, that's literally the only thing CGL knows how to write

>>51461881
ok, so are you saying you like the Clan Invasion era and nothing else? Star League, Succession Wars, Civil War, Jihad and Dark Age all fall on at least one of your points

>>51461881
>Better yet, one that doesn't use warcrimes perpetrated for "oopsy daisy, we thought you were someone else, silly us!"

What are you referencing?

>>51461475
the authors aren't smart enough to write plausible differences

Hell, they aren't smart enough to write plausible anything. Just picking at random from a TRO entry:

>Bolling moved his Bulwarks to the narrowest part of the pass and dug in. The CWEF thrust, a combined-arms battalion, arrived three hours later and immediately attacked the Andurien line, only to lose two ’Mechs and four vehicles to the Bulwarks’ frepower. Twice more the CWEF tried assaulting the defensive line, only to be beaten back with more losses. The CWEF called in artillery strikes, but the Bulwarks were protected by their emplacements, and suffered little damage. Frustrated, the CWEF commander ordered an all-out attack. At Bolling’s command, the Bulwarks targeted the three heaviest CWEF ’Mechs and destroyed them in a single volley. Now badly mauled, and with reports of Andurien reinforcements on their way, the CWEF battalion retreated. The battle helped the Third Andurien Guards hold Deschenes and limit the Oriente gains

>>51462173
The entire plotline of the taurian concordat after 3062, for one thing
Also the ghost bears in the jihad

>>51462007
Not him, but 3050-60 is by far my favorite era of battletech

>>51462295

And the Raven Alliance don't forget them

>>51462208
What's not plausible here?

>>51462797
>hurr durr let's literally throw ourselves at the defenders

>>51462887

So they adopted the Smoke Jaguar methodology of war?

>>51462887
Very common in real war. I served in the USMC and can attest to it.

>>51462994
I dunno what you think was happening as a potato peeler, but I guarantee the USMC puts a lot more prep into things than that.

>>51462208

CWEF?

>>51463044
Not an argument.

>>51462767

>The supposed rusemaster clan of cunning plotters

>>51462994
Ignore that cuck.

To quote NEA, "The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction must be plausible."

>>51462994
No one's going to care if you're a combat veteran here if your experiences run contrary to what they think is realistic. No one in modern military history has ever been that stubborn that they'd stage frontal attacks. Ever.

>>51462767
Oh yeah, them to

>>51462994
To be fair, the USMC is not known for it's tactical acumen.

>>51463251
I just think he could have picked a better example to demonstrate bad TRO writing.

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So how abundant are the Ost series of mechs in the Inner Sphere?

And how are their Project Pheonix upgrades?

>>51463998
I like the Ostroc.

>>51463156
Covenant Worlds Expeditionary Force

>>51463654
he said he picked it at random

>>51464099
Fair enough.

>>51464023
I wish there were more variants of it too.

>>51463998
Osts are uncommon but well remembered. In the succession wars era they're about Catapult-tier.

The Phoenix upgrades are decent both in looks and performance but most of the Phoenix Osts went to the Blakists.

Phoenix Ostscout is a purely C*/Blake design
Phoenix Ostroc is Capellan but spread around by the Blakists
Phoenix Ostsol is Blakist, Refits are Davion

>>51464197
What about the Ostwar?

>>51463998
>So how abundant are the Ost series of mechs in the Inner Sphere?
They're widespread but not especially common, a bit like the Grasshopper, with minor concentrations in some liao and IIRC kurita units.
The ostscout is the rarest, and the ostroc slightly more common than the ostsol
The phoenix upgrades are generally pretty decent, and some of the jihad and post-jihad models are nice

>>51464361
A dead relic of the Age of War only used for spare parts until they built retrotech versions at vehicle plants in the Jihad. Then the Regulans started making the regular version again but that line got killed by the Violator and Neanderthal because Regulans can't have nice things.

>>51464467
Never used the Jihad Ostwar. How did it hold up?

>>51464581
As well as you would imagine a primitive machine from the 2400's would fare in the 3070's.

>>51464671
I dunno, I can imagine quite a bit.

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>>51464423

>liao and IIRC kurita units

Do they pride it or something?

Also, is the Black Knight common?

>>51464923
>Also, is the Black Knight common?

Basically extinct outside Comstar until Robinson starts making them again in the early 3060's. So the Davions, RotS and the Dracs are the only ones in the DA with them in decent numbers.

>>51464923
>Do they pride it or something?
I think it's more just how star league leftovers shook out
>Also, is the Black Knight common?
No. It's very rare. It's got excellent survivability, so the number doesn't decline much, but there just aren't many

>>51465005
It was being made in the FWL in the 3050s/3060s too.

How do you get to use alternative ammo on everything in mega mek?

Some units will just not offer and others offer only some kinds. I really miss my mine throwing catapult.

>>51465486
Check the year under Allowed Units and Equipment tab. And for thunder LRMs specifically, you might need to make sure that TacOps Minefields are enabled in the Advanced Rules tab.

>>51465713
Ok thanks much, it was odd some had no options for ammo, others would only give me some options.

I get depressed when I can't have my infernos.

>>51465196
No it wasn't. Connaught's lines remain fucked until the Republic era.

>>51465890
No, it was being built again.

>>51465928
No it wasn't. It was just parts. Actually read the entry in HB:HM instead of looking at the products at the top.

>>51466053
No, it's listed as a built product. The entry never says it's just parts. Try reading it. You probably think the Grasshopper isn't being built in the FedSuns either.

>>51466053
The Objectives series lists it as being built too. Sorry man.

>>51466251
The entry says that first line they have building anything in centuries is the new Ostsol line in 3058 and that they are excited to get a second full production line going in 3060 with a new Ostsol variant. Which gets shoved back to 3067 later but hey.

>>51466325
>building anything in centuries
Doesn't even say that. If you disagree take it up with the writers and factcheckers.

>>51466351
Somebody should. TRO Project Phoenix says they don't even produce the Ostsol as a complete mech until 3065.

>>51466325
Just said they have a new Ostsol line. Makes sense they'd have their flagship line back up if they're rebuilding their mech factories.

>>51466351
>badly damaged in the First Succession War and
only managed to survive as a repair facility in the centuries that followed

>>51466378
I'm on it.

When I saw the Hawk Moth was equipped with an LGR I assumed it was a purple bird helicopter.

Why do the FedCom halves have the market cornered with VTOLs?

What's a relatively lowtech BA that's good against even the newer BA?

Im unfamiliar with a lot of Capellan fluff, so I have a question relevant to my campaign I'm running.

Would a Warrior House hire mercenaries to fill gaps in their forces during heavy fighting, or are they too prideful(or are only some of them, etc). Or would mercenaries be hired through, say, the planetary governor of a world being fought over.

If the time matters, middle of the Andurien Secession.

>>51466957
The Warrior Houses wouldn't hire mercenaries, no.

>>51466957
They wouldn't hire mercs, no

>>51466957

No, they would not hire mercs,

>>51466919
Inner Sphere Standard

>>51466957

No,mercs they would not hire.

>>51466957
They wouldn't hire the mercs, the CCAF would and they'd work alongside them.

>>51466515

>why does the FedCom get all the good stuff

Oh gee I wonder.

>>51466919

Achileus, Longinus, IS Standard.

>>51466515
>>51467378

Isn't FedCom having many unique things due to them being two states combining resources where the others are simply one or part of one in the case of the Capellans?

>>51467467
The FedCom gets the good stuff because the Federated Suns is the designated protagonist faction, and for a few decades the Lyrans were taken along for the ride too.

>>51467235
>>51467161
>>51467141
>>51467049
Thanks!

Clans were such a fucking mistake.
How the hell were they ever considered balanced or even a good idea?

>>51467956
>balanced
Zellbrigen, man.

>A good idea
Without the Clans, it would have just been the FedCom curbstomping everyone.

>>51467956

Battletech is essentially a (future) historical wargame.

History is neither balanced nor fair.

>>51467978
>Zellbrigen
Name a single IS mech that can even remotely compare to its clan counterpart.

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>>51468007
Name a single aerofighter that can compare to its warship counterpart.

See, it makes no sense. It's almost as if you are expected to take multiples. You know, maybe we should come up with some sort of number that roughly associates with the combat capability of a unit. That was units of different size and capability can be balanced against each other. We could call it... capability counters.

or aptitude integers.

oh man im so close, just give me a minute, i'll have it

>>51468007
Thats why you have two or three.

>>51468007
Did you even read the fluff about the invasion?

The Clans are all about single combat, and they'll win every single time in single combat. But they're shit at working together in larger operations thanks to that, so that's where the IS beats them.

Their practice of bidding was also the main reason why the ComGuards won Tukayyid, and was abused to gain victories several other times by the IS.

>>51467978

>Zellbrigen being in any way a balancer.

You've never actually played, heh.

>>51468086
This x100.

If the Clans didn't do single combat and ditched zellbrigen entirely from the onset, even missing some of the IS force multipliers like artillery and mines, they still would've curbstomped the 'Sphere all the way to Terra.

>>51468207
Sorry, I was thinking more in terms of fluff, otherwise see >>51468062

>>51468062
You DO know that BV didn't exist until well after the Clans were added to the game, right?

>>51468062
Not him but Battle Value 1 postdates the Clan Invasion by like seven years. Even if you go all the way back to Combat Value then it's still a full four years after the invasion.

Just a point to consider. Clans had no kind of balance in the game for longer than the time between the 3rd Succession War and the Clan Invasion in realtime. Doesn't matter nowadays but it was a massive issue back then.

>>51468307
>>51468352

This is very true and has very little to do with the current status quo.

>>51467956
says they were a 'mistake' and questions if they were "ever considered balanced or even a good idea"

Ever, in his question, is right now. He's either A) being willfully ignorant of mechanics, B) pining away for his TRO3025 days HARD, or C) just wants to be a shit

>>51468462
both A and B actually contain C

>>51468462
You know, now I kinda want to do some 3025 pining. What do you guys miss about that era?

I miss the introductions of the Successor Lords being all "The Duke of Destruction, the Baron of Backwater...and First Lord of the Star League."

I miss the get rich quick Dispossessed boys hoping to strike it lucky with a Lostech cache. You know, we don't even hear about Dispossessed anymore.

I miss the rumors about stuff like RoboKerensky and the lost SLDF.


Shit, you know what we need? ISP4. When's that happening?

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>>51468580
>What do you guys miss about that era?

Nothing

>>51467467
FedSuns had the VTOLs before the FedCom

It's a Davion thing

>>51468654
What does 8pts of damage?

>>51468838
Large Lasers

>>51468843
I was pretty sure they did 10.

>>51468838
An AC/8 probably.

>>51468864
IS large lasers do 8. Clan version does 10.

>>51468838
Large Lasers and Light Gauss Rifles

>>51468007

Until the Hellstar, the Clans could be out-cheesed by the 3058 Gausswall designs. Stealth Armour is also a thing.

>>51468307

And you do know that the scenario stuff from back in the day says Clan players are meant to either bid among themselves to pick the weakest force that can take on the IS, or that the IS player is meant to have a larger, heavier force that fights on a maximum of two maps so the Clan range advantage is negated, right?

And that anyone who went Clan purely for powergaming would otherwise have either placed FedCom for the best selection of canon designs or would have been churning out things like the Marauder II for base technology customs?

But no. Stay buttmad because one time in '94 a Clan player managed to get a Koshi behind your Atlas and blow out its A/C-20 ammo.

>>51469061
>But no. Stay buttmad because one time in '94 a Clan player managed to get a Koshi behind your Atlas and blow out its A/C-20 ammo.

To be fair, a game that allows a unit 1/4th the mass of another unit to be able to destroy that heavier unit is a game that is clearly plagued by terrible design. I don't ever have to worry about Stuarts fucking up my King Tigers in Flame of War, for example.

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>>51469318

So, I'm looking for player(s) for my AToW campaign. It's a mix of streamlined RPG stuff (because fuck me AToW is literally more tables than a furniture warehouse), and TT play. We have an open slot for a mechwarrior and an ASF pilot or two. We play Sundays, from 5PM CST to whenever (usually around 11 CST). Any interest?

What's everyone's favorite rifleman variant?

>>51469466
Swap the AC/5s for AC/2s, one ton of ammo for both guns. Remove the Medium Lasers. Use the tonnage for armor or SHS, at your discretion. I prefer SHS myself.

>>51469466

IIC.

But the Phoenix one with two LB-Xs is what the upgrade should always have been. That one's not too bad.

>>51469466
3N feels the most Riflemanny. But the 8D and the 7X are pretty fun. Nobody expects a flying Rifleman.

>>51469571
So your master plan is causing a PSR once a game?

>>51469669
>playing around causing PSRs
Gotta be able to shoot your guns first, anon, if that's your bag.

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>>51469669

>>51469691
You're right, if I was playing to actually do damage, I'd be in a Thunderbolt.

>>51469571

I would instead keep the A/C-5s, dump one LL, and then add one ton of ammo, two DHS, and two tons of armour.

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>>51469466
Canon? The -6X, though the XL for speed isn't my preferred option. Custom wise, I prefer pic related, which is unintentionally similar, but uses an XL for armor and CASE.

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>>51467956
>How the hell were they ever considered balanced

They weren't. That's the entire point.
Make a new line of stuff that is better than the old stuff so everyone has to buy it.
That's how popular TT games work.

>>51469725
A 'Mech with twin AC/5s, a LL in the chest, a ton of ammo for each gun, and the SHS to use all that, and maybe some JJs would be really sweet, actually. Not a Rifleman to me per se, but a pretty good design in my opinion.

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At the end of the day, do they expect to win?

>>51470055

I don't understand your filename, Warhawk is a clan mech

>>51467956

Are you seriously asking why a faction that did NOT nuke itself to near destruction, had over a century to improve their technology and themselves, was OP as fuck?

Are you fucking dense?

They had complete technological superiority when they first invaded, that's why they fucking wrecked face until they forgot what logistics was.

>>51470055
You know, I'd actually laugh if somehow, that Highlander headcaps Atleast. I doubt it'd happen, but it'd be such an inglorious end.

>>51470067
It's three Clan pilots in 3 IS mechs versus the scourge of the Clans.

>>51470069

Well, in the original fluff they did.

Now the IS had wide-spread Lostech by the time of the Clan Invasion and it makes the original plot pants on head retarded on top of the upgrade percentages by the 3060s look even dumber still. Not to mention the TR 3050 upgrades since they had over a decade in a lot of cases to work out those kinks,

>>51470504
To think that half the reason we have such retarded tech dates now is because of faggots whining on the OF when the 3039 stuff was being written ten years ago.

I hop they unfuck all that soon.

TRO 3039. I know the Commando, Banshee and Atlas are signature Steiner Mechs in there, but what are some others? Going into a campaign and I need 12 Vehicles and 12 Mechs to serve as my blueprints. The blueprints are basically a list of vehicles (no convential or aerospace fighters) and mechs I can build. I want to go into this campaign with a heavy House Steiner theme force.

>>51470649
Zeus
Do you get unseen? If so, Griffin. Also they have Thunderbolt, Archer, and Crusader variants that are unique to them

>>51470070

C'mon. A kill record that's a scourge of the galaxy like that at least deserves something ridiculous like a DFA.

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>>51470649

>>51470704
We can choose any Mech in the Battlemech, First in Centuries, Star League and Project Phoenix from TRO 3039. We already have someone bringing the Griffin, Battlemaster and Marauder.

>>51470714
Where did you get that? I would like ones for the factions.

>>51470739
I would ask you which faction you want so that you're utterly dependent on me, but better to teach a man how to fish;
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/357573/3028-3050%20Random%20Assignment%20%26%20Rarity%20Tables%209.1.pdf

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>>51470722
> any Mech in TRO 3039
Awesome AWS-8Q is always the answer. However many you're allowed to take. Just do it.

>>51470806
Can't take the Awesome. My brother is borrowing my only Awesome model for his Marik themed force.

>>51470809
>I only have one Awesome
I don't know how you feel about bootlegs, but a man should have more than one Awesome.
http://warhansa.com/index.php/katalog/valhalla_gun.html

>>51470825
Not the guy you responded to, but holy crap, those look fantastic for bootlegs. Might have to purchase one or seventeen.

>>51470825
I am the guy you responded to. My shop has weird rules about IWM or Catalyst plastic Mechs only.

>>51470871
Yeah Warhansa is a godsend if you don't feel morally obligated to support CGL. They've been casting new molds from MWO designs and the like, so if your favorite mech is some old shit that has a garbage mini but was recently released in MWO for nostalgia you're in a special kind of heaven.

>>51470902
You can still support CGL when you shop Warhansa; IWM is the culprit for all the bad miniatures for the last 15+ years, and they are the ones who deserve to lose every sale for their terrible QC and lack of integrity. I have it on good authority that is supposed to change, but for now, go ahead, shaft IWM, you hurt CGL not a whit.

>>51470959

>not that CGL doesn't hurt itself via boneheaded shit

>>51470992
Too true. They don't really need help.

>>51470959
Mind if a rookie asks what's wrong with the current miniatures? All the stuff from the Introductory Box Set (the one with the Mad Cat and Battlemaster, saw the first one where the only two decent looking Mechs were the Thor and Loki) and the Alpha Strike Lance Packs looks pretty cool.

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>>51470902
Hansas quality is top fucking notch, and they get the newer mechs released by PGI a few months after.

I'm currently a bit giddy waiting for our favourite russian to get the Huntsman, Linebacker, Night Gyr and Marauder IIC mechs in stock.

>>51471011

The detail level on the current minis is kinda nitpicky shit, but the big thing is that things like the Intro Box aren't produced for fuckall, which hamstrings the growth of the series because I don't know why. The Alpha Strike boxes are promoted, but AS is pretty much heresy because it guts most of the gameplay that makes BattleTech BT. It's basically a terrible situation for the series if the newbie set is only produced once every few years, leaving people to fend for themselves by buying minis from generic AS packs, overpriced Intro Box sets (due to rarity and upcharge), finding a local grognard selling their stuff, or our rusrus friends.

>>51471011
The plastic stuff is alright (mainly because most of it is old Ral Partha sculpts), but IWM has proven several times that they are downright incompetent. The Lu Wei Bing, for example, is TINY, and is an 85t 'Mech. Now, scale isn't that important to some, but it can be jarring to see something at a radically different size than one expects. The Gun also had sculpt/molding issues, and there have been a plethora of 'Mech sculpts over the years done by them that have terrible detail work, scaling, proportions, and quality control. Hop by their website sometime and take a look for yourself, and compare some minis to their TRO art. For every one they manage, they miss one by a mile in terms of execution. And since they are the sole producer, they can get away with it because there is no (official) competition.

>>51470764
Bravissimo!
Is this in the mediafiles, because I can contact our pastebin bro and get this added to it there if needed.

>>51471063
Maybe I didn't realize the situation. All of the Battletech minis (both Plastic and IWM) available from the FLGS are reasonably priced. Introductory Box is $45. Lance Packs, which I get for the Mechs only cause I don't play Alpha Strike, are anywhere from $15 to $22 (He prices things when he gets them and never updates the prices) and most of the IWM is about $10 or $11.

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>>51471063
AS was specifically a way for CGL to sell mech models not made by IWM since it's technically a different game. If IWM were to go under, CGL could buy back the pants-on-head retarded exclusivity contract from them and tear it up to let companies like Warhansa come in out of the shadows.

>>51468307
It has been more than 20 years (25?) and people are still salty

>>51472358
>If IWM were to go under, CGL could buy back the pants-on-head retarded exclusivity contract

>implying that IWM wouldn't license the right to find a new company to produce MW models to CGL and license the right to produce new models to said company then, taking fees from both

You probably doubt the size of the President's hands on twitter too.

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How did you guys find a faction to root for?

I read a few of the books when I was younger and I read the overview on the homepage, but there is nothing that really stands out to me.

Is it the background?
The tactics?
Did you see a colorschme that you liked?
Read a book?

>>51472768
Who has the cooler mechs

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>>51472768
I'm an old grog that grew up with the game since around 85-86. I started with the 2nd edition boxed set, then got that Crescent Hawks Inception vidya. That game introduced House Steiner as good guys, and the Dracs-being-Dracs line.
I stayed with Steiner until they combined with Davion, and was full on board with that until the Fed Com Civil War. Seeing how badly Steiner acted I jumped ship to the Davions and stayed when them ever since.
I will play merc and clans from time to time, but I don't really have a preference of which clan other than Wolf. I try to play "bad guys" for my friends and act as Liao, Kurita and sometimes Marik (although their bad guy status as we all know really is iffy if that,) so they can play against an opponent that won't take any crap form them so they get hard won victories.
But then again, I'm the type that would play as Nod or the Ukraine in Command & Conquer and C&C Red Alert for fun as well.
So Davions for fluff, mercs for other campaigns (gotta have those Mary Sues,) and Clans just because TECHNOLOGY! Otherwise, I do other factions to watch the world burn.

Mech-wise I love the old unseens and some of the newer stuff that came out. I love me some old mecha and really appreciate some of the hard work others have done with the unseen to bring them back with the current years (Shimmy, some of our guys here with the pencils drawings and such.)

Color scheme for me is simple, either traditional Dougram / Shadow Hawk colors, winter environmental, or whatever looks good with some of my favorite colors just because.

>>51473034
>or the Ukraine in C&C Red Alert

Laughing Holodromes.jpg

>>51471682
If you can get a current introbox for $45, you should. Like, right now.

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>>51473170
You don't expect me to play as the Ruskies, do you?

>>51472768
>How did you guys find a faction to root for?

That's very cringe-worth, anon
I may be a nerd but I have self respect

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meh.

>>51472768

I'm also an old Grog who's seen pretty much everything except for the original Battledroids box. The 4th Succession War was a big event in my youth, and the Clans were overwhelming. I didn't align to any single faction until Invading Clans and clicked with the Steel Vipers, because I liked their tactics/weapon mix - less thrilled with their neo-fascist views. I ultimately moved on to the Blood Spirits when FM Crusader Clans came out.

>>51472768
>How did you guys find a faction to root for

Another old warhorse reporting in. I played Crescent Hawks' Inception on the Commodore 64, then Mech Force (the Megamek of its time, and painful on the eyes) on the Amiga, then ran into the BT boxes at my FLGS in 1994, I think. I looked through the old house books for fluff, saw that the Draconis Combine had the Space Finns (Rasalhague) and have been honorabru ever since.

I have played Rasalhagians too (before they got clanned) and St Ives as well (before they got Xin Sheng'd). It's like I have the touch of death. If I play Clan, I play Jade Falcon because of their "reasonable arseholes" mentality, and also because of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IAfo6isdw0

>>51472768
A new guy here to balance out the grogs.

I picked steiner after playing through a few games of Liao, steiner, and Davion

I really liked how their mechs complimented my playstyle, which is charge forward and ride the heat curve.

>>51472768
Marik has been my go-to for a while, but I started out FedCom. Still play Steiner for the mech selection and Davion for fluff (always liked the regimental heritages and the dynamics of the Marches).

What combat formations does the Rasalhague Dominion use?
Is it combined arms with clanners and FRR soldiers in the same formations or are they kept separate?

>>51472768
I really latched onto Steiner for the "I want to throw assault mech at my problems 'till they go away" mentality, and love the idea of a potentially competent pilot rising above the idocy of his orders

>>51474708
They're kept separate. All you need to know about the Dominion is it's nothing but the Bear OZ with a new label and a couple militia tier independent units to make the locals feel like they still matter.

>>51472768

Speaking of factions I note on the 1d4chan page some commentary on faction tactics and styles - where does this information come from, particularly for the clans? I'm a little curious and don't know much about them.

i.e. Cloud Cobra liking jump jet mechs, Goliath Scorpions being marksmen and ambushing, Star Adder liking heavy lasers, etc.

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>>51475192

Cloud Cobra also has a thing for the quad mech apparently.

>>51475192
>>51475321

So how did you guys figure that out about Clan Cloud Cobra, all I can see is "religious people"

>>51475321

Cloud Cobra I think owns a lot of places that are mountainous - quad or jumping mechs help them better navigate that kind of terrain.

>>51475416

>So how did you guys figure that out about Clan Cloud Cobra

It's mentioned they took an interest in the Tarantula (their scientist studied the wreckage of some brought from the Inner Sphere) and produced the Stalking Spider from it.

I know NEA was talking about making a strategy guide for translating IRL tactics onto the table top, but how does one deal with somebody who just clusters a Guasswall into heavy woods on an elevated position and just sit stationary?

It seems to me that pretty much all of the IRL tactics and things depend on your opponent actually moving around and attempting to attack you while you attack them. A stationary Guasswall is something that no sane IRL person would do, because of artillery and so forth, but those things might as well not exist in 90% of Battletech games. So how do you deal with that aside from Gausswalling yourself? Assume a 2x3 map setup at most.

>>51475562
I mean, bring artillery. That's the solution. You can't really flush them out with anything mechs carry (other than the rare artillery mech).

It's on you to include such things, since they are legal and exist in the rules and fluff.

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>>51475562
Set the woods on fire, of course.

>>51475599
>>51475600

Neither of those is workable in a TW-compliant, Mechs-only environment. Artillery is TacOps, so is fire.

>>51475562
Bring artillery.

>>51475709
Jumpy mechs with pulse lasers

>>51475562
saturate the area with Inferno-LRMs

>>51475709
>Neither of those is workable in a TW-compliant, Mechs-only environment.
If somebody demands to play a certain way and then builds a force specifically to abuse the limitations that he has demanded, DON'T FUCKING PLAY WITH THEM
It's not rocket surgery, for fuck's sakes

>>51475562
Bring LAMs, WoB LAMS

>>51475709
Sounds like it's time to match his BV in LCT-1Ms.
See how he likes having his bullshit thrown back at him.

>>51475780

Playing TW-only, Mechs-only is not in any way unreasonable. That is literally how the game was designed to be played. It's not a player's fault when they can ID the most efficient use of BV and tactics in a given ruleset.

>>51475751
This, for example, is a terrible solution, because of the extremely high cost of jumping in BV. I'd gladly take a Devastator instead of 2 Wraiths and take my chances that all the mapsheets aren't going to be Heavy Woods maps.

>>51475709

>TW-compliant, Mechs-only environment.

So a firestarter or vulcan can't set things on fire outside of a certain rule set?

>>51476023

Correct. Flamers can deal normal damage, but the rules for fire and smoke are not part of the TW ruleset. They're optional rules (requiring both players to consent) found in TacOps.

Pretty much all of the counters to stationary guasswalls are in TacOps, actually. The penalty for shooting while moving means that being stationary is more efficient at shooting.

>>51475818
They that good?

>>51475850
>Playing TW-only, Mechs-only is not in any way unreasonable.
No, but not playing with someone who is abusing the rules to cheese as hard as possible in a friendly game isn't unreasonable either. If he refuses to allow any of the counters to his (completely legal) bullshit, then not playing with him is the best remaining option.

>>51476112

No. -1M Locusts are a meme, because somebody used them creatively to punch a forum troll's shit in (said troll had no weapons with a range longer than 9 and no movement more than 4/6).

You get about 6 1M Locusts for the price of 1 Devastator, and that Devastator will absolutely kill the Locusts (or they'll run out of ammo having not killed the DVS). If you're stuck using TW only, there ARE no good counters for woods-based guasswalls.

>>51475562
It depends on how comfortable you are with punching someone and whether your store will throw you out. It also depends on whether you want to continue to associate with the person, because I could suggest a 0/0 Warhawk...

>>51476152

Those counters aren't legal if you're playing TW, so it's completely unreasonable to expect them to be in play in any given game.

Secondarily, choosing to sit in a woods isn't cheese whatsoever. Neither are taking completely legal units which are armed with efficient weapons. We aren't talking about Savannah master swarms, infantry spam, or Clantech in general. The Guasswall player in question is doing literally nothing wrong except being the most efficient in his unit choices and gameplay choices. Those Mechs are literally INTENDED to sit in cover and provide long range direct fire. The player is doing exactly what he's supposed to do with them, and it's not his fault that CGL can't fix the damn ruleset to get rid of the Attacker Movement penalty to weapons fire and promote movement-based gameplay.

>>51476153
Maybe 1Ms are a bad choice, but some standard Locusts can probably force a fall with kicking before a Devastator can kill them all.

After that it's just a matter of time before something bad happens to the Dev.

>>51475709

Not that I would endorse mono-post-3025 environments for exactly the shitty gausswall scenario you describe, but the new Manual has simplified versions of both fire, arty, and airstrikes for basic (non-TO) play.

Or yeah, LCT-1Ms and Spider spotters.

>>51475850
>That is literally how the game was designed to be played
It literally isn't. At this point I'm just assuming you are shitposting

>>51476281
Actually, -1Ms aren't annoying enough. Need something way more annoying to out-tedium this guy. Trying to think of what works, under the hilariously artificial constraints this guy has imposed.

>>51476350

You do know that those constraints aren't at all artificial, right? TW-compliant play is like 90% of all battletech

>>51476244

Pretending such esoteric elements as "vehicles and infantry" (intro 1986) or "fire" (base game: 1985) don't exist, AND that only TW is allowed for games (which has infantry and vehicles, but they aren't allowed because reasons), AND blaming CGL for this: congrats on your Downs.

Excellent troll: 9/10.

>>51476323

The fuck? Let's go back to Battledroids and 2e rules manuals in the boxed sets and see how much artillery there was in the game. Battletech was and is supposed to have a focus on the Mechs, and to suggest to somebody that the only way to beat an irritating but legal tactic is to depend on ENTIRELY OPTIONAL rules is pants on head retarded.

>>51475192
>>51475427

Looking at the most up to date info on them, Wars of Reaving supplemental, the "likes jump jets" thing seems like total garbage. Its only in the medium weight mech class that you see any real inclination towards jump jets in the mechs they use, so unless they really hammer on the medium mechs this seems like an extreme extrapolation from the jump-y Stalking Spider.

>>51476432
You're slipping, and our judges have downvoted your troll to 8/10. We have some lovely parting gifts for you, however.

>>51469318
With the tech disparity, it's more akin to a humvee with a TOW taking out a King Tiger.

So how much damage do 3050 era Inner Sphere weapons do to Clan machines?

>>51475562

I've got a half-hour here between meetings, so what the heck.

First, I actually do sympathize with the situation. GuassWalls are hard to deal with at the best of times, and the limitations you're working under make it a lot harder. You certainly aren't alone - there was an OF poll several years back that asked, basically, "how do you play BattleTech", and your description of "Mech-only, TW-only" was in line with the VAST majority of respondents. Where you aren't in line is that you're actually playing on a larger surface; most of the respondents played on a total of 2 maps.

So, killing a GuassWall. It sucks. It generally means that you're going to outnumber them, but they're going to almost always be assaults, which means lots of armor. Which in turn means you're going to need to have fast, hard-hitting units which can get in close and break their armor apart. It ALSO means you're going to have to have something to occupy the GuassWall's shooting, because "fast and hard-hitting" almost universally means "not so much armor".

My suggestion would be something akin to Shaka Zulu's horns of the bull. You need to have a good-sized contingent of zombie units which can facetank Guass fire for a while as your fast units get in position. Awesomes - even IntroTech ones - are good for this. The fact that they're assaults means the enemy will be disposed to shoot at them, and they can absorb a LOT of fire. They're also fairly low-BV for their tankiness; an -8Q Awesome is only 2/3rds the BV of a Devastator, and since he's using a stationary firing position it means that you'll be able to close into range; he can't really retreat to keep the range open.

>cont

>>51476153
>No. -1M Locusts are a meme, because somebody used them creatively to punch a forum troll's shit in (said troll had no weapons with a range longer than 9 and no movement more than 4/6).

Was this that hyper-entropy thing?

>>51476808
>cont

What you have to then do is get your fast nasty things (Blitzkriegs are great for this), and you have to FIND a way to utilize terrain to screen your movement down their flanks. About the time you're getting into close range with your fast units, your facetank units should be about ready to fall apart; that's OK. Focus-fire into the units damaged by your facetanks and wipe them out ASAP since they're already hurt. It's then going to devolve into point-blank fire under their Guass minimum ranges and you have the speed/mobility to arrange backshots with UAC/20s and so forth. Most GuassWall units will have a hard time maneuvering defensively in heavy woods; 3/5 movement doesn't help a lot there.

You can do this on one flank, or you can do it on both (the Zulu way) - if you do it on both and they turn to engage one group, they open themselves to a slashing attack from the other flanking group. However, it does open you up to being defeated in detail - one grounp at a time - if your luck is bad.

Note: This is *not* a guarantee for winning. GuassWalls are the single most efficient and effective tactical formation in BattleTech, because of the rules which penalize attacker movement. Everyone else is correct in that the best way to deal with that is to use artillery or airstrikes or airdrop Battle Armor on their position. But you're in a TW-limited environment, and the quasi-troll above is correct that much of the game is played in that manner, infuriating as it may be. You have to deal with that, and IMO this is the best way to make it happen in a roughly-company-scale environment.

Note2: If your opponent is sitting on a wooded hill, the rest of the entire map is a level 0, featureless salt flat, and he's saying "come at me bro", then >>51476185 is correct in his assessment. Face-punching is the most appropriate response.

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>>51476808
>>51476878
>horns of the buffalo
>zulu way

What if they have a Hookie to stop you?

>>51476965

It's just a reference to help anon visualize what I'm talking about.

Center force to hold the attention and draw/soak fire, and 1-2 flanking pincers. I mean, c'mon. That's horns of the bull right there. Which other historical allusion would have been preferable?

>I think Rorke's Drift was less a case of playing Hookie and more a case of a a Short-Chamber Boxer-Henry .45 caliber miracle.

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>>51477055
>And a bayonet, NEA, with some guts behind it.

Would massed ELRM spam be a viable counter to gausswoods?

>>51477146

Not really; it's hard to get enough accurate fire down at the ranges you're talking about (plus the cover of the woods) to deal enough damage to decisively break up the GuassWallers.

Semi-guided Indirect-fire LRM+TAG can probably pull it off, but you'd better bring a LOT of spotters as well, cause you're going to lose a lot of them. I didn't talk about it above because I thought it wasn't likely to get allowed either.

>>51476834
Yup.

Is smoke TW-level or TacOps? Because laying down smoke in front of a group of close combat mechs could work.

>>51477425

I know fire was removed from TW and I'm pretty sure smoke was for the same reason.

>>51476786

They do their normal damage.

>>51477425
>>51477478

Smoke is TacOps. Page 47.

>>51476878
>Note2: If your opponent is sitting on a wooded hill, the rest of the entire map is a level 0, featureless salt flat, and he's saying "come at me bro", then >>51476185 is correct in his assessment. Face-punching is the most appropriate response.
NEA, that's the moment you out-cheese their cheese.
If I may point out, the Wulfen A is a steal compared to those heavy, slow assaults.
And it's just *oh* *so* hard to hit, with that speed and stealth armor.

It may take all day, but I'm sure you could whittle them down to dead with one or two of those nasty clan machines working on it.

>>51477425
There's a simplified version in the Manual that has the same general effect but with less rolling, so it's in a grey area right now in terms of rules levels, if that's a real concern of yours.

>>51475562
Don't play a deathmatch match.

Also use BA and infantry. Gauss aren't particularily great at taking them out.

Nowadays we also got ERLRMs and worst case you can just be the asshole and fish for crits with AC2s and Light Gauss rifles all day ery day.

>>51477985
>BA and infantry
Sorry, not allowed under 95% of player groups, since it's TW and Mech only.

>ERLRMs
Sorry, not TW-only, can't have them.

>>51478225
>Sorry, not allowed under 95% of player groups

Your numbers are as imaginary as your player groups, I would assume.

>>51478273
Someone else mentioned it above, I have no evidence beyond what others have posted (see here: >>51476808). And my BattleTech campaign is going nicely, thanks. Avatars are baller as fuck.

>>51478225
mechs only is a house rule, though.
so talking about enforced mechs only is as reasonable a hypothetical as also declaring no gausswalls allowed
it's obvious that the game isn't balanced with houserules, so why bother?

I play all gausswall players the same way. I take the fastest, hardest to hit units i can and sit outside his range on the other side of the map till he either complains or moves. if he bitches, i stand firm and don't move. If he moves, i wait till he gets in range then move at top speed and skirt long range so he can't hit me, then park in spots he can't shoot. Rise repeat till he gets mad.

I'm playing by the rules too. And I'm having fun so you're not allowed to complain. This is how Battletech is played.

Never heard of a TW only group. Back when it was the Companion or later the Master Rules, I knew of groups that ban Aerospace or Artillery or both but vees and infantry, fire and most of the optional rules were in use. But I never played with them. My own groups over years almost always played with Artillery.. Aerospace not so much.

Had a situation like this. Introduced a known power gamer to the game, he started with clans then shifted to gauss wall. Kept arguing that it was a legal strategy, would only play TW, but would bitch if you didn't bring only mechs.

So I brought half his BV in BA. It pissed him off, but so what I was having fun? Then he wouldn't play unless it was mechs only. So I introduced him to another strategy. Every game he brought a gauss wall I instantly retreated. Because that is also a legal strategy.

>>51478596
My "group" isn't TW only but we only use Mechs and vees because they prefer simple games and don't know the rules very well, and stompy robutts and tonks is enough to entertain them. Me too, to be honest. I'm a man of simple pleasures.

Is the Draconis Combine the worst Successor State to live in?

>DELIGHT TO THE EYE
>Presentation of food as a delight to the eye is difficult, but of utmost importance, when serving prepared food rations. Always remove food from the container in which it was purchased and transfer it to plates. If the food is plentiful, arrange on an individual plate for each diner. If the food must be stretched thin, arrange on one central platter for all to view the wholeness of it before dividing. Separate foods by color and texture. If all food is one texture and no other food can be procured, arrange in fanciful shapes, such as animals and birds (see illustration of kelp sea-eagle). Add other objects to the serving dish for visual variety. Possibilities include leaves or flowers, beads or smooth stones, and candies. Watch to be sure that no one tries to eat the decorations.
>—From Cooking for the Family, by Mimosa Kaji, Kurita

>Surinami Foods produces processed foods ranging from freeze-compressed Survival Rations to the Tinned Splendors specially gourmet line. The bulk of their business is the Home Helper line of canned and boxed food, especially prepared to feed a lot of people from the small cooking space of an average Kurita home. Interestingly, the Stomach’s Joy product is not rationed on most planets. Its recipe is a closely guarded secret, but those who survive the wretched taste and texture report that eating a lot of Stomach’s Joy does, indeed, produce a feeling of well-being, an almost floating sensation. Happy Life Meals provides food for institutions. Corporate cafeterias, schools, hospitals, and Feeding Stations are among its customers, with the quality of the food provided declining respectively.

And then people wonder why players of the non-FedCom powers complain so much about playing against them and the TRO biases.

'Cos not only do they get the best options for Gausswalling, they *also* get the best stuff for not Gausswalling.

>playing a decently high BV
>all I'm seeing is scouts as I advance my units
>as I manage to leg one of his scouts, I finally see where all of his BV went
>he has a fucking Ares step out of woods and into visual LoS
>my best shot is a 12 from my Commander's ER PPC
>take it
>it hits him in the head and crits his cockpit
>he sits there for a few seconds, silent
>flips the entire table, gets up, paces around the room
>goes from furious to crying
>walks out of the gameshop
>don't see the guy for a week
>when I finally see him again he apologizes
Battletech is fun.

I'm really happy with them adding quirks for every single chassis in the game with the bmech manual

I am annoyed by several OP assault mechs getting long range targeting.

>>51478855
>guy brings gausswall
>field a lance of wasps in response
>"wtf is this man no hidden units"
>"nah no hidden units bro this was all a feint. My real objective was on the other side of the planet and since you spent all your BV here i stand unopposed. Good game."

>>51478855
My answer to gauss walls is stormcrow primes.

>>51479115

I used to do that too, or spam Rifleman IICs until "fucking moonwalking Clanner bullshit" memes took over the group and I was called the munchkin cheeselord.

The lack of self-reflection is staggering, but hey. Gotta win at all costs.

Surprisingly enough that group disintegrated because aside from the three FedCom Gausswallers nobody wanted to play Gausswall forces.

>>51479236
If they refuse to fight clan bullshit, then I would break out fast IS mechs with ER PPCs and outrange them by a hex.

Of course, that kind of thing was rarely a problem because once gausswalls started cropping up, people would start bringing Arrow IVs

>>51477186
If you're doing this with the FWL, you can also chuck Swarm-I into the middle of their formation when you don't land TAG shots.

But again, TacOps.

For all that people are bitching about gausswalls and stupid ways to try and counter-troll the enemy player, the fact is that they aren't doing anything wrong - they may not even be trying to troll you. I know plenty of new players who pick up the game and go "Fuck yeah, assault mechs!"

The problem is the game design, not the players.

>>51479426
Oh man...

>She looked up into Dan's open, handsome face. "There's the problem, Captain. Austin's been so nice to me that I'm starting to fall for him—falling hard—and I think the feeling's mutual." She smiled sheepishly. "In fact, every time I look into those amber eyes of his, I know I'm right. But lurking in the back of my mind is the promise I made to my grandmother. I know I'm giving him all sorts of mixed signals, but I'm not that clear myself." Meg sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "On top of that, I know that having lovers in the same lance is not a good idea, so I don't know what to do . .."

>Dan shut his eyes and grimaced. Here I am, only 28 years old, and she's making me feel like a grandfather. Eleven years with the Kell Hounds is akin to a lifetime else-where. By the clock, I've only got four years on both Brand and Lang, but if you consider the mileage, it's more like a century.

>Opening his eyes, Dan laughed softly. "Listen, you're getting ahead of yourself. First off, the Kell Hounds have got no rules, formal or otherwise, about relationships within the lances or battalions. We want our people to be close and to care about each other. To encourage that, but then to try to prohibit intimate relationships, would be foolhardy and impossible to police. Frankly, you, Brand, and Eddie Baker work so well together that you could start sacrificing rabbits to a full moon—if our next station has a moon—and I wouldn't really care."

>Meg smiled and Dan continued. "You and Austin are two healthy, normal MechWarriors living on a world where the weather is crazy and day becomes night after seven hours. Your attraction to each other is normal, and is about the only thing on this mudball that makes any sense at all. Don't push it, or kill it prematurely. Just wait and see what happens."


it's a "stackpole tries to write natural dialogue between two human beings" chapter

>>51479426
This is why I think battletech is fantastic for scenario and campaign play, and absolute garbage for pickup games.

>>51479004
No, you're a faggot.

>>51479389
Well, if you're just declaring arbitrary rules like "TW only except for all the parts I don't like which are definitely in TW but hey look over there a distraction", then you might as well counter with your own bullshit argument but resting on a firm bedrock of classic grognardism and say 'I don't care what your newfangled ten-year old rulebook says; I'm using the BMR and that has swarm-I munitions and fire and arty and suck my wang".

>>51479451
wut

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>>51479451
Wow. I only read the first two of the Gray Death Legion novels and one of the Drac books and felt all these years that I might be missing out on something, but... wow.

>>51479426
When new players fall for assaults, in my experience they tend to use them by wading into the middle of a fight shooting at everything they can see and usually punching stuff, not ever by sitting in heavy woods waiting for people to come to them

>>51479465
lolwut

I was merely adding a suggestion to NEA's post

calm your tits

>>51479639
Eh, I'd say they tend to sit still just as much, because they want to actually be able to hit things, and since moving makes it harder to hit...

>>51479674
I was agreeing with you and going at it from a different direction ...

>>51479458
What did I do wrong? I just rolled my dice.

>>51479747
you derive pleasure from other people's frustration

>>51479747
I agree. Losing big mechs to head caps is part of Battletech. Sure your opponent overreacted a lot, but it happens.

>>51479779
It really shouldn't be. Any game you win due to a big headshot should have an asterisks next to it.

This is just one reason why AS is superior.

>>51479816
I mean if he asked nicely instead of letting his rage consume him, I would have reset my pieces and he could reset his and start the game over again.
He'd lose the element of surprise with the Ares, but I think that's an acceptable trade-off.

>>51479960
The problem is that that counts as a "win" for you. There's is literally nothing skill based there - you got a string of lucky rolls. That's it.

This is a big factor in why I am less enthusiastic about BT than I used to be (also, it ties into the whole gausswall argument above, because a lot of their power comes from a near-certain headcap or two every game). I've really come to dislike games over the years where you can get stuck in a win-harder loop, where you get a big advantage via luck early on and then it just snowballs from there.

>>51480037
>>51480037
Well isn't that the whole gamey-simulationist debate in a nutshell? Some people like the random shit fucking up pre-planned strategies and trying to react to it instead of chess with mechs. Some people don't and prefer a game with almost no randomness.

>>51480101
But it's not just "Oh, something went wrong, how do I deal with it" it's "You instantly lose due to a long shot, gg"

>>51480132
Yes and? Play another game afterwards.

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Need to know question. How much of the Combine is grolious Nipponese people? What other ethnicities are predominant there?
Pic somewhat related.

>>51480132
We'll that's where not building a force of scouts supporting one mech comes into play. There isnt a single war game out there which rewards you for putting all of your eggs in one basket.

>>51480187
Most of them aren't ethincally japanese but the first coordinator was a white weeaboo and forced japanese culture on the combine.

This is canon. It used to be ruled by the Von Rohrs, not the Kuritas.

What Heavy mechs did the Lyrans favor during the 4th Succession War, War of 3039 and Clan Invasion?

>>51480215
So I can pretty much have a hodgepodge of humanity in my mech unit if they work for the dragons?

>>51480218
Thunderbolts are the thing that first spring to mind. Also downgraded Flashmans, Other than that, just generic 3025 heavies.

>>51480196
>decently high BV
>one ares is all his eggs

I mean, maybe if you think 6K BV is high...

>>51480218
Oh, and by the clan invasion Axmans, Falconers and Caesars became somewhat prevalent.

>>51480324
>Only light mechs
>And an Ares

Stop it you know he is right.

>>51480276
You can expect to see Archers in large numbers as well, because Hesperus II builds them.

>>51480218
Crusaders and thunderbolts, mostly, and the standard warhammers, archers, marauders and riflemen. Plus the zeus it really just a heavy that needs a diet

I just checked Sarna, and it looks like they build Crusaders on Tharkad.

>>51480215
I thought the first coordinator was a Kurita, they were supplanted by the Von Rohrs for a bit but regained power after a couple generations, and then a later Kurita was a weeaboo that started the "everything must be nipponese" phase

>>51480324
He had a handful of heavies and two Awesomes, but once the Ares went down he was at such a marked disadvantage he decided it wasn't worth trying anymore.

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>>51480187

It's unknown.

For instance, several of the major figureheads of the Combine in 3025-3039 like Minobu Tetsuhara, Grieg Samsanov, Ivan Sorenson and Hassid Ricole do not look Japanese or do not have a traditionally Japanese name.

It should also be noted that Myndo Waterly was from the Combine, though she doesn't seem of Japanese descent.

Either way, if they aren't Japanese ethically, they are culturally.
>>51480215

I thought Shiro Kurita was of Japanese descent?

The 1987 source book they printed out says he was the founder of the Combine.

>>51480447
How did you even headshot an Ares with one shot to begin with?

>>51480447
I mean, it's still kinda bullshit, but you shouldn't have been resetting unless it was the first round and also who the fuck literally cries about this.

Everyone involved sounds like a cunt

>>51480488
>I thought Shiro Kurita was of Japanese descent?
He was. He was still an extreme weeb, but he was ethnically Japanese

>>51480276
>>51480407

Does the Thunderbolt have a special disposition with House Steiner or something?

>>51480583
It's not so much that there's a special disposition, it's that the factories in the FWL and LC are the only ones that survived the succession wars.

On the note of the Combine is "Luthien" a Japanese name?

And is "Tharkad" a German name for that matter?

Of the Successor States, only the Suns, Capellans and Free Worlds seem to have capitol names befitting their culture.

What is the most FWL company possible in the 3080s?

>>51480627
12 of anything with light gauss rifles.

A huge portion of the original settlers of the DC are of Scandinavian descent. That's how the FRR was formed.

>>51480583
They just produce it and use it quite a bit

>>51480627
Fire Lance:
Grand Titan
Awesome
Albatross
Orion

Line Lance:
Tempest
Anvil
Apollo
Trebuchet

Maneuver Lance:
Wraith
Cicada
Hermes
Spider

>>51480892
>no hammer
Gitgud

>>51480892
I don't see any wolverines or griffons

>>51480540
cERPPC?

t. Atleast Itsnot

>>51480623
Luthien is from Tolkien, I believe. Tharkad I'm not sure.

The Free Worlds don't have a singular culture. They adopt Hellenic naming motifs for some of their things, but Atreus just as easily have had a Czech, German, Spanish, Urdu, or other name.

>>51480927
Actually, superheavies can't be headcapped with 15 damage.

You can crit out the cockpit, but no headcapping.

>>51480627
>>51480892
>>51480908
>>51480923
trick question, there was no FWL in the 3080s

>>51480953
>>51480927
This. So yeah, how'd you do it? You cheat this poor sap into a headshot somehow?

>>51480187

They've never said. But it would seem to have a lot of Americans (in the areas near to the old Terran Hegemony, close to Terra), Arabs (whole Arkab stuff) and Scandahoovians (where Rasalhague was at least).

Actual Nipponese are probably not even a majority - Shiro started with a small bit of space and then went hard on conquering his neighbours.

Hey /btg/

Just getting into this all via megamek - messed around with mechs some and looking at the other units.

Are there options for transports like tanks or VTOLs for infantry? Especially Elementals? I'd like to move these things around faster.

>>51481081
>>51479004
>>it hits him in the head and crits his cockpit

>>51481081
He pretty specifically said it was a cockpit crit

>>51480930

Anyone know what the hell a Galedon is?

>>51480689
Which is why Swedenese (yes, Swedenese, not Swedish) is an official language of the Combine.

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>>51481238

Yep. At least for infantry and battle armor. VTOLs like the Karnov and hovertanks like the Maxim are great for shuffling soldiers around quickly. Omnimechs also have grab bars for battle armor, so you can zip around with a light omni and dump a BA squad behind enemy lines and cause some havoc. It's pretty great fun.

>>51481310
grab bars on all units is an essential house rule imo

>>51481322
I mean, let's face it. Even non-omnis are going to have service hatches, ports, handholds, etc. for techs to use. Why can't BA use those *exact same handholds*? What makes omnis so special to have those?

>>51481322

Yeah, I run that as a house rule too. It just makes sense.

>>51481343

Because obtuse rules and reasons, I guess. I just ignore it and let the dudes latch onto any big stompy robot they want.

>>51481343
Omnimechs have ports that let the battle armor attach to them and recharge, not just handholds. They also have gyros which are capable of handling having battle armor of various weights cover them without impacting their piloting.

This is why BA with magclamps can attach to anything but it slows down what's carrying them.

>>51481343
Generally, most of those things don't do well when you hang a ton of weight off of them and run at full tilt.

>>51481343
IIRC it's because the BAs are just hanging on, so their weight is shifting around a lot and supposedly only the adaptive systems of omnis can handle that without having balance issues.

That really only applies to mechs though.

Since mechs have ejection before their reactors go critical, what do tanks have exactly?

>>51481310

Very useful, thanks much. Do Clanners have vehicles to move elementals and BA, or are Omnis the main way to move them?

>>51481366
>>51481378
>>51481388
The whole argument falls apart when looking at Omnis vs non-Omnis. An Omni, even programmed, is going to be running at the same weight and is going to have software handling the same weight distribution as a non-Omni chassis.

The gyro balancing is going to be handled the same way too. If you program the gyro wheels to spin a certain direction and speed due to the weight distribution of a 'mech, that's going to suddenly change when you introduce another ton of even exoskeletons on board, let alone another 4-6 tons of mediums to heavies.

If you program it to run with that extra weight, what happens then if you don't have them onboard? Same fucking problem.

Honestly it's more due to FASAnomics and rules trying to give extra points to Clan machines which were the first ones to come out with BA.

>>51481447
They have crew escape hatches, like how modern tanks do. But that's not automatic, so a crew has to actually abandon the machine. If it blows, they die. I think there were a few tanks that had some sort of auto-escape system but they were in the definite minority.

>>51481526
>WoB lawful evil
Name ONE thing they did wrong.

>>51481450

They do. Bandit hovercraft, Tyr Infantry Support Tank, the Badger, the Hephaestus, and the Svantovit come to mind.

>>51481458
The gyros for omnis are different because of different weight distributions from pod changing.

>>51481560
Threw asteroids at random planets for laffs. That's a pretty CE thing to do.

>>51481526
TN Master Race reporting in.

>tfw you had an excellent design for the Black Python clan battlemech sketched out but pressed the wrong buttons and managed to save the wrong version of the sketch

>>51481585
>Threw asteroids at random planets for laffs
They had it coming.

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>>51481526
>Lyrans
>Evil
Gimme one good reason why the Caps are less evil than the Elsies.

>>51481526

The DnD alignment chart was a pile of ass before people started throwing it into other fandoms. Please stop.

>>51481563
And that's just software. They don't have a different actual gyro from another unit. You can put a same-class gyro from any 'mech into an Omni and vice-versa.

>>51481526
>star league
>not lawful evil with moments of CE
Pick one and only one

>>51481624
The Korvin Doctrine, equal opportunity, earned citizenship, plus the Lyrans started the Succession Wars.

I main the blue bloods but I can see they're evil.

>>51481296
Google thinks it's French for "Caledon," which may be short for Caledonia - i.e., Scotland.

>>51481673

t. Peripherat, still mad after like 30 years IRL and 600 IC.

>>51481675

Dracs started the SW, the Coordinator was the first to declare himself the new First Lord and go military on it. Not sure why you're blaming the Lyrans.

>>51481675
Every faction is evil in Battletech. I dunno why people debate this except to troll. Which, given where we are... carry on then, I guess. Still less shitposting than the OF.

>>51481767
Canopians aren't evil

>>51481767

I thought it was more of a case of "everyone's an ass" like in 40k and Warmachine, but not as severe?

>>51481526

Liao and Steiner need switched.

>>51481742
Strike that, now it's telling me Welsh instead of French.

>>51481742

Why the hell is everything in space Scotland.

>>51481767
>Every faction is evil in Battletech.

The MOC isn't. They're free, have as good an education as they can give, free health care, don't start wars and only fight defensively, have never used weapons of mass destruction, they're run by women so they can't be evil in the first place, and they don't force anyone into positions where they don't want to be. Even MOC 'slavery' is exclusively made up of people who are choosing to be slaves for their own reasons.

Only genuinely good and moral faction in the game.

Galedon is the name of an Arthurian Castle.

>>51481860
>They're free
>have slavery

>don't start wars
>invaded the Confederation

2/10

>they're run by women so they can't be evil in the first place
oh you got me

>>51481860

>Only genuinely good and moral faction in the game.

Didn't they also support Amaris with a slight inkling of what his plans coming to fruition would mean?

>>51481849

The authors have a hard-on for Scotland because they're Americans.

>>51481888
And? Amaris was in the right.

>>51481939

He really was. The Star League was ruled by a familial dynasty, we figured out that shit was terrible ages ago already.

>>51481526
>WoB
>not CG
0/10 try harder

and it should be DURKA DURKA BLAKE JIHAD

New Thread
>>51481984

>>51481752
Went after the thumb. They started that actual war.

>>51481809
>slavery
>>51481823
Kinda. Everyone has worn the black hat at one point, no matter if their fanboys want to admit it or not. Except maybe the OA, but being do-nothings is sort of evil if everything around you is burning (SW era). Not that they were equipped, mind you, so maybe they and the FRR are as close as we get?

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>>51481526

Are you shitting me? We're really going to do this? Fine. I've had this sitting in my back pocket for a few years.

>>51481809
>slaver whore matriarchy allied with the mas-murdering communists
>not evil

>>51481860

Yeah, nah. The MoC's certainly a different flavor of evil than most of the Inner Sphere, but they've done plenty to qualify as being evil.

I will grant you that both Chris Hartford and Herb have said that Canopian slavery is almost exclusively limited (as much as any state can limit it; *everyone* has some underground slavery going) to those people who choose to be slaves, which is a mitigating factor, but it's certainly not a GOOD thing.

Plus the whole "noblewomen can choose their mates and they cannot be refused thing". That's really, extra not cool, and it's arguably more evil than Canopian slavery, given that a Canopian slave is there by their own choice, and the person chosen by the noblewoman gets no say whatsoever.

>they're run by women so they can't be evil in the first place,

Ha. Nice one. I know it's been unseasonably warm lately in most places, but that doesn't mean it's summer yet.


Anyway, the real question is whether it's possible at ALL for a state to exist and not be considered evil.

>>51482198
>Plus the whole "noblewomen can choose their mates and they cannot be refused thing". That's really, extra not cool, and it's arguably more evil than Canopian slavery, given that a Canopian slave is there by their own choice, and the person chosen by the noblewoman gets no say whatsoever.

yeah basically it's rape culture

speaking as a rape survivor it can trigger ptsd but i remind myself it's a game and the MoC is boring otherwise

>>51482019
>Implying the Thumb wasn't Elsie to begin with

>>51482298
Ja, like the Sudetenland or Polish Corridor.

Aw man. Went and visited my folks, found an unpainted Ral Partha Centurion on a bookshelf in my old room.

Good day.

>>51481526
>>51481825
I'd argue that the only people who regard the Confederation as evil are people who aren't citizens of it. nah they do some fucked up shit too
>>51482198
>Anyway, the real question is whether it's possible at ALL for a state to exist and not be considered evil.
Quite right. Taxation IS theft, after all.

>>51482076
>the FRR are as close as we get

FRR are a bunch of dumbass samurai viking terrorists. Have you even read how they behaved prior to their independence, then after their independence, then after their conquest by the clans?