Mekton Zeta - Thoughts and Opinions?

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>>53858132
its good

>>53858132
It's really solid. The rules take some getting used to (anything mecha related is bound to be more complex), but you can do a lot with this ruleset.

>>53858132

Some people love it. It's way too granular and crunchy for my tastes, but that's just me.

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>>53858132
Back in the 90s I ran a game set in Algol for several sessions, before switch to GURPS Mecha for crunch. For fluff, you can't beat box set / Mekton II

>>53858132
There's a few people who will tell you the system is too clunky, but they just aren't competent enough to make it work.

>>53858687
I think he'll probably enjoy the sheer amount that you can do with it. Building and running with your own mechs sounds like a blast and something he would really enjoy.

>>53858699
To each his own. Is there an alternative you would recommend?

>>53858132
Make sure if you're getting Melton Zeta, to also get the advanced construction guide.

>>53858844
I was planning on it. I was planning on holding off on getting him the advanced construction guide until a later date, but would you recommend getting it for him at the same time as the core book?

>>53858821

Honestly I've yet to find one. I'm stuck in an awkward middle ground. I enjoy crunch, but rather than granularity I enjoy thematically focused crunch, enough of it to create interesting decision making without there too much fuss and fiddle over little details. But mecha RPG's either seem to be super crunchy or so mechanically light they might as well not exist. One day I'll get around to making my own system, after the half dozen other projects I've got queued up before that.

>>53858927
It adds a lot of content, as well as clarifies some things. It's not strictly necessary but I'd recommend it.

>>53858132
In general, Reflexes is the only stat that matters, as 99% of all combat rolls use it. Be aware of this and plan for it, perhaps by setting all PCs' Reflexes to the same value and giving them wiggle room on the other stats for customization.

Some other aspects of balance are questionable - most notably the scaling rules come to mind -
but if you as GM put your foot down on some of the more egregious abuses, you should be fine.

>>53858986
Ill snag that for him as well then. Thanks!

>>53858132
As much as I like the game it is so 90s it hurts. It has the 90s style art of Americans aping anime and the 90s tabletop game style of RULES FOR EVERYTHING EVER. It's ugly, dense, and trying to figure out how to even make a mech let alone play one gives me a headache.

On a more serious note, I like what it does and really want to play it some time. The only real issue is that the human character stats are fairly simplistic, but I've heard that some people used R. Talsorian's Fuzion system in its place and it made things better.

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>>53858132
I prefer the earlier "made with a Macintosh and a copy machine" version; it wasn't so weighed down with crunch, and was more about backstory and character drama. I fell like Talsorian took a wrong turn about the time Zeta dropped, similar to the the way GoQ, a bit later, broke their BESM line with too much crunch.

I dunno, don't ever let gearheads take over your anime game, I guess?

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>>53858132
Great for simulating building your own mecha with genre-appropriate nuts and bolts for all the.... nuts and bolts. Not that great for actually playing a game.

It's overly crunchy dogshit, get Battle Century G instead

>>53860656
It's far less crunch than you're implying; battletech has more crunch.

>>53860509
I've run several successful games with Melton. It's not perfect, but there are worse alternatives for sure.