|
AJ_Impy posted:Now I want to see a superheavy with partial wing and improved jump jets. Challenge accepted.  code:
Scintilla fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Jul 24, 2014 |
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 16:23 |
|
|
Spec out that retractable-blade dropship next.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:15
|
|
|
Why does it have 1 extra point of armor on one leg?
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:16
|
|
|
Huh, so it does. I honestly have no idea, I just clicked the 'Maximum Armour' button so maybe MML is screwing up somewhere. It gets a little funny with Superheavies sometimes, like saying there aren't enough critslots even when there are and removing the extra head armour Superheavies can carry whenever I load them up for modifications.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:21
|
|
|
Combat Theater Vote Results: - Redacted Redacted Redacted wins Redacted Redacted (28 votes) - Adrian McKenna still has a fair chance in her Trial of Position (21 votes) - The Kalma-Youngblood Mercenary Company, LLC. (name pending) (16 votes) haven’t found anyone who meets their high standards - King of the Pirates (16 votes) gets to stay on the books for a while - Thomas Hogarth attended a dinner function and missed the Steel Viper delegation by minutes, There’s No Way I’ll Lose (10 votes) - The Widowmakers and Goliath Scorpions haven’t managed to find each other yet in Maelstrom (4 votes) - People actually voted to get nuked by the Taurians in Larsha under Seige (4 votes) - No one wanted to dodge Orbital Strikes in A Falling Hammer (0 votes), or faff about with the Ice Hellions’ Harmless Rebellion (0 votes) The briefing auditorium fell silent as the booming footfalls of something huge and unexpected shook the sheetrock walls. Prepared for the show, the old hands in the back just grinned silently to each other as the new inductees in the front rows shifted nervously in their seats. Although she’d been in this room three times over the course of her career Sarah still found herself smiling in wicked anticipation along with the others even as the rhythmic noise ceased almost as suddenly as it’d started. Some idiot in the front row coughed. Without warning, the front wall of the auditorium buckled as something huge and heavy forced its way through the sheet rock. The newbies in the front row practically fell out of their seats in a mad dash to escape while the veterans in the back simply laughed. It was a hazing ritual they’d all gone through themselves, and not one of the veterans had to move an inch when a voice boomed. “Siddown, and shaddup!” The massive suit of olive-drab power armor stood oblivious to the destruction it’d wrought on the wall. There were no supports there, no power conduits, and the reason for the high ceilings and bare concrete floors would’ve been brutally obvious even to the thickest of newbies. Those who had either managed to escape or who had spectacularly failed to stay in their seats scrambled for them again as the troopers in the back rows fell to sudden, amused silence. “Ladies,” the speaker’s voice boomed. Sarah extended her right arm in an instant, her middle finger extended towards the man in full power armor. The battlesuit canted forward slightly, as though the speaker were respectfully bowing his head. “—and Sarah. Welcome or welcome back to the finest combined-arms division in the Rim Worlds Republic, the Minnesota Three-Thirty-First!” Sarah’s voice rose with the other veterans in a combined cheer that might’ve rivaled a BattleMech’s autocannon in volume. Some of the denser newbies joined in a half-second too late and kept cheering a half-second too long, while the smart ones kept their traps shut. The BattleArmor stepped forward, towering over a man-sized podium that barely seemed to pass its knees. “Returning veterans,” the speaker drawled, “You have no idea how proud and happy I am that you’ve decided to give us another opportunity to get you all killed. Newbies, you picked a bad time to join us. Normally we’d give you six months to get to know us before dropping The Revelation on your fool heads; but we simply don’t have the time. What I’m about to tell you leaves this room only over your bullet-riddled corpses, so if you feel you’re in over your heads or don’t think you can keep your traps shut,” the power armor twisted, its right arm smashing through still more sheet rock as though pointing at the massive hole the suit had made on entry. “Here’s the door. Get the gently caress out.” Sarah blinked, and leaned forward as their “faceless” instructor broke the script she’d been expecting. None of the newbies moved, they probably thought it’d been a joke. Her hand fell to the laser pistol on her hip and the faint ‘click’ of several dozen holster snaps being freed in unison still wasn’t enough to make any of the new meat bug out. The returning members of the 331st had grown deadly serious, anyone they caught talking would be quietly “washed out.” “Your funeral,” the speaker finally said after several minutes silence. He turned back to the assembled audience. “The 331st isn’t just the most elite military unit in the New Rim Worlds Republic. We’re also the last survivors of Clan Wolverine. For those of you who don’t pay attention to the news coming from the Inner Sphere—and believe me, normally I’d be praising your good sense rather than calling you loving stupid—the Clans are the invaders who are currently laying waste to large sections of the Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine. What you don’t know is that they’re what Kerensky’s SLDF turned into after spending way too much time alone in deep space. They tried to kill us once, and they’re coming here to try to do it again.” “Those of you who are more familiar with the score are probably wondering: If we’re also the Clans, don’t we hate Our Supreme and Glorious Leader, President Amaris?” Some of the newbies laughed, the speaker waited until the last awkward vestiges died away. “We do.” The BattleArmor twisted, as though the pilot was taking satisfaction in the shocked expressions on the faces in the front rows. “But,” he continued theatrically, “Amaris wasn’t the one who tried to kill every man, woman and child who just happened to be born a member of Clan Wolverine. They will do the same here, to any who just happened to be born under the flag of the New Rim World Republic. This is not news to those few of you who share our ancestry. For those we have just adopted, you have joined a warrior tradition born a thousand light years from the Inner Sphere. By joining us, you must give up your history, your past, and your families to join ours. You don’t have a last name anymore and if your name happens to match that of a living soldier? Tough poo poo, you’ll have to change it. We don’t care who you were. We don’t care what you’ve done, or to who. We only care that you are with us and that you protect those who don’t fight for the duration of your service. Once your service with us ends we’ll protect you any your future families with our lives for the rest of yours.” “Now, most of you have served with the Republic’s military already so you know a little about us: we’re independent, and autonomous, and we choose where we fight, when, and how. When the Clans arrive, we will be fighting them. They’re the Snow Ravens. We’ve got history of the worst kind. They’ll show us no mercy and we’ll show them none in return. No prisoners will be taken under Clan terms—and Amaris agreed to this as well. The Clans call their prisoners “Bondsmen,” but they’re slaves. We aren’t Clan and we’re not going to humor them. We’re going to kill them.” “And this,” He raised the BattleArmor’s right arm, and slammed it bodily into the armor-plated chest. “Is just one of the tools we have to do just that. This is Wolverine BattleArmor, the standard variant but we’ve got others and you’ll be familiarizing yourselves with all of them. Some of you may have experience with PowerArmor, most of you probably don’t. Whether you do or not, you newbies will be learning to pilot one of these from scratch because the Wolverine is like nothing you’ve experienced before.” “You!” The speaker roared suddenly, pointing the Wolverine’s left arm at a young man in the front row. “You’re in battle armor, with your squad. How do you silently tell them to advance on an enemy position?” The newcomer turned pale, “Uh—hand signals? Sir?” “Wrong!” The man roared loudly enough that his own voice echoed for half a second. “For three reasons!” “One!” The Wolverine crouched, and launched itself in the air with the power of its legs alone. It barely made half a meter, and when it landed it crushed the wooden podium it’d been standing behind. “The Wolverine isn’t loving silent! You want silent, join the Royal Guard. You want really silent, you join the Blackguards or the Black Watch. You want stuff dead, you want a Wolverine.” “Two! As anyone who’s been paying attention should’ve seen by now,” The Wolverine’s arms snapped upwards, its clawed thumb first moving up and down, then side to side. The other fingers didn’t budge, they were permanently affixed to the Wolverine’s arm. “The Wolverine doesn’t do loving hand signals.” “Three! You’ve got brains and radios. Use both, or you’re not going to last long. This is the only moment of rest you’ll get from now until the Clans get here. Some of you—possibly all of you—are going to die. Yes, we’re fighting to protect millions because if the Clans win they will bomb every Republic world to a cinder. But we’re also fighting to protect ourselves, and I would rather die fighting in a Wolverine than eke out an extra six months by cowering in a fallout bunker waiting to get nuked.” The Wolverine clapped its clawed hands together. “Now, I hope you’re all learn quickly because in three weeks we’re going to be taking you all up into space to see if you can handle the space-ops version of this monster. If any of you are prone to motion sickness you’d better tell me ASAP because the only thing worse than doing S&R for a drifting space trooper is having to hose the vomit out of the armor afterwards. There’s no stigma if you can’t cut it, some people just can’t handle fighting in null-g and it’s better to learn that now. Ideally I want every single one of you checked out for space operations, because our training program is going to be very specialized: by the time your training’s finished you’ll be able to assault a McKenna BattleShip in your sleep.” ******************** Their instructor’s Cicada didn’t quite pace, instead walking forward and reversing with such a smooth motion that it would’ve been difficult for a person who’d never seen a Cicada before to tell which end was the front. It didn’t help that the machine’s upper torso had twisted as far as the servos would allow, to enable the pilot to stare at the line of six waiting `Mechs assembled before it. It continued its motion in silence for a few minutes, as though waiting to see if anyone was foolish enough to speak or break ranks unprompted. All six machines stood smartly at attention. Apparently satisfied, it stopped mid-backpedal and twisted on its ankles in a motion that Cadet Silas would’ve thought impossible only months before. The Cicada’s torso twisted back and forth one last time, as if checking to see if anyone had relaxed, and then the pilot spoke. “Welcome to your Trial by Fire, Cadets,” It was a voice Silas didn’t think he’d ever heard before; but the electronic distortion used to remove any trace of gender made that impossible to tell. Their instructor had never piloted a Cicada before, and today’s training exercise seemed like it was supposed to be something out of the ordinary. “I am The Watcher,” their observer continued in clipped, formalized speech. “I am Judge and Jury. It is I who decide whether or not you are worthy to join the 331st. There is no shame if you fail. Failure is a learning experience and can be overcome with hard work. You may be allowed to try again. We have watched you, these past six months. We know you can pilot a BattleMech. Your instructor says you are ready to advance to the next stage of training. We have our doubts. We don’t know if you can truly fight.” “The inhibitors on your `Mechs have been released,” Silas swallowed at the implications. At The Watcher’s words, a secondary monitor that had displayed nothing for so long Silas had grown convinced was malfunctioning sprang to life as his `Mech’s battle computer began processing data from five unknown sources. Hovering crosshairs appeared in his peripheral vision, on lines drawn straight into the earth that let Silas see precisely what each of his lancemates was targeting. “Your machines have live ammunition. Today’s exercise is be live fire. You will be fighting live opponents. If a `Mech signals surrender it is no longer a valid target. You may chose to surrender at any time, either individually or as a group. You are six in number, your opponents are eight. You are piloting Mk. VIII machines: the most advanced the New Rim World Republic has to offer. Your opponents will have nothing above a Mk. VI. You can survive a single direct hit to the canopy from every weapon in their arsenal save one, in use by the enemy commander. Respect your enemy’s capabilities and do not get shot in the head. The same cannot be said in return, so do not shoot your opponents in the head on pain of inquest and possible Expulsion. Questions?” Silas thumbed his transmitter, but the red light that showed he wasn’t broadcasting didn’t even flicker. The Cicada twisted again. “Good. You will be allowed to choose your objective for this mission. Complete this objective and prove to us that you know how to fight.” Trial by Fire Mission Objective Vote: A) Defeat All Enemy `Mechs B) Destroy Supply Depot C) Recover POWs D) Capture Enemy Commander E) Smash & Grab Raid The McKenna Simulation  (This is the mission that may not work, if it doesn’t we’ll just scrap it right away) Trial by Fire  Unit Lists   Mechwarriors Z the IVth Great Beer JT Jag Paingod556 Saint Celestine Cloud Potato Alternates OptimusShr Voyager I Quornes Tank Boy Ken apostateCourier Lord Koth PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Jul 25, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:37
|
|
|
I see C3is and Precision LAC 5s and so many other goodies. This should be fun.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:48
|
|
|
 Clan Wolverine! Ferro-Lamellor Armour! C3i Computers! Freaking Edge! ...I think we made the right decision, guys! Scintilla fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Jul 24, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:48
|
|
|
I see we finally get to play with a C3 network.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:52
|
|
|
Pretty sure Edge is just supposed to represent the fact that the OpFor is deliberately trying to avoid headcapping people. Also, is the objectives vote just for the players?
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 19:58
|
|
|
T.G. Xarbala posted:Also, is the objectives vote just for the players? Nope, it's for everyone (player votes just count a more, so if they all want the same thing they'll probably be able to force it if they all vote before Turn 1 goes up)! Scintilla posted:...I think we made the right decision, guys! You'd be saying the same thing about a pirate Wolverine with a pneumatic drill for a hand. PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Jul 24, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:00
|
|
|
Then E, Smash & Grab, on the assumption that this means someone is going to actually have to pick something up with their robot hands. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:02
|
|
|
Honestly if I'd waited two years for my turn to finally play, even though those other objectives look interesting I'd probably just want to do A, destroy the other guys. For maximum stompy robot shootiness.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:06
|
|
|
D, I want to see some PRECISION.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:08
|
|
|
This should be fun, you get to play with so many nice toys! Voting for E because using your hands is something that seems to crop up so rarely.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:08
|
|
|
PoptartsNinja posted:You'd be saying the same thing about a pirate Wolverine with a pneumatic drill for a hand. Yes. Yes I would.  Also D for the vote. A capture objective sounds interesting.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:09
|
|
|
I'm going to say B, destroy the depot!
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:11
|
|
|
E sounds the most interesting.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:13
|
|
|
C it's like a smash and grab with real people!
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:19
|
|
|
D
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:36
|
|
|
I don't know what plasma rifles are or how to use them effectively. I think this means I should use the mlas all the time and never stop punching. 
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:38
|
|
|
... And suddenly Amaris's frightfully accurate intelligence on the Clans makes perfect sense. Kudos, PTN.  Voting for E.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:40
|
|
|
B Blow poo poo up.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:43
|
|
|
Great Beer posted:I don't know what plasma rifles are or how to use them effectively. I think this means I should use the mlas all the time and never stop punching. Plasma rifles are basically PPCs but better. Point at an enemy do 10 damage to them and give them 1d6 heat on top of that. You lose a couple of extra hexes of range but don't have to put up with min range crap so it kind of evens out. Oh and if the unit your shooting doesn't use heat? Well even better you now do 10 damage plus 2d6 damage to them. Plasma rifles are basically awesome all-round guns.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:44
|
|
|
So lets talk about some of this fancy rear end equipment that the three three one is bringing to bear in this fight. Ferro-Lamellar armor reduces incoming damage by 1 point per every 5 points of damage the attack would do. AN AC/20 shot would do 16 damage. And with the way it rounds, a pellet from an LBX Autocannon would do 0 damage. It also protects against special armor penetrating attacks (Armor-Piercing Ammunition, etc) Now for the specialized autocannon ammo. Armor-Piercing rounds are less accurate (+1 to hit) and only have half as much ammo per ton, but every hit gives an automatic crit chance based on the size of the shell (a /5 would suffer a -3 penalty on the crit table). It isn't quite as useful as it sounds, but it has its uses. I am not sure if my mind is failing me or if it is a PTN special, but I have no idea what HE rounds do. As for Precision ammo.... Well, some people say that prex ammo is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I vehemently disagree. Bread isn't nearly as awesome. Precision Ammo is designed to track a moving target. What this means is that it removes up to 2 points off the targets movement modifier. That little light fucker running 12 hexes and being an unstoppable nuisance? Yeah, he is already dead. The downsides of this ammo are that it only carries have as much ammo per ton and that it gives no bonuses against a stationary target. Having LAC/5s with Prex turns you into a big bully, and it is glorious. iNarc is a missile launcher that lets you do wondrous things if you hit with one of its pods. If you hit an enemy with a homing pod all narc-compatible missiles get a -1 TH bonus and a +2 to the cluster table roll. This means you will hit more often and your hits will be bigger. Explosive pods are the most simple in that it is just a normal attack that does 6 damage. Haywire pod messes with the enemies targeting and forces them to suffer a +1 TH penalty on all weapon hit rolls. Nemesis pods are hilarious in that any narc-capable or semi-guided missiles near a target affected by a nemesis pod have a chance to divert and hit that target instead. This works on both friendly and enemy mechs. It is worth noting that a mech can attempt to brush off an iNarc pod on its turn, but isn't always successful and has a tendency to end up punching itself. Lastly, the big daddy in the room: C3i. Having a C3i network means you are now playing MechWarrior Online. Enjoy. In all seriousness, c3i basically means that every mech in the network shares targeting data. This means that if one of the networked mechs is 2 hexes away from an enemy, all network meches are 2 hexes away from the enemy for the purposes of figuring out the range penalty for their weapon attacks. You can't fire beyond a weapons maximum range even with targeting data and weapons with degrading damage (like the snub) still lose damage when further out, but it is still a huge boon. If that Battlemaster was standing 9 hexes away from an opponent it would still be firing as if it were at close range with all of its weapons assuming another mech was up close to the enemy. Just be careful with ECM, as standing in an ECM bubble will temporarily cut you from your network.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:50
|
|
|
D, I want to see some hot hand-on-cockpit action again.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:57
|
|
|
B And in an unexpected twist even when playing stompy robots instead of tanks Saint Celestine will never fire HE from his guns.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 20:58
|
|
|
KnoxZone posted:I have no idea what HE rounds do. They're standard AC/5 rounds (technically I'm pretty sure they're HEAP rounds, but eh). They're just there to give the Sentinel something to use when he doesn't want to make potshots / doesn't want to use a specialty ammo, since the Sentinel can eat its specialty ammo really quickly. Precision rounds are helpful because they're actually an autocannon-sized gyrojet. That means they're basically a homing rocket fired out of a canon, which is pretty I'm also pretty sure AP rounds aren't explosive, which is why they have an extra penalty to-hit. It's basically there to represent the chance the round just glances off the target (since it doesn't detonate on impact). PoptartsNinja fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Jul 24, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:24
|
|
|
 Let's blow poo poo up!
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:33
|
|
|
So, with c3i, you march the Battlemaster into their faces and then everyone else shoots them from ~10-15 hexes away?
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:37
|
|
|
Voting E because it's relatively straight forward and harder for GoonLance to mess up. PTN has been adding shadow objectives for the past few years so the starting with the least complicated initial objective is for the better.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:39
|
|
|
Also, I'll go ahead and confirm that I'm available as an alternate. I still don't have PMs but you can email me at ohaller at g mail dot com. After literally two years, seeing your name come up on the waitlist is really exciting. When the scenario is this and the pirate showdown is going to be on the table for the next vote...
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:41
|
|
|
Scintilla posted:Yeah, Superheavies generally have poo poo maneuverability. At 200 tons 2/3 is the hard cap, but at that point you have more armour and weapon space than God so it's less of an issue. At best you want to slap on Jump Jets for some added turning power (And for performing DFA's AJ_Impy posted:Now I want to see a superheavy with partial wing and improved jump jets. Superheavies may not mount Jump Jets or Partial Wings. With their slow speed, Superheavies really are regulated to missions like the previous one, ie "Hold the line at all costs". As soon as you need speed/mobility, Superheavies become very nonviable. Also voting A) Defeat All Enemy `Mechs
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:49
|
|
).
|
goatface posted:So, with c3i, you march the Battlemaster into their faces and then everyone else shoots them from ~10-15 hexes away? You can, but it is usually better to go the other approach. Let the light fast mechs dart in and out while presenting hard to hit targets while the heavy firepower just sits there unleashing a maelstrom of doom on the enemies.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:49
|
|
|
That's actually a bit of a weakness in this lineup. For all the ridiculous gear we've got piled on, nothing is obnoxiously fast or jumpy. The bigger stuff moves at a pretty good clip for its size, but nobody's gonna be racking up +4 movement modifiers this time around.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:52
|
|
|
The map's pretty flat, I'm not sure there's enough for them to dodge in and out of.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:52
|
|
|
Oh hey, I'm in this round. ... Oh god I'm in this round I've never played BattleTech someone help me.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:52
|
|
|
goatface posted:So, with c3i, you march the Battlemaster into their faces and then everyone else shoots them from ~10-15 hexes away? Other way around. The big slow mech is harder to get in range, so the fast speedy guy goes in and does his best to be as hard to hit as possible, thus letting the slower guys hit as if they were closer while they stay at range. Thus your big slow guys are hitting as if they're at short range while the enemy is hitting at medium or long if they target them, or short if they target the spotter but the spotter's harder to hit. Also, this was errata'd a few months ago, you need line of sight to an enemy mech to be able to share targeting data on it. So you can't just go prone behind a height 1 hill and still be transmitting targeting data to your allies while the enemy cannot see you. Dunno if PTN's going to go with that or not though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:53
|
|
|
Also important to note: C3i doesn't help with LRM indirect fire, so you still want to be firing them directly. They still use distance from the firing to determine whether or not minimum range happens, so the Crusader should really be able to go to town if the Sentinel is doing its job. And yes, LOS is required. No curving the bullet, if you're providing targeting data it means you can get shot.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:53
|
|
|
So, the Shadow Hawk bounces around to pick up modifier and narcs things, everything else uses the lovely targetting data to focus fire and annihilate poo poo, then you all burn edge and fail anyway when you manage to headcap 5 mechs in a row.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 22:58
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 19, 2024 16:23 |
|
|
PoptartsNinja posted:You don’t have a laugh name anymore and if your name happens to match that of a living soldier? Tough poo poo, you’ll have to change it. Last name, perhaps?  quote:Trial by Fire Mission Objective Vote: B sounds like an interesting subversion of the 'defend target X' objective that has come up a few times so far.
|
|
#
?
Jul 24, 2014 23:01
|
|
